What is HR management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What is HR management - Essay Example urce can provide value to a business by seeking, interpreting, and anticipating changes that occur in the business environment with an aim of preparing and appropriate solutions to the anticipated changes. For instance, the Human Resource can anticipate impact of changes that may occur within a business’ processes or workforce and work in tandem with the other management levels to understand and come up with creative and logical ways of responding to such changes. The HR professionals have a unique role in addressing pertinent issues that come up within the workforce of an organization. For instance, the professionals are strategically placed to advice and help the management of businesses in coming up with correct formulations of the workforce skills and attributes relevant for a particular task within their businesses. Also, the HR professionals can leverage on their quantitative skills to come up with desirable programs that will ultimately improve skills, effectiveness, and capabilities of the workforce. The Human Resource professionals and personnel are responsible for hiring, developing, and managing employees. The HR professionals put into use the skills of the employees into realizing the missions of the organizations. In orde to achieve a well-balanced working environment between an organization, its workforce and optimum output, the personnel management will recruit, hire, and develop the qualified people. In line with their hiring responsibilities, the human resource personnel would also direct and encourage the growth of the employees in their organizations. The most effective HR professional within a given business is one who possesses a strategic thinking mindset. Thinking strategically means that the HR professional will help the company to translate the visions and goals of an organization from statements on paper to specific actionable goals that an organization can measure. Strategic thinking mindset involves setting well-prioritized goals

The balanced equation shows that two moles of silver nitrate react with one mole of copper Essay Example for Free

The balanced equation shows that two moles of silver nitrate react with one mole of copper Essay Qualitative Observations: * The copper was a orange/red colour before being submerged. * While the silver nitrate AgNO3 was a clear colourless liquid. * Immediately after the copper was submerged it turned black. * The copper wire was resting on the bottom of the beaker. * After prolonged submersion the wire became thicker as more precipitate was formed on the wire. * After prolonged submersion the solution became a clear light blue solution. * After 24 hours a silver/grey crystalline structure formed around the wire and on the bottom of the beaker. Processed data table: What I measured Value (unit) 3sf Uncertainty Mass of reacted Cu 0.332(g)  ±0.002g Number of reacted Cu 0.00522 mol % uncertainty =  ±0.605 Mass of reacted Ag 1.804(g)  ±0.002g Number of reacted Ag 0. 0167 mol % uncertainty =  ±0.166 Constants table: Constant Value Mr(Cu) 63.55 gmol-1 Mr (Ag) 107.87 gmol-1 Calculations Balanced chemical equation between copper and silver: Cu (s) + 2Ag+ (aq) → Cu2+ (aq) + 2Ag (s) Mass of reacted Cu: Uncertainty: m(Cu)= Original weight – final weight m(Cu)= 2.020 – 1.688 =  ±0.001 + 0.001 m(Cu)= 0.332 g =  ±0.002 Number of reacted Cu: Uncertainty: Mr(Cu)=63.55 gmol-1 n(Cu)= 0.00522 mol (3sf) n(Cu) % uncertainty =  ±0.605 Mass of reacted Ag: Uncertainty: m(Ag)= Original weight – final weight m(Ag) = 105.139– 103.335 = 0.001 + 0.001 = 1.804 g =  ±0.002 Number of reacted Ag: Uncertainty: Mr(Ag) = 107.87 gmol-1 n(Ag) = 0.0167 mol (3sf) n(Ag) % uncertainty =  ±0.111 Calculation of Ratio n(Cu) : n(Ag) 0.00522 : 0.0167 total % uncertainty =  ±0.111+0.605 1:3.20 % uncertainty =  ±0.716 1:3 % uncertainty =  ±0.7 Conclusion This reaction is an example of a single replacement redox reaction, as the copper element replaces an element in a compound, silver nitrate producing silver and copper nitrate. During the reaction the silver is reduced as it gains electrons and the copper is oxidized as it loses electrons. Cu (s) + 2AgNO3+ (aq) → Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + 2Ag (s) The balanced equation shows that two moles of silver nitrate react with one mole of copper to produce one mole of copper nitrate and two moles of silver. The molar ratio between Copper and Silver should be 1:2, which you can see by the coefficients in the balanced equation. Therefore my hypothesis is wrong as I have 1 more mole of silver than I should have, therefore my mass of silver was larger than expected or the moles of copper was lower than expected and my mass of copper was lower than expected. Yet our small precision error, or random error attributed to the precision of instruments is  ±0.716%, which indicates that our range excludes the accepted value of 2. Therefore our must have some experimental error. This experimental error can be determined as a percentage through the following formula: % This experimental error is incredibly large. As my systematic error is small, I can determine that experimental error is the cause of the deviation from the accepted value. Evaluation The random error in this experiment was due to the number of operations needed to determine the ratio therefore an increased level of accuracy in the equipment would have increased our ability to determine a more accurate result. Increasing accuracy in equipment would have aided the experiment although the accepted value was still outside the range of random error. There are several possible factors for the large experimental error. The first and most prominent of these reasons is the likelihood of the silver crystals still being saturated with water. Due to the time constraints on the experiment there was limited time to leave the crystals drying in the oven, indicating the possibility of there being water contamination with the silver. This would have increased the measured mass of the silver and therefore increased the value of n(Ag) increasing our ratio. This experiment could be improved if the crystals were left to dry in the oven for a longer time period, which would enable all of the water molecules to evaporate and not contaminate our sample. Another possibility as that during the decanting some crystals were removed from the beaker. This would have decreased the mass of silver, thus decreased the n(Ag) decreasing our ratio. As our ratio was larger than accepted value it is unlikely that this played a significant part in the experimental error of my experiment. To ensure that this would not effect a future experiment I would use a filtration system using filter paper instead of using a decanting method. Experimental error could also have been generated through having an incorrect copper measurement. An incorrect copper measurement could have been caused by copper flecks flaking off the wire into the solution and then being decanted out, though our method did try to remove this possibility by adding more silver nitrate it is still a possibility. This would have meant that we calculated less moles of copper than actually reacted. To ensure that this would not effect our results we should have left the extra silver nitrate for longer to allow it too react with any left over copper flecks.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens :: Great Expectations Essays

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is the story of Pip, a young orphan who lives with his sister Mrs. Joe and his brother-in-law, Joe. Pip's life changes completely when he meets Miss. Havishman and the girl who lives with her, named Estella. After visiting them, Pip's greatest ambition is transforming himself in a gentleman to gain Estella's love although she acts coldly and contemptuously towards him. Throughout the story violence surrounds the characters and their lives. Violence takes many forms and is understood differently by different cultures. According to Oxford Dictionary violence is "a violent behaviour intended to hurt or kill somebody". This definition is mainly about physical violence, which is the most spread type of violence in western cultures. In Great Expectations, for instance, one night, after an argument with Mrs. Joe, Orlick, Joe's assistant, attacks her so violently that she becomes invalid. Another example of physical violence takes place in Mrs. Havishma n's Satis house when Pip first meets Herbert Pocket and they fight without any reason. Estella also treats Pip violently in physical and verbal ways when she slaps him and uses words like ?You little coarse monster? (page 77, Ch. 11) or ?You little wretch? (page 78, Ch. 11) in addressing to him. Other forms of violence are more difficult to identify but they can be as harmful as physical violence. In Great Expectations, characters mainly use psychological and emotional violence to hurt the others. First, Estella hurts Pip?s emotions and feelings when she rejects him and acts coldly. Estella?s violent behaviour can be explained by the way she was raised by Mrs. Havishman. It is known the idea of Mahatman Gandhi about violence as the fear of other people?s ideals. This definition characterizes the way in which some of the characters in Great Expectations behave. For example, the eccentric Mrs. Havishman was left by her fiancà © just before their wedding and that is why she wants to t ake revenge on men. Estella is Mrs. Havishman?s tool for her revenge. The old woman teaches Estella to feel contempt for men and break their heart. This example shows how violence is used psychologically by Mrs. Havishman who prevents Estella to fully demonstrate her feelings for Pip. Another instance of psychological violence is the way in which Mrs. Joe treats Pip. She blames him for having forced her to change her life since she had to take care of Pip when their parents died and she had to marry Joe. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens :: Great Expectations Essays Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is the story of Pip, a young orphan who lives with his sister Mrs. Joe and his brother-in-law, Joe. Pip's life changes completely when he meets Miss. Havishman and the girl who lives with her, named Estella. After visiting them, Pip's greatest ambition is transforming himself in a gentleman to gain Estella's love although she acts coldly and contemptuously towards him. Throughout the story violence surrounds the characters and their lives. Violence takes many forms and is understood differently by different cultures. According to Oxford Dictionary violence is "a violent behaviour intended to hurt or kill somebody". This definition is mainly about physical violence, which is the most spread type of violence in western cultures. In Great Expectations, for instance, one night, after an argument with Mrs. Joe, Orlick, Joe's assistant, attacks her so violently that she becomes invalid. Another example of physical violence takes place in Mrs. Havishma n's Satis house when Pip first meets Herbert Pocket and they fight without any reason. Estella also treats Pip violently in physical and verbal ways when she slaps him and uses words like ?You little coarse monster? (page 77, Ch. 11) or ?You little wretch? (page 78, Ch. 11) in addressing to him. Other forms of violence are more difficult to identify but they can be as harmful as physical violence. In Great Expectations, characters mainly use psychological and emotional violence to hurt the others. First, Estella hurts Pip?s emotions and feelings when she rejects him and acts coldly. Estella?s violent behaviour can be explained by the way she was raised by Mrs. Havishman. It is known the idea of Mahatman Gandhi about violence as the fear of other people?s ideals. This definition characterizes the way in which some of the characters in Great Expectations behave. For example, the eccentric Mrs. Havishman was left by her fiancà © just before their wedding and that is why she wants to t ake revenge on men. Estella is Mrs. Havishman?s tool for her revenge. The old woman teaches Estella to feel contempt for men and break their heart. This example shows how violence is used psychologically by Mrs. Havishman who prevents Estella to fully demonstrate her feelings for Pip. Another instance of psychological violence is the way in which Mrs. Joe treats Pip. She blames him for having forced her to change her life since she had to take care of Pip when their parents died and she had to marry Joe.

Women Entrepreneurs

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: Women entrepreneurs may be defined as a woman or a group of women who initiate, organize and run a business enterprise. In terms of Schumpeterian concept of innovative entrepreneurs, women who innovate, initiate or adopt a business activity are called business entrepreneur. It is the group of women or single women running an enterprise or company in order to earn profit. Now days because of  Ã‚   women empowerment women are stepping-stone into the industries and are taking the place of men. Now a day's women's are running several business like beauty parlours, switching shops, boutiques, etc.The areas chosen by women are retail trade,  restaurants, hotels, education, cultural,   cleaning insurance and manufacturing. Women entrepreneurs have been making a significant impact in all segments of the economy in Canada, Great Britain, Germany Australia and US. Till the turn of the century, man has enjoyed a dominant position. But change in position technological innovation and modern way of thinking can reduce the disparity between man and women, and bring about equality and equity between them, the need of the hour in women empowerment both through provision of employment and enterprise creation.The Government of India has defined women entrepreneurs based on women participation in equity and employment of a business enterprise. Accordingly, a woman entrepreneur is defined as an enterprise owned and controlled by a woman having a minimum financial interest of 51% of the capital and giving at least 51% of the employment generated in the enterprise to a woman. They have made their mark in business because of the following reasons: * They want to improve their mettle in innovation and competitive jobs. * They want the change to control the balance between their families and responsibility and their business levels. They want new challenges and opportunities for self fulfilment. Role of women as an Entrepreneur's: 1) Imaginative: It refers to the imaginative approach or original ideas with competitive market. Well-planned approach is needed to examine the existing situation and to identify the entrepreneurial opportunities. It further implies that women entrepreneur's have association with knowledgeable people and contracting the right organization offering support and services. 2) Attribute to work hard: Enterprising women have further ability to work hard. The imaginative ideas have to come to a fair play.Hard work is needed to build up an enterprise.. 3) Persistence:  Women entrepreneurs must have an intention to fulfill their dreams. They have to make a dream transferred into an idea enterprise; Studies show that successful women work hard. 4) Ability and desire to take risk  the desire refers to the willingness to take risk and ability to the proficiency in planning making forecast estimates and calculations. 5) Profit earning capacity:  Ã‚  she should have a capacity to get maximum return out of invested capi tal. A Woman entrepreneur has also to perform all the functions involved in establishing an enterprise.These include idea generation, and screening, determination of objectives, project preparation, product analysis, determination of forms of business organization, completion of formal activities,   raising funds,   procuring men machine materials and operations of business. Fredrick Harbiscon, has enumerated the following five functions   of a women entrepreneur's : * Exploration of the prospects of starting a new business enterprise. * Undertaking a risk and handling of economic uncertainties involved in business. * Introduction of innovations, imitations of innovations. * Co ordination, administration and control. Supervision and leadership. In nutshell, women entrepreneur are those women who think of a business enterprise,   initiate it organize and combine the factors of production, operate the enterprise,   undertake risk   and handle economic uncertainties involve d in running a business enterprise The role of women entrepreneur in economic development is inevitable. Nowadays, women enter not only in selected professions but also in professions like trade, industry and engineering. Women are also willing to take up business and contribute to the nation's growth. This role is also eing recognized and steps are being taken to promote women entrepreneurship The concept of Women Entrepreneurs may be defined as women or group of women who initiate, organize and run a business enterprise. Women owned businesses are highly increasing in the economies of almost all countries. Women's empowerment in India is still an illusion. Empowering women entrepreneurs is essential for achieving the goals of sustainable development. The government of India safeguards the interests of women authorizer to bring the effective implementation and utilization of social economic and political status of women in India.In order to face the problems faced by women entrepre neurs, the Government of India launched the scheme Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development of Women (TREAD). The main objective of the scheme is to empower women through development of their entrepreneurial skills by eliminating constraints faced by them in their sphere of trade. This assistance is to be provided for self-employment ventures by women pursuing any kind of non-farm activity. Promoting entrepreneurship among women is certainly a shortcut to rapid economic growth and development.A successful woman entrepreneur has the attitude and the inner drive to change her dream and her vision to reality. A successful woman entrepreneur should be given proper empowerment that will increase her success with the society. SOCIAL SCHEMES:Women entrepreneurs have achieved remarkable success. The Micro, Small ; Medium Enterprises Development Organisation (MSME-DO), the various State Small Industries Development Corporations (SSIDCs), the nationalised banks and even NGOs are conducting various programmes including Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs).To cater to the needs of potential women entrepreneurs, who may not have adequate educational background and skills, MSME-DO has introduced process/product oriented EDPs in areas like TV repairing, printed circuit boards, leather goods, screen printing etc. A special prize to â€Å"Outstanding Women Entrepreneur† of the year is being given to recognise achievements made by and to provide incentives to women entrepreneurs. The Office of DC (MSME) has also opened a Women Cell to provide coordination and assistance to women entrepreneurs facing specific problems. There are also several other schemes of the government like the * Income Generating Scheme implemented by the Department of Women and Child Development, which provides assistance for setting up training-cum-income generating activities for needy women to make them economically independent. * The Small Industries Development Bank o f India (SIDBI) has been implementing two special schemes for women namely Mahila Udyam Nidhi which is an exclusive scheme for providing equity to women entrepreneurs and the Mahila Vikas Nidhi which offers developmental assistance for pursuit of income generating activities to women.The SIDBI has also taken initiative to set up an informal channel for credit needs on soft terms giving special emphasis to women. Over and above this, SIDBI also provides training for credit utilisation as also credit delivery skills for the executives of voluntary organisations working for women. * Grant for setting up a production unit is also available under Socio-Economic Programme of Central Social Welfare Board. |

Psychology Reflective Essay

After having various lessons, I would like to have a deeper evaluation of the chapter â€Å"Behavior in Social and Cultural Context† especially the concept of attributions . It is known that there are two types of attributions which are internal attributions and external attributions that we generally use to explain our own or other’s behaviors. Internal factors concern a person’s traits while external factors concern the external environment. In addition, I am actually shocked by the fact that there is a fundamental attribution error when we are explaining others’ behaviors. There is a real-life example that I would like to share. Last Monday, I was stuck in a traffic jam for half an hour on Nathan Road. I had a lesson at 8:30 am in Core A and I reached the pedestrian bridge at 8:25 am, so I was rushing to the classroom. At that moment, a scene annoyed me most and stopped my way to school. A boy who was around six years old was too energetic. He dashed and rushed around on the footbridge that disturbed others’ way. He also guffawed and touched or played with anything and everything he saw. Suddenly, he paced around and glared at his mum. Don’t walk like a stupid pig! Do you know how to walk? I have been waiting for you for so long! †He shouted at his mum. At that moment, I was very angry and strongly believed that the boy was so naughty and disrespectful that he showed his emotions with no restraint and did whatever he likes without regard for consequences. Based on the above case, the correspondence bias leads me to explain the boy’s behavior by ignoring the influence of situation on behavior. For example, actually he is a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, so he cannot be patient and always dash around. However, we tend to emphasize the dispositional attribution that the boy is so naughty and disrespectful. Apparently, we tend to overestimate internal factors and underestimate external factors when explaining others’ behavior. After understanding the concept of fundamental attribution error, I have an enquiry related to it. Is there an error too when we explain our own behaviors? In order to find out the answer of it, I do some researches on it. Afterwards, I found out that the concept of actor-observer bias which is proposed by E. E. Jones and R. E. Nisbett in 1971 gives a clearer picture on the error of explaining our own and others’ behaviors. It states that we as an actor are more likely to attribute our own actions to the particular situation than to a generalization about our personality while the reverse asymmetry held for people being an observer and explaining others’ behaviors. Nevertheless, I have doubts about both the fundamental attribution error and the actor-observer bias. In my opinion, I think that both of the ideas only firmly established when describing negative events. For instance, on the one hand, as an actor, when we get bad result on an exam, we usually attribute the reason to the difficult exam (situational). On the other hand, as an observer, when our friends get bad academic result, we usually attribute the reason to his or her lazy character (dispositional). If the event is positive, the reverse error occurs. With the same example but with the condition that both we and our friends get high marks in the exam, we will attribute the reason to hard-working (dispositional) and easy exam (situational) to explain behaviors respectively. Malle (2006) agrees that a reverse asymmetry held for positive events after conducting a mental-analysis. He states that the discrepancy may indicate a self-serving pattern in attribution that we attribute success to internal factors and failure to external factors. Therefore, I believe that we are explaining others’ by using both the self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error. Overall, the lessons build up my foundation for the psychological concepts and theories and we need to explore the psychological world by ourselves in order to find out more details, conflicts about and relationships between different ideas. For instance, in order to finish this reflective journal, I used Google scholar to search about the actor-observer bias and the criticisms about it that I did not learn on the book and in lessons. By experiencing the searching process, I have deeper understanding on it and it strongly impresses on my memory. The process also enhances my analysis skill, to determine which sources are useful and which sources are not related to my topic. Therefore, I enjoy the process of exploring the psychological knowledge by ourselves.

Free Essays on Oppression Of Women

Women’s Studies 2:30-3:45 MW The social construction of gender and feminist theories of oppression correlate simply because the social construction of gender is the basis for many feminist theories. Oppression is a socio-political system designed to purposely confine, shape, manipulate or reduce a particular class or caste of people solely on arbitrary grounds and for the advantage, of another class. Marlyn Frye states â€Å"a woman in an oppressive society is somehow like a bird in a cage.† Women are oppressed in many ways from issues of sexuality to harassment in the workplace. In one simple example neither sexually active nor nonsexual active women are in the right. A sexually active woman will be thought of as a whore, slut, or nasty. A nonsexual active woman will be thought of as green, unable to sustain a man, or lesbian. Either way the woman cannot win, it is one of the many double standards that women must face everyday. Firestone’s feminist theory argues that â€Å"Women are physically weakened by their reproductive biology and that the male dominated society arbitrarily takes advantage of this fact, and even makes that weakness more drastic.† I believe that this is quite true and that it is wrong to give gender roles. Gender roles are determined by specific biological differences in men and women, such as women are expected to do light weight house work because they are less masculine than a man, or men are taught to fight and be manly as described in â€Å"Learning to Fight†. Because of these gender roles in our society men are typically taught to dominate over women from birth to death and because of this women are unfairly oppressed. But where and why did these gender roles start? There are many explanations to those questions but few right answers. One common answer to that question lies in the bible, Genesis 3:16 â€Å"To the woman he said, I will greatly increase your pains in child bearing; with p... Free Essays on Oppression Of Women Free Essays on Oppression Of Women Women’s Studies 2:30-3:45 MW The social construction of gender and feminist theories of oppression correlate simply because the social construction of gender is the basis for many feminist theories. Oppression is a socio-political system designed to purposely confine, shape, manipulate or reduce a particular class or caste of people solely on arbitrary grounds and for the advantage, of another class. Marlyn Frye states â€Å"a woman in an oppressive society is somehow like a bird in a cage.† Women are oppressed in many ways from issues of sexuality to harassment in the workplace. In one simple example neither sexually active nor nonsexual active women are in the right. A sexually active woman will be thought of as a whore, slut, or nasty. A nonsexual active woman will be thought of as green, unable to sustain a man, or lesbian. Either way the woman cannot win, it is one of the many double standards that women must face everyday. Firestone’s feminist theory argues that â€Å"Women are physically weakened by their reproductive biology and that the male dominated society arbitrarily takes advantage of this fact, and even makes that weakness more drastic.† I believe that this is quite true and that it is wrong to give gender roles. Gender roles are determined by specific biological differences in men and women, such as women are expected to do light weight house work because they are less masculine than a man, or men are taught to fight and be manly as described in â€Å"Learning to Fight†. Because of these gender roles in our society men are typically taught to dominate over women from birth to death and because of this women are unfairly oppressed. But where and why did these gender roles start? There are many explanations to those questions but few right answers. One common answer to that question lies in the bible, Genesis 3:16 â€Å"To the woman he said, I will greatly increase your pains in child bearing; with p...

Agendas of the US House of Representatives and Senate

Agendas of the US House of Representatives and Senate The House of Representatives and the Senate make up the two â€Å"chambers† of the Legislative Branch of the United States federal government. Their daily agendas of legislative business are determined by their presiding officers. In the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House sets the daily agenda, while the Senate’s legislative calendar is set by the Senate majority leader in consultation with the chairmen and ranking members of the various Senate committees. 116th U.S.Congress, 1st Session Agenda items listed here are those published in the Daily Digest of the Congressional Record. The agendas are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the presiding officers. House Agenda for August 2, 2019:  Ã‚  House will meet in Pro Forma session. Note: The rules of suspensions is a shortcut in the legislative process allowing bills with little or no opposition to be grouped together on a Suspensions Calendar and passed en-masse by a voice vote without debate. There is no corresponding rule of suspensions in the Senate. House Roll Call Votes as compiled and reported by the Clerk of the House. Political Makeup of the House 235 Democrats - 199 Republicans - 0 Independents - 1 Vacancy   Senate Agenda for August 2, 2019:   Senate will meet in Pro Forma session   Political Makeup of the Senate 53 Republicans - 45 Democrats - 2 Independents Also See: Quick Study Guide to the US CongressWhat is a Pro Forma Session of Congress?The Supermajority Vote in Congress

Uncovering the Archaeological Remains of Tipis

Uncovering the Archaeological Remains of Tipis A tipi ring is the archaeological remains of a tipi, a dwelling type constructed by North American Plains people between at least as early as 500 BC up until the early 20th century. When Europeans arrived in the great plains of Canada and the United States in the early 19th century, they found thousands of clusters of stone circles, made of small boulders placed at close intervals. The rings ranged in size between seven to 30 feet or more in diameter, and in some cases were embedded into the sod. The Recognition of Tipi Rings The early European explorers in Montana and Alberta, the Dakotas and Wyoming were well aware of the meaning and use of the stone circles, because they saw them in use. The German explorer Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuweid described a Blackfoot camp at Fort McHenry in 1833; later plains travelers reporting the practice included Joseph Nicollet in Minnesota, Cecil Denny at the Assiniboine camp at Fort Walsh in Saskatchewan, and George Bird Grinnell with the Cheyenne. What these explorers saw was the people of the Plains using stones to weigh down the edges of their tipis. When the camp moved, the tipis were taken down and moved with the camp. The rocks were left behind, resulting in a series of stone circles on the ground: and, because the Plains people left their tipi weights behind, we have one of the few ways that domestic life on the Plains can be archaeologically documented. In addition, the rings themselves had and have meaning to the descendants of the groups which created them, beyond the domestic functions: and history, ethnography, and archaeology together ensures that the rings are a source of cultural richness belied by their plainness. Tipi Ring Meaning To some plains groups, the tipi ring is symbolic of the circle, a core concept of the natural environment, the passage of time, and the gloriously endless view in all directions from the Plains. Tipi camps were also organized in a circle. Among Plains Crow traditions, the word for prehistory is Biiaakashissihipee, translated as when we used stones to weigh down our lodges. A Crow legend tells of a boy named Uuwatisee (Big Metal) who brought metal and wooden tipi stakes to the Crow people. Indeed, stone tipi rings dated later than the 19th century is rare. Scheiber and Finley point out that as such, stone circles act as mnemonic devices linking descendants to their ancestors across space and time. They represent the footprint of the lodge, the conceptual and symbolic home of the Crow people. Chambers and Blood (2010) note that tipi rings typically had a doorway facing east, marked by a break in the circle of stones. According to Canadian Blackfoot tradition, when everyone in the tipi died, the entrance was sewn shut and the stone circle was made complete. That happened all too often during the 1837 smallpox epidemic at the Akà ­Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬â„¢nisskoo or Many Dead Kà ­nai (Blackfoot or Siksikà ­tapiiksi) campsite near present-day Lethbridge, Alberta. Collections of stone circles without door openings such as those at Many Dead are thus memorials of the devastation of epidemics on Siksikà ­tapiiksi people. Dating Tipi Rings Untold numbers of tipi ring sites have been destroyed by Euroamerican settlers moving into the Plains, purposefully or not: however, there are still 4,000 stone circle sites recorded in the state of Wyoming alone. Archaeologically, tipi rings have few artifacts associated with them, although there are generally hearths, which can be used to gather radiocarbon dates. The earliest of the tipis in Wyoming date to the Late Archaic period circa 2500 years ago. Dooley (cited in Schieber and Finley) identified increased numbers of tipi rings in the Wyoming site database between AD 700-1000 and AD 1300-1500. They interpret these higher numbers as representing an increased population, increased use of Wyoming trail system and the migrations of Crow from their Hidatsa homeland along the Missouri River in North Dakota. Recent Archaeological Studies Most archaeological studies of tipi rings are the results of large scale surveys with selected pit testing. One recent example was in the Bighorn Canyon of Wyoming, the historic home of several Plains groups, such as the Crow and Shoshone. Researchers Scheiber and Finley used  hand-held Personal Data Assistants (PDAs)  to input data on tipi rings, part of a developed mapping method combining remote sensing, excavation, hand-drawing, computer-assisted drawing, and Magellan Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment. Scheiber and Finley studied 143 oval tipi rings at eight sites, dated between 300 and 2500 years ago. The rings varied in diameter between 160-854 centimeters along their maximum axes, and 130-790 cm on the minimum, with averages of 577 cm maximum and 522 cm minimum. Tipi studied in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were reported as 14-16 feet in diameter. The average doorway in their  dataset  faced north-east, pointing to the midsummer sunrise. The internal  architecture of the Bighorn Canyon group included fire hearths in 43% of the  tipis; external included stone alignments and  cairns thought to represent meat drying racks. Sources Chambers CM, and Blood NJ. 2009.  Love  they  neighbour: Repatriating precarious Blackfoot sites.  International Journal of Canadian Studies  39-40:253-279. Diehl MW. 1992.  Architecture as a Material Correlate of Mobility Strategies: Some Implications for Archeological Interpretation.  Cross-Cultural Research  26(1-4):1-35. doi: 10.1177/106939719202600101 Janes RR. 1989.  A Comment on Microdebitage Analyses and Cultural Site-Formation Processes among Tipi Dwellers.  American Antiquity  54(4):851-855. doi: 10.2307/280693 Orban N. 2011.  Keeping House: A Home for Saskatchewan First Nations Artifacts.  Ã‚  Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie University. Scheiber LL, and Finley JB. 2010.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Domestic campsites and cyber landscapes in the Rocky Mountains.  Antiquity  84(323):114-130. Scheiber LL, and Finley JB. 2012.  Situating (Proto) history on the Northwestern Plains and  Rocky Mountains. In: Pauketat TR, editor.  The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p 347-358. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195380118.013.0029 Seymour DJ. 2012.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€¹When Data Speak Back: Resolving Source Conflict in Apache Residential and Fire-Making Behavior.  International Journal of Historical Archaeology  16(4):828-849. doi: 10.1007/s10761-012-0204-z

Future of Marine Communication in the Navy Essay

Future of Marine Communication in the Navy - Essay Example As ages went by, the more traditional audio/visual aids used under naval communication were replaced by more advance radio, satellite and underwater communication. The need for development of communication systems in Navy was always greater than it was in merchant ships as a larger number of lives depended on it. The atrocities of war always were a far more serious threat and the slightest mistake could result in catastrophic consequences. "Communications is everything, it's the ability to pass information down to our units that are supporting us and are working in our group, and up to our bosses so that they have a feeling of assuredness that we're doing the right thing in a timely fashion, and we're answering their questions, as well", Harris said." (http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.aspstory_id=21269) The most basic form of audio communication was simply through raising a voice by mariners if the vessel is close enough. Another form is through sounding the horn on the ship. For instance, a long blast every two minutes used when operating in a fog. Visual communication was widely practiced through the use of lights. Lights were flashed on and off to signal messages between ships. The use of lighthouse is far old. Many of the basic audio visual aids used for centuries by mariners are still in practice. In 1916, the United States Navy Department was connected by teleph... Communication was established shortly after this between the office of the Secretary of the Navy and the captain of the battleship New Hampshire. The Secretary then gave orders to the ship for the next day's movements, this being the first event that a ship of the Navy was ever operated direct from the department by wireless telephone. This demonstration was followed by communication with various naval stations, widely separated, by long-distance landline. This accomplishment was nothing but a realization towards the wonders which the future brought with development of communication technology in the Navy. The Development of Communication Equipments in the Navy With the realization came concrete steps towards the expansion of the industry of communication equipments for the Navy. Companies started entering into the business of research and manufacturing of such technologies globally. With extensive research a number of systems and technologies emerged. A review of the technologies developed and the companies which developed them is given in the pages that follow. Marcom - Integrated Communications System The Marcom is the foundation of the Navy's newest digital integrated voice / data switching system for affordable command and control equipment supporting communications and radio room automation. It uses latest technology to offer the user of command and control system a low cost, user friendly, solution to the complex voice, video and data communications needs of current and future endeavours. L-3 Communication Systems-East designs, located in New Jersey, is specialized in developing, producing and integrating communication systems and support equipment for naval applications. As part of L-3 Communications Corporation, the company is ranked as one

Strategic Management Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Management Accounting - Research Paper Example Variance analysis helps to determine variation from standards and in turn enhances productivity (Thukkaram, 2007). Any standard setting is a double edged sword, which has its plus points but is not free from certain drawbacks. The paper is an analysis of traditional and modern methods of costing and also, lays down an explanation for each one of these methods, besides recognising the importance of each one in specific industries. The prime objective of the paper is to understand the different methods of costing and analyse and establish the method of costing which is indispensable as per the kind of organizational setting and organizational needs in context. The study was aimed at analysis of various cost measures and their individual suitability to different organizational needs. The scope to fully gauge the benefits of using each one of them was unavailable. Real life case analysis was also not possible for establishment of research findings. Marginal costing can be referred to as a variation of flexible standard costing that helps to distinguish between the fixed costs and variable costs, which depend on per unit of output produced. Marginal costing is helpful in monitoring costs based on resources that drive it. These resources help in segregating costs into fixed and variable elements. Any cost fluctuations observed as a result of operational changes can be accurately predicted and checked with the use of marginal costing. Marginal costing is one method of costing for inventory where all the different variables of manufacturing costs are included as inventory costs. Such costs are incurred and become a part of the cost of goods sold when the product gets sold, while other elements of cost, which is the fixed cost, is taken to be costs for the period within which it is incurred (Kaplan Financial Knowledge Bank, n.d.). Marginal costing tries to capture the behavioural aspects of cost calculation, rather than functional traits of cost. The

Critical Accounting Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Critical Accounting Assignment - Essay Example In addition, companies are wise to consider what their competitors are selling the same product for. If a product is worth $50 and the competitor is selling the product for $49, then matching that $49 is essential unless there is a marketing strategy that promotes the product as being better than what the competitor is offering. Raising prices to a ridiculously high amount is not going to increase profits when many customers are going to ba able to find the same product somewhere else for less money. High prices must be justifiable for a market for the expensive product to develop. One must also consider that consumers seeking a bargain will wait for price cutting to occur. Thrifty consumers are willing to wait until newer models are released so that the prices of the old model are slashed significantly. These are all factors that must be anticipated by the company when establishing what type of profit needs to be expected from the product and in what type of time frame. So, in a linear sense, as time progresses, it is wise for a company to sell output at the highest possible rate that can be justified by the current market. This is noticeable in the cell phone industry. With most cell phone companies, when one signs a contract, a free or reduced price cell phone is given to the customer at time of contract. In many cases though, money can be made on the contract signing with the sale of an upgraded phone. Most individuals with any extra money to spare are going to be lured in by the newest and most muti functional phone. This When these higher tech phones are released onto the market, they are typically very expensive. It is later when they are replaced in the commercials by a newer model that they are sold at more reasonable and reduced prices from their original release price. Customers will often find reduced price, used phones on e-bay. "Elasticity of demand deals with the extent to which costs increase as demand increases." Certainly the video game industry is proof of this statement. When new gaming systems are released onto the market, advertisements explode all over television. Everyone marks the new system on their wish lists and the holiday seasons make it almost impossible to find and purchase whatever is the newest in gaming technology. The video game system companies are clever about advertisement and product testing. They make sure that anyone who has ever enjoyed playing video games in their life, feels the need for the latest system. As this demand increases, shortages follow. This sense of wanting something that you can't have right away causes an even stronger desire for the product and the several hundred dollars charged per system is justifiable. The prices of gaming systems are quite hefty when they are first released. The gaming companies make a huge margin of profit initially and once the prices of the systems are lowered such that almost anyone can afford one, the company has already made more than anticipated profits. "Provided that price is large enough to cover marginal cost of production, sales should be made." The bottom line in any business is to turn a profit. It is important though at difficult economic times to break even. This means that selling a product for the price that it costs to produce. If a product costs a company $10 to produce, and the product is

OPEC not complying under the WTO Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

OPEC not complying under the WTO - Term Paper Example According to documents of the organization, the most important aim of the OPEC is to create the co-ordination of diverse petroleum policies as well as unification and diversification of different petroleum policies along with the member countries and also to set the determination of the most ideal means for preserving their interests, both individually as well as collectively.2 Also these policies and strategies have been established by the organization to create the need for securing a steady stream of income for these oil-producing countries.3 This steady level of income is also expected to produce an efficient economic as well as regulatory supply of oil and petroleum to consuming nations all over the world and a fair return of profit on their capital accumulation to those countries which are investing in petroleum industries of these nations.4In addition to this, OPEC has also suggested to ensure the aim of stabilization of prices of oil in global as well as nationwide oil market s. OPEC assumed a ‘Declaratory Statement of Petroleum Policy in Member Countries’ where it established â€Å"the inalienable right of all countries to exercise permanent sovereignty over their natural resources in the interest of their national development. Membership grew to ten by 1969†5 This policy has been established by the organization with a view regarding elimination of harmful as well as unnecessary fluctuations.6 Currently, OPEC’s membership is consisted of the eleven countries which are: â€Å"Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar, Indonesia, Libya, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Algeria and Nigeria†.7 The first five nations are regarded as Founder Members, and the rest are recognized as Full Members (which have joined the OPEC between the time period of 1961 and 1971). In the year 1992, OPEC comprised thirteen nations as constituents. These included both Ecuador as well as Gabon.8 Pursuant to Statute of the OPEC, nations can be come Full Members under the condition that these nations have a substantial amount of net exports of crude oil or petroleum and also possess alike interests to the member nations. For the purpose of obtaining membership of the organization, a country needs to be accepted by a majority number of 3/4 of the Full Members which include the agreement of all the five Founder Members.9 Under the â€Å"Uruguay Round Agreements†10, it has been suggested by the WTO that members are not allowed to impose export quotas on oil. Hence, while OPEC is an organization based on single product, WTO is a multilateral unit with a larger membership.11 Along with this, the OPEC’s policies in regard to price manipulation have been regarded as one of several most important factors in regard the strategy of establishing high gas prices in last few years. The amounts of this high gas prices are now comprised of average near about $2.20 per gallon.12 United States Senator Frank. R. Lautenberg in an official meeting commented that, â€Å"If you are part of a monopoly like OPEC you cannot belong to the World Trade Organization, which offers all kinds of commercial benefits.†13 On 8th July 2004 a report with the title ‘Busting Up the Cartel: The WTO Case Against OPEC’ was published from the office of the senator Frank Lautenberg in which

Project management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Project management - Research Paper Example In such cases there may be no time for iterations even if it means compromising on product quality. The adaptive model solves these problems and delivers solution according to the situation. This is an excellent model and would fail only if the project team is incompetent to adapt to the changing objectives. Extreme PMLC model has a high probability of failing at each step because the objectives are not known beforehand and are derived from previous phases. Thus, there is a high chance of going awry. The risks associated with this model can be mitigated by high level of client involvement (Wysocki & Rudd, 2003). Critical path chain method proves to be more efficient than critical path method for project management. Critical chain method helps in reducing the project duration by about 30% generally. It leads to better utilization of resources. The critical and non-critical tasks are both given equal attention in this method. Critical path chain method makes optimum use of buffers which is not done in case of critical path method. It also adds the best practices from PMBOK, Lean and Six Sigma to critical path method. For example, Critical path method if used by Navy would tell the critical path but would give misleading information because a number of days in between are safety days or lags which the navy cannot afford. The same are removed in critical path chain

Hospitality Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Hospitality Management - Assignment Example he routines of life, and there are those who travel to see and enjoy the world around them (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-hospitality-management.htm). When people travel, the need for an industry such as hospitality enters. They need to stay in hotel and eat in restaurant. Perhaps travelers are not even aware of it, but they are patronizing hospitality industry. When they step out of the comfort of their own abode, and start to travel they should be rewarded by good hospitality of the places they have chosen to stay. Running travel agencies, hotels and restaurants is not an easy task. It is a very demanding career. People who are involved with this kind of business must possess high quality of hospitality, flexibility, and charm. It should be kept in mind all the time that these travelers are probably strangers in this place, and quality of service would mean a lot to them. Travelers often times come back to a place because they experience great accommodation in establishments they went to. Good service, being polite, good food and clean premises are all associated to a good travel experience. When tourists bid their goodbyes they will take with them the memory of your hospitality. Therefore, it is of an utmost importance that we have the best knowledge, and that we have got the best training in the area of what we are doing when we enter this field of industry. The history of hospitality industry can be traced back to the Colonial Period in the 17th century. There have been many considerable changes from years that passed till the present day. The industry has survived World Wars, the Depression Era, and many more. The commerce of hospitality that we know today has taken its form in 1950s and 1960s, and developed to be a very important industry (Dr. Miller). The word hospitality came from the French word â€Å"hospice† which means literally to provide for the weary and to take care of the travelers. Early industry of hospitality truly started in the days of

Project management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Project management - Research Paper Example In such cases there may be no time for iterations even if it means compromising on product quality. The adaptive model solves these problems and delivers solution according to the situation. This is an excellent model and would fail only if the project team is incompetent to adapt to the changing objectives. Extreme PMLC model has a high probability of failing at each step because the objectives are not known beforehand and are derived from previous phases. Thus, there is a high chance of going awry. The risks associated with this model can be mitigated by high level of client involvement (Wysocki & Rudd, 2003). Critical path chain method proves to be more efficient than critical path method for project management. Critical chain method helps in reducing the project duration by about 30% generally. It leads to better utilization of resources. The critical and non-critical tasks are both given equal attention in this method. Critical path chain method makes optimum use of buffers which is not done in case of critical path method. It also adds the best practices from PMBOK, Lean and Six Sigma to critical path method. For example, Critical path method if used by Navy would tell the critical path but would give misleading information because a number of days in between are safety days or lags which the navy cannot afford. The same are removed in critical path chain

Care Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Care Plan - Assignment Example on the patient was educated on the proper consumption of food, hygiene and other activities so that the clinical care process would not be too debilitating or stressful. Based on the symptoms such as shortness of breath and obstruction in breathing, diagnostic tests were carried out and the final diagnosis was arrived at which was emphysema and COPD. The patient’s case was a Pulmonary Clinical one and he was therefore educated on some of the very important aspects of the case. Firstly, right from the onset, the patient was educated on the importance of taking an active part in the whole health care process from decision – making, planning, assessment and treatment to ensure proper adjustment in the delivery of health care. The patient was kept motivated and focused by the caregiver who showed concern and empathy for the disabilities experienced, through dialogue and communication not only with the patient but with other family members to gauge the level of support rendered by them. Subjective data such as dry cough, shortness of breath, fever, poor appetite, and sore throat were collected for diagnosis. Assessment was made on the background of the patient. Close communication with the patient in the form of dialogue and questioning was maintained throughout the delivery of care, so the patient understood the health issues he faced, and hence would make better adjustments. The patient was a sociable individual who socialized among members of her church and she made regular visits to her primary health care physician and also took part in support groups as she was lonely. She also did sewing to pass her time. Smoking was one of the bad habits she had and she smoked a pack of cigarettes each day which has served to impact her health and worsen the situation, but she denied alcohol abuse. Insurance took care of some of her medical expenses but she also received other medication from her physician. The patient was educated on the harmfulness of smoking and

The Traditional Tok Diagram Essay Example for Free

The Traditional Tok Diagram Essay The traditional TOK diagram indicates four ways of knowing. Propose the inclusion of a fifth way of knowing selected from intuition, memory or imagination, and explore the knowledge issues it may raise in two areas of knowledge. Our whole life is a continuous process of gaining information. This information is our basic knowledge about the world. It is coming in different forms, from different sources. And it is vitally important to store this information, in order to understand your own present. That is why I think people have a memory. My personal interpretation of memory is similar to a log-book. My experience is the notes I am writing in my life journey. Like memories, many of notes will eventually vanish, other will stay forever. But, is it possible for memory to function as a way of knowing (WOK)? Can I use my memory to gain knowledge about something? In TOK, I used to think that we cannot gain knowledge through memory, as it depended on WOKs as a source of knowledge. Memory is interpreted as storage for the gained knowledge and experience. However, is possible for WOKs themselves be depended on memory? My life, views and tastes are result of my past experience. So, it can be said that our reasoning is coming from analysis of previous experience and memory. In this essay, I will exploit reliability of memory as way of knowing and issues it may rise in areas of knowledge (AOK). We are living in building up our memory. It changes and vanishes like paintings. My first issues about memory were consisted in area of art. I thought how I our knowledge of the past influencing view on art? In the past, Shakespeare wasn’t famous in England. Only after decades his name became known to whole England, and now, he is standing among the greatest writers of all time. Same thing with me, I remember how I read Shakespeare poem once and I didn’t know who he was. It meant I didn’t have knowledge about him, so when I read it I didn’t like it that much. I thought it was too simple. However, when I studied about his past, his works and poems in school, my opinion about him changed. I updated my memory, thus knowledge about him and it changed my perspectives about his writing. Now when I see one of his poems, I automatically make a reason about this poem as a good piece of work before actually reading poem itself. So, can it be considered that memory is central WOK in art? What kind of connection between WOKs and memory? For example perception, e.g. seeing by itself is nothing than just lighting is interacting with eye. Use of memory helps to verify these â€Å"pictures† and classify them. Thus, our experience of the past helping us to understand the present. But, can we use memory as source of knowledge? For example, sculpture or drawing in art. Painter should have some information about an object that he wants to draw, as for making sculpture you need to memorize body forms. From all WOKs, reason is mostly depended on memory, as we can’t make decisions without using our past memory. Here is another issue arising. How somebody can propose knowledge claims without using a memory? Can I make a logically correct reason without using previous information that already stored in my head? This is a tricky part about memory being a WOK. It is assumed that memory is depended on other WOKs and knowledge stored in memory gained by traditional WOKs, e.g. perception. However, use of these four WOKs imply help of memory, we always use our previous experience in understanding present. Memory is connecting new knowledge to information from our past experience, so items are stored in relation to each other and their meaning coming from the knowledge which they are associated with. This is why for instance thinking about ocean, fish, danger and blood automatically pops shark into my conscious mind. Better example for that claim will be Gestalt Theory. It is based on pictures of different shapes which are forming different elements or things. Whole process is depended on point of your personal view, mainly memory that will trigger from seeing those forms. Famous example of this theory will picture of young lady and old woman. Both of images are correct, but knowledge we get from these shapes are different. It shows significance of using of memory. We see different relations to our memory, thus different pictures. Brain is not interested in storing exact copies, it interested in storing information and it distils and organizes this information for future use. We continually update information in circles. But, sometimes it creates bags in our brain. Example for that will be testimony; there is a lot of evidence of false decisions in courts. Memory influenced by our eyewitness and WOKs is giving us incorrect information. By now, I assumed memory as a depended element of gaining knowledge. But, can role of memory be considered as independent source of knowledge, while other WOKs are depending on it? Consider this knowledge claim. Good example for that can be shown in Human science area. Specifically in performance of football player on TV program called â€Å"Tested to the limit†. This player was tested in four categories: body strength, mental ability, technique and skill. In mental ability category, the coach was asked to give a corner kick to the player. However, as soon as the coach’s foot touched the ball, the lights went out. Player had to stroke in darkness. So, in TOK terms it meant that football player should use only his experience in order to make a reason of the ball flight and succeed. His basic sources of knowledge like perception and language were eliminated. Thus, his memory played a key factor. However, I questioned myself â€Å"How football player can use his memory to reason without any precondition for using his past experience?† Memory wasn’t his initial source of knowledge. In the beginning, perception was used e.g. he saw how ball was kicked. Reading the body language and subconscious analyze of the ball flight is a result of memory which was triggered by perception. It shows how closely WOKs are interacting with memory. Although, it wasn’t initial knowledge, memory took role of basic source of knowledge. Reason was fully depended on memory experience, and produced as result of memory process. Football player succeeded, his subconscious ability has come from thousands of practice hours which filled his mind with so many permutations of game to tap in to. It is a same as you studying another subject, like learning a new language. You are basically building up experience, learning basic rules of grammar and vocabulary. Thus as you become more fluent in a language, you don’t think about it as much. Same with football player, his vast experience gives him inability to intuitively read the game. I could say memory and experience his main weapons in football. To conclude my essay, it is important to evaluate position of memory in theory of knowledge. As I said before, memory is very tricky concept, it is hard to tell, are the WOKs depended on memory or reverse. In my opinion memory is not a WOK. However it is already included in each of traditional WOKs, as it is playing role of connecting bridge between them. Memory is overlaid on top of each other. So, things you learnt make past information you remembered look little bit different. Our memory explains knowledge we gain and relates it to our experience. Role of memory is vital, but its power stored in its ability to be storage of our knowledge and experience, because these elements are base of our life.

Customers Satisfaction Services

Customers Satisfaction Services INTRODUCTION Organizations have been increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organizations products. Because satisfaction is basically a psychological state, care should be taken in the effort of quantitative measurement, although a large quantity of research in this area has recently been developed. Work done by Berry, Brodeur between 1990 and 1998(1) defined ten Quality Values which influence satisfaction behavior, further expanded by Berry in 2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten domains of satisfaction include: Quality, Value, Timeliness, Efficiency, Ease of Access, Environment, Inter-departmental Teamwork, Front line Service Behaviors, Commitment to the Customer and Innovation. These factors are emphasized for continuous improvement and organizational change measurement and are most often utilized to develop the architecture for satisfaction measurement as an integrated model. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry between 1985 and 1988 provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the custom ers expectation of performance and their perceived experience of performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction gap which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor propose the confirmation/disconfirmation theory of combining the gap described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and expectation of performance) into a single measurement of performance according to expectation. According to Garbrand, customer satisfaction equals perception of performance divided by expectation of performance. The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey (2) with a set of statements using a Likert Technique or scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement and in term of their perception and expectation of the performance of the organisation being measured. To efficiently deal with customer satisfaction, coordination of all departments of a company, from the marketing to the human resources, operations and financial departments is not only critical, but they should also be involved in the process. The aim of this report is to reflect on the customer satisfaction in all the processes and operations at the NIKE, Inc. The focus will be on the numerous systems and activities set up by the company to meet overall customer satisfaction. However, it would be of great relevance to firstly investigate who is a customer in general and what is the nature of customer service. A literature review on customer satisfaction and an assessment of the business environment will then follow. Secondly, an analysis of customer satisfaction through the various processes and systems established at the NIKE, Inc. will be undertaken. In a third chapter, an evaluation of customer satisfaction at the BMW Group in relation to the theories will be carried out. Finally, a conclusion and recommendations will follow. Company Background Nikes Heritage NIKE, pronounced NI-KEY, is the winged goddess of victory according to Greek mythology. She sat at the side of Zeus, the ruler of the Olympic pantheon, in Olympus. A mystical presence, symbolizing victorious encounters, NIKE presided over historys earliest battlefields. A Greek would say, When we go to battle and win, we say it is NIKE. Synonymous with honored conquest, NIKE is the twentieth century footwear that lifts the worlds greatest athletes to new levels of mastery and achievement. The NIKE swoosh embodies the spirit of the winged goddess who inspired the most courageous and chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization. (from Nike Consumer Affairs packet, 1996) The Swoosh The SWOOSH logo is a graphic design created by Caroline Davidson in 1971. It represents the wing of the Greek Goddess NIKE. Caroline Davidson was a student at Portland State University in advertising. She met Phil Knight while he was teaching accounting classes and she started doing some freelance work for his company. Phil Knight asked Caroline to design a logo that could be placed on the side of a shoe. She handed him the SWOOSH, he handed her $35.00. In spring of 1972, the first shoe with the NIKE SWOOSH was introduced. (from Nike Consumer Affairs packet, 1996) History Nike was founded in the year of 1968 by Philip H. Knight, who is currently the Owner, Chairman, and CEO of the company.   Phil Knight completed his education from the University of Oregon and the Stanford Business School by 1962, (Moore, 128).   As an aspiring young business man, he decided to travel to Japan and speak to the president of Tiger shoes.   He presented himself as an American distributor of athletic equipment when he actually had nothing.   He was pretty sneaky, however, he got what he wanted and began selling running shoes under the name of Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS). Once he became bored with selling shoes at sporting events from the back of his truck, he began producing his own athletic apparel, (nike/history.htm).   He renamed his so-called company Nike and hoped for the best to happen.   Within the first year, he sold $8000.00 worth of shoes and only received a $250.00 profit, (nike/history.htm).   After some time, Knight turned to his old coach from sch ool, Bill Bowerman, for advice on what to do next.   Phil Knight wanted Nike to stand out above the rest.   Once Bill Bowerman came up with the idea for having traction on the bottom of shoes, Nike had finally made its mark, (nike/history.htm).   The Nike Waffle Trainer stood out and made Nike the most unique shoe company of the 1970s.    By the year of 1979, Nike was the most well-known shoe company in the world.   They no longer just sold shoes but sporting equipment as well.   However, the joy of being on top came crashing down when Reebok surpassed Nike with the aerobic phase in athletics.   In order to maintain the reputation of Nike, the worlds best shoe corporation, Nike struck back by diversifying their shoes for different kinds of sports activities.   Nike continued to rise in success throughout its prosperity by signing famous sports players ( ex. Michael Jordan) and using intelligent advertising tactics, (nike/history.htm).   Today, Nike is a four billio n dollar business that has had its ups and downs.   As of now, Nike is having difficulties with the publicity it is receiving about its labor practices in China, South Korea, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Chapter 1: Theoretical aspects of customer satisfaction 1. The concept of customer in general A customer refers to individuals or households that purchase goods and services generated within the economy. The word historically derives from custom, meaning habit; a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods there, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his or her custom, meaning expected purchases in the future. Customer needs may be defined as the goods or services a customer requires to achieve specific goals. Different needs are of varying importance to the customer. Customer expectations are influenced by cultural values, advertising, marketing, and other communications, both with the supplier and with other sources. Both customer needs and expectations may be determined through interviews, surveys, conversations, data mining or other methods of collecting information. Customers at times do not have a clear understanding of their needs. Assisting in determining needs can be a valuable service to the customer. In the process, expectations may be set or adjusted to correspond to known product capabilities or service. 1.1 Customer Service Customers are the essential to the business. Basically, the business makes profit from the product sales, so it depends how many customers purchase the companys products. Recently, most of firms are not only to focus their products decoration and price, but also pay attention to the those customer whom buy the products. For instance: listen with understanding, ask questions, apologize, take fair and corrective action and remain courteous to the customers.The profit of a business increase markedly the more loyal, long-standing customers it has. Therefore, it is crucial to provide an excellent service to attract and keep the customer. To begin with, a customer who is a person or business buying goods or services from another. And the customer service is helping and supporting the customer before, during and after they purchase the product. Normally, the customers can be broken into to two types categories: external and internal. External customers are who buy goods or services that are not employed by or combined with the business selling the goods or providing the service. Internal customers which means the people within an organization to whom work is passed or to whim a service provided. The four basic aims for the customers are, what they want, when they want, where there want it and what price they willing to pay. Nowadays, the customers service is quite important to a firm, because of the following reasons. First one is to make the business profitable; of course, it is most important principle to a firm. The second reason, it is differentiation with other competitors. In a market, may be have many of firms produce the products almost the same style, same quality and same price. Hence, the customers might depends the which firms can be provided good service, and this can be helped them to make a decision to buy which brand of product. Beside that above two reasons, if the company provides the excellent services to the customer, who will come back. This is the key for a firm to live longer in a competition market. How many customers will do â€Å"repeat business† with company according to how better services they can obtain. Lastly, as the similar reason with second one, which is increasing competition in the market. Especially, currently most of Mutil-company joining into the domestic e conomic, therefore, the firms really needs to keep their good customer service that not going to be eliminated by the market. Customer services are so crucial to any company, hence, there have some ways that to provide an excellent customer service. First of all, responding any questions from customers. Whatever from the customer calls, E-mail and letters. Customers have higher requirement of response time. If the customer will not be answered quickly, they may think that they are not important and have been ignored; and start to move to other company. One example, like UGR company, we have three groups each week and many sales people to do the same job, which is responding the customers E-mails or letters. However, due to the improper manage, lots of letters and E-mails response to one customer too many times, in contrast, other customers have been ignored. As a result, the company will lose the business with those customers. Secondly, understanding the customers need, such as satisfy customers emotional satisfaction. There are 4 main points that the enterprise should achieve to satisfy customers emotional needs. Fist one is making the customers feel to be understood. This depends on the communication between the company and clients, like a good listener, it lets the customer feel nothing is hindering between their and the company. The second one is to feel welcome. They like to feel that you are happy to see them and that they are important to you. Welcome delivery the image about that the company is happy to see them to the customer. Then the customers need to feel to be important. Ensuring that every customer feels that they are attached importance. To feel important can increase the goods that are consumed by every customer, because they feel the company respects them. Finally, the company should supply a comfort environment to the customer, such as good decoration, a nice music, some soft seats to si t and cup of drinks. All of these images not only make the customers have a happy mood, but also give them a feeling of that the company can take care them properly. To be a great people is other point. For example, speak to people, smile, be friendly and helpful, call people by name, enjoy yourself, be genuine ,be considerate, be thoughtful, be willing and be generous. Sometimes, I do not want to buy something from shop, however, the staffs make me feel they are polite and have a beautiful smile. Therefore, I change my mind to buy something. The other point is listening and communication with your workers. A good leader who is always concerns their employees thinking. Workers to understand that their own well-being is affected by providing good customer service. For example, I had a part-time job before, which is selling the earrings and necklaces. In the first few weeks, my boss just told me try to sell them as much as you can, but she did not taught me how to do. Later, I told her I do not how to describe the feature about each style and she taught me how to say, at the end, I sold many products. Hence, the communication is quite important between the boss and work. Lastly, the enterprise attempts to reducing high product in order to reduce the loss in the business. The enterprise needs concern the household in the whole economy. Most of people cannot afford the high price. Therefore, for the firms might be lost some customers that affect the profit into the business. For instance, if I am going to buy a laptop, the first thing I see the price then its function. I think not too many people can afford high price whether it has high-tech. So, the company might be lost that kind of customer who really cares about the price. In conclusion, the keys of keep a high customer loyalty is to provide the service that could satisfy the customers wants, needs and use proper attitude. However, it is the most important to understand that to deliver the excellent service makes more profit to the business. 1.2. SWOT and PEST analyses of the business environment 1.2.1. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis summarizes the key issues from an analysis of the business environment and the strategic capability of an organization. The main objectives of conducting SWOT analysis is to identify the extent to which the current strategy of an organization and its more specific strength and weaknesses are relevant to, and capable of, dealing with the changes taking place in the business environment. It also uses to assess whether there are opportunities to exploit further the unique resources or core competence of organization. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths Strengths are internal characteristic that has the potential of improving the organizations competitive situation. Every organization has some strength. A strength could be: * A new product or service * New machinery or equipment. * Strong market share. * Strong financial. * Specialist Hardware and Software expertise. Weaknesses Weaknesses are an internal characteristics that leaves the organization potentially vulnerable to strategic moves by competitors. Every organization also has some weakness. A weakness could be: * Poor reputation. * Lack of marketing strategies. * Location of the business in respect of the market-place. * Poor after-sales service record. Opportunities Opportunities are an environment situation that offers significant prospects for improving an organizations situation relative to competitors. All organizations have some opportunities that they can gain from. These could range from diversification to sale of operations. An opportunity could be: * A new or developing market. * Possibility of purchasing an effective competitor. * Government grants offered for new market development. The possibility of cheaper raw materials. Threats Threats are an environment situation that offers significant prospects for undermining an organizations competitive situation. No organization is exceptional to threats. These could be internal, such as falling productivity. Or they could be external, such as lower priced international competition. A threat could be: * Competitors developing new products or services. * Extra competitors in the main market area. * High bargaining power of suppliers. * Taxation is introduced on the products or services 1.2.2. PEST Analysis A PEST analysis, as defined by David Lines et al is Political, Economical, Social and Technological analysis, a means of analysing the external factors that may present opportunities or threats to a business.'(David Lines et al, 2004:p212 ). It is also known as PESTEL analysis when Environmental and Legal factors are included. It is used to identify external factors which may affect a company. (http://www.marketing-intelligence.co.uk/help/QA/question24.htm) The political factors PEST looks at include government stability, taxation policy, foreign trade regulations and social welfare policies. Foreign trade regulations in particular are important for an organisation planning on opening up in a different country or trading with a different country as their laws may differ from those the organisation already employs. Economical factors include business cycles, interest rates, money supply, inflation, unemployment and disposable income. An organisation planning on breaking into a new market would be well advised to look at the economical factors that may affect their proposed business plans, such as market trends and consumer patterns. Sociocultural factors, such as population demographics, social mobility, lifestyle changes, consumerism and levels of education, should also be monitored closely, and example being the tobacco industry. With people becoming more health conscious and with social pressures on smokers growing in western countries the sales of tobacco have been adversely affected in this market. Anti smoking campaigns, restrictions on advertising and packaging and the banning of smoking in most public places, as well as heavy taxes and court cases, have led tobacco companies to concentrate their marketing efforts mainly on the developing world.(Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes, 2002) Technological factors include new discoveries, speed of technological transfer, government spending on research and rates of obsolescence. These are important factors to watch, especially for people in the hi-technology industry which changes constantly. For example in the mobile phones industry new models with bigger memory, new extras and applications and other technological advances have replaced the original mobile. A mobile phone is no longer just a mobile phone but a computer, diary, calendar, and in some cases office. With new models coming out almost every month it is important the mobile phone companies keep up with current trends to ensure their mobiles do not become obsolete. 1.3. Service/ Product quality In its broadest sense, quality is a degree of excellence: the extent to which something is fit for its purpose. In the narrow sense, product or service quality is defined as conformance with requirement, freedom from defects or contamination, or simply a degree of customer satisfaction. In quality management, quality is defined as the totality of characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability to satisfy stated and implied needs. Quality is also rapidly embracing the nature or degree of impact an organisation has on its stakeholders, environment and society. Meeting requirements Specifications are an imprecise means of conveying subjective aspects not everything can be reduced to figures or measurable characteristics. For instance, the characteristics of friendliness or courtesy in a service industry are difficult to measure reliably and repeatedly. Therefore, conformance to requirements is not necessarily all there is to achieving quality. Quality is a result Quality is the result of a comparison between what was required and what was provided. It is judged not by the producer but by the receiver. The judgement can be made of an intention, as is the case when selecting suppliers, or an output, as is the case when purchasing a product or service. Customer satisfaction The only true measure of acceptable quality is customer satisfaction, which takes into account both objective and subjective interpretations of the needs and expectations of customers. If customers are satisfied with the products and services offered, the organisation has not only correctly interpreted customer needs and expectations but it is also providing products and services of acceptable quality. Changing customer perceptions Customer needs and expectations are constantly changing. Awareness of new technology, legislation, problems, competitor products or services creates new wants for customers. Wants turn into demands when these customers begin their next purchase. Therefore, it is vital for organisations to constantly improve quality so that satisfied customers are retained as well as created. Quality and value Value is not a price tag but a measure of the benefits derived from a product or service for what is given in return. A product may well meet physical and functional requirements but be overpriced when compared to others of the same class and grade. Alternatively, the same product may be on offer at another store for 50 per cent less, indicating exceedingly good value for money. In an effort to reduce costs, some organisations have forgotten that it is the quality of the complete transaction that counts. Getting product quality right while ignoring the human relationship between customer and supplier will not lead to satisfied customers. What quality is not? Quality is not perfection, a standard, a procedure, a measure or an adjective. No amount of inspection changes the quality of a product or service. Quality does not exist in isolation there has to be an entity, the quality of which is being discussed. Quality is not a specific characteristic of an entity but the extent to which that characteristic meets certain needs. The value of the characteristic is unimportant it is how its value compares with customer needs that signifies its quality. Why should an organisation be interested in quality? Every business exists not to make a profit, as many would have us believe, but to create and retain satisfied customers. A business would have no profits if it failed to create and retain satisfied customers. Providing products and services which meet customer needs and expectations creates satisfied customers. Anticipating future needs and expectations retains satisfied customers. Therefore, quality is vital to the survival of every enterprise. What does quality apply to? Every product, service, process, task, action, decision can either be acceptable or unacceptable. Hence, there is an intrinsic quality in everything that an organisation does. Everyone must pay attention to quality, from the chief executive to the shopfloor across all functions in an enterprise. It is as important for support staff to pay attention to quality as production staff. Who is responsible for quality? One can only be responsible for doing something relative to quality. Hence a person can be responsible for: specifying quality requirements achieving quality requirements determining the quality of something Assigning responsibility means giving a person the right to cause things to happen and with this right should be delegated the authority to control the processes which deliver the output the quality of which the person is responsible for. One manager cannot be made responsible for quality within an organisation unless that manager is the CEO. All a specialist manager such as a Quality Manager can do it is to enable others to achieve quality by providing encouragement, leadership, training, tools, techniques and performance data. However, it is important for someone in the business to give leadership and results on quality performance and this person needs special knowledge and skills. How can quality be achieved? Several methods have evolved to achieve, sustain and improve quality. They are known as quality control, quality improvement and quality assurance collectively known as quality management. Quality management is not the preserve of one manager but of all managers. Quality is achieved through a chain of processes, each of which has to be under control and subject to continual improvement. The chain starts with top management expressing a firm commitment to quality, then: establishing customer needs and expectations developing and maintaining a management system that will enable achievement of customer needs and expectations reliably, repeatedly and economically designing products and services with features which reflect customer needs building products and services so as to reproduce faithfully the design verifying before delivery that products and services possess the features required preventing the supply of products and services which possess features which dissatisfy customers discovering and eliminating undesirable features in products and services finding less expensive solutions to customer needs making operations more efficient and effective discovering what will delight customers and providing it most importantly, honouring commitments A variety of standards, philosophies, methodologies, tools, techniques and measures have been developed to help organisations meet these goals: management systems ISO 9000, ISO 14000, BS 8800, BS 7799 philosophies total quality management methodologies business process management, continual improvement tools and techniques process charts, failure mode and effects analysis, statistical process control, quality function deployment measures quality awards, best value, ISO 9000 and Investors in People All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording and/or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers. This publication may not be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form, binding or cover other than that in which it is published without the prior consent of the publishers. 3. Literature review on customer satisfaction 3.1. What is customer satisfaction? Customer satisfaction is the provision of goods or services which fulfil the customers expectations in terms of quality and service, in relation to price paid. Customer satisfaction can help the businesses achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It is about understanding the way a customer feels after purchasing a product or service and, in particular, whether or not that product or service met the customers expectations. Customers primarily form their expectations through past purchasing experiences, word-of-mouth from family, friends and colleagues and information delivered through marketing activities, such as advertising or public relations. If the customers expectation is not met, they will be dissatisfied and it is very likely they will tell others about their experience. Why customer satisfaction is important? The organisations should not underestimate the value of customer satisfaction. It is becoming an important area of competition. A high level of satisfaction can deliver many benefits, including: -Loyalty: a highly satisfied customer is a loyal customer. -Repeat purchase: a highly satisfied customer buys more products. -Referrals: a highly satisfied customer tells their family and friends about the product or service. -Retention: a highly satisfied customer is less likely to switch brands. -Reduced costs: a highly satisfied customer costs less to serve than a new customer. -Premium prices: a highly satisfied customer is willing to pay more for the product or service. Not happy Jan Monitoring customer satisfaction is important because we are much more likely to tell our friends and family about a bad experience with a product or service than a good experience. The introduction of blogs and websites such as www.notgoodenough.com.au has provided customers with an excellent platform to spread the bad word about a product or service to thousands of people. And theres always the threat of negative publicity generated from current affairs programs or other media outlets. Dont learn the lesson about customer satisfaction the hard way! Customer satisfaction research Satisfaction surveys are an important method for collecting information about how the customers think and feel about the organisations brand, product or service. A satisfaction survey can help the organisations to understand the expectations of their customers, determine whether the customers believe they are meeting those expectations, identify new customer requirements or trends in the market and determine what areas of the organisations business need investment. A good customer satisfaction survey will also help the organisations to understand the causes of dissatisfaction among their customers. Once the organisations have identified these issues, they will be able to implement new practices to improve customer satisfaction. Many businesses systematically measure customer satisfaction through independent surveys, feedback forms, mystery shopping and focus groups. Some third party surveys also compare the customer satisfaction of major competitors, which allows companies to benchmark themselves in their relevant sector. Measuring customer satisfaction doesnt have to be expensive. It can be as simple as preparing a short feedback form or conducting a brief telephone interview that asks the customer to rate the product or service on a number of criteria. Indicators of customer satisfaction An important indicator of customer satisfaction is the customer retention rate. To calculate the customer retention rate, the organisations will need to capture data about the total number of customers and the number of customers switching brands. If they track this information ove

Drinking Water Shortage and Water Conservation Essay -- Drinking Water

Water is everywhere. Not only does water surround the continents but also we are mostly made up of water and also need it to survive. If we don’t have access to water it will significantly affect our health. The economy will be affected by the water and how expensive it will be. This will lead to the environmental effects, with farmers not having enough water to keep their farms going. A variety of authors demonstrate throughout their articles that water is a limited resource and that humans need to start taking action in every aspect of their lives. However, water conservation cannot be solved in one way. In order to address the issues of water conservation, we need to inform people, regulate businesses and protect resources across the globe. These practices in water conservation will help people in the followings ways: internationally, socially, educationally, economically and environmentally. We live in a modern world yet there are still people who die from poor sanitation across the nation. The lack of not having good sanitation system like toilets and sewage leads millions of people to die from diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera (Leslie 1). Since the world population is growing so rapidly, this will lead to worse sanitation then it will conclude with more people dying from the lack of clean water (Leslie 1). These people who die every year need to have access to clean water, and their country needs to start taking advantage of their water and not let people die because of unnecessary causes. There is so much more water that is held underground and Leslies states that â€Å"compared with the earth’s visible freshwater-in lakes, ponds, and rivers-the amount of water stored in underground aquifer is sixty times as large.† ... ... worries." The Economist 398 (Jan. 2011): 32. ProQuest. Corral-Verdugo, Victor, et al. "Residential Water Consumption, Motivation for Conserving Water and the Continuing Tragedy of the Commons." Environmental Management (2002): 527-535. ProQuest. Rosenberg, David M, Patrick McCully, and Catherine M Pringle. "Global-Scale Environmental Effects of Hydrological Alterations: Introduction ." Bioscience (Sept. 2000): n. pag. Research Library . "Water Waste." ICIS Chemical Business. N.p., 25 Aug. 2008. Leaders: The World's Most Valuable Stuff; Water. (2010, May). The Economist, 395(8683), 14-16. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power Hearing :The FY2012 Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Budgets[4]. (2011, March). Congressional Documents and Publications.

Discursive Essay – Size Zero

Discursive Essay Size zero In our society, image is everything. We strive for what is considered to be the â€Å"ideal appearance†. For the modern generation, fashion is uppermost. For some girls our ambition is to become â€Å"size zero†. We want or need to show we are following the latest fashion trends. However, recent news reports indicate that size zero models are obsessed with their size that they become anorexic. Being fascinated by the fashion industry myself, it is important to explore the question: â€Å"Why should or should not size zero models be allowed to walk on the catwalk? † Size zero models should not be allowed on the catwalk. They are a bad influence on teenage girls who ape or desire to look like these size zero â€Å"role† models. Young girls who attempt a â€Å"zero† do not develop as they should. They are more likely to have severe health concerns later on in life. They are less likely to work and will need a great deal of health care assistance, the tax payer’s will end up bearing the financial strain as they will have to pay more taxes because these girls will require nhs when they start to get health problems. A further argument that we frequently encounter, is that size zero puts pressure on young women who are overweight. By comparing themselves to â€Å"zeros† young women only achieve low self-esteem. They are made to think they are unattractive. They go through the stress of unsafe cosmetic surgeries such as tummy tucks, to appear like fashion icons. Celebrity nutritionist Dr Adam Carey says that, â€Å"I think the current vogue is macabre. I think it is obscene and it is very unhealthy. † It is also argued that many girls who are wanting to become models in the future, put themselves through a lot of anxiety to be emaciated and slim, so they get accepted in the fashion industry. These girls attempt to try to be lean by starving themselves which can result in eating disorders. A popular singer celebrity called Rihanna states that, â€Å"You shouldn't be pressured into trying to be thin by the fashion industry, because they only want models that are like human mannequins. † I agree with this statement. I believe you should do what you feel comfortable with, and not do something that will harm yourself and your health. In addition, women that are outsized will stop buying clothes from the shopping malls, as they will sense, that they don’t look tempting when they try on the most recent designer clothes. This implies, that clothing stores will suffer a financial loss because of size zero models when outsized women make up more than fifty percent of the population and can‘t find clothe that fit them. Statistics show that, â€Å"up to 66% of the US population is overweight† Furthermore, size zero may possibly harm our health to a really risky extent. Many size zero models have died of anorexia due to this size zero craze. â€Å"In August 2006, 22-year-old Uruguayan model Luisel Ramsol died after starving herself. She had tried to live on nothing but Diet Coke and lettuce leaves for three months†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦In November of the same year, 21-year-old Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston died from anorexia. † The obsession with size zero could lead to many more such tragedies. Contrary to this, many people argue that size zero models are in fact a good influence on people who are obese in society. Size zero encourages them to lose excess fat from their body. It is also said that there are many more health problems associated with obesity compared to anorexia. If obese people look on size zero models as role models they will eventually become fit and healthy. Another counter argument is that, most size zero models are naturally skinny, they don’t starve themselves or put stress on themselves to shrink to a size zero. They may look unhealthy at times, but that’s the way their bodies have been made, with a fast metabolism. Models that are naturally size zero should be allowed on the catwalks as they are not damaging their health. Likewise, there are those who say that designer clothes look more striking on really skeletal models. People are more likely to buy designer clothes when they perceive that these models have worn them. This is an advantage for the designer, as he/she will be making a fortune if his or her designer clothes start selling in high volumes in the shopping malls because of their size zero models. Lastly, many people say that size zero leads to anorexia , eating disorders and health problems. This may not be the case for all. There will be some size zero models who are healthy, and eat their regular balanced diets, full of nutrition, but do not have fattening foods such as butter, meat, sweets and oily food. They just eat the right amount of food that they need for each day. After evaluating these arguments, my conclusion seems inevitable. The arguments against size zero models outweigh the arguments for size zero models. My question in the introduction, â€Å"Why should or should not size zero models be allowed to walk on catwalk? † has come to a conclusion. My point of view is that the â€Å"zeros† shouldn’t be allowed to walk the catwalks. This is because there have been many deaths caused by the size zero trend. Size zero does not look healthy. It does not set a good example for younger girls. I only want to see a skeleton in a museum, not wearing my clothes! Zero isn’t even a real number! Give me a 10, 12, 14 any day! oppression Bibliography By Iram Mahmood 5e 947 words