FedEx Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

FedEx - Assignment Example This means that the company hopes to gather the greatest amount of market share and become the market leader within the industry. For this, the company has kept up three pillars and those pillars are as follows: The company wishes to bring sustainable growth to its earnings. The company kept a target of maintaining a 10% plus operating margin and an increase in the earnings per share from 10% to 15%. This result was achieved by the company as it achieved a 13% increase in its revenue and 20% increase in its earnings per share. Secondly, the company focused on improving its ethical stance towards the global market and the environment in which it operates and this was practically showed by the company when it donated $5 million in disaster relief work within Japan Finally, the company focused on improving its reputation within the global market and was able to enhance its image successfully. This had been reflected and reported in the Fortune’s magazine when Fedex became a part of 10 most admired companies (Annual Report,

Formative Assessment Essay Example for Free

Formative Assessment Essay Chapter IV A Fundamental Duties ARTICLE 51A Fundamental Duties It shall be the duty of every citizen of India(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem; (b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom; (c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; (d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so; (e) To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; (f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; (g) To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wild life and to have compassion for living creatures; (h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform; (i) (j) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence; to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement. CONTENTS Page No. Acknowledgments Preface Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation School Based Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation Continuous Comprehensive Assessment and Evaluation in e-Typewriting- English/Hindi Assessment Rubrics e-Typewriting Syllabus and Scheme of Examination for Class IX TERM-I Unit 1: Introduction to e-Typewriting Unit 2: Keyboard Layout (QWERTY INSCRIPT) Unit 3: Touch Typewriting 10 16 21 XL XLI 1 (I) (II) (IX) TERM-II Unit 4: Introduction to Word Processing 29 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ADVISORY BODY †¢ Shri Vineet Joshi, Chairman CBSE. †¢ Dr. Sadhana Parashar, Head Innovations Research, CBSE. EDITING COMMITTEE †¢ Prof. Om Vikas, Retd. Prof. from DIT, Government of India. MATERIAL PRODUCTION GROUP †¢ Mr. Yogesh Kumar HOD, Computer Science. Meera Model School, Delhi. †¢ Dr. D. P. Bhatia, Mata Sundri College,University of Delhi. †¢ Ms. Gayatri Subramanian, Consultant, Ministry of Corporate Affairs , Govt of India. †¢ Mrs. Sunita Chug, Senior Lecturer, Mira Bai Polytechnic, Maharani Bagh, New Delhi. †¢ Mrs. Nancy Sehgal, Mata Jai Kaur School, Delhi. CO-ORDINATION †¢ Mrs. Sugandh Sharma, Education Officer (Commerce) CBSE. PREFACE Typewriters were developed to prepare documents with uniform letter prints, to overcome illegibility of hand written material and produce documents faster. Initially typewriters were mechanical, then electric and electronic typewriters came into being. Over a period, QWERTY keyboard layout was in use and it became the defacto standard for Roman Typewriting. Computers also use keyboard as an input device. Keyboard layout has specific letter on key allocation on the basis of frequency and count of letters over a fairly large sample of documents. High frequency letters are on middle/home row, distributed on both sides. For Indic scripts, Standard keyboard Layout is INSCRIPT. Mechanical typewriters are now becoming fast extinct. Computer empowers the user to input information with accuracy, speed and additional features of Word processing. The syllabus of Typewriting is hereby revised as e-Typewriting with an additional unit on Word processing in view of the growing use of computers for typewriting documents. Self assessment and keeping record of progress in Assignment files are encouraged so as to keep students motivated towards excellence. Profuse thanks are due to Prof. Om Vikas for steering the experts members Mr. Yogesh Kumar, Ms. Nancy Sehgal, Ms. Sunita Chugh, Dr. D. P. Bhatia and Ms. Gayatri Subramaniam for contributing towards development of the syllabus on -e-Typewriting and also the Formative Assessment Manual for Teachers. I also thank Ms. Sugandh Sharma, Education Officer for coordinating the meetings and bringing out the manual in this shape. It is expected that the students will enjoy this course even as an additional subject in view of the benefits of touch-typing skills in future career. We would welcome suggestions to improve upon content assessment methodology in tune with the objectives of CCE. (Vineet Joshi) Chairman, CBSE I Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation Education aims at making children capable of becoming responsible, productive and useful members of a society. Knowledge, skills and attitudes are built through learning experiences and opportunities created for learners in school. It is in the classroom that learners can analyse and evaluate their experiences, learn to doubt, to question, to investigate and to think independently. The aim of education simultaneously reflects the current needs and aspirations of a society as well as its lasting values and human ideals. At any given time and place they can be called the contemporary and contextual articulations of broad and lasting human aspirations and values. An understanding of learners, educational aims, the nature of knowledge, and the nature of the school as a social space can help us arrive at principles to guide classroom practices. Conceptual development is thus a continuous process of deepening and enriching connections and acquiring new layers of meaning. Alongside is the development of theories that children have about the natural and social worlds, including themselves in relation to others, which provide them with explanations for why things are the way they are and the relationship between cause and effect. Attitudes, emotions and values are thus an integral part of cognitive development, and are linked to the development of language, mental representations, concepts and reasoning. As childrens metacognitive capabilities develop, they become more aware of their own beliefs and capable of regulating their own learning. Characteristics of learning All lchildren are naturally motivated to learn and are capable of learning. Understanding l Children l and developing the capacity for abstract thinking, reflection and work are the most important aspects of learning. learn in a variety of ways-through experience, making and doing things, experimentation, reading, discussion, asking, listening, thinking and reflecting, and expressing themselves in speech or writing-both individually and with others. They require opportunities of all these kinds in the course of their development. something before the child is cognitively ready takes away real learning. Children may remember many facts but they may not understand them or be able to relate them to the world around them. takes place both within school and outside school. Learning is enriched if the two arenas interact with each other. Art and work provide opportunities for holistic learning that is rich in tacit and aesthetic components. Such experiences are essentially to be learnt through direct experience and integrated into life. Teaching l Learning l II Learning l must be paced so that it allows learners to engage with concepts and deepen understanding rather than remembering only to forget after examinations. At the same time learning must provide variety and challenge, and be interesting and engaging. Boredom is a sign that the task may have become mechanically repetitive for the child and of little cognitive value. can take place with or without mediation. In the case of the latter, the social context and interactions, especially with those who are capable, provide avenues for learners to work at cognitive levels above their own. Learning l Place of Evaluation in the Curriculum A curriculum is what constitutes a total teaching-learning program composed of overall aims, syllabus, materials, methods and assessment. In short it provides a framework of knowledge and capabilities, seen as appropriate to a particular level. Evaluation not only measures the progress and achievement of the learners but also the effectiveness of the teaching materials and methods used for transaction. Hence evaluation should be viewed as a component of curriculum with the twin purpose of effective delivery and further improvement in the teaching learning process. If properly understood, evaluation or assessment will not be perceived as something administered by the teachers and taken by the learners on the conclusion of a period of learning. When evaluation is seen as an end of the learning exercise, both the teachers and the learners will tend to keep it outside the teaching-learning process, rendering assessment broadly irrelevant and alien to the curriculum. Further such a perception associates anxiety and stress with evaluation for learners. On the contrary, if evaluation is seen as an integral part built into the teaching learning process; it will become continuous like both teaching and learning. When evaluation is subsumed into teaching-learning, learners will not perceive tests and examinations with fear. It will lead to diagnosis, remediation and enhancement of learning. The scope of evaluation in schools extends to almost all the areas of learners personality development. It should include both scholastic and co-scholastic areas, i. e. it should be comprehensive in nature. This is in line with the goals of education. Evaluation is continuous and reveals the strengths and weaknesses of learners more frequently, so that the learners have better opportunity to understand and improve themselves. It also provides feedback to the teachers for modifying their teaching strategies. In view of getting a complete picture of the childs learning, assessment should focus on the learners ability to – learn and l acquire a l acquire desired skills related to different subject areas. level of achievement in different subject areas in the requisite measure develop childs individual skills, interests, attitudes and motivation l understand and lead a healthy and a productive life. l monitor the changes taking place in a childs learning, behaviour and progress over time. l III l respond to different situations and opportunities both in and out of school.  apply what is learned in a variety of l work l independently, collaboratively analyze and evaluate. l environments, circumstances and situations and harmoniously. be laware of social and environmental issues participate in social and environmental projects and causes. l retain what is learned over a period of time. l Thus assessment is a useful, desirable and an enabling process. To realize this one needs to keep the following parameters in mind The need to: assess the learner. l use l a variety of ways to collect information about the learners learning and progress in subjects and cross curricular boundaries. collect information continuously and record the same. l give l importance to each learners way of responding and learning and the time it takes to do so. report on an ongoing continuous basis and be sensitive to every learners responses. l provide feedback that will lead to positive action and help the learner to do better l In the assessment process, one should be careful NOT to: l label learners as slow, poor, intelligent etc. make comparisons between them. l make negative statements. l Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) refers to a system of school-based evaluation of students that covers all aspects of a students development. It is a developmental process of a child which emphasizes on two fold objectives. These objectives are continuity in evaluation on one hand and assessment of broad based learning and behaviourial outcomes on the other. The term `continuous is meant to emphasise that evaluation of identified aspects of students `growth and development is a continuous process rather than an event, built into the total IV teaching-learning process and spread over the entire span of academic session. It means regularity of assessment, diagnosis of learning gaps, use of corrective measures and feedback of evidence to teachers and students for their self evaluation. The second term `comprehensive means that the scheme attempts to cover both the scholastic and the co-scholastic aspects of students growth and development. Since abilities, attitudes and aptitudes can manifest themselves in forms other than the written word, the term refers to application of a variety of tools and techniques (both testing and non-testing) and aims at assessing a learners development in areas of learning like : Knowledge l Understanding/Comprehension l Application l Analysis l l Evaluation l Creativity Objectives of CCE are: l To help develop cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills. l To lay emphasis on thought process and de-emphasise memorization l To make evaluation an integral part of teaching-learning process l use To evaluation for improvement of students achievement and teaching – learning strategies on the basis of regular diagnosis followed by remedial instruction l. To use evaluation as a quality control device to maintain desired standard of performance l determine To  social utility, desirability or effectiveness of a programme and take appropriate decisions about the learner, the process of learning and the learning environment l To make the process of teaching and learning a learner-centered activity. Features of CCE are: l The continuous aspect of CCE takes care of continual and periodicity aspect of evaluation. Means assessment of students in the beginning of instruction (placement evaluation) and assessment during the instructional process (formative evaluation) done informally using multiple techniques of evaluation. means assessment of performance done frequently at the end of unit/term (summative) l Continual l Periodicity V l The  comprehensive component of CCE takes care of assessment of all round development of the childs personality. It includes assessment in Scholastic as well as Co-Scholastic aspects of the pupils growth. aspects include curricular areas or subject specific areas, whereas co-scholastic aspects include Life Skills, Co-Curricular Activities, Attitudes, and Values. in scholastic areas is done informally and formally using multiple techniques of evaluation continually and periodically. The diagnostic evaluation takes place at the end of a unit/term test. The causes of poor performance in some units are diagnosed using diagnostic tests. These are followed up with appropriate interventions followed by retesting. in Co-Scholastic areas is done using multiple techniques on the basis of identified criteria, while assessment in Life Skills is done on the basis of Indicators of Assessment and checklists. Source Examination Reforms, NCERT Scholastic l Assessment l Assessment l The functions of CCE are: l It helps the teacher to organize effective teaching strategies. Continuous l evaluation helps in regular assessment to the extent and degree of learners progress (ability and achievement with reference to specific scholastic and co-scholastic areas). evaluation serves to diagnose weaknesses and permits the teacher to ascertain an individual learners strengths and weaknesses and her needs. It provides immediate feedback to the teacher, who can then  decide whether a particular unit or concept needs re-teaching in the whole class or whether a few individuals are in need of remedial instruction. evaluation, children can know their strengths and weaknesses. It provides the child a realistic self assessment of how he/she studies. It can motivate children to develop good study habits, to correct errors, and to direct their activities towards the achievement of desired goals. It helps a learner to determine the areas of instruction in which more emphasis is required. and comprehensive evaluation identifies areas of aptitude and interest. It helps in identifying changes in attitudes, and value systems. in making decisions for the future, regarding choice of subjects, courses and careers. Continuous l By lcontinuous  Continuous l It helps l It provides l information/reports on the progress of students in scholastic and co-scholastic areas and thus helps in predicting the future successes of the learner. VI Continuous evaluation helps in bringing awareness of the achievement to the child, teachers and parents from time to time. They can look into the probable cause of the fall in achievement if any, and may take remedial measures of instruction in which more emphasis is required. Many times, because of some personal reasons, family problems or adjustment problems, the children start neglecting their studies, resulting in a sudden drop in their achievement. If the teacher, child and parents do not come to know about this sudden drop in the achievement and the neglect in studies by the child continues for a longer period then it will result in poor achievement and a permanent deficiency in learning for the child. The major emphasis of CCE is on the continuous growth of students ensuring their intellectual, emotional, physical, cultural and social development and therefore will not be merely limited to assessment of learners scholastic attainments. It uses assessment as a means of motivating learners in further programmes to provide information for arranging feedback and follow up work to improve upon the learning in the classroom and to present a comprehensive picture of a learners profile. It is this that has led to the emergence of the concept of School Based Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation. Source : Ncert VII Scholastic and Co-scholastic Assessment In order to have Continuous and Comprehensive evaluation, both scholastic and co-scholastic aspects need to be given due recognition. Such a holistic assessment requires maintaining an ongoing, changing and comprehensive profile for each learner that is honest, encouraging and discreet. While teachers daily reflect, plan and implement remedial strategies, the childs ability to retain and articulate what has been learned over a period of time also requires periodic assessment. These assessments can take many forms but all of them should be as comprehensive and discreet as possible. Weekly, fortnightly, or quarterly reviews (depending on the learning area), that do not openly compare one learner with another and are positive and constructive experiences are generally recommended to promote and enhance not just learning and retention among children but their soft skills as well. VIII School Based Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation There has been a consistent move towards reducing the load on the student by making public or board examination stress free. Over the decade there has been a high pitched race towards more marks and thus more competitiveness among students and schools. The move of the CBSE to replace marks with grades is a step in the right direction. The paradigm shift is to empower schools by creating a workable school based continuous and comprehensive scheme. School Based Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation system should be established to: reduce stress on children l make evaluation comprehensive and regular l provide space for the teacher for creative teaching l provide a tool of diagnosis and remediation l produce learners with greater skills l Position Paper on Aims of Education NCF 2005. NCERT Aims of School Based CCE l Elimination of chance element and subjectivity (as far as possible), de-emphasis of memorization, encouraging Comprehensive evaluation incorporating both scholastic and co-scholastic aspects of learners development.  evaluation spread over the total span of the instructional time as an integral built-in aspect of the total teaching-learning process. And meaningful declaration of results for effective use by teachers, students, parents and the society. uses of test results for purposes not merely of the assessment of levels of pupils achievements and proficiencies, but mainly for its improvement, through diagnosis and remedial/enrichment programmes. in the mechanics of conducting examinations for realizing a number of other allied purposes Continuous l Functional l Wider l Improvement l Introduction of concomitant changes in instructional materials and methodology. l Introduction of the semester system from the secondary stage onwards. l The l use of grades in place of marks in determining and declaring the level of pupil performance and proficiency. The above goals are relevant for both external examination and evaluation in schools IX Characteristics of School Based Evaluation : l Broader, more comprehensive and continuous than traditional system. l primarily to help learners for systematic learning and development. Aims l Takes care of the needs of the learner as responsible citizens of the future. l Is more transparent, futuristic and provides more scope for association among learners , teachers and parents. School based evaluation provides opportunities to teachers to know the following about their learners: What they learn l How l they learn l What type of difficulties / limitations they face in realising learning objectives together l What the children think l What the children feel l What their interests and dispositions are. The focus has shifted to developing a deep learning environment. There is a paradigm shift in the pedagogy and competencies of ‘controlling’ to ‘enriching’ to ‘empowering’ schools. Traditional Schooling l Teacher centred l Subjects and classes l Sorting and ranking Enriching Schooling Student centred l l Directed Self l Continuous assessment Empowering Schooling Experience centred l l Virtual authenticity l Multi literacies individuals Competency: l Memory l Competitive Competency: l Critical thinking l Collaborative l Creative Competency: l taking Risk l Ethical l Interactive There are four Assessment Paradigms Assessment of Learning Most commonly, assessment is defined as a process whereby someone attempts to describe and quantify the knowledge, attitudes or skills possessed by another. Teacher directedness is paramount and the student has little involvement in the design or implement of the assessment process in these circumstances – X Summative l Teacher designs learning l l Teacher collects evidence l Teacher judges what has been learnt (and what has not) Assessment for Learning The assessment for learning involves increased levels of student autonomy, but not without teacher guidance and collaboration. The assessment for learning is sometimes seen as being akin to ‘formative assessment’ and can be seen as informing teaching. There is more emphasis towards giving of useful advice to the student and less emphasis on the giving of marks and the grading function – Teacher designs learning l Teacher designs assessment with feedback to student l Teacher assesses what has been learnt (student develops insight into what has not) l Assessment as Learning ‘Assessment as learning’ is perhaps more connected with diagnostic assessment and can be constructed with more of an emphasis on informing learning. Assessment as learning generates opportunities for self assessment and for peer assessment. Students take on increased responsibility to generate quality information about their learning and that of others – Teacher and student co-construct learning l Teacher and student co-construct assessment l Teacher and student co-construct learning progress map l Assessment for learning and assessment as learning activities should be deeply embedded in teaching and learning and be the source of iterative feedback, allowing students to adjust, rethink and re-learn. Assessment in Learning The assessment in learning places the question at the centre of teaching and learning. It deflects the teaching from its focus on a ‘correct answer’ to focus on ‘a fertile question’. Through the inquiry, students engage in processes that generate feedback about their learning, which come from multiple sources, and activities. It contributes to the construction of other learning activities, lines of enquiry and the generation of other questions Student at the centre of learning l Student monitors, assesses and reflects on learning l Student initiates demonstration of learning (to self and others) l Teacher as coach and mentor l XI Teachers and students need to understand the purpose of each assessment strategy so that the overall assessment ‘package’ being used by learners and teachers accurately captures, generates and uses meaningful learning information to generate deep learning and understanding. Purpose of Assessment To lascertain what learning, change and progress takes place in the child over a period of time in different subjects of study and other aspects of the childs personality. To find out the needs and learning style of every learner. l To ldevise styles. To improve the teaching-learning materials by adding value. l To help l every learner find out their interests, aptitudes, strengths and weaknesses so that the learner can evolve effective learning strategies. a teaching-learning plan that is responsive to the individual needs and learning To measure the extent to which curricular objectives have been realized. l To enhance the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process. l To l record the progress of every learner and communicate it to parents and other stakeholders. a dialogue between the teacher and the student and also the parents as a collaborative endeavor for overall improvement of the system. To lmaintain To involve the learners in the process through peer and self assessment. l Different stages in Assessment Examination is not assessment; it is only one of the tools of assessment. As we have seen above, assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning process and hence cannot be seen as the final stage in isolation. The overall aim of assessment is to gather information to improve the teaching-learning process. So it has certain distinct stages. Stage 1: Gathering information about and evidence of the extent of effectiveness of teaching and learning We gather information in a variety of ways, using a number of tools. Observation, conversation and discussion, assignments, projects, different types of tests etc are some of the methods and tools we use for collecting information. Stage 2: Recording of Information The information gathered has to be systematically recorded because it constitutes not only rich inputs that have to be used for improving teaching and learning but also evidence to support the conclusion we come to about the progress made by the students. In order to make the recording effective, we must use different recording devices such as learner profile, XII ancecdotal records, case studies, report books etc. It is essential that the information is recorded in both quantitative and qualitative terms along with well thought out and objective observations by the teacher. It is also necessary to keep samples of students work as evidence to support the report of the teacher. The most important aspect of good recording and reporting is that it shows the progress of the learner in different domains over a period of time. Stage 3: Analysing and Reporting the Information Collected The recorded information constitutes valuable feedback that the teacher, the student and the parents should use to enhance the learning process. To do this, the gathered information has to be analysed periodically so that the teacher can draw conclusions about how a child is learning and progressing. Such analysis and the grading that is done is actually a mapping of the progress of students in a learning environment. Analysis and review also leads to unambiguous statements about the strengths of every child and the aspects requiring further improvement. The report has to be communicated to the learners and their parents so that they are able to collaborate with the teacher to take the necessary steps for improving learning. It is essential that the child is encouraged to compete with self rather than with others. One of the key components of engaging students in the assessment of their own learning is providing them with descriptive feedback as they learn. Research shows descriptive feedback to be the most effective instructional strategy to move students forward in their learning. Descriptive feedback provides students with an understanding of what they are doing well, links to classroom learning and specific input on how to reach the next step. Stage 4: Using the Information for Improvement Assessment should result in improvement. Though the student, the teacher and the parents are all stakeholders in this paradigm, it is the teacher who has to take the initiative to use the analysis of information on each learner to enhance learning. This calls for reflective practices. Some questions that the teacher could ask himself/ herself are: 1. Are all the learners involved in the activities of the class? 2. Are there learners who face problems in coping with the pace and flow of the teaching learning process? 3. What are their problems and how should I help them? 4. Is there something in my teaching strategy that has to be modified to make the class learn better? How should I go about it? 5. Are there some learners who are not challenged by the materials and methods and hence lose motivation quickly? How should I respond to their special needs? 6. Are there some lessons/ chapters/ units that pose difficulties to many learners? How should I add value to these portions of the syllabus? 7. Have I identified certain common errors, mistakes and instances of lack of conceptual clarity from the information collected and analysed? How should I go about an effective programme of remediation? XIII 8. Is my classroom time management effective? What are the changes that I could introduce to make it more learner and learning oriented? 9. Am I getting adequate support from the school management, my colleagues, the parents and the community? How can I involve all the stakeholders more actively in what I am doing for the benefit of my learners? 10. What are my own needs of professional development? How can I fulfil them in a continuous manner? Such reflective questions will help the teacher modify and refine the programme of teaching to achieve the learning objectives as well as to enhance his/ her professional competence continuously. By now it is well established that learning is a continuous process and it involves informal, formal and non-formal modes. It is also widely acknowledged that children learn by constructing their knowledge and it makes learning a process that takes place within the children rather than without. In this paradigm of constructivism, the teacher ought to recognize the importance of different stages of learning i. e. , the initial stage where the existing knowledge of the learner is seen as the entry level, the second stage where new knowledge is understood and accommodated with the existing knowledge and the third stage where the constructed knowledge as a whole is tested by the learner by applying it to real life situations for making sense of the world and the self and for drawing conclusions, problem solving, decision making etc. What constitutes knowledge at the third stage automatically becomes the learners existing knowledge for further learning and thus it is a cyclical process. The main purpose of assessment is to enhance the effectiveness of the learning process and hence it has to be integrated appropriately with every stage of learning. Since learning is continuous, assessment also must be continuous. Otherwise the learner will not be able to know whether she/ he is proceeding along the right lines, what is the stage at which he experiences difficulties, what are the new inputs and strategies that are required to successfully continue the process of construction of knowledge and what is the help that is expected from the teacher. Similarly the teacher also has to know at what stage of learning each learner is at a particular point of time, what are the changes that are to be made to the teaching strategies to make every child learn effectively and what further help can be provided. For instance, when a child in class I comes to school, it is probable that the child has not had any formal schooling earlier. It does not mean that the child has no prior knowledge because learning, as has been pointed out earlier, can be through informal and non formal modes too. So the teachers duty is to identify the prior knowledge of the child while dealing with a particular concept or skill.

The use of Key Performance Indicators

The use of Key Performance Indicators Many companies are operating with the wrong actions, many of which are wrongly termed key performance indicators (KPIs). Only some organizations supervise their true KPIs.. The types of performance:- Key result indicators (KRIs) inform you how you have done in a viewpoint or critical success feature, Result indicators (RIs) tell you what you have done, Performance indicators (PIs) tell you what to do, KPIs tell you what to do to increase performance dramatically. Many performance measures used by organizations are thus an inappropriate mix of these three types. Onion analogies are used to depict the link of the three measures. We get more information as we strip the layers off the onion. The layers characterize a variety of performance indicators, and the core, the key performance indicators. 1.2 Key Result Indicators What are KRIs? KRIs are measures that often have been mistaken for KPIs. They include: Customer satisfaction, Net profit before tax, . The frequent feature of these measures is that they are the result of many actions. They provide an understandable image of whether you are going in the right direction.Neverthless you is not told what must be done to improve these results. Therefore, the information available by KRIs is best for the board (i.e., those individual who are not concerned with the day-to-day management.)Usually KRIs cover a longer time period than KPIs; they are evaluated on monthly/quarterly cycles, not on a daily/ weekly basis such as KPIs. Separating KRIs from other measures has an intense force on reporting, resulting in a partition of performance measures into those impacting governance and those impacting management. An organization must have a governance report (preferably in a dashboard system), containing of up to 10 procedures giving high-level KRIs. 1.3 Performance and Result Indicators The 80 or so performance measures that lie between the KRIs and the KPIs are the performance and result indicators (PIs and RIs). The performance indicators, while important, are not key to the business. The PIs help teams to align themselves with their organizations strategy. PIs are non-financial and complement the KPIs; they are shown with KPIs on the scorecard for each organization, team, division and department. Performance indicators that trigger KRIs could include: An increase in the percentage of sales with top 10% of customers, Customer complaints from key customers, Late deliveries to key customers. The RIs abridge action, and all economic performance measures are RIs (e.g., daily or weekly sales analysis is a very useful summary, but it is the outcome of the hard work of many teams). We must look at the performance that created sales (outcome) to understand completely what to increase or decrease. Outcome indicators that cause KRIs could include: Net profit on key product lines, Sales made yesterday, Complaints from key customers. 1.4 Key Performance Indicators KPIs stand for a set of method focusing on those aspects of organizational performance that are the most important for the current and future achievement of the organization. KPIs are rarely new to the organization. 1.4.1 Seven Characteristics of KPIs Mr. David Parmenter KPI workshops has done extensive analysis and discussions with over 3,000 participants, which has covered nearly every organization types in the private and public sectors, he has been able to identify the seven characteristics of KPIs. KPIs: Are nonfinancial measures (e.g., not expressed in dollars, yen, pounds, euros, etc.), Are measured regularly (e.g., 24/7, daily, or weekly), Are acted on by the CEO and senior management team (e.g., CEO calls relevant staff to enquire what is going on), visibly specify what action is necessary by staff (e.g., staff can be aware of the measures and know what to put right), Are measures that fix task down to a team (e.g., CEO can call a team leader who can take the required act), Have an important impact (e.g., affect one or more of the critical success factors [CSFs] and more than one BSC perspective), They promote appropriate action (e.g., have been experienced to certify they have a positive impact on performance, whereas poorly thought-through measures can lead to dysfunctional behaviour). Once a dollar sign is put on a measure, it has already converted into a result indicator (e.g., daily sales are an outcome of activities that have taken place to create the sales). The KPI lies deeper down. KPIs should be monitored 24/7, daily, or perhaps weekly for some. KPIs must be supervised 24/7, daily, or possibly weekly for some. A KPI is deep enough in the organization that it can be attached to a team. In other words, the CEO can call someone and ask why. Return on capital employed has never been a KPI, as it cannot be attached to a manager-it is an outcome of many activities under diverse managers. 1.5 Difference between KRIs and KPIs Frequently their is one question that comes forward time and time again: What is the difference between KRIs and KPIs, and RIs and PIs? A cars speedometer provides a useful analogy to show the difference between a result indicator and a performance indicator. The speed the car is travelling is a result indicator, since the cars speed is a combination of what gear the car is in and how many revolutions per minute the engine is doing. Performance indicators might be how efficiently the car is being driven (e.g., a gauge showing how many miles per gallon), or how hot the engine is running (e.g., a temperature gauge). KRIs KPIs Can be financial and non financial Non financial measures Measures mainly monthly or quarterly Measures daily or weakly As a summary of progress in an organizations critical success factor, it is perfect for reporting progress to a board Acted on by the CEO and senior management team It does not help staff or management because nowhere does it tell what you need to fix All staff understand the measure and what corrective action is required Commonly, the only person responsible for a KRI is the CEO Responsibility can be tied down to the individual or team A KRI is designed to summarize activity within one CSF Significant impact (e.g., it impacts on more than one of top CSFs and more than one balanced scorecard perspective) A KRI is a result of many activities managed through variety of performance measures Has a positive impact (e.g., affects all other performance measures in a positive way) Normally reported by way of a trend graph covering at least the last 15 months of activity Normally reported by way of an intranet screen indicating activity, person responsible, past history, so a meaningful phone call can be made RIs PIs Can be financial and nonfinancial Nonfinancial measures (not expressed in dollars, yen, pounds, euros, etc.) Measured daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or sometimes quarterly Same Cannot be tied to a discrete activity Tied to a discrete activity and thus to a team Does not tell you what you need to do more or less of All staff understand what action is required to improve PI Designed to summarize some activity within a CSF/SF Specific activity impacts on one of the CSFs/SFs Result of more than one activity Focuses on a specific activity Normally reported in a team scorecard Same 1.6 Management Models that Have a Profound Impact on KPIs The groundbreaking work of Kaplan and Norton (3) brought to managements attention the fact that performance needed to be measured in a more holistic way. Kaplan and Norton came up with four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Process, and Learning and Growth. But two more perspectives need to be added. Employee Satisfaction is far too important to be relegated to a subsection within internal process. Informed directors know that happy staffs make happy customers who make happy shareholders. The measure employee satisfaction must be more sophisticated than a customer satisfaction survey every blue moon. The Environment and Community perspective has been managed brilliantly by some leading CEOs. Measurement in this area looks at increasing public awareness about being an employee of first choice, staff learning new skills through doing voluntary work in the community, reducing costs through minimizing waste, creating positive press, and increasing higher staff morale by implementing green initiatives. Leading CEOs intuitively work in this area. They realize that the community is the source of your current and future employees and customers. Kaplan and Nortons later work on strategic mapping(4) also alludes to the importance of employee sati sfaction and the environment/community perspectives. This modification is important because it means the BSC now incorporates all triple- bottom-line issues. 1.7 Definition Performance measure:- The term performance measure refers to an indicator used by management to measure, report, and improve performance. Performance measures are classed as key result indicators, result indicators, performance indicators, or key performance indicators. Critical success factors (CSFs):- CSFs are the list of issues or aspects of organizational performance that determine ongoing health, vitality, and wellbeing. Normally there are between five and eight CSFs in any organization. Success factors:- A list of 30 or so issues or aspects of organizational performance that management knows are important in order to perform well in any given sector/ industry. Some of these success factors are much more important; these are known as critical success factors. Balanced scorecard:- A term first introduced by Kaplan and Norton describing how you need to measure performance in a more holistic way. You need to see an organizations performance in a number of different perspectives. Senior management team (SMT):- The team comprised of the CEO and all direct reports. 1.8 Notes 1. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996). 2. Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser, Beyond Budgeting: How Managers Can Break Free from the Annual Performance Trap (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2003). 3. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996).

Essay --

Paul’s first contact with a major center of slavery may have been in the city of Tyre. Groups of Gentile slave of both sexes from Syria and beyond came to Jerusalem through Tyre’s slave-market. He passed through Tyre on his way to Jerusalem. Paul went on to Judea and Jerusalem. In Judea and Jerusalem, Paul undoubtedly saw many slaves working in a wide variety of activities, including positions of high responsibility in the court of Herod and the families of high priest. Slaves varied place to place which determined the slavery population and gender. Around Jerusalem itself it seemed to have been no industries requiring of slaves nor many rural estates which used slave-labor in large numbers. Within the city Paul saw great number of domestic and civil slaves, both Jews and Gentile. One of the places Paul visited was Tarsus. In Tarsus where Paul was born was mostly woman since the type of work was mostly linen weaving, dyeing, leather cutting, and carpentry. Paul travelled from Tarsus to Corinth and saw many different types of slaves on this journey. From Tarsus, Paul continued on to Corinth. In Jerusalem as well as in Corinth, Paul saw slaves whose special abilities made it favorable to their owners to rent them by the day or by contract. In short Paul, was already acquainted with slavery before he left Jerusalem. When Paul traveled Asia Minor he saw an increasingly large slave population in the cities where the total of the slave population may have been about one third of the entire body of residents. In Ephesus slaves were involved in the widest thinkable range of activities, including working in the local wholesale and distributing agencies and managing retail stores. Very commonly, people were engaged in manufacturing, dis... ...hrough the imagery of slavery. b. Philemon, Letter to- written between 58AD and 60AD while Paul was in Roman prison. i. The letter was written to Philemon, who was a wealthy Gentile Christian in Colossae who became a believer a believer under Paul’s ministry (philem 19) ii. The heart of the letter centers upon Onesimus, Philemon’s slave who somehow wronged his master (philem 18), made his way to Paul in prison (philem 9), was converted (philem 10), and became a useful partners (philem 11, 13) But under the existing laws governing slaver, Paul knows that Onesimus must be returned to his rightful owner. Paul implores Philemon not only to receive (philem 17, forgive (philem 18: see Forgiveness) and acknowledge Onesimus’ new status as a fellow believer (philem 16), but to relinquish all claims upon Onesimus so that he can continue serving with Paul. (Philem 13, 21).

Policing Paper

Policing Paper Tyrone L. Sterling University of Phoenix Survey of Justice and Security AJS/502 Dr. Pamela Knothe June 14, 2012 Policing Paper The City of Chicago has adopted a new tool to use against fighting crime. This is what is known as the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS). Many people have never heard of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS). The Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy came about in April 1993 and was first implemented in five of the 25 police districts in Chicago. Rogers Park, Morgan Park, Austin, Marquette, and Englewood were the first locations of the CAPS Program.The reasons these locations were picked was determined by their crime problems, economics, demographics, and their levels of community organization. In 1994 the other 20 districts of Chicago were participants of the CAPS Program. Outreaching is always a very important goal when there is a merger of organizations. In this case it is collaboration between a community and law enfor cement (Chicago Police department) agencies. The benefits of incorporating this idea could include (but not limited to) the sharing of information, and increase trust between parties hat were involved or mainly working together to prevent crimes from taking place.One key point that makes the CAPS a unique program is that it places the community, the police, and other city agencies on the same sheet of music in protect their neighborhoods against crime. In law enforcement it is always better to be proactive than reactive, and developing additional support always give him or her the upper hand. Crime prevention at the neighborhood level is effective because the use of new technology to help police and residents target crime hot spots. More efficient use of city services that affects crime, extensive training for both police and ommunity, neighborhood-based beat officers and regular beat community meetings involving police and residents. One main goals of the CAPS program is to impleme nt successful and effective way to make neighborhoods safer by improving the quality of life. With the United States the CAPS program has been recognized as one effective and proactive means of police and community involvement in the fight against crime. In relation to functions of patrol, crime investigation, emergency, and critical incident response and future trends of the CAPS program.One key point of functions of patrolling could be the proactive vigilance of the community (individual neighborhoods) in taking preventive measures in developing an increase of their crime rates. Crime investigations are still the sole responsibility of the Chicago police department; however, it is always easier to investigate crimes when he or she does have the support of the community backing him or her up. This has proven to be very effective means of adding in investigations, instead of the community not wanting to get involve, like it was in the past.With relation to emergency and critical inc ident response, there have been positive comments that have been said about the CAPS program involvement in reporting certain situations. It is hard to predict the future brings for the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) Program. Observing past trends from when the program was first started, one could see how crime has gone down, the community has gotten more involve in the prevention of crimes in their neighborhoods. Above all the CAPS program has been identified as one of the best programs in the United States in community and police collaboration.I know with any new program, there are budget stipulations. However, because this program has had positive reviews and comments, I think funding may not be an issue. In conclusion, the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) Program was explained as well as the origin. It was also noted when and above all why it was incorporated. There are ongoing discussions of how private security agencies and policing work together. The re are few (if any) discussions of the role that a particular community and policing affect each other.In this instance the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) Program should be followed and modeled in communities across the nation. In looking at the pros and cons of the CAPS Program, there are far many pros that outweigh the cons. In fact that alone shows the effectiveness of the program. For any other community, district, city, or metropolitan area; this program should be the basis of law enforcement and community collaboration. Reference: https://portal. chicagopolice. org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/Get%20Involved/How%20CAPS%20works/What%20is%20CAPS

Ten Thousand Villages

Ten Thousand Villages Development and gift-giving The main goal for a charitable organization is reaching out to many people. Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit organization that provides funds for procurement of handmade products from different artisans around the world. The non-profit organization established its headquarters in Canada.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Ten Thousand Villages specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The organization provides a market environment for disadvantaged artisans (Kitchen, 3). They buy directly from poor artisans at prices determined fairly by both parties. The organization provides services which include; developing a world fair trade zone, creating income avenues for disadvantaged artisans, improving and sustaining growth, motivation and capacity building, encouraging fair price of homemade products, creating opportunities for honest income, gender equality, providing assistance through fund -raising programs to mention a few (Kitchen, 1). The organization was founded by Edna Ruth Byler.  The website explains its goal and achievements. The organization organizes a non-profit program that adds value to the community. The mission of the organization includes business growth, positive living, value for each product and cultural diversity. Ten Thousand Villages Canada partner’s with artisans to build a lasting relationship through the following ways Sustainability Utilize recycle products to produce different gifts Repack shipment materials Recycle printing materials Encourage ecological preservation Community development Partner with other non-profitable organizations Provide fair trade for the community Equip poor producers with raw materials and information Provide assistance during crisis. The website presents the organizations profile and activities. It displays 5 photos on its home page. Each photo reveals the activities, programs and opportunities of the organization. The first photo says, â€Å"Win a $1000 gift card from Ten Thousand Villages Canada†. The second photo says, â€Å"Thank you, Ten Thousand Villages Canada will donate $4,707.84 to MCCs Typhoon Haiyan response efforts. The website displays its new arrivals, a collection of gifts, recipes and stories. Ten Thousand Villages scout for artisans using community connect programs. They gather handmade products by reaching out to different communities (Kitchen, 2). The products are purchased at fair prices.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, the organization provides basic living needs for a disadvantaged artisan. The organization partners with other non-governmental organizations to redistribute charitable donations. For example, the typhoon Haiyan displayed on its website solicits for funds to support victims. The next page displays an o nline shopping order for the Christmas season. The organization provides free shipment for purchases above one hundred and fifty dollars. The final web page displays a catalogue of homemade cards and boxes for the festive season. Ten Thousand Villages Canada is a non-profit organization with a difference. Their development and gift service improves the lives of disadvantaged producers in Canada and Asia. They revolve round different segments of human activities thus, touching many lives in various ways. The organization has transformed small-scale artisans to big business ventures. The products sold on its website includes handmade gifts, baskets, shopping boxes, homemade toys, imitation of different house furniture, clothing accessories to mention a few. Artisans repack their products using recycled materials, thus cleaning the environment of non-degradable materials. The organization is fulfilling its vision statement through its humanitarian services. Community transformation has reached its peak in areas of its primary assignment. Different government organizations and Christian institutions are emulating from its program in assisting the organization with donations. To serve humanity, we must affect the life of every individual. Kitchen, Jane 2009, Ten Thousand Villages: Gifts Decorative Accessories. Web.

I Have No Idea What Im Doing at Work

I Have No Idea What Im Doing at Work You’ve been in your job for a little (or a long while) while, and it started out pretty well. You were accomplishing things left and right, learning the ropes. All was well. Then, maybe, there was a new process introduced, or you were given more, somewhat ambiguous responsibilities. Because you were doing so well before, you didn’t even think twice about it†¦ until it became too late to ask someone, â€Å"What am I supposed to be doing, again?† Or until things started to go wrong. By then, the panic sets in. What am I supposed to do now? I have no idea what I’m doing. Feeling like you have no idea what you’re doing, or that you’re irrevocably screwing up, is not an uncommon one. Everyone has had a moment- or a period of time- where they feel like they’re in over their heads. Anyone who claims they haven’t had that is either fibbing, or long overdue for a wakeup call. But just because everyone feels overwhelmed by tasks some times doesn’t mean you have to endure it or let things spiral out of control.Am I An Impostor?â€Å"Impostor syndrome† is the nagging feeling that although you have made it to a certain point, you’re not competent or smart enough to have made it to that point- that you stumbled into your job and your achievements accidentally. This kind of self-doubt is fairly common, especially at work. When things start to feel overwhelming, it can be natural to look for someone to blame- and who’s more accessible than yourself? That self doubt can lead to anxiety about being â€Å"found out† by others, who are every bit as competent and smooth as they appear to be.For more on impostor syndrome:  So how do you cope when these feelings set in? Let’s look at some strategies for what you can do if it’s happening to you at work.1. Understand that you’re not alone.If you’ve messed up on a project or feel like you have no idea what youâ₠¬â„¢re doing, it can feel like the spotlight is trained right on you and your comedy of errors. This will not be helped by the coworker who happens to be killing it right now- getting everything right, pulling down praise, and making it all look so easy. What you need to remember is that at one point, you were that coworker getting things right. And you will be again, too. Plus, Mr. Overachiever will have his bad days as well.Nobody has every part of their job nailed down all the time- if you do, then that might actually be a bad sign, professionally. Everyone’s too busy worrying about their own stuff to judge you. And think about it this way: as hard as you work to keep your uncertainty and feelings of failure from others, you can assume they’re doing the same.2. Don’t panic.The realization that you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing, or how to fix that, is a scary one. Don’t let it panic you, because panic leads to chronic second- guessing yourself, which distracts you from what actually needs to be done. It can also scare you away from finding logical solutions to your situation and make things even worse.When you feel the downward confidence spiral start, it’s important to recognize that you feel helpless. Once you acknowledge that, you can try to take a step away and work out how to resolve the problem. If you let it go unchecked, you could keep piling mistakes upon mistakes (possibly endangering your job), or get so frustrated that you quit before you know whether you could have fixed things. Neither of these is a combination that leads to professional success or satisfaction. So acknowledging that overwhelming feeling is the most important step, because it can help stop the negative spiral.3. See it as a challenge, not a dealbreaker.While you’re stuck in â€Å"I have no idea what I’m doing† misery, it can be easy to forget that this is an obstacle, not the end of your career. An obstacle is something you can get around. And unless you’re a brain surgeon who finds herself in the operating room after having skipped all of the relevant classes on how to operate, no one will die because you are unsure of what you’re supposed to be doing.4. Fake it ‘til you make it.Mind you, this is not a long-term solution- if you don’t understand what’s going on and don’t do anything to resolve that, eventually someone else will catch on, fulfilling your impostor syndrome doomsday scenario. But if you’re feeling unsure of what you need to do or how to do it, or you know you’ll need more time to figure things out, it’s okay to stall a little. Negotiate a deadline. Use a vague, â€Å"I’m on it†-type confirmation. You don’t need to announce to everyone that you don’t have the first clue what you should do next; you can buy yourself some time to work out your next steps.5. Admit it:  "I don’t know.†If everyone could do everything without guidance, no one would have a manager. Part of your boss’s job is to make sure that you have everything you need to do your own job. While you may be afraid to acknowledge that you don’t know what you’re doing, thinking that your boss will lose confidence in you or worse, it’s important to see your boss as a resource.True, saying, â€Å"I have no idea what I’m doing† will not breed confidence, but you can frame it differently. Try, â€Å"I’m working on X, but I just need some clarification about the best approach. Can we talk through this?† More likely than not, your boss will appreciate your openness and your desire to work through a situation that’s challenging to you. He or she will also appreciate that you’re taking proactive steps to do things better. This isn’t a â€Å"gotcha† game; your boss is invested in you doing a good job .6. Find an ally.If you don’t feel comfortable taking your concerns to your boss or feel like it’s too late to play the â€Å"I just don’t know† card, try finding someone else who can help. Is your colleague a whiz at Excel who  can teach you some tricks to get the info you need? Ask her. Is the person working next to you familiar with how to process orders? Pick his brain. Not only is your buddy’s information likely to help you fill in any gaps, but just talking it out can be useful. You may very well know more than you think you do, and a conversation on the topic might help you make connections that you didn’t realize were there. Plus, it helps with the â€Å"hey, maybe I’m not in this alone† factor.There are some caveats here, though. You don’t want your chosen buddy to feel like they’re doing your job for you. Make sure they’re not busy with their own tasks when you want to talk. Also, don’t p ing them constantly with questions, emails, or sit-down conversations. If you are really lost, try to limit your queries to one or two big ones per day, and try to do whatever you can to follow up and track down additional information on your own.7. Ask specific questions.Try to avoid a panicky, â€Å"What do I do?† Make sure your questions are specific enough to help you get to an answer. (â€Å"Why me?† is never going to be helpful either, trust me. I’ve tried it.) You want your asks to be constructive. Make sure you’ve identified the task or the goal, and what you think are the steps to get there- or at least the next steps. It’s okay to be wrong†¦ that’s why you’re asking questions! But it’s important to have a base of what you think should be happening, if only so that you can correct those assumptions and replace them with correct information as you find it.Here are some examples of specific questions:Is this urgent? What is the timeline? What do I need to achieve as an end result?What step do I think I need to take next?These questions can help you figure out how much space you have to figure things out on your own- or if it’s urgent, whether you need to swallow your pride and get someone for emergency help. You’re likely to get better responses from people if you say, â€Å"Here’s what I believe needs to happen here- can you confirm?† as opposed to, â€Å"Tell me everything I need to do.†8. Check in with others.If you’ve gotten to the point where you feel like you have no clue what’s going on or what you’re supposed to do next, there was a miscommunication somewhere along the line. Either things weren’t communicated fully to you, or you didn’t make it clear that you didn’t understand everything that needed to happen. Either way, there’s no point in dwelling on mistakes or bad communication. All you can do is ma ke sure that moving forward, everyone’s on the same page.This might mean having brief meetings with everyone else involved in a project to make sure that you know what they’re doing, they know what you’re doing, and everyone understands The Plan. It might also just be a regular 10-minute chat with your boss (say, daily or weekly, depending on the timeline and urgency) to say, â€Å"Hey, here’s what I’ve done, here’s how I plan to handle it moving forward, am I heading in the right direction?† This regular, outside feedback can prevent you from feeling totally lost and adrift on your own.These strategies can help you get through that panic moment, breathe again, and figure out how to fill in your knowledge gaps. And once you’ve stopped feeling like an impostor and worked out your battle plan for understanding what you need to do and then accomplishing it, you’ve overcome a challenge that can become a source of pride in yo ur next job interview.However, if you find that you’re often in the position of not knowing what to do or how to do your job, it may be time to consider that you’re not in the right job. This is not to say that you definitely can’t do the job, but rather that the skills and demands are a little too far outside your comfort zone and interest level. You want your job to be challenging, sure, but if it’s all challenges and stress, is this really something you want to be doing for the next year? Five years? Ten years? Constantly feeling confused and overwhelmed might be a big sign that you should find something that fits your skills better.Your career should be about overcoming challenges, and not letting setbacks blow your confidence in your abilities. Even when things seem bleak, you’ve got the tools to work it out. You’re not an impostor, and you’ve got this!

Heroes in English Literature

Heroes in English Literature Heroes in English literature constitute a majority of the middle Ages narratives. In epic plays, poems and narratives, heroes were defined as being selfless individuals who deliberately and courageously risked their lives for a justified cause.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Heroes in English Literature specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They are said to overcome risky and dangerous obstacles for the benefit of others. In the middle Ages, there is a variety of literal text that depicts heroes. These include epic heroes like Beowulf, romantic or chivalric heroes like Lanval and Lord Gawain and the green Knights (Kline 27). This middle Ages narrative will form the basis of this paper in showing the comparison of these heroes. Then what qualities were deemed to characterize these heroes in the middle ages? From the above mentioned epic heroes, we find that the aspect of heroism is differentiated mostly to suit the time i n which they were written and also to meet the expectation of the audience and preference at the time. In Beowulf, we find that heroism was depicted by being courageous and brave. This is demonstrated by Beowulf who travels far and wide to prove his strength. From the story, it is evident that the community which was the Danes of Denmark and the Geats who constituted Beowulfs own people valued not only physical strength as an attribute, but also the aspect of being selfless for the greater good. This is demonstrated when king Hrothgar of the Danes great hall called Heorot is attacked by a demon called Grendel and kills most of the kings men. It is prudent to mention at this juncture that Beowulf being an epic poem starts at the Medias res. So we learn through narration of king Hrothgar to Beowulf that Grendel has been attacking the village and killing the people (Heaney 56). Beowulf is depicted as a hero because of his ability to defeat Grendel without being armed. According to the story, Beowulf severs Grendel’s arm. Being mortally wounded, Grendel retreats to his borrow to die, but this is not the end of king Hrothgar tribulations as Grandel’s mother avenges her son’s death by killing king Hrothgar close friend Aeschere, Beowulf swears to avenge Aeschere death and goes after Grendel mother in the swamps and kills her by her own sword, heroism in this case is depicted by the ability of the hero or heroin to defeat super natural demons, its a matter of mortal being verses supper natural beings.Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to some analysts, epic narratives were meant to depict a man as being in control of his fate and that his destiny was not predetermined by the supernatural beings. At the end of the story we see Beowulf fighting a dragon that had ravaged his kingdom and, although this is fifty years after ki lling Grendel’s mother and himself being old, he still has to prove his ability. Thus, he goes after the dragon and although he managers to kill it, it is at his own demise because he shortly succumbs to death. In Beowulf’s case, a hero is the one who gives his life for other to live. Although Beowulf forms what we may refer to as traditional form of epic poems, Marie de France in Lanval introduces us to a different aspects in terms of how epics were viewed traditionally. Normally, heroes were men who were supposed to save the women at all cost even to their own peril, but in Lanval, it is the direct opposite where it is the woman who saves the man. The reason given for this drastic change from male centered epics that depicted males as being heroes and females being villains is the fact that Marie de France lived in the era of Eleanor of Aquitaine who herself loved plays that women played important roles. In Lanval, the story is about a knight called Lanval who sits a t king Authors table and is overlooked by King Author and rest of the kings official, feeling depressed for having nothing and most importantly land (Marie De France 1-2). He rides of to the countryside to clear his head. Marie de France adopts the fairy mistress motif that is traditionally used in Celtic stories, where a beautiful lady comes from another world and falls in love with the man, but there is a catch, the man should never reveal their love. If the man breaks the pact, then he is punished by the fairy lady by withdrawing her love. Lavals case is not so different, but heroism is depicted by the virtue of love rather than physical strength as was the case in Beowulf. At the time of this writing, the society seemed to uphold the truth and no wander when Lanval stood accused at the court by Guinevere, king Authors wife who wants to have an affair with Lanval, when Laval refuses to engage in such an act Guinevere accuses him of being a homosexual, but Laval sticks to his deci sion saying that he cannot betray king Arthur. Lanval is forced to confess his love to the fairy lady. He is told to prove that he has a lover or else be banished knowing very well that he had broken his world to her fairy lady. He knows that she would not turn up and so prepares to be banished, but out of the blues, she appears in front of the court and confesses her love for Lanval. The story culminates in both Lanval and her fairy lady ridding towards the sunset.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Heroes in English Literature specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Marie de France takes epic poems to the next level where heroes suffers for doing the right thing this is typical of Shakespearian tragedy where doing the right thing is the cause of a hero falling from grace to grass, but unlike Shakespeares tragedy that culminates in a sorrowful mood with the demise of the hero, Marie de France culminates Lanval on a happy end ing, where justice is served. Heroism in this aspect is depicted by virtue of love, honesty and justice rather than battles and physical strength of an individual. As mentioned earlier, Marie de France performed for Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England, by the virtue that they were royal the poems had to be tailored to show bravery in virtues and ideals rather than wars and battles, which at the time were viewed to be barbaric and not befitting nobility In sir Gawain and the Green Knight, heroisms is also depicted as a virtues rather than physical strength. The main protagonist in the story, Sir Gawain who is the nephew of King Arthur and the youngest Knight accepts a challenge from the Green Knight who rides to Camelot on the New Years Day. According to Weston, (50), the challenge is for anyone to strike the Green Knight with his own arks and that the green knight will return the blow one year and one day after. Sir Gawain doesnt just strike the green knight, but severs his head on one strike, but the green knight picks up his head and reminds Gawain to meet him one year later at Green Chappell. Heroism in sir Gawain and the Green Knight, is demonstrated by the fact that sir Gawain honors his word and a year later rides to green Chappell to receive his dues, also the aspect of faithfulness and luck of greed is depicted in the story as being acts of heroism, during the long journey and on the brink of starvation, Sir Gawain encounters a beautiful castle and is hosted by lord Bertilak de Hautdesert and his beautiful wife, sir Gawain informs them of the task at hand to meet the green knight, but Bertilak informs Gawain that the Green chapel is only a mile away and that he should be Lord Bertilak guest. In the meantime each time Lord Bertilak went hunting lady Bertilak would try to seduce Gawain this went on for days, but Gawain would not yield, eventually she hands Gawain a green girdle. Gawain goes to meet the green knight at the chapel and finds him wa iting, Gawain bends and waits for the Green Knight to strike him, but due to fear, he flinches and Green Knight only makes a mark on Gawains neck on the third strike and reveals himself as Lord Bertilak de Hautdesert (Weston 56). Gawain is a hero because of virtues and not his strength, the ability to stick to his word and be faithful to lord Bertilak de Hautdesert saves him and returns to Camelot as a hero. Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: a new verse translation. Reprint, New York: Norton Co., 2001. Print.Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Kline, T. Daniel. The medieval British literature handbook: Literature and cultural handbook. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2009. Print. Marie, De France and Gallagher, Edward. The Lays of Marie de France. Upper Saddle River: Hackett Publishing, 2010. Print. Weston, Jessie Laidlay. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Dover Books on Literature Drama. New York: Courier Dover Publications, 2003. Print

Topic about Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Topic about Drugs - Essay Example Some causes of drug abuse among people are such like lack of self control, acute physical or mental disability, to deal with physical or emotional problems in the work, home or in relationships, which stresses the affected individual. These causes of drugs abuse comes from the failure of a person to alleviate a condition in their mind which is resultant from the relationships with his colleagues. On the other hand, drug abuse can result from the family influence where a family has a history of using drugs, peer pressure, mental illness as well as misuse of prescribed drugs by patients (Kinlock, OGrady and Hanlon 265). The effect of drug abuse can be broadly divided into three parts in the categories of health of the individual, societal effects which reflect the impact on the social institutions and the relationships and family. In terms of health, the drug abusers deteriorate in their physical and their mental abilities and may be incapacitated to do various things, socially drug abuse causes constraints in financial terms and commotion in institutions like schools and work and in family, drugs threaten and cause family breakups (Kinlock, OGrady and Hanlon

Global prespective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Global prespective - Essay Example The country has been described as one of the most stable Middle Eastern economies with a relatively good security situation. Since the gulf war in which the country was involved, Qatar has been a peaceful haven for business activities in the area. The government plays a huge role in the determination of what businesses should or should not run. The government has in recent times executed heavy censorship in the liquor and food businesses to the point of being authoritarian where different liquor business have been closed and no explanation offered for the same. Other businesses have however run independently. The country has good bilateral relationships with the United States and there are many US companies operating in the area hence it will be easy to establish our operations. American workers and companies face a little discrimination in the country as the countrys leadership attempts to maintain a pious image elsewhere while projecting the west as corrupt. There are however, no i ncidences of extreme fundamentalism. Qatars economy is hugely oil-based. The country has huge oil reserves that are estimated to last at least another century. The country has attempted to diversify from petroleum although it still accounts for more than 50% of the countrys Gross Domestic Product. The country embraces the ideals of free trade with limitation to business enterprises that have a connection with the Sharia law. The country has an effective tertiary industry with easily accessible banking and insurance services. The Qatar Financial center affords financial institutions globally competitive services, capital support and no interest loans(Forbes, 2012). The country has a cheap and efficient road transport owing to the low prices of petroleum and word-class road network. Communication is as developed with good internet and telephone coverage. The country has a good number of local and international media

Transition of the patient that is discharged after a surgery and Research Paper

Transition of the patient that is discharged after a surgery and challenges they will face at home - Research Paper Example My role as a nurse involves the management of care after discharge in order to enhance the healing process of the patient. Particularly, this will entail the dissemination of the right kind of information necessary to enhance the healing process o the patient. The home environment can be regulated in a manner that fosters the healing process. Without such regulation, it could turn potentially dangerous to the patient. This process of management involves an acknowledgement of the deficiencies of the home environment and the need to manage the discharge process and the intervening period in ways that add value to the healing process. For Ms M’s condition, these conditions revolve empowering her with sufficient knowledge to enable her to manage aspects of her own recovery. It will also involve the process of empowering the family members with the right kind of information that will be necessary in the provision of family support in the course of her healing process. The intervent ion also considered matters related to diet, which forms part of the key requirements of her quick recovery. Experience of transition to home After her discharge, Ms M will undergo healing in an environment of solitude. She is a widow and stays alone as her children mother and sisters live in different places. Her husband died of graft vs host disease after undergoing a transplant. Although she receives occasional support from her visiting children, she requires constant watch and help in order to protect her from strenuous physical activity. Although she lives separately from her mother and the rest of the family, Ms M enjoys close correspondence and contact with all of them. This support would constitute significant positive force to aid in the healing process. Except for her mother, other members of the family demonstrate strength and understanding of her condition. Her son shows up occasionally to assist her with menial tasks around the home. Ms M deliberately shields her mother from the truth of her health condition fearing that she might panic. Nevertheless, she demonstrates remarkable courage and enthusiasm, which are essential in the healing process. One challenge is that the family members available to assist her may not have the necessary information and expertise of handling Ms M in her present condition. While at the hospital, Ms M was under the care of competent medical personnel. Furthermore, her diet received proper regulated and her eating monitored. The hospital environment was generally conducive for her healing process to take place. However, this schedule changed after discharge. She had to fend for herself and live her life away from the guidance and monitoring of trained professionals. It is in line with the realization of the attendant challenges that a follow-up program became necessary. The overarching intention to create conditions and an environment of support and the provision of necessary support for faster healing in recognition o f the unique challenges and difficulties, which Ms M faces. Patient’s episodic health needs The patient Ms M was diagnosed with Right renal artery stenosis, right femoral false aneurysm, severe disease in her superficial femoral arteries. This condition necessitated a surgical procedure on the Right Axillo femoral bypass and repair femoral false aneurysm. In the past the patient suffered from hypertension,

Antitrust Legislation in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Antitrust Legislation in the USA - Essay Example The company had employed predatory strategies to ensure that other market players cannot operate freely without considerably favoring Microsoft.   In identifying instances of antitrust violations, the Free Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for determining whether a given market player has, either intentionally or unintentionally, manipulated the market to either mitigate or limit entry of competitors into the market (Hylton, 2003). The FTC has the duty of quantifying to what extent the given market player has violated the freedom of entry into the market. FTC controls this by regulating the issuance of patents and enforcing the legality of these patients.   The Stark Act prevents antitrust within healthcare by ensuring that physician referrals of certain DHS (Designated Health Services) for Medicaid and Medicare patients cannot be executed if, and only if the physician in question or an immediate or close relative of the physician has a vested financial affiliation with the patient in question. (Leslie, 2011) This ensures that physicians cannot refer one patient from one medical institution to another if they stand to gain financially. Similarly, the Anti-Kickback law has made it illegal to refer a patient to another Medicaid or Medicare-covered services and receiving financial compensation   In conclusion, the main aim of the antitrust legislation is to identify instances where one market player has immense market power to the point where they control and manipulate the market to gain abnormal profits and limit access into the given market or industry.

Antitrust Legislation in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Antitrust Legislation in the USA - Essay Example The company had employed predatory strategies to ensure that other market players cannot operate freely without considerably favoring Microsoft.   In identifying instances of antitrust violations, the Free Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for determining whether a given market player has, either intentionally or unintentionally, manipulated the market to either mitigate or limit entry of competitors into the market (Hylton, 2003). The FTC has the duty of quantifying to what extent the given market player has violated the freedom of entry into the market. FTC controls this by regulating the issuance of patents and enforcing the legality of these patients.   The Stark Act prevents antitrust within healthcare by ensuring that physician referrals of certain DHS (Designated Health Services) for Medicaid and Medicare patients cannot be executed if, and only if the physician in question or an immediate or close relative of the physician has a vested financial affiliation with the patient in question. (Leslie, 2011) This ensures that physicians cannot refer one patient from one medical institution to another if they stand to gain financially. Similarly, the Anti-Kickback law has made it illegal to refer a patient to another Medicaid or Medicare-covered services and receiving financial compensation   In conclusion, the main aim of the antitrust legislation is to identify instances where one market player has immense market power to the point where they control and manipulate the market to gain abnormal profits and limit access into the given market or industry.

Features of poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Features of poverty - Essay Example It could be more effectively defined by looking at its cause and effect and association to other related aspects. Rather than just simply looking at the insufficiency of resources, we must focus on the efforts exerted and the conditions that brought about the insufficiency. There is also truth in saying that poverty should not be measured by money alone. Two people could obtain the same amount of money but one could be deemed poor in possessions because of misallocation. This also deals with how money is spent. In a study by Christophe Muller, he posed the question whether poverty measures are a real economic phenomena or only hidden consequences of methodological choices. He also stated that there is a difference between being poor in a poor community and being poor in a wealthy environment. Thus, it could be established that defining poverty lines is such a tall order. We cannot just simply apply the same measure everywhere and all the time. (3) One would be shocked at how many factors affect not only poverty but also our understanding of poverty. Technically, other factors such as inequality, taxation, and income distribution should also be considered in evaluating economic conditions. In his paper, Defining Poverty Lines and Identifying the Poor, Peter Sanders purports that the government has a stake on the people's welfare particularly in its policies on wages and social benefits. In reality, the government should not take on the burden of ensuring the people's financial welfare but the most that it could do is formulate sound policies to ensure equality and economic security. (5) Then, there is the question if poverty could be accurately gauged by a certain measure or statistics alone. Definitely, this is not so true since poverty could not be defined as something quantitative but more so qualitative. Poverty is also suggestive of the quality of life or living conditions. (6) Sanders further claims that in a so-called outcome-oriented perspective, poverty is not measured but rather experienced by those who fall to it. Poverty does not become potent when it is gauge but rather when it felt. History tells us that it is not only the poor who complain about life becoming more and more difficult but also those who are well off. The worst kind of poverty happens when the people and government could not afford to have or provide themselves good education. It could also be said that poverty in a nation is also indicative of its social and political system and the stability of its laws and policies. People really do have different notions of poverty and this is most times subjective. This is further elucidated in the study done on DSS clients. This further makes the idea of solving this social condition impossible especially if those stricken by poverty do not realize or recognize that they are poor. In addition, this disparity could happen on the other extreme, when the wealthy think that they are poor. A nation would have to be clear at establishing the poverty line or define the standards of living before it could effectively define poverty. Destitution does not just concern our needs and wants but also how we manage our resources or income. It was also discussed how poverty per se is not a single entity but something that could take different forms and just like every social issues, it has evolved. Now, in a paper entitled GLOBALIZATION AND POVERTY,

Executives Pay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Executives Pay - Essay Example Furthermore, the article argues that shortage of good executives would drive pay up even further in the future. The top 250 executives do not have a big difference in talent; it's merely a case of the size of the company these executives run. Also, Lucian Bebchuk argues that pay is not parallel to performance or productivity, and that CEO's take great care to hide their true compensation. The practices of the bankers brought the financial system on the brink of collapse. After help from taxpayer dollars, the financial system is getting back to normal and paychecks are reaching are in line with financial recovery. These are times of rising unemployment and executives are using all forms of power within their reach to stop any reforms from the government. Is the U.S. government ready to take on the bankers just yet Mr. Summers criticized the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and their campaign of forming an agency to protect consumers against financial abuses. But apart from this, a major change in the way executives are paid is required. Executives are paid huge amounts when they deliver short term profits, but they aren't punished when their short term decisions turn into long-term barriers for growth and profit. They walk away with their rewards, leaving their corporation in trouble and hence, pushing the financial system into rubble. The Fed wants to enact laws which would decrease executive salaries if banks face losses, and it would make it compulsory for banks to link pay with long term results rather than short term. The administration's stance on reforming pay structure is not just a populist stance, but also good politics and good economics. Outline II-Economic Analysis A Contrarian Look at Whether U.S. Chief Executives Are Overpaid According to this article, CEO Pay is measured by the increase or decrease in the stock value of the company. In the past two decades, pay has increased in line with increases in the market capitalization of corporations. The writer is off the opinion that increases in stock value is a sign that economic decisions made by the executives are quality ones, and hence, they deserve high pay. Another argument that they present is the fact that the number of companies is more relative to the number of good executives. Therefore, an executive or CEO who worked for a big company would easily get a CEO position in another company and get paid high salary. Part of the reason for this is the shortage of CEO's in the United States. Perhaps, the demand and supply in other countries is at a better equilibrium and this has resulted in lower relative salaries. The advocates of reformed pay structure argue that high pay is correlated to bad governance and is not related to productivity. Reform or Bust This article points out that since executives are not punished when their corporation faces loss, but given rewards when their decisions cause short term profits, it facilitates excessive risk taking on part of the executives. Executives take risk because there is no accountability. Furthermore, the author of the article says that the Fed is considering making it compulsory for banks to link pay with long term performance. This would make CEO's more accountable and would urge them to try their best

Antitrust Legislation in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Antitrust Legislation in the USA - Essay Example The company had employed predatory strategies to ensure that other market players cannot operate freely without considerably favoring Microsoft.   In identifying instances of antitrust violations, the Free Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for determining whether a given market player has, either intentionally or unintentionally, manipulated the market to either mitigate or limit entry of competitors into the market (Hylton, 2003). The FTC has the duty of quantifying to what extent the given market player has violated the freedom of entry into the market. FTC controls this by regulating the issuance of patents and enforcing the legality of these patients.   The Stark Act prevents antitrust within healthcare by ensuring that physician referrals of certain DHS (Designated Health Services) for Medicaid and Medicare patients cannot be executed if, and only if the physician in question or an immediate or close relative of the physician has a vested financial affiliation with the patient in question. (Leslie, 2011) This ensures that physicians cannot refer one patient from one medical institution to another if they stand to gain financially. Similarly, the Anti-Kickback law has made it illegal to refer a patient to another Medicaid or Medicare-covered services and receiving financial compensation   In conclusion, the main aim of the antitrust legislation is to identify instances where one market player has immense market power to the point where they control and manipulate the market to gain abnormal profits and limit access into the given market or industry.

Executives Pay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Executives Pay - Essay Example Furthermore, the article argues that shortage of good executives would drive pay up even further in the future. The top 250 executives do not have a big difference in talent; it's merely a case of the size of the company these executives run. Also, Lucian Bebchuk argues that pay is not parallel to performance or productivity, and that CEO's take great care to hide their true compensation. The practices of the bankers brought the financial system on the brink of collapse. After help from taxpayer dollars, the financial system is getting back to normal and paychecks are reaching are in line with financial recovery. These are times of rising unemployment and executives are using all forms of power within their reach to stop any reforms from the government. Is the U.S. government ready to take on the bankers just yet Mr. Summers criticized the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and their campaign of forming an agency to protect consumers against financial abuses. But apart from this, a major change in the way executives are paid is required. Executives are paid huge amounts when they deliver short term profits, but they aren't punished when their short term decisions turn into long-term barriers for growth and profit. They walk away with their rewards, leaving their corporation in trouble and hence, pushing the financial system into rubble. The Fed wants to enact laws which would decrease executive salaries if banks face losses, and it would make it compulsory for banks to link pay with long term results rather than short term. The administration's stance on reforming pay structure is not just a populist stance, but also good politics and good economics. Outline II-Economic Analysis A Contrarian Look at Whether U.S. Chief Executives Are Overpaid According to this article, CEO Pay is measured by the increase or decrease in the stock value of the company. In the past two decades, pay has increased in line with increases in the market capitalization of corporations. The writer is off the opinion that increases in stock value is a sign that economic decisions made by the executives are quality ones, and hence, they deserve high pay. Another argument that they present is the fact that the number of companies is more relative to the number of good executives. Therefore, an executive or CEO who worked for a big company would easily get a CEO position in another company and get paid high salary. Part of the reason for this is the shortage of CEO's in the United States. Perhaps, the demand and supply in other countries is at a better equilibrium and this has resulted in lower relative salaries. The advocates of reformed pay structure argue that high pay is correlated to bad governance and is not related to productivity. Reform or Bust This article points out that since executives are not punished when their corporation faces loss, but given rewards when their decisions cause short term profits, it facilitates excessive risk taking on part of the executives. Executives take risk because there is no accountability. Furthermore, the author of the article says that the Fed is considering making it compulsory for banks to link pay with long term performance. This would make CEO's more accountable and would urge them to try their best

Assignment on Business Strategy Essay Example for Free

Assignment on Business Strategy Essay Assignment on Business Strategy 1 . Evaluate a company of your choices Mission statement in the light of the 3 components of any Mission Statement. Also use the Abel framework to evaluate the business definition that this mission statement drives. Ans. ) While a business must continually adapt to its competitive environment, there are certain core ideals that remain relatively steady and provides guidance in the process of strategic decision making. These unchanging ideals from the business vision and are expresses in the company mission statement. The mission statement communicates the firms core deology and visionary goals, generally consisting of the following three components: a. Core values to which the firm is committed b. Core purpose of the firm c. Visionary goals the firm will pursue The firms core values and purpose constitutes its core ideology and remain relatively constant. They are independent of industry structure and the product life cycle. The core ideology is not created in the mission statement; rather, the mission statement is simply an expression of what already exists. The specific phrasing of the ideology may change with the times, but the underlying ideology remains constant. Here is the Coca-Cola Companys mission statement for Stakeholders which is published in Jeffrey Abrahams new book, 101 Mission Statements From Top Companies . The Coca-Cola Promise: The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit and refresh everyone it touches. The basic proposition of our business is simple, solid, and timeless. When we bring refreshment, value, Joy and fun to our stakeholders, then we successfully nurture and protect our brands, particularly Coca-Cola. That is the key to fulfilling our ultimate obligation to provide consistently attractive returns to the owners of our business. The audience for this mission is specifically for the stakeholder. The values here are stated explicitly: refreshment, value, Joy, fun, and attractive returns. These words were obviously carefully chosen by those who crafted this mission statement. The ultimate obligation of attractive returns is a powerful way to state the companys vision and keeps the values stated in context. A separate mission statement is published on The Coca-Cola Companys website for access by the general public: Everything we do is inspired by our enduring mission: * To Refresh the World in body, mind, and spirit. * To Inspire Moments of Optimism hrough our brands and our actions. * To Create Value and Make a Difference everywhere we engage. These values are consistent with the stakeholder version of the mission: refreshment and value are echoed in addition to inspiration. 2. What does a Business model intend to achieve, and how? Evaluate any company of your choices Business Model in the light of the same. Ans. ) Business Models are simulations of actual business functioning. They act as ideal real life examples, and help participants actively discuss the pros and cons of the situation given. A business Model gives a Full Account of any particular Business Scenario. One has to SWOT analyze the Business Model based on different how it makes money or delivers value, and what it does and does not do. A business model can change throughout the life of business or can be applied to a specific product, or to a nonprofit. It is a more general and concise statement than the business plan, but is still often used to explain the business and its activities to investors, banks or employees. Standard business models are often referred to in shorthand, such as subscription or low-cost leader. As we know a business model is the mechanism by which a business intends to pecify a market offering. It is a summary of how a company plans to serve its customers and specifies its product offering. It mentions both the strategy and methods of implementation. As Amazon. com was being established, the delivery of information, goods, or services to end customers employed one strong business model called the Online Retailers of Physical Goods. This business model takes title to the newly manufactured products that they sell and often rely on third party providers. Like Amazon. com, it needed third party providers, such as Borders and Barnes Noble, to maintain its product supply. When Amazon. om was first launched, Amazon. om was heralded for its feel-friendly culture that drew talented young people to apply for work there and employed smart hiring strategy by hiring the brightest, most intelligent and versatile people. Jeff Bezos wanted people who could share his vision and were willing to work to achieve it. He tried to establish a sense of community due to sharing both hard work and fun with his employees. Although pay was less than market salaries, attractive ownership options were offered. Amazons three operational strategies are 1 . Cost-Leadership Amazon places itself as leader based only on the pricing. It offers the same product quality for lesser price. 2. Customer Differentiation Amazon uses design, quality and convenience as a differentiator which set it apart from its close competitors. 3. Focus Strategies Customer service is the major focus while realizing that each market has its own quirks. Amazon. coms values and philosophy are at the center of the organization. These often determines the success and failure of the enterprise . The other important factors Amazon focuses on are customer satisfaction and operational frugality. These two values complement Amazon. oms operational trategies in achieving and maintaining an effective competitive advantage. Growth Drivers There are four primary drivers for growth: 1. Product focus 2. Customer focus 3. Technology focus 4. Distribution focus Using the above stated strategies, Amazon has managed to place itself in a position of power and success. 3. Use the 5 forces model to analyze and interpret the opportunities and threats that t he industry within which a company operates (of your choice), throws up. Explain how the company plans to capitalise on the opportunities and tackle the threats understanding where power lies in a business situation. It also helps to understand both the strength of a firms current competitive position, and the strength of a position a company is looking to move into. Despite the fact that the Five Force framework focuses on business concerns rather than public policy, it also emphasizes extended competition for value rather than Just competition among existing rivals, and the simpleness of its application inspired numerous companies as well as business schools to adopt its use (Wheelen and Hunger, 1998). * Chez Airlinbe company is not an isolated unit in the world and performs within a market full of other competitors. To be able to evaluate their position on market and to act accordingly they themed the Porters Five Forces Model. This model helped to define and realize their business and its surroundings and identify threats and opportunities to focthem on. They review this model periodically to obtain up-to-date data in this global and turbulent environment. The Porter Model consists of 5 elements which together comprises the environment business operate in. These elements are: suppliers, customers, new entrants, existing competition and the product itself. By assessing every one of these elements they get the whole picture of heir company within the market and the rating helps them target the key areas. They theme the scale of 0-5 to evaluate the policies of each element where O means no policies and 5 very high policies (reffering to the number in the brackets). * 1) Policies of Suppliers As they operate in the areas of services there are no critical commodities having large influence of their everyday service delivery. Therefore this area is not of critical policies in a short run. However, they should not underestimate this element as they wouldnt be able to continue the business in long run without suppliers. f their supply (3) This is a threat in case of the aircraft machines. There are not many reputable airplanes (and airplanes parts) producers and therefore they could have strong policies to control the air travel industry. As for the catering, gift services and other indirect materials there are many fragmented choice and therefore their policies is of almost no significance as they could be replaced quickly. There are no substitutes for the particular input (5) There are no substitutes for planes (in case they want to continue providing air transportation instead of ground routes) and herefore the policies of this element is very high business critical. They could reduce this policies by handling cargo theming the earth services but this might decrease service level they provide to their customers. * The suppliers customers are fragmented, so their bar gaining policies is low (4) There are more than 200 airlines all over the world and despite some alliance organizations (such as IATA) they are all potential competitors. The policies of this element is relatively high as the suppliers could afford losing one customers but the customers cant afford loosing the critical supplier (e. g. Boeing). The switching costs from one supplier to another are high (3) Switching costs in air transport industry are mainly related to the fact of limited airplanes producers and to the machine a company already owns. They theme planes form 3 producers: Airbthem, Boeing and ATR.