Monday, December 30, 2019

A Farewell to Arms Essay Changing Perspective of Religion

Changing Perspective of Religion in A Farewell to Arms In Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms, the main character, Lieutenant Fredric Henry, undergoes a dramatic change in perspective over the course of the novel. It is most interesting to see how the Lieutenants views on religion change as he becomes more involved in the war. Early in the novel, we are introduced to the Abruzzi. The Abruzzi is a town in Switzerland, of which Henrys friend, the priest, is very fond. His father lives there and it is, for the priest, a place of quiet solitude, religious freedom, and respect. He longs for the day when he can go and do Gods work in his hometown: in my country, it is understood that a man may love God. It is not a dirty†¦show more content†¦Henry cannot go to the Abruzzi at this point in his life. He is not ready for the life which waits for him in Switzerland, at least not yet. Much later in the novel, as Fredric is thinking about Catherine in the hospital, he has an unusual memory: he recalls a night in camp when he put a log covered with ants on a fire. He remembers thinking at the time that it was the end of the world and a splendid chance to be a messiah and lift the log off the fire and throw it out where the ants could get off onto the ground...[He] thinks the cup of water on the burning log only Jeff Marsey steamed the ants(Hemingway 328). Henry does not have a perception of an all-forgiving, all loving God, he sees God as vengeful. The ants of the human race are running around in a foolish war and God is just sitting there watching people die, when He could be saving everyone. This passage has quite a different tone than the one just a few pages later, where Henry is praying for Catherine: Dont let her die. Oh, God, please dont let her die. Ill do anything for you if you wont let her die...Please, please, dear God, dont let her die(330). Henrys priorities have obviously shifted a great deal since the scene at the campfire. He has become more eager to let God into his life. What events caused this drastic change in Henrys attitude? One obvious turning point in his life during the war was the interrogation by the carabinieri. Henry has to jump into the river toShow MoreRelatedwisdom,humor and faith19596 Words   |  79 Pages WISDOM, HUMOR, AND FAITH: A HISTORICAL VIEW Walter G. Moss Table of Contents (with links) Walter G. Moss 1 Table of Contents (with links) 1 Wisdom, Perspective, and Values 2 Humor’s Contribution to Wisdom 4 Humor and Wisdom in Europe: Some Highlights 5 Renaissance Humor: Erasmus, Rabelais, Cervantes, Shakespeare 5 Two European Russians: Anton Chekhov and Vladimir Soloviev 9 Reflections on Humor from Nietzsche to the Theatre of the Absurd 12 Humor and Wisdom in the United States: Lincoln, BeecherRead MoreWalts Whitmans Vision of America in Leaves of Grass17685 Words   |  71 Pagesof†©democratic†©ideals.†©Ã¢â‚¬ © The†©poet’s†©health†©had†©been†©shaky†©since†©the†©mid†1870s,†©and†©by†©1891†©it†©was†©clear†©that†© he†©was†©dying.†©He†©therefore†©prepared†©his†©so†called†©Ã¢â‚¬Å"Deathbed†Ã¢â‚¬ ©edition†©of†©Leaves†©of†©Grass,†© which†©contains†©two†©appendices†©of†©old†age†©poems†©as†©well†©as†©a†©review†©essay†©in†©which†©he†© tries†© to†© justify†© his†© life†© and†© work.†© The†© â€Å"Deathbed†© Edition†Ã¢â‚¬ © came†© out†© in†© 1892;†© Whitman†© died†©that†©year.â⠂¬ © 4†© http://www.classroomelectric.org/volume1/belasco/whitman†emerson.htm†© /†© Letter†© written†© on†© July†© 21,†© 1855†© from†©Read MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 PagesRastafarianism is an absurd religion include: 1. Rastafarianism has been around for only about seventy years. Yet in that time it has gained inexplicable fame around the world, boasting converts from all races and nationalities. 2. Adherents of the faith appear to be relatively small in number. One study suggests that less than one percent of Jamaicans describe themselves as Rastafarians. Yet the average non-Jamaican assumes that Rastafarianism is the national religion of Jamaica. 3. Rastas believeRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pages. Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson . This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of workRead MoreThe Studio System Essay14396 Words   |  58 Pagesaspect of the business . During the 1920s, and 1930s the Hollywood film studios undertook a major evolutionary period. The inception of the Hollywood ‘studio system’ was to change the film making process radically. The following essay will examine how these changes took place, and what impact it had on the film making industry in America. We shall also examine how the system relates to the current production methods used in film making. The main issues raised withinRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesprobable good consequences of each action and the probable bad consequences while weighing the positive and negative impact of each consequence. It’s a kind of cost-benefit analysis. Exercises 1. Columbus Day is an American holiday. Write a short essay that weighs the pros and cons and then comes to a decision about whether there should be more or less public celebration (by Americans and their institutions) on Columbus Day, October 12. Here is some relevant background information to reduce your

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Media Propaganda - 9887 Words

Media propaganda Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda, in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda. Propaganda can be used as a form of political warfare. While the term propaganda has acquired a strongly negative†¦show more content†¦The Creel Commission provided themes for speeches by four-minute men at public functions, and also encouraged censorship of the American press. The Commission was so unpopular that after the war, Congress closed it down without providing funding to organize and archive its papers. The war propaganda campaign of Lippmann and Bernays produced within six months such an intense anti-German hysteria as to permanently impress American business (and Adolf Hitler, among others) with the potential of large-scale propaganda to control public opinion. Bernays coined the terms group mind and engineering consent, important concepts in practical propaganda work. The file Century of the Self by Adam Curtis documents the immense influence of these ideas on public relations and politics throughout the last century. The current public relations industry is a direct outgrowth of Lippmanns and Bernays work and is still used extensively by the United States government. For the first half of the 20th century Bernays and Lippmann themselves ran a very successful public relations firm. World saw continued use of propaganda as a weapon of war, both by Hitlers propagandist Joseph Goebbels and the British Political Warfare Executive, as well as the United States Office of War Information. In the early 2000s, the United States government developedShow MoreRelatedPropaganda and Persuasion Casted in the Media1216 Words   |  5 Pages Propaganda is performed through print, audio, and visual mass media. It is used for the promotion of the public’s activities in their life such as purchasing goods through market propaganda, and it is also found in politics, foreign affairs, and in many other fields. Most importantly propaganda is depicted in the informercialization of the news, which is connected with subliminal advertising and commercialization of public events and individual promotion such in communication websites. However,Read MoreMedia s Influence On Domestic Propaganda987 Words   |  4 PagesAs of 2013 the US government ended it s long time ban on domestic propaganda. (RT) However, has propaganda ever stopped? And, is this just an aggressive attempt to increase the already overwhelming amount of propaganda already swelling within the media? Many sources point out that the mainstream media has always been a source of propaganda, the tool used to persuade and guide the public in making their opinions an d decisions on important issues. Personally, I m also concerned that it distractsRead More The Media as Conduit for Political Propaganda Essay657 Words   |  3 PagesThe Media as Conduit for Political Propaganda According to the latest polls, 90% of Americans favor military retaliation for the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Taking into consideration that all aggregate data is used for self-serving means, this number is still exceptionally large. The numbers are manufactured by propaganda vehicles, or rather the mainstream media. In a sort of Orwellian fashion, the media bombards the audience with images, voices, and memoirs of death, griefRead MorePropaganda in American Media Essay805 Words   |  4 PagesPropaganda in American Media One of the greatest revolutions in the twentieth century was not political in nature, however, it aided in many different political revolutions. This revolution was the communications revolution. The twentieth century has experienced one of the greatest changes in means of communication including technologies such as radio, motion pictures, the Internet, advanced communications and most importantly the television. Sadly, political leaders and the government to convinceRead MoreEssay on Media Propaganda and Stereotypes1645 Words   |  7 Pagesinto stereotypes and the propaganda that is being fed by the government and the media. Stereotypes steer individuals perceptions of a group of people in a certain way, usually negative, and generalize that opinion to all members of the group. Aware of the influence stereotypes have on peoples views, governments use stereotypes already imbedded in society as a propaganda tactic to persuade peoples thoughts, opinions and beliefs in order to be nefit their cause. The media was used for disseminatingRead MoreEvaluating the Propaganda Model of the Media1416 Words   |  6 Pagesthe ‘propaganda model’ or the ‘political economy model’ for the study of media power. The Chomsky-Herman propaganda model, at its core, asserts that â€Å"elite media determine what topics, issues and events are to be considered ‘newsworthy’ by lower-tier media†¦ in order to serve the interests of dominant, elite groups [in society]† (Klaehn 2005, p. 2). Most assertions of this theory are relevant for today’s mediascape, though by and large the propaganda model holds a prejudiced view of media ownershipRead MoreUse Of Social Media As Propaganda1679 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom a landline telephone (if available). Today, social media has created several outlet for individuals across the globe to communicate. Sites like YouTube, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow users to communicate with each other without having to be physically present. If you are an owner of a smart phone then you are able to message, share photos, and video chat from the palm of your hand. Besides friends using social media to connect with other friends or families keeping in touchRead MoreGenocide and the Propaganda Media Essay1446 Words   |  6 Pagesthe cleansing of a race or ethnicity in a country. There has been evidence that this phrase can be used to describe past and present day massacres being committed around the world and how media has changed its perception on this issue overtime. Propaganda tries to force a doctrine on the whole people... Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea. ( Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1926). During Adolf Hitler’s time, the Jews inRead More Media Propaganda Hides American Terrorism Essay1178 Words   |  5 PagesMedia Propaganda Hides American Terrorism    An article in this months Stuff magazine for men, titled Die American Scum tells us that the world sucks. It sucks because while Americans have given other countries Mickey Mouse, burgers and gum, won wars for them, kept the peace and disposed of dictators, all we have gotten in return is terrorism. The article, by John Parrish, goes on to discourage Americans from traveling to 10 terrorist countries including Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, ColombiaRead More Stereotypes, Discrimination and Prejudice Essay1506 Words   |  7 Pagesbooks and magazines, or have had related to us by family and friends. Though all these are equally significant roots for the stimulation of stereotypes, media however, is the giant force. Media propaganda is one of the main functions of society that projects stereotypical opinions or perceptions. One of the most powerful forces, propaganda in the media combined with stereotypes often act together to accomplish a homogenized and often misleading view about society an d its people. Stereotype ? a conventional

Saturday, December 14, 2019

What Is Prp Health And Social Care Essay Free Essays

string(131) " The patient is so observed for 15-20 proceedingss in order to document immediate response to injection and so will be discharged\." For the past 30 old ages their have been specializers of all natures associating to athleticss public presentation every bit good as athleticss rehabilitation with whatever valuable resorts there were out at that place. We are merely get downing to farther survey these rules for bettering musculus, bone and tendon harm. The usage of autlogious and recombinant signifiers likewise are going an indispensable tool in handling more extended and never-say-die focussing on the use of growing factors and maximising protein secernment to advance healing of the bone and tissue on a cellular spectrum. We will write a custom essay sample on What Is Prp Health And Social Care Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now What should be expected is that a choice few may venture into the research involved behind this comparatively new survey may see a steady slope of involvement on Platelet Rich Plasma and by merchandises every bit good as be the first to acknowledge the effects in hospital scenes, surgery centres, into outpatient, even into doctors ‘ offices such as Orthopedic clinics and more specifically Sports Medicine associations. A concentration of autologous thrombocytes contains thrombocyte rich plasma and releases into the affected are superficially through a procedure called ( degranulation ) at least seven different growing factors help excite bone besides used in soft tissue mending. This is done by shooting the organic structure with whole blood a procedure known as autologous blood injection ( ABI ) . and of import beginnings for our wellness for medical usage including wound mending while undergoing surgery, a really abundant symptom known as tendinitis, cardiac attention, gristle fix, spinal surgery, and dental wellness every bit good. PRP stimulates the foundations for fix and completes the rhythm of revascularization developed by a connective tissue base, so a food platform made up of epithelial cells can get down to migrate to the affected country. After lesions form from surgery, epithelial coverings of open tissue and connective tissue, the development of corium are the basic mechanism that reduces marking and provides a the maximal procedure of regeneration in normal skin pigmentation so that station operative fix will be accepted more cosmetically friendly. And for bone fix platelet-rich plasma ( PRP ) it can be added autogenously to cram or to a mixture for managing during surgery and minimising particulatar migration every bit good as to add increased thrombocytes into the country where a peculiar hurt occurs. In certain instances affecting invasive fix of articulations, sinews, and ligaments, so the new option is to garner blood from the patient which is processed into PRP and so injected into a localised country to with the end of speed uping healing. PRP What Is It? The specialised atoms of PRP are more clearly be understood as thrombocytes that are little mononucleiated atoms in peripheral blood responsible for a figure of proteins, cytokines and other bioactive elements used in modulating and handling lesion healing. A normal thrombocyte counts step in blood scope is 150,000uL ( micro-liters ) to 350,000uL. Plasma is the unstable part of blood assorted with coagulating factors including proteins and ions. A thrombocyte count of 1,000,000uL peers every bit much as 5mL of plasma, which in bend expresses the phenomenon behind the consequences in mending. The cytokines specifically classified as transforming growing factor, platelet-derived growing factor, insulin like growing factor, fibroblast growing factor, cuticular growing factor, vascular endothelial growing factor and endothelial cell growing factor ( Stanford University Medical Center- Anonymous ) . All these cytokines are all seen in biological ratios these bioactive factors contain heavy granules in thrombocytes making the dense coagulating substance needed to trip factors such as histamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, Dopastat and adenosine. The phases of lesion healing and major constituents are redness, proliferation and fix. The initial stage given the peculiar type of tissue hurt involves a stimulation of growing factors in the curdling formation. Histamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine are used to increase blood flow and more specifically inflammatory cells a better entree site for nearing redness. Adenosine receptors help allow cell adhesions in lesion healing. Platelet rich plasma can merely be made of antiocoagulated blood an add-on of citrate to whole blood to adhere the ionised Ca and suppressing coagulating rush. The existent stairss involve two of import processs where whole blood removed from the patient is spun in a extractor, dividing the cells of the blood. The first centrifugation method is to divide the ruddy and white blood cells from plasma and blood thrombocytes, as the white and ruddy blood cells are much larger than thrombocytes. The 2nd centrifugation is thought to insulate the thrombocytes more successfully and easy able to divide the PRP from thrombocyte hapless plasma ( PPP ) . This microenvironment consequences in chemotaxis of inflammatory cells every bit good as the activation and proliferation of local primogenitor cells. In most instances, fibroblastic cicatrix tissue is formed. In some scenes, nevertheless, such as in a break callosity, these condit ions can besides ease the formation of new bone tissue ( AAOS By Barbara D. Boyan, PhD ; Zvi Schwartz, DMD, PhD ; Thomas E. Patterson, PhD ; and George Muschler, MD ) Existing engineering enables the isolation every bit good as a concentrated value of the patient ‘s ain thrombocytes. PRP readying is non entirely responsible for autogenic osteogenic cells but instead more significantly dependant of the presence of a local osteogenic population. The consequences are an increasing sum of osteoblastic cells and copiousness of matrix synthesis, PRP promotes fibroblastic growing, cicatrix formation every bit good as distinction. Role of Mending PRP is used chiefly for soft tissue hurts including sprains, strains, tendinitis, every bit good as bursitis. One valuable constituent to the handling and proper usage of PRP is the demand for concise ultrasound needle counsel. In order to be able to happen the exact location of the hurt site, a dynamic musculoskeletal ultrasound unit is used. The ultrasound provides a image of the deep tissues within the organic structure in order to place the exact location required to see positive consequences, the patient is prepared with a local anaesthetic by and large lidocane. The patient is so observed for 15-20 proceedingss in order to document immediate response to injection and so will be discharged. You read "What Is Prp Health And Social Care Essay" in category "Essay examples" Because there may be uncomfortableness experienced the patient is advised to look for any symptoms associating to trouble or swelling at the site of injection for up to one hebdomad, patients are encouraged to fr ost the injection site, elevate the limb, modify activity or more normally known as R.I.C.E ( remainder, ice, compaction and elevate ) . The administrating specializer using the injection of PRP requires a well-experienced doctor that non merely has a good apprehension and research behind the foundations of this stuff but must besides get the hang the rules involved in successful usage of the ultrasound acerate leaf. Prior to debut of the PRP stuff multiple holes need to be implemented to the injured sinew or Bursa in order to travel frontward with intervention. PRP consequences province that approximately 20 % of the clip intervention may hold to be repeated peculiarly if there is no important betterment over the undermentioned four hebdomads. Surprisingly any anti-inflammatory drugs are recommended to be avoided for the undermentioned four hebdomads of PRP application. Although the process is considered safe, possible side-effects could happen and patient should be cognizant of the followers: †¢ Allergic reaction †¢ Infection †¢ Scar tissue formation †¢ Neurovascular hurt †¢ Calcification at the injection site Contraindications are specific conditions of the patient in which the intervention should non be used because it may conflict with a anterior or bing status. Contraindications for PRP include the undermentioned preexisting conditions: †¢ Presence of a tumour †¢ Metastatic disease †¢ Active Infections †¢ Pregnancy and/or active breastfeeding Treatment on musculuss and sinews ( most common hurts ) By and large the usage in orthopaedic application for PRP is most normally associated with chronic tendinopathies, actue ligament hurts, musculus hurts and bone devolution. Tendons are structures that connect musculuss to the bone. Any hurt or general wear and tear of the sinew causes an inflammatory status called tendinosis which frequently occurs in the cubitus, Achilles sinews, articulatio genus, and shoulder. The chronic tendinopathy intervention will be a common intervention for sidelong epicondylitis who have had unsuccessful interventions including physical therapy and Cortone Acetate injections. The terminal end is to obtain full scope of gesture working at the same time on beef uping with small to no hurting or other residuary effects. Another type of tendon hurt includes Achilles tendinopathy ( paratendinitis, paratendinitis with tendinosis, and pure tendinosis ) which is localized tendon redness every bit good as deficiency extensibility with the possible to wholly tear, b y aiming and reconstructing utilizing tenocytes bring forthing an addition in collagen filaments. In the lower appendage a common sinew issue lies in the patellar tendinopathy most normally affecting the proximal bone and tendon junction or joint line. The ground for common dislocation in the patellar sinew is normally related to inordinate force or strength in athletics or activity every bit good as proper footwear and or equipment. The strength issues can be observed by factors such as musculus instability or failing which may do a sensitivity in activity particularly in jumping and film editing. A Dr. Mishra published positive consequences in patients with chronic cubitus tendinitis ( American Journal of Sports Medicine- 2006 ) . The shoulder is a different and more complex facet much more extended than the cubitus. This is an country where jobs can originate associating to rotator cuff hurts including instability, AC joint arthritis and even nervousnesss issues in the cervical spinal column such as a herniated cervical vertabrae. So to find the value of PRP in shoulders it will take more clip and many more surveies until we can find the forecast for PRP injections and their success. Several clinical sawboness are administrating this intervention in pattern where it allows the freedom to measure the advancement in patients, but other than physical therapy and modes such as ultrasound used to make more snap in the country and increase blood flow every bit good as ice and remainder but unlike the PRP injection there are few types of intervention that will diminish hurting and redness. That ‘s why PRP is the following alternate measure in keeping maximal public presentation when physical demands are required in athletics or day-to-day activities. The most unproved country that requires more s urvey to endorse research is how PRP can be linked to cartilage Restoration which would take a large spring in Orthopaedics because these types of hurts are so prevelant in athletics. Articular gristle hurts and DJD degenerative articulation disease are more copiously researched in athleticss medical specialty and how it can correlate to the usage of PRP injections is a really influential subject and it has already posed a positive grade in athleticss medical specialty and orthopedic surgery imitating hyaline like tissue that integrates with similar gristle. Showing good consequences utilizing PRP in handling gristle lesions and regeneration by modulating cells, growing factors and protein synthesis the recovery for a peculiar type of gristle dislocation can be critical in returning to feature sooner than subsequently. Influence in Sports medical specialty and jocks PRP therapy made athleticss headlines when Hines Ward sprained his median collateral ligament in his articulatio genus in the AFC Championship Game he so received a fluctuation of PRP therapy from the Steelers squad doctor and two hebdomads subsequently when most had thought he would be shut down for the balance of the season normally ensuing in four to six months of rehab and strength and conditioning, he could so restart athletics, but when he went on to catch two of the biggest base on ballss in his calling in a Super Bowl triumph people took notice. After seeing Hines Ward return every bit rapidly as he did and be so productive the public oculus became intrigued by this recovery procedure and the extended research began. The general public perceives therapy effectiveness more favourably when pro jocks are able to return to feature with a quicker recovery clip than standard protocols suggest and since they are on such a big platform where a said jock could hold a diagnosings that requires several months or what could be a partial sum of the season and is back merely hebdomads subsequently, everyon e wants to hold an chance to obtain such intervention from your recreational jock to your 9-5 occupational person. Peoples such as Hines Ward, Tiger Woods and Troy Polamalu are merely a few ace jocks that are relied on to execute at the highest degree and who have attributed their patterned advance and recovery to PRP. Star athlete disbursals of class non straight out of pocket can do upward to 10s of 1000000s of dollars and that may travel unnoticed when researching the options of intervention for recovery. The concern facet of pro athleticss has as of late brought on a overplus of illegal substances in order to hike athletic public presentation. The likes of Tiger Woods even explored this comparatively new signifier of recovery and had a PRP injection in his articulatio genus in order to vie in a major tourney that is on such a large spectrum that merely the fact entirely that he was n’t forced to lose anytime off from the athletics following surgery rose inquiries rivals a nd athleticss authors likewise began go arounding false information, that blood spinning was being confused with blood doping. Even claiming that PRP involved being injected with calf or animate being blood and PRP was in some manner related or had the same rules incorporated with HGH ( human growing endocrine ) . Thankfully Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta cleared up any inquiry sing the PRP in jocks and the legal issues environing it in a section about Tiger Woods existent usage associating to PRP usage. And most late jocks such as John Daly ( professional golf player ) , Joakim Noah ( professional hoops participant ) , Brandon Roy ( professional hoops participant ) , Blake Griffin ( professional hoops participant ) , James Blake ( professional tennis participant ) and Cliff Lee ( professional baseball participant ; pitcher in game 1 of the World Series this twelvemonth ) all among the persons of injured jocks who received PRP for assorted hurts. The building worker with terrible Achilles sinew issues suppressing them from returning to work is an implicit in issue for the support that PRP research is having and in actuality merely as an athlete returns to feature that he may be able to return back to work. The instructor who is invariably on their pess all twenty-four hours and life with creaky hurting in his/her articulatio genuss likely sing traveling on disablement or even other options for a calling does non necessitate to settle and without holding to hold a process done most and by and large treated with a entire articulatio genus athroplasty. PRP benefits include the chance to salvage occupations and return patients back to day-to-day activities and better lives non merely amongst high profile jocks but occupational hurts as good. How to cite What Is Prp Health And Social Care Essay, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Playing Second Fiddle free essay sample

I fiddle in the bathroom. I started this arguably unique behavior some time ago so I could watch my bowing in the mirror. Now I play there because the bathroom is at the far end of the house. That way, there are two closed doors and one complete room between me and the rest of civilization. To my parents credit, they have, over the years, paid for and taken me to countless lessons and other musical events. But sometimes they get a little tired of hearing me practice the same tune three dozen times in half an hour. Even so, I am sure fiddle tunes are easier on the ear than snare drum etudes, sounds that were common in our house not too long ago. At my high school, marching band is king. I started playing percussion as a sixth grader. Early in my freshman year of high school, I was band member of the week and became the first-chair percussionist in the top band. We will write a custom essay sample on Playing Second Fiddle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page My teachers were telling me I really had a future as a percussionist. I participated in numerous honor bands and clinics, where I was always the only girl in my section. At school, I was good friends with the boys and the couple of girls in percussion, but at these bands, everything was different. It was obvious to me that people at first wondered what I was doing there. These drummers were hard-core: the ones who tapped constantly and had contests to see who could play the fastest buzz-roll. I was told more than once by both them and by visiting directors that I should let the boys play the most important parts because I looked too small and timid. I always had to prove that I could hold my own. Because I was different, I learned to stand up for myself, and to play what I wanted to play. But being in a successful, very competitive band came at a price, especially for drummers during marching season. I had rehearsals or performances five days a week, several hours each day. I w as happy, but other types of music were pulling me away. I had been playing violin and fiddle for a while, but I realized I really wanted to play in an orchestra and be more involved in bluegrass music. Unfortunately, I didnt have time to do these things and still play in the band at school. Could I give up something I was quite good at to literally play second fiddle? After much anguished contemplation, I finally decided to quit band. Two years later, I am playing in my citys youth orchestra and taking fiddle lessons from an accomplished bluegrass musician. With her help, I am also learning to play the banjo and guitar, and have even been writing my own songs. Although I cant say I dont miss percussion, I think I have found my niche in the musical world. Oscar Wilde was very wise in saying that he regretted losing his individuality. This is especially commendable considering he lived during a time when being different was somewhat looked down upon. All Englishmen were supposed to l ook and act a certain way, and Wilde wanted to be an Englishman while still being himself. In twenty-first century America, being an individual can still be hard. Being true to myself came at a cost because I couldnt find within the rules of my school marching band a way to do it all. In my life after high school, I am hopeful I will find the encouragement to play any instrument. But in the meantime, Ive learned that being true to oneself requires making choices that I am willing to make.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Pizza Cut Value Chain Analysis Essay Example

Pizza Cut Value Chain Analysis Essay About Value Chain Analysis: Value Chain Analysis describes the activities that take place in a business and relates them to an analysis of the competitive strength of the business. A value chain identifies and isolates the various economic value adding activities such as differentiating a product, lowering the cost, and meeting need quickly that occur some way in every firm. It portrays activities required to create value for customers of a given product or service. It tells where low cost advantages exist; in what ways each activity can be undertaken so as to differentiate it from that of a firm’s competitor, how to deliver satisfaction to customers as quickly as possible. Business is viewd as a process, a chain of activities in order to find the strengths and weakness of a firm operating in a competitive environment. Competitive advantage is created and sustained only when a firm is able to perform the most critical functions either more cheaply or better than its competitors. The value creating activities of a firm, according to Michael Porter suggested that the is grouped under two headings: (1) Primary Activities those that are directly concerned with creating and delivering a product . (2) Support Activities, which are not directly involved in production, but may increase effectiveness or efficiency and work to enhance or to help the functioning of primary activities. Linking Value Chain Analysis to Competitive Advantage A business which wishes to outperform its competitors through differentiating itself through higher quality will have to perform its value chain activities better than the opposition. We will write a custom essay sample on Pizza Cut Value Chain Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pizza Cut Value Chain Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pizza Cut Value Chain Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer By contrast, a strategy based on seeking cost leadership will require a reduction in the costs associated with the value chain activities, or a reduction in the total amount of resources used. About Pizza Hut: Yum! Brands Inc is the owner of the Pizza Hut chain worldwide. A Fortune 300 company, Yum! Brands owns Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, AW and Long John Silver’s restaurants worldwide. Yum! generated more than US$ 25. 9 billion in worldwide sales in the year 2003, and has more than 33,000 restaurants in over 100 countries. Pizza Hut entered India in 1996, and opened its first restaurant in Bangalore. Since then it has captured a dominant and significant share of the pizza market and has maintained an impressive growth rate of over 40 per cent per annum. Pizza Hut is believed to have close to 50 per cent market share of the organised pizza-retailing segment in India. I have chosen few objectives of Pizza hut in Indian Market and how did it use Value chain analysis to achieve its objectives. Pizza hut’s main strategy to remain competitive is being customer focused and service oriented. So its main objectives based on this are: Objectives of Pizza Hut in Indian Market †¢To provide world-class facility and taste to its Indian customers in a cost effective way. †¢To maintain uniform taste across all its outlets. †¢To present its products when and where the customer wants within committed half an hour time. †¢To delight the customer, ie more beyond satisfaction. Lets us see that how Pizza hut worked to achieve its objectives by improving its activities using value chain analysis. VALUE CHAIN OF PIZZA HUT: Inbound Logistics: Buying of all raw materials as mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, sauce, base, potato, vegetables, wheat, babycorn, spices, chicken. Manufcaturing Operations: Preparing of pizza base. Customising Pizzas at outlets. Outgoing shipping and Logistics: Transporting pizza base to all pizza hut outlets, Delivery of Pizza to the customers, mainly in home delivery. Customer service: Catering to the needs of the customers before and after pizza supply. Marketing: Advertising and Campaigning of Pizza hut products. It is mainly the support activities that make product differentiation or cost reduction and add value to the product and increases customer’s satisfaction and delight. Lets see how pizza hut works out each of the support activities that improves the functioning of primary activities. Procurement: (This concerns how resources are acquired for the business) Main issue for Pizza hut was to provide quality tasty Pizza’s at affordable cost in Indian Market. They aimed to provide a quality product to their customer and on the other hand be responsive as well. The cost will go high and so to be efficient enough they need to maintain the supply chain. For this they concentrated on economies of scale and developed a chain of local suppliers for 95% of its ingredients. However as they aim to provide world class facility and taste, Pizza hut imports the main taste causing ingredients like pepperoni, mozzarella cheese from Australia and spain resp. But due to this the cost of the product increases. But by local sourcing of all other ingredients like vegetables, tomatoes, wheat they could compensate this increased cost. Carton boxes are also purchased locally to benefit from the economies of scale Their strategic decision here is to form a chain of local suppliers to reduce their cost of material procurement. However further because of entry of other competitors like Domino’s to Indian market Pizza hut further tried to reduce its cost without affecting quality or taste. For this Pizza hut has established a tie up with Bangalore based Dynamix Dairy Industries Ltd(DDIL) for sourcing mozzarella cheese. By this the cost and lead time for cheese has reduced greatly. Landed cost of cheese comes to US$ 3. 3 to 3. 5/kg and the domestic price is US$ 2. 9 to 3. 1/kg, the lead time has reduced from 60 to 30 days. Innovation and Development: The company invest resources for research on customers’ needs and analysing customers’ feedback about what people think about pizzas; what do they like or dislike about pizzas; and what do they want from pizzas. The feedbacks and research are the basis of the company for innovation and development of new products. Telephone numbers are provided for customers to give their feedback about the product and suggestions. Separate teams are dedicated for continuous survey in all the outlets and studying customer preference and taste. Through customer quiestionairre, focus group, market study changing customer needs are studied and new products introduced to continue delighting the customers and make Pizza hut different from the competition. Human Resource Department: Pizza hut invests on skills, Knowledge, training and development of employee for different positions. The company has program like annual performance appraisals designed for Team members to know exactly the expectations and existing opportunities for improvement. Information and skills are well-communicated internally among employees; the company allows open communication all the way to the top. Customer Mania is a program developed for Pizza hut employees and it is a program based on three principles: operational excellence, great marketing and real ‘sit up and take notice’ standards of customer service. The program aims to instil the basics of customer service to every team member of Pizza Hut. These include smiling and greeting the customer, presentation, good service and dealing with service problems themselves without seeking managerial help. Employees set their own targets without supervision. All over the world, Pizza Hut holds a quarterly customer mania mindset session for its team members who include all the crews, managers and Restaurant Support Centre Team to reiterate and motivate employees on the importance of providing consistent product quality, service, ambiance and value for money to the customers. In this session, employees outstanding in customer service are recognised and awarded. Technology Development: Information Technology usage. Proper IT system and information management was absent in Pizza hut. This lead to billing problem, misinterpretation, miscommunication between the suppliers and the outlet managers and wastage of resources. No customer database was maintained and no knowledge about customer demand pattern, preferences, need existed. This lead to improper inventory control and excess, short supply to outlets. Built in server storage system of Pizza hut collapsed due to exponential growth of the organisation network. Pizza hut faced huge loss due to this. To solve this problem it deployed SAP ERP. Now SAP ERP plays the crucial role in helping to manage the internal operations and to maintain the extended supply chain. By this Pizza hut managed its database and invented way to maintain its increasing database. Usage of temperature controlled trucks is also a technological advancement. Other support activities for each of Primary activity: For Operations and logistics: Material handling and Transportation- In order to maintain uniform taste across all its outlets, Pizza hut had set up four commissionaries(Noida, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Bangalore) where Pizza base in made and transported to different Pizza hut outlets. Here same base is transferred to different outlets and there depending upon customer’s order toppings made and served. This also avoids problem rising out of sudden demand of particular pizza, as only plain base is transferred to all places and at outlets customised Pizzas are made to provide varieties to customer. It is a Push Pull strategy employed here, customers are satisfied on getting custom made pizza and Pizza hut also enjoys economies of scale in manufacturing base. The bases produced are transported by use of refrigerated – temperature controlled trucks to keep the base as fresh as possible. There are sufficient trucks employed and also vacant space is there and when demand increases this space can be filled and by this Pizza hut doesnot incur any additional charges when the demand increases. By this way they add value by transportation and cut off cost, also increase the efficiency. Adding on, when planning for new outlets, they do so such that it locates along the trucks route so that no increase in transportation charges and there is optimum use of trucks. Supporting and enhancing Customer service: Timely delivery- As they aim to deliver Pizza’s within thirty minutes, Pizza hut opens outlets in bulk numbers across the cities. So when an order is placed by customer, the outlets communicate with each other and the nearest counter delivers the pizza to the customer within 30 minutes. So by this the responsiveness and efficiency is increased. Catering to local Taste – leveraging the Indian Advantage: Pizza hut offers pure vegetarian dine ins in some Indian cities and also offers jain Menus. By this it attracts minority segment customers. Pizza hut’s Indian Menu offers varieties that match to local tastes and thus it takes good care of the Indian culture and religions and designed its outlets and offerings accordingly, thereby making it a international brand with local taste. Service for differently abled people: As part of its customer service, most Pizza Hut restaurants provide facilities for people with disabilities. The company has improved its physical environment with more easily accessible facilities and has trained its employees to better understand and meet the needs of customers with disabilities. Pizza hut also offers loyalty cards to customers as a token of appreciation and makes them come back to Pizza hut again. Enhancing Marketing activity: Pizza hut has formed partnership with Nestle, Pepsi and it offers combo offers to delight its customers. They have massive TV advertisements and campaigns to enhance its visibility and attract the Indian youth and children especially. It has concepts like ice cream factory, where for one payment persons can take as much ice cream as possible. This attracts many children. Pizza hut employs various techniques like offering surprise gifts to customers, buffet system, and new concepts like hot dots to impress customers by their timely delivery. Brand image is increased by quickly resolving customer complaints, integrating feedbacks in the processes, compensating immediately for dissatisfaction, keeping up promise of delivery. All these are made possible by closely weaved communication system among the outlets. Thus by analysis of every activity in Pizza Hut’s business chain, it successfully modified processes which did not add value into processes that adds and increases value of end product, thereby delighting customer and make them feel as receiving more value for money spent. This tool helped Pizza hut to be cost effective and customer focused and maintain its competitive advantage.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Recruitment And Selection In A Social Setting The WritePass Journal

Recruitment And Selection In A Social Setting INTRODUCTION Recruitment And Selection In A Social Setting } Bowles, N., 1995. Methods of Nurse Selection: a review, Nursing Standard, 9, 15, pp. 25–29. Department for children, schools and families (DCSF), 2010. Safeguarding children and safer recruitment in education.   education.gov.uk/consultations/downloadableDocs/Safeguarding%20Children%20Guidance.pdf   Ã‚  Ã‚  { Accessed on 17th January 2012} Department of Health (DOH), 2004. Code of practice for the international recruitment of healthcare professionals, crown . Erooga, M., 2009. Towards safer organizations: adults who pose a risk to children in workplace and implications for recruitment and selection. nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/findings/towardssaferorganisationssummary_wdf63929.pdf   {Accessed on 16th January 2012} Social Services Directorate (SSD), 2006. Safeguarding vulnerable adults: Regional adult protection policy and procedural guidance. gain-ni.org/flowcharts/downloads/safeguarding_vulnerable_adults.pdf {Accessed 20th January 2012} Warner, N., 1992. Choosing with Care. The Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Selection, Development and Management of Staff in Childrens Homes, London: HMSO. Wood, R., 1998. Competency-based recruitment and selection. Wiley publishers

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Case Analysis for DLC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Case Analysis for DLC - Essay Example The main business opportunities place considerable  focus  on manufacturing, trade, processing, and on the transport and distribution which became the  regional’s  leading  trade  hub  serving around two million customers all over the world. Dubai media city, Dubai Internet city and the Jebel Ali free zone were also  extremely  favorable to foreign investors. Foreign companies  were allowed  to set up free of the local  ownership  and would benefit from the renewable fifteen years  guarantee  of the absence of taxation. Foreign companies can setup  free  of local ownership and benefit from a renewable 15 year  guarantee  of no taxation. Dubai Logistics City  was  afterwards  built, to the already existing Jebel Ali Port, like a  further  free  region  and  fraction  of the future  prospect  Dubai World Central. The Jebel Ali port, standing in a free zone allowing  expansion  in the future, which is a paramount con sideration to the  Emirates’  leader. The Dubai World Central would be used to  host  the all-new airport. It would make it remarkably easy to  revolutionize  freight  from sea, air or land transportation. ... It  was characterized  by the existing internationality and the  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœeasy-living’  atmosphere. In addition to these, English  is extensively spoken, which makes it more attractive to foreigners and the  religious  issues in the  country  are handled  liberally. Up to present times, growth in tourism has led to the  booming  of construction. The  latest  ambitious project intended is Burj Dubai. It  is planned  to be the highest tower worldwide in completion. Just like the Burj al Arab Hotel, it  is situated  on a manmade island.  Around 4.9% of its current GPD came from tourism and conferences.  It was  mainly  from the tourists attracted by the world class accommodation and the duty-free shopping. Dubai palm island  development  was of one of the greatest projects. It was an  island made  by  man  in the resemblance of a palm tree. It offered villas, apartments and hotels.  The island's large size made it even visib le from the outer space.  The major focus of every decision in the country has been its development and sustainable  growth. Due to its monarchial system of governance, coordination and long  time  planning  of policies and projects  it is made  exceptionally  possible.  However, adapting to the  country’s way of doing business, i.e., the Arabian  style  is extremely difficult to many foreign investors. In most of the negotiations, these Arab partners do not have open discussions about the positive or negative impacts of a project in question. Instead of this, they just  withdraw  from the negotiations involved, consider the  matter  at hand  private  and inform the  alien  business partners concerning their  private  decision later. Nevertheless, life in the country – as a model of tolerance and with its variety of different cultures

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Gathering Storm and Global War (US History) Assignment

The Gathering Storm and Global War (US History) - Assignment Example The Axis powers wanted to rule the world. If not stopped by the combined efforts of the Allies, this could have been a reality. Without the U.S.’s support, the English, Russians, and other Allies might have failed to defeat the Axis powers. 2) JAPANESE INCARCERATION-Should the survivors of the Japanese prison camps have been given a $20,000 reparations payment from 1988 on, or was their imprisonment just the fortunes of war? Explain. Yes. Japanese prison camps should have been given $20,000 in reparations, not only for their economic and material losses, but also for the emotional turmoil at the loss of security of being an American citizen. If we did not issue reparations, then we would have been worse than the NAZIS. We are supposed to be good guys, although America sometimes makes mistakes. These mistakes need to be acknowledged and paid for. Japanese prison camps were not only a mistake, but wrong as well. 3) ATOMIC BOMB-Was there any better option for Pres. Harry Truman to end WW2 than dropping two atomic bombs on Japan? Explain. No. The Japanese had a different perspective about death. Our goal was to protect as many American lives as possible. The Japanese did not mind dying in kamikaze attacks as long as Americans also died. If the atomic bomb had not been used, the war could have lasted indefinitely. This might have caused more causalities, American and Japanese, than the ones that died in Hiroshima or Nagasaki

Monday, November 18, 2019

Week9 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Week9 - Assignment Example In Communist Russia, with the new policy of Dictator Stalin to abolish religion in state, people faced a similar scenario when all of their religious landmarks and praying centres were destroyed. Similarly, in terms of political aspects, there are divisions found in societies because of a difference of opinion and support over a matter of support of political party and even on formats of governance. Social aspects such as the difference of interactions and sharing of opinions also cause cornering of families and selected people among societies (Rees, 2004). Economic statures also have had impact on social gatherings of societies, as a rift is created among individuals of societies who belong to a separate economic standard. Lastly, cultural aspects also create hostile situations, as people of different backgrounds interact with only each other and are subject to racial stereotypes, which cause aggressive behaviour at an individual level. With these aspects, societies are subject to hostile rifts that result in dangerous outcomes at times, which must be controlled by government policy

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Complex Leadership Styles And Success Management Essay

Complex Leadership Styles And Success Management Essay Leadership style is too complex to limit to a simple formula, although there are some personality traits that are effective for becoming a successful leader. Some of these belong to leadership, while others are used in project management. Some general characters are common in most of the leaders such as: creativity, intelligence and courage. However, there are two opposite traits among leaders especially in critical situation which can determine whether the leader will be successful or not. Some leaders tend to blame others and avoid responsibility, while other leaders accept the failure and believe that outcomes depend on their decision and also their actions. Today, being an effective project manager is one of the most important issues in each organisation. This chapter will demonstrate the gist of activities which have been done about leadership so far. It will demonstrate the differences between management and leadership within the project environment. Leadership can be expressed in terms of the ability to build the instruction of project, motivate the members and maintain the performance of different groups in the organisation. In general, managers should deal with complexities and leaders should focus on changes. Leadership is related to conflict management and soft skills but management is related to formulating, monitoring and processing. Accepting failure but not defeat, considering the past mistakes during the project, and being the optimistic person should be considered for leaders to overcome the problems and direct the project in the proper way. It is difficult to establish a certain instruction for becoming an effective project manager although many different leadership and management styles have been built to develop the project accurately. All of the leadership styles and management technologies have been made in order to finish the project on time, precisely and satisfactorily. Effective leaders should first find out the purpose of their leadership (George, 2006). . Leadership theories General view Leadership has been considered more than any other aspect of human behaviour in the project management study. Leadership is the ability to bring people together to attain the results over time. Leadership is the long-term process and it needs years of progress and hard working. The leadership for 21st century becomes more complex and should be redefine in order to achieve the great goals (George, 2006). Many investigations have been carried out in leadership studies so as to find an appropriate leadership theory. For instance, Bass (1985) has had a great impact on leadership theory. He identified different types of characteristics, behaviours, and leadership styles. In spite of that, the science of leadership does not have certain factors which can be applied for all of projects in the world. Measuring and assessing projects in different places are not the same due to different situations. Therefore, many aspects of leadership still stay theoretical and cannot be practical (Gehring, 2007, Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). All general leadership theories such as transformation, transaction and path-goal indicate that the project managers should own the required traits to lead a project effectively. In other words, effective project managers should recognise which approach is appropriate for applying to project leadership. Pinto et al. (1998) stated that Any project managers ability to lead effectively is augmented by his or her understanding of alternative approaches to leadership. Therefore, leaders should extract the skills of their employee and apply them to the project in order to lead the project accurately (Gehring, 2007). History of theories Theory of leadership like other theories has the history of formation. The first one was called superior individual and related to ancient Egyptians kings. The second was the great man theory which made by developing the first theory and indicated that a great man could determine the history of his country. The third one was the man of the hour and it was the modern form of the great man theory. This theory expanded and made the basic recorded leadership theory that called trait theory. After this time leadership was broadly modelled due to impact of great leaders on history such as Napoleon, Frederick, Churchill, Roosevelt and etc (Gehring, 2007). Trait theory Generally, traits are concerned with personal characteristics such as courage, intelligence, creativity and appearance. Trait theory has remarkable mistakes due to its limitations. The reason is that it is difficult to determine which leader can be known as a successful leader. Also, many trait lists have been made for leadership; therefore it is not easy to make a trait list as a reference. In addition, leaders who only possess the trait list cannot be called as successful leaders. Finally, by the end of 20th century, this theory is replaced by modern theories which concerned by behaviour of leader rather than traits (Gehring, 2007) . This theory indicates that effective leaders are born, not made. It supposes that effective leaders have almost the same traits. Three major factors are considered in this type of theory: personal appearance, personality, and abilities. Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) found the main traits of effective leaders; intelligence, technical knowledge, self-confidence, influence, ambition, and integrity. This classification for effective project managers is different. It includes problem-solving and negotiating abilities, initiative, orientation, communication, perspective and self-confidence (Turner, 1999, Turner, 2005). The authentic leaders should have the five main traits for leading the organisations such as: showing self-discipline, making connected relationship, leading with both hearts and heads, training solid value, and encouraging their purpose with passion (George, 2006). Competency Unfortunately, the leadership terms such as: leadership trait, leadership attribute, leadership style and leadership competence have very narrow definition. Therefore, sometimes these terms have been used in an incorrect position. However, it should be noted that in the modern project, all of these terms should be considered in order to evaluate leadership success (Gehring, 2007). According to trait theory, some researchers believe that the effective leaders have the common inherent competencies. Although, this idea is just for inherent competencies and the personal competences can be learned as well as personal characteristics during the work (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Some authors believe that all of people have the power of leading in them; some of them in government, some of them in business, and etc. This power as series of competencies should be discovered in a certain time by themselves to serve others (George, 2006). Projects need project management competencies in order to be accomplished successfully. Competence can be defined in terms of skills (including intelligence, management and problem-solving skills), knowledge, traits, aptitude, behaviour, and motive. The competencies have been identified by the project manager competency development (PMCD) framework: knowledge, performance and personal. The personal one also has been classified into six major competencies: (1) personal effectiveness, (2) influence, (3) Managerial, (4) cognitive, (5) human service and (6) accomplishment (Gehring, 2007). Many taxonomy have been made for the competency, although, one of the comprehensive one was made by Dulewicz and Higgs (2003). They defined fifteen leadership competencies for three types of leadership: intellectual, managerial skill and emotional. See table 2.1(Dulewicz and Higgs, 2003). Table 2.1: Fifteen leadership competencies and the competencies profiles of their styles of leadership (Dulewicz and Higgs, 2003). The competency leadership theory was made in 1990 in order to recognise the competencies of effective leaders. It shows that effective leadership can be obtained only by learning. Different combination of competencies can make different styles of leadership; therefore, they can be useful in different situations. Accordingly, Bass (1990) stated that certain leaders are more suitable for stable circumstance and others are suited to an unstable circumstance (Turner, 2005). It should be noted that the leaders in certain industry can very rarely to be effective in other industries where they have not enough experience. Thus, the structure of industry can impact on competence of leaders (Groysberg et al., 2006). Major leadership theories Many leadership theories lists have been identified over the last century. One of the significant of these lists is classified into six theories: (1) trait theory, (2) competency theory, (3) behavioural or style theory, (4) contingency theory, (5) visionary or charismatic theory, and (6) emotional intelligence theory (Turner, 2005). The behavioural or style theory is related to behaviours and assumes that effective leadership can be obtain during the life and effective leaders are not born naturally. The Cognitive theory assumes that an effective leader can be made in a special environment. Path-goal theory is made through cognitive theory. In pas-goal theory leaders should help members to find their path to their goal. This theory determines four leadership behaviours: directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented (House, 1971, Turner, 2005). The visionary or charismatic theory appeared in 1980 when business leaders changed their strategy due to critical situation. Two leadership types of this theory are transformational (people-focused) and transactional (task-focused) which are made by Bass (1985). Later, Bass and Avolio (1995) developed these transformation and transaction leadership styles and found that transformation style has greater influence on the project than transaction one. The transformational one is usually for high difficulty circumstance and the transactional one is usually for low difficulty circumstance. However, the appropriate one is the combination of both types which can be useful in diverse condition (Turner, 2005, Bass and Avolio, 1990). The emotional intelligence theory indicates that the leaders emotional intelligence is more effective than the leaders intellectual ability for the project. The main areas of emotional intelligence are as followed: visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding (Turner, 2005, Goleman, 2002). Leadership Models Firelighter and fire-fighter There are two general styles of leadership in project management: fire-fighter and firelighter. The leaders who pay more attention to anticipate and even prevent problems are known as proactive leaders or firelighter, although, the leaders who tackle immediate problems are known as reactive leaders or fire-fighter. There should be a linkage between proactive decision and reactive decision to control the project accurately. Therefore, recognizing the necessary skills for the project manager is vital in order to make the shift in leadership style. However, it is obvious that project leadership which tends to be proactive in controlling projects is more effective (Barber, 2005). Proactive decision affects the direction of project and reactive decision solves the existing problems of project. These two leadership styles might be known as transformational leadership model or firelighter and transactional leadership model or fire-fighter. Transformational leadership is about lighting the fires of stakeholders motivation and creativity. In contrast to the transformational style is transactional leadership style which indicates the reactive behaviour of leadership (Barber, 2005). Bass and Avolio (1990) pointed out that there are times when leaders may need to apply a more reactive transactional style and be fire-fighters, but the main outcomes for success depend on the leaders capacity for being a firelighter. Active and effective leader combines leadership style (how the leader affects) and best practices (the best day to day working behaviours). The best practices for effective leadership style include parameters such as: vision, credibility, collaboration, communication, action-orientation, feedback and recognition, and accountability. In addition, the research has proved that the most popular leadership style for running safety and creating high-performance culture is transformational one (Krause, 2007). Transactional leadership style might be passive or active, although both approaches stay reactive. Fire-fighter leaders who just take action when they face to the problem are known as passive and other fire-fighters who trace deviation from standards tools and react to problems are known as active (Barber, 2005). The firelighter leadership style is more complex than the fire-fighter style. The fire-fighter style is overcoming the inertia of reactive leadership. Many different fire-fighter-firelighter models have been built to control the project precisely. One of these models separates the transactional style into three parts; maintenance, reactive and avoidant. Figure 2.1 (Barber, 2005) illustrates this model. Maintenance comprises initiating structure, emotional consideration and contingent reward. This part can prepare the requirements to transform the fire-fighter leadership style to firelighter one. In other words, the maintenance behaviours make a bridge to the transformational leadership style (Barber, 2005). The reason for that is the forming of credibility and trust of leadership which enable the leader to be accepted among team members as the firelighter leader. The firelighter part of this model combines the maintenance behaviour and the transformational behaviour. The contribution of this model is to expand understanding of the importance of the firelighter role in project management (Barber, 2005). The significant point of this model is the active transactional behaviour. It can provide a bridge to firelighter style for project managers who are confused by reactive fire-fighting style. Maintenance behaviours explain the tasks, assign responsibilities, identify rewards for attempt and observe the personal requirement of the team members (Barber, 2005). Bass (2003) indicated that contingent reward is the capability to establish fundamental objective and to present bonus to project members accordingly. It indicates a combination of task oriented and stakeholders supportive manners. In the initiating structure, the leader should clarify contingent rewards, direction of the project and assignment for the team members. Emotional consideration is related to team structure, personal requirement and ambitions (Barber, 2005). Leadership in project management Figure 2.1: The fire-fighter-firelighter model of leadership (Barber, 2005). The leader should defuse conflict between the team members and provide an appropriate environment for the team members. Bass (2003) expressed that firelighter leaders should persuade the team members to be inventive and imaginative by searching new assumptions, reframing problems, and applying new approaches. They also define four vital elements for transformational leadership; idealised influence, inspirational motivation, individualised consideration and intellectual simulation (Bass, 2003). Firelighter leader should enhance the understanding of the advantages of the project among the stakeholders. They should persuade their members to think about their action beyond simply what is in it for them. In other words, they should raise the consciousness of followers and move the focus of follower away from their self-interests (Bass, 2003). In addition, Bennis and Nanus (1985) asserted that the effective leader can manage changes and unpredictability by encouraging members to be innovative to overcome the difficulties. Therefore project managers are known as fire-fighter due to continually solving the problem and put out fires. Project manager and leadership style Project managers should trace the progress of their project and anticipate any problems before they will occur in the future. So, it is wise that project managers can be proactive and forestall the problems rather than being reactive and solve the problems. Project managers who focus on proactive leadership style will be more successful in completing projects accurately. Thus, project managers are known as fire-fighter due to continually solving the problem and put out fires (Barber, 2005). A project manager is a businessman, a psychologist, an accountant, and a technician. The project management institute (PMI) has developed classification; the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) which identifies eight main management competencies: scope, time, cost, risk, quality, contract, communication and human resource. Project managers should be highly effective people. They should possess knowledge of the technical details of their jobs as well as the ability to obtain the goals by leading the project team effectively (Barber, 2005). It should be noted that there is not only a comprehensive leadership style for leading a project successfully. However, using different leadership styles for each stage of a project can be more appropriate (Frame, 1987). Project managers leadership style affect their implementations, although, they usually tend to be task-oriented rather than people-oriented. They should create an appropriate environment for their project members. Therefore, their competencies are evaluated in terms of their success in leading the projects. In addition, it should be mentioned that in multiple-cultural projects, project managers should use particular leadership styles (Turner, 2005). Leaders with any leadership styles should be careful with the hazards of leadership in order to prevent to lose their way such as: being an imposter, being a shooting star, being a loner, being a glory-seeker, and being a rationaliser (George, 2008). Implication of the fir-fighter-firelighter model The fire-fighter-firelighter model builds a combination of firelighter and fire-fighter styles. It is useful for different styles of managing especially those which need remarkable changes in the project management environment (Barber, 2005). Firelighter leaders encourage the team members to use their creativity and adopt the requisite manners to deal with the problems. They demonstrate a combination of transformational and transactional behaviours. Nevertheless, they tend to be active leader and rely on transformational behaviour rather than reactive behaviours of management by exception. Thus, It is essential that the leader tend to be proactive in order to conquer the forthcoming problems (Barber, 2005). Software tools in project management by monitoring past data can strengthen a reactive leadership style. The leader who trusts on monitoring software tools would be the reactive fire-fighter through the project cycle. The concept and control of forthcoming problems is the most important ability for being an effective leader in project management (Barber, 2005). Integrating leading and managing Leading versus managing Many different rules have been established for differentiating the leading and managing so far. However, it is difficult to determine the role of them in succeeding of a system. Some researchers state that the competences and traits of leaders and managers should differ from each other in order to perform their tasks successfully. Managers tasks are related to effectiveness, direct and stability of the project, although, leaders tasks are related to adaptation, innovation and flexibility of the project. In other words, managers are practical, critical, and logical, while leaders are imaginative, inventive, and sensitive (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). There are diverse views about managing and leading. Some people who are more pessimistic about managing would like to have leaders in their systems. Some people who are more optimistic about managing would like to have both manager and leader in their systems. The other attitude is to having one person as a both leader and manager in a system. Nevertheless, it is very rare that someone can perform both managing and leading tasks in an organisation. It should be considered that in any of these perspectives, too much attention on leading or managing makes an organisation to be unsuccessful (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). If a system is more complicated, then a managing role is more important and if a system has an active atmosphere with much uncertainty, then a leading role is more significant. In other words, a system which needs more changes requires a leader rather than manager and a system which needs more process and orders requires a manager rather than leader. Herein, the significant point is to inter-relate the leading and managing roles in an organisation. Therefore, if any organisation can establish this joint properly, then it would have the better performance and successful project accordingly (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Different approaches There have been different approaches for definition of managing and leading. This debate is still continuing due to complexity of appreciation of these contexts. The first approach is to make a coequal role for both leading and managing and defined each of them more broadly. The second approach is to define a leading role as the previous definition but add it to managerial roles. The third approach is to establish a set of roles without identifying as leading or managing roles. The most appropriate approach should be defined in terms of the performance determinants in the flexible leadership model. In spite of that the best approach is still unknown and further research is needed to obtain it (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). The Flexible leadership model Three determinant of organisational performance can be recognised by the flexible leadership model; (1) effectiveness and popularity, (2) invention and changeability, and (3) human resources and relations. Each of these determinants is more important in an especial situation. Human resources and relations are more important when replacing skilled members is difficult. Organisations which consider this determinant are more likely to have effective employee skills. The example of this is General Electric Co. which has been identified as the best organisation in training employees. The reason is that, it uses sequence plan to prepare employees for empty key positions (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Leadership behaviours There are many kinds of leadership behaviours that can affect the performance determinants such as task-oriented which are related to efficiency, change-oriented related to changeability, and relations-oriented related to human resources. Table 2.2 (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005) illustrates these leadership behaviours (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Management programs and systems Management is an essential work for any organisation. Organisations prepare their members to be effective in all levels. However, there is not a certain code of conduct for management. The lack of common acceptable knowledge, skill and practice lead to management as a practice rather than profession. However, with enhancing the technology in management some programs and systems cover this problem (Lorsch and Clark, 2009). Management programs and systems also can influence the performance determinants. They are demonstrated in Table 2.2 (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). One of these systems is benchmarking. It is a systematic program for improving adaptation, services, and products. It should be noticed that in all of organisations, programs and systems should be directed by leaders to ensure that a management system is carried out accurately (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005) Table 2.2: Leadership behaviours and management programs and systems (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Leadership behaviours and management system Both of these ways can affect the performance determinants and they act as supplementary for each other. The leadership behaviour can be applied in an organisation to develop new programs. For instance, if manager persuade employees to attend a new training programs and apply them to their job, then this program would be more successful. In the other hand, management program also can improve the effect of leadership behaviour. Employees cannot be innovative without programs. In spite of that in some cases the application of leadership behaviours are limited by management programs (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Performance determinants Each of performance determinants can affect the other determinants. Sometimes this affection leads to improve the other determinants and sometimes it leads to degrade the others. Therefore, it is not easy to build a certain formula for enhancing all aspects of performance determinants simultaneously. However, the right balance among performance determinants can be useful for improving the organisational effectiveness (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Project success factors In the 1970s, project success factors have been determined in terms of developing system, improving of implementation, and evaluating time, cost and process. In the 1980s, critical success factors (CSF) was brought up in terms of the quality of the implementation, stakeholders activities and organisational objectives (Turner, 2005). Many efforts have been done for establish the comprehensive project success factors. One of the most popular lists was made by Pinto and Slevin (1988). See Table 2.3 (Pinto and Slevin, 1988) . Table 2.3: Project success factors (Pinto and Slevin, 1988). The other important list which covers the previous efforts was made by Turner (1999). This list includes five main factors for project success: context, attitude, sponsorship, definition, people, system, and organisations. See Figure 2.2 (Turner, 1999). Figure 2.2: The seven forces model for project success (Turner, 1999). Project managers leadership competencies and project success Project manager competencies The six main schools of leadership have been recognised by Higgs (2003): trait, behaviour, contingency, visionary, emotional intelligence, and competency. Leadership is defined in terms of these schools as a combination of personal characteristic and competencies (i.e. skills and knowledge). This combination can create different leadership styles which are suitable for different situation. Moreover, competency school has been identified as the most important school of leadership in project management. Therefore, more studies on this school is required for leadership of project management (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Personal characteristics and competencies of leaders can influence skills, knowledge and effectiveness of projects accordingly. Thus, assessing the leadership competencies is essential for any organisation. Many efforts have been undertaken for assessing leadership competencies such as multi leadership questionnaire (MLQ) made by Bass and Avolio (1995). However, the documentation has shown that they are still not trusted by all of organisation(Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Goleman (1996) asserted that two factors are very important for success of projects: emotional intelligence (EI) and intellectual aptitude (IQ). In accordance with this idea, EI model has been made and used by organisations as the most important factors due to its variation in the performance of project. In general, four key competencies have the major role in leadership performance such as: emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and motivational. Intellectual competencies (IQ), managerial competency (MQ), and social and emotional competencies (EI) are the significant elements of leadership competencies (Dulewicz and Higgs, 2000b, Dulewicz and Higgs, 2000a, Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Project competence and success of project management are closely interconnected. Many competencies lists for project managers have been determined such as: knowledge (qualification), skills (ability to do diverse tasks as: technical, administrative, planning, budgeting, leadership), and core personality characteristics. The effective project leaders should have the basic characteristics such as: credibility, problem solving, tolerance, flexible and communication. However, the researchers have not been able to make a certain link between project manager leadership competencies and project success (Pinto, 1998, Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Project success There have been many measurement tools for assessing the project success in terms of time, cost and function. The common tool of evaluating project success is critical success factors (CSFs). These days, the modern instrument can take into accounts the parameters such as: client satisfaction, stakeholders ideas, product and service success, business and commercial success, performance improvement, and system benefit. Nevertheless, there are some hazards in projects which can delay the process of implementations. These can be appeared in planning, controlling, and performing of tasks (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). There is a close connection between the project managers concept of project success and his or her competence. Some researchers have defined this relationship in terms of people, project strategy, leadership style, teamwork, and industrial relations. Although, others have been defined it in terms of cost, time and quality of project and ignore the influence of people on projects. According to project success, Jugdev (2005) found the four key parameters as follows: (1) The project sponsor should have enough desire to carry out the project, (2) The working relationship between project sponsor and project manager should be adjusted accurately, (3) A project manager should tackle complexity and uncertain situations, and (4) Stakeholders idea should be taken into the success criteria (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Instruments Today, managers can measure their performance by an intangible variable based more on perceptions rather than factual proof. It includes the quality of management and the status of relationship with the leaders, colleagues and employees. Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) identified that there is a statistically significant relationship between a project managers leadership competencies and project success. They used two different types of questionnaire to approach their idea. The first one is the leadership dimensions questionnaire (LDQ) made by Dulewicz (2005) and the second one is the project success questionnaire (PSQ) made by Pinto (1986) (Budd Jr and Marx, 1999). LDQ This tool has been worked in terms of respondents leadership competencies that evaluated on fifteen aspects of leadership. It includes seven EQ competencies five MQ competencies, and three IQ competencies. It has been known as one of the most popular instruments and has been used in diverse public organisations such as: the Royal Air Force, the Home Office, the Royal Navy and private organisation such as DHL. Each dimensions of this tool can be acceptable by reaching the reliable level (i.e. Cronbachs alpha > 0.7) (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). The example of LDQ questionnaire that has been filled out by 80 project managers is shown in table 2.4(Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Project managers work in different par

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Kmarts Past Struggle Essay -- essays research papers

Kmart Past Struggles Management is a key to success, and Kmart needs proper management to help create a positive image that attracts more customers. Kmart’s disorderly management and bankruptcy caused many customers to shop with other retailers. According to Carr, Wal-Mart and Kmart were the same size in 1990. Since then, Kmart has grown far slower than its rival or the industry. Once one of the largest discount retailers, Kmart filed for the biggest Chapter 11 bankruptcy for discount retailing in the United States (2002). Struggling to find the right type of management has been one of Kmart’s problems that ultimately helped lead the company to its downfall. Kmart is constantly changing CEO’s, and thus focuses. Kmart has had four different CEO’s since 2000, all with different management objectives. Youdath illustrates some of Kmart’s management changes, Charles Conway wanted to turn Kmart into an â€Å"Everyday low price destination,† making Wal-Mart Stores a direct competitor. Conaway cut back on advertising and the results were not profitable. After an unprofitable holiday season in 2001 the company filed bankruptcy. In 2002, James Adamson hoped to improve customer service and restock the shelves within the Kmart Stores. While Kmart was taking time to recover from filing Chapter 11, its rivals like Wal-Mart and Target were stealing its customers. When Kmart was focusing on random in-store discounts, Wal-Mart and Target were pitching low prices, broad inventories, hip products, and a pleasant shopping experience (2002). Jalexson states that in 2003 Edward Lambert rescued Kmart from bankruptcy. Lambert wanted to attract customer’s back, but the closing of 28% of Kmarts over the last two years hurts the chains ability to attract customers and forced the remaining stores to pay a higher portion of advertising costs. Then, in January of 2003 CEO Julian Day said that when a company exits bankruptcy it should emphasize the exclusive brands like; Joe Boxer, Sesame Street and of course Martha Stewart (2003). As mentioned by Karush, starting in October of 2004 Aylwin Lewis was named CEO of Kmart and will be involved in merging Kmart with Sears (2005). With inconsistent management and objectives, Kmart has been struggling to create concrete guidelines necessary to improve store performance. Effects of Past Struggles on Local Stores Kmart’s reputation of poor manage... ...of Kmart’s financial problems and unclear marketing strategy local stores have also suffered. Kmart struggles to change these negative images, and create a positive image to differentiate itself form its competitors. Even though Kmart has had a struggling past, changes can be made by management to improve stores status and attract customers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Actions such as increasing advertising, improving the store environment, and increasing the availability of quality merchandise must be taken to improve store performance. To make consumers more aware of Kmart’s merchandise more promotions and advertisement is essential. Television, radio, newspaper, and promotional ads should be shown to the general public to spark interest. Stores need to improve appearance and organization and also offer a wider range of quality merchandise.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kmart’s stores have prime real estate and could be improved by new marketing and management methods to make shopping with Kmart a more pleasant experience. Kmart must improve customer satisfaction, and differentiate itself from its competitors. The future is now and in order to stand out changes must be made.

Monday, November 11, 2019

National Symbols of India Essay

Adopted by the Government of India from the Sarnath Lion, Capital of Ashoka, on January 26, 1950. Only three lions visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on the right and a horse on the left. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted. The words â€Å"Satyameva Jayate† meaning â€Å"Truth alone triumphs†, are inscribed below the Emblem in Devnagari script. National Flag: Adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on July 22, 1947. The National Flag of India is a horizontal tri colour of deep saffron (Kesari), white and dark green in equal proportion. According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the saffron colour represents the spirit of renunciation, the white band stands for truth and purity and the green colour signifies growth. In the centre of white band there is a wheel in navy blue to represent the Chakra. It has 24 spokes. The ratio of the length and the breadth of the flag is 3 : 2. National Anthem: Ravindra Nath Tagore’s song, ‘Jana-gana-maru C was adopted as the National Anthem of India on January 24, 1950. The song was first sung on December 27, 1911 during the Indian National Congress Session at Calcutta. The complete song consists of five stanzas but the first stanza constitutes the full version of the National Anthem. The playing time of the full version of the National Xfrthem is about 52 seconds. However, a shorter version mpressing the first and last lines of the stanza, which has a playing time of about 20 seconds, is played on some occasions. It reads: Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he Bharat-bhagya-vidhata Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat, Maratha Dravida- Utkala-Banga Vindhya-Himachal- Yamuna- Ganga Uchhala-jaladhi-taranga. Tava shubha name jage, Tava shubha asisa manage, Gahe tava jaya gatha, Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka, jaya he Bharat bhagya vidhata. Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he, jaya jaya jaya jaya he ! National Song: Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s ‘Vande Matram’, which was a great source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It was first sung  at 1896 Session of the Indian National Congress. Vande Mataram Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam, Sashya shyamalam, Mataram ! Shubhrajyothsna, Pulakitayaminim, Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim, Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim, Sukhadam, varadam, Mataram ! National Calender: A uniform National Calendar based on the Saka era with Chaitra as its first month and a normal year of 365 days was adopted from 22nd March, 1957 along with the Gregorian Calendar for the following official purposes: (i) The Gazette of India; (ii) News broadcasts by All India Radio; (ii) Calenders issued by the Government of India, and (iv) Government communications addressed to members of the public. The dates of the National Calender have a permanent correspondence with the dates of the Gregoian Calendar; 1 Chaitrafalls on 22nd March normally and on 21st March in a leap year. Months of National Calendar: 1. Chaitra; 2. Vaishakh; 3. Jaishta; 4. dha’ 5 Shravan; 6. Bhadra; 7. Ashvina; 8. Kartika; 9. Margashirsha; fn Paus’ha; 11. Magha; 12. Phalguna. National Bird of India: Peacock. National Flower of India: Lotus. NationafAnimal of India: On November 18, 1972, Tiger was declared the national animal by the Wild Life Board of India. National Highways: The total length of National Highways 70,548 km. There are about 77 roads classified as national highways in India. Twelve of the important highways are: Agra – Mumbai, Delhi – Amritsar, Jalandhar – Srinagar – Uri, Delhi __ Ahmedabad – Mumbai, Chandigarh – Manali, Ambala – Shimla – Tibet, Jorhat – Shillong – Bangladesh, Delhi – Kolkata, Manali – Leh, Pathankot – Mandi, Kochi – Madurai, Beawar – Sirohi – Kandla. Mumbai – Pune ExpressWay : The first phase of Mumbai-Pune expressway was thrown open to traffic on May, 2000. Xanguages recognised in the Indian Constitution : Assamese: Bengali; Gujarati; Hindi; Kannada; Kashmiri; Konkani; Malayalam; Manipuri; Marathi; Nepali; Oriya; Punjabi; Sanskrit; Sindhi; Tamil; Telugu and Urdu. In 2003, four more languages, were added Bodo, Dogri, Maithaili and Santhali. (92nd Amendment) Official Language: The Constitution ordained Hindi in the Devanagari Script as the common language for all over India and Arabic  numerals as the common numbers. English was to be retained as an official language until 1963, when it was to be replaced by Hindi completely. Rupee Joins Elite Currency Club : July 15, 2010 turned out to be a historical day, as the Indian Rupee got the much awaited symbol, just like other leading currencies of the world Viz-Dollar, Euro Pound Sterling and the Yen. The new symbol is an amalgamation of Devanagari ‘Ra’, and the Roman ‘R’, without the stem. Till now, the rupee was written in various abbreviated forms in different languages.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The natural resource base of a country is fundamental to any explanation of its level of national economic development Essays

The natural resource base of a country is fundamental to any explanation of its level of national economic development Essays The natural resource base of a country is fundamental to any explanation of its level of national economic development Essay The natural resource base of a country is fundamental to any explanation of its level of national economic development Essay Essay Topic: Fun Home In this essay I aim to show the true importance of natural resource to the economic growth of a country. I will be discussing Japans and Canadas economic situation as well as comparing it to Saudi Arabia in relation to the availability of natural resources. Indicators such as GNP per capita, Literacy rates, and the countries exports and imports will be studied to help suggest if a natural resource base is fundamental to national economic development of a county. Natural resources are a vital part in the development of the Worlds economy. There is lack of theory in terms of generalising about the relationship between resources and development. Japan is a good example. As explained Japan is a very rich economic country. Manufacturing is its strength but it has few natural resources. The countries successful economy is based on the export of high quality consumer goods developed with the latest technologies for example Toyota, Sony, Fujifilm and Panasonic are famous across the globe. One common pattern is for Japanese companies to import raw materials and then process them to make finished products, which are sold domestically or exported. In an often cited statement 1 (e.g. Cairns, 1994, p 782) Erich Zimmerman wrote resources are not; they become. Meaning that natural resources have no value until labour and capital is applied. Japan has one of the largest export based economies. Japan is 5th in the world for largest export of goods 2 $538.8 b illion (2004 est). In reference to table 1 it can be seen that machinery is Japans biggest export. Japan relies heavily on other countries for resources. Japans main agricultural product is rice, and most rice eaten in Japan is home-grown. Since Japan has little arable land compared to its population, it cannot grow enough wheat, soybeans, or other major crops to feed all its citizens. In fact, Japan has one of the lowest rates of food self-sufficiency of all industrialized countries. 5 Only 15% of Japans land is suitable for cultivation. This means it has to import a high percentage of its food from abroad. Japan is the largest market for US exports. Japan has had to build its enormous industrial output and high standard of living on a very low natural resource base. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. Mostly in terms of fossil fuels, particularly oil. It imports 90% of its oil. Due to the fact that In Japan they supply less that 1% of countries demand. Japan has more oil refining than oil production, and more oil consumption than oil refining. Looking at Table 2 it is notable that Japan is also very short on metal and mineral resources. With Machinery and Mineral fuels being one of the major imports. Japans imports of goods is to the value of $401.8 billion. Meaning Japan is making money from developing the imported primary material then processing these resources to export the manufactured goods. Despite Japan having a very poor resource base it is the 3rd largest economy in the world after USA and China. It has huge amounts of economic power, and its average income levels and standard of living are among the highest in the world.6 Japan GNP per Capita is $29,400 (2004 est.) 99% of the population are literate. 7For 3 decades economic growth has been spectacular 10% average in 1960s, 5% in the 70s and in 1980 4% growth. It is world leading in high technology, industry and has a strong work ethic. Industry is the most important sector of economy. Only 6% of the labour force engage in agriculture while 70% of the labour force, are in the service sector. Japan is among worlds largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods. Japan is a prime example of that a natural resource base is not fundamental to a countrys development. Its the ability to use and convert these natural resources for example iron ore into steal. 8Blessed with natural resources. From another perspective, the theory of development says that natural resource base is positive in the terms of the benefits for a country. For example Canada has a rich natural resource base. Its an extremely affluent, high tech industrial society with high standards of living. When looking at indicators Canada can be seen as a well developed country. GNP per capita is at an impressive $31,500. This ranks above Japan. The literacy rate for the population is 98%. 9 It has been said that the countrys high income and high standard of living is that its export of natural resource financed the growth and diversification of its national economy in a very beneficial way (Sheppard Barnes). Iron ore, nickel, and zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas and hydropower are the main resources. These natural resources along with skilled labour and capital help to secure solid economical prospects. However Canada does not just export these primary resources, it uses them to produce manufactured goods such as; motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment, chemicals and fertilizers along with its natural resources such as timber.10Canada has a large amount of exports $315.6 billion. It is Ranked 10th in the world.It imports $256.1 billion. Canada mainly imports machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, crude oil and chemicals.11 Canada gains more capita from exporting than importing this is why it is an economically developed country with a GDP of $31,500- exports counting approximately for one third of this. Its exporting of natural resources and manufactured goods, has created a high level of economic development within Canada. This helps show that a good natural resource base is important to economic growth. It has been assumed that possessing natural resources benefits a country. However, experience has shown that for most developing countries possessing natural resources has not made them economically strong. Nowhere, is this more obvious than in the oil industry.12 This trend has been identified the resource curse by Richard Auty (1995). For example Saudi Arabia is the largest exporter of oil in the world. It holds 25% of the worlds oil reserves. It makes more money from exporting petroleum and petroleum products than importing machinery, textiles, foodstuffs, motor vehicles and chemicals, 13its GDP is only $12 000- 40% of this and 90% of its oil earnings. 14Saudi Arabia holds a huge dependence on oil. In the past the demand for oil slowed and pulled oil prices down by more than a 1/3 causing Saudi Arabia economic uncertainty. In comparison although Saudi Arabia has this natural resource base, it fails to develop. Countries like the USA and Canada use technology and capital to exploit the natural resources to produce manufactured goods. Then use trade and exchange to create a profit. It does not use natural resources alone. As stated before this is shown from Canada GNP per capita of $31,500 which is relatively high in comparison to Saudi Arabia with a GNP per capita of $12,000 who just uses solely depends on its exports of oil. Japan a country with resource deficiency has GNP per capita of $29,400 because it gains access through trade and exchange. This shows that economic resource base is not always fundamental to a countries development. In conclusion it can be seen from the countries of Canada, Japan and Saudi Arabia that a natural resource base is not always fundamental to the countrys level of economic development. One of the key issues that have been identified is that it is the access to natural resources through trade and exchange that is important. The use of technology, labour and capital thereafter produces manufactured goods that can then be exported resulting in strong economic growth. Depending on a natural resource alone is not enough to sustain economic development. Sheppard and Barnes (2003) help to summarise to a certain degree that natural resource base is not always fundamental to a countrys level of economic growth 15 It appears that the location of resource deposits is almost irrelevant to where geographically those resources will be used. Not natural resources alone that facilitate growth its right technology, the right culture, and the right markets.