Analysis of Crimes of The Heart essays

Analysis of Crimes of The Heart essays 2. The scenes take place in the home of the Magrath sisters. (Actually it's their grandfather's house, but it is cared for and inhabited primarily by Lenny Magrath.) 3. The house is old, the exact age and condition is not described. 1. The play takes place in the summer sometime during the late 19 70's to early 1980's. 2. The play takes place soon after the birthday of Lenny Magrath, which has a special significance to the characters. 1.The 3 Magrath sisters, Lenny, Babe, and Meggy, are the main cluster of characters. The other three characters are Chick, a Magrath cousin, Barnette, Babe's attorney, and Doc Porter, an old friend of Meg and Lenny. A character that is often talked about is Granddaddy, yet he is never seen. 1. The Magrath sisters complete the different portions that fufill society's image of an ordinary woman. Each of these women play the roles that a normal woman plays such as wife, mother, daughter, and sister. Barnette is a lawyer who is defending Babe, whom he is infatuated with. Doc Porter is a father of two and a husband who once wanted to be a doctor, who now apparently owns a small ranch, he also spent time as a house painter. Granddaddy is an old man who is in the hospital. 2. It seems that all the characters have a mutual respect for each other, aside from Chick who has strong opinions concerning Meg. As I have mentioned the character of Barnette is infatuated with Babe. Babe and Lenny both feel that Meg has always been treated better by their Grandmother and Grandfather. 4. The Characters all live in a democratic nation. 5. The characters pay no attention to religion, it is rarely mentioned in the play. 6. The prevailing attitudes of the characters are that family is important, sex is not considered a bad thing. They seem to con ...

Essay on The paid apps have more features than free apps

Essay on The paid apps have more features than free apps Essay on The paid apps have more features than free apps Essay on The paid apps have more features than free appsAlong with development of various technologies in our lives, new ways of earning and correspondingly spending money started to appear. It is next to impossible to imagine a modern person, irrespective of his position, type of work and interests without a cell phone, without notebook, tablet or computer. People got used to practically live with their gadgets, which substituted a lot of things in their lives, like for example watch, usual phones, usual written letters, television, books and so on. Not only young generations are using their phones and computers for all these purposes, saving time and effort, but maybe not money. It is clear, that when purchasing any gadget it is necessary to pay for it, at the same time, to be able to use all of its functions, it is often necessary to buy various applications, for video, for internet resources, for reading and so on (â€Å"Free apps vs. paid apps, which is better† 1). The mo dern computer industry suggests two variants of applications – free and paid ones. On the one hand free applications seem rather beneficial, because consumers don’t have to pay extra money for them, on the other hand, in most cases free applications have limited functions and in order to get the full pack – consumers still need to pay. Further in this paper we are going to discuss the situation with free and paid apps; will trace the history of their development; the modern situation, showing all the advantages and disadvantages of both free and paid ones.People nowadays are used to seeing advertisements everywhere, on TV, on the road, in Internet. Most of them are really tired of being forced to read usually not useful information on their smartphones and tablets. However, the situation is different for most consumers in case we are talking about free apps, because people agree to watch advertisements in their applications as long as they get them for free and really don’t want to pay even $ 9.99 for an ad-free application.Usually people choose the applications in accordance to their personal interests or professional activities, in case there is a chance to have a look at a person’s phone, it is possible to guess, whether he is a sports fan or he likes to travel or to cook or is involved into psychological studies for example. Usually apps could be got in two forms: free applications with ads and paid ones – correspondingly without adds. Some individuals just can not bear the constant advertisements, breaking the needed content, and they are ready to pay only for the fact, that the application is free of ads. There is certainly another important point which should be considered – free apps normally have less functions or some limited access to all information in comparison to the paid ones and thus those people, who really need the complete package of functions or the complete information on a topic – t hey are to choose the paid applications. â€Å"Even when a specific app does not come in paid and free versions, there are often other apps to choose from, free and paid, that perform very similar tasks like calling a taxi or looking up recipes† (Gordon 2). In order to understand the preferences of the consumers in this relation, it is possible to study the situation with iOS apps, which are available for a longer period of time, than Android apps. â€Å"The chart below shows how the proportion of free versus paid apps has changed over the years in the App Store. Between 2010 and 2012 the percentage of apps using Flurry Analytics that were free varied between 80% and 84%, but by 2013, 90% of apps in use were free† (Gordon, 2)After studying this graphics some might conclude, that the main idea is to make the content free. It is not quite correct, in fact the major outcome of this survey is that most people would choose free applications and would tolerate ads, instead o f paying money for avoiding them and getting the content of the best quality. Certainly, it is really necessary to consider the particular situation, for which the applications are chosen, because in cases with specialized enterprises or for example pharmacological or financial spheres consumers are to choose the full package.It was already mentioned, that iOS apps have longer history, but if to compare them to Android applications it is necessary to underline, that Android users are less inclined to pay for them than iOS consumers. â€Å"As of April 2013, the average price paid for Android apps (including those where the price was free) was significantly less than for iPhone and iPad apps as shown below. This suggests that Android owners want app content to be free even more than iOS device users, implying that Android users are more tolerant of in-app advertising to subsidize the cost of developing apps† (Smith 3).The users of iPad without any doubts pay more, than owners o f other gadgets. â€Å"On average, the price of iPad apps in use in April of this year was more than 2.5 times that of iPhone apps and more than 8 times that of Android apps. This is likely to be at least partly attributable to the fact that on average iPad owners have higher incomes than owners of other devices† (Gordon 3).Some market expects conclude, that free apps are much more popular nowadays, mostly due to the fact of serious competition in this field and this leads to the necessity to earn money for applications’ download in a different way. Consumers agree to include advertising into the content of their applications under the condition that they are free, thus the money for free downloads is fully compensated with the help of in-apps purchases.So, there is always a choice for the consumer, whether to buy an application or download for free. As it was already mentioned, for most people the fact, that it is necessary to pay for some app, which might turn out to be not the one, which was really needed and not providing all the necessary functions, makes people choose the free versions. At the same time, it is very important to consider the major area of using for this application. For example, if this is a usual game, then in most cases it is luckily to be downloaded for free, because the person playing this game would simply ignore the advertisement and continue playing. In case a businessman is using an application for his work, any type of advertising would probably seem distracting and irritating. This means, that usually leisure applications are loaded for free and business apps could be bought.Often, the applications, which are in use for a long period of time and consumers are already completely aware of the functions and advantages of them, could be well sold. But the apps, which are absolutely new, risk to remain with very low downloads till the moment they gain sufficient number of positive reviews (Perez 3). Software developers are to have constant control over the situation with free and paid apps. According to their studies, consumers have started to use more free apps than before. This tendency has been developing within several years already (Sorry Indies, Your Free App Will Make You Broke† 1)â€Å"As the figure shows, the tendency towards offering free iOS apps has increased by as much as 10% (2011 figure) in the run up to mid-2013. This suggests that more people are choosing to download free apps and whilst paid apps remain, higher priced ones have all but disappeared† (Butters 2).Overall, we have briefly studied the actual situation with free and paid applications; made a short overview of the history of paid applications going up to the current moment; we have considered the differences between free and paid applications, concluding, that paid applications have often less downloads and are said to start loosing their popularity, but still they have more features to use and thus for som e concrete specialized fields of technology or business, like medicine, manufacturing and so on can not be fully substituted with free apps.

The social role of magazines is as uncertain as their commercial basis Essay

The social role of magazines is as uncertain as their commercial basis - Essay Example Over the years, there have been reports of increasing demands among customers regarding a certain extent of control and influence over their media experiences as the media and technology industries have compelled them to do so. At present, digital formats can enable readers to easily navigate and establish interactions with the magazine content. Publishers have increased their ability in retaining the design conformity of a typical print magazine and, at the same, integrate the dimension of interactivity which attracts readers and generates a more engaging and dynamic experience (Machin and Thornborrow, 2003). In addition, the engagement of advertisements can also be enhanced owing to this digital resolution. However, there is still an increasing concern as to how magazines can retain their readers, establish and sustain effective brands, and increase profitability. Therefore, a number of factors must be emphasized, including brand awareness as well as the engagement of customers and their intentions to purchase. This paper will then focus on how readers relate to the magazine as a brand and how this process can influence their recall of the brand along with their intentions of purchasing such publications. Opportunities from the use of the new media have been recognized; if publishing will strongly depend on effective content delivery, consequently, the conventional print format will experience considerable threat. Retail wastage along with excessive reliance on distribution through newsstands has been associated with such format in the United States and in a number of European countries (Al-Olayan and Karande, 2000). On the other hand, the new delivery of media content has offered publishers and companies various opportunities; for instance, it helps reduce waste similar to the advantages of subscriptions, and provides real time interactivity between the readers and content. Such immediate interaction with these readers often entails a considerable culture ch ange which brand owners and manufacturers should effectively carry out to retain their readers. Finally, online publishers increase their ability in become a search engine with which a magazine site can help direct their readers to the source of information which they are seeking, implying that their magazine fits the readers’ lifestyle. Owing to the fact the online market has continued to present increased choices, one of the most crucial actors for success when using the new media is brand image (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). Many publishers have recognized that the branding concept is a solution to the threats of the new media. On the whole, the customers’ awareness of a certain product, also characterized as their ability to think back to it, has typically been viewed as a crucial factor that determines their choice of purchase. However, others have underestimated the advantages that branding can provide by overlooking the usage of new media or considering such as a non- profit platform, similar to the free supply of magazines during events. The fact that numerous publishers have been offering their magazine content for free through the Internet can bring about risks for these firms. As branding has been increasingly deemed as an important component for magazine publishers, this emphasizes the traditional role of these publications in the society, which is to bring together

The culture of Burberry in Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The culture of Burberry in Brazil - Essay Example The company has established a brand vision by which all employees and managers are expected to adopt, which is to inspire, protect and explore in a creative and somewhat decentralised organisational model. Burberry follows the dimensions associated with transformational leadership, which involves building a shared vision, opening effective lines of communications between different power players and subordinates, and role modelling the most desired behaviours (Fairholm 2009). Burberry needs to stay focused and dedicated to its wealthy traditionalism in British fashion retail in order to build consistency in brand values, therefore executives, mid-level managers and lower-level service employees must work cooperatively to achieve mission and support a rich British brand. Britain is Burberry and the corporate culture must reflect these values to effectively service its target consumers that value this element of high fashion and national pride. Burberry has been able to support a consis tent brand by building systems and practices in human resources that provide employees with the set of cohesive business values necessary to achieve market share against competition. Burberry also attempts to make relationship connections with the digital generation which is evident in the presence of interactive electronic mirrors in the sales environment that illustrate a historical depiction of Burberry’s past as an iconic British brand. Internally, in order to effectively service the more modernised customer, the organisation must break down age-old autocratic leadership and engage more effectively with a generation of service workers that carry the same values of the... This paper dwell upon national and business culture in Brazil. The Brazilian culture is quite different from British culture which could cause problems with developing a cohesive internal culture that shares the same brand values of Burberry. In the United Kingdom, which is highly individualistic, it is commonplace for managers and executives to work cooperatively throughout the business model. In fact, in the individualist culture, it is an expectation, therefore the corporate culture at Burberry fits interpersonal needs of employees and managers. The Brazilian culture is very collectivist, which involves personal characteristics that favour group membership and building personal identity that comes from group opinion and values. Brazilian society is born into a social hierarchy that believes in the integrity of family members where loyalty to the familial group is demanded. Brazilian culture is also very tolerant of separation between authority figures in the organisation and lower -level employees. Known as power distance, this characteristic of the Brazilian culture tolerates and expects inequality between executives and service employees.

Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Analysis - Case Study Example Moreover, Starbucks will operate in a joint venture with the Tata group which has knowledge of the domestic market. 1. The pricing of CCD is lower as compared to Starbucks and there is a difference of almost Rs. 400 in the prices of the two companies. Therefore, CCD has a clear advantage over the Starbucks as far as the pricing is concerned. The products of both the coffee chains are up to the market. Both the companies deliver the quality product to its customers but even then Starbucks has slightest advantage over CCD as far as the products are concerned due to its global standing. 2. The supply chain of the Starbucks as well as CCD varies to great extent. CCD works on backward integration and instead of buying the coffee from the suppliers it manufactures coffee for itself. All the activities of the supply chain are controlled by CCD itself. CCD has neither any franchises nor it hires the staff through the third party. All the outlets of the company are controlled by itself and the employees are also hired and trained by CCD itself. On the contrary, Starbucks buys the coffee from the manufacturing countries instead of from the manufacturers. So the supply chain of the Starbucks starts from the buying of the coffee from the manufacturing countries and ends with the delivery of the coffee o the consumers. 3. The customers of Starbucks are much greater than that of CCD as far as its global operations are concerned. However, in India the current customers of CCD are much greater. CCD attracts all types of customers due to its effective pricing and diverse offering. The potential customers of CCD are also projected to be higher due to the trend of taking coffee among the youth of India and the pleasant environment provided CCD. At present the existing customers of Starbucks are lower but they might increase in future due to expansion of its network. 4. The customer service of CCD is great and helps it in retaining the large number of

Factors Affecting The Successful Implementation Of Balanced Scorecard Accounting Essay

Factors Affecting The Successful Implementation Of Balanced Scorecard Accounting Essay Aim- The objective of this paper is to exhibit the factors affecting the sucessful implementation of a Balance scorecard. Introduction- A brief idea about balanced scorecard,definition operation. Literature Review and and Analytical framework- Detailed Analytical review of the researchers , on the factors affecting sucessful implementation of BSC. Conclusion A summary of the above topic and recommendations . BSC INTRODUCTION Balance scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in business and industry, government, and non profit organization worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals. The first balance scorecard was invented by Art Schneiderman(an independent consultant on the management of processes) in 1987 at analog devices, a mid sized semi conductor company Later on it was restructured by Robert Kaplan and David P. Norton in the use of balance scorecard in their 1992 article on balanaced scorecard.(The balance scorcard) The balance scorecard was made for the improvement in organizational performance and competitiveness. (Arthur M schneiderman) Traditional performance measures are inadequate to measure performance and guide organizations in rapidly changing, complex economic environment. Organizations need to link performance measurement to strategy, and must measure performance in ways that both encourage positive future results and replicate past performance. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, among the proponents of these strategic concepts, give a better definition: Balanced scorecard provides managers with the instrumentation they need to navigate to future competitive success. Today, organizations are competing in complex environments so that an accurate understanding of their goals and the methods for attaining those goals is vital. Balance scorecard translates an organizations mission and strategy into a comprehensive set of performance measures that provides the framework for a strategic measurement and management system. It retains an emphasis on achieving financial objective but also includes the performance drivers of these financial objectives, (The Balanced Score Card: Translating Strategy into Action, pp. 1-3) The introduction undertaken discusses first of all how the BSC evaluated with the course of time the need for the same. Then in the literature review a thorough discussion and viewpoint of the authors of articles are taken into consideration followed by a criticism. In the conclusion a proper summary and what the research has produced will be discussed highlighting the importance, need and factors affecting the successful implementation of BSC would be discussed. In the last eleven years, balance scorecard has play an vital role for implementing strategy and monitoring performance. Creating a strategy focused organization (the phrase coined by the founders of the Balanced Scorecard methodology) is a significant, challenging culture change for many organizations. Success in achieving this change requires: Regular executive support and involvement. Education, communication, and visibility of the strategy and measurements of its effectiveness throughout the organization. To review the stragy so that constant feedback is obtained. Tools to enable non-technical users to understand the key drivers of the measures. Translation of the strategy to operational terms so that alignment to strategy and implementation of it occur at all levels of an organization. Process of BSC We have to view the organization from four perspectives in order to relate strategy to achieve organizational goals : Financial perspective Organisations objective will be to earn higher profits by applying all the resources . Kaplan and Norton regards traditional need for financial data. Customer perspective In any business, importance on customer focus is relevant for organizational growth if the customers are not satisfied the revenues will be lowered and as a result return on investment will decrese. Internal business perspective The internal process refers to quality production , timely delivery wich will retain the existing customers and also will improve to find new customers Learning and growth perspective Here employee is trained and motivated ,and improved learning skills are provided To improve the work process, which will improve the quality of the product and alsoTimely delivery. The four perspectives is shown below in form of chart : Literature Review: Factors affecting successful implementation of Balanced Scorecard: Strategy Implementation and control: Here author has stressed the importance about formulation and implementation . Once the strategy has been devised, major problem Is to implement the BSC Scorecard. The most frequent problem include underestimating the time needed for implementation and uncontrollable factors in the external environment.( Helen Atkinson pp.1443,1444) Another author (Ulf johanson et. Al) also argued about idea of BSC implementation.The concept does not allow for an open invitation to participate in learning and development process.Trying to force the objectives on another is risky. Senior management style, is another factor author has bought to the notice . Here he argues that without proper senior management support and delegation it is difficult to properly implement balanced scorecard. Strategic control systems : Strategic control system provides the short term targets that deliver long term goals. Strategic control are required to provide a balance between long term organizational goals and short term operational demands. (Helen Atkinson pp.1446). Thus he sees that there is a need to establish co-ordinated strategic and management control objectives. Furthere more, he points that issues relating to employee and suppliers are not co-related to performance management. Translating vision into strategy,is difficult process as its time consuming focuses on much wider change in the organization.(Helen Atkinson pp.1449) Organizations that have successfully implemented the Balanced Scorecard have achieved remarkable transformations in their financial performance, in many cases vaulting to the top ranks in their industry groups. Many aspects of Balanced Scorecard development and deployment depend on effective use of technology to be successful. Numerous software packages have been developed to help automate the Balanced Scorecard, but it is very difficult to deliver the needed capabilities in a single software package. Therefore, the Microsoft Balanced Scorecard Framework has been developed to allow organizations to: Develop and deploy a scorecard economically using an existing infrastructure. Manage and display the data and knowledge pertinent to Balanced Scorecards. Facilitate analysis of measures so that prompt corrective action can take place. The framework provides a comprehensive, flexible, cost-effective way to deploy the Balanced Scorecard and deliver superior returns on people, processes, customers, and technologies. Management involvement and endorsement- Without the full personal support and endorsement of the executive team the transformation would be impossible. Communication of Balanced scorecard needs to be focused as ,it delivers top management ideas, views on strategy to lower level( Anthony A. Atkinson et al.) Floor level employees are the ones who will achieve the targets, so they should be aware of the objectives and targets provided to them.(Meena Chavan) Scorecard is prepared as one time event .In most cases, Top executive team spends much more time in designing and launching the BSC, as a result there lacks some missing measures at the time of start of project and launch time. Here BSC implementation fails which lacks in considering the review of BSC. (Anthony A. Atkinson et al.) Critical Analysis of the Literature: Referring to Helen Atkinson on strategy implementation and control it is backed up in the sense that without proper implementation of the project, objectives will not drive further. Once the vision is set clear , proper strategy should be chalked out so that Objectives will be achieved without any hindrance. As Atkinson said full involvement of top management is essential in order to achieve organizational goals with the help of balanced scorecard by adopting four perspectives. Morever, internal process plays a vital role in increasing return on investments if, it is properly backed up by employee training and growth. Employees should be provided adequate training to do the job. Many, consultants criticizes that it does not provide a final score or view with proper recommendations or suggestions. It is a simply list of metrics. For Example employees cannot view their score with respective to their objectives. Most of the organisations follows the four perspectives and doesnt allow scope for external perspectives. They should take into consideration external factors according to the needs of the situation and change. Various researchers and authors have critically bought most important issues that will affect the implementation of BSC. We should take their consideration as a review so that BSC will run smoothly in achieving organisational objective In balance between Goals and accountability- I agree with meena chavan, in the sense that all the people should take responsibility of the goals they are given. Unless they take accountability and responsibility goals will not be achieved There are certainly all elements which forms the basis for a good scorecard , however it is important to add some extra detail to the perceptions. The quick consideration of the scorecard should lead to a very specific understanding of the strategy of the organisation . Furthermore, it should not be over financial. Financials are usually,though not always,the measure of success or failure. The balanced scorecard is treated as a consultancy project. It is implemented as a consultancy project rather than management project. By treating it as a consultancy project , time is spent and also cost is increased. In addition, the senior management team will be overpassed , to whom their will be no idea about strategies, objectives of the organization. BSC viewed as short term project No organisation likes to deviate from the objectives and run the same for short period. They insists that whatever strategy they developed should work for long term. This is baseless factors. BSC should be developed as an instrument for change.To grasp the importance of intangible resources in the value creation process and mobilize the attention and action of middle management , BSC should be developed with its emphasis on management control and non-financial indicators. Conclusion: Balanced scorecard was designed to measure organizations performance against strategic goals. It use has been made by most of the fortune 500 companies. For designing of BSC four perspectives are important . Various researches have indicated that BSC should also include others factors in the perspectives such as environment, Job security. Focusing on one measurement of business success can lead to hazardous. In the Literature and books that I have reviewed, while designing the major factors that are responsible for implementation are , formulating strategy,setting up of proper perspectives, formulation of team, communication of the Strategy and objectives and poor score card designs. Furtheremore, balanced scorecard approach requires some major changes in culture within the organization. The balanced scorecard requires understanding commitment and support from the top executive level. Different organizations have different needs, markets, products and services For which balanced scorecard will differ. It has also to consider the various perspectives. Properly designed Balanced scorecard, will address the key problems with strategy implementation, the performance of the organization ,the communication, the role of middle management and existing control systems. Balanced scorecards have been implemented in corporations, government organizations ,non profit organizations and schools. In conclusion , balanced scorecard is a management system , which has overcome the traditional measurement system enables the organization to illuminate their vision and strategy and interpret into action..It provides feedback internal business external business process in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results.

Prejudice and Racism in Heart of Darkness? Essay -- HOD Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness: Racist or not? Â   Many critics, including Chinua Achebe in his essay "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness", have made the claim that Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, despite the insights which it offers into the human condition, ought to be removed from the canon of Western literature. This claim is based on the supposition that the novel is racist, more so than other novels of its time. While it can be read in this way, it is possible to look under the surface and create an interpretation of Conrad's novel that does not require the supposition of extreme racism on the part of Conrad. Furthermore, we must keep in mind that Conrad was a product of a rather racist period in history, and it seems unfair to penalize him for not being able to transcend his contemporaries in this respect. Â   This novel, it seems, must be read in a symbolic manner. Objects and characters are not so simple as they seem. Achebe tells us: "Quite simply it is the desire... in Western psychology to set Africa up as a foil to Europe, as a place of negations at once remote and vaguely familiar, in comparison with which Europe's own state of spiritual grace will be manifest" (251-252). If Africa is a foil to Europe, as stated here, then perhaps Conrad only uses the continent of Africa symbolically, without regard to its people - as Achebe himself states, descriptions of Africans as anything more than vague limbs in the darkness are few and far between in the novel. The opposition between light and darkness in the novel, far from being Conrad's own, is traditional in Western literature. Conrad simply uses the most familiar of symbols for the dichotomy between good and evil to enhance his novel's psycho... .... One might also argue that while Marlow is racist, Conrad is not - something like the scenario in another famous river novel, Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. However, I reject this claim - Marlow does the vast majority of the speaking in this novel, and so the reader identifies him as the novel's narrative voice even though there is, strictly speaking, a frame story outside of this. Â   Finally, even if Conrad was more racist than other authors of his time, why is this so significant? The novel is still valuable as an object of art, for the psychological insights it offers both into the human condition at large and into the motivations of European imperialism and colonization. A novel such as this should not be removed from the canon on the simple basis of its offensive potential. All great literature must have at least the potential to offend.

Remodeling HR at Home Depot Essay

Abstract Home Depot went through many changes as a result of new CEO Frank Blake and Vice President of Human Resources, Tim Crow. The culture inherited by both Executives from their predecessors went through a transformation process for the business to thrive once again. Blake and Crow justified laying off 1,200 workers as a result of their vision to enhance Home Depot’s position in the market and to go back to the organizations foundations embedded by founders Arthur Blank and Bernard Marcus. Specifically, a closer look at the Human Resources function in the organization was focused on in order to align an HR strategy with the business model. This paper will discuss the strategic initiatives taken by Blake and Crow and how they created a sustainable competitive advantage at Home Depot by focusing on strategic HR. Further, this paper will examine John Kotter’s Eight-step Change Model, the Organization and People Strategy, the â€Å"outside-in† HR approach, and Lepak and S nell’s HR Model. Organizational change became a necessity at Home Depot when the business failed to increase shareholder value and rivals were outperforming the company. Change at Home Depot started at the top with new CEO Frank Blake and Vice President of Human Resources, Tim Crow. Specifically, Blake and Crow transformed the way Human Resources contributed to the organizations success. Blake and Crow’s approach is comparable to a change model put forth by John Kotter—the Eight-steps Change Model. This model focuses on driving organizational changes through analysis, management, and communication. The first step in Kotter’s model is to establish a sense of urgency (Esther & Green, 2009). That is, looking at conditions within the organization to see where adjustments are needed. In Home Depot’s case, HR and its strategic role needed some attention; hence it was analyzed and modified to meet business needs. In the second step, Kotter’s suggestion is to find groups of people who can work together (Esther & Green, 2009). At Home Depot, the Store manager and HR manager were not working â€Å"together†. There seemed to be a barrier as one HR manager, overwhelmed with tasks, could not produce at the highest level. The third step in the Eight-step Change Model elaborates on creating a vision (Esther & Green, 2009). Both Blake and Crow had a vision when they took office. What is more, both Executives wanted to go  back to Home Depot’s core principles to see what changes should be made for the business to out-perform its rivals. Moving forward, the fourth and fifth steps in Kotter’s model talk about the importance of communication (fourth step) and empowering the vision onto others (fifth step) (Esther & Green, 2009). This step at Home Depot was critical—Tim Crow communicated his vision to Frank Blake and others in the company and drove them to change the way HR performed in the organization by eliminating positions that were not efficient. Step six in Kotter’s model recommends creating short-term goals (Esther & Green, 2009). Blake and Crow set realistic short-term goals and shared why taking away an HR manager from each store would be a beneficial move. That is, the Store managers gained 3 HR Generalist instead of one HR manager (Mello, 2010). Step seven in Kotter’s model rewards employees for promoting the chang e and step eight defends the organization’s position on how the new change leads to corporate success (Esther & Green, 2009). Home Depot has taken initiatives discussed later in this paper to carry out steps seven and eight. By using John Kotter’s Change Model, Home Depot went from not having an effective Human Resources presence to employing an operational HR strategy. Right now, Home Depot’s current state of HR is embedded with the company’s overall corporate strategy. The organization has HR professionals who are true business partners, something Tim Crow planned and worked towards during the Human Resources Planning (HRP) stage. Moreover, Crow has taken a strategic approach, one that compares to the Organization and People Strategy. The strategy focuses on three key areas: Reward and Recognition, Talent Management, and Organizational Effectiveness (Armstrong, 2011). Reward and Recognition programs at HD consist of the following: Success Sharing for stores that achieve sales targets (paid out $63 million in 2007), Homer Badges for employees who exemplify company values, and the Product Knowledge Recognition program to reward learning initiatives (Crow, 2008). As far as the Talent Management aspect of the strategy, Home Depot has a Master Trade Specialist program in place that hired 3,000 trade specialists who are licensed electricians and plumbers (Crow, 2008). What is more, the company has HR managers who are more involved than their predecessors with Store managers and the company has its own insourced call center to address employee concerns. To accomplish the third component of the Organization and People Strategy—Organizational Effectiveness, Home  Depot has the Aprons on the Floor program, action based training modules, and an Aware Line telephone service for individuals to call and comment on particular situations (Crow, 2008). Before Blake and Crow took over Home Depot, it was led by former CEO Robert Nardelli and his regime. Nardelli and his choice of Executives turned the Home Depot culture upside down. That is, company officers were at the top, employees in the middle, and customers on the bottom of the pyramid. It took Crow’s strategic mindset to turn the pyramid back to its original position. Further, Blake played a significant role by making employee morale and career development a strategic priority (Crow, 2008). Blake and Crow did not turn the corporation around overnight. Instead, it was an ongoing process that needed commitment from everyone in the company. The reduction in force was the first step. The layoffs assisted Home Depot to take an â€Å"outside-in† approach to focus on strategic HR. This type of approach starts with analyzing the customer, competitor, and other challenges faced by the business (Armstrong, 2011). Further, the â€Å"outside-in† approach tackles ineff ective HR practices that should be revisited and aligned with corporate strategies. To integrate corporate and HR strategies, Home Depot replaced Human Resources managers from each store with additional Sales Associates (Mello, 2010). As Home Depot moves forward with strategic HR in the organization, the focus is on both the technical and managerial strategies. Technical strategies deal with the mathematical and behavioral methods of forecasting HR needs while managerial strategies consist of ways decision-makers tackle human resource issues (Reilly & Williams, 2006). Examples of technical strategies at Home Depot are the reduction of 1,200 human resource positions and establishing fresh roles for new HR teams. From a managerial standpoint, instead of having one Human Resource manager inundated with tasks, the three new Human Resources Generalist each are responsible for one function only—staffing and development, associate relations, and performance management (Mello, 2010). Both technical and managerial HR strategies are helping create a sustainable competitive advantage at Home Depot. When Crow decided to eliminate positio ns, resistance was inevitable. However, the cuts were an advantage to HR at Home Depot because organizational resources were not being allocated in the most efficient way. The trade-off of having a Human Resources manager in each store was the lack of manpower on the floor and that meant shifting  away from selling merchandise. By eliminating the HR manager position and creating regional HR teams, the organization went back to focusing on its core competence of providing customer service and increasing sales. Revenue growth at Home Depot suggests HR regional teams are better than one Human Resource manager in each store. Further, Home Depot’s reasoning behind changing the function of Human Resources can be examined closely by using the Lepak and Snell Model. Lepak and Snell have four quadrants in their model which classify Human Resources configurations. Right now, Home Depot appears to fall under the second quadrant. That is, the focus is on Job-based Employment and the company has Productivity Based HR (Mello, 2010). However, Home Depot is striving to reach Quadrant I: Knowledge-based Employment and Commitment-Based HR by having programs such as the Master Trade Specialist and a robust HR system in place. Overtime, Home Depot can drive their HR strategy to reach Quadrant I to get the most out of th eir business objectives. Conclusion: Home Depot is an example of how strategic HR can influence growth, productivity, and success in an organization. It starts with the willingness of the organization’s leaders to drive change. When Black and Crow eliminated 1,200 employees, the move was alarming to current workers and others in the industry. However, to revamp the HR strategy, layoffs were a necessity. By using theories similar to Kotter’s Eight-step Change Model, the People and Organization strategy, the HR â€Å"outside-in† approach, and Lepak and Snell’s HR Model, Blake and Crow turned around Home Depot’s culture to focus on customer service—its core business competence. Further, the company now has HR business partners who act as liaisons to Store managers to have an effective HR presence in stores. Home Depot is headed in the right direction as a result of its strategic HR focus. References Armstrong, M. (2011). Armstrong’s handbook of strategic human resource management. London: Kogan Page. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/login.aspx? direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=390442&site=ehost-live&scope=site Crow, T. (2008). Home REMODEL. Workforce Management, 87(12), 1-1,24,26,28. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/docview/219795604?accountid=11091 Esther, C., & Green, M. (2009). Making Sense of change Management. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page. Mello, J.A. (2010). Strategic Human Resource Management, Third Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Reilly, P. A., & Williams, T. (2006). Strategic HR : Building the capability to deliver. Aldershot: Gower. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=269752&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Heres How to Know the Difference Between Miss, Mrs., and Ms.

Heres How to Know the Difference Between Miss, Mrs., and Ms. Dear Mrs. Galloway, You begin the letter simply enough but the reader on the other end only rolls her eyes, laughing, and somewhat annoyed at the incorrect use of the title Mrs.. That response is not even close to what you wanted for your communication, but theres a reason for it: Shes 17 years old and isnt planning to get married anytime in the near future.Knowing the correct way to address someone in a letter or phone call is not only a good idea- its a way to ensure that the purpose of your letter or call isnt overshadowed by potential offense to the recipient. Small slights in communication etiquette can make a difficult situation even worse if youre trying to resolve it via written communication or a telephone call.For example, its a common misconception that Miss and Ms. mean the same thing. Or that all women can be referred to as Miss or Mrs. These titles have three entirely different connotations and anyone who uses them should know the difference between the three- especiall y if they perform a job or function that requires a lot of written and verbal communication skills.So, lets look at the meaning of each title and how to determine if it should be used to correctly address the recipient of your letter or phone call. A simple review, such as the one offered here, can save you time and stress, and help ensure your communication efforts happen as smoothly as possible.Its important to correctly address the recipient of your letter with the correct title. Photo by John-Mark Smith from Pexels.Using Miss correctlyWhen preceding a name, Miss is used to respectfully address an unmarried woman. It can also be used alone, without a name preceding it, to address her. The correct way to pronounce this title is [Mis] (rhymes with this).Youll also see the term used as a tease or reference to a womans personality traits, such as Miss Perfect or Miss Manners, although this use of the word is not considered to be formal.ExamplesMiss Myers, please contact our office as soon as possible.Excuse me Miss, but I think you left something behind.She acts like Miss Know-it-all but is mostly unaware.Settings in which you will use MissIn a formal setting, it is best to use Miss in front of an unmarried womans last name (surname). Some common examples of formal settings include business interactions, professional communication with business associates or employers, addressing someone in a position of authority, addressing someone you dont know personally, etc.). Slightly less formal is the use of Miss in front of an unmarried womans first (given) name, and this should only be done if you have permission to do so. In many cases, if a woman does not wish to be referred to in a formal manner, she will let you know: Oh, you can just call me [name].However, it is acceptable and polite to simply use Miss when verbally addressing a stranger whose name you dont know, but this is not typically done in written communication. For example, if you encounter a woman (of any age) on the street who has dropped her scarf, you could get her attention by saying: Excuse me, Miss. Is this yours?In informal settings (such as friends, close acquaintances, and family members, etc.), using Miss in front of a word that describes the person to whom youre referring is acceptable, although be careful- you can still hurt someones feelings if the descriptive word is not a compliment. For example, Miss know-it-all is a commonly used expression to refer (in a somewhat derogatory manner) to a woman who corrects others often.Using Mrs. CorrectlyMrs., when preceding a name, is a title used to respectfully address a married woman. It is similar to the use of Miss in that it is most often used along with a womans surname. In the past, it has been used along with the husbands first and last name to refer to his wife (Mrs. Donald Smith), but this practice is considered outdated. Some women might even take offense in it, so it is best to avoid it if possible.The correct way to pronounce this title is [Missus] (rhymes with miss us). In fact, youll often see the title spelled out as Missis, Missus, or Mizzus in dialogue, to denote exactly how a character pronounces it.ExamplesMrs. Jones owns the floral shop down the road.I think youre a wonderful person, Mrs. Annette.Ill ask the missus what she thinks of having dinner tomorrow night.Settings in which you will use Mrs.In a formal setting, such as in a business or professional context, you will likely use Mrs. before a married womans last name to address her politely. As with Miss, you can also use Mrs. before a married womans first name, but you should wait for permission or an invitation to do so.However, very rarely will you see Mrs. or Missus used alone, without a surname or given name following it. When it is used alone, it is usually mentioned in an informal way, such as a friend asking another friend: Are you and the missus joining us for dinner? This is another way that Mrs. differs from Miss.Using Ms. correctlyIf you are unsure about a womans marital status and are addressing her in written communication, Ms. is the preferred title to use. Think of it as the opposite of Mr., which is used to refer to a man, regardless of his marital status. The correct way to pronounce this title is [Miz] (rhymes with fizz).ExamplesDear Ms. Jenner,Ms. Lyle is the new principal of Belleview High SchoolSettings in which you will use Ms.As stated earlier, Ms. is the preferred term in written communication to refer respectfully to women whose married status is unknown. In this sense, many editors and journalists will use this term to cover their tracks in case Miss or Mrs. Is incorrect.As with Mrs., the use of Ms. as a standalone word is not typical.Getting around all three termsSpeaking of editing and journalism, a recent trend in many publications has been to use the first and last name of the woman without including either of the three titles (Miss, Mrs., or Ms.). However, this is not as acce ptable in spoken communication, where Miss, Mrs., and Ms. are still preferable (as long as the right one is used.

Energy (a global issue) essays

Energy (a global issue) essays One global issue is conserving energy. Energy is one of the primary things that people must have to go through their everyday lives. However, energy has its negative side. People should find a new source of energy since it is such a necessity in our everyday lives. One reason we should find a new source of energy, like solar energy, is because it is very expensive. Another reason is because there is not enough of it. A final reason is because energy pollutes. First, people should find a new source of energy because it is very expensive. Gas, a must in peoples lives, has become very expensive. Since it is a nonrenewable resource, the more we use it, the less there is, therefore, making it even more expensive. To solve this problem, people should find a new energy source to replace energy, such as gas. A new energy source to replace gas could be solar energy. It is free so people would not have to pay for anything. Solar energy is a good source to turn to for free energy that is almost in unlimited supply. Second, people should find a new source of energy because there is not enough of it. All energy we are currently using will run out someday because it is nonrenewable. For example, gas prices have gone up so much because there is not much left. People should try to conserve energy, while trying to find a new source of energy. If we turned to solar energy, there would be plenty for several trillions and trillions of years. There are abundant sources of it and as much of it as people want. If we turned to solar energy, there would be unlimited amounts of it. Finally, people should find a new source of energy because it pollutes the Earth. All energy we use, it is somehow used and distributed back into our air and water, polluting it. Gasoline, when used in cars, pollutes the air by going through the exhaust. The more we use gasoline, the more polluted our air gets, and since cars are people ...

Diffusion and network effects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Diffusion and network effects - Essay Example It starts with Innovators, who are the educated, risk oriented, information seeking people and who like to try new experiences. These roughly comprise of 5% of the population (Davidoff and Kleiner, 1991; Dewett, Whittier and Williams,, 2007). Next, are the early adopters, who are educated young and popular people and may be opinion leaders in their groups (David, 1985). Next are the early majority who are cautious and wait out to see how new products are reviewed by the early adopters. The early majority consist of a large number of people and these are also instrumental in propelling the late majority (who are older, conservative and low on social activity) into adopting the technology. The Laggards are the remaining people who missed out on adoption and may adopt the product toward the maturity of the product (Farrell and Saloner, 1985). Figure 1: Diffusion of Innovation Curve (Source: Rogers, 2003) In the case of Facebook, the adoption process started with ‘‘Innovators ’, but these e Innovators were the people who already had adopted older social networking versions like MySpace and Orkut. With the creation of Facebook, these ‘Innovators’ simply converted to Facebook and encouraged the early adopters to choose Facebook when they were ready to embrace the online social-networking concept (Fernandes, 2011). However, the diffusion of Facebook during the initial phases was also constrained by the diffusion of the Internet. Innovators and early adopters were therefore largely confined to the USA, Western Europe, Australia, and parts of India and China. As the Internet penetration increased with the development of broadband technology and liberalisation in other parts of the world, it spread to Middle East and then to the Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe and Russia (Fowler, 2012). So, while regions like the Middle East, Brazil, South Africa and Russia were now in the ‘Innovators’ and ‘Early Adopters’ phases, at the same time, the USA had and Western Europe had moved on to ‘Late Majority’ and the ‘Laggards’ phase as shown in the following figure. Figure 2: Stage of Adoption (Facebook) Source: CheckFacebook.com, 2010 3. Five Factors that Determine Success or Failure of Adoption Adoption, which is an individual process that depends on several attributes of the innovation like the relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability. Figure 3: Factors Determining Success of Adoption (Facebook) Relative Advantage Relative advantage, as the phrase suggests, is the perceived value added or additional advantage that a person thinks he can derive from adopting the new product (Haggman, 2009). In the context of Facebook, it offered the relative advantage over sites like MySpace and Orkut because of its higher level of security, the ability to limit who views the profile and ease in uploading and managing photographs. The user interface o f Facebook is also much more user friendly. Also, the spam prevention mechanism on Facebook is much stronger when compared to other social networking sites such as Orkut. So, users perceive it to be a more secure and private option than the existing ones. Compatibility Compatibility is the level of ‘

Service Marketing Take Home Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Service Marketing Take Home Exam - Essay Example My educational experience has therefore been benefited by these unique characteristics as I have gained a realization of the solitary strengths that remain within the midst of service marketing. I am sure that this will make me realize even more differentiating features in the coming times. Service firms need to have a clear cut direction as to what exactly they want to achieve since services keep on changing with the advent of time. Further, these service firms must realize that they need to give something extra and not just focus on the provision of service alone. The customers look up to these service firms for quality and hence value addition is indeed the order of the day. Moreover these service firms must ensure that they meet the needs of the time and have a very significant niche within the competition that becomes fast every now and then. Lastly, in order to achieve success across the service domains, it is very important that the service firms make use of products from time to time so that an element of tangibility remains with the customers of the service. This is important as the changing times will witness added features for the sake of service firms. Services are usually appreciated by people because these are more personal in nature and hence suit the needs of the people. The element of person-centric forms the basis of their liking and disliking in the long run. Thus it would be correct to state that services are usually dependent on the people in a number of different ways, all of which lead towards brand loyalty and associations. Another reason is that the service domains change over a period of time and usually the element of improvement forms the cornerstone of any service, which indeed is a plus point when spoken about the brand loyalty aspects of service firms. The last reason is that services tend to change on the basis of consumers’ moods,