Legal and Professional Issues – Manager of an IT company

You are a manager with an IT company supplying information management systems to medical practices. A company marketing health-related products (complementary medicines, books on diets and ‘miracle' cures of various kinds) has approached you. They suggest that you jointly offer doctors incentives to accept a feature in your system that will print out advertisements for their products on documents for patients and target different categories of patients with mailings. Content Page Title Page Content Page Ethical Issues it raises for; * The individuals- doctors, IT manager 4 * The groups – marketing company, patients 4-5 Enquires which may be carried out in order to understand the problem better 5 Proposed ‘solution' for the problem 5-6 Bibliography 7 Appendices 8-11 Manager of an IT company Ethical Issues it raises for; IT Manager * Data Protection Act 1998- â€Å"sensitive personal data† within the act states that ‘his physical or mental health or condition'1 should not be disclosed. See Appendices. * Human rights act 1998 * The act of ‘Bribery', illegal in the UK. * Company should have made a legal binding to the medical practice to secure data leakage. * Ethics and Information Technology. See Bernhard Debatin in Appendices. * In relation to Mills theory- the consequences could lead to higher monitoring of privacy if the activity is disclosed. See Appendices. Doctors * Following the principle of Mills, again, the consequences could be increased monitoring of doctoring practice locally or through the UK. * Data protection act 1998 * Human rights act 1998 * Unspoken confidentiality agreement with patient (doctor/ patient relationship) * Medical ethical practices, as laid out by the General Medical Council http://www.gmc-uk.org/standards/default.htm. * Breaking position of patient/ doctor authority * Misinforming patients/ disclosing information about a product he/she may know little about i.e. not knowing the side affects and misinforming patients claiming a ‘miracle cure'. * Accepting a personal ‘incentive' on behalf of patient confidentiality * Viewed as a high profile in society- should set a high ethical example * Potential- under Mills theory, of loosing the Doctor Status, respect and trust of the patients. Marketing Company * The British Code of Advertising Practice * Marketing ethical practices * Freedom of Information Act 2000 – could be viewed as ‘ethical' for such medical information to be disclosed in Europe. Patients * Unspoken confidentiality agreement with doctor (doctor/ patient relationship) * Date protection Act 1998 as before * Human Rights Act 1998 as before * Doctor- medical professional, patient- not a medical professional, thus the acceptance of something neither may no much about would potentially occur * Names/ Address/ disabilities and/or illnesses being disclosed; private and personal information which could be very sensitive to the individual. Enquires which may be carried out in order to understand the problem better It would be beneficial to do all the following in order to understand the situation better: * Contact the marketing company to gain a comprehensive understanding of the products; if not, the manufacturer. * Conduct research to find out if the product(s) have been used elsewhere, and if so, what the results were. * Contact the NHS; what are the regulations behind the marketing of products within medical practises. As the governing body, has research been previously carried out on these products? * Contact the General Medical Council who protect/ guide doctors and patients. With thorough knowledge of ethical guidance procedures for doctors and patients, they claim doctors should along with many other things; o â€Å"Respect and protect confidential information [about patients] o Respect patients' dignity and privacy o Avoid abusing your position as a doctor†2 * Speak to the doctors, ask them about the product and for them to speak to their peers in regard to the product- has others heard/used them. Proposed ‘solution' for the problem There are a couple of steps that can be carried out in order to minimise the ethical dilemmas that are concealed within this problem; 1. The IT Manager [myself] could give the doctors details obtained from the company marketing health-related products so that they have the choice as to whether they carry out the advertising- it would then be their responsibility to ensure date protection. 2. The idea of disclosing patient information in my view [acting as the manager] is totally unethical, and will not even be taken into consideration; even with an incentive- it would put my profession as well as the medical practice under legal scrutiny. 3. The NHS could be contacted to see if it would be possible for the marketing company to operate through them, ensuring that nothing illegal/unethical is taking place, and thus increasing the financial position of the NHS, again, leaving the IT company out of the equation

The Great Gatsby and Social Class

There are different types of people in this world: people who do good and people who do evil. Their actions, thoughts, and intentions define them as the type of person they are. Writers such as William Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald have produced similar work that includes characters who share similar characteristics. Characters such as Daisy from â€Å"The Great Gatsby† and Iago from â€Å"Othello† contain similar characteristics. Although Daisy and Iago carry different motives, they share identical deceptive schemes which cause similar effects on others. Both characters through their actions, thoughts, and intentions, are defined as bad people who do evil to manipulate others and take advantage of them. To begin with, the differences between both characters are their motives. Daisy’s motive is wealth and social class. This is evident when Jordan explains how Daisy was deeply in love with a soldier (Gatsby) and that she was caught packing her bag on a winter night to go to New York and say good bye to the soldier. Then she got engaged and married Tom Buchanan, Jordan goes on to explain that Daisy got a string of pearls valued three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. But the day before the wedding she gets drunk, holding a letter in her hand and says she changes her mind. This shows her true colors; Jordan explains how Daisy is very gay when she knew she was going to marry Tom who is rich. She likes the idea of the wealth and social security she gets from marrying Tom but when she gets drunk her true self comes out and tells Jordan to take back the pearls and tell everyone that she changed her mind. She cries that she changed her mind again and again, also that she does not want to marry Tom anymore. This shows that deep down she is still in love with Gatsby however, she is more in love with the wealth and social class Tom can provide for her is she marries him. Then, Jordan says that she and her mother’s maid locked the door and got her in a cold bath while she was holding on to the letter. Jordan says that she took it in the tub with her and squeezed it up into a wet ball. The next day at five o’clock she married Tom without as much as a shiver. Jordan does not say whom the letter is from but it is believable it is from Gatsby overseas who wrote the letter to Daisy from overseas and her true emotions came out when she got drunk. Fitzgerald 75, 76). Iago, on the other hand, has a different motive; Iago pursues power unlike Daisy whose motive is wealth and social class. This is shown when Iago plots how to get Cassio’s position in the army and to get revenge on Othello and Cassio, â€Å" ‘Cassio’s a proper man: let me see now; to get his place a nd to plume up my will in double Knavery. How? How? Let’s see. After some time, to abuse Othello’s ear. That he is too familiar with his wife;† (I. iii. 383-387). Iago is planning for vengeance against Cassio and Othello because Othello promoted Cassio instead of Iago which he is upset about. It is shown here that Iago’s motive is power and that he turns into a green-eyed monster (III. iii. 168) because he did not get the power he wanted. Therefore, it is evident that the difference between both, Daisy and Iago is their motives. Daisy seeks wealth and social class while Iago on the other hand craves power. Secondly, one of the similarities between both characters is the deceptive schemes. Daisy deceits Gatsby for her own advantage, she uses him and plays with his love for her. This is illustrated when Daisy contradicts herself: â€Å"Daisy, that is all over now,† he said earnestly. It doesn’t matter anymore. Just tell him the truth —- that you never loved him—-and it’s all wiped out forever. † She looked at him blindly. â€Å"Why—-how could I love him—-possibly? â€Å"You never loved him. † She hesitated. Her eyes fell on Jordan and me with a sort of appeal, as though she realized at last what she was d oing—- and as though she had never, all along, intended doing anything at all. But it was done now. It was too late. â€Å"I never loved him,† she said, with perceptible reluctance. [†¦] â€Å"Oh you want too much! † she cried to Gatsby. â€Å"I love you now—-isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past. † She began to sob hopelessly â€Å"I did love him once—-but I loved you too. † [†¦] â€Å"I want to speak Daisy alone,† he insisted. â€Å"She’s all excited now —–† â€Å"Even alone I can’t say I never loved Tom,† she admitted in a pitiful voice. â€Å"It wouldn’t be true. † (132,133). Daisy realizes Gatsby’s obsession with her so she decides to take advantage of him. To make Tom who is cheating on her, jealous. Daisy uses deceptive strategies to make Gatsby believe that she loves him and only him but it is just an act put up by her to make Tom jealous. When Gatsby asks her to say she never loved Tom she uncomfortably admits but later she changes her mind and tells him he wants too much. She lies to Gatsby and says what he wants to hear at first but then spits out the truth that she does love Tom or at least the perk that Tom comes with. This is an example of Daisy’s deceptive actions causing Gatsby to believe what is not true. Similarly, Iago shares deceptive intentions which cause Othello to believe that Desdemona (his wife) is unfaithful to him. This is demonstrated by Iago when he feeds Othello lies about Cassio possibly having an affair with Desdemona, â€Å"[†¦] Look to your wife, observe her well with Cassio; Wear your eyes thus: not jealous, nor secure. I would not have you free and noble nature, Out of self-bounty, be abus’d. Look to’t I know our country disposition well† (III. iii. 200-203). Iago creates suspicion in Othello. Othello as gullible as he is creates a greater suspicion in him and forms a green monster in him which is what Iago wanted all along. Iago feeds Othello a lie which causes Othello to believe what is not true. As a result, it is evident that both Daisy and Iago are prime examples of characters that are similarly deceptive. Lastly, another similarity between both characters is the effect on others from their deceptive actions. Daisy deceptive ways result in three deaths, one of which she committed and one suicide. This is portrayed when Daisy kills Myrtle and Gatsby who is blindly in love with her, willing, takes the blame, â€Å"Did you see any trouble on the road? † he asked after a minute. Yes. † He hesitated. â€Å"Was she killed? † â€Å"Yes† [†¦] â€Å"Was Daisy driving? † â€Å"Yes,† he said after a moment, â€Å"but of course I’ll say I was. † (143). Daisy kills Myrtle by hitting her with a car while Gatsby was sitting next to her. Gatsby loves Daisy greatly enough to take to blame for it which is convenient for Daisy because Myrtle was Tom’s mistress. Daisy kills Tom’s mistress and leaves Gatsby to suffer the consequences. Gatsby’s foolish decision of taking the blame results in his death and a suicide by Mr. Wilson who kills Gatsby. ‘The chauffeur—-he was one of Wolfsheim’s proteges—-heard the shots—-afterward he could only say that he hadn’t thought anything much about them. [†¦] There was a faint, barely perceptible movement of the water the fresh flow from one end urged its way toward the drain at the other. [†¦] It was after we started with Gatsby’s toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete’ †. Daisy’s actions results in Gatsby’s death and another death of Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson not knowing the truth assumes Gatsby s the murderer of his wife. He kills Gatsby by shooting him when he was in his pool and then commits suicide right after. Likewise, Iago affects others along the same lines. His deceptive actions also result in three deaths, one of which Iago causes and one suicide. Iago’s lies get the best of Othello into turning into a jealous monster to the point where Othello loses control and killed Desdemona. This is demonstrated when Othello locks her in their room, â€Å" ‘Down, strumpet! ’ ‘Kill me tomorrow; let me live tonight! ’ ‘Nay, if you strive—-’ ‘But half an hour! ‘Being done, there is no pause. ’ ‘But while I say one prayer! ’ ‘Its too late’ ‘O, Lord, Lord, Lord! ’ *He smothers her*† (V. ii. 80-85). Iago’s evil deceptive deeds successfully fool Othello into believing Desdemona was unfaithful to him when she was not. As a result he kills her by smothering her to death. When Emilia see’s this she tells Othello the truth that Desdemona was faithful and Iago was lying. This causes Iago to stab her so she could speech no more of the truth. (V. ii. 230-235). Othello realizing he was cheated by Iago, runs at Iago to wound him and then stabs himself. V. ii. 350-355). Therefore, it is evident that both characters had similar effects on others. Both effects include 3 deaths, one of which the characters cause and one suicide. Although Daisy and Iago carry different motives they share similar deceptive schemes which cause identical effects on others. Daisy’s motive is wealth and social class but Iago intends to achieve pow er. However, both characters share similar deceptive plans. Daisy fools and takes advantage of Gatsby to make Tom jealous. Likewise, Iago fools and takes advantage of Othello to make him jealous. They also affect others similarly; both characters cause three deaths, one caused by themselves and one suicide. Therefore, it is evident that the similarities out weight the differences. The quote that relates to acts of both characters is â€Å"I love the world, but humanity is what makes it ugly. † (Ives, 33). This quote has a very deep meaning to it and is very strong. It describes to the reader that the world will be a better place if humanity tries to make it a better place. The sooner the meaning of peace and love is understood and accepted the sooner the world will be a better place.

“Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell Essay

Winstons statement is vague and must be properly addressed before we can access its validity. The word hope in itself is deliberately ambiguous as Winston fails to mention what this hope is for. Winston may be talking about hope of revolution and the overthrow of government as a horse shaking flies. For this there is ultimately almost no hope in the proles due to the futility expressed in the novels ending as even our socially aware narrator succumbs to the guile of Big Brother. However, much more than this Winston may be talking about hope for the future, hope for freedom from social oppression and the dictatorial regime of the Party, hope for the end goal of this revolution. Winston writes this statement having just described the way in which the Party has manipulated sex, one of the basest human instincts according to Freud, into a joyless act and attempts to eliminate the orgasm.The freedom from this sort of tyranny is far more within the reach, and to some extent is already available, to the proles. The proles, superficially, have far more tangible freedom than the party members since they are able to indulge in their own activities during free time which party members are not permitted. The proles are less vigorously monitored by the Thought Police or party officials and in theory are allowed to live as they please. However, in theory, the party members are too allowed to live as they please though the reality is very different as will be discussed later. It is questionable whether or not Winston himself holds any hope in the proles. Whilst traversing the prole districts of London he re-states and corrects his prior quote, this time saying if there was hope it lay in the proles. This suggests that he has come to the conclusion that there is actually no hope other than a theoretical one. The use of if and was shows that Winston is not so much expressing a hope but rather philosophising on abstract concepts, a palpable absurdity which he knows are out of reach in reality. These theoretical truths are expressed as important to Winstons psyche as he depends on them to stay sane, he writes the axiom Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. His hope in the proles is part of the same concept. Winston needs to make sense of his world no matter how futile it might be, he needs to cling on to the prospect of hope despite its impossibility. The way in which the proles are portrayed shows how they are able to function within the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four and kept under control despite having certain levels of freedom. At the start of chapter seven we are presented with the power of the proles to such an extent that we are even given the statistics that it contains 85% of the population of Oceania. Though Winston constantly expresses their huge potential their futility is quickly made clear as their drive is siphoned into irrelevant directions. Winston confuses a squabble over saucepans for the start of a revolution. The juxtaposition of these two ideas serves to emphasise the anticlimactic outlets of the proles as the two are social polars, one a fundamental change in the very workings of society, the other a pointless feud over kitchen utensils. Another outlet for the proles is a large amount of focus centred around the lottery to such an extent that it becomes the principle if not the only reason for remaining alive. The fact that this lottery is largely imaginary shows the level of control that the party is still able to impose upon the proles, despite appearing to be a choice. The party is misdirecting their hope whilst apparently giving it in a controlled system. On the face of it, the way the proles live does not appear to be very different from real life in 1940s London. When Orwell provides us with a list of their activities the care of home and children, petty quarrels with neighbours, films, football, beer, and above all, gambling, fill dup the horizons of their minds it seems to be a bleak portrayal of London rather than a distant dystopian future. We are able to identify with Winstons thoughts and feelings but we are able to identify with the proles lifestyles. Considering Orwells bleak view and lack of faith in social systems and British life in general he is likely to attach a certain stigma and lack of faith in a lifestyle which mimics it. Winston talks extensively of the bland, neutral life which fails to live up to its own expectations the reality was decaying dingy cities where underfed people shuffled to and fro in leaky shoes. This again seems more like a general social commentary of the London of Orwells time rather than a warning of the future which  pervades the rest of the novel. Orwell is clearly disillusioned both in the real world and the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four. The proles, it seems, though possessing more evidential freedom are actually as enslaved by the party as the rest of Oceania. They are regarded as beneath suspicion showing them to be mentally inept and enslaved, perhaps making them greater casualties of Big Brothers regime. The proles are the ultimate party product, exhibiting no threat despite a lack of supervision via Thought Police or telescreens. They show no ambition, are able to employ doublethink and do not question the status quo unlike Winston and Julia, both party members. As Syme says the proles are not people, they have lost all concept of freedom or anything outside of the party without the need of newspeak to diminish these concepts for them. Winston states he knows HOW but I do not know WHY. His contrast with the proles demonstrates the Why. The very fact he thinks this statement and questions the party shows why the party has need of thought police to keep him under control. There is no need for this amongst the proles since they are not intelligent enough to rebel, but intelligent members of the party who can philosophise on concepts of freedom are far more dangerous to the party. It is necessary for them to be force-fed orthodoxy to keep them under control and weed out those who cannot be. Winston contains the fundamental mute protestation in the bones which simply is not present in the proles. There is no hope in the proles uprising since orthodox or not, they will never take the initiative to do so and all those who can invoke them are sought out by Thought Police. The proles are presented as, fundamentally, equally as oppressed as party member but just through different means. The party members are encouraged and required to use Newspeak so as to diminish the English language and the unorthodox concepts that go alongside it. Though proles, on the other hand, not only use Oldspeak but their own dialect of it and actively reduce the words themselves by omitting letters. The format via which Orwell presents this emphasises this point since he does not simply omit the letters but places a dash in their stead Ark at im! Calls isself a barman and dont know  what a pint is. The proles erode letters and grammar of their own accord, demonstrating the fact that they too will naturally move in the direction of the party. Similarly, the conversation of the proles, though they are permitted to argue without raising suspicion is ultimately as futile as those members of the party. The conversations are still not exchanges of views or ideas but the duckspeak of the Ministry of Truth cafeteria. The proles argue amongst one another whilst never actually stopping to hear each others input. We can see this both in the occasion when the men have a debate over the lottery and Winstons conversation with the old man in the pub. Conversations run in parallel with each other rather than meet and the sense of personal isolation of views remains. Since, as readers we know that there is no hope for Winston or the other party members, by seeing the similarities we are shown that there too is no hope for the proles. Ultimately the proles are no more capable of bringing about the revolutionary changes that Winston hopes for than the party members. They have a greater potential since, as the party slogan states, proles and animals are free. However, they are only free in the same way an animal is free. They are not truly free, as Winston would see it, to claim that two plus two equals four since they have no mental inclination to do so. The proles contain the hope of social freedom which Winston desires but are unable to utilise it since they are mentally enslaved without the need for Thought Police, ambitionless and ultimately hopeless. Bibliography: George Orwell – Nineteen Eighty-Four

President Washingtons inaugural address Assignment

President Washingtons inaugural address - Assignment Example 3). The president stressed that he would act in accordance with the Constitution. According to his speech, Washington sees presidency as the institution aimed at making sure that the major law is followed and people have an opportunity to live proper lives. The president is a guard who makes sure that the nation develops and achieves all the goals set. Of course, the major goal is wellbeing and prosperity, but there is also an aim to be respected in the world. It is necessary to add that a number of political ideals mentioned by Washington especially animate his speech. First of all, the reference to the Constitution is one of these ideals as the nation was built on the idea of equality secured by the Constitution. Americans have always been sure that there should be the governance of law. The president promised that there would be â€Å"no local prejudices, or attachments†, no â€Å"party animosities† (Washington’s inaugural address, 1789, para. 3). He promised that all decisions would be made in accordance with the major law of the country. Admittedly, this was an important political ideal for Americans who took pride in their Constitution. The president also mentioned â€Å"the voice† of his country a number of times (Washington’s inaugural address, 1789, para. 1). In this case, he appeals to another political ideal: people’s ability to vote and choose the President of the country. This is an important pillar for the American democracy as people take the responsibility and make their major decision affecting the future of their country. Clearly, Americans knew (or at least wanted to make it happen) that there was political equality, and each citizen could express his ideas and his voice could be heard. Washington paid specific attention to another important political ideal. The president stressed that he (as any other politician should) would try his best to make the nation prosperous and

Extending Retail Services in China Research Paper

Extending Retail Services in China - Research Paper Example Coca-Cola, an American-based soft drink manufacturer has had to adapt to the Chinese environment so as to emerge as a leading soft-drink manufacturer in the country. Thus, this paper gives the history and nature of China and its people and the etiquette of business in the country. It further evaluates the cultural, economic, political and legal environment in the country. Using information from various secondary sources, the paper analyses the experience of Coca-Cola in China, as a case study of the impact of a country’s economic, cultural, political and legal environment on international business. The Political and Legal Environment in China China has been governed by the Chinese Communist Party, CCP for about 63 years since 1949 when it assumed power through a civil war victor. Nonetheless, Ambler, Witzel and Xi (2009) observe that there has been tremendous transformation in the political culture and institutions over this period of time. Even though this party upholds a mon opoly of power and does not tolerate being questioned, Lawrence and Martin (2013) consider the political system as being neither rigidly hierarchal nor monolithic. This form of centralized government is referred to as Maoism by Peteghem and Zhang (2010). The formal political culture of the Chinese upholds collective leadership, the military as a wing of the CCP and strong legislature on paper but weak in practice. In China, politics go hand in hand with commerce and discipline could be executed by the Communist party. The government of China is largely involved in the primary businesses in the country. Devonshire-Ellis (2011) observed that out of the 46 Chinese companies that were listed in the Fortune 500, 40 were state-owned. This author notes that as soon as a business becomes viable, government interest takes over. Apparently, instead of the returns from these businesses ending up in state coffers, they filter down to state officials (Hamilton & Zhang, 2012). Similarly, to succe ed in business, there is need to establish appropriate networks with these officials, referred to as guanxi (Peteghem & Zhang, 2010). This causes difficulties with regards to transparency in China and among the business executives that are engaged in business in the country. This becomes particularly difficult when dealing with the US and EU companies where corruption amounts to a serious crime. China’s legal reform process began in the past about a decade aimed at motivating the opening of its markets having joined the World Trade Organization, WTO. One of the legislative policies of China is to reduce its control over state-owned enterprises (Sweeney, 2010). The authorities of China have the approval process relatively centralized such that it integrates national, regional and local authorities vertically. The law in China distinguishes companies depending on their capital source. Domestic companies typically have less than 20% foreign shareholding while Foreign Investment Enterprises, FIEs could be Foreign Invested Companies Limited by Shares, FICLS, Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises, WFOEs or joint ventures. A legal entity would be determined majorly by the kind of investment being undertaken, such as being a direct acquisition or joint venture. Even though the laws of China could allow foreign investors to make a choice from a variety of investment entities, it could occur that the investment destination could be

May one lend money to co-workers who need it to commit sins Personal Statement

May one lend money to co-workers who need it to commit sins - Personal Statement Example In the case of his friend for instance, who wanted the money to ‘commit sin’ with a call girl, he denied him on moral grounds. He argued that by doing that, he would be hurting the wife of this co-worker. However, his morality position can be questioned where he provides his boss with money to purchase a gift. This present was supposed to be given to a woman that the boss was having an affair with, though he was married. Though the individual in question knew about this, he went ahead and paid for the gift for his boss. The two similar scenarios have elicited two contrasting responses. This therefore begs the question of where he stands as far as morality is concerned. The lack of consistence despite the situation is enough to support the fact that most people would appear moral only when they gain more pleasure in the event. However, if there is any loss perceived, one would rather compromise to safe their status quo. My point of view and premises for that position Cons istency in terms of how one responds to issues of morality within the society is imperative. This is especially on how one conducts him/herself towards the colleagues in the working environment. For one to be defined as morally upright, it would be necessary for them to appear predictable in all situations, in terms of their position on various social issues. Fear of losing certain favors because of one’s action or position should not arise. In the case of the of the individual in question, the fact that he agreed to do his boss a favor opens a door to further compromises in future. Through one would understand his reason for taking that compromising act, he failed to take initiative of rejecting. For instance, he did not offer his stand on the issue of unfaithfulness on the part of his boss. The fact that he assisted him in paying for the gift could be explained as ‘supporting such an act.’ Secondly, one would also say that his moral position is not grounded str ongly. He is swayed by circumstances which should not be the case provided one does what they think is right. For instance, why did he not fear losing friendship by not lending money to his friend? Secondly, why did he not choose to reciprocate the same act to his boss? The whole issue of morality lacks meaning if how one behaves is determined by pain and pleasure one may incur. One would be in a position to draw a line and say ‘this is right’ and ‘this is wrong’ despite the repercussions. The notion that he would be discharged of his duty by denying the favor to his boss is just a perception that is not based on reality. For instance, there are laws which protect employees from any unfair treatment. One can seek redress if they feel they are being harassed by their seniors. According to my position therefore, morality should have a specific definition and remain consistent in all scenarios regardless of the consequences. Support by other philosopher such a s John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham, John F. Cosby and Veatch. John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham seem to share similar sentiments as far as issues of morality are concerned. They raise two important social phenomena of pain and pleasure as the main determinants of how individuals behave in certain circumstances (Bentham 58). They indicate that what manners are the final result and not the means taken. Both of them agree on matters of personal happiness as what is imperative in deciding moral

Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Terrorism - Essay Example The use of explosive devices is partly explained by ease of achieving the goal and low-cost technical means. It is not surprising that terrorism is often called â€Å"the cheap war†. In addition, gun, knife and poison do not have such a powerful emotional impact on people, as is achieved with the help of explosives. Even in the case when it is possible to prevent the tragedy, the material damage caused to society, whose familiar life is interrupted for some time, is very serious. In addition, we can not forget about the hard psychological impact on innocent people. Conventionally, the terror can be divided into mass and individual, depending to what the action is specifically directed, whether to Implementation of the threat to society as a whole or action against a specific individual. But in both cases the purpose is to conduct a campaign of intimidation to achieve maximum possible effect: to sow fear, cause panic, and they, in turn, will finish the rest. The actions of terr orists are always demonstrative by character. The perpetrator of acts of mass terrorism is often prone to a peculiar diabolical narcissism.

The Concepts of Phyletic Gradualism and Punctuated Equilibrium Research Paper

The Concepts of Phyletic Gradualism and Punctuated Equilibrium - Research Paper Example Concepts of Phyletic Gradualism and Punctuated Equilibrium: The concept of phyletic gradualism was developed by Charles Darwin and supports the fact that the evolutionary process and speciation occurred gradually. On the other hand, the concept of punctuated equilibrium supports the fact that the process of evolution had been a rapid process and this concept was suggested by the naturalists, N. Eldredge and S.J. Gould. Although both the techniques tend to involve similar mechanisms of allopatric, parapatric, and sympatric speciation, yet the difference occurs in the rates of changes that have been suggested by the theorists. It is still a continuing study that might be able to determine which model had actually supported the evolutionary process. It has been realized that complete records of fossils would be able to assist such a study. According to the punctuated equilibrium theory, modifications occurred in the evolutionary process in smaller levels and were separated over longer p eriods of time. It was termed as punctuated equilibrium as it reflected â€Å"periods of stasis punctuated by rapid evolutionary change† (Shukla, 2009, pp.28-29). Thus the two theories represent two different concepts regarding the process of evolution. ... Based on this concept it could be obtained that if new species were developing in an allotropical manner and in small secluded levels, it could be suggested that speciation might have occurred. Before this new species leaves fossils record in the location of its antecedent, it could be observed that they had fully developed. Such transitions would not be recorded at the concerned location since the fossils would remain incomplete indicating the occurrence of an evolution. The concept of stabilizing selection was used to explain stasis as obtained through the fossil records (Ridley, 2004, p.599). Processes of Rapid Evolution: Two processes that can explain the production of rapid evolution are the processes of polyploidy and RNA Recoding. Polyploidy in the botanical environment provides the mechanism that proves that evolution can occur in a rapid manner thus leading to speciation in a single generation. Allopolyploidy is another related process that represents similar possibility of speciation within a particular generation. With the passage of time, this process has also proved its significance in the animal kingdom as well as among the insects proving rapid evolution. RNA Recoding is the other process that involves the ribosomes influencing the synthesis of proteins in the body that created rapid speciation in the process of evolution (Corey, 1994, pp.283-285). As described by the supporters of punctuated equilibrium, it can be understood that the change from one evolution to another leads to the periods of rapid speciation to be followed by periods of relative stasis. The primary factors responsible in the process reflect the â€Å"macroevolutionary forces of change† present in the evolutionary society on earth (Prentiss,

Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems Assignment

Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems - Assignment Example What are the similarities and differences of these two systems? Intrusion detection systems are software applications or devices that detects and monitors malicious activities of violations of policies provided. In addition, the application provides reports and information to management stations. The application has different ways and mechanisms that may detect network traffic from different sources. In general, intrusion detection systems focus on detecting network incidences, logging information of users and reporting log in attempts (Ross, 2001). Moreover, companies use the systems to monitor their existing security systems. This is done by detecting issues with security policies and creating documentation on existing network issues. In addition, the system may provide recommendations on how to update existing security policies. The main objectives of IDS are analyzing and monitoring system activities and users, taking part in system audits, analyzing the safety of content used and required, detecting unusual activities and comparing partners to malware patterns. One major weakness of the system is that it must contain human operations which may hinder the effectiveness of automated functionality (Verma, 2008). On the other hand, firewalls are also used to increase the effectiveness of network security approaches. Firewall protects network security systems from access from unauthorized sources. Verma (2008) is of the assumption that firewall protect security prior to their access. The author further points out that the security system relies on its ability to protect access and distortion before threat is launched. To increase the effectiveness of the system, they are regularly updated to be able to identify advanced network threats. Firewall security systems also ensure the safety of the network connection used in a business. With a protected security firewall detects both incoming and outgoing packets.

Financial management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Financial management - Essay Example Key principles that are followed by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers are as follows: First, the panel follows the principle of equal treatment for every shareholder. According to this principle, every shareholder of the firm that is getting taken over should get equal treatment. Even if all the security holders do not posses adequate control on the operation of the company, each of them should be protected. Second, the panel strictly follows the rule of providing adequate advice and information timely to all security holders. Third, the panel can not allow the creation of any false market for the shares of the offeree firm. According to this principle, a company is allowed to announce a merger or takeover only once after it becomes completely ready for the event to conduct. Fourth, it is not possible for any firm to perform any unauthorized frustrating activities without having any approval from its shareholders. According to this principle, a firm can not issue or sell any share f rom its treasury without proper approval from its shareholders. (Fisher, 2003) B. The Economic reasons for mergers and acquisitions are some economic benefits that are obtained by means of mergers and acquisitions. The benefits are as follows: Efficiency: Mergers and acquisitions help firms to add up their assets. ... Besides getting efficiency at operational level, mergers and acquisitions also help in providing efficiency at management level to some extent. When a firm involves in the process of merging with another firm or taking over the assets of any other company, then it becomes possible to generate a market controlled by corporate. (Hunt, 2009; Sherman and Hart, 2006) Financial benefits: By taking over the assets of other firms, a business organization can follow the route of diversification of its earnings. This type of diversification causes a significant fall in the variation in the area of profitability of the company and thus helps in making a reduction in the risks of bankruptcy as well as attendant costs. Market power effect: Mergers and acquisitions is also helpful in providing greater amount of market power that in turn offers many benefits to the companies who involve in the process of merging. (Galpin and Herndon, 2007) Sometimes mergers and actuations become unsuccessful for th e following reasons: First, mergers influence organizational culture to a large extent. On account of mergers and acquisitions the employees of the merging companies have to experience rigorous anxiety. This kind of anxiety causes a fall in the level of productivity. Second, frequently, mergers are done with wrong intentions. Often, mergers or takeovers are used for seeking glory or to express financial strength. Third, the success derived from mergers and acquisitions is frequently hindered by variations in the work cultures as well as corporate activities of the firm which are involved in the process of mergers and acquisitions. Fourth, once the process of mergers and acquisitions becomes complete, firms generally put their focus on the issues relating to cost reduction rather than

Persuasive Speech Essay Example for Free

Persuasive Speech Essay I. Introduction â€Å"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.† This quote by Friedrich Nietzsche speaks volumes toward the importance of individuality and self-expression. It shows how conformity can lead to complacency and â€Å"corrupt† our most valuable resource, our youth. School uniforms do just that. The requirement of school uniforms can cause more problems than they solve ranging from elevated stress levels to legal issues. People will always have their opinions on the benefits of school uniforms though it’s important to consider both sides of the argument as well as considering other options such as the option of a dress code. Growing up in Salina, Kansas left me with only a few educational options; of three schools, two are public. Which public school you attend is determined by where your residence is in correlation with pre determined district zones. Having never been subject to uniforms I can’t personally speak for their pros or cons, I can however give insight into the liberty and self-expression I experienced by attending a public school that implemented the use of a dress code instead of a strict uniform policy. II. More harm than good A. As more and more people are beginning to associate with the opinion of school uniforms being a beneficial policy, they neglect to take into account how it individually affects each of the students. B. School uniforms are usually expensive and are often times, expected to be purchased by the student’s family. This can raise stress in the home environment due to economic strain on the household creating a less than satisfactory place to study. C. According to Scholastic Scope, another point to consider is that of vanity. Uniforms can be uncomfortable and less flattering to certain body types than others causing the student to become more stressed and anxious than before. D. In addition many researchers believe that uniforms inhibit self-expression and can cause more problems through students â€Å"acting out† (Lauren, Tarshis, 2011). III. Effect on Behavioral Problems A. It’s hard to pinpoint what makes a student behave inappropriately. What’s even more difficult is finding a solution for what’s causing them to do so. For years, people had thought school uniforms could be the solution to behavioral problems with in our academic system stating that they would make it an equal environment where a student didn’t have to worry about what they wore, and how they would stand out in a positive or negative way. B. Initially, in a study conducted from school years 1995-1997 at the elementary school level researchers found that after implementing school uniforms, behavioral problems within the schools studied actually declined. C. Though this argument seems logical, further research proved this theory to be incorrect. In a 1998 study, researchers D. Brunsma and K. Rockquemore found that when other factors were taken into account school uniforms had little to no effect on behavior within the school. They also found that uniforms had no effect on such things as substance abuse, school attendance, and crime within the academic institutions researched (Tanner, 2010). D. School uniforms do provide an equal setting to learn, that much is true, but the problem lies within. If a student feels suffocated by conformity, the student may act out in an attempt to individualize him or herself and stand out in the crowd. E. Without a proper foundation built on research, it’s impossible to say uniforms are beneficial. IV. Legality A. In addition to a lack of a strong foundation built on research, the requirement of school uniforms brings up a legal debate, one of constitutional rights. B. In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines, (1969) it was ruled unconstitutional to force the requirement of school uniforms on the public school system. This was ruled unconstitutional due to infringing on the first amendment right of freedom of speech. It’s stated that you have the right to express your thoughts and opinions on a controversial topic through the attire you choose to wear. (Tinker, 1969). C. A school uniform policy may also force someone to wear something that goes against their religious beliefs, adding fuel to the controversy. D. It’s important to keep in mind how wide of a variety of students attend public schools. If they are truly available to anyone, then you must make the policies flexible for everyone. V. Other options A. To allow for individuality as well as maintaining an equal learning experience for every student, there’s another option to take into consideration. B. One option is tightening dress codes within the school. Instead of a strict uniform based policy, this would allow students to express themselves and remain individuals while still being able to relate with one another, not alienating any student from the other. C. Some of the inner cities that have adopted the uniform policy are finding many students have difficulty paying for the expensive attire. This would also allow for students to have the option to purchase cheaper clothing, still within the dress code. VI. Other argument A. Though there isn’t a strong foundation for research of the subject, many remain convinced that uniforms are the best way to help our public school system. They believe how a student perceives their academic institution plays a major role in how the student performs. B. A students perception of their academic institution and the environment within them is referred to as school climate and is determined with the use of surveys categorized into subscales. C. The National Association of Secondary School principals conducted a study that with the use of surveys such as this, attempted to determine if school climate was better within schools that required the use of uniforms. D. The study proved uniforms to be beneficial with students reporting climate as more positive in 9 out of 10 subscales (Murray,1997). E. With that being said, a students perception of their schools environment is only a fraction of what makes an equal and efficient learning environment for the entire studen t body. VII. Conclusion As John F. Kennedy once said, â€Å"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.† Whether or not the requirement of school uniforms is a beneficial addition to the public school system will continue to remain a controversial issue though the true controversy lies within the uniform policy itself. Self-expression is an important aspect in shaping a person into who they are. So in order for our public school system and the pupils within it to grow and develop through success, it’s our responsibility to keep uniforms out of our public school system.

Baxter Manufacturing Essay Example for Free

Baxter Manufacturing Essay Baxter Manufacturing Company (BMC) is a metal stampings company. Its major customers include, Ford, General Motors, Honda of America, General Electric and Whirlpool. The company is made up of two divisions it makes brackets and other components that go into the finished product, they also make motor casings. BMC employees about 420 non-union employees and has been steadily growing for the last 6 years. They have been approached to build a factory in Mexico, and settled on building in Queretaro, which is about a 3-hour drive north of Mexico City. Don Collins, who is the MIS manager, felt that since a new plant was being built with top of the line equipment and computer systems that they might be able to implement a system upgrade for the entire company. One of the problems was that BMC wanted the new system implemented by the end of the year. Given the quick deadline they decided to focus on support for the Mexico plant, a felt that the following approaches: 1. Connect the Mexican plant to BMC’s existing systems through a high-speed communications line   2.  Contract through an application service provider (ASP) to provide systems support to the Mexican plant. 3. Employ a piecemeal solution where they would acquire a number of software packages that could run on the networked PC’s in Mexico that would serve the basic needs of the Mexican plant. (MIS) The task force team ran into difficulties with language and cultural differences, the mindset of the employees and Mexico and the long distances between them. They met with resistance and self pride from the Mexican employees and were unable to communicate effectively with them. Target As a result of the lack of communication and the language differences the task force decided to go with option 3. They were working on locating vendors to provide support and with basic language software to help the employees stateside. The main issues that they are having are support for the systems and training for the equipment. By outsourcing some or all of ts IT work to a company that is familiar with the language and culture it could help expedite the time of getting the plant operational. In addition developing a training program that could be taught companywide could help benefit the entire company. Proposal One of the main issues that BMC is looking for is international support. They are been unable to work directly with its own employees due to the language barrier that it faces. By using a company like Unisys, they could provide the infrastructure support, business service support and many other features. They offer support in English and Spanish and could help ease the burden of the local IT department. Unisys could also implement a Cloud, in which the entire company could use to help transfer information to and from different locations. â€Å"Business forces have caused IT to try to figure out how to provide flexible services faster, but, without large, up front investments. Unisys has a number of cloud solutions for providing the necessary flexibility and responsiveness needed to achieve significant business value. † (Unisys) A great deal of time has gone into the development of this plant, but an equal or greater part must be present in training of the employees. In order for the plant to be fully operational at the level that is required by MBC, a training program must be designed. They would benefit greatly by having management train with how BMC currently runs its operation. By also setting up a video conferencing line they could help problem solve over the computer and or phone lines helping eliminate the distance between the two plants.

Role of total quality management IT BPO industry

Role of total quality management IT BPO industry About Services and Quality: Services lie at the hub of economic activity. They touch the lives of each individual in this world. Today firms differentiate themselves in the market place by offering their customers a service guarantee. Every organisation has their operations and they would involve in outsourcing the business function operations to a third party service provider. In turn every organisation would have a business process outsourcing unit. In this competitive world, service providers are having different strategies to sustain in marketplace. Every organisation would appeal to their customers to distinguish themselves from their competitors maintaining the important characteristics called as Quality. It must be the key goal in the operations functions as well as all other parts of the company. Quality is vital in determining the economic success of companies (Curkovic et al., 2000; Garvin, 1988) every world-class company gains competitive edge and has greater market share through extraordinary levels of performance by providing quality services with competitive prices as required by demanding customers. However according to Sila (2003) the definition of quality have been debated for many years by quality management researchers and a number of definitions have emerged. However, there is still no universal agreement on these definitions. As far as the definitions of quality are concerned, some of the quality pioneers coined the following terms: Feigenbaum (1951) and Abbott (1955) defined quality as value, Levitt (1972) as conformance to specifications, Juran et al. (1974) as fitness for use, Crosby (1979) as conformance to requirements, Taguchi (1981) as the losses a product imparts to the society from the time the product is shipped, and Gronroos (1983) and Parasuraman ct al. (1985) as meeting and/or exceeding customers expectations. Today, the most widespread definition of quality is the extent to which a product or service meets and/or exceeds a customers expectations (Reeves and Bednar 1994), which rellects a shift in focus to customer satisfaction. Companies implement various management, controlling as well as planning tools and management insists that these would have a greater effect on the company performance (Tanninen, 2010). It is very essential for any industry to sustain their competitive advantage. To achieve this, companies have to maintain their quality in service delivery. There exists some quality tools used by various organisation are ISO 9001, TQM, Sig sigma, CMMI. Global firms are exploiting the nation specific returns with the help of sourcing the important services from various different vendors across the globe that are capable of delivering good quality or cost advantage over the local domestic suppliers (Friedman 2005). Most of the basic outsourcing services would be listed in the experience services or goods (Nelson, 1974). In case of services or goods the judgement on the quality can be made only once it is consumed or purchased. However the companies would face a challenge in setting target in case of quality and productivity and particularly in case of vendor selection, manager faces information asymmetry problem. Quality is considered as everybodys responsibility and prerogative whether it is a service line of the staff function in any organisation. Various authors have defined quality in different ways. The highest priority is given to the product quality that satisfy customer. The customer would have the win-to-win situation and has value for money. Customer satisfaction is considered as the main objective along with maximum profitability to an organization and including the service and everything in an organization that contributes to making a service requires quality (GROVERY et al., 2006). Total Quality Management (TQM) Total Quality Management(TQM) means achieving quality in terms of all functions of the enterprise. This includes interaction between all the components of the organisation as well as the components themselves. TQM aims to achieve an overall effectiveness higher than the individual outputs from the sub-systems, such as design, planning, production, distribution, customer focus strategy, quality tools and employee involvement (HAFEEZ,2009).The introduction of total quality management (TQM) has played an important role in development of contemporary management. Quality, considered a key strategic factor in achieving business success, is more than ever required for competing successfully in todays global market place (Dean Evans, 1994), and it has become the key slogan as organisations strive for a competitive advantage in markets characterised by liberalisation, globalisation and knowledgeable customers . aims and Objectives The aim of this research is to focus on the implementation and challenges of Total Quality Management (TQM) in IT Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry and also recommends how to improve the TQM process. To explain about why the organizations implement and do not implement TQM as their quality improvement tool. To understand how TQM can be implemented in an organisation To identify what are the different gaps/barriers in the implementation process of TQM and would provide the possible solutions to overcome the gaps. Outline of the Research The research is on implementation of TQM in a BPO service industry and the methods how it can be carried out in a service life cycle is discussed. The research is carried out in several chapters. The initial first chapter gives insight about the TQM basic concepts and its various functionalities that are currently followed by the industry. In addition to that it also discusses about the key aims and objectives that are initially proposed based on the questions that are meant for the research in the literature. Next chapter, literature review discusses about views and arguments of various authors form different academic articles and books. It is focused on the implementation of TQM in the service industry and particularly in case of life cycle of projects in BPO industry. In addition to that it talks about the changes the company would get in case of implementation and the methods for prioritizing the projects. It also discusses about the advantages of the implememntation of TQM and t he challenges faced by the management during implementation. Finally it concludes with the ways to overcome with the challenges. The chapter three of the research highlights about the research questions and the method of research carried out to conduct the research and also the structure of the research.It also introduces the study of methods that needs to be followed will be identified namely questionnaires for emails or interviews are sorted. Later, based on the initial findings of my personal observation has identified to use the qualitative research methodology in this chapter. Then it also talks about the data collection from primary means from respondents and validating the literature review to support or contradict based on the findings of the data analysis chapter. The later chapter would finalize the research with the help of valid arguments resulting from analysis and literature review with would rise to further recommendations in the same industry and also different indus tries as well. It also discusses about the further research that can be carried out from this research. The research finally gives the limitations of the study and research with valid references at the end of the research and supportive documents in the appendix which covers the questionnaire that is designed targeting the real time experts actively working on TQM projects and also includes the responses that were sent in the email. Research questions Why and how should organisations implement TQM? What are the factors for successful implementation of TQM in organisations? What are the challenges or barriers occur during implementation of TQM? How can the challenges be resolved and what are the alternatives for TQM that are being used in various organisations? LITERATURE REVIEW introduction This chapter discusses about the research questions that were outlined in the introduction to fulfil the aim and objectives of the research. Initially the first section in this chapter discusses about the origin of TQM and the different ways that TQM had provided to various problems using the traditional quality management. The next section focuses on the evolution of TQM and how TQM has changed the world. Later section deals with the reasons for companies implement TQM over other alternative quality management tools. The next section deals with the TQM methodologies and introduces various models followed by the service industry and also using this models how can the companies improve their quality standards. Then the success factors, benefits and challenges faced during the implementation of TQM are discussed. Origin of TQM The TQM started in 1920s which focused on statistical process control(SPC) (Juran,1997; Godfrey,1986). It is based on the philosophical, statistical and scientific foundation where it makes use of the knowledge to continuously improve the variations in the systems and later became major elements(SHAMS-UR RAHMAN). Process control charts was developed by Shewart to develop different strategies for continuous improvement and to understand the variation (Shewhart,1931; Juran,1997). This chart later called as Shewhart/Deming/ PDCA cycle (Deming, 1951). Shewhart had identified and succinctly defined a central quality management problem,f ormulated a mathematical model for it,and created a tool for its Solution (Kolesar, 1993:320). Later in 1950s SPC methods, behavioural concepts and also various technical methods were together termed as TQM. TQM is an approach to management that has evolved from a narrow focus on statistical process control (SPC) to encompass a variety of technical and beh avioural methods for improving organisational performance. (Dean Bowen, 1994:396). Evolution of TQM Changing from detection to prevention required not only the use of a set of quality management tools and techniques, but also the development of a new operating philosophy that required a change in the way companies were managed ( HAFEEZ et al., 2006).TQM is achieving the quality in every department and functions of an organisation, which includes the communication and interaction between all the departments and components of an organisation and also the interaction between components themselves. The overall effectiveness is more profitable and effective than the individual outputs from the sub departments or systems, which includes design, planning, production distribution employee involvement, focus strategy and finally quality tools. (ibid). TQM aims to achieve the overall effectiveness. Customer satisfaction and continuous improvement are the key essential beliefs of the TQM philosophy as mentioned in the figure 1. Initially the inspection-based system focused on sorting the proc ess and then would take corrective action in case of error. Then it moved to quality control where the processing of performance data with full time inspection is carried out. Later moved to Quality assurance where the design of system audits and also quality planning is carried out with the process control as a target. Finally it reached TQM where involves human values and shared vision and culture. This uses a system approach to solve problems with renewed focus on the internal and external customer and also generates employee involvement. The main aim of TQM is continuous improvement of tangible work process. Figure1: Evolution of TQM Source: (HAFEEZ et al., 2006) Oakland (1989) defined TQM as an approach for improving the competitiveness effectiveness, and flexibility of an organisation. Essentially it is a way of planning organising and understanding activities and individuals at each level. However it is argued, quality management is characterised by the strategic goals that are focussed towards customers preferences, likes, tastes, and applications. Ishikawa is known for developing various statistical tools for quality problem solving and he emphasised the idea of the internal customer, the next person in the process (Ishikawa, 1990:50). According to author the basic idea of quality circles that is a small group of employees who deal with quality problems. In addition to this the companies has to focus on the quality standards on the service design stage where this happens before development stage and the changes would be easier and cost effective compared to development stage (Taguchi, 1999). The service companies have to focus on the qua lity at the earlier stages to reduce cost. Changes at the later stages would result in huge cost. To achieve this, a benchmarking tool for quality is used by the top managers to build a quality culture with in an organisation involving all the employees with an active leadership role (Kanji,1997).Zairi (1998) provided a comprehensive tool for organisations to undergo a two-stage external and internal benchmarking exercise, and stressed the role of leadership for implementing continuous improvement. Importance of TQM It has been observed that the importance of quality has been drastically increased over past two decades. Organizations are considering measures in terms of improving the quality standards across the organization and the industry that would result in increase in business and hence profits (RAHMAN, 2004). Among the quality tools TQM has growing interest over the period and also it the effective strategy for most of the companies that would result in competitive advantage (MartÄ ±Ã‚ ´nez-Lorente et al., 1998). TQM is considered as the management approach for continuous improving organizational performance that consists of both technical and behavioral aspects (RAHMAN, 2004). Moreover this is also mentioned that fact that the only quality initiatives are not possible to increase market share and profitability however, it is argued that the TQM programs lead to improved financial performance but fails to recognize other elements (Kannan et al., 1999). It is also argued that there i s no assurance that TQM would yield profits to business since it is dependent on various other factors (Montes et al., 2003). However, it is evident that the TQM has various beneficial effects on organizational performance (Terziovski et al., 1999). TQM is flexible to implement hence every organization considers TQM in different way. Firms top management has the full authority in implementing the TQM. It totally depends on the top management to implement based on their expertise and knowledge that has an effect on organizational performance and haence increase in the business. However as per Brah et al., (2002) the benefits like cost effective, increase in productivity and impact on profitability would increase the firms competitive advantage. In addition to that it is also mentioned that there exists a positive relationship between TQM and the financial performance (Handfield et al., 1998). Two processes carry this out: firstly, effective improved internal performance by the employees in the organisation would lead to reduction in waste, increase in efficiency and productivity and increase in return on assets. Secondly, increasing in customer satisfaction would result in the increase in word of mouth, loyalty and brand value. These are most effective marketing techniques and would result in increase in market share and yields high profits (ibid). Lakhal et al. (2006) reveals that there is a positive relationship between quality management practices and organisational performance.In case of human resource management along with TQM it is found that the quality performance gets affected particularly regarding the customer and employee satisfaction(Yang, 2006). To avoid this, the customer and employee satisfaction and streaml ined process would produce effecive and positive operational and financial results that would lead to improvements in business and yield profits( Vora, 2002). In addition to that the TQM is also concerned with productivity, timeliness and flexibility as well as profitability along with quality (Pegels, 1994). It is observed that adopting the TQM philosophy and practices would result in positive growth in any organization or industry (Hides et al., 2000). However according to Ford Evans (2006), there exist many conflicting results and also opinions on the effects of TQM. Additionally the random effect Meta analysis is used to study effects of TQM (Shenawy et al., 2007). He also suggested a model for TQM that has five components: top managemnt commitment and leadership, teamwork, organization and work culture, training and education and finally the process. Each of these components would result firms in competitive advantage (ibid). In the present competitive world the where customers have various choice of services and hence they become automatic focus for success in business. The potential of just in time or total quality control in developing nations laid the foundation for future quality and productivity (Ebrahimpour and Schonberger, 1984). TQM is viewed as an organization-wide philosophy requiring all employees at every level of an organization to focus his or her efforts to help improve each business activity of the organization (Mehra et al. 2001). The aim and objective of TQM is customer satisfaction and achieves incremental improvements and that involves full participation of all the stakeholders and employees in the organization (Tigineh 1997).In addition to that Saad and Siha (2000) have viewed TQM as a revolutionary concept in different phases of quality evolution from inspection to quality control to quality assurance to TQM. Every author has their own definition for TQM, over many years the TQM is redefined as Managing the attributes that affect the subsystems quality in any organization that helps in achieving planned and desired goals and fulfilling the challenges in terms of time and cost. The desired benefits of TQM are unarguable. Organizations adopt TQM not only for the stated reasons but also for the offshoots of the benefits, which are referred to here as implied reasons. However, preparation for realizing the fruits of TQM is challenging. Referring again to the proposed definition of TQM, to achieve the above goals, quality in each subsystem of an organization is required. TQM methodologies in Service Industry: According to Zairi et al. (1994), TQM is only a license to practice. According to Hoogervorst et al. (2005), successful implementation of TQM and the benefits obtained by using the approach and would depend upon various factors such as organization structure as well as culture and also management practices particularly involving human resources. This approach should align with the corporate strategy (Fuentes et al., 2006). One of the most important dimensions of TQM and a critical success factor of TQM implementation is a proper performance measurement system (Bititci et al., 1997; Brah et al., 2002; Mehra et al., 2001; Neely et al., 1995). It is mentioned that the existing traditional performance measurement systems that are developed from accounting and costing systems and these are not considered in TQM environment and are not suited (McAdam Bannister, 2001). Any organisation could be placed on a continuum of sustainability as implied by the sustainability model shown in Figure 2, which links the goals, drives, and strategies and performance of TQM initiatives. Figure 2: Model of sustainable TQM and performance Soure: (Zairi, 2006) The model is based on the following assumptions: TQM is an integrative and holistic approach for analysing the current status of continuous improvement within an organisation. TQM is not a quick fix, and thus has to be approached from a long-term perspective. Prajogo and Sohal (2003a) investigated the relationship between TQM and organizational performance by exploring six TQM practices proposed by Samson and Terziovski (1999). These practices are divided into two groups: mechanistic elements and organic elements. Mechanistic elements include customer focus, process management, strategic and planning, information and analysis, while the organic elements are leadership and people management. This categorisation was based on Krugers (1998, 2001) proposition that TQM should include a combination of both people (soft element) and technical systems (hard element). The mechanistic elements (customer focus, process management, and so forth) could be considered the hard aspect and the organic elements (that is, leadership and people management) represent the soft aspect. Kruger (1998) emphasised the human aspect of TQM, because only the humanistic orientation of TQM towards organizational analysis will allow successful TQM in actual practice. Acc ording to Prajogo and Sohal (2003a), justification for using Samson and Terziovskis model (1999) is that this model constitutes the criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) that has been accepted to represent TQM strategy by several scholars such as Evans and Lindsay (1993), Juran (1995) and Ahire, Landeros, and Golhar (1995). The relationship between TQM and organisational characteristics in Service Industry The relation between TQM and organizational characteristics is considered to be important. Many previous studies have been publishes that directly examined the relationship. The organizational characteristics would include the organization size, ownership, industry type and TQM practices that result in innovation of new ideas. It has been identified by many studies that the organizational characteristics are considered as variables that moderate the relationship between TQM practices and organization performance (Choong, 2004). 2.6.1 Organization size and TQM The organizational size is considered as the important factor for TQM. According to Terziovski and Samson (1999) the significant differences between TQM and the performance of the organization, considering the company size in case of a new service delivered. The larger organization is benefitted more compared to the smaller organizations in terms of TQM. It is also considered that there are no operational differences in terms of organizational size in the process of TQM implementation and is applicable and also firms delivering high quality services either large or small companies implement TQM equally (Ahire and Golhar 2001 cited in Hoang, 2010). However according to Haar and Spell (2008) the importance of organizational size in identifying the TQM adoption rates and to predict this rates there exists some factors such as workplace autonomy, performance standards, usage of the work teams and collective problem solving and in all these factors company size is considered as a moderati ng variable. The authors also mentioned the factors are applicable to larger companies than smaller companies. Moreover it is also demonstrated that the smaller firms have challenges such as limited access to market and have low market share, and inadequate resources and lock of expertise in management. However they have advantages as well such as flexibility due to les constraints and would have full freedom for generating innovative ideas that lead to successful implementation of TQM as effectively compared to larger organizations. 2.6.2 TQM and ownership In an organization, the successful factor responsible for growth is culture. The relation between employees and the nature of work and the working environment are considered as crucial. The organization culture is influenced by the nature of corporate ownership (Yavas Rezayat, 2003; Hui, Au, Fock, 2004). In this case the management should have the thorough understanding of implementation of TQM strategy. This would result in implementing effectively. The cultural differences have to be balanced by he management. Implementation of TQM varies as per the culture in many countries. There exist many cultural differences between countries. The organizations having global footprint formulates a TQM strategy where it is common to all the countries. All the teams follow it across the globe in those firms. This would result in successful implementation of TQM. For instance, it is found no evidence that involvement of employees influences culture in Chinese based firms and considered to be th e TQM practice (Pun, 2001 cited in Hoang, 2010). IT is also found that the values in Chinese firms are abasement, addictiveness and harmony with people and with universe, interdependence and respect for authority are the main factors that influence the dimensions for TQM (Noronha, 2002).Regarding the culture , the experience of firms in Australia and Singapore is compared with respect to the TQM multidimensionality and the relationship of TQM with the quality performance and innovation (Feng et.al., 2006). It is very important to link cultural values that are influenced by the ownership to TQM practices and also business results. This would result in successfully implementation of TQM. 2.6.3 TQM and Industry type TQM is started with the manufacturing industry and was applied to many firms. The successful implementation of TQM in manufacturing resulted the practitioners in exploring the possibilities of applying the TQM to the service industry (Hoang et.al., 2010). Even though the industries are different and the development of TQM is different in service literature compared to manufacturing the core TQM concepts or principles are related or relavent to the service sector (Silvestro, 1998). In addition to that the there are the principles of TQM are also called as soft side. The investigation of soft side of TQM resulted in nine principles namely Total Employee Involvement, Continuous Improvement, Continuous Training, Teamwork, Empowerment, Top-management Commitment and Support, Democratic Management Style, Customer/Citizen Satisfaction, Culture Change ( Psychogios, 2007). Additionally, it is also stated that the service sectors that are also called as mass service has a similar process to man ufacturing industry that is applicable for TQM practices (Woon, 2000). The author also found that there was no significant difference between manufacturing and service companies in the implementation of soft TQM elements. Prajogo (2005) suggested that, with the exception of people management, there is no significant difference between manufacturing and service firms in terms of TQM practices and quality performance. He even identified the service sector has having higher scores in people management than the manufacturing sector. According to (ibid), the plausible reason is that manufacturing firms essentially rely on advanced manufacturing technology to achieve high level of quality (precision) and other operational performance aspects. In service organisations, human resources play a critical role in determining the product/service quality, specifically on non-physical dimensions such as customer responsiveness, courtesy, and empathy. In addition, beyond tools and techniques, TQM now has developed into a management philosophy that comprises a set of generic core principles applied in different industries (Dean Bowen, 1994; Grant, Shani Krishnan, 1994, Sitkin, Sutcliffe, Schroeder, 1994). This argument shows a fundamental base to support the applicability of TQM in service firms that can benefit from implementing this management philosophy (Prajogo, 2005). However, it has been noted differences between manufacturing and service organisations that could limit applying TQM in services (Silvestro, 1998; Sureshchandar et al., 2001; Prajogo, 2005). Firstly, compared to the measurable, standardised characteristics of manufacturing products, the intangibility and heterogeneity of the service output makes a remarkable di fference. Secondly, the concept of service quality is dominated by non-physical components (courtesy, responsiveness, and accessibility) (Zeithaml, Parasuraman, Berry, 1990) that are more difficult to define and, therefore, more difficult to measure. Thirdly, the consumption and delivery processes in the service organisations usually take place at the same time, making it difficult to control the quality of services provided. Compared to manufacturing firms, service organisations generally use fewer quality tools and show a lower level of TQM implementation, particularly in hard TQM elements such as statistical process control, information analysis, process management (Badri, Davis, Davis, 1995; Beaumont, Sohal, Terziovski, 1997; Woon, 2000). 2.6.4 TQM and degree of innovation Innovation is the key part in any success. The organization generating innovative ideas would grow faster. In terms of TQM innovation plays a major role. Considering the relation between TQM and innovation there exists two basic concepts. Firstly, TQM supports innovation i.e., that organisations that implement TQM will be successful in innovation. Secondly, It is argued that TQM impedes innovation. The main debatable issue is whether or not the nature of TQM practices fosters innovation. The supporting perspective is based on the argument that the TQM practices, in both its human and technology dimensions, help to create an environment and culture that support innovation. One of the core components of TQM is customer satisfaction. Companies that implement TQM have to explore and find ways to serve customer needs and expectations at the best. This creates the impetus for companies to be innovative in developing and launching new products or services to match the customers needs. Several studies also identified a positive relationship between TQM and innovation in terms of the speed to market (Flynn et al., 1994), and the level of innovation in organisations (Baldwin Johnson, 1996). Terziovski and Samson (2000) tested the strength of the relationship between TQM practices (independent variables) and organisational performance (dependent variables) in a large random sample of man ufacturing companies in Australia and New Zealand. They considered innovation as a dependent variable that represents organisational performance measured by the number of new products produced, but could not confirm a significantly positive effect on innovation across the whole sample. However, when co-varied for industry type, the strength of the relationship between TQM and innovation changed from insignificantly positive to significantly positive, suggesting that the relationship between TQM and innovation is strengthened when investigated for a specific industry type. Specifically, potential clients need information on a vendors ability to deliver quality services, and vendors need to provide potential clients with some indication of their capabilities. Success Factors of TQM in Service industry: TQM is mainly related to customer satisfaction and company profitability. It also includes the intellectual property rights, services and overall quality of the product. To improve these elements, planning, structuring and following or controlling the application tools, techniques, human factors agents that are influencing and support system with ideas are some factors responsible in the improvement of TQM (Grover et al., 2004). The positive impact on customer satisfaction in case of implementation of TQM is observed in many industries. It is also mentioned that positive effect of the TQM on fast food, gaming, investment banking industries (Yasin et al., 2004). TQM is not considered as a static activity since it is flexible and adaptable according to the dynamic management activities. These activities can uide the companies to gain huge market share and become more competitive and fast growth successfully facing all the challenges and opportunities provided b

An Analysis of Robert Frosts Once by the Pacific Essays -- Once by th

An Analysis of Robert Frost's Once by the Pacific Most readers are familiar with the poetry of Robert Frost, but they may not be familiar with his poem "Once by the Pacific." This poem stands out from most of his popular poems, which frequently relate to rural New England life. Many critics have thus commented that his works are too simple. "Once by the Pacific," however, seems to challenge this opinion, as it is one of Frost's more "difficult" poems to interpret. Although this poem also is connected with nature, the theme is more universal in that it could be related to Armageddon, or the end of the world. Even though this theme may seem simple, it is really complex because we do not know how Frost could possibly relate to the events leading to the end of the world. It is an "uncertain" and sometimes controversial topic, and even if everyone was certain it was coming, we do not know exactly how it will occur and when. Therefore, how did Frost envision this event? Is he portraying it in a religious context, a naturalistic one, or both? The last line (14) speaks of God putting out the light, which brings out a religious reference, but the bulk of the poem deals with nature entirely. Physical images of water, clouds, continents, and cliffs present a much more complex setting than the simple setting in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" or the yellow wood in "The Road Not Taken." As a "misty" rain settles on the waters, all the waves have the intent to pound the earth with destructive forces, and it seems as though Frost personifies these waves. For example, the waves "thought of doing something to the shore / That water never did to land before." Is Frost portraying God as in control of t... ...wn. In this poem, Frost challenges this doubt with his "certainty" of these future events. Although Frost lays out an ultimatum of these events to come, it is up to the reader to come to his own resolution to these images. This is why Frost paints this intense picture by the waters-to challenge the reader in a natural setting as to how to deal with it. As James Guimond stated in the anthology, "he assumed the lone individual could question and work out his or her own relationships to God and existence-preferably in a natural setting and with a few discrete references to Christianity and Transcendentalism" (1147). Therefore, it can be interpreted that Frost intended to blend nature with religion in these images. The confusion the reader deals with is matched by his own epiphany in dealing with the experience, and the result is a balance between the two.

Animal Farm, by George Orwell :: Animal Farm Essays

Before the death of Old Major the animals are inspired to rebel against the humans. They join together as a strong team to eventually, in chapter two, drive Mr. Jones from the farm. The Seven Commandments are soon developed with all the animals contented as equals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Right from the beginning of the rebellion, the pigs can be seen to be taking charge, â€Å"then Snowball and Napolean called them together again, ‘Comrades’, said Snowball, ‘it is half past six and we have a long day before us.† This quotation from chapter two shows the pigs giving out orders to the other animals and acting as a new Mr. Jones, but seemingly nicer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the story, the animals begin the trust the pigs more and more, allowing themselves to be told what to do and be taken in with blind devotion. The pigs act on their newly gained trust and by the end of the story are able to lie back on their laurels and run the farm from the comfort of Mr. Jones’ armchair.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rebellion fails due to the blindness of the animals, accepting each other as equal, but do not notice the pigs adding new rules to suit themselves, ‘no animal shall kill another animal without due cause.’ The executions in chapter seven show clearly the animals’ naivety towards the fast approaching leadership of the pigs. During the killings, the animals stand back and do not do a thing. Some animals, like Benjamin, suspect the overthrowing of the rebellion, but are afraid to do anything alone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rebellion was doomed to failure from the beginning. The pigs easily won the animals over with propaganda. An example of this came soon after the rebellion and the drawing up of the Seven Commandments, with the pigs justifying their need for milk and apples with lies and threats of Jones’ return.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Squealer uses propaganda such as rhetorical questions, lies and threats to convince the animals to believe the pigs. Unfortunately for the animals, they are easily led. If it were not for their blind devotion, trust and naivety, they could easily see how the pigs gradually gained power. The pigs also use the dogs as force to keep the animals ‘in line’, discouraging them from trying to rebel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ËœUnited we stand’ would have worked well for the animals in this case. One animal, Benjamin, did not stand up and face his suspicions, which could have resulted in the return of the phrase ‘all animals are equal’, instead of letting it go so far for the pigs to add ‘but some are more equal than others’ to the end.

Technology and Language in Education: The Effect of New Technology on T

Technology and Language in Education: The Effect of New Technology on Teaching Languages Annie Moore, a 15-year-old girl from Ireland arrived at Ellis Island in New York City on January 1, 1892. She was the first immigrant to come to that United States immigration station, but she was certainly not the last. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2000), 28.4 million of the 285.2 million US residents in 2000 were foreign-born. With such a large amount of our population being foreign-born, the need for effective language education is immense. The use of technology is very useful in alleviating the pressure of such a tremendous demand for ESL (English as a second language) and EFL (English as a foreign language) programs (Education World, Inc., 2004). Schools all over the country are adding the latest technology to their classrooms, and students are benefiting tremendously. Programs designed to incorporate reading and writing practices in a foreign language are modernized with technological advances which make it possible to interact with not only people within the classroom but students and teachers at other schools and all over the world. With the touch of a button, students at a school that might not be able to afford a foreign language program can be in contact with a school that has rich foreign language resources. Students can send written assignments over the Internet to be checked and graded; they can take online quizzes and assessments that will be graded within seconds and give instant feedback for the student. Real-time instant conversation makes it possible for a student anywhere to keep up with what their class is covering, regardless of whether the student is out sick, or unable to be in class, or even if th... ...rld.com/foreign_lang/ Macias, R., & Rose, D.J. (1994, August). Wired for Knowledge. Hispanic, 7(7), 17-22. Retrieved September 26, 2004, from Eric [EBSCO] database. University of California Davis Department of Information and Educational Technology. (2004). Online AP Course Preps High School Students for University-Level Learning. Tech News. Retrieved October 3, 2004, from http://technews.ucdavis.edu/news2.cfm?id=762 Upbin, B. (1999, March). Instant Feedback in the Classroom. Forbes, 163(6), 68-71. Retrieved September 26, 2004, from Academic Search Premier database. U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). U.S. Foreign-Born Population. Retrieved October 4, 2004, from http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/foreign/ cps2000.html Warschauer, M. (2002). A Developmental Perspective on Technology in Language Education. TESOL Quarterly, 36(3), 453-475.

Internship writing assignment Essay

INTRODUCTION I’m Yanina Filipova, a major in Video Productions at Borough of Manhattan Community College. I chose Video Productions as my major because I’m very much interested in films. Ever since I was a kid, I have always been fascinated in watching movies, especially adventure movies. Whenever there is a chance, I always make it a point to watch the production documentaries of movies. I am fascinated with the production of such films. As such, I dreamed of producing and directing my own films and eventually have my own production company. Entering in a course in Video Productions trained me in creating professional video programs. It has prepared me in the twists and turns of producing your own film such as creating a budget, shooting a scene, and editing a final cut. It taught me things about collaborative filmmaking. In studying video production, I learned to like the profession more and more. In line with this, I interviewed three people with different jobs related to the field I want to pursue. In this interview, I expect to learn the twists and turns in the production business especially that the job of each of my interviewees has some connection with video and media production. I also want to know the advantages and disadvantages in working with video production. I want to learn what characteristics I must have to achieve my dreams. I want to seek their advice on how I can manage to pursue this career. In this way, I will know the things I must go through to attain my career goals. BODY Alfred Swanwick is a video producer for three years now at Heartbeat Digital, a company that creates custom websites that headquartered in Manhattan. As a video producer, he earns $2000 each month. His job description includes budgeting and scheduling video shoots and post-production editing, identifying and securing the appropriate crew for projects, coordinating crew shoots, working with clients to understand their business needs and creative vision to staff jobs appropriately and to manage their expectations, and working with various internal teams throughout the company to ensure a smooth and successful project implementation. He studied at Marymount Manhattan College where he studied as an Art major minor in Graphics Design. During his undergraduate years, he applied for internship in a media production company, called theU, in SoHo where he was trained to do online works by helping in building the company’s online community. He graduated in 1997 and immediately started applying for small jobs that has relations to his degree course because he really wanted to pursue a career in graphics design. His first job was as a personal assistant to the head of a small media shop where he worked for a year. In this job, he was trained to log and edit video using Photoshop and Flash. Then he worked as a junior editor for another three years where he learned to manage the company’s media network. Then he applied at Heartbeat Digital as an assistant media technician where he was responsible in the distribution of the hard copy of the company’s media. Through this training, the company made him the video producer after two years because the company saw his dedication and passion for his work. The company has since trusted him in leading the creation of their online network. Swanwick said that he wanted to do video productions since he is very interested in the media. Ever since he was in high school, he was always chosen as first place in website designing competitions. It was during these competitions that he learned the basics and thought to himself that he wanted to learn more about graphics design. When he graduated from high school, he then enrolled as an Art major minor in Graphics Design in Marymount Manhattan College. In here, he learned to create professional video and audio programs, create a budget, shoot a scene and edit a final cut. He also learned to design and program computer-based interactive products. He said that one of the advantages in working in this field is that salaries range from $1500 to $3000. Aside from that, since websites and web pages need to attract attention, one gets to develop and enhance his creative side. However, he said that while this job lets you earn more, you have to sacrifice your rest and sleep hours. You almost always have to stay up late because of creating and editing a media program. He said that sometimes you have to rack your brains out just to produce outstanding media productions. Being a perfectionist himself, he always strives to achieve excellent media productions. When asked on his view about the historical experiences of women, minorities and persons with disabilities in the field, his response is that he thinks these groups are under represented in the field. In the early days, these groups are often not qualified in taking jobs that are usually dominated by men. He said that women, minorities and person with disabilities should be given opportunity to prove that they can do what men can do. Swanwick’s hard work and determination earned him a successful career. He also said that one should have a burning passion in your chosen field so that you can attain your goals without having to worry too much of the consequences. He aims to become an executive producer someday and with his strong-willed personality, there is no doubt that he will achieve his ultimate goal. David Fisher works as a full-time assistant producer for almost two years now at Three on the Tree Productions, a company focused on music documentaries, videos and concert DVD’s, where he earns $28000 annually with benefits. His duties and responsibilities in the job include scheduling meetings and job workflow, budget management and organizing job files and folders. He also assists producers in bidding processes, production shoots, and edit sessions. He graduated three years ago from the School of Visual Arts in New York City with a degree in Film and Video. He was trained here in directing, screenwriting and editing his own films. One of the films he produced was even nominated in the Dusty Film Festival, sponsored by his school, and was shown on the big screen at one of New York’s theaters. He worked as an intern in Forbes. com where he exercised his knowledge in producing daily videos. When he graduated from college, he first worked as a digital technical assistant at a video post production and design company. Although this work requires very basic skills, this has introduced him to the kind of work he is now doing. After almost one year, he quitted his job because he believed that the job is not helping him develop his skills in video production. He then applied at his current company where he was immediately accepted as an assistant producer. Due to his outstanding capabilities in video production, he is now running for promotion to junior executive producer. He is currently undergoing trainings and seminars on video and film production to prepare him for his job as an executive producer. He said that this work taught him to be a sociable person since he is responsible for keeping employees up to date on the happenings of the company and so his communication skills are regularly practiced. He also learned to be organized and details-oriented. He said, however, that in his work, he always has to stay up late since his producer always calls him even in the middle of the night to give him orders or, sometimes, just to check that he has already done his work. But as he learned to keep up with his producer’s midnight calls he also learned to keep up with the fast-paced environment that his job has. There are women and minorities working in his company. In fact, one of their executive producers is a woman. When asked about his view on the issue of women, minorities and persons with disabilities, he said that in these modern times, they should be given equal opportunity with men. He said that women today are very competitive unlike in those days when they only do household work. One good reason for this is that they want to prove that they can do what men can do. He believed that it is a pity that in the early days, women and minority groups are discriminated because they are immediately judged when they do men’s work. In his line of work, Fisher said that you’ve got to be hard-working so that you can achieve your goals. Push yourself to the limits until you have achieved what you want. You’ve got to have specific goals — a concrete idea on where you want to go and what you want to achieve. By doing this, you have a concrete map that will guide you in going to the place you want to go. When you know what you want, then you know where you are going. You also have to be flexible in every aspect to be able to adjust to the fast changing environment that video and media production has. And just as Swanwick said, you have to be determined and passionate in what you are doing so that no matter what the consequence is, you can still pursue what you want to pursue. He concluded with a piece of advice for those who want to pursue a career in video productions. He said that we should let nothing get in the way of our dreams. If we do, then it was not our dream after all. Rowena Moore is the executive producer of the Digital Intermediate Department of Technicolor Content Services New York. She has been in the company for six years now where she first worked for two years as an executive assistant. She has been holding the job as an executive producer for the last three years. Her job includes bidding processes and deliveries to the Laboratory and overseeing all aspects of DI, VFX, and digital optical processes for feature films. She also produces and edits feature films and trouble-shoot technical issues. She is a graduate of New York University batch 1997 with a degree in Film and Television. In here, she was taught to produce and edit films. She worked as an intern at HDNet Films where she was introduced to work at a production and post production department. Although her duties in her internship are basic, it helped her develop her communication skills since she was given the opportunity to participate in working on a production set where different types of people are present. Because of her active participation, she was also given the opportunity to participate in a traditional 35mm film. After she graduated, she applied as an in-house motion designer for Adspace Mall Network, where she designed and animated 15-second commercials. In doing this first job, her imagination and resourcefulness were developed because her commercials need to be creative but her company have only limited assets. She also developed her communication skills since she is the one responsible for contacting the clients when they have production questions. She quitted the job after two years because her position became stagnant. For one year, she only does part-time jobs because she can’t find the work that she liked. Then she applied at Technicolor Content Services in New York as an assistant producer. It is good that she worked for Adspace Mall Networks for two years because the job she applied for required one to two years of related work experience. After a year, she was promoted to executive assistant producer where she writes coverage for screenplays and occasionally assists the line producer. Due to her hard-work and determination which her company recognized, she was promoted to executive producer after less than two years. She said that one of the advantages in pursuing a career in video production is that there are many job opportunities. These job opportunities range from the small to the largest video and media production companies. And although her work requires so much time because of the production and post production tasks she has to do, she says that it is worth it because she gets to do what she wants to do. In working as an executive, she developed her leadership skills because of her responsibility to inspire and direct other team players. More importantly, she learned to be a team player. Being a woman, she said that her gender did not get in the way of pursuing her goals. Although there is a prejudice on women in doing these jobs, it did not keep her company in recognizing her efforts and abilities. She is glad that today women are getting more and more active in the field because this just proves that women are also capable of the work that men can do. In line with this, she advises women to be more competitive and not to be afraid of the discrimination that society has against women. She said that if you really want to achieve your dreams, you should always work hard and never give up despite the consequences you have to endure. She also believes in what Swanwick and Fisher had said, you should be determined and never let the fire of passion run out. Determination and passion always help you hold on and continue achieving your dreams. She is a living proof that women nowadays are equally capable of the things that men can do. CONCLUSIONS All of these interviews discussed about the experiences of people in the field of video productions. As I expected, it has taught me the twists and turns of a production company especially the jobs of the people I interviewed. I learned the requirements needed for this profession. The interviews taught me to work hard and be determined in what I do. I learned that to be successful in your dreams, you have to be passionate in your work so that you will not have any reason to give up. The interview just increased my excitement in working in a production company. Upon graduation, I want to experience working in such a company first so that I will know how to run it before I begin to run my own production company. Doing this interview taught me to utilize my communication skills. I learned that this skill will come in handy when I start to work and eventually start my own business. I am still not certain about what will happen after graduation but I am sure that I will continue pursuing my goal of building my own production company. SOURCE: New York Craig’s List: Manhattan TV/Film/Radio/Video Jobs. (2006). Retrieved November 4, 2006, from http://newyork. craigslist. org/mnh/tfr/index300. html.