Development of the Five Islamic Schools of Law Essay

Development of the Five Islamic Schools of Law - Essay Example Medina was the location that Muhammad and his followers settled in after traveling to it in 622. (Kahn 2001). Other Arab tribes as well as Jews were already living there, so Muhammad made a series of agreements with them in order to maintain an organized, peaceful relationship, as well as lawful order. These formal agreements have come to be known as the Constitution of Medina; it involved the rights, duties and methods of solving disputes among members of various classes. (Al-Muhajabah, 2003). The agreements also gave the prophet Muhammad jurisdiction over all of the people living there. His actions, including his jurisdiction, were based on his interpretation of and strict adherence to the Qu'ran. (Kahn, 2001). "In simple terms, the first Islamic state established in Medina was based on a social contract, was constitutional in character and the ruler ruled with the explicit written consent of all the citizens of the state." (Kahn, 2001). The constitution of Medina established a pluralistic state -- a community of communities. It promised equal security to all and all were equal in the eyes of the law. (Kahn, 2001). Each tribe had its own laws, and they all had to agree on them for them to be held as laws. "To the tribe as a whole belonged the power to determine the standards by which its members should live." (Coulson, 1994). The pluralism set forth by the community of Medina set the stage for the pluralism found of the separation of Islamic law into five distinct schools. The first school of law to be discussed is the Maliki school. The school of Islamic law referred to as Maliki was founded by Anas ibn Malik. This is the school that was formerly the ancient school of Medina. Thus it continued to accentuate the practices that were encompassed by the Medinese community. While the three other schools or jurisprudence adhered to using the Qu'ran as their primary source for law formulation, the Maliki school was the only one to use the practice of the people of Medina as not only a source but often the primary source (rather than the Qu'ran). Malik felt that utilizing the practices of the people of Medina was a good source because both Muhammad and his companions lived their for most of their lives. Malik considered the people of Medina to be "living Sunnah." (Wikipedia 2008). Although some reliance on "Hadith (traditions concerning the Prophet's life and utterances)" was still evident, the Malikites preferred traditional opinions and analogical reasoning. (Encyclopedia Britannica 2008). The Maliki school believed that their laws did not need to be based on the Qu'ran and could instead be based on Muhammad's companions, for he gave them a "distinction and knowledge" that God had given to him. There were no records of God's words save those in the knowledge shared by Muhammad. (Brockopp from Weiss 2002). "The Great Shaykh theory makes explicit what is implied in these texts: that individuals, such as Imams and teachers, are invested with such religious authority that their words can generate law. Ascribing religious authority to great individuals quickly became endemic in Islamic culture great men and women, while no longer prophets, were still thought to embody certain ideals of truth and justice which emanated from the divine realm." (Brockopp from W

Medical report Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Medical report - Case Study Example Medical report These resolved with courses of ciprofloxacin. Patient also reports chronic knee pain previously diagnosed as osteoarthritis. He uses acetaminophen for mild pain and ibuprofen with more significant pain and stiffness. He reports frequent symptoms of heartburn for which he uses Omeprazole intermittently. He has problems with insomnia since the death of this wife and uses Zolpidem occasionally (1-2 times per week).   Surgical History: Appendectomy at age 35   Family History: RJ is a widower who lives alone in a house that he owns. His wife died 3 years ago from lung cancer attributed to a 40 pack-year smoking history. One sister (age 63) is alive and has diabetes. Both parents are deceased. Father died in an automobile accident at age 68; mother died of breast cancer at age 54.   Social History: RJ has a 60 pack-year smoking history. He has smoked 1.5 to 2 packs per day for 35 years. He reports that he currently smokes 1 to 1.5 packs per day. Patient indicates that he has thought about stopping smoking but feels that there is too much stress right now for him to attempt it. He reports moderate alcohol use (glass of wine 3-4 times a week). He has one adult son (age 30) who is in good health and lives 2 hours away. Results of Pertinent Laboratory Tests, Serum Drug Concentrations, and Diagnostic Tests: Note lab numbers in parentheses are listed to highlight that a lab value may be represented in different units. Numbers in parentheses should correspond with the adjacent number for a lab value. For example, please note normal BUN is 10aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"20 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or 3.6-7.1 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)   Na (sodium)135   K (potassium) 4   Cl (chloride)104   HCO3 23   Glucose 6.6 (119) BUN 4.6 (13)   Cr (Creatinine)123.8 (1.4) Hct (Hematocrit)0.42 (42) Hgb 136 (Hemoglobin)(13.6) Liver Function Panel:   AST 1.0 (60)   ALT 1.1 (64)   Alk Phos 2.5 (150)   GGT 70 (70)   LDH 3.2 (190)   T Bili 13.7 (0.8)   Spirometry: FEV1 2.5 L, Predicted 3.5 L   FVC 4 L, Predicted 4.2 L   Post Bronchodilator: FEV1 2.7 L   FVC 4.1 L   ABG: pH 7.36, pO2 8.6 (65), pCO2 6.0 (45), Bicarbonate 22, O2 sat 93%   Chest radiograph: consistent with COPD; mildly increased A/P diameter, flattening of diaphragms, diffuse scarring noted bilaterally; no evidenc e of acute infectious or malignant process   Drug/Non-Drug Plan for INSOMNIA related to depression: This patient has many other medical conditions that have much greater importance regarding his well being but

The History Of Cyber Predator Media Essay

The History Of Cyber Predator Media Essay It has been said that the internet is to information and social networking as fire was to the caveman (Hudson, 1997, p. 7). The internet is a wealth of information, some of which may be used in research, continuing of education, as a tool to communicate with old friends or discover new acquaintances. For others, its a place to spend time shopping, for some a way to travel to far off places, for a few, a place to express anger and to bully the unsuspecting. For the perverted, its a place to entice and prey on the youngest web surfer and lure them into the deepest, darkest place the net has to offer. The cyber predator lurks on the internet with the most deceitful and cunning intentions, continuously attempting to attract the innocent to satisfy their own perverted sense of pleasure. Cyber Predator The internet has ignited excitement for learning on a global scale. Adults and youth alike surf the internet for the purpose of shopping, social networking and occasionally the thrill of the instant message or chat. A false sense of security combined with the perception of anonymity, with little regard for personal information obscures the dangers that lurk beneath a mesmerizing facade. Online interactions can expose youth to an insidious danger that can expose their safety and literally become a threat to their well being. What is this major threat that can harm the most internet savvy youth of today? With the exponential growth of online social networking, within sites such as MySpace or Facebook, predators lurk with intentions that reach far beyond friendship. Social networking sites are the fastest growing forms of universally accessible communication. The knowledgeable cyber predator already has this figured out. Between the years 2007 and 2009, MySpace evicted 90,000 profiles of convicted sex offenders (ABC 2009). Preceding 2007, 29,000 sex offenders had been identified and removed from the social networking site. These networking sites have become the new playgrounds for our youth. The Predator Who is the cyber predator? Look around at the next PTA meeting, church social gathering, or soccer game. They could be your Priest, Rabbi, doctor or lawyer, family friend or the neighbor next door. The cyber predator does not wear a sign, they are not of any particular age or race, and they rarely announce their intentions. They hide with anonymity. Picture a middle aged man, lonely, maybe a widower, divorced or who has lost the spark in his marriage. While surfing the web, a fantasy develops of a younger woman, looking for an experienced man, someone to show her the way. During one of his trips into cyber space he finds his way into one of the many famous on-line chat rooms, looking for romance in his local area. There he meets an exciting young girl, the one in his fantasy. At this point, its not important what they have in common. They chat for a while and agree to chat again. Over time, he thinks the relationship is developing. He begins to gains her trust. They exchange email addresses and phone numbers and manages to get her home address. Emails are sent, many photos are exchanged and eventually the phone call is made. The meeting is set. But wait, she is not really 18. Was that part of the fantasy? He begins to build her confidence and trust into what she is looking for in an online relationship. She seems so mature at times, yet naive and innocent without many of life experiences. He will show her what she needs to know. He convinces her to meet would be acceptable. Well just meet, talk and get to know each other. The meeting is set. He has bought her a gift. He will buy her dinner and all will be fine once she gets to know him. Its just an innocent meeting, right? Or is this a common method of the predator? Todays scheming predator relies on the internet and support groups to aid in the identification and methods to exploit children (Davis, McShane, Williams, 1995). They often use false profiles to lull parents into a false sense of security about the strangers presence within the family structure (Mahoney and Faulkner, 1997). This false sense of security often aids in the deception of what actually is occurring. They use their knowledge of computer technology as a method to gain the information they are desperately seeking. The expertise and skills they possess is not strictly related to collecting child pornography, downloading and trading of encrypted pornographic photos and movies, or searching peer to peer file sharing sites. This is only part of their pattern of behavior. The crafty predator searches the social networking sites, blogs, online game rooms, surveys and contests for details containing personal information such as; club affiliations, school names, neighborhood friends , parents names, addresses or locations that might be significant in their future search. From there, they begin their search in one of the popular search engines, keying off of a personal name, names of parents or step parents, addresses, friends names or the name and address of a school. They might get lucky and come up with a few personal pictures or additional details to help them extend the search. For the unsuspecting, the details provided in chat profiles can contain a wealth of information. But what does the predator look for? What are the details for that perfect match that will be the enable for him to proceed and get to know his a found friend? The Victim In todays fast paced world, the internet has a way of providing immediate feedback; some of that feedback can be a fun and thrilling challenge. The fast response of the chat can be filled with humor, sarcasm, or trust for developing friendship. For the unsuspecting, it can be a place to share feelings and the frustrations of their young life. More often then not, many kind sympathetic strangers will be willing to lend an ear, offer advice, or just listen to ones problems with their parents. Children are often naive and trusting of others and simultaneously are in need of attention and affection. In the vastness of the cyber world, its easy for a skilled predator to pick up on the signs of loneliness (McKenna Bargh, 2000) and befriend the young and impressionable. With advice and a kind word, they seem compassionate and more understanding than their parents. On the outset, they share the perception of common feelings. As the chat progresses, the skillful predator is looking for someone who seems lonely or maybe detached from their families. The victim now has a new friend, someone who seemingly understands their problems better than their parents do. With the illusion now set and with a little convincing, the problems seem magnified and a secret alliance is now formed. For the young victim, it is not clear they are chatting with a seasoned pro, the online predator. The Method When one thinks of the child predator, the vision of a stranger showing up at the playground with candy and photos of lost puppies comes to mind. This common or traditional method of child victimization, usually involved a target that was in close proximity; sporting events, youth activities or church groups and the resulting abduction was quick and with devastating results. Today, the new playground is a virtual world, and the predator hides in cyber space. In contrast, with past scenarios, the predators of today typically have a large number of attempts and a small number of successes. Their process is slow and gradual, building a trust as they progress towards getting to know their victim. This clever manipulation is commonly referred to as Grooming. Grooming involves a skillful process of manipulation typically initiated through a non sexual approach, designed to entice the victim into a sexual encounter (Brown, 2001). The predators friendship is the initiation into the grooming process. The exploitation is unhurried and measured; without reference to anything sexual, over time this gradual process intensifies. Through ongoing interactions, online conversations, gifts, and phone calls the child begins to lower their inhibitions and no longer perceives the predator to be an outsider. This close bond is the enabler that creates a victim more likely to comply with sexual advances. After months of this online relationship, the childs def ense mechanism is gone and the predator is now viewed as a peer. Todays youth is exposed to pornography in many different ways. Accidental exposure may result from a mistyped word in search engine or spam emails. Others may seek pornography on-line or freely share provocative pictures of themselves to friends and peers. This exposure, accidental or not, has desensitized the youth of today to pornography. All forms of youth exposure pornography have aided the methodical predator in his online quest for sexual solicitation. Gradually, the predator exposes the child to more pornography and begins the acceptance process of the child to nudity. Over time, he gradually suggests the child photograph themselves in sexually provocative poses, then pass along the photos, convincing them that this will help validate the relationship. The predator may send child pornography, hoping to stimulate curiosity and convince the child that sexual relationships with adults is accepted and widely practiced. Once again, building on the relationship, the predator knows, the closer the bond, the more likely the victim will be to comply with sexual advances. Once the stage is set, it is easy for the confident predator to arrange and establish the face to face meeting. The unassuming victim, over time, may have learned to trust the predator more than their own parents and nothing will stop them. The predator, having convinced the victim they live locally, may travel great distances to facilitate the meeting. As seen in the popular television series, To Catch A Predator (Dateline NBC) many predators are caught up in the moment and do not see anything wrong with their intentions. Others know exactly what they are doing and will go to great lengths to preserve the relationship to satisfy their perverse behavior. Summary A year long survey conducted in 2001 of 129 internet-initiated sex crimes involving victims age 17 or younger, found face-to-face meetings had occurred in 74 percent of the cases. Ninety three percent of those encounters included sexual contact. Seventy-five percent of the victims were girls. A large number of the victims report they had willingly met and had sexual encounters with the predator (Lewis, Miller, Buchalter, M. P. AR. 2009). Researchers have concluded the increase in online child exploitation can be directly linked to increased internet accessibility and anonymity as well as the commercialization of exploitive material and the production and dissemination of digital imagery. By 2005, ninety one percent of all children had access to the internet (Whitaker, Bushman, 2009) and sixty six percent stated they had no parental supervision while using the internet. The first line of defense in preventing children from becoming victims of online predators must be the parents and primary caregivers. A communicative parent-child relationship, appropriate sexual education and parental participation in child internet activities are critical factors in preventing children from falling victim to the online predator.

The Jazz Age :: essays research papers

The Jazz Age   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many of the influential artists of the past came from the jazz age such as Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Basie and Crosby, Sarah Vaughan, Cab Calloway, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frank Sinatra was dominating the scene in 1947. He had a voice that was carefully articulated, and had meaningful quality that could make everyone feel that he was sending a private message in his songs to everyone in the audience. It was not however a happy scene. This was widely known as Sinatra’s career skidding down. His personal appearances were gone along with the screaming fans. His once top charted recordings were now near the bottom, if they even placed at all. His contracts with filmmakers and record dealers were thinking about dropping him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sinatra’s problems were due to a few factors with his career. One of them was the fact that he held friendships with Mafia bosses, and his obvious womanizing of all fans and press. There were outside sources too, including the introduction to newer singing styles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sinatra wasn’t the only one hurting during this time. The big band swing era was on its way out too. The bands started taking strike after the war and singers became the main attraction as apposed to the band. People were paying more attention to the singers as the main performer and the band were placed somewhere less needed. Sinatra had been undermining the band swing era that had been his foundation. Sinatra’s orchestra was the foundation of his career and what had originally made him famous, but by 1947 his orchestra was no longer in existence. For several years Sinatra kept singing expertly but he was very modest about it. His musical career was instant and fantastic, and he was once again a superstar reaching a status that is so great.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1948, Billie Holiday was at her peak, physically and musically. Surprisingly the main reason due to her transformation was her spending time in a federal reformatory for the possession of narcotics. While she was in the federal reformatory she was stripped of her narcotics and because of this she lost her pudginess and became a strikingly beautiful woman. Even after not singing for so long her voice was retained and was said to be even richer and more refined than before.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Billie Holiday was unable to work at nightclubs because of police restrictions with performers with criminal records.

Low Income Students Barriers

RANIA ZOUHAIR SOC 101 Children living in poverty have many home and community factors that Contribute to performing below their potential in literacy achievement. This background Knowledge and experience of low-income students begins a literacy â€Å"achievement gap† That compares their literacy knowledge to that of children who do not live in poverty. Understanding social class diversity enhances the learning of all students. And Class differences in child-rearing practices may sound alarming or oversimplified.Lower-class children are more likely to have unstable family situations. Their parents typically have low-wage jobs and are more frequently laid off, causing family stress and more arbitrary discipline. This paper explains how language and attitudes of low income families act as barriers to success in education. And what types of programs or interventions are most useful in overcoming those barriers. The environment where a child develops has influences on language deve lopment. Success at school depends very heavily on language for reading, writing, speaking and understanding.The children exposed to extensive vocabulary and complex grammatical structures more quickly develop language and also have a more accurate syntax than children raised in environments without complex grammar exposed to them. Low income household uses informal, simple language, sometimes ungrammatical and with limited explanation and vocabulary which is used between friends or family member. Unlike middle class household who uses formal language, when explanation and details are required and they uses a wider vocabulary They often have had fewer words spoken to them, with shorter utterances.They hear only the most commonly occurring words. By age 5, the child of a parent who is language focused has heard 50,000,000 words spoken as opposed to the child of a parent who is not language focused. That child has only heard10,000,000 words (Hart and Risley, 1995). At the same time, t he fact that poor children are geographically concentrated in neighborhoods that are segregated by race and social class presents special challenges for education policy, given that children have traditionally attended neighborhood schools. Another enormous factor that affects low income student achievement is their parent’s attitude towards education. ow income parents do not value education in the same way, that middle class parents do, and their children are more likely to drop out of school early low income parents are more likely to work long hours, so it is difficult for them to visit schools, and they might also see education as of less importance because they might have found their own education had little relevance to their jobs. That’s why some low income students are less motivated in school and thus they have lower level of achievement Contrary to Middle class people who highly value education, and begin promoting its value to their children at a very young age.For instance, middle class people will generally teach their child to read before reaching school age. As the child progresses through school the parents will promote education to their child by encouraging reading, homework and extra-curricular activities. The effort put forth by parents has a bigger impact on their children’s educational achievement than the effort expended by either teachers or the students themselves. The content of parents’ conversations with kids matters too. While the conversations parents have with their children change as kids grow older, the effect of these exchanges on academic achievement remains strong.The â€Å"No Child Left Behind† Educational law Act of 2001 (2002) was created as a means for, student learning to close the achievement gap between low income and middle-income students, and to make sure that all students become academically proficient in their grade level. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has stringe nt accountability measures and includes the Reading First initiative, which focuses on five areas of literacy for beginning readers: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.Reading is fundamental to this legislation Among the programs that were set to overcome the low income student’s achievement gap, and to enforce the â€Å"No child left Behind† law, we quote the KIPP schools and the ACE program The KIPP schools the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools designed for low income families, with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life.They build a partnership among parents, students, and teachers that puts learning first. By providing outstanding educators, more time in school learning, and a strong culture of achievement. , KIPP is helping all students climb the mountain to and through college. The Knowle dge Is Power Program (KIPP). chools seek to actively engage students and parents in the educational process expand the time and effort students devote to their studies, reinforce students’ social competencies and positive behaviors, and dramatically improve their academic achievement Students in KIPP schools spend more time on learning, both in academics and extracurricular activities, each day, week, and year to improve their skills, and to decrease the achievement gap between low income students and middle class student.The KIPP schools tend to prove that low income students can also succeed since they got the attention and care they need. There is no arguing that making transition to college can be challenging for many students. The ACE program has proven to help participants face problem during the first semester The ACE program (achieving a college education) is a nationally recognized program that targets students who may not consider going to college and attaining a ba ccalaureate degree to be an achievable goal.Upon graduation from high school an ACE student may earn up to 24 transferable college credits The ACE Program Is designed to help students make a smooth transition from high school through the community colleges on to a university and completion of a bachelor’s degree.Recruits high school students in their sophomore year to participate in the program in their high school junior and senior years Ace students are enrolled in concurrent college courses as high school juniors and seniors Students attend college classes during the summer and on Saturdays during the fall and spring semesters Students can earn up to 24 college credits by the time they graduate from high school.The ACE program tends to first, to increase the number of students graduating from high school, second, to increase the number of students continuing on to college, and third to increase the number of students earning a degree or certificate. .Poverty impacts child development. Families have little income; are not able to afford many educational and school activities, which are vital to the development of the children’s learning skill.In addition the influence of the home environment and school environment on a child’s performance is pronounced. Family characteristics predict early reading skills, and Low-income students often have home environments with material hardships and resource-related disadvantages that affect their family dynamics. Children from low to income households are at a disadvantage. They are twice as likely to be held back and more likely not to graduate from high school.

Conquest of Panay and Other Islands Essay

Legaspi’s Cebu settlement had three important problems. First, there was a shortage of food and what the natives were used to eat was different from Spanish food. Second, misfortune struck the settlement. On November 1, 1565, a fire of unknown origin broke out in the settlement. Some twenty Spanish houses and the hut where masses were celebrated were burned. Third, the Spaniards were displeased with Legaspi’s order that no Spaniard should take anything from the Filipinos without paying for it. This, together with the shortage of food, led to a conspiracy on November 27 under the leadership of Pablo Hernandez. The captain of the San Pablo revealed the plot to the master-of-camp, Mateo de Saez. The latter immediately warned Legaspi, who lost no time in arresting the conspirators. Hernandez was beheaded–those were times of harsh justice–but the rest of the conspirators were pardoned. And fourth, Legaspi was also faced with the hostility of the Portuguese who did not enjoy Legaspi’s settling in Cebu. They sent ships to Cebu to spy on Legaspi’s activities. In 1568, and again the following year, a Portuguese captain, Gonzalo de Pereira, blockaded Cebu in order to starve the Spaniards. With the aid of the Cebuanos, however, Legaspi withstood the blockade and succeeded in forcing Pereira to lift the blockade and leave the Philippines. In the midst of all these problems, the first reinforcements from Mexico arrived in Cebu on board the galleon San Geronimo on October 15, 1566. This made Legaspi happy, for it brought not only the news that Urdaneta had safely arrived in Mexico but much-needed soldiers from Mexico as well. Later two more galleons from Mexico arrived in Cebu on August 20, 1567, bringing additional reinforcements and supplies. They were commanded by two young grandsons of Legaspi’s–Felipe de Salcedo, 20 years old, and Juan de Salcedo, 18. With these reinforcements, Legaspi sent out various explorations to the neighboring islands for the purpose of securing more food and establishing friendly relations with the datus of the other islands. Later Legaspi received the information that food was abundant in one of the islands in the north. In 1569 he directed his men to sail to Panay. There, on the banks of the Panay River, Legaspi founded the second Spanish settlement in the Philippines. As in Cebu, he won the friendship of the Panay inhabitants by his policy of attraction. Many of these inhabitants were converted to Christianity by Augustinian missionaries. After that, Legaspi never encountered the problem of food shortage, for the natives brought the needed provisions to him. Legaspi was now ready to spread the rule of Spain to the other islands in the archipelago. With Cebu and Panay as bases, he ordered his men to explore the other Visayan islands. Captain Luis Enriquez de Guzman explored and conquered Masbate, Burias, and Ticao and claimed these for the Spanish crown. He got as far as the Bicol region, then known as Ibalon. In January 1570 Legaspi sent his warlike grandson, Juan de Salcedo, on an expedition farther to the north. With forty Spanish soldiers and some 500 Visayans, Salcedo landed at Ilin Island, just south of Mindoro, and took it for the king of Spain. From Ilin he sailed to another island, Lubang, northwest of Mindoro and close to the mouth of Manila Bay. There he met stiff resistance from Muslim defenders. Salcedo subdued them and finally captured Mamburao. This brought the Spaniards almost to the entrance of Manila Bay. Salcedo then returned to Panay to report to his grandfather what he had done.

America in Vietnam and The Domino Theory essays

America in Vietnam and The Domino Theory essays The theory most discussed during the Vietnam era seems to have been the so-called domino theory. This theory held that if one small nation fell to Communism, then so would its neighbors. The theory was a linchpin of high-level government discussions as early as 1954, when Secretary of State John Foster Dulles used it in a press conference on May 11 of that year. It was still apparently thought to be a cogent argument when President John F. Kennedy spoke about Cuba to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on April 20, 1061. The theory lent support to the arguments, therefore, of both Republicans and Democrats. There is, moreover, some reason to believe that the theory is in fact a somewhat adequate explanation of events; its obverseturning Communist states into states with representative governments, happened all over eastern Europe In terms of Southeast Asia, however, the possibility of governments falling like dominoes was sufficient excuse for U.S intervention. In his May 11, 1954 press conference, Secretary Dulles made clear that while no single one of the at-risk nationsVietnam, Laos or Cambodiacould alone initiate the fall of Southeast Asia, neither was the U.S. going to walk away from the region (Lewy, 1978, p. 163) to test the theory. Four years ago, the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon was commemorated in The Nation by a writer who is apparently a Thai national, or at least, has Thai ancestry. Thailand was one of the nations U.S. military engagements, in the name of the domino theory, was supposed to protect. In fact, the U.S. did not much care who did what to whom, as long as there were no Communists involved. As Chokchaimadon pointed out, "Supported by the United States, South Vietnamese governments were set up to counter communist North Vietnam; simultaneously, they also used their...

Exercise in Writing With Specific Details

Exercise in Writing With Specific Details Specific details create word pictures that can make your writing easier to understand and more interesting to read. This exercise will give you practice in revising sentences to make them more concrete and specific. Instructions Revise the following sentences to make them more concrete and specific. ExampleThe sun came up.At 6:27 on March third, the sun rose in a cloudless sky and flooded the earth with liquid gold. The food in the cafeteria was unappealing.We painted part of the garage.She sat by herself in the coffee shop.The kitchen was a mess.Marie looked sad.I waved to my pet.The car sped away.The waiter seemed to be impatient and annoyed.He was hurt in a boating accident.I felt tired after practice.She enjoys listening to music.There was a strange smell in the attic.The movie was stupid and boring.She ate lunch at a restaurant with her sister.It was noisy in the room.

Best Toe Kick Dimensions for Cabinet Design

Best Toe Kick Dimensions for Cabinet Design At the bottom of every base floor cabinet in your kitchen or bathroom, you will notice a notched profile below the front door of the cabinet. This notched profile, called a toe kick, is an ergonomic feature designed to make it safer and more comfortable to work at the cabinets countertop. This might seem like a small advantage, but long experience shows that this small amount makes it much easier for a user to stand for long periods without uncomfortable leaning and without struggling to maintain balance. As with many other standard features of home and furniture design, the toe kick follows a fairly common measurement standard.  So universal is this standard that factory-made stock cabinets always follow these standard dimensions for a toe kick,  and an experienced carpenter or woodworker who constructs  a base cabinet will include the toe kick with these standard dimensions. Standards such as these are neither  legal requirements nor mandated by building code. Rather, builders have established over time that such measurements make for greater comfort and safety, so it is wisest to follow these measurements unless specifically directed otherwise.    Standard Dimensions for Toe Kicks The optimal depth for a toe kick is 3 inches. This provides an adequate recess to stand comfortably and maintain balance while working at a countertop. Almost all factory-made stock cabinets will comply with this depth standard.   Toe-kick depths greater than 3 inches do not hurt the effectiveness of the toe kick, but depths less than 3 inches should usually be avoided, as they interfere with ergonomic effectiveness.   The optimal height for a toe kick is 3 1/2 inches, and heights up to 4 inches are common. Increasing the height over 3 1/2 inches does not hurt the effectiveness of the toe kick, but it may very slightly reduce the space in your base cabinet. Is There Any Reason to Change the Dimensions of Your Toe Kick? Its quite rare that a reason presents itself to vary from these standard dimensions for your base cabinet toe kicks. It is actually only possible at all in custom cabinets built to specifications or having a carpenter alter the installation of factory cabinets.   Family need for altered dimensions is generally the catalyst for requests for alteration of such specs. For example, a very tall person with large feet might find a larger toe kick more accommodating. The likelihood of a need to reduce the size of the toe kick is slim, although a very short person might consider this as a means of slightly lowering the countertop height to provide an added level of comfort to a workspace.

Analyze a character of your choosing from any of the short stories we Essay

Analyze a character of your choosing from any of the short stories we have read and explain how that character illustrates a theme. (I picked the narrator from the cathedral by Raymond carver) - Essay Example Despite the fact that his wife has remained a friend to the blind man, Robert, for the last ten years, they have not met since then, and the narrator does not like the fact that Robert is visiting his wife after he lost his wife. Therefore, he is uncomfortable receiving the blind man in his house, and thus goes on to say, â€Å"a blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to† (Carver, 209). The narrator does not seem to appreciate what the friendship means to his wife, and he does not care about what the friend ship means to the blind man, who has just lost his wife. Thus, the narrator comes out as a person who only cares about his own feelings, in total disregard of what the others feel. In a further show of meanness, the narrator does not appreciate the fact that it was Robert who had assisted his wife in a suicide attempt after she got divorced from her former husband (Halpert, 44). Instead, the narrator seems to be concerned with the fact that Robert is part of his wife’s past, and consequently he becomes jealous. The narrator comes out as a person who is completely insensitive to the plight of other people. In fact, he narrates that his perception of a blind man is that from the movies, where they are neither found to be happy nor to laugh, while their movement is slow. The narrator says â€Å"My idea of blindness came from the movies† (Carver, 209). This indicates that he has never been concerned about people who have such disabilities, and in fact, the only time he becomes aware of them is through the movies. Making such statements in relation to a blind person with disability is really a display of insensitivity (Amir, 38). Further, instead of appreciating that the blind man is a capable man who has been able to bring up and keep a family until he lost his wife, the narrator feels pity for the wife of the blind

Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Literature Review - Essay Example Literature related to group and teamwork will be reviewed in order to gain full insight of this particular topic and how it impacts on the behaviour of people working in an organization. This topic has been chosen since it is insightful in that it is concerned with illustrating how knowledge gained about groups affect the behaviour of people involved in order to make organizations work more effectively. The paper will also outline a personal reflection about what I have gained from studying this topic as well as areas that need further research to improve the body of knowledge that exists in this particular topic. Text analysis Why do people join groups? A group is defined as â€Å"two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives,† (Robbins, 1993, p. 285). On the other hand, a team is a group of people that has been formed to work together in common, coordinate their action towards the achievement of an outcome of the project for the benefit of the group (Schultz, 2005). There is no single reason why people join a group. The most popular reasons for joining a group are related to our needs for security, status, self esteem, affiliation, power and goal achievement (Robbins, 1993). People often believe that there is more strength in joining groups than standing alone (Robbins, 1993). When people work in a group, they have fewer doubts and they are more resistant to threats. For instance, new employees in an organization often vulnerable to a sense of isolation and this is the reason why the turn to the group for guidance and moral support from other seasoned employees. Other people join a group as a way of gaining status (Robbins, 1993). People tend to gain prestige for belonging to a particular group that is seen as important in an organization. It can also be observed that people belonging to a certain group also develop a sense of self esteem. The feeling of self worth is often developed by people who belong to a prestigious group that is envied by many people. The other reason why people join a group is that they need affiliation with other people (Robbins, 1993). Some people may be very reach but they cannot leave their jobs as a result of the need to interact with others. Groups often represent power and this is the reason why people often join them. What often cannot be achieved individually becomes possible if people work in groups. Essence of group or teamwork in an organization The goal of the team or group should be synergy, in other words, the sum of the individual efforts in the team is greater than the sum of the individual inputs (Schultz 2005). In an organization, people who often pull their efforts towards the attainment of the same goals are likely to succeed in their endeavour than people who work as individuals. It may be difficult for a person to achieve the same goal that can be achieved by a group of people. Basically, organizational goals can be a chieved if people work in groups. Some tasks require the efforts of many people in order for them to be achieved. The main objectives of the organization have to be shared by all the workers so that they share the same understanding towards the vision of the organization. In an organization that is characterised by teamwork, it can be seen that the employees are also motivated to pull

Listening Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Listening - Assignment Example y dad acts as a mediator to a dispute, he tends to listen carefully by not interrupting the party speaking and seems to keenly observe facial and body expressions. I also notice that whenever he speaks, he always relate his views to actual situations. He conveys his message to the parties in a very professional way and makes sure that he gets the correct information so as to give the best advice (McKelvie, 2009). He always respect, value and acknowledge differing opinions which makes the conflicting parties less argumentative (Rogers & Farson, as cited in Shapse, n.d.). One characteristic that separates him from other mediators is that he has the charisma to entice people to hear and understand whatever he says. These attitudes have greatly improved his relationship with our family and everyone else in our town (Crotts, 2010). My dad has many friends from all walks of life. Almost everybody knows him well. At home, family members rarely argue even on trivial matters. All of us in the family have been inspired by his calmness and openness to everything. He is not easily angered. When he talks to me, I can see a very matured and sensible human being. Another thing, my father is a disciplinarian and sometimes perfectionist. Whenever he sees you texting while he’s talking, he will pause for a moment and wait till you listen

Engaging with Vulnerable People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Engaging with Vulnerable People - Essay Example I will also investigate through the professional values with reference to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)’s Code of Professional Conduct with regard to the care provided to Miss. Jaya. This essay will find out whether the staff had given respect while maintaining the patient’s dignity and self-respect. The anti discriminatory practice concerns in the case study are explained in the essay while analyzing how these elements affect providing care. A personal perspective about the issue and lessons obtained from the assignment is added in the conclusion. The Concept of Vulnerability The concept of vulnerability has been widely used to explain a situation in which the physical as well as the mental well-being needed for a normal productive life is impaired and at continuous risk (‘The concept of vulnerability’, n.d.). In simple terms of general usage, vulnerability can be denoted as the state of being exposed to hazards, risks, and stresses. When it come s to health-related vulnerability, poor health grade causes the entry into the condition of vulnerability. The vulnerability in the health care system is affected with the people and society in the form mortality, morbidity, and more commonly in various forms of social deprivation. The concept of vulnerability itself is evident in the perception of health risk, and has always been affecting the public health systems. In each country, the state of vulnerability depends on the level of development and stages of health transition. Even when there are certain patterns, certain population sections of society are highly exposed to the health hazards and poorest quality of life. The group extremely exposed to vulnerability is women, under the categories of women in rural areas, abandoned old women, and teenage mothers. Such identification and categorization of the highly vulnerable group has facilitated the investigators to conceptualize health care as multi-sectored service. The Royal Col lege of Nursing (Cited by Dyson, 2007) suggests that while taking care of the old people, the nurses should realise the multi-ethnic backgrounds of the patient, which can greatly influence the quality of care; assessment and evaluation of care in a rage of acute care setting will help in developing and promoting fair and anti-discriminatory healthcare practice. The strategies must be formulated at the local level as well as the national level, in order to tackle down the vulnerability towards women, especially towards the aged women. At the same time, policy formulation intended to eradicate vulnerability must not end up in creating new forms of vulnerability against the existing ones. Each nurse, regardless of their practise and service is expected to adhere to the NMC codes of conduct as well as to its recommendation and guidelines, in order to promote a safe environment for clients and others. Nurses are ought to preserve the patient’s safety, and this practise can be cons idered to be the base for behaviour and code of conduct. Patients under the care of a nurse, like Miss. Jaya in the case study who was admitted in the ward under the care of nurse, are vulnerable by virtue of illness, injury, and more of dependent nature and undesired incidents. And such incidents create an unequal influence base within the nurse-patient relationship.

Pollock, Gottlieb and Newman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pollock, Gottlieb and Newman - Essay Example Varese’s music on the other hand emphasized timbre and rhythm where he group certain rhythm into a new definition of music called â€Å"organized sound†. Unlike Cowell who emphasized harmony and rhythm in his music, Varese treated music as a mere grouping of noises, which are sound we do not like, into a group that would make it pleasing to hear. The example of this was electronic music of which Varese was considered as the father, which was basically an assembly of industrial noise that became aesthetically pleasing to hear due to its arrangement and organization. The motivation of his music is organization to achieve musicality while Cowell was rhythm and harmony. The whole text of the quotation was â€Å"Where do we go from here? Towards theatre. That art more than music resembles nature. We have eyes as well as ears, and it is our business while we are alive to use them† (Cage, 1957 pg. 12). This quote embodied how John cage regarded theatre, performance or c oncept-driven works/compositions. He explored and encouraged the concept of indeterminism in his works which allows the appreciation of music not just those elements selected and prepared by the composer. This is reflected in his various works in theatre, performance and concept driven works as well as the number of devices he used to emphasize randomness in music. One of his notable works that reflects the indeterminism and the removal of personal preference is his 1952 composition titled 4†²33†³ where it was performed without any sound. .

Federal Contracting Activities and Contract Types Research Paper

Federal Contracting Activities and Contract Types - Research Paper Example Many governments nevertheless have continued to use these machines. The Department of Defense plans to issue a $400,000 government contract to a company that specializes in drone navigation technologies. This paper will review two companies Lockheed Martin and Boeing Company. Further, it will determine which of the two should win the contract. In 1916, an idea to build a better airplane was conceived by William Edward Boeing in a boathouse on Seattle’s Lake Union when he assembled a group of expert to bring this dream to life. Today, the Boeing Company is the largest aerospace company in the world manufacturing commercial aircraft, satellites and military aircrafts. With over 145 countries as customers, the company boasts of over fifty billion dollars annual profits (Yenne, 2005). Currently, it is the leading contractor to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). By the turn of the century, the company employed over 150,000 people in over 60 countries. Curr ently the company is headquartered in Chicago. Boeing Co. brings together five of the most influential corporations in aerospace history. This cooperation includes Hughes space and communication, McDonnell and Douglas, Boeing, North America aviation and North America Rockwell. McDonnell and Douglas had previously merged in 1967 while Hughes space and communication merged with Boeing Co. in 2000. Boeing’s business model is carried out by two major groups, Boeing commercial airplanes and integrated defense systems. The current chairman and CEO of the company is James McNerney. Lockheed Martin is an American security, advanced technology, defense and aerospace company founded in 1995 by the merger of Martin Marietta and Lockheed corporations. In 1996, it acquired Loral corporations. Its headquarters are in Maryland, Washington; currently, the company employees over one hundred thousand people in over five countries. Primarily, the company is involved in research, design, develop ment, manufacture, and sustainability of advanced technology systems. The journey of Lockheed Martin began in 1912 when Glen Martin founded the Glen L. Martin Company. From a rented church building, Glen built his first airplane. In the same year, Malcolm and Alan Lockheed established the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company. This company was later renamed the Lockheed Aircraft Company. Malcolm and Alan were competent mechanics who in their garage built seaplanes. Lockheed Martin Corporations grew from a church and a Garage. These were very humble beginnings but the founders were unrelenting and visionary men who saw a better future for their businesses. Lockheed Martin produces a number of aerospace and defense machines. Some of their several unmanned aero vehicles manufactures by Lockheed Martin include, K-max, tracer, stacker UAS, X56A, desert hawk III just to name but a few. In recent times, the Boeing Company has won a number of military contracts from several countries. In 1999, the B oeing Integrated Defense Systems was chosen to design and manufacture unmanned orbital vehicle. Boeing, Nasa and the US air Force jointly funded the project in a span of four years. The project cost was 194 million. In 2013, the Boeing Company in, St. Louis, Missouri was awarded a fifteen million firm-fixed-price contract by the US Navy. The contract was for

Pollock, Gottlieb and Newman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pollock, Gottlieb and Newman - Essay Example Varese’s music on the other hand emphasized timbre and rhythm where he group certain rhythm into a new definition of music called â€Å"organized sound†. Unlike Cowell who emphasized harmony and rhythm in his music, Varese treated music as a mere grouping of noises, which are sound we do not like, into a group that would make it pleasing to hear. The example of this was electronic music of which Varese was considered as the father, which was basically an assembly of industrial noise that became aesthetically pleasing to hear due to its arrangement and organization. The motivation of his music is organization to achieve musicality while Cowell was rhythm and harmony. The whole text of the quotation was â€Å"Where do we go from here? Towards theatre. That art more than music resembles nature. We have eyes as well as ears, and it is our business while we are alive to use them† (Cage, 1957 pg. 12). This quote embodied how John cage regarded theatre, performance or c oncept-driven works/compositions. He explored and encouraged the concept of indeterminism in his works which allows the appreciation of music not just those elements selected and prepared by the composer. This is reflected in his various works in theatre, performance and concept driven works as well as the number of devices he used to emphasize randomness in music. One of his notable works that reflects the indeterminism and the removal of personal preference is his 1952 composition titled 4†²33†³ where it was performed without any sound. .

Psychology - Consciousness Essay Example for Free

Psychology Consciousness Essay Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic. [1] Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. the word education is derived from the Latin educatio (A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing) from educo (I educate, I train) which is related to the homonym educo (I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect) from e- (from, out of) and duco (I lead, I conduct). PSYCHOLOGY It is the study of Psyche. Psyche it mean mind or soul as it appear in human. It is the totality of the human mind, conscious, and unconscious. The basic meaning of the Greek word psyche was life in the sense of breath, formed from the verb psyche derived meanings included spirit, soul, ghost, and ultimately self in the sense of conscious personality or psyche I AM GROWING AS PERSON Like all children, when I was growing up all I ever wanted to do was to be big. I always kept a close eye on my role models (my parents) and always tried to do anything they did. The skills I learn and the attitude I acquired from a young age would be of immense help to me in my later years. From the age of five, the memories I have are those of following my father around the yard watching feeding animals. My father would sometimes give me a small jar / container that I could help him feed the animal and although the job I did was insignificant and most likely not done properly, i always got a sense of pride and satisfaction in my work. In my teenage years my role around the house had changed. My father was no longer around and my mother had the pressure of providing for my younger brother and myself. During school holidays I was responsible for looking after my brother and keeping the amused at the same time, not an easy task at all. During this time I had also managed to get casual employment. Although the money I earn was not significant but it was enough for me to pay for my hobbies and ease some pressure off my mother. Now as an adult I have a steady job. I have never seen myself as a victim from anyone because all the good and bad experiences of my younger years it have helped me become a successful and determined person. The support that I received and continue to receive from my family was also a major drive for me to want to succeed as well. I think that everyones life is always full of good and bad experiences. The key is to appreciate the good and find a way of turning a negative situation into a positive. For example, when my father was no longer around it could have been seen to be a negative situation. However, learning to look after my brother and earning a little pocket money was perhaps the best and most useful experiences I had. In humans, growing up can be physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological. This means that a person becomes more mature as a result of changes in behavior, actions and thoughts that are experienced in the process of growing up. An individual’s character and personality are seen as very vital as they grow up. While growing up, there are many challenges that a person may come across, and the opportunities to become a good person are always there. Due to our uniqueness, we tend to express our beliefs, convictions, and thoughts differently. One very important attribute in relation to growing up is the physical development. Though physical development may not necessarily translate in to growing up, growing up is closely related to physical maturity. An individual is considered to grow up when they display good character and responsible behavior. The process of growing up is always accompanied by a certain level of transformation in an individual, where transformation either makes one a better person or a bad person. At some stage in our lives, we are expected to be changed through the process of growing up. The expectations of the others from us assist in cultivating our actions and behavior that show that we are grown up or we are growing up. An individual who practice self control and display good behavior is a good example of a person who is growing up. These attributes define a grown up person and if a person displays these attributes, the person can be said to be growing up towards the right direction. Discipline is very essential in achieving human fulfillment . Since a person who is growing up seeks this fulfillment, there is no doubt that the only way a person can achieve fulfillment is through discipline.

Conner Lab Company Analysis

Conner Lab Company Analysis Conner labs are company that deals with manufacture and supply of surgical units, disposable instrument and diagnostic units. In 1990, it introduced the first diagnostic unit with the highest price. This was very successful, as the unit never required the dilation. They also had a market that believes in them as they had set a good reputation. The diagnostic unit was emphasized to last for life and they were confident giving lifetime warranty on the unit. The sales were boosted initially by the notion that the surgeon had in the quality of the materials they required as thy thought that the high the price the more quality the materials were. Thus the Conner lab had advantage as they sell quality products and at high price. However, after sometime the surgeon noted that there was no great difference in the quality for surgical equipment from either if the manufacturers. Therefore, they opted to be buying the equipments with low price(Douglas, 2010). Conner stone had initially advantages, as they were the pioneer developer of digital / laser technology in the medical field. This made even more organization to prefer the Conner lab for they offered quality services. They also had modified their line of surgical units and most of the seller used the extension in their selling strategy promoting their sales. They also made sure that they intensified their promotion of high quality products. This was to promote their reputation and increasing their high margins. They attract very skilled and established sales representative and qualified sales managers to enhance their sales. This saw their gross margin grow steadily from 2001 to 2003. Nevertheless, of recent soon the company has experienced a very great decline in the gross margin their market share has also dropped from 70% to 22%. This drop is notable and it makes the management to inquisitive, as there must be a problem somewhere(Douglas, 2010). Various problem I their marketing has been noted. The company produces very expensive equipment that very few can afford. Thus, most of their buyers have shifted to the cheaper materials that have the same factions as theirs. This makes their sales turnover top decrease and their market share decline in daily basis. Most of the equipments they produce are patent by other people making their competitor to imitate their product producing them at a low cost. So, most of the buyers opt to buy the cheap products that are from other company which have similar function. This makes their sales to decline as the products that have been imitated are so many in the market and gotten at low price. The company also believed in working on their reputation only, they have won the competition. Therefore, they never worked in their market research at the best time to get the real picture in the ground. They dealt mostly in producing quality product by increasing their technology. Their competitors majored in this and manufactured equipments that bore the same function and offered them at low price. The Conner lab had very complicated sales strategy. The sales personnel were meeting some individuals showing them how quality their products were. The process became so confusing to the buyers. They never understood if they were being compelled to buy the products or it was a mere advertisement to help them choose whether to buy their product or not. According to the buyers, they would have opted to buy the products at their own will but not being compelled. Product maturity was another issue that made the Conner lab to have a downfall. The customers complained of their product taking very long to mature. The lead-time between the placing of an order and the day the equipment was taking long to a verge of buyers getting them elsewhere. This made most of the customer to quit the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s service and source it somewhere else. The competitors were delivers product faster as their maturity time is short. The company also never established the right people in their sales strategy. For example, in a hospital the management may allocate a given amount of money to buy the equipments. However, the surgeons have a great impact on the type of the equipments that are to be bought. Therefore, for the Conner lab to thrive in the market, they have to get the champions in a certain market. This would help them identify the main obstacles in their sales failure. Recommended solutions Conner lab need to do an intensive research to establish the core cause of their downfall and come up with their market strategy. The following marketing strategy is recommended for them to assist in reviving their business. Market dominance The company should establish their position on the market in relation to how they have dominated it. They should know their current market share and the projected market share in the future. According to market dominance strategy, there are four categories in which the company should be able to establish themselves with to ensure that they make good future plan. The first one is the leader. They should make sure that they know the company that leads in the market share to help them establish what they are doing. According to Douglas 2010, having dropped from 70% to 22% in the market share, there must be something wrong. They should also establish their follower in the market share. This will help them to be careful not to lose more of their share. The last one is that it is also very important to establish their niche to know where they have the highest market share meaning that there products in that place are readily accepted. In doing this, they will be in a good position to get t o a place where they were initially. Porter generic strategy They should ensure that they understand their market penetration method as they now have a good reputation and produce quality goods as their strategic strength giving the a competitive and sustainable advantage. They should deal with their product differentiation and low cost leadership with the aim of focusing in a broader market share. They should first segment their market into smaller segments to help them understand them better to ensure that they earn back their customers confidence. The company has an advantage of having qualified sales personnel that can help it come up very fast(Douglas, 2010). Innovation strategy Conner Lab Company has done well in response to the technological change. This has made it possible to bring in diagnostic unit as the first company. For that reason, they never considered the aspect of time at their product matured. They mostly concentrated on quality forgetting that they need to integrate the aspect of time also in their service delivery. This means that more innovation was required to hasten their product maturity. This means that they required people to be pioneers of the technological change, others to be close followers of the outcome of the technology employed while others to be late followers to get the impact brought in the market. With the three teams, they will be able to integrate more technology in their business increasing service delivery. Growth strategy They should finally intensify their growth strategy by vertical and horizontal integration. As stated by Douglas 2010, the vertical growth by recruiting competent personnel, the Conner Lab has tried. Still they should ensure that the recruited personnel are highly compatible to change and can come above any challenge that may arise in the company. They should also diversify their marketing strategy by using a simple method of advertising their product and not trying to compel the customers to buy their products. They should ensure that they intensify their marketing using the pivotal people who affect the acquisition of the products in the company. For them to compete well as they grow horizontally, they should devise means of production that do not comprise their product quality but lead the product to be cheaper. This will enhance their growth in the competitive market. Management and organizational plan The Conner Lab must be having a problem with its management and organization structure thus unable to deal with its inventory and supply chain. This organization need to be restructured to ensure that the information has no hindrances. This is seen by the way the gross margin declined in the between 2003 and 2004 (Douglas, 2010). They should adopt an organization plan that has low bureaucratic process to enhance faster flow of information. They should adopt an organization plan that enables people in lower management level to communicate directly to the people in the top management level. With this, problems in the grass roots will get to be known and tackled in the appropriate time before they go too far. Conclusion The Conner Lab Company has all the required potential to revert their situation to their renowned situation. This requires putting the recommended ideas into practice and going a mile away in their process of regaining their lost market share. They have all the material if the management want to they are able to make it.

Protecting Against Internet Activists Essays -- Technology, Political

Internet activists are often times a section of people whom meet in the cyber world and collectively deny customers from accessing corporate web sites. The intention of these internet activists is often denial of service. While the intentions of †traditional† hackers are not just denial of service but stealing valuable insider information and data, internet activists only try to disrupt service. Organizations these days should guard against cyber-attacks on their web sites by having a very structured security policy. It is not just enough to have a secure infrastructure setup as a one-time effort but continuous monitoring is necessary to ensure no security breach takes place. A well configured intrusion detection system is the first step to ensuring a network that is constantly monitored. Firewalls, constantly updated antivirus programs, frequent and prompt software updates in addition to penetration testing could help organizations falling target to outsider attack. While organizations deal with trying to keep their business up and running through their websites, activists work hard trying to disrupt the offerings provided by these organizations to their customers. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are a major means of unsettling a business. A DDoS attack often begins with setting up an attack network. The attackers use tools like Nmap and Nessus and find vulnerable machines which become secondary targets using which the attack on the victim is launched from. While organizations cannot prevent attackers from using these secondary targets certain mitigation strategies like load balancing, throttling or dropping requests are security countermeasures that could be applied to address such concerns. The post-inci... ... process should include questions about the location of servers on which the data gets stored. This is important because significant legal implications would exist depending on the country the data is housed in. Also, the questions about who would manage the data and in which locations, identity access and privacy controls would have to be discussed about. Data encryption techniques that are used by the prospective providers would lead to a good deal of confidence in selecting a provider. Questions on data segregation will need to be asked as well. This would ensure that other clients of the same provider have their data segregated and separated out. The cloud provider should also be asked details about its disaster recovery and business continuity plans. Service Level Agreements (SLA) should be well detailed and documented to avoid confusion and provide clarity.

Physics of the Browning M2 .50 Cal :: physics machine gun

The Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun is better known as the 'Ma Duce' to those who have had the pleasure of firing this heavy barrel machine gun. In 1919 John M. Browning developed the M2 .50 cal as an anti-aircraft weapon. The M2 was first introduced into the United States Military in 1933 and is used by many militaries through out the world today. Since 1933 there have been little changes made to this weapon system. The BMG (Browning Machine Gun) is a crew served, belt fed, air-cooled, recoil operated machine gun capable of firing in single shot or fully automatic. Today the M2 is used for more than just anti-aircraft. Since very little changes have been made to this remarkable weapon system, military researchers have been able to maximize the capabilities and uses on the battle field. This weapon is used both in the offense and defense and can be used effectively to engage light armored vehicles, low flying aircraft, boats, and personnel. The M2 can either be ground or vehicle mounted giving our military unlimited uses of this weapon. This weapon system has been mounted on numerous light armored vehicles, air craft, water craft, as well as tanks. The M2 .50 caliber machine gun is a crew served, belt fed, air-cooled, recoil operated machine gun capable of firing in single shot or fully automatic. weight of total gun with tripod 128lb weight of receiver 60lb weight of barrel 24lb weight of tripod 44lb length of gun 65in length of barrel 45in muzzle velocity 3050fps~888m/s bore diameter .50cal~12.7mm maximum effective range 2000m maximum range 6800m~4.2miles There are over 20 different types of ammunition that have been made for the M2, each with it's own individual characteristics, color coding and uses. The primary round discussed on this web page is the M2 .50 caliber ball cartridge. The M2 ball round is one of the few rounds that does not have any color coding. This round consists primarily of the casing, primer, powder, and projectile. The projectile is 58.7mm long, 12.7mm in diameter and has a weight of 42.9grams. The projectile is a soft lead core incased in a full metal jacket. Most ammunition for the M2 comes linked in 100 round belts as shown below. There are some basic methods of firing that must be defined before discussing defilade fire. The first of these is line of sight. Line of sight is defined as the path from the gunner's eye to the target.

College vs. High School Essay

Many students, especially those who do not have a family member who has been to college, think college is pretty much like high school, only bigger. But there are some very big differences. Many students who did not do well in high school blossom in college. Much of how college will differ depends on you. To be prepared, it helps you to know what differences lay ahead. Though academic requirements and student life vary depending on the college you attend, there are basic differences that apply in almost every case. One key step to a successful transition from high school to college is to anticipate and be prepared for the differences between the two settings. This is especially true for students with disabilities. In addition to dealing with the same transition issues that all students face, they also have the added challenge of changes in how support services are requested and arranged. In college, students must play a more active role and assume more responsibility. Because you will probably be over 18 years old in college, you will be treated like an adult. This is because you will be an adult. As an adult, you will have to make sure you do what you’re supposed to do, you will be responsible for the way you live, and you will have to meet greater expectations from others. Generally, there are fewer rules and regulations imposed by others in college. You will be expected to make and stick to your own schedule, as well as keep up on all your work. Professors expect you to be in class to learn. And whether or not you learn is your responsibility. Many students, after a brief period of adjustment, will settle into a balanced lifestyle of work and play. Those who don’t usually do not make it through their first year. In college, you will take on more responsibility for your decision, actions, and lifestyle. This is part of being on your own. Professors and administrators will probably not give you a hard time about your clothes, your hair, or your general behavior. But do be prepared to be held accountable for your behavior. There is no one to blame for not waking up on time, not eating properly, or not washing your clothes. People will expect more of you and expect you to develop in your own unique way in college. In high school, you are often expected to behave or perform to a minimum standard. Some people will expect you to go beyond minimal performance in college, so you can grow and develop as a person. You will also begin to realize what a great effect you can have – both positive and negative – on yourself, on others, and on the world around you. This can be both exciting and frightening. In college, you will be free to explore numerous paths and interests that were simply not open to you in high school. There are more foreign languages, arts, and sciences offered in college. Subjects like philosophy and religion are also taught at college but probably not in high school. Some subjects are taught differently in college. In high school, for instance, history may have been mainly names, dates, and places. You had to memorize facts and figures. In college, those facts are not nearly as important as why certain events and actions happened. In college English, less time may be spent on grammar and spelling (it is assumed you have mastered these) and more on writing creatively and criticizing literature. Many classes will be organized differently from the traditional high school lecture class. Some will be big lecture classes followed by small discussion groups. Some professors will have you read books, write papers, and discuss both in class. You may even have the chance to read independently with a professor or design your own research projects. Grading will be different, too. In some classes, you will have nothing but essay tests. In other, your entire grade will be determined by a single large paper or project. You may even have classes in which a group project is the primary grade. High school is a place you go to seven or eight hours a day, less than half the days of the year. Many colleges are set up to be your home – you will eat and sleep there, spend time off there, make new friends there, even do your laundry there. Therefore, chances are good that college will have an even greater effect on you than high school did. In fact, it will be a time in your life like no other.

The Quality Gurus

The Quality Gurus The six Quality Gurus I have chosen to write about are Dr. Joseph Juran, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Philip Crosby, Dr. Shigeo Shingo, Dr. Genichi Taguchi and Dr. Kaora Ishikawa. All of these people have made significant contributions to improving businesses, healthcare organizations, governments and countless other organizations. A guru is a good, wise person and a teacher above all else. This is coupled with these people with an approach to quality in business and life that has made a major and lasting effect on the way people of all types of businesses run their organizations. Dr. Joseph Juran Joseph Juran was born in Romania in 1904 but he moved to America when he was 8 years old. From the beginning of his career Juran worked in the quality profession. In 1951 he published his most recognised book â€Å"Juran’s Quality Control Handbook†. In 1952 he was invited to Japan to give some top level executive seminars which had a powerful and long lasting effect on Japanese businesses. Juran specialised in managing for quality. One of Juran’s main philosophies was his famous â€Å"Quality Trilogy†. This trilogy is composed of three managerial processes; planning, control and improvement. Quality planning is composed of establishing quality goals, identifying the customer, determining the customer’s needs, developing processes that are able to produce products that respond to customer’s needs, establishing process controls and transferring them to the operating forces. Quality control consists of evaluating actual quality performance, comparing this to performance goals, and trying to resolve the differences. Quality improvement encompasses establishing the infrastructure needed quality improvement, identifying the improvement projects, establishing a project team and providing the team with the resources training and motivation needed to implement the improvements. Joseph Juran came up with the ten steps to quality improvement 1)Build awareness of the need to improve 2)Set goals for that improvement 3)Create plans to reach the goals 4)Provide training 5)Conduct projects to solve problems )Report on progress 7)Give recognition for success 8)Communicate results 9)Keep score 10)Maintain momentum Juran has a practical approach to quality. His goal is to reduce the cost of quality. He identifies four costs associated with quality. These are internal costs (defects found before shipping), external costs (defects found after shipping), appraisal costs (inspection, compliance auditing and investigations) and prevention costs (stopping defects occurring in the first place). Juran believes that management should reduce these internal and external defect costs to the point where costs incurred from extra appraisal and prevention measurses would not be covered by the savings from reduced defects. Juran believes that this will reduce the cost of quality to the minimum without imposing unrealistic goals of zero defects. Dr. W. Edwards Deming W. Edwards Deming was born in America in 1900. He is best remembered for his work in Japan where he taught statistical methods to Japanese management to help them to improve the quality of their products. He is widely regarded as the person who played a major part in revolutionising Japanese quality systems. Deming worked closely with Ford in Japan and his systematic approach to quality brought such huge improvements in quality that soon Fords that were produced in Japan were in much higher demand than US built Fords, even though they were producing identical products. Deming later went on to be an industry consult throughout the word until his death at the age of 93. Deming believed that management were responsible for over 90% of quality problems and so he placed great importance on management. He came up with the 7 deadly diseases which he believed significantly contributed to a lack of quality. These â€Å"diseases† were short term planning promoting fear in the workplace, overly focusing on profits and figures, and excessive costs. To counter act these 7 diseases Deming developed the 14 points for managing which has since been studied and followed the world over. 1)To create a consistency of purpose towards improvement. 2)Learn and adopt the new philosophy. 3)Design and build in quality so as to cease dependence on inspection. 4)Minimise costs through better quality. )Continuously improve production systems through management. 6)More on the training for employees will decrease defects. 7)Show management and supervisors to be leaders. 8)Reduce levels of fear amongst employees so that everyone can contribute effectively. 9)Encourage cooperation and communication between different ares. 10)Eliminate slogans that are based solely at the workforce and targets that ask for unrealistic levels of defects and productivity. 11)Increase supervisors focus to quality rather than quantity. Foster greater employee pride in their work. 2)Get rid of barriers that don’t foster management pride in the workplace. 13)Bring in programmes for self improvement. 14)Get everybody in the organisation to work from top to bottom to accomplish the transformation. Deming developed the Deming Cycle or the PDCA(plan, do, check, act,) cycle. This is a systematic approach to problem solving with the idea being to constantly improve. The cycle is about learning what works and what doesn’t work and then repeating the cycle all over again. This also encourages improvements in small increments which gives employees time in accept it and support it. Demings approach to quality was very customer focused. Anything that does not add value for the customer is not a quality feature. Deming sees everyone involved in building the product as a supplier, a process and a customer. Perhaps his greatest contribution was to show the importance of culture and employee attitudes when trying to create a quality based organisation. Dr. Shigeo Shingo Shigeo Shingo was born in Japan in 1909. He qualified as an industrial engineer and went on to become one the leading experts on improving manufacturing processes. He is best known for his work with Toyota where he developed his just- in- time (JIT) manufacturing methods. He was the inventor of the single minute exchange of die (SMED) system which drastically reduced set up times. He is perhaps best known for inventing the Poka-Yoke system (Mistake proofing system). In poka-yoke Shingo makes the distinction between errors and defects. Poka-yoke tries to stop errors becoming defects. In poka-yoke process are stopped as soon as errors occur. The source of the error is then identified and steps are put in place so that the error does not happen again. With this mistake proofing system Shingo strives to reach zero quality control where mistakes are eliminated completely. Poka-yoke also introduces check lists as Shingo believes that it is inevitable that humans will forget things and make mistakes. Shingo’s single minute exchange of die is a process that allows quick changeover between products. This allows a huge reduction in set up times which allows for production of small batches of products with very little disruption. Shingo’s JIT production keeps companies inventory levels low by only producing what the customer wants when they want it. This greatly helped companies to reduce costs associated with inventories. In my workplace in a medical device company there are signs of Shigeo Shingo’s influence everywhere. Shingo’s poka-yoke system is used on the manufacturing line to prevent errors from reoccurring. Defects are examined at the point of the defect and the source of the defect is determined. Preventative action is then put in place if possible to prevent this same defect occurring again. Check lists are put in place at every point of work to prevent mistakes from occurring. SMED systems are also used widely in my work. Materials, machines and process are kept as similar as possible so as to reduce set up times so that we can produce big or small batches with minimal disruption. Philip Crosby Philip Crosby was born in Florida in 1926. He was the quality control manager at the Martin Company, Florida which is where he initiated his zero defects program. Crosby had an aim to change the attitude of top level management about quality. He made quality more measurable as a cost and in doing so he could show the true expense of doing things wrong. Crosby’s most famous concepts were his â€Å"zero defects† and â€Å"quality is free† concepts. These theories were backed up by Crosby’s Four Absolutes of Quality Management. 1)Quality means conformance to requirements 2)Prevention, rather than appraisal should be the system for achieving quality 3)Zero defects should be the standard of conformance 4)Quality should be measured by the cost of non conformance. These Four Absolutes of Quality Management are supported by Crosby’s 14 steps of quality improvement. These steps are there to show that management is committed to quality. There should be quality improvement teams put in place to determine where problems lie. The cost of quality should be evaluated and awareness of quality should be heightened. Corrective action should be put in place and the situation should be monitored. Encourage individual improvement and get employees more involved in quality feedback. People who actively participate in quality improvement should be recognised. These steps should be continuously enforced to show that quality is never ending. Crosby introduced the â€Å"Crosby Vaccine † as a preventative measure for poor quality for management. It is split into 5 sections which covers TQM. These sections are Integrity, Systems, Communication, Operations and Pride. In my work in the medical device industry I can see the influence of Philip Crosby. The four absolutes of quality management are enforced every day. Conformance to requirements is of the foremost importance on the production line. Steps are enforced to prevent mistakes from happening reather than dealing with them when they happen. There is a policy of zero defects which the company tries to communicate to the employees. As we as all this I can see that the company makes huge efforts to get all employees involved in making suggestions to improve quality throughout the company by introducing schemes such as the â€Å"My Ideas† scheme. Here, employees can submit ideas on how to improve quality and they can be rewarded and acknowledged for their efforts. Dr. Genichi Taguchi Genichi Taguchi was born in Japan in 1924. Taguchi used statistics to improve the quality of manufactured goods. Taguchi emphasises putting the quality back into the design of products before they are manufactured. He believes that products should be robust. Taguchi breaks down design into three phases, system design, parameter design and tolerance design. This allows designers to find the optimum settings to produce a product that can survive manufacturing every time and produce products that always conform to specification. The system design is basically the idea of the design, deciding what you want it to be able to do. The parameter design is where nominal values are defined for parameters so as to minimise variation in manufacturing. The tolerance design shows the effect that the parameters have on the products performance. Taguchi also introduced many different methods for analysing results of experiments such as â€Å"analyses of variance† and â€Å"minute analyses†. Although some of Taguchi’s statistical methods are disputed, he has been very influential in improving manufacturing quality worldwide. Dr. Kaora Ishikawa Kaoru Ishikawa was born in Japan in 1915. He is best known for the cause and effect diagram that is used in the analyses of industrial processes. Ishikawa believes that all employees have a greater role to play and without this we are limiting the potential for improvement. Ishikawa introduced â€Å"quality circles† and had a big emphasis on the †internal customer. † References: http://0-web. ebscohost. com. library. itsligo. ie – A Framework for Comparison, Ghobadian, Abby, Speller, Simon http://www. businessballs. com/dtiresources/quality_management_gurus_theories. pdf -The Original Quality Gurus, DTI. gov. uk http://www. enotes. com/management-encyclopedia/quality-gurus -Encyclopedia of Management, Mildred Golden Pryor http://www. qualitygurus. com http://www. skymark. com -W. Edwards Deming – The Father of Quality Evolution

Chicken run Essay

Executive summary: 1998, Excel Poultry & Meat Sdn Bhd (EPM) was a SME located in Kluang, Johor, operating business of chicken farming and supplying chicken throughout Malaysia. This subsidiary of PCK holding since 2005 was managed by Encik Selamat, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). It became one of top 5 chicken suppliers within mid-tier producers in the country due to increasing demand in year 2000 from superstores and fast-food chains, high chicken consumption by Malaysian, and expansion of chicken industry. However, in 2008, cost of poultry production increased. EPM operating cash was low and severe, that it â€Å"had puzzled Encik Selamat† (p. 4). Other problems were also identified. Decision Maker: Credit Controller Ms Choy is the decision maker as she has the responsibility to make the right decision regarding unethical conduct of Encik Selamat, she can convince Board of Directors about En. Selamat. If she failed to convince BOD to take action, she can then reveal the issue to the auditor, besides mentioning to the auditor the lack of segregation of duty in the business operation. She can execute and monitor implementation and performance of employees under her responsibility and convince her friend, Puan Azura to do the same. What should Ms. Choy do? Analysis: 1) SWOT analysis S – STRENGTHS | W – WEAKNESSES | * One of top 5 chicken suppliers * Continuing profitability and growth * Good promotional strategy * Qualified accountant (Encik Kasim) * Reliable Credit Controller (Ms Choy) * Encik Selamat’s reputation in community| * En. Selamat’s lack of expertise in poultry and meat industry * 2008’s operational crisis * Lack of focus of business operation * Cash flow issue * Conflict of interest * Possible error/ fraud/fictitious transaction * En. Selamat’s connection | O – OPPORTUNITIES | T – THREATS | * Malaysians’ highest consumption rates * Popular quick-service restaurants * East Coast Economics Region (ECER) * Emerging of giant superstores * Institutional retailing| * Production cost had risen about 56. 5% * Drop in demand * Credit limit of Cold Gold| The company has strong position in the industry as it is one of top 5 chicken suppliers. This means that EPM has a big portion of the market share in the industry. EPM also is strong for its sustained profit and growth. EPM had been able to maintain its operations and started making profit since the buoyant demand of chicken consumption. Besides, with initial capital of RM3. 6 million and starting with 20 employees, now, EPM had more than 200 employees. Occupied with good promotional strategy, EPM’s management team seized every opportunity in the industry. Moreover, EPM has capable key employees, which two of them are a qualified accountant, Encik Kasim and a reliable Credit Controller, Ms Choy. These employees contribute significantly towards the operation of EPM especially in the finance sector. In addition, Encik Selamat’s reputation in community is a strong influence of EPM towards the society where EPM was based. He was a public figure that will be contested in the local city council. En. Selamat’s lack of expertise in poultry and meat industry contributed a negative element in EPM as En. Selamat need to gain skills and expertise in the industry. Even though he was especially worried about the current unfavorable condition of EPM, his experience in this industry may not be sufficient. Besides, 2008’s operational crisis of EPM placed En. Selamat away from a smooth career track as recorded before 2008. EPM was lack of focus of business operation as it was at the infant stage and yet to mature in a proper method of management. Next, within EPM, there was cash flow issue and the company had to resort to short term borrowing which subjected to higher interest payment obligations. There was conflict of interest between Encik Selamat’s personal deal with Encik Azman, former college mate which was one of the executive of Cold Gold and the company’s interest. Cold Gold was one of EPM’s major customers. This relationship may impair En. Selamat’s judgment. In EPM, a few possible error/ fraud/fictitious transactions were detected, especially the irregularities in debtors’ account. The symptoms lead to a conclusion that it was caused by the former employee of EPM, En. Munir. Another factor that can be considered as EPM’s weakness point is En. Selamat’s connection with parent company of EPM, PCK Holding, where En. Selamat might be able to secure his position in EPM despite the problem he created without facing any punishment. The industry is in quite a potential market where Malaysians’ highest consumption rates of poultry and meat product. Malaysia was having one of the highest per capita consumption rates in the world – for chicken (32. 5 kg) and eggs (298 units) – and there were no dietary prohibitions (during these years) and religious restrictions against chicken consumption. In addition to household and traditional delicacies demand, the surge of popular quick-service restaurants from outside Malaysia and home-grown fast food chains intensified the market. Besides being the recognized poultry exporter, the industry was supported by the government through the East Coast Economics Region (ECER) as the poultry sector was part of the plan. Emerging of giant superstores and institutional retailing also enhanced the bright future of the industry. Despite the favorable situations in the market, EPM faced threat of chicken feed which resulting the production cost to rise about 56. 5%. Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia (FLFAM) made a call for higher chicken prices in order to protect producers’ earning in the face of feed cost hike. However, when the sellers did increase the retail price, some producers complained that they seen a drop in demand. Another threat was the credit limit of Cold Gold Sdn Bhd which had exceeded its level. This has significant effect to the company as Cold Gold is one of EPM’s major customers multiplied with the other issues faced by EPM. Increment in production cost Drop in demand Low cash flow High interest expense INABILITY TO PREDICT ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE & FORCAST CONSEQUENCES: LACK OF COORDINATION IN CONTROL AND REPORTING: Credit limit control Debtor confirmation Misstatement Lack of segregation of duty LACK OF COMMITMENT FROM SENIOR MANAGEMENT: Lack of expertise Lack of focus Conflict of interest Unethical behavior Reluctance in taking action LOW PERFORMANCE 2) Fishbone diagram According to Peter Drucker, â€Å"management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things†. Thus, the major issue in this case is unorganized management which leads to bad performance of the company. EPM faced problem as it fails to get commitment from senior management. As a leader, Encik Selamat was lacking of expertise in poultry industry, actively involved in social and community work instead of focusing more on business operation like, had conflict of interest (agency problem) while handling credit limit issue, and had under table deal with the client. Director himself had shown lack of leadership skill and ethical awareness as he kept silent regarding the unethical behavior of Encik Selamat and had more concern on reputation than ethical conduct. Besides, management of EPM is lacking of coordination in control and reporting. This can be seen from the severity of insufficient cash flow which was noticed only when significant borrowings had been made, high expenses, and loss incurred. Lack of segregation of duty also had given wide opportunity for misstatement by employees. Finally, EPM fails to predict environmental change regarding cost of production that leads to low profit making as EMP did not make any preparation or back-up plan to overcome such problems. 3) Financial Evidence on the operation of EPM: Financial Ratio Ratio| Formula| 2006| 2007| 2008| Interpretation| GP ratio (%)| (GP/Sales)*100| 5. 4845| 1. 6542| 1. 0814| Due to increment in COGS, EPM is profiting only 1 cent for every dollar of product sold in 2008| Inventory turnover ratio| COGS/Inventory| 16. 6774| 36. 0667| 28. 4962| EPM is turning over its inventory on average, 3 times per month in 2007 while this reduces to twice per month in 2008. | AR turnover ratio| Net sales/AR| 4. 3071| 3. 3957| 2. 8808| EPM takes around 3 months to collect its debt in 2006, while it takes more than 4 months in 2008. | Days to collect AR| 365/AR turnover ratio| 84. 7441| 107. 49| 126. 702| | Description of case exhibit (Account abstract): %Increase| 06to07| In 2007, cost increased while revenue did not increase much, and operating loss was recorded as retail price was only increased in August 2008. Thus, increment of revenue from in 2008 by 36. 16% corresponds with increment in cost in that year. Expenses took 30% of operating profit in 2006 while it took almost twice the operating profit in 2008. This might be due to interest payment made for short-term borrowing. Increment in trade receivable may not be the true amount as there were cases of misstatement. Stock in 2008 was higher due to lower demand. 07to08| Rev| 0. 57| 36. 16| COGS| 4. 64| 36. 95| Oper profit| -69. 67| -10. 99| Exp| 37. 50| 45. 45| Net| -108. 64| -315. 79| Trade rec| 27. 56| 60. 49| Stock| -51. 61| 73. 33| Trade cr| 62. 16| 50. 00| Alternatives available to the protagonist: Option 1: Ms. Choy can choose not to disclose the issues that she managed to investigate within EPM. This will benefit in saving the reputation of the company in public as well as the General Manager, Encik Selamat to secure his reputation in the coming city council election. Besides, Ms. Choy can justify her action of not bringing the matter up as Encik Selamat is an important staff of EPM and she had done her part by approaching one of the directors who was reluctant to take action against Encik Selamat. The drawbacks of this choice are ethical aspect and long term impact towards the company as a whole. Choosing not to disclose the facts is an unethical behavior on Ms Choy’s part. As for the long term, the public will find out the reality of the company as time goes because the auditors are likely to question the irregularities and Ms Choy will be interrogated. In the end, the company, En Selamat and Ms Choy need to face the huge impact of being nontransparent to the stakeholders. Option 2: Ms Choy has the right to disclose her findings straight to the external auditors as she has no direct authority to take any action towards the misappropriate culture in the company as well as the director which she had approached was hesitated to do so. By this, Ms Choy’s responsibility to report to public is passed to auditors and the problem is most likely will be solved. However, this aggressive decision will affect EPM severely in terms of drop in share price and reputation. Besides, the share price of the parent company will be affected too and the dropping trend will continue for a long time. Furthermore, the reputation of Encik Selamat will be highlighted by the public and media, subsequent of the auditors’ disclosure. Option 3: Ms Choy can opt to disclose the matter internally to the board of directors. Besides, she had found evidences to support her claims about the low performance of EPM. The benefit that EPM will gain from her disclosure is to ratify the problem before the auditors’ visit the following month. If the auditor is not satisfied with EPM’s condition, justification of ratification can be made and EPM will not be punished with qualified financial reports, which is not favorable. This decision may result in impairment of EPM’s and PCK’s reputation and share prices but the impact will be lower than the second option above. Recommendation and action plan: Based on analysis above, it is recommended for Ms Choy to choose Option 3 which is to disclose the matter internally to the board of directors. Suggested steps to follow are: 1. Bring the matter with sufficient evidences and justifications together with possible solution to board of directors 2. Check whether EPM has a written guideline relating to these issues and take proper actions against these issues (e. g. salary cut, not giving bonus etc. ) 3. If no written guideline is established, in case to avoid similar situation in the future, Ms. Choy should suggest for EPM to; a. Set up and appoint an independent committees of directors to monitor the performance and compensation of staffs b. Establish policies for clear ethical conducts, job scopes and management of EPM especially to solve ethical and agency problems c. Establish a whistle-blowing policies to encourage staffs to report any irregularities d. Communicate and implement guidelines and policies across levels of management, and absorb them as the EPM’s corporate culture to be shared within the organization.