When The World Stands Out, Aspire To Be Outstanding

We are all different. We view things from different perspectives. What one person acknowledges as the truth may not be accepted by others. There exists a plethora of interpretations, which are rooted on the fact that people come from varying backgrounds – politically, socially and culturally. These differences allows people to be unique in there own ways. The world is divided, geologically speaking. As such, people grew up in societies that have dissimilar and often conflicting views on a number of things. I was born in Bangkok. The place that I first called my home is a bustling city.Being the capital of Thailand, most efforts in relation to economic development are concentrated there. It dominates the country’s economy. Unfortunately, the continued development of Bangkok results to the neglect of other urban centers. This makes the disparity in wealth distribution more intense. Despite the developed faà §ade of the city, the truth that there is inequality still linge rs. Growing up in a country like Thailand, where people from neighboring countries come to work, I have learned to accept the fact that the things I believe in is not always the same as the things that the people around me agree to.Confrontation is not always the best solution. If I keep on asserting my own views upon others, I know that we won’t come to an agreement. It is best to base my judgment on respect and not animosity. It is in this line of thinking that I gained the courage to speak out, even though, I know that others won’t agree with me. Deep inside I am hoping that they would respect my opinion regardless of my political, social and cultural viewpoints since I do the same to them. The other reason why I choose to go against the grain, sometimes, is due to the fact that I would like to create a better future for myself, my family and my community.I have seen both the glittering and rusty covered side of life when I was in Bangkok. I know that I can do bette r if I work hard and believe in own capabilities. I also know that I can a difference in the world in the same way that the world affects me. When the odds are against me, I try to remember that I am more fortunate than others because I am able to exercise some of my rights especially my right to education. I am thankful for what I have now that is why I work hard to show how much I appreciate them. Once again, I can say that I draw my strength from my family and community.

Cunegonde and Madame Essay

Our policy at SMARTHINKING is not to correct or edit student writing. Working from higher- to lower-order concerns, we offer teaching points and, on a limited basis, model potential revisions. We know that we cannot deal with every question, problem, or error in a paper, so we prioritize our time accordingly. 2. In this tutoring simulation, you should provide revision advice to the following sample student essay. This student is responding to a literary analysis assignment. Please read the â€Å"Writer Submission Form† (below) and respond to the essay in approximately 30 MINUTES. 3. Please make substantive comments about higher order concerns (e. g. , strengths, thesis, development, organization) in the tutor response form that follows the essay. Provide feedback for â€Å"Strengths of the Paper,† 3 of the 9 â€Å"Points† (areas of assistance), and â€Å"Summary of Next Steps. † 4. Please embed in the body of the student’s essay approximately five comments about some of the major higher-order and lower-order concerns (e. g. , grammar and mechanics) you noted in the essay. Please embed these comments [in bold and brackets]. 5. At the end of each simulation, please log your time for completing each tutorial. Writer Submission Form Name: Bob King Instructor: Professor Hart Department: English Course: English: 200 BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE ASSIGNMENT Write an analytical essay (3-4 pages in length). You are to analyze the argument of any work read in Module1 and relate it to the idea of the progress of humanity. Then, restate the work’s thesis and explain how that thesis is argued and with what evidence it is supported. You must analyze the position defended in the work and offer your own judgment on it. WHAT HELP DO YOU WANT FROM YOUR OWL TUTOR? Hi – I need a lot of help with my main idea. And I need to expand my paper a lot. Basically, I want to say that women hampered men in Candide because when men fall in love it causes problems. I don’t really know if I am answering the question or not – the whole thing sort of confuses me. I don’t know if my argument is clear – please help with that. And please help me expand my paper. I need to get to 4 pages – and I don’t know how to make it longer. I think this whole assignment is really pretty stupid. And my teacher is so picky. So, I just need general help. Voltaire’s Men and Women In Candidate, a satire written by Voltaire, women hampered the progress of men. Their love for women cause men their hardships. Cunegonde and Madame de Parolignac impeded Candide and Paquette plagued Pangloss. An example of women impeding mens’ progress is seen when Candid’s yearning for Miss Cunegonde leads to a kiss between the two. The result of this kiss was Candide being kicked out of his home, thus, beginning his hardships. [It would be better if you added a signal phrase before your quotations and broke them down. However, if you want to use an entire block quotation, you should indent the entire quotation like so:] â€Å"Candide, ejected from the earthly paradise, wandered for a long time without knowing where he was going, weeping. raising his eyes to heaven, and gazing back frequently on the most beautiful of castles which contained the most beautiful of Baron’s daughter. † (Voltaire 3) Pangloss, like Candide, experienced several misfortunes because of his being sexually attracted to women, namely one women [woman, singular, don’t forget to proofread your work] Paquette. She used her charm and sex appeal to attract Pangloss. Sex with Paquette contaminated Pangloss with a societal disease which led him to become disfigured, losing an eye and the tip of his nose. â€Å"In her arms I tasted the delights of paradise, which directly caused these torments of hell, from which I am now suffering† (V-8). [I am assuming you are using MLA in-text citation, this is incorrect, either maintain the name-page format or just use the page for subsequent citations. i. e. just (8)] Candide was also attracted to other women besides Cunegonde who caused him to digress [Digress from what? You should rethink your word choices. ] One of these women was Madame de Parolignac. After Candide returned from Eldorado where he had attained wealth, he met Madaem de Parolignac and was sexually attracted to her. Madame de Parolignac on the other hand was attracted to Candide’s diamonds and she used sex to persuade them into her ownership. â€Å"the beauty who had seen two enormous diamonds on the two hands of her young friend, praised them so sincerely that from the fingers of Candide they passed over to the fingers of the marquise. † (V-53) Women have caused men to compromise their homes, money, and health as is the case with Candide and Pangloss for loving them thus causing impeding upon men’s progress, especially that of Candide and Pangloss. [This is rather redundant. You should make a short conclusion regarding the work first, restating your thesis, then expand into the larger context of â€Å"men† in general] TUTOR RESPONSE FORM Hi (writer’s name). I’ve read your paper and here are some points you might want to think about as you revise your paper. STRENGTHS OF THE PAPER: You are headed in the right direction. You have isolated your thesis; you stated that the theme in Voltaire’s work is that women impede the progress of men and make them miserable. This is a good starting point. You also have a good grasp of the content of the reference text from what I can see because you have many good examples to further your point. POINTS TO THINK ABOUT AS YOU REVISE YOUR PAPER [Tutor: Choose 3]: Main idea/Thesis – You have only answered one of the prompts in the assignment. First, you should state the main idea in the reference work and its significance to humanity; in this case, for example, the significance is that the superficial battle of the sexes hinders progress. Then, you state how this main idea was supported; this is when you bring out your excellent examples from the text. Next, you have to give your own judgment on the matter; whether you agree or disagree with what Voltaire was trying to say with his work. Although you have a solid enough thesis, it is rather one-dimensional, so this part is where you get to expand that idea and give your own input. One example is that instead of focusing on how the mere presence of the women ruined these men, you could discuss how the men allowed themselves to be so easily manipulated by the women. Another suggestion is to give a lesson one can take away from the work, something like how if men and women cease trying to manipulate each other all the time, such sexuality-based degradation of society could be avoided. Quotations -As I have noted in your draft, your quotations need a little work. You should review your formatting guidelines when it comes to in-text citation, especially subsequent citations of the same work. Furthermore, while your quotations are well chosen, it is not a very good idea to just place them in your work without much context. Not only is it unattractive, it disrupts the flow of your paper. It is best to add a signal phrase before the quotation, such as: Regarding his affliction, Pangloss said â€Å"†¦.. † The more seamlessly you can integrate your quotes (remember, it has to make sense), the better. A good idea is to paraphrase the quotes and add just the vital part into your sentence. Introduction/Conclusion -Your introduction needs to be extended. You should introduce the work you are discussing, give a little background information on it. Assume that the reader is only vaguely familiar with the work; so, in the introduction, you can give a summary of the satire. To extend this even more, you can save the summary for the second paragraph of the paper and begin the introduction with a tangential discussion of the age-old battle of the sexes such as common opinions, implications, etc. before leading to Voltaire’s work and idea. After you state your understanding of Voltaire’s piece, you should try to integrate your opinion into your thesis statement. Whichever way you decide, the thesis of your paper should be clearly recognizable in your introduction. As for your conclusion, you should briefly and clearly restate your thesis and your most significant points. You can end with a generalization of the implications of the work such as an answer to â€Å"Now that you are aware of the problem stated in the work, what can you do about it? † Summary of next steps (E-structor: let student know what he/she should consider when revising this essay. ) Your main problem is that you are having trouble extending the paper to 4 pages. However, since you have only answered one of the questions in the prompt, answering all the other questions will no doubt help you reach your goal. Remember: Voltaire’s main idea, its significance to humanity, how it was supported in the text (citations), and what you think about it (yay or nay? ) and why. Format your introduction and conclusion better; you start by easing your reader to better accept your ideas and you end by wrapping up your major points and giving your reader something to think about. Lastly, do not forget to proofread your paper, I have found some errors regarding word choice as well as the errors regarding the in-text citations. You are on the right track, you just need to explore your original ideas a little further, and form an opinion on the subject. Completion Time: Simulation B Directions 1. Our policy at SMARTHINKING is not to correct or edit student writing. Working from higher- to lower-order concerns, we offer teaching points and, on a limited basis, model potential revisions. We know that we cannot deal with every question, problem, or error in a paper, so we prioritize our time accordingly. 2. In this tutoring simulation, you should provide revision advice to the following sample student essay. This student is responding to a prompt to write about how computers affect students and teachers, based on classroom discussions and homework readings. Please read the â€Å"Writer Submission Form† (below) and respond to the essay in approximately 30 MINUTES. 3. Please make substantive comments about higher order concerns (e. g. , strengths, thesis, development, organization) in the tutor response form that follows the essay. Provide feedback for â€Å"Strengths of the Paper,† 3 of the 9 â€Å"Points† (areas of assistance), and â€Å"Summary of Next Steps. † 4. Please embed in the body of the student’s essay approximately five comments about some of the major higher-order and lower-order concerns (e. g. , grammar and mechanics) you noted in the essay. Please embed these comments [in bold and brackets]. 5. At the end of each simulation, please log your time for completing each tutorial. Writer Submission Form Name: Ana Nasif Instructor: Professor Lynn Department: English Course: ESOL 052 Due: 1 week BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE ASSIGNMENT In the past two weeks, we have read and discussed three articles that presented very favorable views of how computers can be used in education. Now think about the readings, and about your own experiences and observations, and write an essay that suggests some ways in which the use of computers can create problems for teachers and students. Your essay must follow the plan presented in the handout â€Å"Form for an Essay. † To achieve the complexity of thought expected in ESOL 052, your body paragraphs will probably have to contain seven or eight sentences each. All essays must be typed and double-spaced. WHAT HELP DO YOU WANT FROM YOUR OWL TUTOR? Please help me be sure that my papers is written the way my teacher is asking. Do I have complex thoughts? Are my paragraphs full enough. Is my English ok? ESOL 052 PAPER 3 Ana Nasif ESOL 052 16 April, 2001 COMPUTER’S PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION Computers, wonderful invention, are creating problems now. [Please proofread your paper, most of your sentences have grammar problems. Like this first one, the main problem is that they are not complete sentences] Computers are causing problems in education because of their use in different ways: un-even use, use of computer games, use of the internet. Computers are useful and advanced technology of this century, but they are producing three main problems in the field of education. The most important problem is the gap between the educational standard of students. Another problem is that computers have diverted the mind of children and young people. The other problem is the danger of no colleges or schools in the future. In this essay I will discuss these problems, and suggest how they can be solved. [You need a stronger thesis, try to incorporate all three points into one main thesis. Such as â€Å"Despite the many advantages of computers, three main problems in the field of education can be attributed to computer use: creating an educational gap between students, diverting the minds of young people, and causing actual schools to become obsolete in the future. â€Å"] As the education by computers is not available to all students of cities and towns, so it creates a gap of achievement between students of the same country. The problem in not only at the schools, but also at the colleges and universities. Students of small colleges do not have the facility of computers [Do you mean they do not have the funding to have good computer facilities? Again, awkward word choices. ], so they face difficulties in their study. However, the students having the access of computers can get reliable information about their subjects easily. When the students appear in any competitive test or examination, the difference creates a big problem for them. Blind and visually impaired students are unable to use a computer without a special equipment. The equipment is expensive and everyone cannot afford it. It may be creating a sense of inferiority complex. Computerized video games are very popular among the children and young people now. They play these games for several hours in a week, so wasting their valuable time. Because of the intensive interest they do not pay full attention to their study. They cannot concentrate well at schools or colleges, so their ability, test scores and grades are gradually decreasing. As they became less active, so they are not physically fit as other of the same age few decades before. Some colleges are providing few courses to their students at homes on the internet now. There is a prediction of no colleges, universities and no more schools in the next century. It is the fact that the first school of child is his/her home, but the education of a school is mandatory. Computers cannot solve the basic problems of the students at schools. In school, besides the better education students also learn social ways of life: work in groups, manners of communication, participate with other fellows, and various rules and regulations. These things help them in the practical life. The teaching of students accomplished in years. I suggest that these problems can be solved with great efforts. [Word choice problem. In this context, i think you mean â€Å"effort† not efforts. Such as when when you mean schoolwork, you should use â€Å"their studies† instead of â€Å"their study†] The use of computers in education should be equal to all students. The students should be motivated toward their study and advised to play for the short time after completing their homework. I also suggest that parents should supervise their young children, who are watching program on the internet, because it provides a wide range of program on crimes and sex. In my view a school or college education is more helpful for students, as their difficulties of various subjects cannot be solved at homes. [End with a good conclusion that restates your thesis and wraps up your main points. You could add a comment on how people should consider the disadvantages as well as the advantages of excessive computer use. ] TUTOR RESPONSE FORM Hi (writer’s name). I’ve read your paper and here are some points you might want to think about as you revise your paper. STRENGTHS OF THE PAPER: You make some good points in your paper. Your three main disadvantages are valid and they do answer the prompt given by your teacher. Your basic structure is solid; introduction with thesis, the three different disadvantages in separate paragraphs, conclusion. POINTS TO THINK ABOUT AS YOU REVISE YOUR PAPER [Tutor: Choose 3]: Paragraph Unity -You make many good points in each of your paragraphs. However, the flow of ideas within each paragraph need some work. Instead of writing an easy-flowing paragraph with a single idea, your paragraphs seem like you are simply checking off different ideas from a list and putting them together in paragraph form. Each sentence in a paragraph should relate to the one before it and the one after it; they should flow. For each of the body paragraphs, you should start with a topic statement, follow with supporting statements, and conclude. If you have many different ideas, it is best to actually list them out, using words like â€Å"first, secondly, furthermore, also, lastly. † You could also make use of transition words such as â€Å"However, in contrast, whereas, etc. † for related but contrasting ideas. Transitions -I noticed that you did not try to ease the transitions between your paragraphs. Your essay should flow freely and not jump from one idea to another. Because you deal with three different ideas for each of your essays, one thing you can do is start each paragraph by stating the disadvantage the paragraph is talking about. For example: 2nd paragraph, â€Å"Because computers can be very helpful when applied to education, an imbalance is created between those who can afford to use computers in their studies and those who cannot†; 3rd paragraph, â€Å"Next, because computers offer so much in the realm of entertainment beside school help, they could become great distractions instead of being great helps†; 4th paragraph, â€Å"Lastly, with the rise of computer use and online courses, traditional schools may disappear someday. † These are just suggestions, but each sentence introduces the new topic as a continuation of the previous discussion. Sentence Structure -The sentence structures in your paper need some work. Though you do have some grammar issues, the main problem is that your sentences are too awkward. Most of the problem lies in the word choices, such as the use of â€Å"facilities of computers† and â€Å"access of computers† instead of â€Å"computer facilities† and â€Å"computer access,† respectively. You should try to read your sentences aloud and listen to yourself; if some sentences sound halting and awkward, change them. It would be better, however, to consult a writing clinic or have someone to listen to you read your paper. Summary of next steps (E-structor: let student know what he/she should consider when revising this essay. ) The main problems with the essay are the grammar and the sentence construction. However, those are just syntax issues that you can work on as you proofread, whereas the ideas are solid. You need to work on the flow of your ideas. The paragraphs should make sense as your reader moves from one paragraph to another. Within the paragraph, you should work at letting your ideas flow better with each other. They should all make sense together, instead of being just different sentences with related ideas. One thing you can do to make your essay more personal, and to fill in the gaps between different ideas is to add personal insights and experience in the paper. From the prompt, I understand that your experiences as well as your class work and lessons are valid sources. You should draw on these ideas to make your professor know you participate in class. Also, because your introduction is rather awkward, instead of just saying â€Å"Computers, wonderful invention, are creating problems now. † You could begin by saying â€Å"Computers have changed many things in our everyday lives. Many of those changes have been advantageous. For example,†¦ † You can begin with some of the advantages of computer use that you learned in class. Then you can say â€Å"Despite all these advantages of computers, however, the increasing role that computers play in people’s lives also have disadvantages. † Remember, your good ideas will not reach the reader if he is bombarded with too many of them like a list; improve the flow of your essay. Completion Time:

Report about Portugal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Report about Portugal - Essay Example By 868, the First County of Portugal with the Kingdom of Leon had been established. Re-conquest of the Christian kingdoms began by the 11th Century, and in the process ‘Portucale’ was declared an independent kingdom by its ruler Afonso Henriques in 1139, and by 1147, Afonso took control of Lisbon. By the 1400’s Portugal had built up a large empire with colonies across the world including Mozambique and Goa (Rough Guides, 2008), and Portugal’s Golden Age reached a peak with the discovery of Brazil in 1500, in which vast amounts of wealth and trade were established in its new colonies. However, by 1580, Spain had invaded Portugal during a succession crisis, and ruled Portugal for the next 60 years. Portugal started to regain independence in 1640, and by 1668 the Spanish vacated the country. Portugal re-established trading routes with Brazil, and its fortunes were restored by the trading in gold from Brazil until 1822, when Brazil declares independence from Po rtugal. Napoleon’s invasion in 1807, combined with the loss of Brazil left Portugal impoverished and divided, until 1910 when a republican revolution overthrew the monarchy. However, the weakness of the economy led to another military coup in 1926 and a long period of dictatorship by Salazar commenced until 1968, in which poverty became widespread and all political opposition was banned. The country became a virtual recluse in the world community until 1974, when the Carnation Revolution ended the dictatorship and restored democracy by 1976. Portugal joined the European Community in 1986 (now known as the European Union (EU)), and enjoyed rapid economic growth and became a key member state in modern Western Europe. In 1999 it was one of the founding countries to adopt the Euro currency. However, the 2008 financial crises resulted in a gross budget deficit in Portugal, and in 2011 it became the third EU country to ask

Technology for the Disabled Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Technology for the Disabled - Essay Example Obtaining information on the Internet, making online reservations to obtain discounts, making a friend is imposable for those who are blind or visually impaired. Adaptive technology can provide a means for those with little or no visions to access online tools and basic computer programs. Computer software can read screens and Braille printers and keyboards and make information usable for the visually impaired. Self-service kiosks are becoming a convenience in the service industries particularly in hotels and airports. Despite the convenience to the customer, self-service kiosks exclude the disabled and are less then convenient for the mobility, visually, and hearing impaired. Technology has made great strides over the centuries but had left out a large portion of the population in the process. Adaptive technology can make self-service kiosks friendlier and accessible for the disabled, however, the expense of such technology is extensive. â€Å"For example, to make check in kiosks w ork for travelers with visual impairments, the machines would have to undergo a costly retrofit to add a Braille reader or audio prompts†.These adaptations are very expensive and would cut into the companies profit margin extensively causing many companies to fight legislation that could force them to include adaptive technology. Technology makes information more accessible for everyone except the disabled. Web designers fail to consider low-resolution monitors and adaptive technology when designing web sites creating a problem for disabled users. â€Å"Web sites that are not carefully coded can be rendered useless to blind travelers who are using special screen readers to get access†

Do Children Learn Better in Boys-only and Girls-only School Research Paper

Do Children Learn Better in Boys-only and Girls-only School - Research Paper Example According to the essay findings  various arguments have been leveled for and against the reasons for separating boys and girls from learning together and the basis for the arguments are based on opinions rather than facts. It is important to give the opinions for those who reason for separating boys and girls in different learning environments.   One reason, for encouraging separation of the girls and boys during the learning process, is based on the argument of negative morality. Advocates of this thought argue that through separation we are able to bring up a generation of upright and moral individuals.   It is debated that most of the societal evils like fornication begins at very early stage of growth.   By separating boys from girls by taking them to different schools, may to a greater extend lower the cases and encourage a morally upright society.As the discussion highlights  the advocates for the separation of boys and girls claim that at school environment the stude nts are mostly alone, and these situations provide an opportunity for developing morals particularly when boys are mixed with girls. Education should introduce students to different cultures and thought processes that they could not be exposed to otherwise. Achieving the goals of education according to the advocates is actively to develop structures that individually assist the students of various genders but avoid mixing the students during the learning process.

Discuss the stress vulnearability model and the bio-psychosocial Essay

Discuss the stress vulnearability model and the bio-psychosocial approach to the care and treatment of illness - Essay Example These people are also less likely to relapse to stress induced depression and psychoses. This model also illustrates that biological factors play a key in ones vulnerability to stress, such as schizophrenia from a parent, and the persons proneness to developing the same illness due to this predisposing factor. Some physicians are looking into the bio-psychosocial methods in managing stress, since this can develop or mimic certain illnesses depending on an individuals vulnerability to stress. Strategies that are being recommended are altering ones diet and lifestyle changes. (Posen, 1995) A recommendation in keeping a healthy diet and lifestyle increases a persons ability to cope with stress, thus lessening their vulnerability and their likeliness to develop illnesses due to stress. (Posen, 1995) Managing stress also lies within the person himself. Having a healthy lifestyle plays a key role in a persons capability in handling stress. Organic medicine and natural remedies are some ways that people can also try in order to increase their tolerance towards stress (Bashir 2007). Â   Asthma has been one illness that has always been attributed to stress. (Wright, Rodriguez & Cohen, 1998) Because of the impacts of stress on our immune system, our bodies become more prone to viral and bacterial infections that may develop into secondary infections, such as asthma. With the increased work load starting late December of last year, my asthma became unmanageable. The stress of my job manifested itself on my health first with a simple cold, then with flu-like symptoms, then allergy, and the last asthma. Meeting deadlines and not-so-good relations with my boss became stress triggers for me. Patients experience high levels of stress when they are about to undergo a medical procedure. (Arslan 2004). Patients were asked in what phase of

The Effectiveness of Aftercare Services for African American Families Article

The Effectiveness of Aftercare Services for African American Families in an Intensive Family Preservation Program - Article Example Family preservation programs in general tend to focus on prevention of unnecessary placements and future maltreatments. Hence this evaluation study has been an outcome based study program. The study was conducted after evaluation of previous programs in which it was found that treatment programs designed for neglected families have found very little success due to consistent lack of social support. And in particular African American children in particular form a majority in foster care and are less placed compared to their white counter parts. This study was designed to check the effectiveness of a Family Enhancement Program (FEP) established in 1994 that examined the rates of placements and neglect. 2. Identify the research design (e.g., secondary analysis, group design) and the specific sampling design used. Discuss the appropriateness of the design used with respect to internal and external validity. A longitudinal study design was used for the study in which families that were admitted to the FEP program were taken for observation. The reports and placements 1 year prior to the admission of the family up to 1 year following the termination of the final family admitted were considered for the family. As reports pertaining to 1 year before and 1 year after the study program was only considered the validity of study was appropriate. 3. Identify the key variables that were measured. How was each variable operationally defined, and how was each measured? Describe the data sources, data collection procedures, and instruments used. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the measurement method used. The major variables that were considered and measured in the program were placements, neglect, aftercare and other variables. During the time period of the study the placements of children in foster care, family foster care, residential and assessment services and hospital placement were monitored. An episode was considered

The Demonstration of Anthropomorphism using a range of 3D Animation Essay

The Demonstration of Anthropomorphism using a range of 3D Animation Techniques, Evaluating a Range of Tools, Techniques and Methods - Essay Example The revolution in computer technology relative to animation , has immensely changed the face of animation industry. This animation leads to the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects or nonhuman organisms and is generally referred to as called as Anthropomorphism. This anthropomorphism can be demonstrated through the use of various animation tools and techniques including the latest technique of 3D Animation. This project proposes to develop a greater understanding of anthropomorphism and how it is used in the field of animation, also a deeper understanding of how to animate realistic movements, and the steps taken to create animation that is of a professional standard. This leads to the discussion and understanding of a range of suitable techniques, tools and methods that can be employed in the production of such an artefact. All such efforts rely heavily on certain professional animation techniques that are used in portraying a believable message. Much of the concepts related to body language, movement and aesthetics are the controlling factors that instantiate anthropomorphism into a fictional character. To create life like characters , animators must create flawless human-like characteristics which demands thorough understanding of the movement and aesthetics of humans and how these characteristics effect peoples perception of these features. To bring about these effects there has to be a perfect story board design and various animation tools and techniques that render these effects. The important steps in producing a 3D animated shot or animated movie include preparation of digital story board, Modelling, Simulation, Rendering and post production special effects. The above mentioned steps could be accomplished with the aid of special software tools like Autodesk Maya , 3D Studio Max and other rendering and directing tools like Renderman , Diorama, etc. Based on

Describe how Arthur Miller creates Essay Example for Free

Describe how Arthur Miller creates Essay Describe how Arthur Miller creates an exciting climax for both acts of A View from the Bridge' A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, is a play about obsession and betrayal. The main character, Eddie Carbone, becomes overprotective over his niece, Catherine, to the degree of infatuation. This obsession helps to cause the break down of Eddies marriage, as his wife, Beatrice realises the alarming nature of Eddies fixation. Eddies feelings for Catherine existed before Beatrices cousins, Marco and Rodolfo came, but their arrival intensifies the situation, as Eddie becomes more and more jealous of Rodolfo, and of Catherines love for him. This play is a tragedy and, like most tragedies, it is serious and ends with the death of the main character, Eddie. Eddie dies after betraying his wifes cousins to the immigration bureau. As a result, Marco, who is filled with hatred and in need of justice, stabs him. Arthur Miller was a New Yorker who worked on the Brooklyn docks, for a time. His experience of the docks and of the people around them, led him to write this play, which is set there. During this coursework, my aim is to study the ends of the two acts in depth to see what techniques Miller uses to make them dramatically effective. The last scene of act one (from page 39 when Catherine puts paper doll on the phonograph) portrays at first is one of a reasonably happy home but Arthur miller uses a combination of significant action and verbal nuances to show depth of characters and character emotions. The basic events of the scene are Rodolfo and Catherine dancing, Eddie showing Rodolfo how to box, and then Marco, challenging Eddie to lift a chair. These are three main parts of this last scene, which demonstrate symbolic changes in the character relationships, the first two build up to the final conflict between Marco and Eddie, which sets the tone for the second act. The first important section of the scene is the dancing between Rodolfo and Catherine. We see in this scene that Rodolfo feels uncomfortable because of Eddie he Stiffly rises, feeling Eddies eyes on his back this shows that Rodolfo may realise how Eddie feels towards his niece, Rodolfo doesnt want to upset him, we see the way Eddie feels about the dancing in the stage direction EDDIE turns his head away. These few simple actions are very important to the play, they show Eddies feelings and the start or progression of the hatred Eddie feels towards Rodolfo and show a subtle conflict between Eddie and his niece. During we find out about a number of things in more depth, for example our understanding of the plays characters changes considerably. We find that Marco disapproves of the way Eddie is treating Rodolfo, this is quite a surprise since we, as an audience do not expect Marco who has previously been shy and quiet to make such a blatant challenge as he does in this scene. Twists and surprises in a plot tend to create suspense and tension so this is a very effective technique to use. The action in this scene Marcos action of holding up a chair triumphantly in front of Eddie is an interesting and significant action because the chair seems to be a symbolic weapon. Marco is threatening Eddie with it, this is analogous to the way he actually uses a weapon to kill Eddie in the final scene of the play. The way that Arthur Miller uses such an imposing action as lifting a chair above head height to make a defined, pointed change in Marco is effective because it is dramatic and startling in the way that it breaks from the tone of the rest of the scene. Although powerful and startling the action of lifting the chair is also subtle in that it states without using words, just how Marco feels and sets out his warning, it is succinct which is part of what makes it effective. I do not believe words would have worked as well at portraying the overall feelings, not just of Marco but also of the other characters. This is a major way that Arthur Miller creates an overall atmosphere. He uses actions that involve the audience reactions and opinions of all the characters and the aids the creation of a climax. Emotions of the audience towards characters are mixed. They may feel happy for Catherine and Rodolfo in that they have found each other and seem so happy. Some may speculate, however, about that, this relationships days are numbered due to Eddies obviously hostile feelings towards Rodolfo. They may also feel anxious as to how the conflict that has arisen between Marco and Eddie will be resolved. This emotional uncertainty is exciting and leaves the audience thinking because of the culmination of events. This last scene in act one is used very effectively by Arthur Miller to sow the seeds of events which are going to happen in the 2nd act of the play. It is only at this point in the play that we get true insight into the feelings of Marco, his stubbornness, his need to prove himself and his brother, which turn out at the end of the play to be fatally strong. It is also only now that we see any dislike of Marco from Eddie, it is this dislike and need for apology that causes the end scene to happen in such a tragic manner. The Characters in this scene are very interesting to observe on their own but it is also interesting to see how Arthur Miller has contrasted the actions of his characters in this scene. One such contrast is that between Marco and Eddie. Eddie uses Aggressive action, such as boxing to make his point whereas Marcos subtle challenge with the chair is, non-aggressive but still makes the intended point. These contrasts between the two mens actions are very interesting and are very effective in demonstrating the differences between their personalities; this makes it even more interesting at the very ending of the play how Marco has changed into a person willing to be violent to get revenge. This final scene leaves many questions unanswered. The conflicts between the characters in this scene could lead the audience to speculate as to how things will develop in the next act but although this scene gives the audience, some idea of how things turn out it does not tell them everything. They may ask themselves what is going to happen to Catherine and Rodolfos relationship since it seems plain that Eddie dislikes Rodolfo and disapproves of his relationship with his niece. And they may wonder about Beatrice and Eddies marriage since it appears to be weakening there is no way, however that at this point the audience realise the ending, they are left in suspense. This means that the ending of this act is all the more of a climax; the audience are left teetering on the edge of knowing more but are left to ruminate till the second act. That in itself is enough to explain the way Miller creates of a climax here. The situations that develop in this play would be difficult for anyone to deal with. Eddie finds the situation that he is in especially difficult and consequently he is seriously affected by it. In this play Eddie goes from being a popular man, respected in the community to being a man willing to betray his own family and, in the final scene one prepared to kill. Eddie started by just being over protective of Catherine, which developed into jealousy of Rodolfo because Catherine loved him and this, in turn developed into passionate hatred of both Marco and Rodolfo. Eddie hardly understands what he himself is feeling at the end of the play. These emotional changes are central to Arthur millers play since they help to cause the chain of events leading up to the final tragic end and are very important in creating interest and drama in the play. This is especially significant at the ends of the acts and creates a charged atmosphere. The changes in Eddie during the play also have consequences on the people around him, especially on Beatrice. Eddie spends less and less time throughout the play with Beatrice socially and more importantly, he spends less time with her intimately. There is evidence in other scenes that the sexual part of the Carbones marriage has already collapsed but that Beatrice desperately wants to save the marriage by sitting down and sorting things out.

My Trip to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island Essay Example for Free

My Trip to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island Essay This tourist location is nationally known. Thousands of people a year come to Mackinaw City to enjoy the view of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. They also come to drive across the five mile long Mackinaw Bridge. It is a small town with hotels on every street. As I first arrived into Mackinaw City I noticed the Mackinaw Bridge far off in the distance. The colors of the bridge were a pale peach color with a hint of pale yellow. The bridge was always visible from any part in Mackinaw City because of how big it was and how tall it stood. As I looked around I saw hundreds of hotels surrounding the roads. Going down the road hundreds of people were walking to places whether it was to go to get ice cream or to go to a small grocery store. Hotels were lined up on the shore of Lake Huron. Luckily, we were staying at one of those hotels. The people there were very nice and courteous. As we walked into our hotel room, which was on the third floor, the light from outside shined through the balcony doors. I walked out on the balcony and on my left you could see the Mackinaw Bridge clear as day and on he right you could see all the ferries headed to Mackinaw Island. After we got settled in we headed down to the beach. The water was freezing cold but it was still fun because every time a ferry passed by huge waves of water would travel up to the shore and crash into it. I was excited because the next morning we got to take a ferry under the Mackinaw Bridge and to Mackinaw Island. The ferry went fast and there was a lot of wind which made it colder than it actually was but it was still fun! As we got further away from Mackinaw City the more you see of it. It was a beautiful sight. As the ferry got closer to Mackinaw Island you could see more and more people walking around the island. There were no cars at all, all there was, was trolleys being pulled around by horses. Entering the island you notice the buildings are very historic and old. There were a ton of hills. The island is like one big circle. A small beach area was on the island and in the distance you could see the Mackinaw Bridge. As the sun was shining down on the island it make the lake glisten and it made it bluer than it would be if it was cloudy. The streets were filled with people riding bikes and getting on the trolleys. While you were on the island you could walk up a bunch of stairs up to Fort Mackinac. It is a historical landmark where the attack of 1812 happened. As you walk around Fort Mackinac you see a group of people reenacting the historical event that happened there. Being that far up on a hill, you could see all of Mackinaw Island. The sun made everything shine brighter. Going here was very relaxing and you werent worried about anything. It was like all that weight got lifted off your shoulders and you were free to have fun and do what made this a very memorable vacation for me, which I will never forget.

Causes of High Labour Turnover

Causes of High Labour Turnover Abstract â€Å"Employee turnover† is the term which is a big concern for many organisations in the UK and worldwide. Although there has been a lot of research and studies which were conducted on this topic, most of these studies and research focused on the causes of the labour turnover and little or no focus has been made on examining the effects and advising different strategies which can be used by the managers within their organisation to make sure that they dont loose their employee. The purpose of this research is to explore the possible reasons for the high level of labour turnover in the company X and to explore the perceptions of the managers of the company X on the strategic management of labour turnover within their organisation and also to suggest few recommendations to the managers and the organisation on how to handle this situation. Most of the theories and procedures discussed in this report will someway or the other suggests us on how to approach this situation of high labour turnover in the company X. Introduction Organisations need labour to function and these days organisations are quickly realizing that employees are their major source of competitive advantage to succeed in this highly competitive world. This notion applies equally to almost any organisation in the world. For an organisation to succeed it has to manage it resources effectively. When an employee leaves the organisation it not only has an impact on the organisation but also on the employee and wider society (Mobley, 1982). These impacts can be both positive and negative (Mobley, 1982; Hom and Griffeth, 1995), and a greater knowledge of the evolution of labour turnover can improve the extent to which organisations and employees within organisations can control these effects (Dalton et al., 1981). These days organisations invest a lot on their employees in terms of training and development, maintaining, and retaining them within their organisation. So, there is a need for the managers to lessen the employee turnover rates within their organisations. This research will look in to the company X, which is a part of the large retail outlet group. For the reasons of ethics the name of the company will not be revealed at any part of this report and will be referred throughout as company X. Company X is a part of large retail outlet with stores which are spread throughout the UK and worldwide. The business sector in which the company X is operating has a high level of competition and the company X is constantly thriving to maintain their competitive advantage in their sector and gain a huge amount of market share. The company X operates in a highly competitive environment, it has to continuously deal with the demands and expectations of the customers which is in turn very stressful for the employees in the company X. This high competition, high demands and high expectation creates a hard environment in the company X and which in turn will affect the employees. The North-East branches of the company X are being focused on this study. The company X has 6 branches in the North-East, each of the branches has a manager, 8 to 10 customer service employees (depending on the location of the branch), and 1 director. The director of the company was consulted regarding the research study and was asked whether there were any areas of concerns within the company which he wanted researching. As the director was working there for a quite long time, he was in a very good position to answer to this question. The director was aware of the reasons why his staff was leaving, but he wanted to know whether the present staff still had the same concerns. The director also wanted to know the possible ways in which these concerns could be resolved in order to retain his current staff. The director was fully aware that the turnover levels of the company had a negative impact on his present staff. The times of employee turnover resulted in longer hours for some staff members which affected the present staff both physically and psychologically because they have to now work for long hours. This was followed during the time when there was training for the new staff. The existing staff had to increase their workload during the times of training the new staff and this in turn affected the level of customer service provided by them. The director noticed that during this period some of their staff was demoralized and were asking for time offs which would further have more impact on the other staff. The hiring and training of new staff seem to have settled this problem. However there is some extent of discontent among the staff of company X regarding the company. Aims of the Study The main aim of this research is to assess the reasons for high labour turnover in UK and particularly in the organisation which I have chosen. Research Objectives: What are the reasons for high labour turnover in company X? How is this issue managed and addressed by the management of the company X? What does the staff and managers think about this problem of high labour turnover in their organisation? Try to suggest solutions in order to reduce the labour turn over in the company X. Literature Review Labour turnover According to Adams (1993) labour turnover is the rate at which staffs leave an organisation and are replaced by new employees. Too high a labour turnover rate may mean that there is something unsatisfactory about working for the organisation and that action therefore would need to be taken†. There are different kinds of methods in which we can measure the labour turnover. The term â€Å"turnover† is defined by Prince (1997) as: the ratio of number of organisational members who have left during the period being considered divided by the average number of people in that organisation during that period. The labour turnover index is the traditional method to measure the labour turnover. This method is a most common method because of the simplicity of usage and to understand. Causes of labour turnover There was a lot of research carried out by academics in the past to answer the question of what makes the employees to leave organisations (for ex, Beck, 2001; Kramer et al., 1995; Saks, 1996). There has been a lot of inconsistency in the findings of the academics which may be because of the variety of employed incorporated by the academics. There is no single or universal reason for why people leave the organisation. The reasons may be different from one organisation to other and from one person to another (Ongori, 2007), people may quit organisation because they might not be getting what they were expecting from the organisation or they might leave the organisation because of personal reasons such as family responsibilities or problems in personal relationships, nevertheless, all these factors have an impact on the employee and the organisation in which he is working. According to Firth et al., (2004), the strain associated with job, a variety of aspects that advance to job associated strain, absence of dedication with in the organisations; and job related frustrations make employee to quit the organisations. This apparently marks that these are particular decisions which makes an individual to leave the organisation. These days there are few jobs which are very stressful such as customer service jobs or a sales job which involves the employees to work both physically and mentally and this will have an adverse impact on the employee which might lead to turnover. Manu et al., (2004) argues that economic factors may be one of the reasons why employees leave organisations. They further argued that economic model can be used to predict the labour turnover in the market. One other reason for the labour turnover might be expectation of promotion or advancement of wages within the employee (Ongori, 2004). Employees working within an organisation might expect a promotion and might be demoralized if he couldnt manage to get a promotion and might lead to turnover, in the same way an employee working for a long time within an organisation might expect a pay rise and will be demoralized and downsized if he couldnt manage to get a pay rise and this might in turn lead to turnover. According to Feaster et al., (1990), to guarantee organisational commitment well-built organisations can provide employees with enhanced option of progression and higher wages. It is evident that huge organisations have many operations, job roles and are spread throughout the country, so there is high possibility that an employee might think about the chances of getting promoted and getting high pay. According to Tor et al., (1997), inadequate data on how to perform a specified job, obscure anticipation of managers, supervisors and peers, uncertainty of performance evaluation procedures, massive job related burdens, and absence of agreement on job duties may cause staff to feel less involved and less satisfied with their jobs, less committed to their organisation, and ultimately exhibit a tendency to quit the organisation. If the employees are not sure of their job role and responsibilities, and if these roles and responsibilities are not clearly mentioned by the management of the organisation, this in turn would lead to the high level of labour turnover within the organisation. Sometimes there arise some factors which are, in part, outside the jurisdiction of the management. These factors may include demise or inability of the employee (Ongori, 2004). Employees are normal human beings and they do grow, mature, and die. So, it is inevitable to control these natural factors. Sometimes due to some internal or external factors highly skilled employees do loose their ability and interest to work, these kind of factors are inevitable and out of control organisations. These factors fall under Voluntary turnover. Other factors have been classified as involuntary turnover factors by Ongori (2004) such as necessity to provide attention to offspring or elderly relatives. Employees do have family and children and often they tend to get deviated from work responsibilities because they are more concerned with their family and children. The employees might even have elderly parent and relatives whom they want to take care of and this might lead to shift of concentration from work and might lead to turnover. On the other hand Simon et al., (2007) argue that these days such factors should not be considered as involuntary turnover because both the regulations of the government and policies of the companies create the opportunities for such staff to return back to their work, or to continue their current work through flexible working or work at home concept. Many organisations these days do provide rehabilitation centers and counseling centers for their employees to take care of their employees. These counseling centers are responsible for handling the psychological aspects of the employee and make sure that they are in good state to work. These days many organisations in UK are providing return to work training for employees who went out for long leaves (for ex such as maternity leave or higher education). This training does help the employee to cope up with the current changes in the organisation and make them ready for work. Zuber (2001) argues that the level of instability of the organisations has an impact on the degree of high turnover. There is a high amount of probability that employees stay within an organisation when there is a foreseeable work environment and vice versa. In companies where there exists a high level of inefficiency there was also high level of labour turnover (Alexander et al., 1994). It is obvious as a human being when an employee suspects that his organisation is not stable anymore or if he suspects that there is going to redundancy within the organisation he might leave the job due to the feeling of insecurity on the other hand when the employee feels like that the organisation is stable he would not bother about quitting his present job. Therefore, in the cases of unstable organisations, employees are more likely to leave the organisation and try to join the more stable organisation, because people normally think that more stable organisations will provide them with more opportunity to advance in their career. According to Labov (1997), organisations with a good communication system have lower or less labour turnover because employees have a strong need to be informed. The employees are always eager to know whats going on within their organisation and a good communication system will keep them informed continuously so that they know whats going on in the organisation, so when an employee is not sure about whats going on within his organisation he might be in a panic state and might lead to turnover. Magner et al., (1996) observed that employees feel at ease to stay longer, in positions where they are involved in some level of decision making process that is employees should fully understand about the issues that affect their working atmosphere. When there is no level of empowerment involved in the organisation for an employee, if the employee has always nee to follow the written rules and never has given an opportunity to think beyond his job he might be demoralized and might lead to turnover. Costly et al. (1987) argues that a heavy labour turnover may mean down-and-out personnel policies, bad recruitment policies, unfavorable supervisory practices, fruitless grievance procedures, or lack of motivation. All these factors tend to heavy labour turnover in the sense that there is no acceptable management practices and policies on personnel matters hence employees are not recruited scientifically, promotions of employees are not based on spelled out policies, no grievance procedures in place and thus employees decides to quit. Griffeth et al. (2000) noted that pay and pay-related aspects have a decent effect on turnover. Their analysis also included studies that examined the relationship between pay, a persons performance and turnover. They concluded that when high performers are not handled and rewarded properly, they quit. If jobs provide sufficient financial incentives then employees are more likely to remain within the organisation and vice versa. There are also other factors which make employees to quit from organisations and these are poor hiring practices, managerial style, lack of recognition, lack of competitive compensation system in the organisation and toxic workplace environment (Abassi et al. 2000). When a person with less or no competencies is hired for a job which require a higher level of competency, knowledge and skill it is more likely that this person would quit or would be sacked from his job because of the inability and inefficiency, this is a result of poor recruitment strategy or poor hiring practices. In the same way people always compare what they get with other people of the same position and if they sense that they are not being paid well or under paid they might leave their current job for a better paid job, this is the result of lack of competitive compensation system within the organisation. The management style plays a crucial role in turnover; if the employee is not handled properly or not managed properly the employee may not give his best and in turn will be demoralized and might quit his job. According to CIPD (2007) the main reason why people leave their present job is that they look for high paying job or for a chance of promotion. The survey conducted by CIPD states that this was the reason for 68% of the employees leaving organisations. The survey also stated that 38% of employees quit their job for a change of career and other reasons included family commitments, health problems, amount of work load, timings, and difficulties with their colleagues at work place. It is evident from the survey findings that people continuously look for better opportunities, better pay and better position, so if an organisation fails to provide them then they might be attracted to the competition and lead to turnover. It is evident that a lot of people leave because of unsatisfactory pay levels, even though with the introduction of the minimum wage rule employees are still not satisfied with their wages because this minimum wage rule is only applicable for those jobs which are to paid hourly and not for the jobs which are paid annually. Taylor (2000) tried to explore whether there is a relationship between pension scheme and turnover. He states that the relationship between turnover and pension scheme is not high, however, he also stated that While pension schemes are frequently perceived to play a role both in the attraction of staff to an organisation and in reducing employee turnover, it is on the later that most attention has been focused in public research. Now-a-days people are not expecting a job for life unlike olden days. These days it is evident that people are mostly looking for transferable skills that they can apply in other jobs. However, some people prefer to stick to one job and one company many people try to move from one company to other in search of better jobs and opportunities. Labour turnover in UK The big issue the organisations within UK are facing these days is labour turnover. According to CIPD (2007) survey labour turnover rates and the cost of labour turnover are at an all time high. The surveys states that the labour turnover rate in 2006 was 18.3% and in 2007 was 18.1% which is almost the same, i.e., turnover is not under control and is affecting the organisations at the same pace, it is interesting to compare the findings of 2005 and 2007, where in 2005 the labour turnover rate was 15.7 and in 2007 it was 18.1%, so we can observe that there is a rapid growth in the labour turnover rates which is alarming to the UK organisations. The survey also reported that the private sector had a highest rate of labour turnover which was around 22.6%. The CIPD (2007) survey shows that change of career was deemed to be the most common reason for voluntary turnover. Around 52% of turnover was due to change of career. Other reasons included promotion outside the organisations (47%), level of pay (39%) and lack of career development opportunities (39%). These survey findings strongly support the views of the academics like Zuber (2001), Alexander et al (2004), Simon et al (2007), and Labov (1997) who continuously argued these reasons for the turnover of employees. So it is evident that the empirical studies and the views of academics do match when it comes to the reasons for why employees leave organisations. The survey conducted by CIPD in 2000 stated that the wholesale and retail trade has the highest turnover in the UK – at 56% the wholesale and retail trade lead the turnover table. The following is a graph which shows the turnover figures in the retail industry in UK during the year 1998-2000, which is broken down by the occupational class. Looking at the graph clearly states that there has been an increase in labour turnover of the administrative jobs during the year 2000. Even though the findings of sales jobs are encouraging it is observed that turnover rate of managers is the same during the year 1998 and 2000. This is alarming because it is hard and costly to find and replace a managerial position (IPD, 1997). The findings of routine, operative and sales jobs are very encouraging as it shows that the turnover rates are gradually decreasing year by year from 1998 to 2000. This is may be due to the reason that employees working in these positions are getting used to their work environment and are less likely to leave their present job, because these kinds of job roles have less or few opportunities to change careers and get promoted outside the organisation. However it is noticeable that replacing these types of jobs would be easy when compared to that of managerial position and administrative jobs, but it would cause some sort of disruptions and would also cost for the organisations to replace them. Costs for organisations The Charted institute of personnel management (CIPD) stated that it would cost around 3500 pounds per employee every time someone leaves the organisation; this was in the year 2004. In 2006 the costs of labour turnover was around 7,750 pounds per job leaver. The figure is almost doubled and it is alarming to the organisations. Organisations with high labour turnover rates not only suffer financially but also psychologically, because of the staff leaving the organisation there will a loss of customer service and this results in hiring new employees and training them who are having less experience. And during this period the organisation has to compromise on a lot of aspects of it functions. There might be also an increase in the level of risk of accidents in organisations where work is involved in risky areas. ACAS states that if labour turnover is excessive it can indicate management problems. These management problems have actually been identified as one of the reasons why employees were leaving the company X. The survey done by IPD (Institute of Personnel Development) in 1997 estimated that it takes an average of 10 weeks for an organisation to fill up a sales vacancy, and it costs around 3,640 pounds for the organisation to find and replace each sales person who left the organisation. The survey also mentioned that though people at managerial positions are less likely to quit an organisation, they cost much more to replace. The survey states that it would take around 13 weeks for an organisation to find and replace a managerial position and would cost around 5,008 pounds per person. However, ACAS does agree that high labour turnover can be expensive, and the actual costs are very difficult to estimate. They further stated that the costs also add up the expenses of advertising, recruiting and training, together with the cost of associated management and supervisory time. It also states that higher costs can be incurred through unnecessarily high staffing level and overtime payment, lost or delayed production, interruptions to flow of work, increased production costs, scrap levels and risk of accidents to inexperienced workers, long-term worker becoming unsettled and leaving, low morale resulting low productivity, damage to the organisations local reputation. However, some research findings oppose the statement that labour turnover has a negative impact for organisations. Some academics (for ex Jovanovic, 1979) states that employees who are less suitable for a particular job quit the job earlier and hence there is a notion that labour turnover does improve organisation performance as employees of poor worker job matches leaves and that vacancy can be filled by a employee with good worker job matches and this will in turn increase the organisations performance. This statement can further be supported by the survey which is done by CIPD in 2000 which states that around 55.5% of organisations experienced minor negative effects of labour turnover, around 26.9% of organisations experienced no effect at all and around 4.8% of organisations have experienced a positive effect due to the labour turnover. Different strategies and approaches to control and minimize turnover There is no one strategy or approach which when used by an organisation can reduce or control the turnover rate. This is because the reasons vary from person to person and organisation to organisation (Ongori, 2004). So it is evident that in order to reduce the turnover the organisations first need to understand turnover. Dalton et al., (1987) (Cited in Abelson, 1987) stated that for an organisation to completely understand the reasons for turnover it needs to differentiate avoidable and unavoidable turnover. Avoidable reasons might include employees leaving their current job to find a better job with better pay and working conditions else where. Unavoidable reasons are not under organisations control. These might include an employee moving from current location to another location, or leaving to fulfill family responsibilities. So it is evident that organisations need to identify voluntary turnover within their organisations and take necessary actions to manage turnover. Research does suggest that it is crucial for an organisation to look and analyze both the quantitative and qualitative information relating to turnover within their organisation (IDS, 2004). Quantitative information is required because it will help the organisation to record, measure and compare its turnover levels. Qualitative information is also important because with this the organisations can understand the reasons why the employees left the organisations and take measures to overcome them. According to CIPD (2004), it crucial that organisations have an understanding of their turnover rates and how it would affect its performance and effectiveness. Armstrong (2001) states that in order for organisations to improve their retention rates they need to analyze the number of employees who are leaving and the reasons why they leave. So it is crucial for an organisation to have established methods to investigate why people are leaving. The following is a graph which shows the various methods used by the organisations to investigate why people are leaving. It is evident from the graph that most of the organisations (90%) use exit interviews to investigate why people are leaving, but it is questionable whether these data collected is used to their full potential. Ongori (2004) suggest that in order to reduce turnover organisations need to provide empowerment to employees. This approach would motivate employee and the employee feels as a part of the organisation and would not quit his job because of the responsibilities. But on the other hand this approach is not applicable to all types of jobs. This approach might work in managerial and administrative jobs but may not hold good for routine and sales jobs. Causes of High Labour Turnover Causes of High Labour Turnover Abstract â€Å"Employee turnover† is the term which is a big concern for many organisations in the UK and worldwide. Although there has been a lot of research and studies which were conducted on this topic, most of these studies and research focused on the causes of the labour turnover and little or no focus has been made on examining the effects and advising different strategies which can be used by the managers within their organisation to make sure that they dont loose their employee. The purpose of this research is to explore the possible reasons for the high level of labour turnover in the company X and to explore the perceptions of the managers of the company X on the strategic management of labour turnover within their organisation and also to suggest few recommendations to the managers and the organisation on how to handle this situation. Most of the theories and procedures discussed in this report will someway or the other suggests us on how to approach this situation of high labour turnover in the company X. Introduction Organisations need labour to function and these days organisations are quickly realizing that employees are their major source of competitive advantage to succeed in this highly competitive world. This notion applies equally to almost any organisation in the world. For an organisation to succeed it has to manage it resources effectively. When an employee leaves the organisation it not only has an impact on the organisation but also on the employee and wider society (Mobley, 1982). These impacts can be both positive and negative (Mobley, 1982; Hom and Griffeth, 1995), and a greater knowledge of the evolution of labour turnover can improve the extent to which organisations and employees within organisations can control these effects (Dalton et al., 1981). These days organisations invest a lot on their employees in terms of training and development, maintaining, and retaining them within their organisation. So, there is a need for the managers to lessen the employee turnover rates within their organisations. This research will look in to the company X, which is a part of the large retail outlet group. For the reasons of ethics the name of the company will not be revealed at any part of this report and will be referred throughout as company X. Company X is a part of large retail outlet with stores which are spread throughout the UK and worldwide. The business sector in which the company X is operating has a high level of competition and the company X is constantly thriving to maintain their competitive advantage in their sector and gain a huge amount of market share. The company X operates in a highly competitive environment, it has to continuously deal with the demands and expectations of the customers which is in turn very stressful for the employees in the company X. This high competition, high demands and high expectation creates a hard environment in the company X and which in turn will affect the employees. The North-East branches of the company X are being focused on this study. The company X has 6 branches in the North-East, each of the branches has a manager, 8 to 10 customer service employees (depending on the location of the branch), and 1 director. The director of the company was consulted regarding the research study and was asked whether there were any areas of concerns within the company which he wanted researching. As the director was working there for a quite long time, he was in a very good position to answer to this question. The director was aware of the reasons why his staff was leaving, but he wanted to know whether the present staff still had the same concerns. The director also wanted to know the possible ways in which these concerns could be resolved in order to retain his current staff. The director was fully aware that the turnover levels of the company had a negative impact on his present staff. The times of employee turnover resulted in longer hours for some staff members which affected the present staff both physically and psychologically because they have to now work for long hours. This was followed during the time when there was training for the new staff. The existing staff had to increase their workload during the times of training the new staff and this in turn affected the level of customer service provided by them. The director noticed that during this period some of their staff was demoralized and were asking for time offs which would further have more impact on the other staff. The hiring and training of new staff seem to have settled this problem. However there is some extent of discontent among the staff of company X regarding the company. Aims of the Study The main aim of this research is to assess the reasons for high labour turnover in UK and particularly in the organisation which I have chosen. Research Objectives: What are the reasons for high labour turnover in company X? How is this issue managed and addressed by the management of the company X? What does the staff and managers think about this problem of high labour turnover in their organisation? Try to suggest solutions in order to reduce the labour turn over in the company X. Literature Review Labour turnover According to Adams (1993) labour turnover is the rate at which staffs leave an organisation and are replaced by new employees. Too high a labour turnover rate may mean that there is something unsatisfactory about working for the organisation and that action therefore would need to be taken†. There are different kinds of methods in which we can measure the labour turnover. The term â€Å"turnover† is defined by Prince (1997) as: the ratio of number of organisational members who have left during the period being considered divided by the average number of people in that organisation during that period. The labour turnover index is the traditional method to measure the labour turnover. This method is a most common method because of the simplicity of usage and to understand. Causes of labour turnover There was a lot of research carried out by academics in the past to answer the question of what makes the employees to leave organisations (for ex, Beck, 2001; Kramer et al., 1995; Saks, 1996). There has been a lot of inconsistency in the findings of the academics which may be because of the variety of employed incorporated by the academics. There is no single or universal reason for why people leave the organisation. The reasons may be different from one organisation to other and from one person to another (Ongori, 2007), people may quit organisation because they might not be getting what they were expecting from the organisation or they might leave the organisation because of personal reasons such as family responsibilities or problems in personal relationships, nevertheless, all these factors have an impact on the employee and the organisation in which he is working. According to Firth et al., (2004), the strain associated with job, a variety of aspects that advance to job associated strain, absence of dedication with in the organisations; and job related frustrations make employee to quit the organisations. This apparently marks that these are particular decisions which makes an individual to leave the organisation. These days there are few jobs which are very stressful such as customer service jobs or a sales job which involves the employees to work both physically and mentally and this will have an adverse impact on the employee which might lead to turnover. Manu et al., (2004) argues that economic factors may be one of the reasons why employees leave organisations. They further argued that economic model can be used to predict the labour turnover in the market. One other reason for the labour turnover might be expectation of promotion or advancement of wages within the employee (Ongori, 2004). Employees working within an organisation might expect a promotion and might be demoralized if he couldnt manage to get a promotion and might lead to turnover, in the same way an employee working for a long time within an organisation might expect a pay rise and will be demoralized and downsized if he couldnt manage to get a pay rise and this might in turn lead to turnover. According to Feaster et al., (1990), to guarantee organisational commitment well-built organisations can provide employees with enhanced option of progression and higher wages. It is evident that huge organisations have many operations, job roles and are spread throughout the country, so there is high possibility that an employee might think about the chances of getting promoted and getting high pay. According to Tor et al., (1997), inadequate data on how to perform a specified job, obscure anticipation of managers, supervisors and peers, uncertainty of performance evaluation procedures, massive job related burdens, and absence of agreement on job duties may cause staff to feel less involved and less satisfied with their jobs, less committed to their organisation, and ultimately exhibit a tendency to quit the organisation. If the employees are not sure of their job role and responsibilities, and if these roles and responsibilities are not clearly mentioned by the management of the organisation, this in turn would lead to the high level of labour turnover within the organisation. Sometimes there arise some factors which are, in part, outside the jurisdiction of the management. These factors may include demise or inability of the employee (Ongori, 2004). Employees are normal human beings and they do grow, mature, and die. So, it is inevitable to control these natural factors. Sometimes due to some internal or external factors highly skilled employees do loose their ability and interest to work, these kind of factors are inevitable and out of control organisations. These factors fall under Voluntary turnover. Other factors have been classified as involuntary turnover factors by Ongori (2004) such as necessity to provide attention to offspring or elderly relatives. Employees do have family and children and often they tend to get deviated from work responsibilities because they are more concerned with their family and children. The employees might even have elderly parent and relatives whom they want to take care of and this might lead to shift of concentration from work and might lead to turnover. On the other hand Simon et al., (2007) argue that these days such factors should not be considered as involuntary turnover because both the regulations of the government and policies of the companies create the opportunities for such staff to return back to their work, or to continue their current work through flexible working or work at home concept. Many organisations these days do provide rehabilitation centers and counseling centers for their employees to take care of their employees. These counseling centers are responsible for handling the psychological aspects of the employee and make sure that they are in good state to work. These days many organisations in UK are providing return to work training for employees who went out for long leaves (for ex such as maternity leave or higher education). This training does help the employee to cope up with the current changes in the organisation and make them ready for work. Zuber (2001) argues that the level of instability of the organisations has an impact on the degree of high turnover. There is a high amount of probability that employees stay within an organisation when there is a foreseeable work environment and vice versa. In companies where there exists a high level of inefficiency there was also high level of labour turnover (Alexander et al., 1994). It is obvious as a human being when an employee suspects that his organisation is not stable anymore or if he suspects that there is going to redundancy within the organisation he might leave the job due to the feeling of insecurity on the other hand when the employee feels like that the organisation is stable he would not bother about quitting his present job. Therefore, in the cases of unstable organisations, employees are more likely to leave the organisation and try to join the more stable organisation, because people normally think that more stable organisations will provide them with more opportunity to advance in their career. According to Labov (1997), organisations with a good communication system have lower or less labour turnover because employees have a strong need to be informed. The employees are always eager to know whats going on within their organisation and a good communication system will keep them informed continuously so that they know whats going on in the organisation, so when an employee is not sure about whats going on within his organisation he might be in a panic state and might lead to turnover. Magner et al., (1996) observed that employees feel at ease to stay longer, in positions where they are involved in some level of decision making process that is employees should fully understand about the issues that affect their working atmosphere. When there is no level of empowerment involved in the organisation for an employee, if the employee has always nee to follow the written rules and never has given an opportunity to think beyond his job he might be demoralized and might lead to turnover. Costly et al. (1987) argues that a heavy labour turnover may mean down-and-out personnel policies, bad recruitment policies, unfavorable supervisory practices, fruitless grievance procedures, or lack of motivation. All these factors tend to heavy labour turnover in the sense that there is no acceptable management practices and policies on personnel matters hence employees are not recruited scientifically, promotions of employees are not based on spelled out policies, no grievance procedures in place and thus employees decides to quit. Griffeth et al. (2000) noted that pay and pay-related aspects have a decent effect on turnover. Their analysis also included studies that examined the relationship between pay, a persons performance and turnover. They concluded that when high performers are not handled and rewarded properly, they quit. If jobs provide sufficient financial incentives then employees are more likely to remain within the organisation and vice versa. There are also other factors which make employees to quit from organisations and these are poor hiring practices, managerial style, lack of recognition, lack of competitive compensation system in the organisation and toxic workplace environment (Abassi et al. 2000). When a person with less or no competencies is hired for a job which require a higher level of competency, knowledge and skill it is more likely that this person would quit or would be sacked from his job because of the inability and inefficiency, this is a result of poor recruitment strategy or poor hiring practices. In the same way people always compare what they get with other people of the same position and if they sense that they are not being paid well or under paid they might leave their current job for a better paid job, this is the result of lack of competitive compensation system within the organisation. The management style plays a crucial role in turnover; if the employee is not handled properly or not managed properly the employee may not give his best and in turn will be demoralized and might quit his job. According to CIPD (2007) the main reason why people leave their present job is that they look for high paying job or for a chance of promotion. The survey conducted by CIPD states that this was the reason for 68% of the employees leaving organisations. The survey also stated that 38% of employees quit their job for a change of career and other reasons included family commitments, health problems, amount of work load, timings, and difficulties with their colleagues at work place. It is evident from the survey findings that people continuously look for better opportunities, better pay and better position, so if an organisation fails to provide them then they might be attracted to the competition and lead to turnover. It is evident that a lot of people leave because of unsatisfactory pay levels, even though with the introduction of the minimum wage rule employees are still not satisfied with their wages because this minimum wage rule is only applicable for those jobs which are to paid hourly and not for the jobs which are paid annually. Taylor (2000) tried to explore whether there is a relationship between pension scheme and turnover. He states that the relationship between turnover and pension scheme is not high, however, he also stated that While pension schemes are frequently perceived to play a role both in the attraction of staff to an organisation and in reducing employee turnover, it is on the later that most attention has been focused in public research. Now-a-days people are not expecting a job for life unlike olden days. These days it is evident that people are mostly looking for transferable skills that they can apply in other jobs. However, some people prefer to stick to one job and one company many people try to move from one company to other in search of better jobs and opportunities. Labour turnover in UK The big issue the organisations within UK are facing these days is labour turnover. According to CIPD (2007) survey labour turnover rates and the cost of labour turnover are at an all time high. The surveys states that the labour turnover rate in 2006 was 18.3% and in 2007 was 18.1% which is almost the same, i.e., turnover is not under control and is affecting the organisations at the same pace, it is interesting to compare the findings of 2005 and 2007, where in 2005 the labour turnover rate was 15.7 and in 2007 it was 18.1%, so we can observe that there is a rapid growth in the labour turnover rates which is alarming to the UK organisations. The survey also reported that the private sector had a highest rate of labour turnover which was around 22.6%. The CIPD (2007) survey shows that change of career was deemed to be the most common reason for voluntary turnover. Around 52% of turnover was due to change of career. Other reasons included promotion outside the organisations (47%), level of pay (39%) and lack of career development opportunities (39%). These survey findings strongly support the views of the academics like Zuber (2001), Alexander et al (2004), Simon et al (2007), and Labov (1997) who continuously argued these reasons for the turnover of employees. So it is evident that the empirical studies and the views of academics do match when it comes to the reasons for why employees leave organisations. The survey conducted by CIPD in 2000 stated that the wholesale and retail trade has the highest turnover in the UK – at 56% the wholesale and retail trade lead the turnover table. The following is a graph which shows the turnover figures in the retail industry in UK during the year 1998-2000, which is broken down by the occupational class. Looking at the graph clearly states that there has been an increase in labour turnover of the administrative jobs during the year 2000. Even though the findings of sales jobs are encouraging it is observed that turnover rate of managers is the same during the year 1998 and 2000. This is alarming because it is hard and costly to find and replace a managerial position (IPD, 1997). The findings of routine, operative and sales jobs are very encouraging as it shows that the turnover rates are gradually decreasing year by year from 1998 to 2000. This is may be due to the reason that employees working in these positions are getting used to their work environment and are less likely to leave their present job, because these kinds of job roles have less or few opportunities to change careers and get promoted outside the organisation. However it is noticeable that replacing these types of jobs would be easy when compared to that of managerial position and administrative jobs, but it would cause some sort of disruptions and would also cost for the organisations to replace them. Costs for organisations The Charted institute of personnel management (CIPD) stated that it would cost around 3500 pounds per employee every time someone leaves the organisation; this was in the year 2004. In 2006 the costs of labour turnover was around 7,750 pounds per job leaver. The figure is almost doubled and it is alarming to the organisations. Organisations with high labour turnover rates not only suffer financially but also psychologically, because of the staff leaving the organisation there will a loss of customer service and this results in hiring new employees and training them who are having less experience. And during this period the organisation has to compromise on a lot of aspects of it functions. There might be also an increase in the level of risk of accidents in organisations where work is involved in risky areas. ACAS states that if labour turnover is excessive it can indicate management problems. These management problems have actually been identified as one of the reasons why employees were leaving the company X. The survey done by IPD (Institute of Personnel Development) in 1997 estimated that it takes an average of 10 weeks for an organisation to fill up a sales vacancy, and it costs around 3,640 pounds for the organisation to find and replace each sales person who left the organisation. The survey also mentioned that though people at managerial positions are less likely to quit an organisation, they cost much more to replace. The survey states that it would take around 13 weeks for an organisation to find and replace a managerial position and would cost around 5,008 pounds per person. However, ACAS does agree that high labour turnover can be expensive, and the actual costs are very difficult to estimate. They further stated that the costs also add up the expenses of advertising, recruiting and training, together with the cost of associated management and supervisory time. It also states that higher costs can be incurred through unnecessarily high staffing level and overtime payment, lost or delayed production, interruptions to flow of work, increased production costs, scrap levels and risk of accidents to inexperienced workers, long-term worker becoming unsettled and leaving, low morale resulting low productivity, damage to the organisations local reputation. However, some research findings oppose the statement that labour turnover has a negative impact for organisations. Some academics (for ex Jovanovic, 1979) states that employees who are less suitable for a particular job quit the job earlier and hence there is a notion that labour turnover does improve organisation performance as employees of poor worker job matches leaves and that vacancy can be filled by a employee with good worker job matches and this will in turn increase the organisations performance. This statement can further be supported by the survey which is done by CIPD in 2000 which states that around 55.5% of organisations experienced minor negative effects of labour turnover, around 26.9% of organisations experienced no effect at all and around 4.8% of organisations have experienced a positive effect due to the labour turnover. Different strategies and approaches to control and minimize turnover There is no one strategy or approach which when used by an organisation can reduce or control the turnover rate. This is because the reasons vary from person to person and organisation to organisation (Ongori, 2004). So it is evident that in order to reduce the turnover the organisations first need to understand turnover. Dalton et al., (1987) (Cited in Abelson, 1987) stated that for an organisation to completely understand the reasons for turnover it needs to differentiate avoidable and unavoidable turnover. Avoidable reasons might include employees leaving their current job to find a better job with better pay and working conditions else where. Unavoidable reasons are not under organisations control. These might include an employee moving from current location to another location, or leaving to fulfill family responsibilities. So it is evident that organisations need to identify voluntary turnover within their organisations and take necessary actions to manage turnover. Research does suggest that it is crucial for an organisation to look and analyze both the quantitative and qualitative information relating to turnover within their organisation (IDS, 2004). Quantitative information is required because it will help the organisation to record, measure and compare its turnover levels. Qualitative information is also important because with this the organisations can understand the reasons why the employees left the organisations and take measures to overcome them. According to CIPD (2004), it crucial that organisations have an understanding of their turnover rates and how it would affect its performance and effectiveness. Armstrong (2001) states that in order for organisations to improve their retention rates they need to analyze the number of employees who are leaving and the reasons why they leave. So it is crucial for an organisation to have established methods to investigate why people are leaving. The following is a graph which shows the various methods used by the organisations to investigate why people are leaving. It is evident from the graph that most of the organisations (90%) use exit interviews to investigate why people are leaving, but it is questionable whether these data collected is used to their full potential. Ongori (2004) suggest that in order to reduce turnover organisations need to provide empowerment to employees. This approach would motivate employee and the employee feels as a part of the organisation and would not quit his job because of the responsibilities. But on the other hand this approach is not applicable to all types of jobs. This approach might work in managerial and administrative jobs but may not hold good for routine and sales jobs.

Slendertone Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

1. Describe the root causes of Slendertone ¡Ã‚ ¦s French sales revenue losses? ANS: All sales of slendertone were through distributors except of home-market. Since the investments being made in research and production, the company ¡Ã‚ ¦s marketing resources were very limited, they thought it could develop new market for Slendertone more cost-effectively and quickly. However, there were some poorly resourced and inexperienced distributors. In France, the company was concerned about the growing dependence on one distributor. There are 5main basis causes of Slendertone ¡Ã‚ ¦s French sales revenue losses listed below: Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increasing competition continued to put pressure on price: from 1993 to the beginning of 1996: drop the retail price to compete the other EMS products. Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lack of seconday data for the EMS product class, and the distributor reluctant to share sales data with Slendertone.: It ¡Ã‚ ¦s hard to to determine what market share different companies had. Also, lack of data made it difficult to determine the size of the existing market for EMS products in each company. Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lost the TV slot: the distributor had lost the television slot for the Gymbody8 to cheaper product. Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tacky advertisement: Some advertising featured topless models alongside sensational claims for the products ¡Ã‚ ¦ effectiveness. Æ’ÃÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Distributor: in 1996 Slendertone decided to develop the UK market directly, without any distributor. The decision was made on the basis of the failure to attract good distributor in the past. That  ¡Ã‚ ¥s very clear to know that the problem of distributor. 2. When O ¡Ã‚ ¦Donohue arrived at Slendertone, he thoroughly researched customers reasons for purchasing Slendertone, losing weight or improving appearance. Why did he choose improving appearance as the message for men and women age 20 to 60 years. ANS: Through Mr. O ¡Ã‚ ¦Donohue gathered data on consumer behaviors and motivations relating to those different markets, he built up a clearer picture of the markets for Slendertone and found out its brand positioning, product emphasis, market segmentation, target market. Market Segmentation Positioning Strategy for Each Target Marketing Program for Each Target Originally, Slendertone was defined as  ¡Ã‚ §women betwee... ...an deny that  ¡Ã‚ §the value is equal to price and quality ¡Ã‚ ¨. Besides, Slendertone have large market share in a mature period,with slow growing with profitable products industry. He should maintain price leadership in the EMS market. There are some main ideas will point out Slendertone ¡Ã‚ ¦s brand strategy listed below: „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Differentiated image- slendertone as being at the top end of the market, based on its superior quality and powerful brand name. For the reason, Slendertone sould maintain their high quality and high price image to compete those low quality EMS company. „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Build a strong brand identification- The profession market playing an important role in the development of slendertone. It needs to get away from the  ¡Ã‚ §gadget ¡Ã‚ ¨ image and lead to profession market. „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Control of message marketing information- to avoid a recurrence of what happened in the French market. „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Innovation- To invent new product to prenuptials, postnatal and men but not only for women. „à Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maintaining international operations and Creating a class world brand