Event Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Event Analysis - Essay Example It will further help to identify the potential risks associated with the event and provide strategies to mitigate those risks. In addition, the report will focus on the staffing requirements and role of the volunteers in conducting the event successfully. Moreover, the budgetary requirement will be determined and the official partners of the festival will be identified. Additionally, the promotional strategy used by the organisers to promote the event will be evaluated. Last but not the least, recommendations will be provided in order to enhance the services being rendered to the visitors. Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Technical, Site and Other Logistical Requirements of the Event 5 Identification of Possible Risks and Steps Taken by the Organisers of the Event 6 Staffing Requirements and Role of Volunteers in Conducting the Event 7 Budgetary Requirements of the Event 8 Promotions Mix Used To Promote the Event 10 Recommendations 11 Conclusion 13 References 14 Introduction Hue is acknowledged as the ancient capital of Vietnam. The city is further renowned for the glorious architecture of its palaces, temples, citadels and royal tombs among others. Furthermore, the greenish background on the banks of Perfume River has inspired several authors to create marvellous poetries regarding the heritage of the city (AsiaRooms, 2012a). Festivals and events form an essential part of the rich cultural tradition that prevails within the city area of Hue. The city is also regarded as quite famous for inspiring and rendering developmental assistance to creative artists and art enthusiasts due to which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared it as a Wold Cultural Heritage Site in 1993. It was since then that Hue Festivals have been organised. The Hue Festival includes traditional concerts, theatrical performances, dance competitions and art exhibitions along with conducting sightseeing across the city. Notab ly, Hue festivals and events are organised for the purpose of promoting peace, harmony and supporting greater cultural exchange (AsiaRooms, 2012b). Huge numbers of artists across the world participates and performs in around 200 shows in more than 40 venues which continue for 9 consecutive days within the city. The festival involves a footfall of 1.5 million domestic and 150 million international visitors (Vietnam Online, 2011). Technical, Site and Other Logistical Requirements of the Event Hue festival comprises various cultural events which are organised in different venues, especially during the evening. Therefore, sufficient lighting has been one of the prime requirements of this festival. Moreover, the availability of artist’s specific utilities requires being arranged in advance in order to welcome them with satisfactory warmth from various countries. In addition, drum is regarded to be the most crucial instruments required for conducting this event. Hence, the organise rs are often observed to hold public biddings inviting experienced contractors to provide equipments on a rental basis for installation of sound, lighting and theatrical instruments for such a massive event (Hue Festival Centre, 2010a). The venues chosen for conducting the Hue festival are generally found to emphasising on its capacity of accommodating millions of visitors. The venues are mostly open-air situated near the banks of Nghinh Luong Dinh

Monopoly and marginal cost Essay Example for Free

Monopoly and marginal cost Essay Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly The following questions practice these skills: ? Explain the sources of market power. ? Apply the quantity and price affects on revenue of any movement along a demand curve. ? Find the profit maximizing quantity and price of a single-price monopolist. ? Compute deadweight loss from a single-price monopolist. ? Compute marginal revenue. ? Define the efficiency of P = MC. ? Find the profit-maximizing quantity and price of a perfect-price-discriminating monopolist. ? Find the profit-maximizing quantity and price of an imperfect-price-discriminating monopolist. Question: Each of the following firms possesses market power. Explain its source. a. Merck, the producer of the patented cholesterol-lowering drug Zetia b. Chiquita, a supplier of bananas and owner of most banana plantations c. The Walt Disney Company, the creators of Mickey Mouse Answer to Question: a. Merck has a patent for Zetia. This is an example of a government-created barrier to entry, which gives Merck market power. b. Chiquita controls most banana plantations. Control over a scarce resource gives Chiquita market power. c. The Walt Disney Company has the copyright over animations featuring Mickey Mouse. This Is another example of a government-created barrier to entry that gives the Walt Disney Company market power. Question: Skyscraper City has a subway system, for which a one-way fare is $1. 50. There is pressure on the mayor to reduce the fee by one-third, to $1. 00. The mayor is dismayed, thinking that this will mean Skyscraper City is losing one-third of its revenue from sales of subway tickets. The mayor’s economic adviser reminds her that she is focusing only on the price effect and ignoring the quantity effect. Explain why the mayor’s estimate of a one-third loss of revenue is likely to be an overestimate. Illustrate with a diagram. Answer to Question: A reduction in fares from $1. 50 to $1. 00 will reduce the revenue on each ticket that is currently sold by one-third; this Is the price effect. But a reduction in price will lead to more tickets being sold at the lower price of $1. 00, which creates additional revenue; this is the quantity effect. The price effect is the loss of revenue on all the currently sold tickets. The quantity effect is the increase in revenue from increased sales as a result of the lower price. Question: Consider an industry with the demand curve (D) and marginal cost curve (MC) shown in the accompanying diagram. There is no fixed cost. If the industry is a single-price monopoly, the monopolist’s marginal revenue curve would be MR. Answer the following questions by naming the appropriate points or areas. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly a. If the industry is perfectly competitive, what will be the total quantity produced? At what price? b. Which area reflects consumer surplus under perfect competition? c. If the industry is a single-price monopoly, what quantity will the monopolist produce? Which price will it charge? d. Which area reflects the single-price monopolist’s profit? e. Which area reflects consumer surplus under single-price monopoly? f. Which area reflects the deadweight loss to society from single-price monopoly? g. If the monopolist can price-discriminate perfectly, what quantity will the perfectly price-discriminating monopolist produce? Answer to Question: a. In a perfectly competitive industry, each firm maximizes profit by producing the quantity at which price equals marginal cost. That is, all firms together produce a quantity S, corresponding to point R, where the marginal cost curve crosses the demand curve. Price will be equal to marginal cost, E. b. Consumer surplus is the area under the demand curve and above price. In part a, we saw that the perfectly competitive price is E. Consumer surplus in perfect competition is therefore the triangle ARE. c. A single-price monopolist produces the quantity at which marginal cost equals marginal revenue, that is, quantity I. Accordingly, the monopolist charges price B, the highest price it can charge if it wants to sell quantity I. d. The single-price monopolist’s profit per unit is the difference between price and the average total cost. Since there is no fixed cost and the marginal cost is constant (each unit costs the same to produce), the marginal cost is the same as the average total cost. That is, profit per unit is the distance BE. Since the monopolist sells I units, its profit is BE times I, or the rectangle BEHF. e. Consumer surplus is the area under the demand curve and above the price. In part c, we saw that the monopoly price is B. Consumer surplus in monopoly is therefore the triangle AFB. f. Deadweight loss is the surplus that would have been available (either to consumers or producers) under perfect competition but that is lost when there is a single-price monopolist. It is the triangle FRH. g. If a monopolist can price-discriminate perfectly, it will sell the first unit at price A, the second unit at a slightly lower price, and so forth. That is, it will extract from each consumer just that consumer’s willingness to pay, as indicated by the demand curve. It will sell S units, because for the last unit, it can just make a consumer pay a price of E (equal to its marginal cost), and that just covers its marginal cost of producing that last unit. For any further units, it could not make any consumer pay more than its marginal cost, and it therefore stops selling units at quantity S. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Question: Bob, Bill, Ben, and Brad Baxter have just made a documentary movie about their basketball team. They are thinking about making the movie available for download on the Internet, and they can act as a single-price monopolist if they choose to. Each time the movie is downloaded, their Internet service provider charges them a fee of $4. The Baxter brothers are arguing about which price to charge customers per download. The accompanying table shows the demand schedule for their film. Price of download Quantity of downloads demanded $10 0 $8 1 $6 3 $4 6 $2 10 $0 15 a. Calculate the total revenue and the marginal revenue per download. b. Bob is proud of the film and wants as many people as possible to download it. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? c. Bill wants as much total revenue as possible. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? d. Ben wants to maximize profit. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? e. Brad wants to charge the efficient price. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? Answer to Question: a. The accompanying table calculates total revenue (TR) and marginal revenue (MR). Recall that marginal revenue is the additional revenue per unit of output Price of download Quantity of downloads TR MR demanded $10 0 $0 $8 1 $8 $8 $6 3 $18 $5 $4 6 $24 $2 $2 10 $20 $-1 $0 15 $0 $-4 b. Bob would charge $0. At that price, there would be 15 downloads, the largest quantity they can sell. c. Bill would charge $4. At that price, total revenue is greatest ($24). At that price, there would be 6 downloads. d. Ben would charge $6. At that price, there would be 3 downloads. For any more downloads, marginal revenue would be below marginal cost, and so further downloads would lose the Baxters’ money.e. Brad would charge $4. A price equal to marginal cost is efficient. At that price, there would be 6 downloads. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Question: Suppose that De Beers is a single-price monopolist in the market for diamonds. De Beers has five potential customers: Raquel, Jackie, Joan, Mia, and Sophia. Each of these customers will buy at most one diamond—and only if the price is just equal to, or lower than, her willingness to pay. Raquel’s willingness to pay is $400; Jackie’s, $300; Joan’s, $200; Mia’s, $100; and Sophia’s, $0. De Beers’s marginal cost per diamond is $100. This leads to the demand schedule for diamonds shown in the accompanying table. Price of Diamond Quantity of Diamonds Demanded $500 0 $400 1 $300 2 $200 3 $100 4 $0 5 a. Calculate De Beers’s total revenue and its marginal revenue. From your calculation, draw the demand curve and the marginal revenue curve. b. Explain why De Beers faces a downward-sloping demand curve. c. Explain why the marginal revenue from an additional diamond sale is less than the price of the diamond. d. Suppose De Beers currently charges $200 for its diamonds. If it lowers the price to $100, how large is the price effect? How large is the quantity effect? e. Add the marginal cost curve to your diagram from part a and determine which quantity maximizes De Beers’s profit and which price De Beers will charge. Answer to Question: a. Total revenue (TR) and marginal revenue (MR) are given in the accompanying table. Price of Diamond Quantity of Diamonds TR Demanded $500 0 $0 $400 1 $400 $300 2 $600 $200 3 $600 $100 4 $400 $0 5 $0 MR $400 $200 $0 -$200 -$400 The accompanying diagram illustrates De Beers’s demand curve and marginal revenue (MR) curve. b. De Beers is the only producer of diamonds, so its demand curve is the market demand curve. And the market demand curve slopes downward: the lower the price, the more customers will buy diamonds. c. If De Beers lowers the price sufficiently to sell one more diamond, it earns extra revenue equal to the Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly price of that one extra diamond. This is the quantity effect of lowering the price. But there is also a price effect: lowering the price means that De Beers also has to lower the price on all other diamonds, and that lowers its revenue. So the marginal revenue of selling an additional diamond is less than the price at which the additional diamond can be sold. d. If the price is $200, then De Beers sells to Raquel, Jackie, and Joan. If it lowers the price to $100, it will also sell a diamond to Mia. The price effect is that De Beers loses $100 (the amount by which it lowered the price) each from selling to Raquel, Jackie, and Joan. So the price effect lowers De Beers’s revenue by 3 ? $100 = $300. The quantity effect is that De Beers sells one more diamond (to Mia), at $100. So the quantity effect is to raise De Beers’s revenue by $100. e. The marginal cost (MC) curve is constant at $100, as shown in the diagram. Marginal revenue equals marginal cost at a quantity of 2 diamonds. So De Beers will sell 2 diamonds at a price of $300 each. Question: Use the demand schedule for diamonds given in the previous question. The marginal cost of producing diamonds is constant at $100. There is no fixed cost. a. If De Beers charges the monopoly price, how large is the individual consumer surplus that each buyer experiences? Calculate total consumer surplus by summing the individual consumer surpluses. How large is producer surplus? Suppose that upstart Russian and Asian producers enter the market and the market becomes perfectly competitive. b. What is the perfectly competitive price? What quantity will be sold in this perfectly competitive market? c. At the competitive price and quantity, how large is the consumer surplus that each buyer experiences? How large is total consumer surplus? How large is producer surplus? d. Compare your answer to part c to your answer to part a. How large is the deadweight loss associated with monopoly in this case? Answer to Question: a. The monopoly price is $300. At that price Raquel and Jackie buy diamonds. Raquel’s consumer surplus is $400 ? $300 = $100; Jackie’s is $300 ? $300 = $0. So total consumer surplus is $100 + $0 = $100. Producer surplus is $300 ? $100 = $200 for each diamond sold; 2 ? $200 = $400. b. In a perfectly competitive market, P = MC. That is, the perfectly competitive price is $100, and at that price 4 diamonds will be sold—to Raquel, Jackie, Joan, and Mia. c. At the competitive price, Raquel’s consumer surplus is $400 ? $100 = $300; Jackie’s, $300 ? $100 = $200; Joan’s, $200 ? $100 = $100; and Mia’s, $100 ? $100 = $0. So total consumer surplus is $300 + $200 + $100 + $0 = $600. Since the price is equal to marginal cost, there is no producer surplus. d. Under perfect competition, the sum of consumer and producer surplus is $600 + $0 = $600. Under monopoly, the sum of consumer and producer surplus is $100 + $400 = $500. So the loss of surplus to society from monopoly—the deadweight loss—is $600 ? $500 = $100. Question: Use the demand schedule for diamonds given in the previous questions. De Beers is a monopolist, but it can now price-discriminate perfectly among all five of its potential customers. De Beers’s marginal cost is constant at $100. There is no fixed cost. a. If De Beers can price-discriminate perfectly, to which customers will it sell diamonds and at what prices? b. How large is each individual consumer surplus? How large is total consumer surplus? Calculate producer surplus by summing the producer surplus generated by each sale. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Answer to Question: a. If De Beers can price-discriminate perfectly, it will charge each customer that customer’s willingness to pay. That is, it will charge Raquel $400, Jackie $300, Joan $200, and Mia $100. De Beers does not want to sell to Sophia since she will only buy at a price of $0, and that would be below De Beers’s marginal cost. b. Since each consumer is charged exactly her willingness to pay, there is no consumer surplus. De Beers’s producer surplus is $400 ? $100 = $300 from selling to Raquel; $300 ? $100 = $200 from selling to Jackie; $200 ? $100 = $100 from selling to Joan; $100 ? $100 = $0 from selling to Mia. So producer surplus is $300 + $200 + $100 + $0 = $600. Question: Download Records decides to release an album by the group Mary and the Little Lamb. It produces the album with no fixed cost, but the total cost of downloading an album to a CD and paying Mary her royalty is $6 per album. Download Records can act as a single-price monopolist. Its marketing division finds that the demand schedule for the album is as shown in the accompanying table. Price of album Quantity of albums demanded $22 0 $20 1,000 $18 2,000 $16 3,000 $14 4,000 $12 5,000 $10 6,000 $8 7,000 a. Calculate the total revenue and the marginal revenue per album. b. The marginal cost of producing each album is constant at $6. To maximize profit, what level of output should Download Records choose, and which price should it charge for each album? c. Mary renegotiates her contract and now needs to be paid a higher royalty per album. So the marginal cost rises to be constant at $14. To maximize profit, what level of output should Download Records now choose, and which price should it charge for each album? Answer to Question: a. Total revenue (TR) and marginal revenue per album (MR) is shown in the following table: Price of album Quantity of albums TR MR demanded $22 0 $0 $20 1,000 $20,000 $20 $18 2,000 $36,000 $16 $16 3,000 $48,000 $12 $14 4,000 $56,000 $8 $12 5,000 $60,000 $4 $10 6,000 $60,000 $0 $8 7,000 $56,000 -$4 b. If the marginal cost of each album is $6, Download Records will maximize profit by producing 4,000 albums, since for each album up to 4,000, marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost. For any further albums, marginal cost would exceed marginal revenue. Producing 4,000 albums, Download Records will charge $14 for each album. c. If the marginal cost of each album is $14, Download Records will maximize profit by producing 2,000 albums, and it will charge $18 per album. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Question: The movie theater in Collegetown serves two kinds of customers: students and professors. There are 900 students and 100 professors in Collegetown. Each student’s willingness to pay for a movie ticket is $5. Each professor’s willingness to pay for a movie ticket is $10. Each will buy at most one ticket. The movie theater’s marginal cost per ticket is constant at $3, and there is no fixed cost. a. Suppose the movie theater cannot price-discriminate and needs to charge both students and professors the same price per ticket. If the movie theater charges $5, who will buy tickets and what will the movie theater’s profit be? How large is consumer surplus? b. If the movie theater charges $10, who will buy movie tickets and what will the movie theater’s profit be? How large is consumer surplus? c. Now suppose that, if it chooses to, the movie theater can price-discriminate between students and professors by requiring students to show their student ID. If the movie theater charges students $5 and professors $10, how much profit will the movie theater make? How large is consumer surplus? Answer to Question: a. If the movie theater charges $5 per ticket, both students and professors will buy tickets. The movie theater will sell to 1,000 customers (students and professors), at a price of $5 each. Since the movie theater’s cost per ticket is $3, its profit is $2 per ticket for a total profit of 1,000 ? $2 = $2,000. Students will experience no consumer surplus, but each of the 100 professors will experience consumer surplus of $10 ? $5 = $5 for a total consumer surplus of 100 ? $5 = $500. b. If the movie theater charges $10 per ticket, only professors will buy tickets. The movie theater will sell to 100 customers (professors) at a price of $10 each. Since the movie theater’s cost per ticket is $3, its profit is $7 per ticket for a total profit of 100 ? $7 = $700. Students experience no consumer surplus since they do not buy any tickets. Each of the 100 professors experiences no consumer surplus since the price is equal to their willingness to pay. So consumer surplus is $0. c. If the movie theater charges students a price of $5, it sells 900 tickets at a profit of $5 ? $3 =$2 each for a profit from selling to students of 900 ? $2 =$1,800. Charging professors $10, it sells 100 tickets at a profit of $10 ? $3 =$7 each for a profit from selling to professors of 100 ? $7 =$700. So the theater’s total profit is $1,800 + $700 =$2,500. Since each customer is charged exactly his or her willingness to pay, there is no consumer surplus. Question: A monopolist knows that in order to expand the quantity of output it produces from 8 to 9 units that it must lower the price of its output from $2 to $1. Calculate the quantity effect and the price effect. Use these results to calculate the monopolist’s marginal revenue of producing the 9th unit. The marginal cost of producing the 9th unit is positive. Is it a good idea for the monopolist to produce the 9th unit? Answer to Question: The quantity effect is $1 (the increase in total revenue from selling the 9th unit at $1). The price effect is 8 ? (? $1) =? $8 (the decrease in total revenue from having to lower the price of 8 units by $1 each). So the marginal revenue of producing the 9th unit is $1 ? $8 =? $7. Since marginal revenue is negative, producing the 9th unit is definitely not a good idea: it lowers revenue (since marginal revenue is negative), and it increases the total cost (since marginal cost is positive). So it will definitely lower profit. Instead, the monopolist should produce less output.

To Kill A Mocking Bird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Discrimination, this is a word that is heard today and was heard especially in the southern U.S. in the early 1900’s. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character Scout who is portrayed as a Tomboy and coincidentally the author witnessed numerous times to the outwardly prejudice people of Maycomb Co., Alabama as a very young girl. These prejudices that were heard throughout the entire novel are separated into three categories: racism, sexism, and lifestyles discrimination. Racial discrimination was the most prominent, which as Harper Lee pointed out, was not just limited to the Caucasian population of Maycomb. One of these instances was when Lula commented on the Finch children coming to a historically all black church. Another less prominent form of this reverse discrimination would be the fact that the African people of Maycomb tended to assume that all white people in Maycomb had a deep hatred for blacks, and so they also treated all of them as prejudiced people. But, the black population, by far was discriminated against the most. For instance the many times Scout was told her father defended niggers, and was a nigger lover. One of these times would be when Francis states, "I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is nigger lover"(83). And although Scout didn't truly know the meanings of these statements seemingly rooted into the core of many Maycomb residents, she did sense that they were not statements of praise and accomplishment. Another type of prejudice in the novel would be the sexism and resulting stereotypical views of how women and men should act, dress, and what they can and cannot do. A good example of this being the many times a neighbor of the Finches’, Mrs. Dubose made statements like, "What are you doing in overalls. If you don't start acting proper you will end up serving tables"(101). This would consider being the vast majority of this sexism was aimed at women and girls. They were constantly told what was proper and lady-like and what they should dress like to look like a lady. These so called ideals were not only reinforced and taught by men but also by women. Scout was one of the minorities of people who didn't conform to these ideals and was therefore ridiculed by the closed-minded people of Maycomb. The third and final form of prejudice is actually a combination of the other two types of prejudice, this prejudice being the discrimination against non-conforming lifestyles.

Country Music Essay

Country music is one form of music that has both an extensive history and also has a prominent place in the public consciousness right now. It is one of the most interesting types of music because of the fact that many people completely misunderstand where it came from and its roots. Though much of the history country music can be traced to many southern venues, it has since grown to be a much more â€Å"national† type of phenomenon, with influence stretching from Bakersfield, California to the Atlantic coast of the United States. Performers now come from all over the world to take part in the country music phenomenon and in recent years the, country music has gained a much more mainstream following than it had in the past. By both celebrating its roots and being willing to branch out to reach new listeners, country music as a whole has positioned itself for much greater success in the future, as well. In order to truly understand the origins of country music, one has to look as far back as the turn of the twentieth century. Though country did not truly get its start until later, the groundwork for the industry was being laid by musicians who probably did not even know what country music was. Old jazz musicians and church gospel singers provided the original motivation for what would become the country music movement. Singers would later draw influences from those old styles in order to develop the characteristic country sound that is so popular and prevalent in today’s music world. Country officially got its start in 1921 in Bristol, Tennessee. Before that time, people had been singing songs in order to pass down stories and to fill the idle time, but there had never been an organized country music industry. According to Roughstock’s History of Country Music, â€Å"Although musicians had been recording fiddle tunes (known as Old Time Music at that time) in the southern Appalachians for several years, It wasn’t until August 1, 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee, that Country Music really began. There, on that day, Ralph Peer signed Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family to recording contracts for Victor Records† (Roughstock). Those two popular acts laid the framework for country to come, and they are both remembered for their innovation and their ability to connect with singers of that time. Over the course of time, country music has seen many different movements that have all helped to shape the sound that is prevalent today. The Bluegrass movement, headed up by the famous Bill Monroe of Kentucky was a type of music where people relied heavily on the banjo, the acoustic guitar, and the mandolin. Before Monroe starting experimenting with these instruments, people had never thought to use the guitar as a lead instrument before. This Bluegrass sound would prove to be a characterizing sound and it has influenced many of today’s most popular singers, including women like Allison Krause. According to Jeri Rowe of The News and Record, the Bill Monroe movement is something that almost all of the famous musicians have felt over the course of time. According to Rowe, â€Å"Ask anyone familiar with bluegrass music and they’ll probably have a Bill Monroe moment† (Rowe, 1996). Other movements have become popular in country music, including the innovations that came along with the Bakersfield sound. Though country music had long had its roots in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, young people out in California changed the way that people thought about the country music industry by expanding the sound to include something of an â€Å"Outlaw† movement (Encyclopedia of Country Music). Among those people who led this popular movement were Merle Haggard, who became a spokesperson for the common man during his time. His songs like â€Å"Long Haired Country Boy† and â€Å"Okie from Muskogee† made him famous. Another famed musician that was a part of the progressive country movement, as it came to be called, was Willie Nelson. Nelson is known as a popular singer and songwriter today and he has worked alongside dozens of extremely popular musicians during his career. He sang songs like â€Å"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain† and â€Å"Mommas, Don’t Let your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys† that were able to really connect to fans on a very personal level. One of the unique things about the country music industry is that all of these different movements have helped to create the sound that characterizes country music today. Starting with the Outlaw movement, the Bluegrass movement, and things like the Nashville sound, people have begun to combine all of these different elements to create a very real sound of today. The Nashville sound is something that came about, as one might guess, in the heart of country music located in Nashville. This came about when Roy Acuff made the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville a popular thing. It started out as just one of the many barn shows that played country music across the powerful radio airwaves. Over time, the Grand Ole Opry became much more than that. It came to characterize the Nashville sound, which was a new sound that included things like the old steel guitar and drums in the background. The Nashville sound changed the way people felt about country music, as musicians like Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs brought their unique methods to Nashville and gained popularity. All in all, the Nashville sound represented a brand new vision for country music, where people could experiment with different things on the highest level at the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry gave legitimacy to these acts and people began to quickly respond to the new techniques and new sounds that they were hearing up on the stage (Hemphill). Today, the country music world has moved even more into the mainstream than it was in the past. It is safe to say that widespread radio is what helped country music take off and now people are enjoying it in different ways. When things like TNN and CMT came about, country music was put on television for the world to see. Though this made some people in the country music world mad because the networks opted for the new styles and neglected some of the older heroes of country music, it helped the industry at large. People could not watch country music as much as they wanted and they could begin to put faces with the voices that they had heard on the radio. The innovation of music on television really helped the country music industry as much as it helped all of the other music industries. More records are sold today than ever before, as people like George Strait have sold hundreds of millions of records. Strait owns the record for most number one hits for a singer, while the South Carolina-based group Alabama owns the record for most number one hits for a group. Other acts that have become popular today are people like Garth Brooks, who helped change the way country music was looked at in a sense of live performances. Brooks turned the country music world into something of a rock show and made the shows more appealing to younger people. In the past, country music had been looked at as something that was a little bit boring when seen in concert. People went to see country music shows because they liked the sound of the music, not because they wanted to be entertained. This all changed when Brooks came about in the late 1980s. He added things like lights and great technology to his shows. The sound was impressive and finally the country music world was able to compete with the rock world at least on some level. This was a very important change for country music and predictably, more and more artists starting picking up where Brooks left off. It is fair to say that the country music world has not been completely embraced by the media at large, but the media has at least picked up on the national importance of some of the acts. In the past, the country music world might have been pushed off to the side with the rock and roll world taking center stage a little bit more. People are now coming to realize that rock and country are much more inter-connected than they might have originally imagined and that country music deserves to be recognized for its huge following. With country music selling at high rates in record stores and television channels getting great ratings, there is no choice in the national media but to pick up on the new and changing times, even if they do not totally believe everything that is being said. There is some perception out there that country music is a music based in the south and for southern people, though evidence has been provided to the contrary. One media controversy worth remembering happened with the popular group The Dixie Chicks, who were ostracized by the media and the mainstream country music world for their comments about President George W. Bush. Their political talk earned them a place on the proverbial country music blacklist. A Gazette Newspaper article speaks to the fact that the controversy may have been overblown by some media outlets, as country music singers are certainly not the first musicians to speak out in a political way. In fact, music has always been an avenue for this type of free speech. That article says, â€Å"Even entertainers have a right to say whatever they want to about U. S. foreign policy and politics – and in fact, many have been doing so for decades, getting rich and famous while thumbing their noses at the nation that makes them so† (Gazette). One of the concerns of many country musicians today is that the media is willing to give time to the current stars, but no one will recognize the people who laid the framework for the country music movement. One People Magazine article quotes popular country music star Alan Jackson talking about living legend George Jones and how no one is willing to recognize him. The article writes, â€Å"Jackson spokeswoman Kay West said Alan was inspired by a visit to Jones earlier this year in the hospital after Jones was involved in a near-fatal car wreck. â€Å"Alan said that had George Jones died there, there would have been a 10-minute tribute to him on the show,† West said. â€Å"But he lived, and they wouldn’t give him three minutes† (People). All in all, country music seems to be growing at a faster rate than it ever has. Helped along by more coverage in the media and the fact that more and more types of musicians are currently getting involved in country music, the industry has taken off at a higher degree than most might have imagined in the past. Though the roots of country music are strong and many people seek to preserve and celebrate those roots, there is no denying that the industry in branching out in a desire to incorporate new fans and new acts alike going into the future. With that in mind, the future of the industry is strong and as stable as it can possibly be. Works Cited Hemphill, Paul. The Nashville Sound. 30 September 2005. Everthemore Press. Kingsbury, Paul. The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford: 2004. People Magazine. Country Music Controversy. 2008. < http://www. people. com/people/article/0,,616549,00. html> Roughstock’s History of Country Music. The Beginnings. < http://www. roughstock. com/history/begin. html> Rowe, Jeri. The News and Record. 12 September 1996. BILL MONROE’S INFLUENCE FELT BY MUSICIANS IN THE TRIAD; AREA BLUEGRASS FANS REMEMBER BILL MONROE, THE â€Å"FATHER OF BLUEGRASS MUSIC. † The Gazette. 7 May 2003. Whistling Dixie Freedom of speech not at issue in country music controversy.

Women Are Still Treated as Second Class Citizens

Plan: For |Against | |Same jobs, paid less |Able to do any jobs, just not cut-throat | |‘Traditional’ |Can do more jobs than before S&S | |Higher jobs dominated by men |Hard for men to be accepted in women’s jobs too | |‘Old boy network’ |Dangers for women | |‘Glass ceiling’ |Religion | |Just want to be taken seriously |Women saved first on crashes etc | |Exam results |Stay-at home dads | |Not stay-at-home-dads as they can earn more money | | The ‘Old boy Network’? Wrong Frequency For Women. Ladies and Gentlemen; I believe that it is time for change. Change not only to the ‘pecking order’ but to opinions as a whole. Read this with an open mind, as I believe that together in unity we can make women’s voices heard over the noises of vacuum cleaners and screaming children. Is there any reason for women to still be treated as second-class citizens here in the UK? Do their fingers really have the magic touch for housework and not hard work? Of course not! Everyone knows that women are perceived in this way because of tradition. A tradition that we cannot will not and should not be part of. Just because women used to have to stay at home and look after children, or men did all of the ‘dangerous jobs’ why should that still be the case? Women have undoubtedly proven themselves just as capable, if not more, than men in most jobs, so why is it still so hard for them to break through that ‘glass ceiling’? Many women will have been in the position where a male colleague earns more than them for doing the exact same job. This is unfair treatment and should not be condoned. A friend of mine called Annabelle is an excellent banker, the best out her level of the company, yet she has been repeatedly rejected from a higher positioned job in the company. Each of these times the positions have been given to a male. A coincidence? I think not. She was more highly qualified than these men, and had worked for the company for longer, so why was she overlooked? Has The ‘Old boy network’ been on the rampage again? Is it because women occupy only 1 in 20 of the ‘top jobs’? Will it really come to her loosing her femininity to get the job she really deserves? Women just want to be taken seriously and to get the respect they deserve, yet is seems that most of the time to reach their goals they have to loose friends, and dress or act like men. Why is it harder for women to gain the respect of men than the other way around? In a recent survey only 3 out of 50 women said that they would be comfortable being in control of an office or group of men, yet 42 out of 50 men said they would be comfortable being in control of women. Others will argue that women are the ones that are too scared to break out of traditional placements. There are no jobs that only men are allowed to do, it is just that many women won’t go into these jobs, as the dangers are too high, or the hours will not let them see their families often enough. Women are not ‘cut-throat’ enough. They do not want to trample on people on the way to the top, as they do not have that sort of mentality. Most men will go to any extremes to secure their ‘dream job’. Women can do many more jobs than even 50 years ago. Their rights have improved tremendously, and now cannot be discriminated against. It is extremely hard for men to be accepted into predominantly woman-dominated jobs. It is not something against women, just something that is to be expected if any sex is going into the ‘other sex’s territory’. For example, male nurses are often abused or made fun of because they are not doctors, and women doctors find it hard to be taken seriously by the male doctors. The dangers of some jobs for many women outweigh anything else. Men have the physiques to estrain, resist and persist against tough weather, or heavy objects, ‘it is a biological fact that women are generally weaker than men. ’ In many of the religions now observed in the UK the women are treated worse than the men, yet this is their choice. If they did not agree with it, the wome n could leave the religion, and be treated as equals in the multi-religion society that is the United Kingdom. There are 20% more ‘stay-at-home-dads’ than 30 years ago. This shows that the women are free to work, and the men can do all of the ‘traditional’ female jobs. Many women are not taken on at the higher jobs because of the worry of maternity leave. The companies employing them must think of the future and the inevitability that at some point most 30-year-old women will want children. Another main point is that women are saved first, along with children, on sinking ships, or crashes. This means that their lives are put above men’s. The fact that men are not generally the parents who stay at home backs up the argument that men will be more likely to be paid more, whether it is due to a higher position, or a wider range of jobs open to them. Girls have been out–shining boys in the public exams for years now, which shows that they are not only qualified to do the same jobs, but in many cases more qualified. If you think of any type of job that both men and women do, and think of the ‘high-flyers’ within those jobs you will certainly think of a man. This needs to change. Women will inevitably keep fighting for their rights; ‘we will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail’ when it comes to getting what we deserve. Dr. James Macaroni of Oxford University told us that women get more stressed at work due to the pressure and strain of having to constantly work at the same level, whereas men get breaks within their stress when they get promoted. Do we really want to have women constantly put below men? Should women always stay traditional? So, fellow readers, I ask, why not change the pecking order today? Why wait until it is too late?

A Thesis Statement on the novel Candide by Voltaire Essay Essays

A Thesis Statement on the novel Candide by Voltaire Essay Essays A Thesis Statement on the novel Candide by Voltaire Essay Paper A Thesis Statement on the novel Candide by Voltaire Essay Paper Essay Topic: Candide Not everything is all for the best. The novelCandideby Voltaire delved into the wretchednesss of work forces. political relations and faith where every unfortunate event that happens to the person is to be accepted since it is all for the best. Many times in the novel. Candide’s esteemed professor. Pangloss remarked that â€Å"Everything is all for the best† . For his portion. Voltaire seems to be oppugning the construct of fatalism. Fatalism is the position that persons are powerless to make anything other that what we really do. It seems dry that Candide remains optimistic despite all that he had experienced ; the ostracism from the palace. the whipping by the soldiers and the sinking of the ship. All these events would hold made a weaker adult male autumn on his articulatio genuss and cuss the celestial spheres ; but non Candide. After all. everything is for the best. Nevertheless. Candide retains his good will. generousness and ironically. his optimism. The construct of fatalism is taking the easy manner out. There are many cases where Candide could hold avoided such unfortunate fortunes ; like losing his sheep every bit good as his hoarded wealth. Not merely that. he squandered his staying hoarded wealth to unworthy persons. Another case was when Candide was flogged. He simply accepted it. He was believing along the lines that everything is all for the best. But to believe about it. how unfair is it to be lashed a 1000 times for being misunderstood as deserting. In some manner. Voltaire was knocking citizens who could accept the unfair and irrational determinations of their authorities. In connexion with the thought of fatalism is the construct of free will. If worlds were given the gift of free will. so the thought that everything is all for the best would be inconsistent. A individual who has free will would be capable of determining his or her ain fate. In stead of this. Candide should be able to alter the events that weren’t say to go on to him or if they did go on. so the consequence would non hold been so black or it could hold at least been minimized. One illustration had been where Candide stabbed the Baron. Cunegonde’s brother. He could hold restrained himself and could hold conducted an unwritten statement alternatively. What Candide did was roseola and unwise that it was no surprise that it would stop disastrously. Today. a individual is expected to move and talk tactfully. There would be chaos if everyone wanted to hold their ain manner. Another illustration was when Candide and his comrade were about eaten by the Oreillons but were saved because he killed a Jesuit. Cunegonde’s brother. the Baron. In this clip. Candide thanked his good luck for killing a Jesuit to avoid being eaten. It should hold crossed his head that if he had non stabbed the Baron. so they would hold non been in that state of affairs in the first topographic point. It is easy to fault every occurrence in life as portion of a expansive program. That everything is destined and fated. But if it is. so why is at that place free will? It could non simply be some fast one to adult male to believe that he has control over the events in life. Changeless nisus to be better is what makes the universe go unit of ammunition. The find of unknown topographic points and chartless Waterss are the merchandise of motive and will of work forces. In kernel. man’s free will is the ground. All the effects of one’s actions are due to one’s interactions. Candide’s optimism. naivete and artlessness may hold drawn its beginning from Mademoiselle Cunegonde. She’s beautiful and charming and guileless. To Candide. she’s the one ground to stay living despite all the wretchednesss of the universe. In some ways. she had besides been the ground why in the ulterior portion of the novel. Candide encountered many unfortunate events. He even left the Utopian universe of El Dorado merely to be with his darling Cunegonde. Cunegonde symbolizes Candide’s optimism. In the novel. Voltaire besides portrays the human being’s love of life. The old adult female was acknowledged as the individual who encountered the most unfortunate wretchednesss. However. in malice of all that. she’s admits that she still loves life and neer would she hold killed herself. The â€Å"All for the best† construct was eventually refuted and rejected by Candide. In the novel. Pangloss said to Candide â€Å"All events are linked up in this best of all possible universes ; for. if you had non been expelled from the baronial palace by difficult boots in your rear for love of Mademoiselle Cunegonde. if you had non been clapped into the Inquisition. if you had non wandered about America on pes. if you had non stuck your blade in the Baron. if you had non lost all your sheep from the land of El Dorado. you would non be eating sugar-coated citrons and Pistacia veras here† . Upon which Candide replied. â€Å"Tis good said. but we must cultivate our gardens† . ( Voltaire. 1949 ) This shows that nil happens without a ground. Many times in the novel. cause and consequence was mentioned. That is right ; everything that happens would hold an equal consequence. Every action has an equal reaction. Even every bit simple as turning fruits and veggies is tantamount to yearss and darks of difficult work. They did non merely as if by magic appear from the land or fallen from Eden. It’s the same with what happened to Candide and his comrades. Some events may hold been the act of God. but it is up to adult male to guarantee that everything would be all right. Mentions Rice. H. . â€Å"Fatalism† .The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy( Winter 2002 Edition ) . Edward N. Zalta ( ed. ) . URL = hypertext transfer protocol: //plato. Stanford. edu/entries/fatalism/ Voltaire ( 1949 ) .The portable Arouet( B. R. Redman. Ed. ) . Canada: McMillan.

The Performance of Workplace Management

The Performance of Workplace Management Introduction The performance of every organization is highly determined by its workforce. Employees of any organization determine whether it will attain its goals and objectives by how they contribute towards the output of the organization.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Performance of Workplace Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Hence recognizing the role of the employees towards the success of an organization has made many organizations to view their employees as one of its important asset. According to Honore (2009), the most important assets of a company are not product, money or profit but their employees (p.3). Longeneker (2011) adds that motivating workforce will help to improve the performance of the organization (p.). Many organizations have renewed their commitments to their employees by treating them fairly and with a lot respect. Many companies have come up with different schemes for improv ing working conditions for their workers as payment compensation schemes, holiday leave schemes, trade union participation among others. These efforts are not only happening in local companies but also among multinational corporations that are operating in different parts of the globe. This report analyses the steps that can be taken by a multinational corporation that has taken a strategic plan to improve the performance of its employees through the managers in three countries (India, Australia, and Brazil) where it is operating. Approach MNCs operate in different parts of the globe, which are diverse in so many ways. Different regions where MNCs operate differ in geographical, political, economic, social-cultural, and technological factors.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The corporations have to use multidisciplinary approach when they are giving goods or servi ces in different regions where they operate. For instance these corporations have employed people from all the regions where they operating for effective delivery of their services. For example, a MNC such as Coca cola has branches in almost every country of the world and therefore employ staffs who differ in their culture, beliefs, taboos, race among other differences. Therefore, for the corporation to come up with a scheme that will address the needs their diverse staffs, it needs to be a multidisciplinary approach that will put into consideration their diversity. Employees would also like to associate with an organization that have diverse outlook. As Maxwell and Knox (2009) notes employers branding will help to motivate employees (p.93). However, there stands some basic things required by all employees require and hence the approach will be general in many cases but specific in some cases. Something like good salary and wages will motivate every employee irrespective of their di versity. Good working environment will raise the output of the employees in many organizations despite their differences. Manager can use several approaches to motivate their employees who are working in different regions. These approaches will depend on the circumstances or challenges that workers in a certain region face. One approach may be very appropriate for a certain region but inappropriate for another region. The success of a given approach depends with the region and factors that lowers morale of the employees in that region. Below are some of the approaches that the managers of this MNC may apply to motivate their workers.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Performance of Workplace Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Equal employment opportunities MNC usually employs people from different background in terms of race, sex, culture, and beliefs. As postulated by Wegge, Van Dick, Wecking, and Moltz en (2006) creating a working environment that is objective is very crucial in that kind of setting (p.50). After recruitment, these people are posted to go and work in different regions where the corporation operates. Sometime MNCs may send senior managers to go and coordinate their operations in different regions but recruit local people to work in the junior positions. This creates a very diverse working environment where every staff needs to be comfortable for them to give their best output. Thus creating an environment conducive for all workers is very important in such a setting. No group should be discriminated on any basis in the work place. The corporation needs to treat all the employees equally, irrespective of their race, sex, origin, or beliefs as a way of making every body wanted in the work place. The communication in the work place should be improved to ensure that all the workers are able to communicate with one another effectively despite their diversity. As Jacquel ine and Milton (2009) claim, the language that the leader uses to motivate employees is also very important (p.5). Sharbrough (2006) supports this view by arguing that motivating language is very important in all industries (p.22). Workers from different cultures should be encouraged to develop a sense of understanding and having mutual respect for one another. These will help them to live in harmony with one another in the work place thus creating an environment that enables them to maximize their productivity. Managers of the multicultural organizations ought to promote a culture of mutual respect, teamwork, productivity, and acceptance among its diverse employees.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This will help to increase contribution of every person towards achievement of goals and objectives of the organization. The corporation needs to recognize the strength of having a diverse workforce and put all the necessary efforts to maximize their potential. A multicultural leader needs s to balance the needs of the diverse employees and those of the organization. The leader ensures that all employees are treated with dignity and respect they deserve irrespective of their race, sex, origin, and beliefs. The balance is achieved as the managers desire to gain more knowledge and awareness of the diverse group they are leading. Increased knowledge and awareness enhance the understanding of the managers as they continue to learn more about different people they are working with. To enable them to work more effectively, the managers need also to address their personal beliefs, biases, and behaviors that are not in line with the creation of working environment that is value diverse. The y must be willing to move from personal view to professional view and support advocating for procedures and policies that reflect diversity. This will help them to address all inequalities that may be present within the corporation and create a working environment that is conducive for all employees. In this case, the corporation is operating in three countries that have diverse cultures. The cultures of Brazil, Australia, and India are different and if the corporation decides to move its managers from one country to another, they must be willing to embrace diversity for them to be effective in their leadership. Employees in these countries are very diverse, and unless leaders choose to treat all the employees without discrimination, they may not be in a position to maximize the potential in production. It is important for the corporation to recruit employees from all regions irrespective of their country of origin or race. The recruitment process needs to be transparent, fair, and equitable. This is equitability is attained by developing policies and procedures that will enhance diversity in the organization. The procedures should ensure that recruitment, job evaluation and promotion processes are done in a way that respects diversity within the organization. This will minimize cases of biasness in the work place, which will make all the employees comfortable and happy with the way processes are done. If the employees are not comfortable with processes of recruitment, evaluation, and promotion, they will not be willing to give their best to the organization. Many workers will be willing to work hard where they feel that their efforts are well recognized through fair process of job evaluation. If the promotions are not based on a fair evaluation but on other forms of bias such as racial, sex and beliefs, employees will not be willing to support leaders promoted through such process. This will reduce their motivation and hence their productivity in the corporat ion. Employees would like corporation to recruit and evaluate employees through procedures that have no unfair bias, stereotype, and prejudice. Any procedure that fall short of this requirement will not be acceptable among employees, which may end up lowering their morale. Thus, managers of this corporation need to ensure the right procedures and policies are established that will be applied in the countries where they are operating during the process of recruitment, job evaluation, and promotion. Rewarding workforce Rewarding and employees recognition are very important in every organization. As postulated by Anderfuhren, Varone, Giauque, and Ritz (2010) material benefits and appreciation can help to motivate employees in any organization (p.13). Employees both in local and global working environment are always motivated by rewards they get from the organization as well as recognizing their effort. According to Poornima (2009), monetary and non-monetary compensation are very necess ary to retain workers in any organization (p.6). Corporations should look for ways of rewarding their workers for the work they are doing. As Dewhurst, Guthridge, Mohr (2010) contend, individual attention and praise will help to raise the morale of the employees (p.2). These will raise their morale and motivate them to give their best for the benefit of the corporation. These rewards comes in different forms such as bonuses, promotion, job leave and other ways of rewarding employees for the work they are doing. Corporations should come up with programs for recognizing and rewarding their employees as a way of motivating them in the work environment. These programs will enable employees to have fun and celebrate their success making them to appreciate themselves and the corporation they are working with. According to Obilade (2009), employees are also concerned about the performance of the organization they work for (p.9). This recognition programs may include celebrating anniversary of the corporation after sometime, celebrating birthday of workers and recognition of workers who have shown good performance in their duty. Among the many programs available for accrediting an individual’s work, is peer recognition. This program will give workers power to reward their colleagues for the good work they have shown. Workers are more likely to support such a program because they will feel recognized and again they know the performance of each other well and who deserve to be recognized. Again, managers and supervisors are not around at all the time to know who is performing his or her duty more than the others are. Workers can even be told to nominate the person whom they feel deserve to be rewarded for his or her work. Actually, letting workers to select amongst themselves the one to receive a reward instills the feeling of usefulness as they feel involved in major issues and so they become part of the company. Such employee driven programs come in handy as to ols to motivating workers given that they (the programs) are easy to implement and run. After all, they will raise the morale of the employees to work hard to achieve simple rewards such as time off, movie ticket and other small gifts. Informal programs will work in any environment either locally or internationally. Chang, Chan, Gudmundsson, and Sawang (2011) argue that internalized motivation can create creativeness and corporation among the workers (p.9). Thus for the managers of the corporation to motivate their employees in the work place in all the branches where they are operating, they need to consider these programs. Informal programs will work even in very diverse environment such as multicultural environment since the employees who are choosing need to be rewarded and recognized in their work place. These programs will also help to eliminate any form of discrimination that may arise in such environment when managers and supervisors are choosing the employees to be rewarded or recognized. Understanding and counseling program It is the role of the organization managers to encourage and motivate their employees to attain higher goals. Van, Cees, Berens, and Dijkstra (2009) indicates that developing capabilities of employees is important in any organization (p.197). It is important for the managers to understand each employee is different and require motivational needs that are different. According Blaskova (2010), an individual approach is one of the best methods of motivating employees (p.9). The abilities of each worker are different and this should be understood even when their work is being evaluated. Understanding the strengths and weakness of each employee will help managers to know which job is appropriate for them and what can be done to improve their performance. This will require managers to go extra mile and understand his or her employees beyond work environment to help in meeting their motivational needs. The performance of employee is usua lly affected by the challenges they are experiencing in their personal life such as marital issues, financial crises and other issues that matters in their life. Thus, it is important for managers to understand their employees on a personal basis to know how to motivate them. Some challenges that workers are facing require counseling which organization can plan by looking for appropriate counselors to help them to overcome those challenges. This situation may be made worse in a diverse working environment like in MNCs where employees come from different background with more diverse challenges. Challenges expected Implementing these strategies in three countries that differ in many ways is not easy. According to Bodolica (2007) dealing with workers in a foreign country can be a great challenge to the managers due to their diversity (p.9). India, Brazil, and Australia are politically, economically, and culturally different. Corporation managers need be flexible when they are motivatin g their workers in the three different countries. For instance, the three states are in different class economically where for instance Brazil and Australia are more developed compared with India. This means that the wage level in three countries will be the same. Brazil and Australia are more developed and their wage is high compared with India. India is a developing country where the cost of labor is cheap compared with that of the other countries and there the corporation has to come up with a compensation scheme that will motivate employees putting into consideration these differences. Secondly, the three countries have different cultures and managers have to ensure that these programs accommodate diverse employees. Creating a working environment that is conducive and diverse is not easy but necessary for the success of the corporation. Developing policy and procedures for ensuring equality requires managers to rise beyond their bias, prejudice, and stereotypes and use a profess ional approach that will motivate all the employees. Thirdly, implementing these programs may be expensive to the corporation as creating policies and procedures for eliminating any form of discrimination will require time and other resources. However as noted by Hardre and Reeve (2009), training of the managers will equip them with right skills to motivate their employees (p.65). Recommendations There is need for corporation to use an approach that is multidisciplinary for managers to motivate their employees more effectively. Here are some of the steps that managers need to apply in their effort to motivate their employees. Develop and implement proper policies and procedures that will create fairness and equality in the working environment. This will help to eliminate all forms of discrimination in the corporation. Ensure fairness in the recruitment, job evaluation, and promotion where employees will be recognized according to their performance and not on any other basis. Create rewarding and recognition schemes to appreciate employees who perform well in their job. Create a working environment that is conducive for all workers where all employees treat each other with respect and dignity irrespective of their differences. Create programs for understanding and counseling employees as way of meeting their motivational needs. Conclusion The managers of this MNC need to employ several strategies to motivate their employees to give their best. This may include rewarding and appreciating employees, equality in work place, counseling, and understanding employees among others. A diverse approach is also necessary in all the three countries to help improve performance of all workers. Recommendations given above also need to be implemented in all regions as way motivating workers to increase their out to the corporation. Understanding employees is a good strategy will help to solve their personal issues. Reference List Anderfuhren, S., Varone, F., Giauque, D. Ritz, A., 2010. Motivating Employees of the Public Sector: Does Public Service Motivation Matter? International  Public Management Journal, 13 (3), pp.213-246. Blaskova, M., 2010. Creative Proactive-Concluding Theory of Motivating.  Business: Theory Practice, 11, pp.39-48. Bodolica, V., 2007. Motivating Vietnamese Employees and Managers in an American Joint Venture: What a Challenge! Asian Case Research Journal, 11, pp.59-77. Chang, A., Chan, F., Gudmundsson, A., Sawang, S., 2011. Motivating Blue Collar Employees: A Case Study of the Chinese Workforce. Journal of  Asia-Pacific Business, 12, pp.69-85. Dewhurst, M., Guthridge, M., Mohr, E., 2010. Motivating People: Getting beyond Money. McKinsey Quarterly, 3 (6), pp.12-15. Hardre, P., Reeve, J., 2009. Training Corporate Managers to adopt a more Autonomy-Supportive Motivating Style toward Employees: An Intervention study. International Journal of Training Development, 13(3), pp.165-184. Honore, J., 2009. Employee Motivation. Cons ortium Journal of Hospitality   Tourism, 14, pp.63-75. Jacqueline, M., Milton, M., 2009. The Role of Leader Motivating Language in Employee Absenteeism. Journal of Business Communication, 46 (4), pp.455-479. Longeneker, C., 2011. How the BEST motivate workers. Industrial Management, 53, pp.8-13. Maxwell, R., Knox, S., 2009. Motivating Employees to Live the Brand: A Comparative Case Study of Employer Brand Attractiveness within the Firm. Journal of Marketing Management, 25 (9), pp.893-907. Obilade, S., 2009. Motivating Downsizing Survivors in Small Businesses.  Southern Business Review, 34 (2), pp.19-35. Poornima, S. C., 2009. Motivating Through Satisfaction: An Ongoing Effort of HR in Organizations. ICFAI Journal of Management Research, 8 (5), pp.26-37. Sharbrough, W., 2006. Motivating Language in Industry. Journal of Business  Communication, 43 (4), pp.322-343. Van, M., Berens, G. Dijkstra, M., 2009. Stimulating Strategically Aligned Behavior among Employees. Journal of Ma nagement Studies, 46 (7), pp.1197-1226. Wegge, J., Van Dick, R., Fisher, G., Wecking, C. Moltzen, K., 2006. Work Motivation, Organizational Identification, and well-being in call centre work. Work Stress, 20 (1), pp.60-83.

How to Write to Market and Improve your Income

How to Write to Market and Improve your Income If you’re an indie author, it’s possible you have heard other authors talk about writing to market. It’s not a new concept, but within the last few years indie authors have been using it to sell more books and skyrocket their income. Here’s how to do it. 1.  Ã‚     Pick a genre you love.  It does no good to write in a genre you don’t read in and enjoy, so pick one you are quite familiar with. For example, let’s pick mystery. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drill down to a popular sub-genre.  Take some time and look at the different sub-genres. Pick one you enjoy and look at the top selling books. Let’s pick culinary cozy mystery. If you look on Amazon, the top selling book in that category is #112 in the whole Kindle store. This is good, it means this is a hot category. Now look at the top twentieth book. It’s ranked #2,771. Anything above #10,000 is going to indicate it’s a hot market. The trick is to pick one that is hot, but not so crowded that you can’t break in. 3.  Ã‚     Study the tropes, themes, and similarities.  Now that you’ve picked your sub-genre, buy the top ten books and read them. Look at the story threads that run through all the books searching for tropes and themes that are the same. Ignore the outliers, the books that sell well but don’t have similar themes or tropes. You’re looking for the commonalities. Write them down. 4.  Ã‚     Write your book.  Now you should be able to incorporate these well-loved tropes and themes in your own book. This does not mean you are copying the stories. This means you are using common storytelling devices that have been around for years. With your own unique twists, you should be able to tell a story that will be both fresh and new, yet familiar and loved. 5.  Ã‚     Rapid release.  A popular trend to raising your income is to write three novels and then publish one every 30 days. This will acquire you more visibility and raise your ranks, especially if you’re writing in a series. 6.  Ã‚     Write a reader magnet.  Write a novella or short story and give it away as incentive to join your newsletter. 7.  Ã‚     Network.  Spend some time on social media getting to know other authors who write in your genre. For this example, this would be culinary cozy mystery. See if there are any Facebook groups where these authors hang out. If not, start your own and invite authors to join. 8.  Ã‚     Trade promotion.  Offer to promote another author’s book in your newsletter if they will promote yours. 9.  Ã‚     Slow release.  Instead of scheduling all your promotion on your release day, spread it out so your book slowly rises in rank on Amazon. This will make your book stay higher in rank longer. Michelle Pennington was averaging $33 income per month in the beginning of 2017. She began writing to market in the fall of 2017 and in the beginning of 2018 was averaging $3,600 income per month. This May she topped $7,000 for the month. Amy Meyer earned $63.50 in May of 2017. She began writing to market under the pen name of Anne-Marie Meyer shortly after that. Her income for Ma, 2018 was $7,353. Bree Livingston published her first to market book in March of this year. She made $2,283 in March. April brought in $6,402. May topped $8,000. Last year her total income was $281. These three examples happen to be sweet romance writers, but this isn’t a concept that only works for this genre. Craig Martelle, founder of the Facebook group 20Booksto50K writes to market science fiction. Susan Kaye Quinn brings in six figures writing YA dystopian. This method will work with any genre as long as it is commercial, and you pick a niche that is selling well.

International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Relations - Essay Example The 20th century was welcomed with the Arabian war that lasted for twenty five years. The subsequent years were full of expeditions mixed with colonization of various parts of the world by powerful nations mostly from the west. The colonies in various countries started engaging their colonial masters in uprisings mixed with revolutions in the world. The main one is the Russian revolution of 1905 followed by American occupation of Cuba (Schulzinger 234). The Chinese Republican revolution of 1911 ushered in the First World War that lasted for four years. The World War I reshaped the politics of the world because there was emergence of alliances amongst the most powerful countries of the world. The Allies made up of France, The United Kingdom and Russia, the Triple Entente, against the Central powers which was centered on the Triple Alliance of Austria-Hungary, Italy and Germany but Italy didn’t enter the war since Hungary was offensive (Bagby 65). Italy later joined the Allies. Many people died and later paved way for many revolutions even in the colonies because many soldiers were recruited from the colonies and they were now well equipped and experienced to fight the colonizers. The war had been triggered by assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian leading to a revenge and subsequent entry of other countries that were allied to the respective countries. The Allies were victorious as the central powers led by Germany were forced to retreat. This war led to redrawing of the European map because some nations lost huge chunks of land and formation of smaller nations as a result of disintegration of major powers. The world did not get peace even after the first word war, Haitian and China Revolt followed and the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Russian civil war the following year. The world was shaken again in 1939 when the World War II started and when through to 1945. During this war, the Axis powers, Japan, Germany and Ital y as they tried to dominate the world against the Allied powers, Britain, United States, USSR and France. The ugliest event during this war was the atomic bombs that were dropped in Japan by the US; the bombs destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the atomic bombs caused a lot of suffering to the Japanese (Rittberger 127). There haven’t been major wars again although peace is yet to be realized in the world mostly due to the tension that was caused by the cold war that sparked war in some countries like Korea. The recent armed wars include the US invasion of Iraq, the Somali crisis that is worse due to emergence of Al shabab and subsequent entry of Kenya to try and stamp it out and the death of Osama as Al Qaeda leader. The International relations are taken care of by The United Nations that was formed after the Second World War. Among the most challenging tasks globally has been terrorism and global warming. Terrorism which is as a result of unlawful violence and wa r or general use of terror as means of coercion, is however politically instigated and at times used by a state to legitimize its actions against some groups. Terrorism has been part of the current world due continued disagreements amongst the world leaders thus the many aggressions against one another in the name of

Othello paper The heroism of othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Othello paper The heroism of othello - Essay Example These kinds of characters are plentiful in Shakespeare’s works, including the character of Othello. In this simple statement at the end of his life, he is pointing out for us what his tragic flaw was as well as the source of his heroism. It is in his love for Desdemona that his nobility shines through. The play opens with a mob of angry townspeople coming to do harm to Othello because they believe he has shamed the daughter of one of the merchants. Instead of running, as he is urged to do by Iago, Othello chooses to stand up to these people and make sure that the good name of his legally bound wife is defended. Rather than fighting with these people, he tells them, â€Å"Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them / Good signior, you shall more command with years / Than with your weapons† (I, i, 59-61). In this statement, his nobility shines through as he defends his wife’s honor, acknowledges the respect owed to his elders and refuses to cross swords with them. However, his power to love is flawed by his inability to judge which of his contemporaries he should trust with it. This is demonstrated first through his relationship with Cassio. Cassio is clearly Othello’s favorite officer as he promoted Cassio over Iago. While there may have been other qualifications involved in the decision, there also was reason for Iago to believe he should have been promoted over Cassio. However, when Othello finds Cassio brawling in the streets with gentlemen and drunk, he immediately doubts his own wisdom in placing his affections with this man. Though he still has affection for the man, â€Å"Cassio, I love thee; But never more be officer of mine† (II, ii, 239-240), he cannot respect him and his confidence in his own judgment is thrown into doubt. Cassio’s time with Desdemona further introduces doubt and suspicion into Othello’s

The IAT Demonstration Tests Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The IAT Demonstration Tests - Essay Example However, it is hard to know if this actually measures what it says it measures, as the responses were so quick and I made a few mistakes because I got confused about which button corresponded to which category. It was interesting to complete the tests, however, and I am definitely pleased with my results.  The Understanding Prejudice links were surprising in a way because it completely categorized every type of prejudice, and it is sometimes hard to remember that there are so many different types in the world. When I think of prejudice my mind automatically goes to racism and homophobia, but the links about genocide, anti-semitism, and stigmatization were definitely interesting. Some of the links about sexism were troubling particularly because this seems to be a type of â€Å"hidden† discrimination, as women are generally considered to be equal, but when we really think about it and use the information in the links, this turns out not to be true. It is interesting to see ho w often homophobia and related prejudice is linked to religion, but this type of attitude is also a type of prejudice (grouping all religious people together) in itself. Overall, there is a lot of value although I would have liked to have more information about the treatment of disabled people, people with mental illness and those from other â€Å"sexualities† that were not often mentioned.

Produce a report analysing past 3years financial performance of Essay

Produce a report analysing past 3years financial performance of Stanley Leisure plc - Essay Example hows the ability of the firm to meet its short term obligations from the most liquid assets, the trend is the same except in 2006 where there is a slight improvement. Reasons: The reason for the decline of the liquidity position is due to a poor working capital management policy embraces by the firm. Implications The firm's ability to meet its short - term inducing financial obligations is declining over time. 2. Profitability Profitability of the firm can be measured using the gross profit margin ratio, operating profit margin ratio and the net profit margin ratio. Observation Profitability of the firm declined in 2005 compared to the 2004 results before shooting up again in 2006. This is shown by the gross profit/ margin ratio declining from 4% in 2004 to 3.2% in 2005 before shooting to 10.4%. And lastly, the net profit margin ratio has also followed the same trend - 1.34% - 1.29% - 5.25% Implications The implications of the above observations can be adequately analysed on a ratio by ratio basis. (a) Gross Profit Margin Ratio This ratio shows the ability of the firm to control the cost of goods sold expenses. It means that for every 100% of sales 9Turnover) the gross profit was 4%, 3.2% and 17.3% for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively. The cost of sales comprised of 96% (100% - 4%), 86.8% (100% - 3.2%) and 82.7% (100% - 17.3%) for the years 2004, 2005, and 2006 respectively. This shows that the firm is not able to control its cost of goods sold expenses. (b) Operating Profit Margin Ratio This ratio shows/ indicates the ability of the firm to control its operating expenses such as telephone insurance premiums, salaries & wages distribution expenses etc. It shows that 95.77% (100% - 4.23%); 96.6% (100% - 3.4%) and 89.6% (100% - 10.4%) of sales revenue was... This ratio shows the ability of the firm to control the cost of goods sold expenses. It means that for every 100% of sales 9Turnover) the gross profit was 4%, 3.2% and 17.3% for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively. The cost of sales comprised of 96% (100% - 4%), 86.8% (100% - 3.2%) and 82.7% (100% - 17.3%) for the years 2004, 2005, and 2006 respectively. This shows that the firm is not able to control its cost of goods sold expenses. This ratio shows/ indicates the ability of the firm to control its operating expenses such as telephone insurance premiums, salaries & wages distribution expenses etc. It shows that 95.77% (100% - 4.23%); 96.6% (100% - 3.4%) and 89.6% (100% - 10.4%) of sales revenue was incurred to meet a) Cost of goods sold expenses and b) Operating expenses. Even though there was an improvement in 2006, the rates are still low and the firm must look for means and ways of further curbing the operating expenses. This ratio shows how the firm is able to control its financing expenses (interest charges), operating expenses and cost of goods sold expenses. For XXXX co, it means that for ever 100 of sales revenue only 1.34, 1.29 and 5.25 remained as profit after tax and 98.66; 98.71 and 94.75 relate to the amount incurred in paying off expenses including tax and interest charges. Investments are simply total assets.

ETH501, Business Ethics, Mod 4 Case Assignment Essay

ETH501, Business Ethics, Mod 4 Case Assignment - Essay Example ation is presented to us in the rejection of the promotion test results by the New Haven CT for its fire department due to the lack of minority representation. This paper aims to understand the managerial and organizational performance consequences resulting from a demographic representation in the workforce. After carefully analyzing the arguments and evidences available, a conclusion shall be made on whether organizations should indeed undertake a demographic approach in determining the composition of their workforce. Representation is one of the basic tenets of social justice especially in a society priding itself of civility. Morality and ethics dictate that all members of society should have the opportunity to contribute to the development process. Power should be distributed and not confined to a few for democracy to persist. Carroll (1990) formalizes these concepts to two principles: the Golden Rule and the Disclosure Rule. The former takes root in religion and history and states that ‘if one wants to be fairly treated then one should treat others fairly too’. The Disclosure Rule states that if you are comfortable with decisions after asking yourself if you would mind if others were aware of them, the decision is probably ethical. Velasquez (1996) states that the respect for fundamental rights emanates from the principle of Rights Approach where people should be given the right to self-determination and adequate opportunities to do so. Public service organizations will find these ethical and moral obligations as enough motivational reasons to adapt demographic representation in the workplace. Nonetheless, idealistic principles can often be disregarded by prejudiced preferences and operational requirements. This is especially true in business settings where the desire for production, operational efficiency and sales volume often take priority rather than moral and ethical obligations. Adapting a demographically representative workforce must have

Produce a report analysing past 3years financial performance of Essay

Produce a report analysing past 3years financial performance of Stanley Leisure plc - Essay Example hows the ability of the firm to meet its short term obligations from the most liquid assets, the trend is the same except in 2006 where there is a slight improvement. Reasons: The reason for the decline of the liquidity position is due to a poor working capital management policy embraces by the firm. Implications The firm's ability to meet its short - term inducing financial obligations is declining over time. 2. Profitability Profitability of the firm can be measured using the gross profit margin ratio, operating profit margin ratio and the net profit margin ratio. Observation Profitability of the firm declined in 2005 compared to the 2004 results before shooting up again in 2006. This is shown by the gross profit/ margin ratio declining from 4% in 2004 to 3.2% in 2005 before shooting to 10.4%. And lastly, the net profit margin ratio has also followed the same trend - 1.34% - 1.29% - 5.25% Implications The implications of the above observations can be adequately analysed on a ratio by ratio basis. (a) Gross Profit Margin Ratio This ratio shows the ability of the firm to control the cost of goods sold expenses. It means that for every 100% of sales 9Turnover) the gross profit was 4%, 3.2% and 17.3% for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively. The cost of sales comprised of 96% (100% - 4%), 86.8% (100% - 3.2%) and 82.7% (100% - 17.3%) for the years 2004, 2005, and 2006 respectively. This shows that the firm is not able to control its cost of goods sold expenses. (b) Operating Profit Margin Ratio This ratio shows/ indicates the ability of the firm to control its operating expenses such as telephone insurance premiums, salaries & wages distribution expenses etc. It shows that 95.77% (100% - 4.23%); 96.6% (100% - 3.4%) and 89.6% (100% - 10.4%) of sales revenue was... This ratio shows the ability of the firm to control the cost of goods sold expenses. It means that for every 100% of sales 9Turnover) the gross profit was 4%, 3.2% and 17.3% for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively. The cost of sales comprised of 96% (100% - 4%), 86.8% (100% - 3.2%) and 82.7% (100% - 17.3%) for the years 2004, 2005, and 2006 respectively. This shows that the firm is not able to control its cost of goods sold expenses. This ratio shows/ indicates the ability of the firm to control its operating expenses such as telephone insurance premiums, salaries & wages distribution expenses etc. It shows that 95.77% (100% - 4.23%); 96.6% (100% - 3.4%) and 89.6% (100% - 10.4%) of sales revenue was incurred to meet a) Cost of goods sold expenses and b) Operating expenses. Even though there was an improvement in 2006, the rates are still low and the firm must look for means and ways of further curbing the operating expenses. This ratio shows how the firm is able to control its financing expenses (interest charges), operating expenses and cost of goods sold expenses. For XXXX co, it means that for ever 100 of sales revenue only 1.34, 1.29 and 5.25 remained as profit after tax and 98.66; 98.71 and 94.75 relate to the amount incurred in paying off expenses including tax and interest charges. Investments are simply total assets.

Fruit fly Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fruit fly - Lab Report Example On the other hand, the life cycle of the fruit fly is normally short. In this respect, it lasts for about 26 and 33 days for females and male flies. The life cycles could also be changed depending on the environment or specific mutations of genetics. At room temperature, the flies may take 10 days from egg to adult. This makes the fruit fly to be the best subjects for a research on genetics since multiple generation could be studied for a short duration of time. The fruit fly life cycle begins whenever an egg is laid by a female that is impregnated. The fly only gives out one egg at a moment. The hatching of the egg occurs within 22 hours, and the larvae mature in a period of four days (Manning 8). After this, the larvae would follow three stages up to the pupa stage. In this stage, pupal case is established, hardens and darkens in duration of 4 to 6 days. Lastly, the pupa changes to the adult stage. The male fruit flies have a body that is small with a black tip on their body’s end. The female fruit fly do have an abdomen that is pointed and are light compared to males. The prime objective the experiment involves the per formance of a dihybrid cross. Flies that were hybrid for two traits (dumpy wings or normal wings, black or normal body) together with two different eye color (wild red type and sepia brown) were provided for the experiment. The two were produced through the crossing of homozygous sepia-eyed flies, normal-winged, red-eyed flies and with dumpy. Prior study have shown out that dumpy wing mutation is an x-linked trait that is recessive thus carried by the x chromosome that determines the sex. Through a punnett square for the initial generation, the genotype that is expected and the ratio phenotype could be found. This is displayed in table 1. According to the table, 1, it is certain that the phenotype ration of the first generation is dumpy wing, half male, half female. This information can be used to generate a second punnett

History revision Essay Example for Free

History revision Essay History- What historians chose to interpret from the surviving evidence of the past Source + Historians = Histories All historians have their own views and interests due to their upbringing hence that the process of selection and interpretation distorts our ‘knowledge’ further. Issues in historiography Training of historians Objectivity in history Oral societies and history Problems of historical research Universal history Evidence- selection Source- How? Truth- Consensuses Context/ Perspectives Selection- Who decides? Interpretation Revision Ideology- Reputation, perspective, emerging ideas, lack of evidence Language and technique- To place emphasis and how historians chose to say Methodology- How the way you put the sources? (cross-examine, verification) Facts in history History from ‘above or below’ Motive Judgement- Whose? Audience Linguistics History and Ideology- Political beliefs influence Explicit vs. Implicit Something clearly or implied Form of literature- poems, speech â€Å"What are historical facts? † – Carl Becker 1. History is subjective- personal desires and prejudices (history changes along with society’s values) 2. History is interpreted differently between people (interpreting what in the past is though) 3. History cannot be re-enacted as a series of events 4. History is written on how much the Historian can extract from the evidence and his knowledge- background, audience, purpose, motive. 5. History is pre-occupied with ‘cold’ and ‘hard’ facts and not small detail (the obvious history) Case Study: Herodotus The historian Born at Halicarnassus (485 BC – 425 BC) Exiled due to conspiring against Persians Merchant and traveller Greek Historian Cannot be free form bias (critical judgement) Educated (upper class) Harnessed ill feelings towards Persian Motive and Purpose for Writing â€Å"These are the researches of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the Greeks and the foreigners from losing their due need of glory; and to put on record what were their grounds of feud† To commemorate To preserve the memory of the past by putting on record the astonishing achievements both of his and other people and more particularly. To show how they come into conflict To record the â€Å"glory† of Greeks To record stories even where truth is impossible (fantasises, legends) Inspired by Home and Hecateus Methodology and Technique Witness accounts Values Reports Sources Interests Viewpoints Evidence Books Entertainment Evidence Observations The Mind Enquiries Language and Style (words and phrases chosen, speeches, audience) Future Generations People’s viewpoint/ interpretation Memories Opinions Rumours Claims Honour Home and Hecateus Orally- entertaining Conflicting accounts Type of History Anthropology- study of mankind Ethnology Traditions, cultures and religious stories- oracles, wonders, marvels, dreams, myths, omens, sacrifices, prophecies, fables Societies- common practices Orators, politicians, demagogues, battles and warriors Polyphonic Constructed and recorded Books- customs, legends, history and tradition (The Histories) War between Persia and Greece Social and literary narrative Similar work style from predecessors (Homer and Hecateus: oral historians) Knowledge from his extensive travels Consulted witnesses and examined whenever possible and dreams, oracles and portents His opinion on plausible reports from implausible ones Intention of publishing hence being bias (perspective) Poetry (exaggeration) Impact of the historian on historiography Set a ‘standard’ no matter what (guidelines and rules) Creation of Western historical writing Include everything/ everybody Based on research Establishes historical writing as freely economic, political and diplomatic, social, sexual, religious, military or naval History as a field (social, cultural, gendered, religious, political, military An enquiry Storytelling and discipline Father of history and lies Establishes history as a mode of storytelling Post modernism Vocabulary Commemorative Divine intervention Greek pride Patriotic Remembrance Perspective of elite Greek society Broad Perspective Plethora Case Study- Thucydides The historian 460BC- 400 BC Elite, wealthy, male Early military career was cut short due to plague in Athens One of Athens’ ten generals Failing to save Amphipholis, he spends 20 years in exile. He returned at 404 BC. He has the opportunity to travel to both sides during the Peloponnesian War Age of the sophists- uses debates and rhetoric to argue issues Sceptical and rational Motive and Purpose for Writing â€Å"My work is not a piece of writing designed to meet the taste of an immediate public, but was done to last for ever† â€Å"I have written my work, not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time† Wrote the history of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians â€Å"that it would be a great war and more worthy of relation than any that had preceded it† Does not glorify war To record Methodology and Technique High value on eyewitness testimonies Episodes of himself taking part Consulted written documents Interviews of participants Does not recognise divine interventions Modern historical objectivity Chronology- summers and winters Debates that he records From memory Sharp analysis of causes and effects Language and Style (words and phrases chosen, speeches, audience) To last through the ages Prose literature Speeches- adds realism Cross-examination Validity of their ideas on logic and rational thinking Debates Morals Type of History Political and military history Detailed writing of military, naval battles, preparation for battles, encouraging speeches by generals, effects and consequences of war Peloponnesians War Events (no arts, literature or society) War of Greeks- disputes, colonies, war, envoys Fast moving, precise, directed, decisive, carefully structured and highly analytic Strict chronological method Monologic Constructed and recorded Sophist’s speeches (used debates and arguments and counter argument, view and counter view, opinion and counter opinion) Objective Book- History of the Peloponnesian War Headlined and narrow events- military and political and diplomatic Impact of the historian on historiography Invention of a chronological way Developed an understanding of human nature explaining behaviours in such crises (plagues, massacres and civil war) instead on divine intervention History is based on logic and rational reasons and thinking Increased of accuracy and reliability of sources Sharp analysis of causes and effect Father of â€Å"scientific history†- strict standard of evidence gathering and analysing of evidence History was to learn from the past therefore making better decisions in the future Didactic- to teach Vocabulary Rhetoric of uncertainty with phrases like Devoted in evoking in detail Focus on a great historical period, a period of war Analytical No criticisms Refers to an interpretation Innovative Critical World history Case Study- Horrible Histories, Teary Deary Aim/ purpose: Entertainment, monetary, children’s interest in history Motive: Make a statement (anti-authority context) as school interest in history is declining Methodology: Consults historians (record, writing, collecting) Have professional actors Scripts (Performance) Series on Television (BBC) Language/ style: Colourful bright colours In a humorous way â€Å"Stories about people, in dramatic situations, with jokes† Gags Imagination Impact: Refocus the presentation of history to young children From being dry and dull to with humour History is now acceptable to be shown on TV for children Information of history has changed dramatically Case Study- Bede

Research Methodology in Education Research

Research Methodology in Education Research Introduction This chapter explains the methodological underpinnings of the study. I provide justifications for the investigative and analytical paths adopted. I discuss the aim of the Critical Theory paradigm and its philosophical positions on epistemology, ontology and methodology in a research enterprise. Also addressed are the people involved, research instruments, data collection procedure, and data analysis. Figure designed by the researcher Figure 1 Conceptualisation of Research Design Philosophical Underpinnings of Critical Theory The study centres on issues of power, class, privilege and the consequent social relationships. Being aligned with the anti-colonial framework described in Chapter Two, the study is situated within the tradition of Critical Theory. Creswell (2014) puts Critical Theory under the umbrella of a transformative worldview. ToFay (1987), issues of empowerment, irrespective of gender, class, and race, are central to Critical Theory. Lincoln, Lynham, and Guba (2011) state that the research aim of Critical Theory is to critique, seek change and liberate. Per the theoretical framework, the study advocates for Ghanaian H.E to acknowledge and respect African worldviews and perspectives. The study argues that the dominant Western paradigms that shape Ghanas higher education do not adequately empower the Ghanaian student. This consciousness is necessary to make Ghanaian students a subject of the education experience to help reorient higher education and make it emancipatory. Table 1 summarises the ontological, epistemological, and methodological beliefs shaped by Critical Theory. Table adapted from a book source Item Critical Theory Ontology Historical realism reality shaped by social, political, cultural, economic, ethnic, and gender values; crystallised over time Epistemology Transactional/subjectivist; value-mediated finding Methodology Dialogic/dialectical Table 1 Basic Beliefs of Critical Theory (Lincoln, Lynham, and Guba, 2011) Research Approach Qualitative A qualitative approach was most appropriate for this research because it offers a better opportunity to provide in-depth understanding of the subject matter. It provided the best avenue to investigate the research questions. Design Critical Studies In line with the philosophical outlook of critical theory, I employ   McMillan and Schumachers (2010) critical studies framework because my research seeks to find out how privilege, class, and power acquired through Ghanas H.E can be translated to serve societal good. According to McMillan and Schumacher (2010), critical studies design emphasizes ideas like dignity, dominance, oppressed, authority, empowerment, inequality, and social justice (p. 347). Researchers employing a critical study design must advocate for and stimulate change. Methods of Data Collection Employed McMillan and Schumacher (2010) note that observation and interviews are common methods employed in critical studies (p. 347). Denzin and Lincoln (2011a) also mention that qualitative research is inherently multimethod (p. 5), albeit there is an imperative to provide sound rationale. Accordingly, I employed autobiography to illustrate my locatedness, a literature review, and face-to-face interviews as methods for this study. Action Plan Table designed by the researcher Research Questions Data Needed Methods Analysis Purpose 1. What does it mean to be educated in Ghana? Lived experience Autobiography The education environment, teaching, and learning How an educated person is recognised in Ghana 2. What are the main features of the historical development of H.E in Ghana? Secondary data Literature Review Historical analysis of the conceptions in traditional African and Western perspectives To present the different notions and purposes of H.E traditionally (African), during colonialism and contemporarily. 3. How elitist is H.E in Ghana? Primary data Fieldwork. Interviews through semi-structured interview guide Manually by presenting the themes in the responses To explore ways to mitigate the asymmetrical power relationships in H.E 4. What are the alternative means of funding H.E in Ghana? Primary data Fieldwork. Interviews through semi-structured interview guide Manually by presenting the themes in the responses Borders on access and de-commercialisation of H.E 5. What are the possible futures of H.E in Ghana? Primary data Fieldwork. Interviews through semi-structured interview guide Manually by presenting the themes in the responses Relevance of H.E Table 2 Summary of How Research Questions were Answered Question 1 What does it mean to be educated in Ghana? To answer this, I employed my experiences throughout school to illustrate the process of education and consequent characteristics that identify the highly schooled. Autobiography is a reflection on events of the past and a careful presentation of such accounts. Pictures and other artefacts help to illustrate the accounts presented in narratives (see Ellis, Adams Bochner, 2011). While this method locates me in the study (McMillan Schumacher, 2010) and offers insights into the broader outlook of H.E in Ghana, it comes with its shortfalls. Autobiography is criticised as being too artful and not scientific, or too scientific and not sufficiently artful and self-centred (Ellis et al., 2011, p. 283). Delamont in Ellis et al. (2011) accuses autobiography (as part of autoethnography) as lacking extensive fieldwork. Anderson, in Ellis et al. (2011), contends that the use of personal experience makes autobiography biased. I acknowledge these inadequacies and the shortcomings of human memory, hence my concentration on events during my university education. Furthermore, for my experience not to appear isolated, I engaged with other autobiographical accounts and literature to support my accounts to provide rigour. As Ellis et al. (2011) suggest, the credibility of the writer offers reliability in autobiography and the realistic nature of the account is the scale to measure validity. The strengths of autobiography are its ability to reduce prejudice on a phenomenon, and encourage personal responsibility and agency (Ellis et al., 2011, p. 280). Question 2 What are the main features of the historical development of H.E in Ghana? I employed secondary data (literature) in this regard. According to Neuman (2006), an extended literature review as a method gives the opportunity to explore the vast materials on a study. Literature provides a worthy source of information due to the dynamism and diversities in humanity. It is the basis of building and enhancing knowledge, skills and attitudes the foundation of education.   A literature review grants credibility to the study as a good review increases a readers confidence in the researchers professional confidence, ability and background. To Neuman, an extended literature review locates the study in a framework and demonstrates its relevance by making connections to a body of knowledge (p. 111). Further, a good review points out areas where prior studies agree, where they disagree, and where major questions remain. In addition, it identifies blind alleys and suggests hypotheses for replication (Neuman, 2006, p. 111). As part of my extensive literature review, I employ the works and speeches of prominent African Presidents and scholars to make a case for the type of higher education that would be meaningful in Ghana. Similarly, I employ academic literature and views of a former Ghanaian President and other political leaders to argue how colonial relations continue to survive in Ghana. Furthermore, I employ proverbs an embodiment of African oral traditions and culture as an example of an African knowledge base that can shape H.E. I utilise selected proverbs to argue that H.E in African perspectives promotes the public purpose. Fieldwork Questions 3, 4, and 5 Fieldwork is integral to many forms of research qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. It helps to comprehend and appreciate many social phenomena. Indeed, many academic disciplines are both fields of theory and practice and fieldwork is also integral. Peake and Trotz (1999) acknowledge the significance of fieldwork: it can strengthen our commitment to conduct good research based on building relations of mutual respect and recognition. It does, however, entail abandoning the search for objectivity in favour of critical provisional analysis based on plurality of (temporally and spatially) situated voices and silences (p. 37). Research Instrument I used a semi-structured interview guide as instrument to conduct the interviews. This was important to help elicit detailed information on the subject. Interviews are useful to elicit thick descriptions (Geertz, 1973) of knowledge and insight into realities. Denzin (2001) describes thick description as deep, dense, detailed accounts (p. 98), which provide alternative perspectives to that of the researcher. McMillan and Schumacher (2010) also note that critical studies are multi-method and say, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦observation and interviewing are used most often. The key is to gather the right form of information that will support the advocacy desired (p. 347-348). People Involved (Respondents) The respondents for this study were people who work or had worked within Ghanas public universities. I had a proxy who helped identify and made initial contact with prospective respondents. I interviewed a retired Professor who is the Chairman of a university council. He has been advocating over the decades for education in Ghana to reflect African culture and worldview. I accepted the recommendation from my proxy to interview him. He is vastly knowledgeable but inclined toward African worldviews. It was important to get such an individual at the apex of university decision-making to offer some insight on the inner dealings of universities. Another respondent was a former Pro-Vice Chancellor of a public university who is on a post-retirement contract. His past role in the university equips him to offer reason why the status quo remains and the difficulties that come with transformation. It is difficult to tell his biases but he does not seem entrenched on specific worldviews. A former Registrar of a public university who happens to hold a Ph.D was also interviewed because Registrars in Ghanaian universities are in charge of the day-to-day administration of the university, and hence have rich knowledge on the administrative setup of public universities. His strengths lie in administration. There was a traditional ruler (paramount Chief) who happens to be a Professor in a public university. He is predisposed to favour African worldviews and share light on how difficult or easy it is to fuse African worldviews in the university structure. His knowledge and promotion of ancient African history and African American studies indicates his inclinations. The next respondent was a Christian Reverend Minister who is also a Senior Lecturer. His specialization is in Performing Arts and how theatre can be used to develop societies. His works indicate immense African cultural advocacy despite being a Christian priest. I interviewed a former director of an Institute in a public university (position equal to a Dean). He is a Senior Lecturer in the field of Education and his inclinations are quite difficult to tell. The next respondent is a playwright and Lecturer who prior to his academic life held a top position in an international development agency. He was selected due to his knowledge of Ghanaian developmental issues and his deep insight into African cultural worldviews. Furthermore, I interviewed a respondent with expertise in Development Studies. He is a senior research fellow at the social division of an institute in a public university. Lastly, there was also a linguist and who is interested in African liberation and consciousness. His works and views are very political against the West. He is very knowledgeable in African culture and ancient African history. Cumulatively, the respondents have accrued over 200 years of experience working in universities. Data Collection/Procedure I had a proxy in Ghana who agreed to help identify and make initial contact with potential respondents. Though he once held a high position in a public university, he had no power or control over the respondents. After the respondents agree to participate, I liaised with the proxy to arrange a meeting and scheduled the interviews. Prior to the interview, I sent the interview guide to the respondents via e-mail so they could form their thoughts on the issues therein. The respondents expressed interest in the study and offered lots of encouragement. Even though I desired to interview females, the proxy found it difficult to locate them they were either busy or out of the country. I scheduled the interviews for an hour but most of them offered more than an hour two hours in some cases and they were willing for follow-up communication. Some offered references and suggested books that would contribute to the research. It was daunting and quite intimidating going to interview such high profile personalities. Voices like, Are the questions going to make sense to them, and do I know enough to engage an intellectual discussion with these people? kept echoing in my mind. Despite these butterflies, I was assured that the questions were shaped by concerns and gaps in literature. I also had it in mind that I was on a mission to learn. Nevertheless, the process came with obstacles. There were several instances where we rescheduled meetings because the respondents were unavailable. In some instances, they had impromptu engagements so they sacrificed our scheduled meeting. The classic experience was driving for about 150km from Accra to another region only to find the respondent chairing a function that closed late. He informed me of his schedule but we both thought the programme would finish early. At the end, he was visibly exhausted and had to drive about 80km home (in another region). He asked me to sleep over and make the 80km to his house the next day for the interview. I made the journey but did not get to see him immediately as there were many people waiting to see him. Eventually, when I had the opportunity to meet him, my lack of traditional knowledge was severely exposed. His elders and members of his council would not entertain English/Western protocols, so I had to fall on the limited Palace protocols I know to navigate that space. He nevertheless was extremely helpful and introduced me to many other scholars. From a Western perspective, these issues border on power but the African in me acknowledged that these delays were not intentional, though frustrating and expensive. It was obvious they were busy; besides, I saw their acceptance to participate as a favour as there were no payments or incentives.   There is an African proverb that With patience, one can dissect the ant and see its intestines. Data Analysis To quote Patton (2002), qualitative analysis transforms data into findings. No formula exists for that transformation. Guidance, yes. But no recipe. Direction can and will be offered, but the final destination remains unique for each inquirer, known only when and if arrived at (p. 432). My data analysis began with the growth of the thesis. In the course of writing the theoretical perspectives and the literature review, some thematic areas began to emerge. The major themes bordered on notions of elitism in Ghanaian/African H.E, a lack of community-oriented values in Ghanaian/African H.E, and the African renaissance and pride. I employed these as pre-determined themes on which I formulated research questions. Therefore the responses were to answer questions that came out of these themes. I analysed the field data manually by adopting an inductive approach of qualitative data analysis. I transcribed the interviews into text and separated [it] into workable units (McMillan Schumacher, 2010, p. 369). I organised the responses and grouped them under the various research questions and read the transcripts thoroughly to identify comments pertinent to answer the research questions. I highlighted these comments and looked out for new observations and insights that could offer other understandings to the study. I examined the field transcripts to identify emerging themes and patterns, made interpretations out of the themes, and considered them in regard to the literature and theoretical framework. I subsequently present the findings and discussions in anecdotes (McMillan Schumacher, 2010). Credibility Credibility in qualitative studies refers to the extent to which findings and analyses of the study are realistic (McMillan Schumacher, 2010). To ensure this, I designed the interview guide based on issues raised in literature. In addition, I endeavoured to interview different people with different expertise within the university structure. Though I could not get any respondent from government institutions, the respondents offered worthy responses as some have occupied different positions in government institutions. A technique I employed to enhance credibility of the study was to send the transcribed interview to the respondents via e-mail for them to confirm the transcription appropriately captured their thoughts. I consequently provide detailed narratives from the respondents. Giving that the respondents did not object to the transcripts, the quotations offered in the analysis chapter of this study reflect the data collected. Reflexivity Chilisa (2012) argues that the closeness between the researcher and respondents may affect the truth value of research as it becomes difficult to distinguish between their experiences. In this study, I acknowledge my biases, and clearly illustrate and justify them both in my theoretical and methodological perspectives. The nature of Critical Theory and critical studies makes the issue of reflexivity quite tricky as the research is shaped and designed by biases that must be checked. Being conscious of my biases, I left the selection of respondents in the hands of a third party. Besides, the respondents are established academics who I could barely influence especially regarding what to say. I also devoted significant space to the voices of the respondents in the analysis chapter to clearly illustrate their thoughts and maintain the truth value of the study. Though triangulation helps in addressing trustworthiness of qualitative studies, the nature and status of my respondents made triangulation quite impossible. I could not use independent auditors, as suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985), due to ethical restrictions. However, by sending the transcribed interviews to the respondents to validate, I was able to enhance the credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of this study, ensuring trustworthy findings that a reader could transfer and generalise in a similar space. Conclusion In this chapter, I have outlined the research design used in the research. I have argued that adopting a qualitative approach is appropriate to answer the research questions. Employing a critical studies framework justifies the aim of helping transform social relations between the schooled and unschooled in Ghana. It offers empowerment to students of Ghanas H.E by offering alternative perspectives to help emancipate the schooled from dominant Western perspectives. Through my proxy, I was able to interview knowledgeable people in Ghanaian universities who offered rich information on how H.E can serve a public purpose. I used the inductive method of qualitative data analysis by highlighting responses that answer the research questions. The emerging themes from responses were synthesised and presented as anecdotes. In the next chapter, I will describe, using my lived experiences, how the educated individual is constructed in Ghana. My autobiographical approach will indicate how the process of schooling divides society and confers notions of superiority and difference to the highly schooled a phenomenon the study conceptualise as colonial.