General Motors Organizational Transition

General Motors Organizational Transition General Motors was founded by William Durant on September 16th, 1908. General Motors (GM) is an American based automobile manufacturing company. From its inception, GM has grown from a small Detroit, Michigan manufacturing plant to one of the top three auto manufacturers in America and the world’s second largest. GM has manufacturing plants in 35 countries and sells in over 200 countries. Throughout the years, recognizable brand names such as Oldsmobile, Opel, Cadillac, Pontiac and Chevrolet have become a part of GM. The company has branched out into the aviation and financial lending fields as well. Recent economic meltdowns have affected GM to point of bankruptcy in 2008. It took an American government bail-out in 2008 to save the company. GM then began an over-haul of its entire organization; including production, manufacturing, management structure and fiscal responsibility practices. The article, GM Organizational Change by Michelle Powers, published March 17, 2009, covers many points of the corporation’s transition from a traditional organizational model to a transformed organizational model. The article identifies how changing the organizational model impacted GM’s workforce, customer base and local communities that GM’s many arms of business were a part of, support systems that were put in place at GM to insure successful transition. Before the transition was put into effect, GM had a traditional hierarchical management structure and viewpoint. At the top of the structure was the president, who was answerable to only the board of directors, senior management and vice-presidents of varied departments were answerable to the president. On down the line there were division managers & supervisors and so on, then your average, regular employees. Having separate entities, such as Buick, Cadillac and other divisions operating differently from each other and the parent company was costly and ineffective in this â€Å"earth is flat† economic and communications era. GM North America President Mark Reuss, stated, â€Å"I could see clear as day that the mix and the structure of people just wasn’t right. These changes were necessary for GM to move faster and win. We need people who are change agents. After the economic troubles of the company, all aspects of how the company was run and directed were researched. Jack Smith GM’s CEO stated, â€Å"I had the opportunity to really structure the business in the way I thought is should be run. † GM has started to move their organization into what is called a transformed organizational model (TOM). A TOM does not have multiple departments, performing sepa rate tasks from others with different goals. It has taken several years to transform GM to an organization with a more centralized organization. The company set up The Automotive Strategy Board, a management committee to ensure that the CEO was informed and knowledgable of the company’s progress, trouble-spots, and over-all health. A monthly meeting is held with all the heads of all the regional departments even Global officials had to attend via phone. With this plan, all of the companies leaders were informed and were able to implement common goals and practices. The separate computer systems bogged down communications and often produced more mis-communication than not. A central software program was developed and implemented. All offices, administration staff, management, and employees were all trained on the new system world-wide. This level of development and training was costly. With the new level of stream-lined communications and universal usage, the system and training proved their worth. In the new Mishawaka, Indiana plant, GM has pioneered a teamwork concept called the Global Manufacturing System (GMS). Teams of workers have designed the jobs that are performed for each stage of the production process. The worker is supported first by his or her own â€Å"team†, a group of four or five workers assigned to perform specific tasks. The team is supported by a team leader. In turn, each group of four or five teams has the support of a group leader. In addition, each person is a member of a team assigned to perform specific tasks. Each team member is cross-trained for each other’s job. â€Å"Inherent in this process is everyone helps everyone. The whole focus, the entire focus, of GMS is to support the operator,† said AM General President and Chief Executive Officer, James Armour. So far, AM General has spent $35 million on more than 177,000 hours of training for employees. The plant(s) implementing the GMS model show more confidence in the workers. On the assembly line there are cords for each station in the event that a worker feels that there is a problem, he or she can stop the line at his or her discretion to correct the problem. The assembly lines are designed more ergonomically. Other plants use the straight-line assembly model where workers have to reach the line either by differing platform heights or outright reaching from the ground. The new plant has the assembly line rolling along for different heights for each portion of the production needed in that placement. Employees have more control over their life on the job. This has been leading to less management/labor disputes . The plant has a three-step grievance system and as of yet, no grievance has gone further than the first step. Not all plant employees who have been offered a transfer to the new GMS model have not been interested in a transfer. For some people the old way is working best for them. If this model continues to be successful, they might not have a choice about it for much longer. I believe that the changes GM has been implementing have improved the company overall. It seems that extensive research showed that getting the people of all levels throughout the company more involved with more aspects has had a positive impact. The use of teams has proved more effective than the solitary worker with a manager or supervisor to report to. Centralizing communications has put everyone on the â€Å"same page† for goal setting, problem solving, and share of information throughout the organization. The more information that is shared, the better for all concerned. The employees are more empowered with the chance to improve their production, implement their ideas, creativity and have more responsibility. The company has showed concern for the worker’s well-being, respect for their jobs and contributions to the company. That type of leadership gives the employees confidence in their leaders and their jobs. The entire over-haul of the company has predominately been concerned with OB. Corporate culture begins with OB. You cannot change a company for the better without taking into account the people who work at all levels for the company is not going to be effective on any level. GM has been recovering from its financial difficulties and these changes have had a major part in it. It has been showing consistent growth and profit for the last year. It has also been making it’s payments for the financial bail-out. I believe they are the only company who has done so. On top of that they have been running ads telling the people of America thank you and acknowledging their employees for their efforts at improving GM.

Throwaway Confidential Informants Essay

The article, â€Å"The Throwaways†, by Sarah Stillman, is an account of confidential informants being used as inexpensive and off the record pawns in the drug war. A confidential informant is a person who has been caught for a crime, usually illegal narcotics, and has been offered to have their slate wiped clean or their punishment reduced if they help bust a higher up criminal. The police treat these informants as if they are nothing else but a tool to catch the criminals at the top of the food chain. The police do not stop to think that the informants are often productive people in society, even if they decide to partake drug use. I have a close friend who was asked to be an informant after being busted with just a small amount of marijuana. I strongly advised against this for his safety, and my friend instead had to spend nearly four thousand dollars on a lawyer. It is unjust and immoral for police officers to use these people with no formal guarantee that their charges will be dropped, as well as putting them in extremely dangerous situations. â€Å"The Throwaways† is an article about four young confidential informants who had their lives cut short because they decided to cooperate with law enforcement and help bust drug dealers. Every single informant’s fate led 6 feet underground. Rachel Hoffman was a twenty-three year old girl who had plans to go to culinary school and open a new type of rehabilitation center. Rachel was found dead the next day fifty miles from where the cops were supposed to be tracking her every move. Lebron Gaither testified against a man in court and was then ordered to try and buy narcotics from the same man he had just testified against; he was tortured, shot with a handgun as well as a shotgun, ran over by a car, and then dragged by a chain into the woods. Shelly Hilliard was caught with a half ounce of pot, threatened with prison, and agreed to be an informant. Hilliard’s body was found on fire beneath a mattress on a service road. The last informant in the article, Jeremy Mclean, agreed to be an informant because he did not want to bring disgrace to his family name. The police continued to make Jeremy bust drug dealers until he helped lead to the arrest of a heroin trafficker. The officers said that the heroin trafficker, William Vance Reagan, Jr., was harmless and not to worry. Reagan shot Jeremy in the back of the neck 3 times and once in the face. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole (Stillman). Narcotics officers use informants  as a disposable tool to get to people, or places that they cannot get to alone. According to the article, over eighty percent of drug busts involve informants (Stillman 38). There are usually no contracts and the informants have to trust that the officers will keep their word. I think that this is insane and it endangers the lives of mostly young people who have their entire life ahead of them. At the time, the opportunity to be a confidential informant and having all of their charges dropped seems like a better option than time in jail or huge fines. It is too dangerous to bust a drug dealer. The word would get out that they got arrested, and the informant would be the number one suspect. I have a close friend who was smoking pot at a Wiz Khalifa concert in his car before going in, because he had been told that there were cops inside and that the security guards searched you before you went in. While smoking he saw two men walking up by his car, one a big strong white man and the other a smaller African American man. As they walked past his car, he took a sip of his drink because his throat burned slightly from the smoke. The two men saw him do this, pointed at his car and walked off. My friend felt that something was wrong because of the way they pointed at the car, so he got out to go into the concert. The next thing he knew, both of those men had chased him down and were interrogating him about what he had been drinking. He did not look stoned, because he had put in eye drops and said he wasn’t drinking anything but a coke. The men pulled out their badges and fifteen other cops circled around him. They reached in his pocket, took out his keys and unlawfully searched his car, because he had been seen drinking a coke. When they found marijuana in the car, they were surprised. They didn’t read him his Miranda rights nor have probable cause to search the car. The smaller African American man asked my friend to step aside and asked him if he knew where he could get an ounce or more of pot. He said yes and then he offered for him to be an informant, he gave him his number and said to call him J. The man said that this is how it would go down if he agreed; J would give my friend money and he would walk in and buy a gram of pot, walk out and give J the marijuana. Then a couple days later he would have to introduce J to the dealers and they would both buy some marijuana. Then J would attempt to get over an ounce of pot. After a couple weeks passed, the police would come to the dealer’s house and arrest him. My friend could have had his charges dropped completely. Although he could have  also ended up like Jeremy and perform more sting operations, or even worse dead. There are no contracts, it is completely based on the cop’s word and that is a huge problem. You never know what could set a person off and make them mad enough to kill you. For example; in a neighborhood near mine a drug dealer shot and killed four teenagers because they did not pay him for two grams of weed worth forty dollars. I think that using confidential informants at all should be outlawed due to the excessive risk in every situation, but I am very biased because of my friend. The current law regarding informants requires special training for the officers, t he informant’s age and emotional state to be considered, and for the level of risk to be taken into account. (Stillman 47) There are still no real guidelines, just certain things that the officers must consider. There either needs to be much more strict guidelines, such as the informant must be a legal adult, or the use of confidential informants should be made completely illegal. The tragic stories that are presented in this article should be enough for anyone with a conscience to know that the use of informants is wrong. The police use informants as a cheap way to bust dealers by scaring the people into cooperating. I have a personal experience in my life that impacts my opinion on the use of informants. My friend could have been killed while doing the law enforcement’s dirty work, because he decided to smoke a small amount of marijuana. The decision to become a confidential informant should not be one of the last decisions a person must make in his or her life. It should be completely illegal for trained police officers to endanger the lives of citizens by offering them to be an informant. I believe police officers should protect and serve, that means not aiding the deaths of ordinary people. Works Cited Stillman, Sarah. â€Å"Re: The Throwaways.† New Yorker. N.p., 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 27 Sept. 2012. . â€Å"Marijuana-arrests.com.† Marijuana-arrests.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012.

Womens Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Womens Rights - Essay Example Of what use is it to be an equal to someone with whom we consider from nigh Puritanical viewpoints as someone less able than us I believe that the true emancipation of woman is only achieved by acceptance of the fact that between her and man, there must exist an acceptance of the other's worth and an openness to the fact that one needs the other to be whole and free. The Bible has often been used to benefit the cause of men who wished to maintain the 'status quo' they had created for so long. Interpretation is leans on the idea that women were created to serve as servants to man. She is the caretaker of the home, the bearer of children and nothing more. It is against this idea that women's emancipation movement has long fought against. We have struggled to show that there are more to women than this 'archetype' man has Set and in our efforts to disprove their claim, we have failed to see that the Biblically, a woman's role is not just as a servant but also as an equal and companion from the start. A useful anecdote comes to mind where an argument is made for women as equals: God takes her from man's side, not above him to be his superior, not from his feet to be his servant, but from his side to be his equal - a partner with whom he husbands the beauty of the Garden of Eden. In our efforts to defy the conventions to which we have been shackled, we have overlooked this one key point and have thus upset the balance of nature in our efforts to prove that we are not inferior, but are in fact, the more superior gender. Consider the price of our effort to prove our worth. Goldman describes that for today's modern woman to achieve a level of equality with man, she needs to exert all her effort to the point of exhaustion and she closes herself off to anything else that might hinder her from achieving this objective. The modern woman denies herself her natural need to nurture and care by taking on aspects, heretofore considered man's dominion. She becomes driven by an ambition so total that she becomes cold and calculating that she denies herself the most vital right of loving and being loved.Even Elisabeth Cady Stanton, one of the great leaders of the women's emancipation movement and who had so shocked the world with her arguments in "Home Life" a speech she made on marriage and divorce: "from a woman's standpoint, I see that marriage as an indissoluble tie is slavery for women, because law, religion, and public sentiment all combine under this relation, whatever it may be and there is no other huma n slavery that knows such depths of dedregation [sic] as a wife chained to a man whom she neither loves nor respects". Even in that statement it is acknowledge that it is no bad thing for a woman to have someone whom she loves and respects. The view that men are to be looked on as 'oppressors', a view unfortunately held by some of the more radical activists for the women's right s movement, reflects a sorry state of affairs as these women deprive themselves of their true freedom. The fact that they look upon women who have abdicated this view by virtue of their having married as

Indias Cast System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Indias Cast System - Essay Example It is linked to a concept called the four varnas, which will be covered in more detail below. The caste system comes about from an innate (something that a being is born with) spiritual place in the universe based upon these four varnas. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and evaluate the caste system in India and it’s relationships to Hinduism to provide a general overview of this important aspect of Indian life. The paper will also explore how important this system is for many Indians, and the changes that are being made to the system in response to global political change. Overview of the Caste System To fully understand the caste system of India, the specific consideration of different spiritual aspects is needed. Perhaps the most important part of the caste system is based around the central concept of the four varnas, which are large categories. The first of these (and the most highly regarded) is the Brahmin class. The usual translation for this caste is schola rly, representing the important role that this caste plays in religious and philosophical occupations within India (Fuller, 1979). The next most highly regarded caste is the Kshatriya, representing what could be considered a military elite or warrior class. The purpose of this caste in Hindu society is to protect society (Fuller, 1979). The third most important class according to the varnas is the Vaishya class. This is the pastoral or farming class, with many of the occupations of its members revolving around livestock and crop farming. This caste may also take up trade careers (Chandra, 2005). Finally, Shudra individuals are seen as part of the servant class. People born into this caste may typically expect to have jobs serving the members of the other three castes (Chandra, 2005). There is also a final group which may not be seen as part of the traditional caste system, for individuals who are not members of any other group. These people are known as the untouchables and can occu py some of the least favourable positions in society and can be ignored by members of any caste (Pruthi, 2004). There are also further divisions within each caste which are known as jatis (Singh, 2005). These can vary between Indian regions, but family members tend to remain within one jati (which dictates occupation). It is also traditional for jati members to marry within a group and carry on an occupation lineage, as with the much broader caste system described above (Singh, 2005). Each jati will fit with other ‘tribes’ into the more general caste system outlined above. These groups tend to be much smaller but still very close-knit in nature, which has led some people to call the jati the ‘building blocks’ of Indian society (Pruthi, 2004). It can be fairly difficult to move between jatis, as with castes, because intermarriage and communication between the groups is not generally encouraged (Pruthi, 2004). It may also be difficult for a member of one jati to learn the trade of another, again prohibiting movement between the groups (Pruthi, 2004). It is possible for a jati as a whole to improve social status by avoiding untouchables and unpleasant work and taking on more priestly ways (such as following the Hindu practices of vegetarianism, for example). History of the Caste System There is some debate about the origination of the caste system. As it has such close ties to Hinduism, it makes sense to evaluate the

Outsourcing in Electronics Manufacturing - Does it Work Research Paper

Outsourcing in Electronics Manufacturing - Does it Work - Research Paper Example In fact the majority of organizations (i.e. multinational or national) at the present contract or outsource their business services for instance call center  services, electronic mail services and  payroll. In addition, these services are divided among different companies that are well experienced in providing services and facilities. However, these organizations are sometimes located out of the country (Thompson, 2011; Turban, Leidner, McLean, & Wetherbe, 2005). In this scenario, the outsource manufacturing expansion is as a great deal a return to essential competencies as it is an attempt to reduce operating expenditures. In addition, the enhancement of external knowledge has been particularly apparent in electronics manufacturing, which has basically turned into the shape of an outsource business model. Additionally, from circuit boards that present a wide variety of services and functionalities to wireless communications units to the insertion of micro electromechanical (MEM) sensors in a plethora of problem-solving and diagnostic devices, to a greater extent refined devices and electronic components are being contract manufactured. Hence, it allows electronics manufacturers to pay attention to what they do best at the same time as addressing the clinical needs of customers (Teng, 2012). In the past few years, there has been extensive progress in outsourcing in electronics manufacturing. We have seen that, a lot of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have adopted this modern trend in order to quickly and cost efficiently enter into new marketplaces. In addition, by teaming with a knowledgeable partner, an OEM could considerably reduce the time as well as operating expenses implicated in developing new services and products like that Microsoft did in its launch of the Xbox (Delattre, Hess, & Chieh, 2003; Teng, 2012). This paper presents a detailed analysis of some of the important aspects that are associated with outsourcing in electronics manufactur ing. The basic purpose of this research is to analyze how outsourcing in electronics manufacturing offers advantages and support for business cut down overall cost and enhance potential profitability of the business. This paper will present an overview of outsourcing with respect to the electronics industry and also present a critic, whether or not outsourcing in electronics manufacturing helps the business. Outsourcing within the Electronics Industry All through the world, businesses, manufacturing and industries outsourcing is not a new idea or trend for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). It is basically a â€Å"make v/s buy† assessments and decisions that have been around for businesses and manufacturing industries for a long time. In fact, it is not easy to find out a business that completely manufactures its own electronic items and products currently. However, it is also a fact that the outsourcing is relatively a new idea for electronics manufacturers industries (Delattre, Hess, & Chieh, 2003; Teng, 2012). In addition, an amazing flow in electronics manufacturing outsourcing actually started in the mid 90s and sustained throughout 2000s. All through this evolutionary period, a large number of huge technology original equipment manufacturers were getting their manufacturing policies to benefit from the wave of outsourcing substitutes that were easily accessible to them, to both improve the quality of their products and minimize asset and operating expenses. In

Statement on company's activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Statement on company's activity - Essay Example The various categories of users mentioned above lead to a real problem in preparing the report. Any annual report is mainly addressed to the members of the board, but also to other shareholders and business partners, to any financial analyst, employees, and, of course, the competition and journalists. This is one of the reasons many managers rather present only the very simplified information, as required by law, and nothing more. Of course, as a downside, companies are oftentimes accused that they use different communication and readability tools in order to draw the attention on the good parts and minimize, on the other hand, the bad ones. Indeed, the thematic structure of a report can be a very important element: it can emphasize some parts while leaving the others partially undeveloped or simply in the shadow. Still, as different categories of users look for different facts, the danger of neglecting some points of view is real. Although many think of the annual report as a financial one, this is only one of the points that need to be addressed in the statement. Among the other points of interest, an annual report should include the company's activities, important issues, challenges, goals, long and short term strategies. These details are important, as they help not only the stockholders, but also the potential customers, to understand the effectiveness of past plans, but also the degree of credibility of other future ones. In fact, this is also helpful for the companies themselves; as a research conducted in UK shows, "those companies which most clearly communicated their strategy and market opportunities in 2006 outperformed the FTSE 100 in the subsequent 12 months". In fact, everybody expects to hear clear stated purposes and achievements, as honesty and straight forwardness are the real guarantees of the company's credibility and success. The importance of the annual report is obvious and undisputable; this is why, in order to be effective, it has to be coherent and credible, highlighting all the important elements of the business. As no company can really exist on today's market without proper planning, the market strategies have to be clearly stated as well. It is only obvious that the way this information is presented to the audience is of a huge importance; even so, different groups of audience are likely to have very different reactions to it. For example, no investor would even take into consideration working with a company that hasn't got its market strategy clearly stated; on the other hand, this information can be used as a weapon against the company itself, by the media or by the concurrence. Even if we leave aside all the exterior dangers, there is, still, an inside major one: that of preparing and presenting this part of the report in an unfavorable or inconsistent manner. A coherent presentation will allo w the investors to understand what is the company really using the money for, but it is also a way of proving the company's abilities to break through on the market. As the annual report reflects the company's success, it is only normal that the managers try to make it look as good as possible. Oftentimes, financial analysts accuse the companies of issuing "too many bland statements", action that makes their annual report

Recommendation letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Recommendation letter - Essay Example [Surname] usually consult with me if he has any challenging issue and I must confess that he is one of the most astounding people with critical problem solving skills I have ever met, in spite of his young age. For the period I have known him, [Surname] has shown his undying passion for civil engineering. One day, I received a call from [surname] asking if he could see me. When I invited him over to my place, his first question after greetings was, â€Å"do you think I can become the most successful civil engineer in my country?† I could only boost his ambition by telling him he could be world’s best civil engineer because I knew his potential. [Surname] plans to be a government consultant and improve the condition of roads in his country in the best way he can. However, he can only achieve this by pursuing a higher level of education. As such, your institution is a major link for [surname] to achieve his long-lived dream. Moreover, your university has ever been the most appealing institution for him to pursue his dream programme. Your assistance will be highly appreciated. Thank

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 29

History - Essay Example However, their efforts remained unappreciated by the English army and so the chief of the Cherokee ordered his warriors to return back home. Some days later, another delegation of Cherokee warriors and fighters along with the Virginian troops launched an operation against the Shaawanooki tribe. The Shaawanooki tribe proved to be very elusive and hard to defeat and so the Cherokee warriors started to decline gradually and they ended up fighting against Virginians. The Virginians, being larger in number, defeated and killed many Cherokee fighters. The Virginian troops also scalped many Cherokee warriors and presented the scalps as those of the members of Shawanooki tribe. Bounties were also given to the Virginian troops for those scalps which also ended up in enraging the Cherokee warriors and tribe leaders. In retaliation, the Cherokee leaders declared war against the British and started raids on distant British settlements. The Cherokee, however, did not fight as allies or France but fought as an individual independent entity. They also had the support of the Muskogee tribe who had always been in support of France and were French allies. (Hatley, 1995) William Henry, who was the governor of South Carolina at that time, sent an army of around 1000 men to deal with the Cherokee people. The confrontation proved to be successful as the towns of Cherokee quickly agreed to peace. Cherokee warriors, who were accused of treason and murder of white people, were turned over by the people and later on they were executed. Many chiefs of the Cherokee tribe were taken and imprisoned at Fort Prince George (named after the Prince of Wales). Tensions settled down for some time but the Cherokee people, who were filled with hate and rage, continued to attack settlements. Other small settlements of South Carolina were also victims of the Cherokee raids. In 1760, the Cherokee warriors, in an attempt to free their chiefs and other hostages, attacked Fort Prince George. The Chief

Corporate Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Corporate Risk Management - Essay Example In recent years, and especially after the global economic crisis, it is an observation that some governments are endeavoring to reduce expenses so that they can cope with the crisis in different sectors. The Saudi government has concluded that operating a medical hospital by private companies result in the increment of costs for the government. Therefore, the government decided to begin operation of hospitals publicly to reduce expenses, as well as, to increase the quality of medical services provided to the people. This decision put some companies in big trouble because it was a sudden decision that were relying on only the operation of hospitals as their financial source. At the end of 2008, experts witnessed anger of the public in Saudi Arabia due to lack of quality services of some companies associated with the field of medical operation of government hospitals. Government, as well as public noted that companies were not able to provide services equivalent to that of the government contracts. Therefore, the Saudi government issued a surprising decision to prohibit companies from running public hospitals, which led to the annoyance of associated companies that caused termination of the employment contracts with huge number of staff. In this section, I will identify the basis of the problem, as well as determine the extent of the problem and its impact on the specific company. In addition, the paper will attempt to discuss confrontations of this risk and the way company resolved this risk in an efficient manner. For such purpose, graph including factors of the risk management cycle will provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue. The first phase of the cycle of risk management is identification of risk and factors that caused the risk and circumstances that promoted the occurrence of risk. Although the dependence on a specific investment seems a

Education Essay Example for Free

Education Essay Did you know that education in school is really important? Many parents believe that education is important because it leads to a degree which grants you a good job. With an education you can get a steady pay check. With that pay check you will get away to financial independence as an adult. Why is Education So Important? he first thing that strikes me about education is knowledge gain. Education gives us knowledge of the world around us. It develops in us a perspective of looking at life. It helps us build opinions and have points of view on things in life. People debate over the subject of whether education is the only thing that gives knowledge. Some say, education is the process of gaining information about the surrounding world while knowledge is something very different. They are right. But then, information cannot be converted into knowledge without the catalyst called education. Education makes us capable of interpreting things rightly. It is not just about lessons in textbooks. It is about the lessons of life. Did you know that education in school is really important? School and education help people you understand beyond the world around them. Education helps ones immediate family, area, region, country, culture, race, or civilization. These different subjects open up information and knowledge. An important aspect of education is learning how to learn in order differentiate fact from fiction. Education is important because it equips us with all that is needed to make our dreams come true. Education opens doors of brilliant career opportunities. It fetches better prospects in career and growth. Every employer of today requires his prospective employees to be well educated. He requires expertise. So, education becomes an eligibility criterion for employment into any sector of the industry. We are rewarded for exercising the expertise required for the field we venture. We are weighed in the market on the basis of our educational skills and how well we can apply them. Education brings about economic wealth, political stability and social prosperity; all these are hallmarks of a prosperous society. It can therefore be said that education playas an important role if a society is to be successful. Tertiary education is an important aspect in the development of any society that considers or aspires to be modern. It is by far the best investment that a nation or an individual can make in its youth or oneself respectively. Educated people are in a better position to contribute to the development of their country; these educated individuals get employment opportunities that give them satisfaction and also earn some form of respect among their work mates. It also plays an important role in the integration of a society in that by interacting with people from various areas, it will raise different issues that people in rural areas are facing thereby promoting knowledge and understanding of these areas Life is nothing without education? Life without education is like living in the streets. Without education youll become lost. You will not have a guaranteed future. You will no go home ridding your favorite car to your Own home. By learning your basic alphabets youll work your way through to have a professional career. Therefore with out Education to school you will not learn at all. Life is never without education. In societies without formal schools, parents pass skills on to children. Education starts before you ever go to school and goes on after you finish school. That said, formal education is a great way to ensure that every child knows what is most necessary to live in a particular society. Without education you will be an illiterate person your children in the future will come up to you and you’re not going to know how to answer them with a right answer. Education will help build your own perspective. Schools are the place you school of started how to pronounce and count. Importance of education is needed in order to succeed in today’s world. In order to receive education you must go through some process. Your first process is to graduate from high school with your diploma. The next step is to attend college to obtain a degree in a trade that you would like to pursue. Without education you wouldn’t get good pay or promotion that you deserve. However, some people feel that they can get by in life without education, sadly that is not true. If you would like at the graphic at the bottom you will see that the higher the education you have the more money you can make. Education is important to have in today’s society. Importance of education able you to have a good job security and knowledge of your field supporting the hard work a person put into there education. Overall, school is the basic start that will drive you to your future. With knowledge youll get the sense of pride that you know must of the things. Education will help brighten your children’s future. 66% of the US population has a high school diploma or high. You should be amongst these people.

Analysis of Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee) in Everyday Use

Analysis of Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee) in Everyday Use Where Must One Fit Analysis of Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee) in Everyday Use What made the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 70s such a powerful force, and why did it start in the first place? Author Russell Rickford explains in We Are an African People: Independent Education, Black Power, and the Radical Imagination, what Pan-Africanism means. The definition consists of rethinking African-American identity not in terms of being a minority or racial group, but as an African people. The movement was grounded in the importance of cultural rebirth to a people who were deemed unworthy of moral treatment, excluding them from the label of human. They did not know anything nor were aware about their African heritage. In Alice Walkers story Everyday Use she describes two sides of the same coin when it comes to heritage. Maggie, who stays at home with Mama and lives their heritage through traditions which are passed down. And Dee, who becomes enthralled with the concept of African-nationalism, practicing new habits which alter her psyche. This leads Dee to denounc e her recent heritage, excluding Mama and Maggie for being uneducated and categorizing the objects used every day as priceless folk-art. With the fight for desegregation of schools and the civil rights movement of the 1970s, African-nationalism was born. This is the time period when Dee, who was college educated, where the trend originated, had a new-found outlook on her African roots. So much so that she changed her outward appearance and name. When Mama inquired on why she changed it to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo, Dee simply replied with Shes dead. I couldnt bare it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.(27) Perplexed by the concept of the name change, Mama told her she was named after her aunt Dicie and that Dee was handed down through the generations. Wangero, getting tired of the conversation, jumped to the conclusion that somewhere down the line her ancestor was a slave to a white family and thus gave her a white name. Many outside sources such as The Nation of Islam encouraged Africans to abandon their slave names, their leader Elijah Muhammed writes You must remember that slave-names will keep you a slave in the eyes of the civilized world today. You have seen, and recently, that Africa and Asia will not honor you or give you any respect as long as you are called by the white mans name. Along with changing her name, Wangeros attire transformed as well. Straight hair, for Africans was a sign, another step towards assimilation into white society. Too more effectively exclude herself as an independent black woman Wangero grew out her afro. To Africans it was a symbol of defiance and repossession of her ancestral identity, embracing who they were naturally without being categorized as undesirable for their lack of straight fine hair.ÂÂ   She dressed herself in a long flowing bright dress that looked a lot like a traditional African garb and instead of saying hello she greeted Mama with the African term Wa-su-zo-Tean-o. The introduction to the new and improved Dee attests to the psychological process of morally separating herself from the past generations and reclaiming her Blackness. This includes wanting to take items from Mamas house in order to display them in a show and tell way further amplifying what she had to overcome. We are lead to question Dees sincerity when it comes to the acquisition of the items. Mama, our narrator, reminds us on how Dee hated the childhood house they used to live in and was joyful when it burnt down. Dee was embarrassed by Mama and the house, not wanting to bring friends over for introductions. She also tells us that when Dee was first going away to college, she offered her the very same quilts she now wanted to take and cherish. At the time, Dee abruptly refused them claiming they are old-fashioned, out of style. One can argue that the new-found appreciation for the family heirlooms is just part of the trend. That Dee can be seen as falsely affirming herself and becoming manipulated by the movement. Seeing that is it cool to have lived the struggle, that she came through by showing off her heritage through the art of hand stitched quilts made by her aunt. It seems as if she wants to gain respect from others following the movement by hanging and using these objects as art p ieces rather than the circumstances onto why they were made. Furthermore, at the beginning of the story, she snaps a picture of Mama and Maggie on the front porch. This is done after Mama describes herself as a large, big-boned women with rough, man working hands, one of the reasons why Dee never brought anybody over. This is done to further disrespect Dees own childhood, using it as a sort of show and tell, objectifying Mama and Maggie grouping them in the same category as the quilts, perhaps because she has missed out on the struggle of her heritage not learning the traditions of her ancestors. Dee, as Mama has lead us to believe, has never truly fit in. Always having her style even when she was young. Going away to college although has educated her academically, has left her out of learning the skills of her heritage like Maggie has. Quilting, field work, and all things Mama and Maggie have to deal with on a day to day bases is left untouched by Dee. This only solidifies Dees longing to be part of a culture and heritage she may feel left out of.ÂÂ   She feels obligated to present herself as part of the movement with the objects she wants to display. An African-American woman taking back her black identity. Trying so hard to claim the ranks on the social ladder leaves Dee unfeeling towards Mama and Maggie. This is especially seen when Mama refuses to give Wangero the quilts. Dee storms out to the car saying you dont understand your heritage. Understanding the character of Dee is complex. Because of the time period, Dee seems to be manipulated into a movement. While it is just, Dee resents her childhood forgetting where she came from. This in turn, leads her to denounce her recent heritage, demeaning Mama and Maggie and trying to fit within this movement by displaying folk-art. It is sad to see Dee pitying them as she gets into the car saying to Maggie Its really a new day for us. But with the way you and Mama live youd never know it just for one last verbal stab in defiance of her not getting her way. However, I end up feeling sorry for Dee, for within this new world she is living in, one must have asked the question where do I fit in? Work Cited Christian, Barbara T. Everyday Use and the Black Power Movement. 11th ser. (1944): n.pag. An Introduction to Fction. Web. Baker, Houston A. Stylish Vs. Sacred in Everyday Use.' 11th ser. (1985): 466-468. An Introduction to Fiction. Web. In search of African America: One collectors experience. An exhibit at the Herbert Hoover presidential museum. 21 Mar. 2004. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. B. Glaser, Linda, and AS Communications. The Black Power Movement and Its Schools. N.p., 2 Feb. 2016. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. Franchi, Elena. What is Cultural Heritage? Khan Academy, 2014. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. Makalani, Minkah. Pan-Africanism. African Age. Rutgers University, 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2017.

Meaningful and Sentimental Best Man Speech -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Sp

Meaningful and Sentimental Best Man Speech Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I would like to echo the groom's sentiments and mention that all the bridesmaids look truly beautiful, indeed. Also, I'd like to say that the bride looks absolutely stunning today, as for the groom he just looks stunned. I am on a strict time limit from the bride, so the more you laugh at my jokes, the quicker my speech will be. It is beautiful to see so many loving family members and friends here to share in this occasion, especially those who have traveled some distances to be here with us today. For those of you who don't know me, I have been a friend of the groom's for seven years. He has many special friends, and haying the privilege of being chosen as his best man, from such esteemed company, is an honor the likes of which I have never had bestowed upon me. I like to think that my selection as one of the best men is not really because your other friend canceled on you, but because I am one of the few people in the room and indeed alive that has actually seen you hit a homerun. To be called a best man on a day like this is somewhat of a paradox. For today belongs to only one man, and that's you. No matter the size and liberality of the thoughts and tokens provided to you today you have already attained the greatest gift a man can wish for; the love of a woman as beautiful and caring as the bride. I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing, for a considerable portion of my life, both of them individually, before knowing them as a couple. The beautiful girl that every boy in our class was madly in love with and the boy from the baseball team, who I didn't like much at the time. Spending time with the two of them is like sl... ...honor and respect both and for himself and for those he loves. As is customary I should leave the groom with wise words, to help in your marriage. Since I am a bachelor, I have little experience to speak from, but I hope these help anyway: 1. Never go to bed angry; always stay up and argue. 2. Always remember those three little words that are so important in a marriage: "You're right dear.? 3. Lastly, under no circumstances will you swear at our wife, if there are ladies present. Searching around to find a pertinent closing thought, all were overshadowed by the validity of the following: " You don't marry someone because you can live with them, you marry them because you simply cannot live without them." Ladies and gentlemen, if you could all be upstanding, and join me in a toast: To the two people who are so dear in all our hearts, the bride and groom.

Race and Loyalty in Othello Essay -- GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Othel

Race and Loyalty in Othello William Shakespeare`s Othello is a play set in Venice. The plot is based on a story about two people who love each other dearly and the problems and conflicts they face from the start. The conflicts are, for the most part, tied in with racial issues and questions of loyalty. These conflicts stem from the society around the couple, as well as from the couple themselves as they too are part of this society, but with very different backgrounds: The female protagonist is the daughter of a highly-respected Venetian senator: Brabantio. Othello--also known as the Moor--is a foreigner, black in color, has a past filled with tragic and exotic tales and has proved himself worthy of the title General in the Venetian army. Even before we, as an audience, have had a chance to meet Othello and Desdemona we learn that the match is considered as disgusting as it is outrageous. From the very beginning everyone and everything seem to work against them, but in the hope that love will conquer all we do not allow ourselves to despair as yet. And indeed, the first act proves us right. After having explained why they love each other the world seems to accept this alliance. But Brabantio`s comment tells us that everything is not all right: (I.iii.293-4) "Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:/She has deceived her father and may thee." By disobeying her faher Desdemona has shown herself able to betray the person she is supposed to love and--according to Venetian norms--obey. The phrase "look to her" suggests several things: that Desdemona needs to be watched closely, in other words; she cannot be trusted, or that Othello should notice w... ...a`s case, she has, by marrying Othello, lost her own good name--in two senses, because she commited a sin by not doing as her father bid her and secondly because by marrying she acquires her husband`s name. In both cases Othello seems to think she has commited a crime. Her respectable self is lost through her connection with him. He compares this with his own face: "begrimed and black". Whether she is now dirty because he was dirty from the start or he feels that she has made him unclean is unclear to me. What is certain, though, is that he is far from satisfied with his wife, the main root of the problem is his being suspiciuos of her real character. His insecurity makes him act like Olav Tryggvason (kill the traitor) and ask similar questions to the one HÃ ¥kon the Jarl posed to his lifelong companion: WHY ART THOU SO WAN AND SOMETIMES AS BLACK AS THE EARTH?

How to work on complex tasks in a team Essay -- Management

Every day in our life we come across challenges. It becomes imperative that we find solutions to them. Some problems we need to face alone and some we need to encounter as a team. I worked in several teams all my professional life and I believe that any task can be easily completed when there is coordination between the members of the team. In this reflection paper I would like to present my views on the importance of defining roles, advantages of being with the same team, challenges in a diversified group and the significance of trusting team members. Defining Roles â€Å"Roles are positions in a group that have a set of expected behaviours attached to themâ€Å"(John and Saks, 2011: Page 225 of quote). I feel that most of the problems in a team occur because roles are not clearly defined. Roles provide sense of direction to the team members and drive them towards the common goal. I would like to quote my experience when I joined as a trainee to depict the importance of roles in a team. Our team had two tasks, supporting the existing applications and developing new applications. Even though there were 6 members in our team, there used to be issues every day. There used to be slippages in deadlines and we used to miss support tickets too. This went on for about 3 months and our lead arranged a meeting to find out the reason behind our poor performance. The first and foremost thing that popped up was that none of the members of sure of their roles. Everyone concentrated on just one task and as a result we always defaulted. Drastic improvement in our team’s performance after each member was assigned a specific role proved the importance of team roles. My practical experience combined with the theoretical proof that â€Å"Role ambiguity causes... ...hin few months she started working efficiently and the outcome was that we won best team award within our entire account. To conclude, there might be several reasons behind exceptional or poor performance of a team but I regard the points mentioned above highly and I feel that if the above issues are taken care then the team would perform to their potential, providing exceptional results. References 1. Organizational Behaviour, Sixth Edition by Gary Johns & Alan M. Saks 2. Why teams don’t work – Interview by Diane Coutu 3. Building the Emotional Intelligence of Groups by Vanessa Urch Druskat and Stephen B.Wolff 4. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Managing_Groups_and_Teams/Diversity#How_Are_Diverse_Teams_Different_From_Homogenous_Ones.3F 5. http://jmo.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/10/issue/1/article/382/trust-a-neglected-variable-in-team-effectiveness

Case Study Nissin Essay

I. Synopsis (summary of the case including theoretical context of the problem) II. 2nd part A. Time Context (the time when the problem was noted) B. Case Viewpoint (indentification of the real owner of the problem) C. Statement of the Problem (in a gap or difficulty that deter or prevents the company from achieving its objectives D. Statement of the Objectives (ends or results that you would like to accomplish) E. Statement of the Areas of Consideration (Facts of the case in outline form) F. Statement of the Alternative Courses of Action (A choice between two or more possible solution to solve the problem.) (minimum acad requirements should be two with advantages and disadvantages for each alternative). G. Statement of Conclusion (the Final decision) H. Statement of Recommendation (Plans of action presented in Tabular form indicating activities, assigned person or department and target date of completion) Case Study I. Synopsis The Study is about the company, Monde Nissin where all of the heads of the department comprising the said company were gathered to reiview and discuss the year’s performance for its instant noodle line. The said meeting was initiated by the demand analyst of the said company. He/She reported that their sales growth over that past year has been a single digit from years 2006 to 2008, with respect to the previous years which was year 2003 to year 2005. They discussed the problem as to how did their sales growth decline, some of the department heads reported that the decline was due to increase in price of their product. The increase in product price was due to the increase of imported wheat, the price of dollar is still unstable, and the addition of the brand new warehouse. They also said the population in the Philippines  decreased consumption of instant noodles and other staples due to increase in prices of goods. Some also said that the population in the country today is more concerned with their health and wellness, some people are also environmentally conscious and some people also want products that has variability. With these constraints, the department heads concluded that they should produce a new product which features health and wellness but the introduction of a new product in the market will require high cost, because they will recalibrate their facilities because their facilities are not flexible therefore incurring high cost. II. A. Time Context The problem was noted in year 2008. B. Case Viewpoint The main problem of the Case Study is why the sales growth of the Company declined and how to make their sales growth rise again. C. Statement of the Problem The company is faced with many problems or challenges, these are: a. The imported wheat price is rising b. The dollar remains to be unstable c. The costs they are incurring because of the new warehouse d. The decreasing consumption of the public with their product due to increase of the prices of goods e. The increasing demand for products that has Health and Wellness benefits, products that are good for the environment and products that has variability D. Statement of the Objectives f. To help the company increase its sales growth E. Statement of the Areas of Consideration g. The company has to consider the increase in price of imported wheat h. The dollar that is still unstable i. The decrease of the public in buying their product due to increase of price of goods j. The increasing demand for products that has Health and Wellness benefits, products that are good for the environment and products that has variability.

Brown V. Louisiana Essay

During the 1960’s, many African-Americans believed that civil rights should become a national priority. Young civil rights activists brought their cause to the national stage and demanded the federal government assist them and help resolve the issues that plagued them. Many of them challenged segregation in the South by protesting at stores and schools that practiced segregation. Despite the efforts of these groups and Supreme Court rulings that ordered the desegregation of buses and bus stations, violence and prejudice against African-Americans in the South continued Meyer, F. S. , 1968). In the 1960’s many things were off limits to African-Americans. They weren’t revered as equals and suffered greatly because of it. There’s an unfamiliar case to most that took place in Louisiana that helped shaped the use of public facilities for all people. This case is known as Brown v. Louisiana. The Audubon Regional Library in Clinton, Louisiana, Parish of East Feliciana did not serve blacks. Blacks, at that time, were expected to use one of two bookmobiles. The red bookmobile served whites and the blue bookmobile served blacks. On March 7, 1964, ive young African-American males entered the adult reading room and one of the men, Brown, requested a book called, â€Å"The Story of the Negro,† by Arna Bontemps. The assistant librarian checked the card catalogue and discovered that the library did not have the book. She told Brown that she would request it from the state library and he could either have it mailed to his home address or he could pick it up from the bookmobile. After the men had been given the news about the book they sat down quietly. After the men failed to leave the library, the assistant librarian requested that they go. They did not. Brown sat down while the others stood nearby. The assistant librarian then went to the head librarian who requested them to leave as well. Again, they did not. A few moments later, the sheriff arrived and requested that they leave again, and again, they did not. The sheriff arrested them and charged them with the intention to provoke a breach of peace and failure to leave a public building when ordered to do so (Coates, R. , 2005). The five men were tried and found guilty. Brown was sentenced to pay $150 for court costs or spend 90 days in Jail. The four other men were sentenced to $35 for court costs or 15 days in ail. Under Louisiana law, the convictions weren’t appealable therefore; their requests for discretionary reviews were denied. The Supreme Court granted certiorari. A certiorari is an extraordinary privilege injunction granted in cases that otherwise would not be entitled to review. In writing for the majority, Justice Fortas first examined whether the protesters could be convicted for refusing to leave the library. He concluded that they could not since their protest was peaceful and blacks could not be denied access since whites were allowed inside as well. He reviewed the onduct of the men and felt that this had no merit either. The state argued that the men were proving their intent to disturb the peace and upset the librarian. Justice Fortas concluded that the arrest was a violation of the men’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights that guarantee freedom of speech and assembly and the right to opposed this opinion and took to issue with the majoritys reasoning. He disagreed that the Constitution prohibits any state from making â€Å"sit-ins† or â€Å"stand-ups† in public libraries illegal. Second, Black argued that the previous breach of the peace cases in Louisiana differed from Brown v. Louisiana. Previously there had been several other situations where there were peaceful demonstrations over discriminatory practices. Garner v. Louisiana (1961) involved a sit-in at a lunch counter to protest service for whites only. In Taylor v. Louisiana (1962) blacks again protested the presence of bus depot that was for white customers only. In Coxv. Louisiana (1965) a man led a demonstration near the courthouse and Jail to protest the arrest of other demonstrations. Each of the protests, along with Brown v. Louisiana, was all orderly and peaceful and was over discriminatory practices that denied the protesters’ rights hat were guaranteed to them under the Constitution. Justice Black opposition was joined by three other Justices. They argued that the First Amendment did not guarantee to any person the right to use someone else’s property even that owned by the government and dedicated to other purposes. On Wednesday, February 23, 1966 the decision was made; 5 votes for Brown and 4 against him (Coates, R. , 2005). The young men won! The Court’s ruling in this case, along with the others, proved vital to the Civil Rights struggles and also to the Vietnam War protests that would follow. Indeed, without these rulings the 1960’s and early 1970’s may have been a completely different period in time, especially when it comes to the Civil Rights movement. In the last line of Justice Blacks opinion in Brown v. Louisiana he wrote: â€Å"The holding in this case today makes it more necessary than ever that we stop and look more closely at where we are going† (Meyer, F. S. , 1968). In conclusion, had it not been for demonstrations of this kind, and the Supreme Court granting certiorari there is a strong possibility that none of this would have ever taken place. Oftentimes, it is in a ime of pain and suffering that the Just shall prevail, and I believe this is no different. There is more work to do but with the Supreme Court being behind you, at least you know it’s not in vain.

Evolution of Hard Disk Essay

Hard disk is a storage device that resides inside a computer to read and write the data. Before the arrival of hard disk drive; paper was used as storage device; however the paper worked in a different way. Programs and data would be recorded using holes punched into paper where a special reader with a beam of light would scan the cards or tape. The paper-based computers were used by US Navy to store data during 1940s and 1950s. During 1950s, work began in IBM on experimental hard disks. The researchers at IBM were working on various technologies to develop a disk drive that could not only store data easily, but also feasible commercially in consumer mass market. IBM developed the first hard disks in 1950s, but this disk technology was unlike today’s disk. It rotated on cylindrical drum; over which the magnetic patterns were stored. The early hard disk had heads of hard disk in contact with surface of disk; which was done to allow the low sensitivity to read the magnetic fields and pick up the data bits. The early disk drive was huge in size mainly composed of huge vacuum tube. Its random access method occupied the space equal to two refrigerators with a weight of almost one ton. The disk huge magnetic drums were complex and hard to work with; and its manufacturing technique was also very cumbersome. For example, it was not possible to get the disk surface as smooth as possible to allow reading the data at high speed. The disk head would also easily worn out after little usage and the magnetic head would stop working. It was in late 1950s that IBM engineers found a break through allowing them to create the modern day hard disk drive. The IBM engineer found the solution to the earlier problems; when they realized that with a proper design, the head of hard disk could be suspended over the disk surface to read the data beneath it. Working on this discovery in 1956, IBM first hard disk (IBM 305 RAMAC was introduced. This hard disk was able to store 5 millions characters; which was a huge amount in those days; while today’s hard disk densities are measured in billions of bits square per inch. It was in 1961 that IBM invented separate head for each data surface in their hard drive. By 1973 IBM shipped hard disk 3model 340 that were the first sealed hard disk drive continues till today. This technology is used by almost all the hard disk manufacturers around the world. Further development took place in 1980s; when Seagate introduced the first hard disk for PC or microcomputers named as ST506. Even though it was much more smaller in size than the disks produced in that time; compared to modern hard disks, it was twice the size. During the 1980s Philips also manufactured the optical laser drive. By 1981 Sony also started to ship floppy drive. In 1983 Rodime made the first 3. 5-inch floppy drive; and by 1985 first CD-ROM encyclopedia came into being. The modern 3 1/ 2 IDE drive arrived in the market in 1985. The technology used in IDE drive was not much different from the earlier disk drive technology; but ultimately it was added into the expansion board. The hard card included the drive that finally evolved into IDE hard disk drive, where the controller was finally merged into the printed circuit. During 1980s the arrival of DOS made easy the selling of hard disk; as DOS made computing easy for normal users. However there was problem in DOS version 3. 31 and above. The new DOS 4. 0 did not support hard disk larger than 32 MB. The reason for this problem was the number of sectors that could not exceed 16-bit. This need pushed the programmers to come up with new software. The solution was provided by Ontrack Disk Manager’ that allowed partition in hard disks. In 1986, the first 3-? hard disks that had voice coil actuator were introduced. By 1997 Seagate made big leap by introducing first 7200-RPM ATA hard disk drive for PC followed by 15000-RPM hard disk drive that allowed data reading and writing data much faster. The amazing thing about hard disk is that they haven’t changed that much compared to other PC related components in the past 40 years. The figure below shows the changes taken place throughout the decades in hard disk technology. Even today’s hard disk basic design has remained the same, except the size, capacity and storage. Thus it can be said that 1980s and 1990s allowed the spread of hard disks due to the arrival of PC; which were available to the modern consumers. As the hard disk technology developed so does it capacity and size. The earliest computers normally had 20 MB drive. By 2007 desktop computers hard disks drives have reached 100 to 500 GB.

Dental Records and Income Monitoring System

Companies suffer from file-based management system in handling information. Secretaries or person-in-charge who manipulates records manually aren’t assured that each record is properly monitored, due to work loads. It was May 21, 2001, when Dr. Torres an associate dentist opens his own dental clinic with Mrs. Miranda as his personal assistant. As the process of the clinic goes, from ‘walk-in’ patients they also have appointments. Today, they are now accepting (H. M. O-patient with company accreditation).Complexity of records turns out as the problem of their clinic, as well as keeping records properly and secure. The existing system deals with problems that needed to be carried out from the management such as the difficulty in accessing data, problems in updating records, data redundancy and the integrity problem with regards on the stored data and its security. Statement of the Problem Proper record managing is a big work upon having a file-based system. First th ing to consider is the data accuracy which is the main goal of managing records then the security, but as it goes problems arises such as: 1.What is the status of the current system in terms of: 2. 1. Data collection and retrieval? 2. 2. Accessing of specific record? 2. 3. Updating of patient’s information? 2. 4. The security of their patient’s files? 2. 5. Income monitoring? System Design Paradigm Input Process Output Dental Records And Income Monitoring System System Analysis and Design Life Cycle -Patient Information -Reports -Billing Statement -Acquired Services Figure1. System Design Paradigm This illustration shows the basic procedure undertaken in this study.System Analysis and Design Life Cycle has an important role in the development of the new system to track records of patients. The Dental Record and Income Monitoring System will be developed for the monitoring and managing records of patient’s information and the clinic’s income. Patientâ€⠄¢s profile, reports, billing statement and acquired services will be gathered, reviewed, and analyzed through Systems Analysis and Design process. This procedure will result to the development of the Dental Record and Income Monitoring System.Objectives of the Study Dental Records and Income Monitoring System is proposed to lessen some concern with regards in managing the patient’s records, as well as the income of Dr. Torres Dental Care Center. 1. The said system will be developed having objectives as follows: 1. 1. To provide an accurate data collection and retrieval. 1. 2. To provide an easy access to the records. 1. 3. To provide a more secured patient’s files system. 1. 4. To provide the user an easily updated patient’s information. 1. 3. To generate their income.Significance of the Study Dental clinics and even other business institutions keep their record as their basis in doing actions and decisions to offer better services. On the other hand, they are also profitable organizations. So the group comes to the idea of Dental Records and Income Monitoring System proposed to D. Torres Dental Care Center. With the study, researchers expect that it will benefit the following: Dentist – The said system will provide the dentist reports that monitor the income of the clinic. Secretary – The proposed ystem will minimize the workload of the secretary upon managing patient’s record as well as the billing transactions. Patients – With the system, patients will be easily accommodated and served for easy schedule and billing transactions. Clinic – The benefit of the clinic is that it can now provide fast and easy process for patient, doctor and the secretary. Other researchers – This will benefit them in their future research with regards in this kind of system. Scope and Delimitation Technology has always been a major means of creating new physical and human environment.In this case data managing is the prior concern. How data or information will be handled properly and secured. In the proposed system, the patient’s records are computerized and being stored in the database for easy access and accurate retrieval of data which is the main priority of this study. This includes the medical history of the patient, the treatment that should be done and their schedule. There is also an income and service fee computations. Managing of appointments is also included. There is a secure log-in for the dentist and the secretary.On the other hand, the process of automatic scheduling for patients is not included. Printing of receipt will not also be covered. The diagnosis of the particular treatment that will be given to the patient and the prescription of medicine for each treatment are also not included. Assumptions On the implementation of Dental Records and Income Monitoring System, the D. Torres Dental Care Center can now offer faster and easier services. Regarding of patient’ s charges and transactions, payment is easily computed and manipulated, as well as the clinic’s income.Design Methodology To come up with the design, the proponent has chosen the Iteration Approach as the Software Development Methodology. Figure 2. Iteration Approach The figure shows the System Development Life Cycle that provides a phase approach to analyze, design, and implement a system that could solve the encountered problem by the company. 1. Identifying problems, opportunities and objectives. In this phase the group determines whether the problem exist and has a solution. The group has created a project plan, which will help or serve as a guide in solving the problem.The researchers also conducted a feasibility study that will determine whether a system is needed. 2. Determining information needed. In this phase, the group analyzes and understands what information the D. Torres Dental Care Center needs in their system. 3. Analyzing system needed. In this stage the rese archers prepared the system proposal that summarizes the details that been found, provide cost-benefit analysis of alternatives and make recommendations of what should be done. 4. Designing the recommended system. In this stage the group will work on designing the output that will meet the information needs.After recommendation and approval, the group will eventually design a database system. 5. Developing and documenting software. The group will provide the original software that is needed. Documentation lets the user know how to use the software and manages the problem occurs. 6. Testing and maintaining the system. Information is not applicable to use unless it is undergoing several test. In this stage, the group will conduct a series of tests to pinpoint the problems. System maintenance includes modification of the system use to changes within the inventory process. . Implementation and evaluating the system. In this stage, the group needs to verify and test the information gathe red, train the user to handle the system and install the system. Definition of Terms The D. Torres Dental Care Center has these following terms that they used on their center. Here are the following terms: Braces – an orthodontic appliance consisting or brackets cemented to the surface of each toothand wires of stainless steel or nickel titanium alloy. Braces are used to treat malocclusionby changing the position of the teeth.Dentist – the one who needed and reads the patients information that is given by the secretary. H. M. O. – Health Maintenance Organization, an organization that provides medical and dental Oral Prophylaxis – cleaning or polishing of the teeth. Pasta or Restoration – the action or process of restoring. Patient –  is the recipient of the information. Retainer Fee – a retainer fee is a fixed amount of money that a client agrees to pay, in advance, to secure the services of a consultant or freelancer. Retainer â₠¬â€œ an appliance or device that keeps the tooth or partial denture in proper position.Root Canal – That aspect of endodontic dealing with the treatment of diseases of the dental pulp, consisting of partial (pulpotomy) or complete (pulpectomy) extirpation of the diseased pulp, cleaning and sterilization of the empty root canal, enlarging and shaping of the canal to receive sealing material, and obturation of the canal with a nonirritating hermetic sealing agent. It is also called pulp canal therapy. Secretary – the one, who gathers the information of the patient, gives it to the dentist and also computes the income of the clinic.Surgery – is an ancient  medical specialty  that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a  patient  to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as  disease  or  injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance. Teeth Whitening – the process of using bleach or other materials to mak e teeth look whiter. The materials remove stains or other discoloration from the tooth surface. Tooth Extraction –  (also referred to as  exodontia) is the removal of a  tooth  from the  mouth. Tooth Impacted – is a tooth that gets blocked as it is pushing through the gum onto your mouth (erupting).

Stakeholder management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stakeholder management - Essay Example Stakeholder management is a central part of any organisation. Stakeholders act as agents, sponsors and partners in the business strategy and change process. Stakeholders include the customers, employees, suppliers, creditors and the society in general. Stakeholders interests differ from those of the shareholders thus organisations should balance the two conflicting interests in order to ensure long term growth and survival of the business. This paper will discuss stakeholder management at Unilever and how the stakeholders have responded to the approach. Stakeholder management at Unilever Introduction Stakeholder management ensures that all those affected by the decisions of the company are considered in the decision making process (Huber & Pallas, 2006). Examples of stakeholders include the employees, the government, the suppliers, creditors, trade unions, customers, and the general community. On the other hand, shareholders are the real owners of the business since they have provide d the capital thus their major interest is maximise their wealth through increased profitability and share prices. According to the modern stakeholder management theory, managers are considers as agents of the stakeholders. Stakeholders may be individuals or constituencies that contribute either directly or indirectly to the wealth creation activities of the firm and who also act as potential beneficiaries or risk bearers depending on the strategic decisions made by the management. Stakeholder management is therefore geared at developing and implementing organisation-wide practices and policies that address the needs, concerns and goals of all relevant stakeholders (Huber & Pallas, 2006). One of the leading companies in stakeholder management is Unilever. The company’s brands aim at assisting billions of people improve their health and wellbeing. Some products include affordable bathing soaps, ice creams and luxurious shampoos that care for the households. Some brands such as Lifebuoy, Omo, Blueband and Sunlight have attained global recognition and customer loyalty. Sustaining close relationships with stakeholders is one of the priorities of Unilever. The management of stakeholders involves building and strengthening relationships with all stakeholders through identifying the stakeholders’ needs and monitoring the changing needs. The company has implemented the Sustainable Living Plan that enables the company identity the needs of the stakeholders, diverse tastes and provides information on new products (Kazmi, 2008). The company operates consumer care lines, websites and campaigns that aim at collecting information from consumers. The company has strengthened relationships with the civil society and local governments through engaging the governments on matters such as nutrition and public policy. Unilever has partnered with non-governmental organisations such as Oxfam, UNICEF and World Food Programme in improving the hygiene, sanitation and acce ss to clean drinking water thus satisfying the interests of the local communities. Unilever has addressed the interests of the direct stakeholders such as the customers, suppliers, employees and market partners. For instance, employees receive fair salaries, bonuses and commissions for their efforts in the organisation. Unilever treats all employees with dignity and respect and ensures individual interests are aligned with the overall strategic objectives of the organisation. Employees are assisted with credit facilities such as mortgages, short term loans and sick leave pay that also extend to the immediate dependants. The company has improved the working conditions through implementing properly documented health and safety policies and procedures that aim at reducing work related accidents. The job design and career growth opportunities aim at ensuring all workers attain self esteem and self actualization through exploiting their full potential. For the suppliers, Unilever has bus iness policies that ensure equality in

Mock Study Sampling and Data Collection Approaches Assignment

Mock Study Sampling and Data Collection Approaches - Assignment Example sampling approach is proposed for the study because of the wide geographical area that the target organization covers, suitability of the sampling design for such diversity, and statistical advantages of the design. Stratified random sampling is a restricted probability sampling approach (Sekaran and Bougie, 2010) in which a population is divided into subgroups and random sampling implemented in each sub-group. Homogeneity within sub groups that distinguishes members of a subgroup from members of other subgroups informs the division (Votg, 2007). Differences in state laws and possible social and cultural values across state boundaries inform the boundaries as the basis for stratification. The sampling design will therefore ensure representation of all sales consultants of the organization towards internal reliability of the study’s results. In addition, eliminated bias through the randomized approach will ensure validity of developed data from sample besides external reliabili ty. Stratified random sampling, like simple random sampling, is easy to implement and this ensure validity due to sampling ccuracy. A sample size of 510 participants is proposed for the study. Seventeen states will be selected at random and a branch of the company selected from each of the states, at random. From each branch, five supervisors or managers will be selected at random and a further five sales consultants, operating under each of the supervisors or managers selected at random. The stratified random approach will contribute to validity and reliability of the study (Christensen, Johnson, and Turner, 2011) and the sample size is adequate because it falls within used sample size ranges in similar studies. Explored literature from empirical studies identifies use of such sizes as 408, 71, and 74 (Graham, Ziegert, and Capitano, 2015; Liden, Wayne, Liao, and Meuser, 2014; Aragon-Correa, Garcia-Morales, and Cordon-Pozo, 2007). Economic feasibility, due to proposed use of internet-based

International Business Practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Business Practice - Assignment Example Trade creation occurs when domestic production is substituted with imports from member states; sometimes it entails the condition of a less efficient system, albeit there is reduction in trade transaction costs. However, trade diversion occurs when it is carried out with member states. Whereas, earlier, trade was being carried out with other countries outside the Union. The portion of trade that was carried out with other countries or states is now diverted to member states under preferential trade agreements and due to this, trade diversion occurs. There are several reasons why countries resort to signing PTA; the main reasons are as follows: The underlying influence of Europe: The shift of the American Position Unbalanced nature of current multilateral trade regime and utmost dissatisfaction with it. Besides modern trade barriers are much more complicated in multilateral settings and most countries find it easier to deal with regional or sectoral trade. Failure of the World Trade O rganization (WTO) to become a major stabilizing force in global trade It is now necessary to consider each of these aspects individually and separately. The underlying influence of Europe: The influence of the European Community (EC) now known as the European Union has indeed been formidable. Although it faced several setbacks during 1992, it was successful in overcoming mighty odds in its search for regional trade co-operation The EU has been able to achieve despite the challenges it had to face, a major expansion of the European community, in terms of scope, depth and geographical coverage. â€Å"This success has undoubtedly had a demonstration effect, encouraging emulation in the form of regional initiatives in other parts of the world† (Frankel, 1977, P.5). The influence of the EU on setting up of several regional PTAs has indeed been reassuring, especially in the case of PTAs like the European Free Trade Association, (EFTA), Andean Group, Mercosur and ASEAN. The shift of the American Position: With Europe entering into progressive trade unionism ostensibly to avoid the prospects of further wars, America now needed to adopt a stance of its own, although without confronting the EC plans. It turned towards geo-political solutions and â€Å"proposing a new round of liberalization negotiations in the GATT so as to keep the momentum in the multilateral direction.† (Frankel, 1977, P.5). Since then American policies have shifted from multilateralism to regional trade partnership, which is quite evident from the US -Israel Free trade agreement and the Caribbean Basin initiative. â€Å"Where the Americans had previously reacted multilaterally to European action on the regional front, now they reacted regionally to European Action on the multilateral front† (Frankel, 1977, P.5). The American policies were clear cut and transparent – if the multilateral routes were closed, they were ready to explore regional routes for trade development an d believed that the breakdown of such barriers was essential for trade to flourish. There were several factors that contributed to the US trade policy. The first being that over the few decades, the US had lost global hegemony it had enjoyed since World War II, and its trade position has slipped down alarmingly in recent years. Secondly, the EU has been a strong economic and trade force in Europe and has matched US supremacy. Under such circumstances, the

Care for patients with Sickle Cell Disease Essay

Care for patients with Sickle Cell Disease - Essay Example Helen Erickson, Evelyn Tomlin, and Mary Ann Swain developed the modeling and role-modeling (MRM) theory. This grand theory of nursing provides holistic care to clients by understanding their needs and providing client-centered interventions to meet the needs. It identifies the nurse as a â€Å"facilitator† who uses the modeling and role-modeling processes to help individuals â€Å"achieve a perceived optimal state of health and well-being†. Nurses use the process of modeling to develop an â€Å"understanding of the client’s world as the client perceives it† by accepting the individual’s belief. While the planning and implementation of client-specific nursing interventions are ongoing, the role-modeling process follows. This theory uses five aims of intervention as a standard in providing individualized care.The MRM theory also integrates Maslow’s theory, Piaget’s theory, and the concept of object attachment. The theory describes many c oncepts and their relationships in nursing and individuals since its original intentions were to guide the nurse-patient relationship. The nursing concepts include facilitation, nurturance, and unconditional acceptance, while concepts in individuals include similarities and differences in people. The commonness among human beings includes basic needs, holism, lifetime development, and affiliated individuation, while differences include inherent endowment, adaptation to stressors, mind-body relationships, and self-care.... The commonness among human beings include basic needs, holism, lifetime development, and affiliated individuation, while differences include inherent endowment, adaptation to stressors, mind-body relationships, and self-care (Erickson, 2010). There is an interrelationship of these differences and similarities. Following its publishing in 1983, there has been extensive research, examination, and adaptation of the MRM theory in diverse settings. It further guides undergraduate nursing curriculum, weight reduction programs, chronic illness management, and practice in hospitals (Frisch & Bowman, 2011). Strength and Limitations Some general strengths of the MRM theory include clarity, simplicity, and generality (Erickson, 2010). Theorists Erickson, Tomlin, and Swain clearly explained the theory while providing examples of their experiences to give a holistic understanding. The theory has a simple structure since it focuses on two steps of modeling and role-modeling. However, the interacti ons of its major concepts with the role of nursing add depth and complexity to the theory (Erickson, 2010). Nevertheless, its standard form allows its applicability in many nursing and patient situations by researchers and clinicians. However, its major limitation is that inexperienced nurses find it difficult to apply (Frisch & Bowman, 2011). While clinicians learn to perceive the client’s world by â€Å"unconditional acceptance† of the client as a unique individual easily, the theory requires experience and understanding of nursing in order to avoid confusing the role of a â€Å"caring professional† with that of a â€Å"caring friend† (Frisch & Bowman, 2011, p. 536). The MRM theory’s focus on client-centered care is

Product Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Product Strategy - Essay Example Consequently, by incorporating the consumers’ requirements in the designs, quality and composition of its products, an organization is in a position to win over customer loyalty and attract new and potential customers. The customer’s role in the research and development of new products is essential. The significance it plays, as far as profits and sales are concerned is extensive. Many entrepreneurs believe that inventions and innovations normally improve sales. This is opposed to reliance on customers’ needs, where one customer’s demand differs from another customer’s demand. They believe that what can break this barrier are innovations and inventions and that through innovation, a new product is introduced into the market and bridges the different consumer demands, making such opposing needs to converge (Wahab, 2013). Their paradigm is, however, inaccurate because marketing as a strategy concept involves, first knowing the target market, then the needs, wants and demands of the customers. Without knowing consumers’ demands then it is a waste of time selling because a business can be selling an irrelevant product that the target market does not need. Pursuant to that is understanding the products and services on offer since this is what will retain customers’ needs or demands; without consumers then marketing ceases to outlive its usefulness. Last is offering high-quality products and ensuring consumer satisfaction based on how the product is sold (Howard, 2014). Mark Cohen, in his article in the New York Times titled: A Revolutionary Marketing Strategy: Answer Customers’ Question, paints a picture of how the proprietor of Riverpools and Spas, Marcus Sheridon, used his marketing prowess to move the company which was on the brink of collapse back to prosperity. Where Marcus abandoned conventional marketing for content marketing this paid

Xerox Corporation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Xerox Corporation - Assignment Example   Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network typically for an office or building. It is important in sharing information and data storage. This network can be built with low-priced hardware such as hubs, network adapters and Ethernet cables. It can depend on the wired connection for security, speed and for wireless connections. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) entails network of an entire city. It is larger than a LAN. It is used to connect several LANs to create a bigger network. Since it is mainly used on the campus, it is also referred to as a Campus Area Network. Wide Area Network (WAN) is a geographically dispersed telecommunications network over long distances. It entails several LANs and WANs. They are built using leased lines despite them being expensive. But for a lesser cost, one can use packet and circuit switching methods.The network may enable individuals to chat via email and transfer data over the network. It is different from other systems because it can be contr olled by an individual. Moreover, LAN has limited distance to move, few transmissions errors, a high-speed interface, high reliability and ability to handle data traffic. Additionally, the maintenance cost is reasonable and it uses technologies such as Ethernet and token ring. A good example is a network in an office building can be a LAN. The network can be used to share information and communication purposes. The network is significant in that it covers a larger geographical area and transfers data at a medium speed depending on the cables.

Article Summary and Reaction Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Article Summary and Reaction Paper - Essay Example Marvels claim was that its obligations to pay royalty for the patent ceases when the patent expires. Marvel relied on an earlier Supreme Court decision in Brullote v Thys Co., which found that agreements are not enforceable when patents expire. Mr. Kimble asked the court to overrule its previous decision (Kendall, 2015). The principles of stare decisis provide that courts should adhere to previous precedents of earlier cases. Stare decisis is an important aspect of a common law system and follows that once a court answers a question, subsequent questions to the court should be answered in a similar manner (Anderlini, Felli, & Riboni, 2014). The courts should seek to follow precedents to maintain the stability of the law. The courts should rarely overrule its precedents unless there are strong reasons because doing so sets a new interpretation of a legal issue (Waldron, 2012). In the current case, the court considered overruling the precedent established in Brullote v Thys Co. The article showed that the doctrine of stare decisis is binding on subsequent decisions by the court and that a court may only overrule its precedent if there are good reasons to do

Grammatical aspect Essay Example for Free

Grammatical aspect Essay When my students go through Jose Rizal’s expenses in Europe, they note that his biggest and most regular expenses were for the purchase of books and postage stamps. This is not surprising because we all know that he liked to read and study, and to write home a lot because he was homesick in Madrid. Students also note that he bought 1/10 of a lottery ticket every week. When I ask what he did with a ball of yarn, students reply that Rizal probably had a pet cat, and that he used the yarn to darn the holes in his socks or to tie up the maid for kinky sex. We see ourselves in historical records and I often allow the students to make their own crazy conclusions before drawing them back to the primary source and what it actually says. Other teachers will not allow silly comments in class but I do, hoping that new insight will sometimes be found in a side remark. Rizal’s letters are seldom read because we are so focused on his novels and poetry in a classroom. Yet it is in and through these letters that we see Rizal plain and gain insight into his works. It may be a trivial matter, but Rizal’s letters to family members are the most endearing. Remember 7-11: that Rizal was the seventh child of 11 born to Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso. He was the second of two boys in a home dominated, literally, by women. Rizal’s sisters were as prolific as their parents, so he was often told about new additions to the family. In a letter dated Nov. 23, 1883, Teodora Alonso related: â€Å"Now I’m going to mention to you, one by one, my new debts to the Lord. On June 6, 1882, Lucà ­a delivered a baby boy who was named Josà ©. On 15 Sept. 1882, Neneng gave birth to a boy who was named Alfredo. On 14 June 1883, Sisa gave birth to a girl who was given the name Marà ­a Consolacià ³n; on 3 Sept. 1883, Olimpia gave birth to a boy who was named Aristeo; on 24 Nov. 1883, Lucà ­a gave birth to a girl. On the 26[th] of this month, Neneng gave birth to a girl also. Both girls are not yet baptized but they will be on Sunday. Here many die of childbirth but they went through it safely.† One of thememorable characters of â€Å"Noli Me Tangere† is â€Å"Sisa† a name taken from the nickname of Rizal’s favorite sister Narcisa. On Feb. 27, 1886, she wrote: â€Å"I suppose you don’t know yet that I’m now the mother of six children. In this letter you will see the names of the three older ones written by themselves, and of the last ones, the older was Isabel, the deceased one, and the two, one girl and one boy, are called Consolacià ³n and Leoncio Là ³pez, who is as fat as a melon. The children of Sra. Neneng are three: They are called Alfredo, Adela, and Abelardo. Olimpia’s shortly will be three, like Sra. Neneng’s. The two who are not here are called Aristeo and Cesario; the older one called Aristeo, what a lively boy he is! His godfather is Sr. Paciano. He will be a useful boy when he gets older. At the age of two, he already knows a great deal. He is the only consolation of our parents, I tell you, because when you see this child, even if you are angry, you will be obliged to laugh, he is so funny.† One can only imagine what joy Rizal, homesick in Europe, got from letters. Neneng, for example, described Alfredo Porfirio or â€Å"Freding† in a letter dated Dec. 14, 1882, as having â€Å"a well-shaped body, †¦ stout, round-faced, having a sharp nose, small chin and eyes, flat head, bald on the left side. When we go to Manila, we shall have his picture and mine taken and will send them to you.† Lucia Herbosa, in a letter on Nov. 13, 1882, described a son born to her in that year that they named Jose: â€Å"I amuse myself with Josà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s ear, which is like yours. I tell you that it is really like yours, but I pray that the likeness does not stop there, but that he may have your disposition, your goodness , and diligence in good works.† In July 1886 Lucia’s husband wrote Rizal about their daughter Delfina who was suffering from â€Å"a little inflammation of [her] eye, which is the cause of her absence from school. What a pity she did not become a boy! She is bright and very studious. Her mother is always telling her not to read because her inflammation might worsen, but she is so hardheaded.† Imagine a child insisting on reading! Delfina was to figure in Philippine history 12 years later, in 1898, when she assisted Marcela Agoncillo in Hong Kong in the sewing and embroidering of the first Philippine flag. Education was important for Rizal’s nephews and nieces. His brother Paciano, on July 18, 1886, requested him: â€Å"Furnish me with information of the best schools there. We have many nephews, most of them promising. It is a pity that these ones should fall into the hands of teachers who teach unwillingly and do so only for show. It is true that they inculcate in children very sane principles, such as fear and humility, the first being the beginning of wisdom and the second of apostolic and civic virtue, but it is also true that fear and humility lead to dullness.† It is not enough to see Rizal as a doting uncle; one should also appreciate that the Rizal family put a premium on the education of their little ones. It was no better way of investing in the future, for children were the bella esperanza de la patria mia (the fair hope of the motherland). Posted by Nomerson R. Abedoza at 3:31 am THE DEATH OF JOSE RIZAL: Ambeth Ocampo’s Version Editor’s note: The following is the article written by today’s most famous Filipino historian Ambeth R. Ocampo on Jose Rizal’s death. Simply entitled, â€Å"The Death of Jose Rizal,† this historical piece by the current head of the National Historical Institute (of the Philippines) could be deemed refreshing and controversial, as it offers several unpopular and unorthodox accounts of what (presumably) transpired on the day of Rizal’s execution. For one thing, it virtually proclaims that Rizal refused to kiss the crucifix before he was executed, thereby negating the claim of other historians (like Zaide) that the national hero even asked for this Catholic sacramental. Happy reading! THE OBSERVANT WILL NOTICE metal footprints on the pavement running from Fort Santiago to the Luneta in seafront Manila. They resemble dancing patterns, but actually trace the last steps of Jose Rizal as he walked from his prison cell to the site of his execution on December 30, 1896. The Rizal Centennial Commission claims that the footprints are based on Rizal’s actual shoe size. When people ask why the steps are so small, the quick reply is: â€Å"If you are walking to your death, would you hurry?† The slow walk to Bagumbayan field (as Rizal Park or the Luneta was once called) began at 6:30 a.m. on a cool, clear morning. Rizal was dressed in a black coat and trousers and a white shirt and waistcoat. He was tied elbow to elbow, but held up his head in a chistera or bowler hat. A bugler signaled his passage, while the roll of drums muffled in black cloth gave cadence to his gait. From Fort Santiago he took a right turn, and walked along the Paseo Maria Cristina (now Bonifacio Drive), which gave him a view lifting the darkness over Manila Bay on the right, and a last glimpse of Intramuros, shadowed by the missing sun, on his left. He walked between two Jesuits, Father Estanislao March and Father Jose Villaclara. They too were in black – the trademark black hats, tunics, and heavy coats that made the young Rizal and his Ateneo schoolmates refer to them aspaniki (bats, or colloquially perhaps, batmen). Behind Rizal walked the brother of his former bodyguard, Lieutenant Luis Taviel de Andrade, who had vainly defended him in a farce masquerading as a trial. The streets were lined with people who wanted to see the condemned man, since Rizal was many things to different people: â€Å"leader of the revolution,† physician, novelist, poet, sculptor, heretic, subversive. Rizal was a person one could not be neutral about. Like him or hate him, he was a celebrity. Although he was walking to his death, eyewitnesses desc ribe Rizal as serene – a bit pale, not because of fear of his fate, but because he had not had any breakfast. All he had been given were three hard-boiled eggs, which he took to a corner of his prison cell, saying, â€Å"This is for the rats; let them have a fiesta, too.† Then he left his cell. Rizal is said to have nodded left and right to acknowledge familiar faces in crowd. From time to time he smiled, and is said to have made a few jokes, and laughed at these himself because the Jesuits flanking him remained somber. Others noticed his eyes dart quickly from left to right, and some believed that members of his family or the Katipuneros would make a last-ditch effort to save him from death. Was Rizal waiting for help that never came? And perhaps for an opportunity to spurn that help? Had he expected to see his family by the roadside? We will never know more than the fact that he was walking to his destiny. In the clear morning Rizal could probably see as far as Suson g Dalaga, and appreciate the silhouette of a naked woman on the mountain range across from Manila Bay. â€Å"What a beautiful morning!† he said, â€Å"On mornings like this I used to take walks here with my sweetheart.† Before reaching Bagumbayan, he glanced at Intramuros, sighed, and seeing the spires of the church of San Ignacio, said: â€Å"Is that the Ateneo? I spent many happy years there.† The Jesuits’ response is not recorded. Someone had the foresight to take a photograph of the execution. The scene looked like a box, lined, three or four people deep, on three sides. The empty fourth side faced the bay, and the executioners’ line of fire. Eight Filipino soldiers armed with Remingtons formed the firing squad. Behind them stood the drummers and another line of Spanish soldiers with Mausers, ready to shoot the Filipinos if they refused to shoot, or purposely missed their target. When everyone was in place, there was a slight delay because Rizal refused the customary blindfold, and asked to face the firing squad. The Spanish captain who had guided Rizal to the site insisted that he be shot in the back as ordered, because he was a traitor to Spain. Rizal declared that he had never been a traitor to the country of his birth or to Spain. After some coaxing, Rizal finally turned his back, but again refused the blindfold, and furthermore refused to kneel. After all this haggling he made one last request: that the executioners spare his head, and shoot him in the back towards the heart. When the captain agreed, Rizal clasped the hand of Lieutenant Taviel de Andrade and t hanked him once more for the vain effort of defending him before the military court that sentenced him to death. Meanwhile, a curious Spanish military doctor felt Rizal’s pulse, and was surprised to find it regular and normal. The Jesuits were the last to leave the condemned man. They raised the crucifix to his face and lips, but he turned his head away and silently prepared to meet death. The captain raised his saber in the air, ordered his men to get ready, and barked the order: â€Å"Preparen!† This was followed by the order to aim the rifles: â€Å"Apunten!† In the split second before the saber was brought down with the order to fir – â€Å"Fuego!† – Rizal shouted the last two words of the crucified Christ: â€Å"Consummatum est!† (It is done). The shots rang out, the bullets hit their mark, and Rizal executed that carefully choreographed twist that he had practiced years before, which made him fall faced up on the ground. People held their breath as soldiers came up to the corpse and gave Rizal the tiro de gracia, one last merciful shot in the head at close range to make sure he was really dead. A small dog, the military mascot, ran around the corpse whining, and the crowd moved in for a closer look, but were kept at bay by the soldiers who stood in the first row of spectators. After a short silence, someone shouted: â€Å"Long live Spain! Death to the traitor!† The crowd did not respond. An officer approached the person who had shouted, and berated him. To fill in the gap, the military band played theMarcha de Cadiz. It was 7:03 a.m. The show was over. â€Å"The Death of Jose Rizal: Ambeth Ocampo’s Posted by Nomerson R. Abedoza at 3:22 AM Looking Back Fighting over champagne By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer 11:01 pm | Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 Marcelo H. del Pilar once quoted Jose Rizal as saying, â€Å"Where there are two Filipinos unity is not possible.† We will never know if Rizal was misquoted, but that line should encourage us to do some soul-searching. It is more relevant to us today than another famous line put in Rizal’s mouth about the necessity of looking to the past to achieve one’s goals: â€Å"Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinagdaanan, di makararating sa paroroonan.† Rizal never said this; he actually wrote something better, in 1879, as an epigraph to his play â€Å"Council of the Gods.† It goes: â€Å"Con el recuerdo del pasado entro en el porvenir (I enter the future remembering the past).† If our textbooks carried better quotes to live by, the world would be better off. People who think Rizal would have become a good president of the Philippines should think twice. He may have had a high IQ but he lacked EQ. He was respected but was not as well-liked as Plaridel (D el Pilar). If Rizal went into politics today, he would not even be elected barangay captain because he was too serious. He would not sing or dance Gangnam style to woo voters. He would neither cheat nor buy votes. And if Rizal were elected at all, he would surely end up being shot in Bagumbayan all over again! This anecdote narrated by Plaridel to Deodato Arellano in March 1891 is one reason Rizal did not get elected leader of the expatriates in Madrid: â€Å"It is a tradition in the [Filipino] colony to have a fraternal dinner on the night of the 31st of December. In the morning of that day the question of serving champagne was brought up in our lodgings, all the more since the boys had taken a great deal of trouble preparing speeches. A thousand ways were discussed to make champagne available that night, and at lunch time there was a great deal of chaffing about it among ourselves, but I kept my mouth shut, and without saying a word was planning to pay for the champagne myself; I wanted to give them a surprise. No sooner said than done; after lunch I went to Bayo’s house to get hold of some money for the night’s champagne. From Bayo’s house I went, at about three o’clock in the afternoon, to the house of Doà ±a Justa Jugo where we had been invited to tea on the birthday of her son. While I was there Rizal arrived and called me aside to tell me: ‘Before coming here I passed by your house and I saw a resolution being prepared asking you to pay for the coffee tonight.’ ‘Agreed,’ I answered. Imagine, how could I not agree when I had been ready to pay for something more expensive! â€Å"Came the night and the young people, in high spirits as usual, signed a paper which they would not let me read: when we were sitting down to dinner, a resolution, very wittily drafted by Lete, and signed by twenty-five guests (we were all in all thirty-one, I believe) was read out, asking me to pay for the coffee, Cunanan for the cigars, and Rizal and Dominador Gomez (who had not yet arrived) for the champagne. â€Å"I expressed my agreement and so did Cunanan. But Rizal had the good or bad taste to protest and argue. I tried to head off his protest by suggesting that the champagne be paid [for] by Modesto Reyes and Mariano Abella, who had agreed to do so, in addition to those already named; but perhaps because Rizal did not hear me, we being far apart, I at the head of the table and he at the extreme left, with the authors of the resolution at the extreme right, my suggestion for reinforcements was not taken up and, on Rizal’s initiative, he began at the left end of the table to collect one peseta per person to pay for the champagne. In the midst of the hubbub someone approached me and whispered: ‘Mr. Editor, the resolution is withdrawn but we are grateful for your kindness with regard to the coffee; we expected nothing less from your generosity.’ â€Å"I understood the bitterness that Rizal’s protest had aroused. The latter, who was oblivious to it, continued gay and witty while I worried about a quarrel breaking out. The collection of one peseta was paid from the left end to the center, but from there to the right end nobody wanted to contribute. â€Å"Witticisms, very ingenious and wounding, began to be directed against Rizal from the right end, but I took advantage of the fact that Rizal did not seem to realize the point of the jokes and stood up to approach those at the right end and asked them confidentially not to spoil such a brotherly gathering. They all listened to me and there were no more jokes for the rest of the dinner. â€Å"Came the time for the toasts. Dr. Rosario started them off and he was so eloquent in the periodic sentence in which he bewailed the lack of diligence of some in their studies that he drew tremendous applause, but at the end of the clapping Rizal was heard saying: ‘We should be sorry for it, not applaud it.’ This caused some sour looks but it passed.† (Translated from the original Spanish by Leon Ma. Guerrero) It is unfortunate we only have Plaridel’s account of Rizal’s surly behavior. All we know is that the election between them was cooked up shortly afterward, resulting in Rizal’s election after repeated balloting. But Rizal walked out, thus giving the leadership to Plaridel by default. In a letter to Plaridel in October 1891, Rizal referred to this episode with bitterness: â€Å"A glass of champagne has dissolved the idol made of clay. If it was really clay, what does it matter if it is gone?† * * * Comments are welcome at [emailprotected] Read more: http://opinion.inquirer.net/53205/fighting-over-champagne#ixzz2beA8vc4j Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook Looking Back ‘Rizal and me’ By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer 10:26 pm | Thursday, June 20th, 2013 (Concluded from Wednesday) Why should students endure boring textbook biographies of Rizal when he practically left an autobiography scattered in the 25 volumes of his compiled writing? Here, Rizal and me discuss his mother. JOSE RIZAL (JR): Without her, what would have been my education and my fate? Next to God, a mother is everything to a man. AMBETH R. OCAMPO (ARO): I agree. JR: She taught me how to read, she taught me how to stammer the humble prayers that I addressed fervently to God, and now that I’m a young man, oh, where is the simplicity, the innocence, of my early days? ARO: What else? JR: My mother is called Mrs. Teodora Alonso de Quintos, of the family of Mr. Josà © Florentino [of Ilocos], granddaughter, if I remember correctly. ARO: I think Florentino was her cousin. Perhaps your literary gifts were inherited from Leona Florentino of Vigan who is one of the few women remembered in our early Philippine literary history. Thus, you are also related to her son Isabelo de los Reyes. Let’s not get distracted, please continue. JR: My mother was a woman of more than average education. She was conversant with literature and spoke better Spanish than me. She corrected my verses and gave me good advice in rhetoric. She was a mathematician and read many books. Her father [Lorenzo Alberto Alonso], a deputy in the Cortes representing the Philippines, was her teacher. Her brother [Jose Alberto] was educated in Europe and spoke German, English, Spanish and French. He was also knighted with the Order of Isabel la Catolica. ARO: Was it your mother who taught you to read? JR: My first remembrance concerning letters goes back to my earliest age. I must be very small yet because when they polished the floor of our house with banana leaves, I would still fall, slipping on the shiny surface, as did little skilled skaters on ice. It was still difficult for me to climb up a chair. I went down the staircase step by step, holding on to every baluster, and in our house, as in the whole town, petroleum was unknown. Neither had I seen until that time any quinque lamp, nor had any carriage ever passed through the streets of my town that I believed to be the height of joy and animation. One night, when everybody else at home was already asleep, when the lights in the globes had already been put out by blowing them off by means of a curved tin tube that seemed to me the most exquisite and wonderful toy in the world, I don’t know why my mother and I remained watching beside the only light that in all Philippine houses burned all night long, and that went out precisely at dawn, waking the people with its cheerful hissing. My mother then was still young. After a bath her hair, which she let down to dry, dragged half a handbreadth on the floor, by which reason she knotted its end. ARO: Wow! I have seen 19th-century paintings and photographs depicting Filipino women whose hair reached the floor. My mother once had hair that measured over four feet. As a sign of her freedom from her parents, the first thing she did upon marriage was to cut that marvelous Rapunzel-like hair. Next, she turned my father’s favorite shirt into a basahan (rag). Sorry, please continue. JR: My mother taught me to read in Amigo de los Nià ±os (The Children’s Friend), an old book [by the Abbot Sabatier translated from the original French to Spanish] that [at the time] had become quite rare. It had lost its cover and one of my sisters cleverly covered it again by pasting a thick blue paper, the remnant of the wrapper of a bolt of cloth, on its back. That night my mother was annoyed listening to me read poorly. I didn’t understand Spanish and couldn’t add expression to the phrases. She took the book from me. After scolding me for drawing rude pictures on its pages, she began to read, asking me to follow her example. My mother, when her sight was not yet impaired, read very well. She could recite and write poetry. How many times during Christmas vacation afterward, she corrected my poems, making very apt observations. I listened to he r full of childish admiration. I marveled at the ease with which she read sonorous phrases from the same pages that cost me so much effort to read and that I deciphered haltingly. Perhaps my ears soon got tired of hearing sounds that meant nothing to me. Perhaps due to my natural distraction, I lacked attention to the reading and watched more closely the cheerful flame around which some small moths fluttered with playful and uneven flight. Perhaps I yawned, and my mother noticed I had lost interest. She stopped reading and said to me: â€Å"Now I’m going to read to you a very pretty story. Listen.† ARO: Ah, the famous story of the gamu-gamo known by all Filipino children. Prewar â€Å"Philippine Readers† carried illustrations by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo, one of you and your mother reading. Who else told you stories when you were a boy? JR: We would go to the azotea or to some window where the moon could be seen, then my aya would tell us stories, someti mes sad and at other times happy, in which skeletons and buried treasure, and trees blooming with diamonds, were mingled in confusion, all born of an Oriental imagination. Sometimes she told us that men lived on the moon, or that the markings we could see on the moon were nothing else but a woman forever weaving. The publication of â€Å"Rizal and me† is forthcoming. * * * Comments are welcome at [emailprotected] The Auxiliary Verb Recognize an auxiliary verb when you see one. Every sentence must have a verb. To depict doable activities, writers use action verbs. To describe conditions, writers choose linking verbs. Sometimes an action or condition occurs just once—bang!—and its over. Nate stubbed his toe. He is miserable with pain. Other times, the activity or condition continues over a long stretch of time, happens predictably, or occurs in relationship to other events. In these instances, a single-word verb like stubbed or iscannot accurately describe what happened, so writers use multipart verb phrases to communicate what they mean. As many as four words can comprise a verb phrase. A main or base verb indicates the type of action or condition, and auxiliary—or helping—verbs convey the other nuances that writers want to express. Read these three examples: Sherylee smacked her lips as raspberry jelly dripped from the donut onto her white shirt. Sherylee is always dripping something. Since Sherylee is such a klutz, she should have been eating a cake donut, which would not have stained her shirt. In the first sentence, smacked and dripped, single-word verbs, describe the quick actions of both Sherylee and the raspberry jelly. Since Sherylee has a pattern of messiness, is dripping communicates the frequency of her clumsiness. The auxiliary verbs that comprise should have been eating and would have stained express not only time relationships but also evaluation of Sherylees actions. Below are the auxiliary verbs. You can conjugate be, do, and have; the modal auxiliaries, however, never change form. Be| Do| Have| am is are was were being been| does do did| has have had having| Modal Auxiliaries [Never Change Form]| can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would| Understand the dual nature of be, do, and have. Be, do, and have are both stand-alone verbs and auxiliary verbs. When these verbs are auxiliary, you will find them teamed with other verbs to complete the verb phrase. Compare these sentences: Freddy is envious of Beatrice’s steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew. Is = linking verb. Freddy is studying Beatrice’s steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew with envy in his eyes. Is = auxiliary verb; studying = present participle completing the verb phrase. We did our homework for Mrs. Long. Did = action verb. We’re not slackers! We did prepare our homework for Mrs. Long. Did = auxiliary verb; prepare = main verb completing the verb phrase. Selena has twelve orange goldfish in her aquarium. Has = action verb. Selena has bought a catfish to help keep the tank clean. Has = auxiliary verb; bought = past participle completing the verb phrase. Form progressive tenses with the auxiliary verb be. All progressive tenses use a form of be. Present progressive follows this pattern: am, is, or are + present participle Use the present progressive tense to convey an action or condition happening right now or frequently. I am baking chocolate-broccoli muffins today. Am = auxiliary verb; baking = present participle completing the verb phrase. Alex is sitting at the kitchen table, anticipating his first bite. Is = auxiliary verb; sitting = present participle completing the verb phrase. Alex must wait a while longer because the muffins are cooling by the window. Are = auxiliary verb; cooling = present participle completing the verb phrase. Impatient Alex is always waiting to taste whatever I cook. Is = auxiliary verb; waiting = present participle completing the verb phrase. Past progressive follows this pattern: was or were + present participle Use the past progressive tense to show either 1) an action or condition that continued in the past or 2) an action or condition interrupted by another. Naomi was hoping for an A in her organic chemistry class. Was = auxiliary verb; hoping = present participle completing the verb phrase. Unfortunately, Naomis lab reports were missing the nutritional data on chocolate-broccoli muffins. Were = auxiliary verb; missing = present participle completing the verb phrase. While Naomi was obsessing about her grade, Jason shared the data that she needed. Was = auxiliary verb; obsessing = present participle completing the verb phrase. Future progressive looks like this: will + be + present participle Use the future progressive tense to indicate an action that will continue in the future. I will be growing broccoli in the backyard this spring. Will, be = auxiliary verbs; growing = present participle completing the verb phrase. Soon, Alex will be eating organic chocolate-broccoli muffins! Will, be = auxiliary verbs; eating = present participle completing the verb phrase. Form passive voice with be. You can make any transitive verb—an action verb that can take a direct object—passive with the auxiliary verb be. Active voice looks like this: subject + verb + direct object. Here are some samples: We licked our lips. Frank devoured a bacon double cheeseburger. Everyone envied his enjoyment. Passive voice makes these changes: direct object as subject + form of be + past participle + by + subject as object of the preposition. Now read these revisions: Our lips were licked by us. The double bacon cheeseburger was being devoured by Frank. His enjoyment was envied by everyone. Notice how wordy and clunky passive voice is! Now you know why English teachers tell you to avoid it! Form perfect tenses with have. All perfect tenses use a form of have. Present perfect follows this pattern: has or have + past participle Use the present perfect tense to convey an action or condition that began in the past but continues [or is finished] in the present. Marge has bought earplugs to drown out her husbands snoring. Has = auxiliary verb; bought = past participle completing the verb phrase. The earplugs have saved Marges marriage to George. Have = auxiliary verb; saved = past participle completing the verb phrase. Past perfect follows this pattern: had + past participle Use the past perfect tense to show that one action in the past occurred before another. Because Marge had purchased the earplugs, she no longer fantasized about smothering George with a pillow. Had = auxiliary verb; purchased = past participle completing the verb phrase. Future perfect follows this pattern: will + have + past participle Use the future perfect tense to indicate that an action will be finished in the future. This Sunday, Marge will have gotten an entire week of uninterrupted sleep. Will, have = auxiliary verbs; gotten = past participle completing the verb phrase. Form emphatic tenses with do. When you use a form of do as an auxiliary verb, you form the emphatic tense. This tense is useful for asking questions or emphasizing an action. The patterns look like these: form of do + main verb form of do + subject + main verb ? I did not eat your leftover pizza! Did = auxiliary verb; eat = main verb completing the verb phrase. Do you always accuse the first person you see? Do = auxiliary verb; accuse = main verb completing the verb phrase. Doesnt the evidence point to Samuel, who still has a bit of black olive stuck to his front tooth? Does = auxiliary verb; point = main verb completing the verb phrase. Understand the job of modal auxiliary verbs. Modal auxiliary verbs never change form. You cannot add an ed, ing, or s ending to these words.Can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would have only one form. You can use modal auxiliary verbs in these patterns: modal + main verb modal + be + present participle modal + have + past participle With modal auxiliaries, you can indicate necessity or obligation: To lose her orange glow, Yvonne should eat fewer carrots. John must remember his wifes birthday this year. If Cecilia wants a nice lawn, she ought to be raking the leaves. Or you can show possibility: Fred might share his calculus homework if you offer him a slice of pizza. Ann could have run the half marathon if she had started to train four months ago. Modal auxiliaries also show willingness or ability: Nicole will babysit your pet iguana for a reasonable fee. Jason can pass chemistry this semester if he stops spending his study time at the arcade. Your answers were:| 1. I will have the soup| Main Verb Auxiliary Verb| 2. Police are investigating the incident| Main Verb Auxiliary Verb| 3. It is very peaceful here| Main Verb Auxiliary Verb| 4. Where does your brother work?| Main Verb Auxiliary Verb| 5. They have decided to advertise your job| Main Verb Auxiliary Verb| 6. He does his homework on the way to school| Main Verb Auxiliary Verb| ReviewAuxiliary verbs always occur with a main verb, but main verbs can occur alone. So the main verbs in this exercise are in (1), (3), and (6). In (1), the main verb have has the modal auxiliary will before it. In (3), the main verb isoccurs without any auxiliary it is a simple present tense verb, third person singular. In (6), does is a main verb, without any auxiliary.The other highlighted verbs are auxiliaries. In (2), the progressive auxiliary are comes before the main verbinvestigating.In (4), does is the present tense form, third person singular, of the dummy auxiliary do. Here it is used to form a question, and the main verb is work.In (5), have is the perfective auxiliary, and the main verb is decided.This exercise shows that the verbs be, have, and do can be both auxiliaries and main verbs. It is easy to distinguish between the two uses if you apply a replacement test. For example, in He does his homework we can replace the main verb does with other main verbs:He does his homework ~He writes/scribbles/loses his homeworkBut this does not work if the verb were replacing is an auxiliary:Where does your brother work? ~*Wherewrites/scribbles/loses your brother workNow try the same test with the following pair:Main Verb: I will have the soup Auxiliary Verb: They have decided to advertise|