Conflict in management,negotiation between management and union, case Assignment

Conflict in management,negotiation between management and union, case study - Assignment Example The management’s decisions to change the grading structures whereby demarcating the duties completely and then amalgamating them into a single and ‘all purpose grade’ system would not be effective after a certain point of time. Also providing the necessary training to the workers to adopt the new skills would become ineffective after a point of time. This is because adopting the new skills would necessarily be resisted by the workers as they would have gained competence in the skills they were working over the years. The availability of a generous fund for Mirenda Corporation can be regarded as a positive factor for the organization. This can be used as a tool for convincing employees about the plans of expanding operations, availing of new equipments and training employees on new skills. Also the change programs that the management was seeking to adopt would be affected by the fact whether their previously adopted changes were successful. Moreover, the higher pro ductivity from each individual worker against the salaries they were offering would be accepted only on the condition whether the previous promises were fulfilled. For example, if it is seen that the management had failed to keep their previously made promises then they would not have strong position to bargain with the union. In the Miranda Corporation, the management’s decision to not concede with the claim for compensation for past productivity was not appreciated by the union. In this regard it can be said that the management would hold a weak position if it failed to meet the unsettled claims. One of the strengths that the management had was the support of the supervisors. This could be used as a positive force while bargaining with the union. The supervisors were found to be an aged group and had little satisfaction with the workings of the unions. In fact they considered the union representatives as being opportunistic and worked in a way which was neither fair nor mea nt to bring about long term benefits to the workers or the company. Thus the management could utilize this opportunity and cater to the key interests of the members. According to the case of the Ford Company and the United Auto Workers (UAW), the negotiation between the management and the unions was primarily based on the thought of crystallizing the interests of the members. The management’s strength laid in the fact that it meant to protect the retiree benefits, ensure investments and jobs, and tried to secure greater voice of the workers in the business. So it can be said that trying to meet the interests of the workers by listening to their problems and needs would act as strength while negotiating with them. It is through serving their interests would the management be successful in earning their participation in driving through the company’s plans for the plant (Anonymous, n.d., p.3). One of the greatest threats which have been observed is the position of Spainâ €™s branch. It is believed that if the management did not incorporate radical changes in its work structures, practices, procedures and

Rabbi Kushner Postulates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rabbi Kushner Postulates - Essay Example According to Kushner, it can essentially therefore be perceived to be rather impossible for one to be able to effectively answer this question as attempts to try and answer it generally result in the asking of more complex questions that cause people to start doubt in God or have wavering faith (WTVI 1985). Rabbi Kushner postulates that we are probably not asking the right question as we tend to mostly concentrate on asking the question of why. Why tends to more frequently dwell on the past as opposed to trying to establish a way forward. No matter how pious one might happen to be, it is not possible to change the past and we should instead concentrate on the future. In line with this, Rabbi Kushner theorizes that the answer to a question does not necessarily have to be a response, but it can instead be in the form of an explanation. Perhaps, the answer to the question on why bad things sometimes tend to happen to good people is that there is no solution to this answer as we live in an imperfect world. Question 2: There are three key terms that Rabbi Kushner postulates as being of critical importance if one is to be able to adequately discuss the problems relating to the everyday reality of human suffering and grief and the God of the Jewish revelation. The first term is that there is a common assumption that God happens to be all powerful and absolutely nothing can ever be impossible for him to do. We think of God as being in charge of every single aspect of creation and controls everything that happens to us. The second term that Rabbi Kushner puts forth is that God’s nature is exceedingly just, kind and fair and He always gives us more than we happen to actually deserve while forever giving us the benefit of doubt by providing us with a second chance. The third term is seen to be personated by the assumption that Job was a good man since he was seen to be initially respected, healthy and extremely wealthy (Job, 614-644; WTVI 1985). It is evidently not possible for all of these three to be mutually compatible in the event that one attempts to use them in attempting to explain an encounter with a grave misfortune. This is because of the human tendency to try and shift the blame to a given individual thus disputing the third term that the individual is a good person. The other two terms can be viewed as being of a sacrilegious nature as trying to dispute them goes against all the tenets governing religion as we currently know it. Question 3: Rabbi Kushner has a unique perspective in his understanding of miracles in that he does not believe in the big miracles such as miraculously dividing the entire red sea into two or even stopping the sun at high noon. Rather, he thinks of these as being special effects. Instead, although he does believe in miracles, he chooses to believe in the small miracles such as weak people all of a sudden gaining strong characters that help them deal with situations that they would not have been able to ef fectively cope with before the change, when timid people change and portray extremely brave personalities and when the selfish change their nature and become generous. Rabbi Kushner points out that to effect such changes in people, it is imperative for one to be God as these cannot simply be achieved by camera effects as commonly happens in movies. God is the only person that can bring about exceptional qualities in individuals, qualities that these individuals did not previously happen to possess (WTVI 1985). Rabbi Kushner has

Effect of Demand on Supply on Coffee and Sugar Prices

Effect of Demand on Supply on Coffee and Sugar Prices Table of Contents (jump to) Introduction Economic Concepts Article Analysis Title: Coffee shortage may arise due to drought, climate change, rising demand, analysts say Conclusions Reference Introduction Microeconomics deals with economic decisions at micro level. It looks at the behaviour of the individual, people and companies within the economy. Being based on the idea of the market economy in which the consumer demand is the main driver for the prices and production levels of goods and services. It is basically inclined to explain how the interested parties choose in using limited resources being made available to them. It also focuses on the drivers of making decisions and the ways in which such decisions of them affect the demand and supply of specific goods and services. For the following article also I have choosen the effect of demand on supply on prices of two commodities as coffee and sugar. Economic Concepts The study of demand and supply on price due to the climate changes, where the prices increase due to the shortage of commodities or products and supply is short and where the demand is high is being discussed in the article. Article Analysis Title: Coffee shortage may arise due to drought, climate change, rising demand, analysts say Source: The Washington Post, February 21, 2014 When we discuss about the microeconomics we mean the study of economic behaviour of individual units of economy and not aggregate economy. It is basically concerned with the individual economic choices, the effect of changes in these factors on individual decision makers, how choices are coordinated of them and how demand and prices are determined. It so deals with the economic decisions made at low or micro level. The effect of demand and supply on a product of economy is updated while going through the article updated on February 21, 2014 which is explaining how Coffee shortage has arise and its impact on demand. The article thus explains that by the time of year in February, the delicate Arabica coffee plants which are in mountains of Brazil, where from most of the coffee comes, are about to mature by this time. The fragrant flowers appear followed by cherry like fruit, which each of them containing two seeds as Arabica Coffee beans, which are most popular in the world. But coffee shortage aroused due to the worst drought occurred last month in Brazil coffee belt region, thereby destroying the crop yields and causing the price of coffee to shoot up with a percentage of more than 50 this year. Drought being historic and more than 140 cities in Brazil was forced to ration water, whereby according to some newspapers drought was so devastating that some neighborhoods of Brazil were receiving water every three days only. But according to Jack Scoville (a future market analyst) now the retail price of coffee has been stable. But their could be chances for the rise in price of Arabica beans then this year consumers would notice an increase in the prices of their coffee. Therefore this is a case of demand increase and supply shortage whereby putting an impact on the prices by increasing them. The resultant of such a drought was the rise in price per pound of coffee which was meant for delivery due in March had reached the highest point around $1.72 in 14 months. There could be global coffee deficit were assumed before drought had to arise. Therefore for the first time in three years the global market of coffee would face shortage. So the predictions for the session 2014-15 were that the coffee supplies would be lowered by 5 million bags. But according to the last years data there was so much coffee that Arabica coffee futures has fell down by 25% and according to experts the price of coffee would rose for long time period just because of people in developing markets like Brazil, China and India are acquiring a taste for coffee. Higher prices and more competition will be seen due to high quality of coffee according to a coffee buyer and sustainability manger as Kim Elena Ionescu. The developing world made coffee and the developed world had drunk it. But now the scenario has changed and the developing countries are also consuming coffee alongwith making it. More people are involved in drinking better coffee according to what is mentioned in the article. Therefore demand will continue to make a shortage in supply. But there are considerable concerns that the climate change will also hamper the supply of coffee as it had happened in Brazil due to drought. This climate change in Brazil brought drastic changes in the price of coffee with the increase in its demand and shortage in supply as people preferred coffee over tea as many don’t like tea and prefer to have coffee in morning everyday. The taste of coffee has so long lasting effect that it makes the individual addicted to coffee have coffee even at high prices. To explain the above statement concerning the increase in price,the above graph mentions that with the increase in demand of coffee the demand curve shifted to the right and the quantity demanded increased from Q1 to Q2 and price increased from P1 to P2. The Brazilian company has various thoughts on such a situation when it happened to be the worst drought as it would put the company in risk for their supply chain of Arabica coffee bean as mentioned in the article by the head of sustainability, Starbucks in 2011. As this company is the worlds renowned Company for selling coffee with high quality and variety which attracts the customers to have coffee from Starbucks store only. To explain the above statement, the above graph thus shows how coffee prices are increasing from P1 to P2 and the demand curve is shifting to right due to increasing demand of coffee, but the supply curve shifts to left showing that there is shortage of coffee. According to the article it is mentioned correctly that many people like sugar in their coffee and for them as Brazil along with being the maker of coffee is the world’s largest producer of sugar, due to such conditions of drought is forced to take action as to disrupt plans for harvesting sugar cane. So the future prices of sugar tend to be at a rise and are at high level from the past two months due to the effect of climate change. Therefore the article has made it clear the after effects of climate change as drought on the production of coffee beans and as well on production of sugar cane. This had made the worse situation for the economy as supply chain has also being effected and due to the shortage in supply and increase in demand of coffee and sugar as well had made the prices of sugar and coffee to rise. This article thus made me to realize a situation where people would suffer due to the high costs and it may affect their purchasing power as well. As people would tend to earn in such a economy as they were earning earlier but in crises situation their income would also be affected as the company would not be able to pay much but in such a situation people who have to purchase emergency goods as coffee to satisfy their needs will purchase it at high cost no matter their income allows to purchase at high prices and sugar which is the more necessary commodity is also to be purchased by them at high cost. These sorts of purchases will affect their purchasing power to purchase other commodities which are less essential but yet in their need criteria to be left out as such. This decision is taken in a microeconomic environment. Therefore the country involved in producing the Arabica beans for the production of coffee is forced to think in future aspects of the increase in price of coffee to affect its supply chain as well, to come to a optimal solution to get rid of this problem in such a situation. As more and more people are inclined towards having coffee and one who is habitual to having coffee cannot be without it as coffee is also included in a drink which creates addiction for the individuals who are in regular use of coffee. Conclusions The article has a clear analysis of the increase in price of commodity due to the increase in demand but decrease in supply. As there is shortage of supplying the coffee due to the climatic changes so the prices of the coffee are at hike and the demand is also at hike accordingly. Therefore the article is showing a clear picture of the microeconomic situation and the study of economic theory as well. The economic theory so suggests the demand and supply are the main constraints for a product or commodity and are sometimes opposite in curve and sometimes run parallel by keeping any one constraint as demand or supply as constant with changes in price. Reference Yang, J., (2014), Coffee shortage may arise due to drought, climate change, rising demand, analysts say, [Article], Available: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/2014/02/21/0f16ed44-9b28-11e3-975d-107dfef7b668_story.html [Accessed 7 May 2014]

History of the Apollo Program Essay -- space shuttle program apollo mi

We choose to go to the moon... "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon, and returning him, safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult of expensive to accomplish."(John F. Kennedy - "Special Joint Session of Congress", May 25th, 1961) With just a few words John F. Kennedy launched one of the largest endeavors that America has ever embarked upon. The address given to congress in May of 1961 put America in a race against Russia to see who could make it to the moon first. This was the start of the space program in America. From it came the Mercury Project with the goal to put the first man into space. The Mercury project launched 26, rockets of which only six were manned flights. The Mercury program put the first American into space on February 20, 1962. John H. Glenn, Jr. was the first American into space. He was the first man to orbit the earth. A claim that Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space (April 12, 1961),can't make. The Russians did circle the earth in space but not in orbit. When John Glenn took off in the Mercury-Atlas 6 rocket, named Friendship 7, he made history. It was less then one year after the challenge of John F. Kennedy to place a man on the moon. The flight lasted for only 04 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds. Still in that short time John Glenn went around earth three times, and became an American hero. The Mercury project was finished with the launch of the Mercury-Atlas 9 rocket, named Faith 7, launched May 15,1963. Faith 7 held only one passenger, L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.. He spent 34 hours, 19 minutes, ... ...and right now final record. They also gathered 234 pounds (110.4kg) of material form the moon. There was also the performance of the trans-Earth EVA that was done by Ronald Evans it lasted 01 hour, 06 minutes. With the splash down of the Apollo XVII module our days on the moon ended. The last time that a man walked on the moon I was not born. There has not been a flight to the moon for over 30 years. I personally feel that this is a true tragedy. I have seen it written that if the Apollo program had continued to receive funding as it had in the early 70’s we would have a base on the moon. If so we would have unmanned lunar Modules to bring supplies to the moon. These may be dreams but as someone that has grown up in the space age I feel that we could achieve these dreams if we really wanted to. I hope that some day, before I am to old, we return to the moon.

Mother’s Day

In most countries, Mother's Day is a recent observance derived from the holiday as it has evolved in America. When it was adopted by other countries and cultures, it was given different meanings, associated to different events (religious, historical or legendary), and celebrated in a different date or dates. Some countries already had existing celebrations honoring motherhood, and their celebrations have adopted several external characteristics from the US holiday, like giving carnations and other presents to your own mother. The extent of the celebrations varies greatly. In some countries, it is potentially offensive to one's mother not to mark Mother's Day. In others, it is a little-known festival celebrated mainly by immigrants, or covered by the media as a taste of foreign culture (compare the celebrations of Diwali in the UK and the United States). n the Roman-Catholic Church, the holiday is strongly associated with reverencing the Virgin Mary. [25] In many catholic homes, families have a special shrine devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In many Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a special prayer service is held in honor of the Theotokos Virgin Mary. In Hindu tradition it is called â€Å"Mata Tirtha Aunshi† or â€Å"Mother Pilgrimage fortnight†, and it is celebrated in countries with Hindu population, especially in Nepal. It is celebrated on the new moon day in the month of Baisakh i. e. April/May. This holiday is based in Hindu religion and it pre-dates the creation of the Western-inspired holiday by at least a few centuries. [citation needed] Some Islamic scholars have published fatwas against dedicating a single day to honor mothers, which detracts from honoring them year round as ordered by the Quran. Mother’s Day In most countries, Mother's Day is a recent observance derived from the holiday as it has evolved in America. When it was adopted by other countries and cultures, it was given different meanings, associated to different events (religious, historical or legendary), and celebrated in a different date or dates. Some countries already had existing celebrations honoring motherhood, and their celebrations have adopted several external characteristics from the US holiday, like giving carnations and other presents to your own mother. The extent of the celebrations varies greatly. In some countries, it is potentially offensive to one's mother not to mark Mother's Day. In others, it is a little-known festival celebrated mainly by immigrants, or covered by the media as a taste of foreign culture (compare the celebrations of Diwali in the UK and the United States). n the Roman-Catholic Church, the holiday is strongly associated with reverencing the Virgin Mary. [25] In many catholic homes, families have a special shrine devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In many Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a special prayer service is held in honor of the Theotokos Virgin Mary. In Hindu tradition it is called â€Å"Mata Tirtha Aunshi† or â€Å"Mother Pilgrimage fortnight†, and it is celebrated in countries with Hindu population, especially in Nepal. It is celebrated on the new moon day in the month of Baisakh i. e. April/May. This holiday is based in Hindu religion and it pre-dates the creation of the Western-inspired holiday by at least a few centuries. [citation needed] Some Islamic scholars have published fatwas against dedicating a single day to honor mothers, which detracts from honoring them year round as ordered by the Quran.

Comparative Religion

Judea, Islam, Hindu – these are just a few of the various religions practiced all over the world, and with these religions, come their Gods, such as Allah, who is practiced by those with Islamic belief, and Brahman, who is known by a variety of names and forms by Hindus around the globe. Each religion has their own unique practices, their own unique beliefs, but with these differences comes similarities. Those who follow the faiths of either Islamic or Hindu religions have conflicting ideas, but still, both religions have similar aspects, such as the fact that both religions are monotheistic, not to mention the practice of charity and pilgrimage to God. Though with diverse names, both Islamic and Hindu religions worship one true God, making them both monotheistic, meaning that their religions only believe in one deity. The Qur’an, which is the holy book of Islam, asserts the existence of a single and absolute God that transcends the world. Though often mistaken as a polytheistic religion, Hinduism too believes in a one true God, but believes that He comes in a variety of shapes and forms. And it is here, that the two religions diverse. Islamic followers believe in an all mighty being known as Allah, unlike the Hindus, who worship Maya, Shakti and the sorts, all of whom are different extensions of the one true God. One could see as to why Hinduism is often mistaken as a polytheistic religion. But in truth, both are monotheistic. To become closer with God – this is the ultimate goal in life when it comes to both the Islamic and Hindu religions. The difference between the two lies as to how they become closer to God. Islam’s believe that their one purpose in life is to worship God, Islam literally meaning submission, specifically to God; the Islamic are expected to worship and adore him. The Hindu’s too belief that one’s goal in life is too become as close with God as possible through the acts of positive karma, in which one is reincarnated over and over again until a follower is one with God. To be one with God is the goal for followers of both religions. To become closer with God, followers of both religions are expected to associate themselves with acts of charities and good deeds. With the Hindus, this is similar to positive karma, in which they believe that when one does a positive act, something good will happen in return, and vice versa. Those of the Islamic faith though, strongly follow the Five Pillars, in which the basis of Islamic religion is worshipped upon; Confession, Prayer, Fasting, Charity, and Pilgrimage. Both Islam’s and Hindus alike commit themselves to charity. Hindu and Islam are practiced by millions of people around the world, in all four corners of the globe. As noted earlier, both religions are monotheistic, meaning that they worship none but one true God. Islam’s and Hindu’s alike wish for pilgrimage with their God, and followers of both religions must commit themselves to charity. But in the end, despite their differences, Hindu and Islamic religions do have their similarities.

Evaluating Professional Development Training in School

Evaluating Professional Development Training in School According to P, Black and D, William, evaluation refers to a sequence of interrelated actions that have a definite purpose.1 Since education instructors are involved in several multifaceted issues, they should be assessed as professionals.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Evaluating Professional Development Training in School specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The standards of evaluating them should be developed by all the stakeholders of the school institution and their evaluation should be based on the extent to which they resolve professional issues proficiently. Since teachers are the main subjects of training, professional development has a direct impact on them. H, McMillan argues that, the main objective of professional development for teachers and other school staff involves its crucial task in the improvement of the learning process 2. For this reason, the school administrators ought to put great emphasis on t he results of professional growth on profession performance, organizational efficiency and the achievement of learners. All the professional development endeavors should always be subjected to an appropriately designed evaluation plan in analyzing their efficiency. The intricacy of changes in education necessitates that the plan is based on the use of ethnographic research. This should be done over a long period of time so as to evaluate and assess the connection between individual changes and the systematic transformation in education. Effective professional development enables the acquisition of new knowledge and expertise. P, Black and D, William asserts that, in one way or another, theres a support structure that follows teachers and other staff within the school institution school in their place of work which provides continued training or some kind of system enabling teachers/staff to continue solving problems in their working environment. 3 As a matter of fact, ineffective ev aluation systems within the school institution are exceedingly hectic, of little significance, and an obstacle to the staff drive. According to P, Black and D, William, such unproductive assessment systems are more expensive as compared to efficient ones.4Advertising Looking for report on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is because; they do not improve the performance of teachers as well as other school staff and thus rob off the learners’ achievements. For this reason, evaluation for professional development should be done in the most effective manner, failure to which it can become meaningless or intensify apprehension between teachers or school staff with their administrators and increase negative competition amongst them. In other words, ineffective evaluation methods can lead to communication breakdown within the stakeholders of a school institution as it may lead to unnecessary barriers, a nd destroy an otherwise excellent working rapport amongst the school professionals. Consequently, the need for efficient evaluation policies within a school should not be underestimated. It is the responsibility of all stakeholders in the education process to be accountable. Thus Professional development programs should be evaluated in order to determine their value in schools, to the instructors as well as the learners. For the efficiency of all professional development attempts, evaluation should be an ongoing process that is introduced in the early stages of program planning and should persist even after the completion of every development program. The stakeholders in the education sector are involved in selecting the evaluators who are given the task of evaluating all the programs. The purpose of evaluation enables the evaluators to come up with the research questions used during the evaluation process. The research questions should be formulated with the help of several stakeho lders in the development program. After determining the purpose of the evaluation, the evaluators should then plan the evaluation procedure with regards to the intended results of the school upgrading efforts. The reason for an evaluation and the usage of the evaluation outcomes are dictated by what is being evaluated. H, McMillan asserts that, in order to ensure an effective professional development program, the evaluators should ask those questions that are directed on bringing out the significance of the program in attaining development. 5 The evaluation of a professional development program has got two main objectives.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Evaluating Professional Development Training in School specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The first one is to enhance the program’s quality or transform a professional development program which is known as formative evaluation, and the second one involves comi ng up with the program’s general efficiency also known as summative evaluation. In a professional development program, formative evaluation is usually done in intervals. Here, the stakeholders are asked to give their remarks, which permit the evaluators to effectively amend the program’s quality. This form of evaluation ascertains that all the professional development programs meet the expectations and requirements of all the stakeholders. This involves a meaningful endeavor which may entail some classroom activities. On the other hand, summative evaluation is employed at the end of the whole program. Bruner, S affirms that, more often than not, the research is done at three main points; educator practices, organizational transformations and learners results 6. At the initial level of summative evaluation, the educators’ changes that result from participating in the professional development program are assessed. Here, the members are asked to point out the neces sary changes according to what they think, what they believe, and their school/classroom activities. They are supposed to describe their individual professional development and assess if the program meets their individual as well as professional objectives. S, Bruner suggests that this can be done through the use of observations, interviews, questionnaires and other self-evaluation instruments.7 The second stage of summative evaluation is where the school organization changes are assessed. According to research, organizational environment directly impacts on both initial and continued use of improvement strategies. In other words, professional development actions will influence student results in case the organizational environment presents continued support for the efforts. Positive organizational adjustments lead to successful professional development. Constructive transformation within a school institution can be achieved through the use of observations, interviews, analysis of d ocuments as well as questionnaires. To determine this form of change, evaluators should look for improved teamwork and an enhanced relationship between administrators and the instructors and the overall changes within the school environment.Advertising Looking for report on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The third phase of summative evaluation involves establishing the influence of the professional development practices on learning. This is mostly because the majority of school-upgrading attempts are projected to influence the learners’ success. Thus, evaluation is obliged to determine the efficiency of professional development with regards to students’ achievement. C, Calfee and V, Masuda affirm that, by getting comments on the instruction outcomes, teachers as well as other staff within the school institution are able to have sufficient proof on the validity of their actions on learning. 8 Teachers should employ the new practices in case they notice some positive outcomes in the learners. This notwithstanding, measurement of the effectiveness of a program should not be limited to the learners points in standardized tests. The evaluators should also consider how much the students are responsible for their individual learning and if they employ thorough research in the ir studies. Professional development assessment should also include nonacademic goals such as curbing student brutality. According to H, McMillan in this case, the pointer of efficiency should embrace valid forms of evaluation procedures such as determining the rate of dropping out of school and changes in the degree of damage to the school. 9 In general, evaluation of a professional development program is usually restricted to the stakeholders’ initial response to the content and significance as well as the efficiency of the facilitator. The most important factor of an evaluation process is the long-term influence brought by the professional development program. A follow-up evaluation should also be carried out after the instructors have implemented the necessary changes. This facilitates to assess changes within the instructional practice, in the professional environment and students’ success. C, Calfee and V, Masuda argues that, in order to reinforce the adjustments made by the stakeholders of the evaluation process, follow-up sessions and support actions should be programmed as part of the assessment course.10 In conclusion, even though professional development programs are meant to influence the students’ achievement, they characteristically have an impact on all the other participants who include; administrators, school heads counselors, as well as other staff. For it to be thorough, an evaluation program should draw its findings from all the above sources as well as from the evaluators. A comprehensive approach, which uses diverse information from multiple sources, should be embraced. Both quantitative and qualitative facts should be included in this course to provide suitable information. Precisely, this information should comprise facts based on the results from participants, organization, and learners. Moreover, the assessment outcomes should be presented in a way that is easily understood by all the participants involved in the professional development course. Comprehensible communication of the program’s outcomes should ensure that the findings are used to direct school improvement efforts and consequent professional development actions which include teacher training. Footnotes P, Black, D, Wiliam, Raising standards through classroom assessment, Phi Delta Kappan, 1998. H, McMillan, Essential assessment concepts for teachers and administrators, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Publishing Company, 2001. P, Black, D, William, pp140. P, Black, D, William, pp 146. H, McMillan, pp 26. S, Bruner, The process of education, NY: Vintage Books, 1960. S, Bruner, pp 77. C, Calfee, V, Masuda, Classroom assessment as inquiry, In G. D. Phye (Ed.) Handbook of classroom assessment, NY: Academic Press 1997. H, McMillan pp 46. C, Calfee, V, Masuda pp 36. Reference List Black, P, William, D, Raising standards through classroom assessment, Phi Delta Kappan, 1998, 139-148. Bruner, S, The process of education, NY: Vintag e Books, 1960. Calfee, C, Masuda, V, Classroom assessment as inquiry, In G. D. Phye (Ed.) Handbook of classroom assessment, NY: Academic Press 1997. McMillan, H, Essential assessment concepts for teachers and administrators, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Publishing Company, 2001.

Black Women of Our Past essays

Black Women of Our Past essays Since the beginning of time, men were considered superior over women. Women were not educated. Many of them did not even have chances to express their creativity. Alice Walker addresses that issue in her essay "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens." In the essay, Walker created images of the stifled women with stories from other writers and her mothers'. One of the reasons women did not have chances to express their creativity is that men did not consider women's work as good as the men's, thus women in the past trying to make a living from art was impossible. Virginia Wolf, a British writer who wrote about women's struggle as artists in the 1920s. In one of Wolfs most recognized works, "A Room of One's Own," she states that in order for a woman make a living as an artist, she must have two things: "a room of her own (with keys and lock) and enough money to support herself." (Walker 742) Women were oppressed so much in the past, Wolf wrote that: any woman born with a great gift in the sixteenth century would certainly have gone crazed, shot herself, or ended her days in some lonely cottage outside the village, half witch, half wizard, feared and mocked at. For it needs little skill and psychology to be sure that a highly gifted girl who had tried to use her gift of poetry would have been so thwarted and hindered by contrary instinc ts, that she must have lost her health and sanity to a certainty. (Walker 742) Wolf wrote that about the women in the sixteenth century in England, but Walker showed that the same problem still existed during her mother's period as she transposed Wolfs words any black woman or anyone born or made a slave would have certainly gone crazed...For it needs little skill and psychology to be sure that a highly gifted girl who had tried to use her gift of poetry would have been so thwarted and hindered by contrary instincts, chains, guns, the lash, the ownership of one's body ...

English Verb Tense Resources

English Verb Tense Resources Learning verb tenses is one of the most important tasks in any language learning. There are a number of resources at the site that will help you learn tense rules, practice using verbs in different tenses, read sample sentences in a variety of tenses, teach tenses in class, and more. For an overview of conjugation of all these tenses, use the tense tables or the visual guide to tenses for reference. Teachers can use theses guides on how to teach tenses for further activities and lesson plans in class Tense Use Rules and Explanations These explanation resources provide the rules for each tense, as well as examples of proper tense use. Use the time expression commonly used with the tense, as well as the example sentences to help you get started. Present Simple Every day - When do you get up? / Tom usually eats lunch at home.Present Continuous Now - Shes watching TV at the moment. / Im not working, Im reading a newspaper.Past Simple Yesterday - They went on vacation last July. / Where did you meet Tim?Past Continuous Yesterday, at X oclock They were watching TV at 5 oclock yesterday. / What were you doing when he came home?Present Perfect Since / For - Ive lived here a long time. / Have you ever seen that film?Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Ive lived here for many years. vs. I lived there before I moved to New York.Present Perfect Continuous Since / For Time - Weve been working since 8 this morning. / What has she been doing recently?Past Perfect Already - They had already eaten when she arrived. / Had you finished the report by the time he asked for it?Future with Will Tomorrow, Next week - Well get together next week. / Will you be able to come tomorrow?Future with Going to Tomorrow, Next year, semester, etc. - Theyre goi ng to study Russian next semester. / Where are you going to stay?Future Perfect By, By the time - Ill have finished by the time he arrives. / Will you have done the work by six?Future Continuous At X oclock, This time next year, month, week / What will you be doing this time next year? - Shell be working tomorrow at 10 oclock.Conditional Forms If questions - What would you do if you had enough time? / If she is in town, shell come to the meeting.Alternate Conditional FormsModal Forms Asking Permission, Giving Advice, etc. - May I help you? / He should see a doctor.Modal Verbs of Probability Stating guesses - He must have stayed at home today. / She might be downstairs. Tense Use Rules For Beginners These tense explanations cover basic tenses and are especially for beginners. They include easier English as well as example dialogues of tense use. Present SimplePast SimplePresent PerfectFuture with WillFuture with Going toModal Form Basics Tense Quizzes Once you understand the tense use, these quizzes will help you test your knowledge. The more you practice, the more confident you will feel using various tenses. Past Tenses ReviewSimple Past or Present PerfectPresent Perfect or Present Perfect ContinuousAdvanced Tense IdentificationConditional FormsPassive Forms Quiz Tense Review If you have a good understanding of tense use, these pages will help you review tenses as they relate to each other. The resources include a tense timeline, and a special section focusing on auxiliary verbs - the key to verb conjugation. English Tenses TimelinePresent Tense Auxiliary VerbsPast Tense Auxiliary VerbsFuture Tense Auxiliary VerbsSimple vs. Progressive VerbsExample Sentences in All Tenses Tense Use Lessons These lesson plans can be used in your classes. Each lesson plan includes an introduction, a step by step guideline to teaching tense use, and class exercises to be used during the lesson. A Difficult Situation: Using Modal Verbs of Probability in the PastA VIP - Present Perfect Simple and Continuous Lesson PlanConditional StatementsIntegrating Past ContinuousPassive VoiceTense ReviewTime Expressions and Simple Past or Present PerfectReported Speech: Developing Production SkillsTense Review for Advanced Levels

Analysing Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Analysing Organization - Essay Example It is also worth mentioning in this context that in accordance with which the organizations differ from each other. Additionally, humans frame an important role within the organizational setting. These factors accumulatively design organizational behavior which reflects upon the study that investigates about the impact which an individual, structure and groups render upon the directives and performances with respect to interpersonal and inter-divisional roles within the premises of the organization. It is in this context that the behavioral approach determines the application of the knowledge in the attainment of the organizational objectives (Schein, 1985). With reference this context, the objective of the study is to brief the interpretive paradigm with respect to The Lego Group (Lego). The report will comprise of the details with regard to the various perspectives of the paradigm taking into account both theoretical and evidence based perspectives towards the aspect. The influence of the paradigm perspective upon Lego’s organizational culture and the analysis of such influence will also be assessed within the discussion henceforth. Paradigms Perspectives Paradigms reflect upon the description of all the interactions taking place within the society or organization or any other cluster as performed by the human participants. The broader view point or the perspectives that enable the social scientists to include tools that further help in describing the society and then framing hypothesis and theories accordingly reflect the paradigm perspective. The paradigms perspective, being mutually exclusive, offers alternative views with respect to the society, which in turn infers the reality of the society (Asiamah & Patel, 2009). This particular notion comprises within it the four important paradigm perspectives. The perspectives includes within it two major dimensions that are objective versus subjective and regulation versus radical change. In accordance with the objective versus subjective, it principally comprises the assumptions and the methodologies describing the social science and the nature of the human which is the first dimension in the paradigm. Correspondingly, the regulation versus radical change paradigm emphasized on the methods of treating the organization as a society on the basis of the assumptions concluded from the applied methodologies. To be precise, the four paradigm perspectives include functionalist sociology, interpretive sociology, radical humanism dimension and radical structuralism dimensions as can be observed from the pictorial diagram below (Asiamah & Patel, 2009). Source: (Asiamah & Patel, 2009) The functionalist sociology reflects the rational explanation to that of the social affairs. It also states the models and the methods that have been applied during the study of the human affairs. In this context, it assumes that the society is made up of concrete and materialistic aspirations as well as relations hips. The interpretive sociology further reflects the understanding of the world on the basis of subjective experiences. Correspondingly, the radical humanism dimension is concerned with the social constraints that limit the potentialities of the human activities. The radical perspective further justifies the radical change observed within

BRAHMS REQUIEM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BRAHMS REQUIEM - Assignment Example He had filled the workplace of Meister. The courts and rear ways of the poor quarter in which he existed were continually resonating with the tunes of youngsters, in which he joined generously, with his high soprano voice. He was a fun loving, Normal sprightly kid, sound and ordinary youngster. There was never any uncertainty as to his turning into an artist. From promptly adolescence he took in everything his father could show him, read everything. In the first place he could lay involved, rehearsed with un- Music straying eagerness, and filled reams of Study paper with activities and varieties (Brahms, 1-9). 2. Compare the experience of listening to Brahms’ Requiem to other musical performances you have seen this semester. To what extent is the Ellen Eccles a fitting venue for a performance of this kind? Different arrangers on their aesthetic work have investigated the key existential address in significantly particular courses through a medium that, as I would see it, is unsurpassed around the different manifestations of creative declaration in its capability to achieve the center of our being. Whats more when you have the chance to really sing these meets expectations, the knowledge of them could be upbeat. It doesnt get significantly more particular than that! What can one say in regards to the Mozart Requiem? The quick remarks made here address its energy and to the virtuoso of a writer whose blessing has given mankind the most wonderful and roused musical works ever to jump from the creative ability. The complexity between the Mozart and the Berlioz in their musical structure and inclination is hitting with Berlioz commitment being no less esteemed for the distinction. As Lynn has noted, the specialized requests on the soloists of both structures are considerable and this however shows that Brahms verbalization the extent that his

HCM611-0803A-01 Managing the Health Care Organization - Phase 2 Essay

HCM611-0803A-01 Managing the Health Care Organization - Phase 2 Discussion Board - Essay Example The prospective nurse should be informed about the world of opportunities available to the nurse under the regulated working environment. Further, the hospital should instil a thought in the nurse that they have a great responsibility to the society. The job of a nurse in a challenging atmosphere need not be dealing with the patient alone but the nurse has opportunities to adorn the role of an administrator or teacher. This is one job that can bring a meaningful change to the lives of people. The vacancy of nurses due to work pressure and retirement can be solved by encouraging nurses to realise the need for social work while finding job satisfaction for oneself by caring for the sick and maintaining the health of the public. The role of nurse lies in shaping and implementing policies for the health care system (Nurses launch public awareness, 2008). The successful implementation of policies and procedures can be achieved by creating a realisation among employees on the need for patient satisfaction, reduction of cost, reduction in errors and the need to exhibit high levels of efficiency. The prospective nurse should be taught about the importance of reducing cost by eradicating wastage at work. Prospective nurses should be briefed about handling the Emergency Department with ease even in the busiest of times and they should be assured of support from the hospital in dealing with the crowd by applying the methods like lean principle. This principle was actually used in the manufacturing sector but yields good results when applied to the health care system also. Lean principle gives importance to reduce waste, decrease production time, increase capacity, improve workflow and reduce cost. The hospital can ensure prospective employees about professional support from time to time to improve workflow and organisation of duty and assure them that there will be no duplication of work and unnecessary

Introducation to computer science assingment Assignment

Introducation to computer science assingment - Assignment Example Q6. The value that can be retrieved from the table by the pop instruction is 11 C. this is because it is possible to get the pointer in to the first element of the vector through incrementing this pointer in order to access the second pointer. The value that will be found in the pointer after the pop operation is 12 A. on the other hand, the deque is not a guarantee of a contiguous storage which contains the same elements (10, 11 12) and getting the pointer to the first element does not guarantee that you will get access to the second pointer by incrementing the pointer (Finkel, 1996) Q7. Assuming that the stricture above represents a queue, the value that will be removed from the queue is 14.this is because it is obtained after several increments of 10. The head pointer will next point at 13 which will be the value before 14. *In order to obtain the left child of a certain index, we multiply the current index 2 and we add 1. *for us to get the right child on this specific index, we multiply the current index by 2 and then we add 2. Q10. The reference data types are used to refer to objects while the primitive data types usually contain some values. Some of the example of primitive data type includes the byte, int Boolean and the float. Q11. When writing a chessboard structure that has an 8-by-8 grid, the programmer can consider using arrays that contains chess like structure which is a two dimension array. In order to store the position of the chess piece. The two dimension array is used in pinpointing individual elements in the array (Finkel,

Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Holocaust - Essay Example Despite popular opinion, the Holocaust didn’t occur because the German people fell into a hypnotic trance of some sort and suddenly felt obligated to kill innocents simply from hearing Hitler’s charismatic speeches. Most German citizens did not know of the Concentration Camps, including the residents of the cities where these camps of death were located. The executions were performed by the German military with SS troops, paramilitary police unit, in charge of the operations. Both the unknowing German citizens and the most fanatical of Nazi’s did have something in common however, a nationalistic idealism which was the underlying motive for the annihilation of the Jewish race. This common idealism was derived from the result of a long developing German cultural connection via the ideology of Volkism, with beginnings from the previous century. This paper will show evidence that Nazi foreign policy ambition before 1939 extended not only to regional military invasions but to total racial, ideological and cultural dominion on a global scale. It will look at the Aryan Nazi aspiration to be the world’s main power in terms of obtaining territory beyond simply Europe and Russia. No greater illustration is the Nazis plans to eventually invade the U.S. Additionally the paper will examine the significance of eliminating the Jewish race so that the Aryan race could govern the world and the Nazi’s association with art, the symbolic meaning behind controlling the world’s works of art so they could control the world’s combined culture. The Nazi state did not focus on production or preserving Germany’s economic condition but instead on its ability to prey upon other societies. Guided by authoritarian and racist political theories, the Nazis rapidly eliminated basic freedoms in an effort to construct a ‘Volk’ community. A ‘volkish’ community, according to Nazi ideals, united all regions of Germany and social

Buyer Behaviour Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Buyer Behaviour - Case Study Example The youth today is not lured by goods that are merely expensive. They want value for money and they purchase luxury goods for self-identity and well-being. Purchasing certain branded luxury goods help them to display their own tastes and values. For some it serves to fulfill the emotional needs where they see luxury as an indulgence of their senses. Luxury goods are premium goods with high quality products, aesthetic design supported by excellent service, purchased by people from the higher income bracket (Cheng, 2006). In the earlier days the term ‘luxury’ was applied to products that were rare and scarce and available to a small segment of the people. The luxury items were out of reach of the ordinary people and considered rare. Today the luxury product market has increased manifold. The young are spontaneously aware of the luxury brands with the men focusing on cars and motorbikes and women’s focus on beauty and food. These reflect the desires and fantasies tha t are conditioned by the social environment and associations with well-being.Interpretation of the word ‘luxury’ depends upon their socio-economic background. The youth greatly represent the hedonistic effect in their attitude towards luxury items. This implies that they are not influenced by group norms. On the other hand they purchase luxury goods that give them self-fulfillment. They look for exclusive benefits and if products create an emotional value for consumers it represents that the product has been beneficial. The emotional value that the youth look for include pleasure, excitement and aesthetic beauty. They indulge in luxury items as it gives them a sense of well-being and self-respect and would also go the extent of using their credit cards for them. They prefer these luxuries against bringing up a child while the elders indulged in luxury only after their basic responsibilities were fulfilled (Hamilton, 2004). The elders seek more than value when considerin g purchasing a luxury brand. They try to balance the product’s tangible and intangible value with price. They assess discretionary purchases as either dispensable or indispensable, based on more deeply held core values (Salzman, 2009). While the youth focus on increasing their influence, power and wealth, the elders seek new priorities driven the fundamentals of human development. The traditional materialistic values are less important for the elders. The elders look for self-actualization in the luxury brand which as per Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comes only after all the other needs have been satisfied. Culture has a strong impact on the purchasing decisions. The youth are well aware of the luxury brands in areas like perfumes, clothing, fashion, leather goods, accessories, costume jewelry but not so in tableware. However they are very conscious of the modern sports cars and other different models of cars that emerge everyday. The attitude of the youth towards cars has definitely undergone a sea change from the 1980s. Marketing communications used by car

Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Holocaust - Essay Example Despite popular opinion, the Holocaust didn’t occur because the German people fell into a hypnotic trance of some sort and suddenly felt obligated to kill innocents simply from hearing Hitler’s charismatic speeches. Most German citizens did not know of the Concentration Camps, including the residents of the cities where these camps of death were located. The executions were performed by the German military with SS troops, paramilitary police unit, in charge of the operations. Both the unknowing German citizens and the most fanatical of Nazi’s did have something in common however, a nationalistic idealism which was the underlying motive for the annihilation of the Jewish race. This common idealism was derived from the result of a long developing German cultural connection via the ideology of Volkism, with beginnings from the previous century. This paper will show evidence that Nazi foreign policy ambition before 1939 extended not only to regional military invasions but to total racial, ideological and cultural dominion on a global scale. It will look at the Aryan Nazi aspiration to be the world’s main power in terms of obtaining territory beyond simply Europe and Russia. No greater illustration is the Nazis plans to eventually invade the U.S. Additionally the paper will examine the significance of eliminating the Jewish race so that the Aryan race could govern the world and the Nazi’s association with art, the symbolic meaning behind controlling the world’s works of art so they could control the world’s combined culture. The Nazi state did not focus on production or preserving Germany’s economic condition but instead on its ability to prey upon other societies. Guided by authoritarian and racist political theories, the Nazis rapidly eliminated basic freedoms in an effort to construct a ‘Volk’ community. A ‘volkish’ community, according to Nazi ideals, united all regions of Germany and social

Cvs Annual Report Essay Example for Free

Cvs Annual Report Essay Executive Summary/Company History/Products and Services CVS/Pharmacy has shown a consistent growth for the last three years. Three years ago CVS/Pharmacy has merged with Longs Pharmacy and Caremark to form the largest retail pharmacy chain in the United States. CVS/Pharmacy- CVS/Pharmacy began operations in 1963, and added the pharmacy department in 1967. In 2007, CVS merged with Caremark Rx, Inc. Finally, in 2008, CVS bought the Longs Drug Store chain. CVS has over 7000 stores(Cvs.com, 2010). At the end of 9 months of 2010, the company has lost 9. 25% against 2009 net income. However, the company has increased their assets and liabilities by .1% against 2009 figures(Cvs.com, 2010). As the company stands now in trends, Net revenues for this 7,100-store drugstore retailer were $23.9 billion for Q3 2010, down 3.1% from $24.6 billion in the prior years period. Poor performance by the companys Pharmacy Services segment—its revenues dropped 8.5%, to $11.9 billion—was a major contributor to the companys woes. CVS Retail Pharmacy segment revenues actually increased 4.1%, with total same-store sales climbing 2.5%(Trendwatch, 2010). CVS/Pharmacy is in the process of transitioning their leadership at CEO. Tom Ryan will be stepping down at the end of the year as CEO, and Larry Merlo will be promoted to CEO. Tom Ryan has been the CEO of CVS/Pharmacy Inc. since 1994, and it has been the consistency at the top that has lead to the expansion of CVS/Pharmacy as being largest retail pharmacy chain in the United States. Now that Toms tenure is coming to a close, a new dawn is  occurring for the corporation with Larry Merlo taking the helm. Competitor Analysis In the retail pharmacy industry, there are only three pure pharmacy firms: CVS/Pharmacy, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid. Pure pharmacy firms are pharmacy retailers whose business is built around the pharmacy. Wal-Mart, Kroger, and local grocery stores have pharmacies as an extension of their business plan, but it is not the focus of their company. CVS/Pharmacy and Walgreens have been battling over the top position for years, and Rite-Aid has been ranked at a steady third in the market place. Walgreens- Walgreens is CVS/Pharmacys chief competitor. Founded in 1901, Walgreens is considerably older. Unlike CVS/Pharmacy, Walgreens began with the pharmacy department. With 6000 stores, Walgreens is smaller than CVS. In 2010, Walgreens has increased sales against last year by 6.4%, and net earnings by 4.2%(Walgreens.com, 2010). Moreover, they have posted 36 straight years of sales gains, and 35 straight years of dividend payments(Walgreens.com, 2010). Finally, Walgreens has posted net earnings for 5 consecutive years. Despite Walgreens smaller size, it has a bigger market share at 31.2% compared to CVS/Pharmacys 25%(Wikinvest.com, 2010). The last 10 years has been the first decade that a Walgreens family member was not at the helm of the Walgreens Pharmacy chain. Charles Walgreens retired from the CEO position in 1998, but stayed on a member of the board of directors. Mr. Walgreens will officially retire for the company this year. Gregory D. Wasson is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Wasson has worked with Walgreens for 31 years. In conclusion, Walgreens CVS/Pharmacy are the giants in retail pharmacy. Their strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures have brought them to a virtual dead heat. The purpose of this research is analyze the financial strength of both to determine which is in the best financial health. Common Size Statements We will first compare CVS/Pharmacy and Walgreens through common size financial statements. Commons size financial statements allow for comparisons to be made between companies of different sizes and volumes in order to see the true performance. CVS/Pharmacy has over 7000 stores, and Walgreens Pharmacy only has 6000 stores. The difference in size will have an  impact on expense, revenue, and income. Every company plans to get the most out of every dollar spent. Consequently, we will be comparing the their financial performance from 2007-2009. From the beginning, Walgreens has yielded a better gross profit by an average of 8% over CVS/Pharmacy. Gross profit is the amount left over after cost of goods sold is taken from revenue. Although, both have been steady with their percentage gross profit, CVS/Pharmacy 21% Walgreens 28%, Walgreens has gained more. However, Walgreens celebration is short lived because the balance statement is more than gross profit. In fact the 8% edge in gross profit they gave back in operating expenses. Walgreens operating expenses took, on average, 22.5% away from their total revenue. CVS/Pharmacy operating expenses took only 14.5% away from their total revenue. Moreover, other indicators of return on investment to the company are higher for CVS/Pharmacy than Walgreens. CVS/Pharmacy has had a higher operating income than Walgreens since 2007. For the last two years CVS/Pharmacy has posted higher income before taxes than Walgreens. Finally, the biggest trend difference between the two firms is that CVS/Pharmacys net income has increased three years in a row, while Walgreens net income has steadily decreased three years in a row. As a company, CVS/Pharmacy received a 20% gross profit margin. The next biggest payment went to operating expenses at 14.12%. After the expenses, income before taxes and operating profit account for 13% and net income accounts for nearly 4%. In 2009 alone, Walgreens gross profit and operating expenses nearly cancel each other out. There is only a 4% variance between gross profit and operating expenses for Walgreens. Operating profit and income before taxes accounts for only 10% of the revenue, while Walgreens net income accounts for barely over 3%. On the key financial statements, Walgreens performance has been diminishing over the last three years, and CVS/Pharmacys performance has risen. The reason behind the growing strength of CVS/Pharmacy has been the general, consistent financial growth. This will be illustrated by the financial ratios. Liquidity is the firms ability to meet its current obligations(Marshall, McManus, Vielle, 2010). Working capital is the excess of a firms current assets over its current liabilities(2010). In this case, Walgreens has higher working capital than CVS/Pharmacy. On other tests of liquidity,  Walgreens out performs CVS/Pharmacy. Walgreens has a higher current ratio, acid test ratio, and they turn over their assets 8 more times a year than CVS/Pharmacy. Although Walgreens has yielded their lowest net income in three years, they have a high comparable liquidity. Moreover, the higher net income for CVS/Pharmacy has not translated into higher liquidity. However, the increased in income has translated into a higher inventory turnover for CVS/Pharmacy. Conclusion The findings of this paper are illustrating the transition in the marketplace between CVS/Pharmacy and Walgreens. For the last 20 years, these retail pharmacy firms have battled for supremacy in the industry. Over the last decade, CVS/Pharmacy has had one Chief Executive Officer, Tom Ryan. However, since Tom Ryan took over in 1999, Walgreens has had 3 CEO changes. The result of inconsistency in their leadership has translated to a lower return on investment. Walgreens has higher liquidity, but they have shown three years of decreasing net income. As a result, they are getting weaker as an organization. However, CVS/Pharmacy has shown consistent growth over the last three years. Their increasing strength has been represented by their purchases of Longs Pharmacy and Caremark. It is my conclusion that this trend will continue

Grounded theory in research

Grounded theory in research Evaluate the contribution of grounded theory, as an approach to data analysis Introduction The concept of grounded theory is from the Glaser and Strauss research in 1967. In 1960s, they made a research for medical personnel to deal with an imminent death of the patients field observation in a hospital, and then discovered and developed the grounded theory. In this essay, I will evaluate the grounded theory in 5 parts. The first part is the characteristics of grounded theory; the second part is the procedure of grounded theory; the third part is comparison with other types of research methods and the forth part is the contribution of grounded theory research in management field, and the last part is the future of grounded theory. 1. The characteristics of grounded theory Some perspectives of grounded theory In Suddabys (2006) view, the grounded theory can be described as: â€Å"Grounded the ­ory is best understood historically. The methodology was developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) as a reaction against the extreme positivism that had per ­meated most social research.† (Suddaby 2006, p.633) And Gephart (2004) points out: â€Å"Glaser and Strauss (1967) proposed grounded theory as a practical method for conducting re ­search that focuses on the interpretive process by analysing the â€Å"the actual production of meanings and concepts used by social actors in real settings† (Gephart, 2004, p.457). And another view is Glasers perspective (1992, p16), he argues that: â€Å"The grounded theory is a general methodology of analysis linked with data collection that uses a systematically applied set of methods to generate an inductive theory about a substantive area.† Grounded theory research method is a type of qualitative research which is based on induction. It used in many sociological research areas such as education, religion, and many others. Zhigang (2007) argued that the method is characterized by extracting the theory from the phenomenon to create or enrich existing theoretical system. In the view of Layder (1993), Grounded theory method is a process of generating a theory, which including constant comparison, thinking, analysis and transformation of information. The characteristics of emphasis on information and more interactive approach, which makes the researchers collect data by making use of a continuous and intimate interactions of the parties and events. In summary, in the first place, according to Zhigangs perspective,(2007) the grounded theory is a bottom-up approach to establish substantive theory, which is finding the core concepts reflects the social phenomenon based on systematical data collection, and then generate the relative theory through the links between these concepts. Secondly, grounded theory must be supported by empirical evidence, but it is not the main feature of grounded theory, the main feature is that it generates new theory or idea abstracted form the experience and data analysis. Lastly, in philosophical ideology, grounded theory approach is a paradigm based on the post-positivist, which emphasize on falsifying current theory which has been constructed. The comparative analysis the core of data analysis of grounded theory Strauss Corbin (1998) pointed out that the grounded theory emphasizes on development of the theory, but also the theory is based on the data collection of realities, and continuing data analysis through the comparison. The strategy of comparative analysis usually used in sociology research. In grounded theory, it is a very important process. Glaser and Strauss (1967) argued that it should be first contrasted the use of the method with certain other users in the research process, and then define and describe what type of theory be created through comparative analysis. The purpose of comparative analysis, as a strategic method for generating theory, is to obtain the accurate evidence, which is the difference between establishing theory and verifying theory. The evidence collected from some comparative groups, which is used to examine whether the original evidence was correct. The characteristic of comparative analysis for establishing theory or concept puts a high emphasis on theory as process. In other words, theory is not perfected; it needs develop continuously through comparative analysis. Glaser and Strauss (1967) believed that theory renders the reality of social interaction and its structural context as a process. The coding Coding is a key element of the data analysis in grounded theory. BaiKai and YuanBo (2009) argued that the encoding is the usually used technology in the qualitative research which is entirely different from quantitative research. In qualitative research, the purpose of coding is not counted, but rather deconstruction of information to form the concept. They would be re-arranged in different categories, in order to promote the comparison of information and proposition of theoretical concepts in one category. Zhigang (2007) points out that the effective use of the grounded theory primarily depends on the following two aspects: on the one hand, the researchers should make an effort to choose a meaningful direction or area of research. It is difficult to identify the gaps that may exist in the theoretical proposition; On the one hand, the researchers should pay attention to data collection and collation, and propose some theoretical assumptions and refining the new conclusions in accordance with the principles, steps and techniques of the grounded theory. 2. The procedure of the grounded theory In Strauss and Corbins view (1998), it is important that focus mainly on the process. They believe that the process is more important as describing and coding everything which is continuously changing. The process of grounded theory research made based on the view of Pandit. N (1996) Source: Pandit. N (1996) The Creation of Theory: A Recent Application of the Grounded Theory Method As can be seen clearly, there are mainly 3 phases in the process of grounded theory research design phase, data collection phase and data analysis. The whole process is started at review of technical literature and finished at reaching closure, but it is need to note here is that if the result is theoretical saturation after the theoretical sampling step, it should be restarted the second step selecting cases. According to the Suddabys view (2006), There are 2 key points in the method which described by Glaser and Strauss (1967) â€Å"constant comparison,† and â€Å"theoretical sampling,† in which data are collected and ana ­lysed simultaneously, and â€Å"theoretical sampling,† in which decisions about which data should be collected next are determined by the theory that is being constructed. Therefore, the most important steps in the process are data analysis and theoretical sampling, which are the key difference in contrast with other research methods. 3. Comparison with other methods of qualitative research Grounded theory and other various ways in social research have different advantages and disadvantages. Possibly different types of methods can be used in different areas. Researchers select different research methods, could means that they have different research ideas and objectives. At the same time, selection and use of methods could more depend on the topic or the attribute of research. The necessary requirement of obtaining the valuable research findings is the appropriate combination between objectives and methods of the research. Comparison with Hypothesis Testing The Hypothesis testing method is different from the Grounded theory method. The definition of Hypothesis testing can be described as: â€Å"Hypothesis testing research investigates a phenomenon in terms of a relationship between an independent and dependent variable, both of which are measurable numerically. This relationship is called a hypothesis. The aim of the research is to test whether the hypothesized relationship is actually true, using statistical methods.† (Auerbach and Silverstein, 2003, p.3) Although hypothesis testing and grounded theory are good research methods to do the research in some areas, there are some differences between them. The hypothesis testing method is mainly different from the grounded theory in the process of building theory. In hypothesis testing method, the hypothesis or idea has been generated first. Researchers can make hypothesis without any evidence, then they will look for the evidences or collect data and information to support their hypothesis or idea. In contrast, grounded theory is an inductive method which focuses on the discovery and does not rest on hypothesis testing but on building hypotheses according to the data and relative information. Suddaby (2006) point out: â€Å"Glaser and Strauss rejected positivist notions of falsification and hypothesis testing and, instead, described an organic process of theory emergence based on how well data fit conceptual categories identified by an observer, by how well the categories explain or pred ict ongoing interpre ­tations, and by how relevant the categories are to the core issues being observed.† (Suddaby, 2006, p.634) It is clear that the hypothesis testing a grounded theory would be used in different fields, such as the hypothesis could be used for working out the mathematics problem and grounded theory could be used in the research in the social areas. Which method can be chosen for research depends on the objectives of the research. Comparison with Ethnography Creswell (1998) argued that ethnography involves prolonged observation of the group, typically through participant observation in which the research is immersed in the day to day lives of thepeople or through one on one interviews with members of the group. Clearly, the ethnography method could be more used in the research of human, culture and language etc. From the view of Creswell (1998, p148), the following table can describe the differences between grounded theory and ethnography in data analysis process. Data analysis and representation Grounded theory Ethnography Data managing Create and organize files for data Create and organize files for data Reading, Memoing Read through text, make margin notes, form initial codes Read through text, make margin notes, form initial codes Classifying Engage in axial coding Engage in open coding Analyse data for themes and patterned regularities Interpreting Engage in selective coding Develop a conditional matrix Interpret and make sense of findings Representing, Visualizing Present a visual theory Present propositions Present narrative presentation augmented by tables, figures and sketches Source: Creswell, J. (1998) Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions As can be seen clearly, the most difference between grounded and ethnography is from classifying step to visualizing step. The 3 core coding steps play an important role in the data analysis of grounded theory, which make the grounded theory can be developed through the constant comparison. And also it is one of the advantages of grounded theory in contrast with other qualitative methods as an approach to data analysis. Mello and Flint (2009) believe that the grounded theory primarily uses interviews, but also uses observation and documents analysis like an ethnography method. It differs from an ethnography method because of its purpose, which is to build theory. Like many other interpretive qualitative approaches, grounded theory has helped other disciplines open up fruitful new avenues of research. Hammersley (1990) argues that much ethnography places emphasis on the ‘description as an important purpose of research, there are other strands that focus on a form of ‘theoretical description. However, while Glaser and Strauss think that grounded theory is related to the wider context of qualitative analysis and method. The grounded theory approach is highly distinctive and unlike other types of qualitative methods. 4. Grounded Theory in management research It is no doubt that the grounded theory can be used in a wide range of research such like nursing, business and management, mathematics and many types of sociology. Then, I will talk about the contribution of grounded theory focus on the business and management area. Firstly, the following table gives some examples of the grounded theory used in management research. Examples of grounded theory in management research Example references Senior executives and IT Systems development Managing understanding in orgnisations Organisational culture Staff perspectives on work Retailer response to manufactures low-cost programmes Rural women entrepreneurs Competitive strategy and manufacturing Process technology Building co-operation in competitive industries Consumer behaviour Advertising and mass media Marketing Career development Electronic data interchange Leadership in organisations Strategic alliances Ideal business images for women Tourist behaviour Employment outcomes Seeley and Targett (1997) King (1996), Calloway and Ariav (1995) Brown (1994, 1995) Turner (1981, 1988) Clegg et al. (1996) Nuefeldt et al. (1996) Manning et al. (1998) Egan (1997) McKinley-Wright (1995) Schroeder and Congden (1995) Congden (1995) Browning et al. (1995) Houston and Venkatesh (1996) Goulding (1999b,1999c,2000b,2000c) Hirschman and Thompson (1997) Burchill and Fine (1997) De la Cuesta (1994) Beard (1989) Sperber-Richie et al. (1997) Crook and Kumar (1998) Parry (1998) Hunt and Ropo (1995) Lang (1996) Kimle and Damhost (1997) Riley (1995, 1996) Mullins and Roessier (1998) Source: Goulding, C. (2002) Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide for Management, Business and Market Researchers From the table above, it is obvious that the grounded theory can be used in many researches about business and explores a wide range of management problems. â€Å"These situations merely serve to demonstrate the transcending nature of grounded theory and its potential for application in the field of management research.† (Goulding, 2002, p.51) Taking the marketing field as an example, â€Å"grounded theory has begun theoretical development in the areas of the creation of a market oriented firm, moving away from previous research that merely described what a market oriented firm looks like.† (Gebhardt, Carpenter, and Sherry, 2006, citied in Mello, and Flint (2009) A Refined View of Grounded Theory and Its Application to Logistics Research p.109) 5. Grounded theory in the future What grounded theory will happen in the future? It is no doubt that the grounded theory will be used for doing research in the wider range of fields. Increasing researchers will choose the grounded theory as the first choice. Youhui (1996) think that one of the characteristics of grounded theory method is that the discover believe that it is necessary to generate theory in the research of sociology and both data analysis and theory building should be focused in qualitative research and any other research methods. Therefore, the grounded theory method is ideally suited to the areas such as: the existing theoretical system which is not perfected, the phenomenon which is very difficult to effectively explain, or the new areas and phenomenon which has no systematical theory currently. About the Justifying Grounded Theory in the future, Glaser described it as: â€Å"The future will bring less need to legitimize grounded theory; hence, there will be less need to justify using it. Now, many researchers have to explain it and argue for its use. Its future portends that grounded theory will be as accepted as are other methods (e.g., surveys) and will require little or no explanation to justify its use in a research project.† (Glaser, B.G. 1999, pp.845) Charmaz (2005 citied in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (2005) Handbook of Qualitative Research) believe that a major strength of the grounded theory is that they provide tools for analysing process, and these tools hold much potential for studying social justice issues. She also believed that coding practices can help us to see our assumptions, as well as those of our research participants. Rather than raising our code to a level of objectively, we can raise questions about how and why we developed certain codes. Grounded theory has its own advantages, it is to believe that grounded theory will be developed deeper and suitable for the research, Charmaz (2005 citied in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (2005) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research 3rd ed.) write that: â€Å"As its best, grounded theory provides methods to explicate an empirical process in ways that prompt seeing beyond it. By sticking closely to the leads and explicating the relevant process, the researcher can go deeper into meaning and action than given in words. Thus, the focused inquiry of grounded theory, with its progressive inductive analysis, moves the work theoretically and covers more empirical observations than other approaches. In this way, a focused grounded theory portrays a picture of the whole.† (Charmaz, 2005, pp.529) Conclusion To sum up, the grounded theory has a wider use range than other methods. For those social areas which lack current theory and some phenomenon which lack enough evidence and explanation, the grounded theory method is an effective analytical technique as an approach of data analysis. This method not only can help researchers to use inductive methods to abstract the basic theory from the phenomenon in the research, but also it is a good way to build and develop the theoretical system gradually to achieve the combination with the current theory effectively. There are many contributions of grounded theory in many different areas such as business, education, medicine and other many others. In terms of many advantages and characteristics of grounded theory, we believe that it will be use in more range of social research as an approach to data analysis and developed more to be accepted by more researchers. Reference Auerbach, C.F. and Silverstein, L.B. 2003 Qualitative Data: an Introduction to Coding and Analysis. New York University BaiKai and YuanBo. 2009. The analysis of impression series by Grounded theory Journal of Shaanxi Administration School Vol.23, No.1 pp.15-20 Borgatti, S. 2009. ‘Introduction to Grounded Theory [Online] [Accessed Nov 2009] Available From Creswell, J. 1998. Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions Sage Publications. London Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. 2005. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research 3rd ed. California: Sage Publication Gephart, R. P. 2004. Qualitative research and the Academy of Management Journal. Academy of Management Journal, Vol.47, pp.454-462 Glaser, B.G. 1992. Basics of Grounded theory Analysis Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press Glaser, B. G. 1999. The Future of Grounded Theory Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 9, No. 6, November pp.836-845 Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory. New York: Aldine De Gruyter Goulding, C. 2002. Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide for Management, Business and Market Researchers. London: Sage Publications Hammersley, M. 1990. Whats wrong with ethnography? The myth of theoretical description. Sociology, Vol. 24, pp.597-615 Layder, D. (1993) New Strategies in Social Research: An Introduction and Guide Cambridge: Polity Press Mello, J. and Flint D. J. 2009. A Refined View of Grounded Theory and Its Application to Logistics Research Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 30, No. 1, 107—108 Pandit, N. 1996. The Creation of Theory: A Recent Application of the Grounded Theory Method The Qualitative Report, Vol. 2, No. 4 2009 Strauss, A and Corbin, J. 1998. Basics of Qualitative Research California: Sage Publications Suddaby, R. 2006. From The Editors: What Grounded Theory Is Not Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp.633-642 Youhui Hu. (1996) Qualitative Research: Theory, Method and Local Women Case Studies Research Taipei: Juliu Publications Zhigang Li. 2007. The Study of Grounded Theory in Business Research. Journal of East Forum. Vol.4, pp.90-94

MBA Admissions Essays - The Art of Business :: MBA College Admissions Essays

MBA Admissions Essays - The Art of Business We stroll through a marketplace in Beer-Sheva, inhaling a conglomeration of smells and sounds that feel as though they are part of a different century. My father and I enter a small stand. A little woman sits in the corner scanning her livelihood like a hawk monitoring her nest. She promotes her wares not for a quarterly report but to feed and clothe her family. My father picks up a small wooden camel and calls out in our native tongue, "How much?" "Fifty Shekel," she responds. Her reply is automatic. This is what she does all day, every day. My father eyes her directly. He doesn't flinch. "I'll give you ten." He remembers the game as if he'd been playing it daily since he left his homeland. She opens high and he counters low, each one hoping the other will give in first. I observe, taking mental notes. She replies with conviction, "It's handmade, I can't go lower than forty." We all know the camel was made in a local factory, but he doesn't contradict her. To call her credibility into question at this stage could ruin the transaction. "I only have twenty," fires my dad, as if he had rehearsed his line. I glance at his back pocket bulging with Israeli currency but don't let on, for she's searching my face for a sign of weakness. I'm beginning to see what the game is all about. "I cannot sell for less than forty," she retorts. My father squeezes my hand subtly and I latch on to his paw. We slowly start to leave the stall. "So be it," he voices over his shoulder with an air of studied ease. We continue out of the cool shadows toward the fascinating frenzy of the exotic streets. Just as our sandaled feet touch the dirt road and we are about to rejoin the crowd, we hear a shriek. "Wait! Give me thirty." My father winks at me, turns nonchalantly, and swaggers toward the woman. I quickly pull thirty Shekel out of my pocket and thrust them into his hand, so the woman won't discover the treasures buried in his pocket. I smile at my quick thinking. My father plays it straight, as if I were supposed to hand him the money. He works his thick fingers around a five-shekel piece and with a magician's sleight-of-hand, swiftly transfers the coin to his other palm.

Recruitment and Retention in Speech -- Language

Addressing the Significant Shortage in the Profession Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are in high demand throughout the United States. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the United States will need â€Å"about 141, 400 SLPs through the year 2018 to meet the increasing need in the profession and to replace retiring SLPs† (2011, p. 2). The demand for qualified professional in the field continues to rise from year to year. According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2011-2012 Edition, â€Å"employment is expected to grow 19% in the profession in the next decade† (p. 2). A report released in 2008 by the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) reported â€Å"SLPs are ranked 14th in the nation for fields with a considerable vacancy as related to other areas in education† (p. 8). In the state of Nebraska, the U.S. Department of Education listed speech language pathology as a â€Å"significant teacher shortage area† (2011, p. 58). Recruiting and retaining qualified professionals has impacted school districts across the nation. The frustrations of many SLPs are similar: job dissatisfaction, lack of sufficient compensation, and oversized workloads contribute to the professional shortage. Research suggests that â€Å"lack of recognition, few opportunities for promotion, excessive paperwork, loss of autonomy, lack of supplies, low pay, and stressful interpersonal interactions all contributed to teachers’ decisions to leave the schools† (Blood, Ridenour, Thomas, Qualls, & Hammer, 2002, p. 283). Job satisfaction â€Å"is the terminology used to describe whether employees are happy and contented and fulfilling their desires and needs at work† (Heathfield, n.d., para. 1). Many SLPs struggle to... ...d, S. (n.d.) Employee satisfaction. Retrieved on November 26, 2011 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/employeesurvey1/g/employee_satisfy.htm. Palacio, M. (2001). Successful strategies for addressing caseload issues. Advance for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists, February 2001. Retrieved from http://speech-language-pathology-audiology.advanceweb.com/Article/Successful-Strategies-for-Addressing-Caseload-Issues.aspx. â€Å"Psychosocial support†. (n.d.). Retrieved on November 27, 2011 from http://www.ovcsupport.net/s/index.php?i=59. U.S. Department of Education. (2011). Teacher shortage area nationwide list. Retrieved on November 26, 2011 from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.pdf. U.S. Department of Labor (2011). Occupational outlook handbook. Retrieved on November 22, 2011 from http://www.bls.gov/oco/pdf/ocos099.pdf .

Letters Home Essay

She had been going around all over the place and Frederick was bound to be dragged in to the situation. I always knew it would only ever end in tragedy. Everyone was talking about her all over Rome. She would be seen all over the town with a different man on her arm every time. The Americans never had any respect for the culture in Europe. Maybe over there she would not have stood out, but her actions in Rome were not acceptable under any circumstances. Frederick is so naive. I could always see that he would end up being hurt by this girl, however, not quite in the way it turned out. Perhaps her death is for the best. Hopefully Frederick will not be so stupid next time he sees some common girl walking the streets. I’ll leave you now; my head is thumping again. These migraines come more and more often at the moment. I can only sit here and hope it will pass. Yours sincerely, Mrs. Costello Character study: Mrs. Costello is Winterbourne’s aunt and although also not originally from Europe she has a very European attitude to certain things. She refuses to mix with people who are lower in society than she is, for example the Millers. She can perhaps be seen as slightly pompous and she also seems to know everything that goes on behind the scenes. The letter is quite informal as Mrs. Costello is writing to her sister. She uses short sentences and is very critical. Rosalind Tamman 17 rue de Groggos Vevey Dear Rosalind, Since Daisy’s death, many things have changed in my life. I let her lead her life as she wished, never telling her what to do, and this is the consequence. I wrote to Mr. Miller informing of Daisy’s death and he rushed over to Rome immediately. I was very pleased to see him, as was Randolph. We have been to left to comfort each other since Daisy died, but my little boy stayed strong for me. Since daisy died, Randolph has been very quiet, saying little and responding politely to my instructions without question. He was pleased to see his father, but he is clearly saddened without his sister around. He is so young to be subject to such misery. Mr. Miller showed little emotion when he came to Rome, but we have now gone back to Schenectady. Randolph and I would not have been able to cope on out own without our dearest Annie. It seems we had few friends in Europe, so we are glad to be back in Schenectady. I can only blame myself for Daisy’s death. I should have held her back at times when she wanted to go out. Mr. Winterbourne was a nice man. Maybe I should have stopped her seeing Mr. Giovanelli. My life feels so empty without Daisy. I would do anything to bring her back. Randolph is growing up, but we will never be able to replace Daisy. We are all missing her dearly, but perhaps we knew the end was inevitable. She was always going around all over the place. She was bound to get the fever sometime. Perhaps I should have done something, said something, but now it is all too late. Yours, Mrs. Miller Character study: Mrs. Miller is mother of Randolph and Daisy. She is a very nervous and ill woman and this can be seen in the letter. Due to her lack of control over Daisy’s actions, she is seen as low class and a bad mother. This letter is very personal and emotional after Daisy’s death. It is intimate and informal, perhaps showing a lack of class in the language and informality. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Cultural Relativism: A Way of Life Essay

â€Å"If you are my baby, it don’t matter if you’re black or white.† These words reverberate in my mind as I heard the news about Michael Jackson’s death. His song, Black or White is one of my favorites because it talks about a father’s acceptance of his child despite the baby’s color. Later, when I encountered the term cultural relativism in school, I understood better what the song wants to promote, and how this can be accomplished. Cultural relativism is commonly known as the practice of accepting and living harmoniously with people of different cultures. If we observe our society today, we will notice different kinds of people—Africans, Caucasians, Asians, Latinos, and a lot of mixtures coexist. Cultural relativism is what allows them to live in peace with each other, to accept and respect other cultures like they do their own. Considering the present scenario, we may say that cultural relativism is not just a practice or aspect of life, it is already a way of life, a must for every person to live and prosper. Ideally, a society that adheres to cultural relativism allows the existence and exchange of different cultures. Although this has not been fully realized in many places, we can guarantee that it is already a common aspect of the learning environment. In school, students get the chance to interact with others, and discover aspects of different cultures. Everyday interaction with Asians, African-Americans, and Latin Americans allows us to see that after all, it is not difficult to coexist with different people. Often, all we need is to provide opportunities for interaction and sharing. Specifically, in my dealings with different cultures, I learned to appreciate the hard work of the Chinese, the ingenuity of the Japanese, the friendliness of Filipinos, the family values of the Latinos, and the cool attitude of the African-Americans. Cultural relativism has helped me appreciate different cultures, and allowed me to grow more maturely. To practice cultural relativism, I personally follow three steps. First, I try to analyze why people are behaving the way they do. I rely on my background knowledge to analyze the situation. Next, I observe and see the positive effects of their practice, and third, I try to find more information about the practice by inquiring from the person or researching online. For example, seeing the Chinese sip the soup out of the bowl without using spoon initially made me felt indifferent. However, in applying cultural relativism, I tried to analyze why they do this instead of using a spoon. Then, I realized that the Chinese use chopsticks instead of spoon, making it impossible to have the soup without sipping it directly from the bowl. Also, one time I encountered a Japanese documentary showing a man perfecting a sword. He seemed mindless of the fire he used to shape the sword, and from there I wondered why the Japanese give such importance to swords when guns are more reliable for protection. Due to this, I searched the Internet for answers, and found out that perfecting swords is part of the Japanese Samurai culture, the military men in the history of Japan. I learned that the Samurais treat swords as their companion in battle, and swords serve as representations of them. Therefore, a Samurai’s sword should be well-kept at all times because it is a family inheritance and symbol of honor. Knowledge of others’ culture definitely helps us understand and appreciate them. However, there are also practices which I believe I cannot accept even though I already have a good grasp of cultural relativism. One of these is the suicide killing done by 9/11 hijackers. Unlike the Japanese version of suicide which hopes to express a person’s regret for a mistake committed, suicide killing among the Muslims intends to kill non-Muslims on the bases of religious and political conflicts. What makes it truly wrong is killing innocent people for some selfish intent. Considering this, cultural relativism becomes a difficult aspect of reality, similar to pushing a child to swallow a whole fresh egg straight to the stomach.