The Well Paid Receptionist free essay sample

I have also cited any sources from which I used data, ideas of words, whether quoted directly or paraphrased. I also certify that this paper was prepared by me specifically for this course. Student Signature: Amy Bukovich ******************************************* Instructor’s Grade on Assignment: Instructor’s Comments: A Practical Application of Market-Based and Value Driven Management for Tyco International Amy Bukovich Nova Southeastern University Based upon the principles of economics, every firm’s goal main goal is to create long-term sustainable profitability. In order to attain this goal a firm must understand Value Over Time (VOT) maximization and the relationship both short and long-term goals have in profit maximization. In reviewing the Well Paid Receptionist Case Analysis it is evident that Troupville Business Solutions (TBS) misjudged the time horizon when making critical decisions that would affect their future financial obligations. TBS: Background and Problem Identification Troupville Business Solutions was founded seven years ago by Harvey Finley, an experienced service technician and well networked sales associate for copy machines. We will write a custom essay sample on The Well Paid Receptionist or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page At the time Harvey decided to capitalize on his technical competence and sales experience, Troupville was recovering from a severe recession. To many in the small town of 35,000 the business venture was risky but Harvey believed with his comparative advantages in the industry, paired with a competent staff, he could realize his dream. In the beginning, Harvey had a shoestring budget which barely gave him the financial means to higher an employee needed to play both the role of secretary and general assistant. Harvey was looking for someone that not only the held technical skills required to fulfill daily tasks but someone that was just as passionate and in-tune to the vision he had for his company. He found this in Cathy Brannen, an educated administration assistant with seven years experience with two separate companies who both vowed that she was the best employee they have had in any position. Because of Cathy’s exceptional attributes as an employee she earned herself a salary of $15,900, which was higher than both the average salary for the area and Harvey’s budget at $14,000. Harvey was reluctant to guarantee a large salary because of the uncertainty regarding the future of the firm, so to entice Cathy to commit he decided to offer a 2% sales over-ride contingency to her contract that at the time created no substantial financial obligation. In the short-term it provided Harvey with the assets needed to create an opportunity for success; his ideal employee with an incentive based contract that freed up cash for current operations. After seven years and an evolving business plan Harvey had experienced success, unforeseen even to himself. He contributes some of his current success to Cathy, as he recognized she had proven to be a truly indispensable asset. Cathy grew with the company, becoming just as knowledgeable as Harvey in all facets of the company while maintaining her official position as secretary. With the growth Harvey expanded his staff to include 17 employees, including Frank, the company comptroller. Having an increased number of professional salespersons decreased the level of support Cathy was providing to customers and allowed her more time to spend on her expanding secretarial duties. With the seemingly over night success and the expanding business Harvey naturally delegated many functions to his employees, such as financial management to Frank. With this said it was surprise to Harvey to find that Cathy, his secretary, was making twice as much as his other employees earning $127k in the business year, with her salary increasing each year with continued success. Harvey is faced with the dilemma of determining whether the value Cathy has added to his company since its inception warrants her current and future increasing compensation. Troupville Business Solution’s Value Drivers Before we can identify the alternatives to Harvey’s issue we must first examine Troupville Business Solution’s Value Drivers. By examining the values that each party holds we can better understand their current and possible future actions. In the case of the Well Paid Receptionist there are two main Value Drivers: Employee and Owner. Employee’s Values Understanding employee values is extremely important for management as many companies consider employee’s to be their greatest asset. To create value it is important that employees’ values are congruent with organizational values (Pohlman, 1997). Decision makers have to recognize what each employee values and determine ways in which they can be incorporated into the organization to create the most success. Once firms find employees with values congruent to the organization it is a continuous process to ensure employee, customer and the organization’s cultural value remain harmonious. With this continuous harmonization process management will have to make decision but they will have to account for the how they both will impact their employees and VOT (Pohlman, 1997). In the case of the Well Paid Receptionist, the two parties that represent employee values are Cathy Brannen and generalized all other employees in the firm. Throughout the alternative analysis I will examine the affect each option has on these parties and the overall impact it will have on VOT. Owner’s Values Owner’s values have a simpler and more direct focus than those of the employee because they center on one component, the owner. The Owner’s values create the framework for a firm’s success. Based upon basic economic principles every firm’s primary goal is usually to maximize profits, which leads to VOT maximization (Thomas amp; Maurice, 2011). All employees must recognize that they are entrusted with the assets of the organization to reach the owner’s objectives (Pohlman, 1997). In the case of the Well Paid Receptionist, only one party represents the owner’s values, Harvey Finley. Throughout the alternatives analysis I will examine the affect each option has on these parties and the overall impact it will have on VOT. Alternative Analysis with Implementation Plan In order to reach a viable solution to the issue Harvey is faced with he will have to account for all alternatives and analyze the impact they have on the both his companies Value Drivers and on VOT. As stated by Pohlman, â€Å"Most decisions that decision-makers make will not be simple, black-and-white or clear-cut. Instead they will be very complex and will require a great deal of subjective judgment†(p. 9). The alternatives that I think Harvey should examine are taking no action, reducing Cathy’s salary to the market rate, changing the scope of Cathy’s responsibilities to warrant compensation, and change sales based incentive to a profit-sharing incentive. Status Quo When evaluating any alternatives the first that should be examined is taking no action. This would have the greatest impact on owner’s values and a negative impact on VOT. As portrayed in Table 1, over 10 years Harvey would expect to pay Cathy $1. 9 million which would represent a 239% increase in compensation based on current growth rates of 15%. Also, her current salary is XXX% higher than Harvey’s highest paid manager. Based upon Cathy’s current responsibilities that have shifted towards a secretarial focus, the magnitude of compensation does not coincide with the value she adds to the company. Based on the owner’s values, Frank should have recognized that assets were misappropriated and notified Harvey prior. Harvey would still be facing the dilemma he is currently in now but he could have corrected the issue earlier, allowing him the possibility of harmonizing the companies Value Driver’s to maximize VOT creating both short and long-term value. There would also be an effect on employee’s values if there were no change, more so for all other employees. Cathy’s personal VOT would increase based on projected growth and most likely her values would remain congruent with those of the company due to her incentive based compensation. The other employees could be adversely affected if compensation based on merit and responsibility is valued to them. As stated in the case, many employees were aware of Cathy’s compensation and thus could have feelings of resentment towards the company leading to less productivity. Ultimately, this would have a negative impact on the company’s VOT because with less productivity from employees, Harvey should expect a decline in profit. Compensation Based on Market Salary As stated by Pohlman, â€Å"Organizations should not be committed to long-term rigid budgets or strategic plans especially those that are created at the top of the organization†(p. 11). In this case, Harvey misjudged the time horizon for his company’s success which Cathy’s compensation was based upon. With his success it has allowed him the opportunity to hire staff that he could assign to positions in which they have a comparative advantage. Since Cathy spends a majority of her time focused on secretarial tasks Harvey could reduce Cathy’s salary to match the market rate of $25,000. From an owner’s values perspective this would create the most value in both the short and long term time horizons. As portrayed in Table 1, if Harvey would change Cathy’s salary to the Market Rate in the current year he would save $121,756. 34 in the first year alone, which almost matches the amount her salary was in the previous year. In addition, within the table’s time frame it would save Harvey almost $1. 5 million and decrease his average expenditure by 88%. From an employee’s values perspective, Cathy would be impacted the greatest with a possible small effect on all other employees. As portrayed by the Table-1, Cathy would experience an 83% decrease in salary in the first year alone. Based upon Value Based Management principles, it is the employee’s responsibility to maximize their VOT. From a knowledge standpoint Cathy has maximized her VOT by becoming knowledgeable in all facets of the company as it grew which also allowed her to benefit financially due to her incentive based contract up to this point. As stated by Landsburg, â€Å"People respond to incentives† (as cited in Pulman, 1997). If Cathy’s incentive is taken away, her personal VOT is adversely affected, so much so that it could lead to a decrease in productivity if monetary compensation was a personal value. Her decrease in productivity would also have a negative impact on the company’s value since she is the first to greet clients both in the office and over the phone. With a decrease in Cathy’s compensation Harvey now has the option to invest the savings back into his company or invest in his employees in the form of bonuses, including Cathy. This would have a positive impact on employee moral that could possibly lead to higher productivity and thus would have a positive affect on VOT. Change In Responsibilities Cathy has become an indispensable asset to the company as she has gained both tacit and explicit knowledge since she became the company’s first employee. Although Harvey had the vision for the company, Cathy could arguably be equally as responsible for the success and $1 million in equity that Harvey has built in the company. As stated by Pohlman, â€Å"For knowledge to create value is must be properly used† (p. 8). From an Owner’s Values perspective, Harvey is limiting the value added to the company by restricting Cathy to her to a secretarial role and thus misappropriating her as an asset. If Harvey were to create a role in the company that would exploit the knowledge Cathy has accumulated and allow her to utilize it to benefit the company it could warrant the magnitude of her salary. This would create no relative change for the company’s financial obligations as 2% of sales have always been earmarked for Cathy’s salary, but it could increase the company’s long-term VOT based upon Cathy’s knowledge being properly applied. From an Employee’s Values standpoint, changing Cathy’s scope of responsibilities is beneficial to both Cathy and all other employees. Cathy would be empowered with greater responsibilities, as well as, maintaining her incentive based contract that should compel her to maximize her personal VOT, thus increasing the value added to the company. In Cathy’s new role, other employees could have the opportunity to learn from her experiences and apply that knowledge to their tasks to increase their productivity. This will also increase the company’s VOT, both in the short and long term. Profit-Sharing The last alternative presented still keeps Cathy’s salary as incentive based but its applied on profits instead of sales. According to Thomas and Maurice, â€Å"Increasing revenues does not necessarily increase profit and may even lower profit†(p. 19). Although Harvey has experienced success with using a sales based incentive it could have been adversely affecting his net profit. If a profit-sharing incentive plan replaced Cathy’s current compensation plan it would compel her to be more diligent in maximizing the value for all facets of operations and not just sales. This will also harmonize owner and employee’s values, as they would both be focused on maximizing their bottom line, which again is affected by all aspects of operations. With the information provided it is difficult to measure the value that can be added because the COGS was not a figure provided in the case. Without this line item on the financials Cathy’s compensation cannot be calculated, but if the 2% incentive basis is still applied it can be assumed to be much lower than that if compensation was based on sales Implementation Plan As stated earlier, decisions are not clear-cut and require a great deal of subjective judgment. With this said I believe Harvey’s best alternative is a hybrid of the last two options: Change in Responsibilities and Profit-Sharing Incentives. ***Check paper for comparative advantage References Cousins, R. B. (1992). The well-paid receptionist. La Grange College: Case Research Journal, 12(1), 1-5. Pohlman, R. A. (1997). Value Driven Management, Faculty Working Paper 97-01, School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University. Thomas, C. amp; Maurice, S. (2011). Managerial economics: Foundations of business analysis and strategy (10th ed. ) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill

The Novel Frankenstein is as relevant and terrifying today as it was when it was first published in 1818

The Novel Frankenstein is as relevant and terrifying today as it was when it was first published in 1818 The story of Frankenstein was first written by Mary Shelley as a challenge from her friend Lord Byron while in Geneva on holiday with her husband Percy Shelley. The challenge was for each of them to write a horror story. Mary Shelley took up this challenge and Frankenstein was born. She started the story in 1817 and it is thought she took many ideas from Percy Shelley's Prometheus Unbound and most of Frankenstein became based on the limitations of being a human being. That same evening the three had a discussion about the principals of life, going to bed on the thoughts of the Prometheus Unbound and the thinking about the principals of life, Mary Shelley had a dream about Frankenstein and then the next day she announced to her two male friends that she had begun writing the story 'Frankenstein'. There are three different narrators in the play; these narrators are Robert Walton, who narrates the four letters at the start of the book, Victor Frankenstein who narrates the book and also Victor's Monster.Manuscript page from Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyThe use of Robert Walton is effective as it sets up the scene for Victor's story and it is through Victor's story that we learn about the monster. Through this Mary Shelley is able to put her views across to the reader.A key chapter in the story is chapter 5, it is in this chapter that Frankenstein creates the monster and brings it to life. To make this chapter stand out as terrifying she sets the scene to engross the reader then she keeps the reader hooked with terror, to introduce this terror at the beginning of chapter 5 Mary Shelley writes, "Already one in the morning, dark and raining candle nearly burnt out, a dreamy November night" this sets the scene...

Galileos Documents in Western Civilization Essay - 1

Galileos Documents in Western Civilization - Essay Example Due to these beliefs, there was great opposition to his work by the defenders of the established truths during his era. Scholars were locked in the old knowledge and beliefs, commonly acceptable to the Church. New discoveries contradicting these were heresy and persons proposing them were destined to ridicule and even worse, arrest, as was Galileo’s fate later on in his life. In the succeeding chapter, his letter to the Serene Duchess Mother showed his frustrations against the non-acceptance of his discoveries and line of scientific inquiry, particularly his discoveries of the heavens. He describes the fondness of scholars during his time for their own opinions, rather than the search for truth and the use of biblical passages in the wrong context, to advance their accepted beliefs. In his letter, he describes how other scholars are greatly disturbed by his arguments, broad ways apart from popular beliefs, which resulted in his condemnation and house arrest. In his view, his quest for knowledge stimulates investigation and growth of the scientific arts, and not the destruction of science per se. He further argues that God gave a man the intellect and sense of reason to ultimately look for the truth of all that is around us. Religion and science clashed by Galileo’s discoveries as they were considered radical during his era. It deviated from established beliefs held acceptable by scholars of the period. A greater number of scholars held on to these beliefs commonly held acceptable by the Church.

Non-fiction and Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Non-fiction and Style - Essay Example In addition, he argues that it is not immoral to refuse to obey unjust laws. Finally, he indicates that the levels of frustration among the black community are reaching such proportions that something must be done now, while peaceful means are still possible, before this frustration reaches its boiling point and explodes into violence before he criticizes the church leaders for failing to recognize this and helping him to channel this energy more positively. He makes these points by arguing for morality and appealing to human ‘goodness’. One of the first points King makes in his letter is that the white people have not heard or perhaps even noticed the desperate no-win situation in which the black people were placed following the Emancipation Proclamation. Now that they were free, they had to support themselves, but the segregation laws that had been enacted in the intervening years effectively prevented black people from escaping the extreme poverty in which they found themselves. By staging nonviolent protests, King realized that he could finally force the nation’s attention on the situation in the South. â€Å"Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.† If the rest of the nation realized the escalating situation in the South, they would pressure their politicians to take some action on the unconstitutional laws that had been devised and repeal those laws that continued se gregation. This argument is also a plea to the politicians to uphold their moral principles as he reminds them that â€Å"past promises have been broken by the politicians and merchants of Birmingham and now is the time to fulfill the natural right of all people to be treated equal.† Answering the contention by the other ministers that

Article Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 32

Article Review - Essay Example The fourth layer contains tailor-structured applications. In the past, the business management process structures focused on data but currently there is a shifting trend from the data system to processes. The focus was only on the data specific methods, which has transformed into the creation of the business processes, which was dismissed in the past. The shift has moved further to enhance the redesigning of the process to advanced levels. Separating the business process management into different components is because of the current developments in the area of web services. Workflow terminologies are helpful in explaining the business process management. The application of business process passes information, tasks, and documents from one party to the next according to the required and set procedures. A Workflow Management System refers to a system that generates and manages the accomplishment of workforce with the use of software operating on several workflow engines that are able link workflow engines, its requirements and the use of IT tools and their applications. The business process management has several phases, which it uses to support its operational business processes. The first stage is the design stage where redesigning of the processes occur. The next phase is the configuration stage where there is implementation of the designs by a process specific information system. After this stage there is the enactment phase where there is caring out of operational processes using the specific system. The diagnosis phase is the last stage where there is analysis of the operating processes to identify problems and to come up with solutions. The operational process of the business process management is divided into two trends in the modern times, Case Handling and Straight through processing. The Straight through processing is the automation of the business process though dealing with situations without

Effect of Income Inequality on Economic Development

Effect of Income Inequality on Economic Development Income Inequality and Financial Crises: The 2007-2008 financial crises has been considered as amongst the worst the world has faced. This is since the great depression of the year 1930s ((Shiller, 7). This crisis was characterized by the collapse of large financial institutions, a downward fall in stock markets, bailout of banks by government, and the laying off of workers by business organizations. There are a variety of reasons given as to why the 2008 financial crisis emerged. MacEwan and Miller argue that it was an increase of income inequality that led to the emergence of the financial crisis (MacEwan and John, 5). On the other hand, others believe that it is the failure of the banking mortgage system that led to the emergence of the financial crisis (Paulet, 22). This paper examines the reasons as to why McEwan and Miller link economic instability, to income inequality. It further examines their proposal on how to solve this problem. Furthermore, this paper gives an explanation on the reasons for the emergence of the 2008 economic crises. There is a varying argument on the effects of income inequality on the growth of the economies of rich and developed countries. One of the major arguments is that income inequality was the major reason for the emergence of the 2008 global economic crisis. This is an argument that McEwan and Miller believe in (MacEwan and John, 5). Proponents argue that there are three major ways in which income inequality has the capability of destroying the economic system of a state. The first argument is that due to income inequality, there is a sharp increase in the debt ratio to income ratio amongst middle and low income households. This ratio increases because of their bid to maintain their consumption level, while they fall behind in relation to income or revenue that they are able to acquire. For example, a growing demand for loans and mortgages was as a result of a rise in the costs of college and homes. There was also a relaxed standard for lending, and it was easy to acquire mortgages. The failure by these low income earners to pay these mortgages and loans led to the beginning of the financial crisis, and the collapse of major financial institutions such as Citigroup and Lehman Brothers (Paulet, 17). The second argument is that the creation and development of a large pool of idle wealth leads to an increase in the demands of investment assets, fueling financial innovation and increasing the size of the financial sector. This is dangerous for the economy, because it may lead to speculative buying of financial assets. It is this speculative buying of financial assets that contributed to the collapse of financial institutions such as Lehman brothers during the 2008 crisis (Schiek, 39). It is important to denote that the collapse of the Lehman brothers was the beginning of the financial crisis, and it was followed by the collapse of several financial institutions and business organization such as General Motors. To protect the economy, the American government had to bail out companies such as General Motors, Citigroup, Bank of America, etc (Shiller, 22). The third argument is that income inequality leads to the emergence of a disproportionate political power. The major intention of the development of this political power is to protect the financial interests of the elite, or the wealthy members of the society. This would lead to the enactment of policies that have a negative impact on the stability of an economic system within the state (Schiek, 52). For example, setters of accounting standards, and federal government regulators were able to allow banking organizations such as Citigroup to move large number of liabilities and assets from the balance sheet, to a complex legal structure referred to as structured investment vehicles. This strategy helped to mask the financial weaknesses of the banking organization to the share holders and investors. The regulation of financial institutions in America is always influenced by powerful and wealthy companies and people (Schiek, 13). This is because they normally finance the political activi ties of candidates who would advance their agendas. In as much as McEwan and Miller believe that income inequality led to the emergence of the 2008 economic crisis, there are other reasons that led to the this crisis (MacEwan and John,15). One of the reasons given is the growth of the housing market in America. This demand led to speculative buying, leading to an increase in the prices of houses. People took mortgages, which did not have good security. However, in 2008, there was a correction in the housing prices, leading to a downward fall of the housing prices (Schiek, 57). Most Americans were unable to pay their mortgages, and this made banking and financial institutions to suffer massive losses because they were unable to recover their loans. This in turn led to the collapse of these financial institutions, affecting the economies that were heavily dependent on the American economy. Furthermore, it is the federal government that made it easy for people to acquire loans. This is because they initiated low interest rate, by lowering the federal fund rate target to 1.0%, from a figure of 6.5% (Shiller, 41). This made experts to denote that it was the easy availability of credit that led to a demand of houses, hence f uelling their increase. It is therefore prudent to denote that there is a need of restructuring the American economic system and regulatory institutions for purposes of protecting the economy from future crises. In fact, the government of President Obama realized on the need of regulating American financial institutions, and in 2008, and 2009, he initiated a series of measures aimed at meeting this objective (Shiller, 29). For example, President Obama introduced the Volcker rule, which was aimed at limiting the ability of banking organizations to engage in proprietary trading (Shiller, 19). The European Union also realized the need of regulating financial institutions and came up with the Basel III rule, which raised the capital of starting a banking business in Europe, and placing a limit on the banking rates of the European banks. In conclusion, the statement by MacEwan and Miller that income inequality contributes to a slowdown in economic development has some truth in it. For instance, due to income inequality, the poor and the middle class were engaged in borrowing from banks, for purposes of buying properties leading to a sharp increase in property prices. This was a factor that contributed to the emergence of the 2008 crises, and it is always referred to as the subprime crises. In a bid to protect the financial interests of big financial companies, the federal government agencies did not effectively regulate their financial activities. This allowed them to manipulate their financial records, hiding their weaknesses to shareholders and investors. It is therefore prudent to denote that McEwan and Miller are right when they assert that income inequalities was the main factor leading to the 2008 crisis, and there is a need of restructuring the economy, and improving the ability of the federal regulatory insti tutions. Works Cited: MacEwan, Arthur, and John A. Miller. Economic collapse, economic change: getting to the roots  of the crisis. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2011. Print. Paulet, Elisabeth. The subprime crisis and its impact on financial and managerial environments  an unequal repercussion at European level. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Pub., 2012. Print.   Schiek, Dagmar. The EU economic and social model in the global crisis: interdisciplinary  perspectives. Farnham (Surrey): Ashgate, 2013. Print. Shiller, Robert J. Subprime solution how todays global financial crisis happened, and what to do  about it.. Princeton: Princeton Univ Press, 2012. Print.

Online News and Print’s Future Essay -- Technology Computers Essays

Online News and Print’s Future The Internet’s influence on our lives has spread throughout. Researching, shopping, job searching, and more can all be done with a keyboard and a few clicks of a mouse. But this ease of use casts a shadow on the future of printed information. The Web’s instant knowledge has changed our reading and writing habits and has made print media seem old-fashioned. One of the first industries to lead the change was journalism. As the Web expanded in the mid 90’s, online editions of popular newspapers surfaced and opened a new field for seeing and telling the world's events. Even before the Web boom, the advance of another technology had already started to threaten print newspapers’ survival. In his essay â€Å"Deadline,† Nicholson Baker shares his frustrations with libraries who destroy newspaper archives in favor of microfilm backups. For years, he tried to buy as many of these collections as he could before they were destroyed. He says in the essay, â€Å"Sometimes I'm a little stunned to think that I've become a newspaper librarian†¦But at the moment nobody else seems to want to do what needs to be done† (Baker 33). As libraries adapted the new technology, they felt less of a need to keep the old style. Disregard for newspapers took on a new form with the growth of the Internet. Journalism and the news have frequently taken on new forms as communication technology advances. Beginning with oral tradition, friends and family use to tell the news to each other without mass audiences or recording instruments, like pen and paper. But as new technologies emerged, the early methods declined in usage. One such shift happened in Socrates-era Greece when writing culture overtook oral culture (Birkerts 63). As m... ...lied. Using it like it's print media won't do any good. Champions of old media need to realize that before they declare doom. Works Cited Baker, Nicholson. â€Å"Deadline† Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 9- 34. Birkerts, Sven. â€Å"Into the Electronic Millennium.† Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 62-74. Mitchell, Stephens. â€Å"Complex Seeing: A New Form.† Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 418-442. Sosnoki, James. â€Å"Hyper-readers and their Reading Engine.† Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 400-417.

Albert Camus’ Political Writing and Career

Camus’s Political Writing/Career Through his political writing, Camus expresses a variety of philosophical ideologies that are in many ways similar to those expressed in â€Å"The Stranger. † In the writing, Camus explores various ideas that are reflective of how society appears to him. * 1943 Joined a French resistance called the â€Å"Combat† who opposed the Nazis. Had an underground newspaper; Camus became the editor, under the name â€Å"Beauchard,† criticized French collaboration with the Nazis †Now the only moral value is courage, which is useful here for judging the puppets and chatterboxes who pretend to speak in the name of the people†¦ – written in the newspaper The content usually tried to convince people to act with strict moral principals This is where he developed his idea that though human life may seem pointless since everyone must meet death at one point in time, it is still sacred; and each person must be responsible for their own actions and consequences. the content of newspaper likely expressed his ultimate distaste towards the actions of the Nazis and the violence erupting due to their ambition for power. Innocent people falling under their control and abuse. his goes with Camus’s ideology that men should be responsible for what they make of themselves in the universe. However, he strongly opposes the Nazis likely because they are not held responsible for the genocide; they instead, are encouraged and feared, not held accountable for the millions of deaths they’ve caused. Meursault knows that death is the ultimate consequence to murdering the Arab; he has no personal, or emotional ties with the dead man; he accepts this truth; his insensitivity actually provides a means for him to accept the idea of existentialism. This gives the impression that Meursault sees the murder as a consequence and the cause of his current problems. Also, only during his trial and imprisonment, Meursault recognizes that he is responsible for his own life, and realizes his mortality. Through writing, it can be seen that Camus’s personal political beliefs are rather left wing, though not communism. He is a socialist. Explores the morals of humankind, and his support for anti- totalitarian government. The idea of exercising control over the freedom and will of others. This is somewhat reflective of the society that Camus chooses to portray in â€Å"The Stranger. Most people conform to society, and thus society as one has specific beliefs and ideologies that are accepted by the general population and deemed as â€Å"normal behaviour. † However, Meursault is an exception; thus, he is called â€Å"The Stranger† to the society, an outlaw. He does not care about what other people think of him, or his act ions. His actions are ultimately rejected, and thought of as heartless to the rest of society. * Shortly after World War II, he publishes â€Å"Neither Victim nor Executioner† in Combat which expresses key moral questions, in a variety of essays. Relates to the idea of genocide and murder, this piece of writing mainly expresses: 1. People are living in a â€Å"murderous world† and that they must â€Å"reflect on murder† and know and accept the consequences that come with it. It can be seen that Camus is a moralist, and strongly believes in justice. Similar to his ideology in â€Å"The Stranger† in the way that Meursault, who murdered the Arab, was actually held guilty and responsible for his actions. When Meursault was put before the judge and the public official tells him to turn to Christianity, he disagrees even though his life depended on it. This displays that Meursault values emotional honesty over protecting his own life. He accepts his punishment, and the consequences that come with murder. 2. People should â€Å"carefully weigh the price that they must pay† and Camus is debating the idea of whether through world war, conflicts will actually be resolved once and for all; that if even after â€Å"several generations of sacrifice,† they will not come closer to a world society. In â€Å"The Stranger,† Meursault shows utter indifference to the man he had murdered. He did not consider the possible consequences before he shot the man, and simply instinctively kills the Arab without much consideration for what he himself would end up as. Camus explores the idea of existentialism; the role that man plays, and that he is responsible for his own actions, in the midst of a meaningless and empty world. From the ideologies expressed in â€Å"Neither Victim nor Executioner,† it seems as though Camus purposely made Meursault blind towards weighing the price he would have to pay upon murdering the Arab, and thus places focus on the process of his realization. The war can be thought of as a parallel to the physical fight that Meursault and the Arab engaged in; the ultimate conflict was not solved through murder and physical action. Society still remained the way it was, and instead of Meursault changing the views of society, he was instead forced to submit to it. * Camus wrote for â€Å"L’Express,† from 1955-1956. This was a French magazine that opposed the war in Algeria, and also the use of torture. Similar to this, â€Å"Reflections on the Guillotine† was an essay written by Camus, expressing his opinions against capital punishment, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The absurdity of the society is reflected in its creation of a standardized justice system which uses capital punishment through the guillotine to give meaning to Meursault’s murder and actions. In order to highlight the true meaning behind the murder, society uses capital punishment to bring the matter out. The absurd overcomes rational thinking, and Meursault views death with happiness at the end, simply because he has found a genuine sense of acceptance towards the â€Å"gentle indifference of the world. †

buy custom Top Shop essay

buy custom Top Shop essay Introduction In the recent past, competition between businesses operating in similar industries has drastically increased. Vrechopoulos (2001, p. 5) argues that in developed countries, such as the United kingdom among other European countries, more than 70% of businesses have adopted the modern ways of marketing, all in an effort to diversify their market niche, offer improved customer services, thus remaining competitive. One of the most successful clothes retailingshop operating in the U.K. is the Topshop (Varley Rafiq 2004, p. 77). This paper will critically evaluate the Topshops Visual Merchandising, Atmospherics and Web atmospherics marketing strategies. Background on Top Shop Visual Merchandising, Atmospherics and Web atmospherics Topshop is one of clothes retail shop operating in the United Kingdom and more than other 20 countries across the globe. The firm has also established online operations in most of its markets, in order to increase sales revenues. The business is a branch of the Arcadia Group that owns numerous retail shops including Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and Burton. In 2000, the firm uploaded its internet site in order to the internet generation, especially in the U.K., although the site significantly was lacking the actual buying facilities. However, this was rectified in 2002, thus vastly increasing the sales volume of the firm. Visual Merchandising Kotler (2004, p. 34) argues that visual merchandising is an act as well as a profession of coming up with three-dimensional displays and door plans, all with an aim of maximizing sales revenues. The main purpose of visual merchandising is attracting, motivating and engaging customers towards making purchases. This leads to a higher sales turnover that in most cases translates to increased profitability. To achieve the element of visual merchandising, Topshop has adopted appropriate image differentiation as well as fresh retail look. This service is provided by Topshop catwalk fashion trends via merchandiing in-store. Web Atmospherics With regard to the e-retailing, corresponding stimuli are via sound, usability, customisation visuals and text, sound among other parameters. The retail versus e-retail operations Visual Merchandising The store environment is extremely vibrant, lively and energetic. As indicated by Eroglu (2003, p. 9) atmosphere is one of the aspects that has made Topshop a knockout as compared to other firms. Harold (2011, p. 50) indicates that atmospheric is consciousness in designing space, thus creating given effects in the buyers. It can also be described as an effort to design the buying environments, in order to give rise to detailed emotion effects tothe buyers. For instance, the hardwood flooring surfaces used by company represents style and warmth, while the big images of the models as well as in-store signage visualizes the aspects of being authentic and fun. Store layout and display techniques As witnessed on the Topshop Flagship Store located on the Oxford Street, Topshop employs a mixture of free-flow and boutique format depending on the size of the store. As a part of display techniques, Topshop uses store displays and evolving windows as a major voice of its brand (Marianne 2005, p. 17). Web Atmospherics McKinney (2004, p. 89) categorically states that e-store is a purposeful design of an e-retailers site. For Topshop, the website design enables efficient and essay navigation for users. The firms navigation bar on the left side of the website indicates the various services and products offered through the e-store. The other element that has significantly improved the web atmospheric is the visual, colour and text used on the firm's website. Further, the zoom facility enables customers to view the products in close range as well as availability of text (Wang 2002, p. 10). Image Topshop is considered onee of the most successful retailers having reinvented its brand image from cheap teens brand to a street style leader. It is essential to note that, the e-store used by Topshop promotes the image of the urban chic clothing, all targeting young women and teenagers. Comparison the navigation is forboth the bricks and clicks stores. the two methods apply streamline format (Siomkos 2004, p. 41). both e-store and in-store gives in warmth and colour with visual images of products, for example, the website portrays product and the store merchandises. the experience of in-store is much attracting, but the e-store more entertaining because of lighting, colour and music applied (Wang 2002, p. 14). however, both clicks and bricks have an equivalent credits for their clients (Kotler 2004, p. 101). Recommendation From the above information, one can see that both offline and online marketing strategies employed by Topshop retail shop have been extremely successful. However, there is a need to improve the store environment in the web atmospheric to match with that of visual merchandising atmospheric. Further, there is the need to increase brand awareness, both to online and offline customers. Currently, only the brand loyalty for the offline customers is estimated to be at 78%, 24 % higher than that of online customers. In this regard, more online marketing strategies, with the aim of raising brand awareness to the online customers, should be adopted by the firm, thus being able to raise its profitability by at least 12% in the next five years (Marianne 2005, p. 78). Conclusion Topshop is one of the most successful companies in the 21st century. The firm has been able to compete accordingly, due to the effective use of contemporary marketing strategies, thus raising the firm profitability level (Vrechopoulos 2001, p. 8). Buy custom Top Shop essay

PSAT Test Dates 2015

PSAT Test Dates 2015 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The PSAT test dates of 2015 have come and gone, but they are not forgotten - especially for students aiming to become National Merit Finalists. This guide will go over the exact PSAT test dates in 2015, as well as discuss how test-takers can make the most of their PSAT score reports today. If you’re looking for future PSAT test dates, then check out this guide instead. If you’re in the right spot, then read on to learn about how the PSAT testing schedule works for participating students. What to Know About PSAT Test Dates Unlike many other standardized tests, like the SAT or ACT, you don’t choose when you take the PSAT. Instead, your high school registers juniors and chooses the test date from two options in October. If you’re a ninth or tenth grader who wants to take the PSAT, then you have to ask your school counselor to sign you up. College Board gave schools two choices for test dates in 2015, a primary and an alternate. Both test dates fell on a weekday, on a Wednesday to be exact. Most schools administered the PSAT on the primary test date. Below are the exact dates for the primary and alternate testing dates for the PSAT in 2015. PSAT Test Dates in 2015 Schools administered the PSAT on one of these two test dates in 2015. Primary test date: October 14, 2015 Alternate test date: October 28, 2015 Most schools held the PSAT on October 14, 2015. The only exception would be if the school had a scheduling conflict that day and had to go with the alternate test date. Once students took the PSAT, they waited a few months to get back their scores. For juniors, October is the month of pumpkins, pie, and the PSAT. When Did 2015 PSAT Scores Come Out? Scores from the 2015 PSAT came out on January 7th, 2016. On that date, students could sign into their College Board accounts and view their score reports. Counselors actually had access to the scores one day earlier, on January 6. In addition to online score reports, students got paper score reports around January 29. Forstudents who took the PSAT in 2015 or who will be taking it in the future, why are PSAT scores important? Why Are PSAT Scores Important? PSAT scores are important for two main reasons. First, they give you essential feedback about your skills as a test-taker, and you can use that feedback to prepare for the SAT. Secondly, PSAT score reports tell any juniors who took the test whether or not they will qualify for National Merit distinction and scholarships. Let’s take a closer look at both of these functions of your PSAT scores. 1. Practice and Feedback for the SAT The PSAT and SAT are very similar tests, so your score report on the PSAT can help you figure out how to improve for the SAT. Both tests have Reading, Writing and Language, and math sections. The main difference is that the PSAT doesn’t have an essay section. Your PSAT score report will give you detailed feedback on your performance. You should take time to look at your results and pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses. If you struggled on the math section, for instance, then you can focus especially on math as you get ready for the SAT. By figuring out where you lost points, you can make efforts to get those kinds of questions right for next time. Your score report can also prompt you to reflect on the test-taking experience. Did you find yourself running out of time? Would you benefit from trying new test-taking strategies, like process of elimination on vocabulary questions? If you took the PSAT in 2015 and are still planning to take the SAT, you should carefully consider your PSAT score report and use it to design your SAT prep plan. Your PSAT score report gives you useful feedback on your skills as a test-taker. You can use that insightas you get ready for the SAT. 2. National Merit Distinctions and Scholarships If you took the PSAT as a junior, then you’re in the running for National Merit distinction and scholarships. The top 3% to 4% of scorers werenamed Commended Scholars, while students who score in the top 1% werenamed Semifinalists and couldmove on to become Finalists and win scholarship money. National Merit Scholarship Corporation hasn’t released its exact state-by-state cutoffs yet, but we can estimate the cutoffs based on data from past years. About a year after they took the PSAT in 2015, about 16,000 students across the country foundout if they achieved Semifinalist status. If you were one of those students who took the PSAT in October 2015, how can you make the most of your PSAT score report now? Make the Most of Your PSAT Score Report If you’re still planning to take the SAT, then your PSAT score report can help you design a study plan. Look closely at the sections where you excelled and the sections where you could use some improvement. Think about what skills you can work on to get better as a test-taker, whether you need to review specific concepts or practice time management. As you study for the SAT, try to identify and target your weak areas. Gather lots of practice questions, time yourself, and score your practice tests. Continue to measure your progress with your practice test score reports, just as you did with your PSAT score report. By taking time to analyze your PSAT and SAT practice test score reports, you can root out your weak areas and gaugeyour progress as you work toward your target SAT scores. In closing, let’s go over the key points you should remember about the PSAT in 2015, how it was administered, and how you can make the most of your PSAT score report now. Use your PSAT score report to target your weak areas and improve for the next test you take. PSAT in 2015: Key Takeaways Most schools administered the PSAT on Wednesday, October 14, 2015. Juniors automatically tookthe test and competed for National Merit distinction. Younger students couldalso request to take the test, and they coulduse the experience as practice for the junior year PSAT and the SAT. If you took the test in 2015, then you got your scores online on January 7th. Whether you’re competing for National Merit or prepping for the SAT, you can gain valuable insight from your PSAT score report. Take time to analyze your performance, figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and reflect on the experience to get ready for the SAT. What’s Next? Are you preparing to take the SAT? Check out our ultimate SAT prep guides for the Reading, Writing and Language, and Math sections of the SAT. Did you take the PSAT as a younger student in 2015? If you're aiming for top scores when you take the test as a junior, check out this full guide to getting a perfect score on the PSAT. Have you started taking steps to apply to college? For a full overview of the entire college application process, check out this comprehensive guide. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Assess the role of small time Diplomats in the Egypt-Israeli peace Essay

Assess the role of small time Diplomats in the Egypt-Israeli peace making (1970s) - Essay Example The idea of partnership in the Egypt-Israel treaty replaces the emphasis on respect. U.S diplomats also played a crucial role in this treaty (Eisenberg 83). The role small time diplomats played was so effective that they did not need international peacekeepers to help them resolve their problems. Diplomats facilitated cooperation between the two parties such as trade cooperation. The Middle- east, during this period, saw all forms of diplomatic activity (Gat 177). More often than not they even advised the King or president on the formulation of foreign policies, but they would get ignored (Goldschmidt 160). Other than this, there has been a stable import-export cooperation of a limited list of commodities facilitated by diplomats. Egyptian diplomats also facilitated the speed on the agreement terms by giving a due date of agreement, failure to which would lead them to look for other alternatives. (Bar-Siman-Tov 200). The constant exchange of goods and services between the two nations played a critical part in helping them resolve their dispute. Diplomats envisioned the Egypt-Israel treaty based on the ‘reciprocity idea, recognition of each partys national interest. Delegations worked entirely on the basis of diplomats (Rabinovich 40). Therefore, that is to mean that th e treaty creates a narrow zone of demilitarization both on Israels and Sinais side. Diplomats vied for good neighbourly relations that would see the promotion of lasting security. Ephraim Evron was an Israel diplomat who was good at building networks and relationships (Eisenberg 17). However, some Israeli diplomats got banned in Cairo and Amman leaving them to feel isolated (Lukacs 196). The conflict, however, got somehow fuelled by refusal of Egypt to normalize their relationship with Israel (El-Nawawy 13) Religious diplomats also played a critical role in the peacemaking treaty. They did this by promoting interfaith relations that fostered mutual understanding based

Empowerment. Does it work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Empowerment. Does it work - Essay Example This paper seeks to explain empowerment and its impact in workplaces. Empowering an employee in the work place leads to increased productivity as compared to underpowered ones. Their performance levels are high, and they are happier with their job leading to job satisfaction and lesser complacency. Employees appraise their work in regard to the amount of pay they receive from their employer; thus an employee with more say in the workplace finds the conditions of more conducive for work. Empowerment creates a sense of responsibility and motivates them to put in more effort as they learn their role in the success of the organization. As a result, the productivity and output in terms of the organization’s fortunes increase. Freedom and democracy in the workplace, empowerment, provoke the creativity of workers towards coming up with new ideas and concepts that lead to increased productivity and efficiency in work (Bednarz, 2012, par. 12). It also contributes towards positive attitudes and relationships between all members of staff. This is the result of ; proper communication between all parties involved in decision making as they are all allowed to make their opinions known and also contribute on how they affect them (Sptreitzer et al par. 12). At the workplace, employee empowerment ensures pay based on the level of knowledge that one has and the qualifications. This, in turn, leads to safety as employees do not participate in activities that they have no adequate knowledge in. As a result, employees are involved in personally managing their tasks and thus encourage a sense of responsibility for their jobs and wellbeing. Empowerment, therefore, leads to fewer investments concerning safety and compensation for workplace accidents (Bednarz, 2012, par. 11). In addition, lawsuits against the organization are reduced leading to increased savings by the organization and better working relations between employees and employers. It also boosts the relations