The Lady with the Pet Dog

Comparison of two stories of the same name A story of two lovers in an affair is never a simple thing to understand. Anton Chekhov original and Joyce Carol Oates’s updated version of â€Å"The Lady with the Pet Dog† tells the story of two unhappy individuals trying to find love in a long lasting affair. Both versions of the story are similar in plot, but the different point of view allows readers to view the conflicts and emotions that each character faces, instead of just getting one side of the story. Although both stories follow the same plot, there are many differences that help readers understand the emotions of the protagonist.Chekhov’s version of â€Å"The Lady with the Pet Dog† the main protagonist is a male named Dmitry Gurov. The third person point of view allows readers to only see how Gurov’s emotions throughout the story and not his love interest Anna. Gurov is an unfaithful husband and views women as the â€Å"inferior race† (Ch ekhov 205). He has been through many affairs in Moscow that he already knows that the affair will grow into an â€Å"extreme complexity† (205) and when the end comes a â€Å"painful situation is created† (205).In Oates version the protagonist is Anna, who is not as timid as she appears in Chekhov’s version. Anna doesn’t know what it feels like to have a bond with a person, because she can’t seem to connect with her husband. The affair allows Anna some freedom from her boring life and allows her to have some purpose in life. Yet she feels guilty for being in an affair with a stranger. The plot in Chekhov’s version is very straight forward being in chronological order, whereas Oates mixes the plot around starting with the climax first.They share the same climax of the theater, but in both stories Anna reacts differently when seeing her lover appear to see her. In Chekhov’s version, Anna is shocked by Gurov’s appearance. She tells him that she is suffering and thinks only about him, but wants to forget everything that happened. Yet she is knows she wants to be with him so she promises to see him in Moscow and tells him to leave. While in Oates’s version, Anna is shocked and very unpleased with seeing her lover, and makes sure he doesn’t come near her.Her lover then calls her, and we see that Anna get frustrated with him for calling her. We can see that Oates was trying to give Anna a little more power in the affair unlike Chekhov. The mix of the plot in Oates’s version I feel allows readers to really understand Anna and her emotions. It would’ve been easier to understand if it was in order, but Oates took the same story and updated it and wrote it in a way that made it much different from Chekhov’s. She gave Anna life and we got to see how the guilt ate at her, while Gurov wasn’t really affected as bad as she was in Chekhov’s.I had to read Oates’s story more than once to get the story into order, which allowed me to think more about Anna’s feelings more then I could do if I only read it once. In both stories the protagonist are stuck in unhappy marriages, but neither actually make an effort to divorce. The setting of Chekhov’s version takes place at the turn of the century, so I feel maybe divorce wasn’t an option for both characters then. Yet Oates had her story take place in the 1970’s, which happened to be a time of feminism, which to my surprise Anna never thought about leaving her husband for her lover.The confusing emotions from an unhappy marriage and guilt drove Anna crazy. She would ponder â€Å"this is fate†¦to be here and not there, to be one person and not another, a certain man’s wife and not the wife of another man† (222). We could tell she just wants to be accepted from someone, and that was her lover. The guilt of cheating even on a broken marriage drove her to tell he r lover that she wished that one of her men would die, so it could make things easier on her. In each story we find that the protagonist finds some sort of love in the end of the story.Chekhov’s character Gurov, sees his wife as â€Å"limited intelligence, narrow minded and dowdy† (205). Anna seems to be the opposite of his wife, which makes him even more attractive to her. Gurov has been in many affairs, but each time he was left lonely, because he was focused on looking for the sexual aspect of the relationship and not the emotional. Anna allowed him to open up emotionally, giving him someone to talk to. In the end Gurov knew he was growing old and that he truly for the first time actually loved someone.Oates’s Anna, has been through a lot of confusion never knowing who she loved. She almost commits suicide and gives up on her relationship. It takes her sometime, but she finally learns to accept her lover and the secrets. Anna was looking for her own identity and love, but she had to learn to love herself first before she could love anyone else. With the third person point of view we are limited to so much information, but Oates’s adaption sheds light on the other half of the story. A one sided story would’ve left readers with a lot of questions concerning Anna.It’s like they made the affair seem so easy in Chekhov’s version, but we find out that they struggled just like any couple would. Although the stories shared many similarities they did have their difference in approach. Works Cited Chekhov, Anton. â€Å"The Lady with the Pet Dog. † The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin;s 2009. 205-16 Oates, Joyce Carol. â€Å"The Lady with the Pet Dog. † The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin;s 2009. 219-31

How the study of stylistics can help improve one’s English Language Essay

Write an essay that discusses how the study of stylistics/language in literature can help improve one’s English language. (1500-2000 words) To answer the question of how stylistics improves one’s English language is to understand the question itself. The word ‘improves’ in the question entails that the person or student already has at least a basic knowledge and understanding of the English Language and he/she wants to make that knowledge better. There are many disciplines that learners of the English language can venture into to help them improve their literacy competence. One of those aforementioned disciplines is in fact: The study of language in literature or Stylistics. Hence, this is where stylistics as a branch of study from the main trunk of the English Language and Literature tree plays an alternative role in enhancing one’s English Language capabilities. This paper will attempt to explain the logics of how stylistics can help in improving students’ English with an analogy. Studying stylistics is just like the process of language learning and the subsequent discipline that comes with it. Language learning is particularly challenging for most people especially to those who are trying to acquire it at a later age. Just like any other language, the English Language requires the learner to read English books extensively, try their level best to understand the language with the help of teachers and dictionaries, and practice speaking the language as much as he/she can. In regards to this essay, there are several ways how the study of stylistics can help improve students’ English language. Firstly, stylistics enriches students’ ways of thinking about language. Secondly, it improves their skills of English and finally, stylistics propels students’ to act as a linguist and literary critic at the same time which in turn make them competent users of the language. Before diving into the content, one needs to comprehend the definition of stylistics first. Stylistics is understood as that part of linguistics, as Turner describes in Stylistics (1975), which concentrates on variation in the most conscious and complex uses of language in literature. According to A.J. Jassim, it is possible to say that stylistics means the study of literary discourse from a linguistic orientation which offers an area of contact between literary criticism and linguistics. Therefore one can define operationally that, the word â€Å"stylistics† is basically made up of the  components of â€Å"style† and â€Å"–istics† and that â€Å"style† refers to literary criticism and â€Å"–istics† refers the general make-up for the linguistic component of the study (2006). Now, moving onto the discussions, firstly, stylistics enriches students’ ways of thinking about language. It is universally acknowledged that language s erves many functions and one of it is to communicate meaningful expressions. In written text, language is seen, as Eifring and Theil asserts, a communicative system based upon words and the combination of words into sentences and this is known as linguistic communication (2005). One way how stylistics specifically plays a role in enriching students’ ways of thinking about language is for example, when poets write poetry, they are not writing it without their active consciousness of language. Sometimes, they deliberately incorporate deviations and parallelism in their works to serve a specific function. Through this ‘unconventional’ use of language, they are attempting to convey a deeper meaning within the text and most â€Å"Stylisticians† argue that only through stylistics, these literary devices can be observed, analysed and understood. Where some advocate extensive or authentic reading almost for its own sake, Hall explains (2007), as a result of which the language will be absorbed, the advocate of stylistics as a means to develo p language proficiency is committed to the value of conscious attention to details of linguistic features ‘foregrounded’ in a text, whether through ‘deviance’ of some kind, or simply as the consequence of repetitions, parallelism or other such salient patternings seen to contribute significantly to meaning. Students in turn become more sensitive in utilizing English especially when attempting to read and comprehend literature better. Secondly, stylistics improves students’ skills of the English Language. This is because in order to apply stylistic analysis or criticism on a literary text, students need to first master the language from the onset. This entails that students need to, as mentioned earlier, read extensively which in turn heightens their vocabulary and mental lexicon. They also need to understand the language very well; especially in regards to grammar and tenses. For all the arguments that are presented, it is rightfully so that students need to be competent users of the English Language so that they can apply their knowledge of grammar and lexicon in interpreting literary texts. This is because according to Katie Wales in A Dictionary of Stylistics (1990), the  goal of most stylistics is not simply to describe the formal features of texts for their own sake, but in order to show their functional significance for the interpretation of the text; or in order to relate literary effects to linguistic ’causes’ where these are felt to be relevant. This means the knowledge of grammar and tenses are very important elements for the student to get a strong grasp on because in some poetry, poets intentionally use deviations to foreground important features in their works. Researchers such as Van Peer (1986) have found that readers [or students] do indeed pick up on the smallest details of a text and use them to construct meaningful interpretations. A good example can be seen in the stylistic analysis of ‘(listen)’ taken from E. E. Cummings’ 1964 collection 73 Poems, of which it is number 63. The poem ‘(listen)’ is typical of Cummings’ style and contains striking irregularities of form in comparison to ‘traditional’ poetry. There is a high probability to those reading this poem, whom are not partial towards stylistics, will consider it as a complete mess and an overall ‘bad’ piece of poetry because of the strange use of punctuation and the seemingly odd structure of particular phrases. An excerpt of the poem is displayed below: (listen) this a dog barks and how crazily houses eyes people smiles faces streets steeples are eagerly tumbl ing through wonder ful sunlight – look – selves,stir:writhe o-p-e-n-i-n-g(line 1-12) One of the reasons for Cummings’ use of deviation is not simply for shock value, as Shaikh debates, and the linguistic choices he makes are by no means arbitrary (2012). In the past, some critics have even disregarded his  eccentric use of language, claiming that it is of no interpretative significance. What these critics overlooked and not aware of is that one will be able to explore and experience the beauty and depth of the poem hidden within the ‘mess’ once they apply stylistic criticism unto it. ‘(listen)’ is not a, for the most part, difficult poem to analyse in terms of the complexity of the subject matter. It is the process of making sense of the grammatical ‘mess’ in the text that is the sole source of ‘headache’. What is most challenging is to relate the various atypical stylistic features that Cummings’ has chosen to use to one’s overall interpretation of the text. Finally, stylistics propels studen ts to act as both linguists and literary critics at the same time. In fact, the purpose of stylistics is to be the bridge of linking the two disciplines: linguistics and literary criticism. Nevertheless, it is rather unfortunate as McIntyre (2012) states that since the emergence in the 1960s of English Language as a university subject in its own right, the relationship between the study of literature and the study of language has often been one of bitter rivalry (p. 1). Experts in the literary field criticize against the ‘cold’, ‘scientific’ approach that is adopted by linguistic scholars in their analysis of literary texts. At the same time, similar critical judgements are imposed by linguistic scholars towards literary experts because they are too subjective and vague in the analyses they produce. Despite the feud between the clashes of these two spheres of language studies, there lies exquisiteness when one can merge the two fields and use their respective theories and means of analyses to understand a literary text well . Since stylistics is neither pure linguistics nor sheer literary criticism, a stylistician is, thus, intended to act possibly as a linguist and as a literary critic as well. To link both, the job of the linguist and that of the literary critic, stylistics emerges as a connective means to demonstrate how the linguistic elements act significantly in a text to produce a communicable message. The function of stylistics is to help the reader stimulate, the significance of a literary text by analysing the interrelations between its linguistic items. This approach is essentially selective. It aims to identify the stylistically significant, or stylistically distinctive, features in a literary text and to study their function in the text as a whole. Stylistics occupies the middle ground between linguistics and literary criticism and  its function is to mediate between the two. In this role, its concerns necessarily overlap with those of the two disciplines. It is for this reason that stylistic analysis shades indiscernibly into literary appreciation. Therefore, literary analysis seeks the assistance of stylistic analysis which is of a complementary nature to it. Stylistic analysis usually seeks to identify what stimulates and guides the reader or listener in the literary work. But there is no specific and restricted technique to follow (Fairly, 1979). Despite it all, this act of propelling one to act as both linguist and literary critic stretches his or her potential to the maximum towards being a very competent user of English language hence whether they like it or not, it will improve their English. One needs practice a great deal so that they get the stylistic analysis On the grounds of how learning language is similar to how learning stylistics help can improve one’s Englis, as reiterated throughout this paper, both disciplines require the students to read extensively, understand and practice the skill in order to improve their language competency. In conclusion, with all the arguments which is presented in the above discussions, stylistics does help in improving one’s or students’ English language. Firstly, stylistics enriches students’ ways of thinking about language. Secondly, it improves their basic skills of the language and finally, stylistics propels students’ to act as a linguist and literary critic at the same time which in turn make them competent users of the English language. Students especially can use stylistics to sustain and defend an interpretation of a poem, or any literary texts for instance, and they can also use stylistics to highlight elements of a poem that we might otherwise fail to notice . References Abdul Jalil Jassim Hejal (2006) Stylistics : A contact between Linguistics and Literary Criticism. J. of Col. of Basic Education. Pdf. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=69572 Eifring, Halvor & Theil, Rolf (2005). Linguistics for Students of Asian and African Languages. Pdf. Web. Retrieved from : http://www.uio.no/ Fairly, Irene R. (1979). â€Å"Experimental Approaches to Language in Literature: Reader Responses to Poems† in Style. Vol. 13 , no . 4 . Hall, Geoff. (2007) Stylistics in Second Language Contexts: A Critical Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan, New York Wales, Katie. A Dictionary of Stylistics. London: Longman, 1990. McIntyre, D. (2012). Linguistics and literature: stylistics as a tool for the literary critic (Vol. 1, pp. 1-11). SRC Working Papers. Naushad Umarsharif Shaikh. (2011) Role of Stylistics in Learning English as a Second Language. Pdf. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.languageinindia.com/aug2011/naushadstylisticslanguagelearning.pdf Turner , G.W. (1975). Stylistics. Benguin Books. London.

For Machiavelli, how should a leader sensibly and reasonably respond Essay - 1

For Machiavelli, how should a leader sensibly and reasonably respond to an environment where events are determined in part by fortune - Essay Example Therefore, the Machiavellian approach recommends an extremely practical approach to those situations that arise from fortune; an approach that might be frowned upon in the liberal dominated world of today. Politics is essentially influenced more by fortune than by the machinations of leaders and it is because of this that, according to Machiavelli, is to create a balance between the various interests within the state so that he can have an influence on all of them (Machiavelli: 22). The result of a balancing of interests is that a leader can be able to create a political environment, which favours himself rather than his opponents. Leaders always have to be careful to ensure that more competent or popular individuals within their societies do not take their power away and this is the reason why they have to take account of all the grievances that might arise. In most cases, rivals often take advantage of situations where the leader is in a weak position in order to press their own causes and it is because of these circumstances that a leader has to always have firm control over the state. A leader has to stabilise his power through the development of an enduring political structure be cause this is the only way through which they can retain their power (Machiavelli: 17). Therefore, if a leader wishes not to leave anything to fortune, it is essential that he provide his people with the stability and security that they need to ensure that they continue their support for him. With the support of the people over whom he rules, it would be much more difficult for rivals to take advantage of the situation to either reduce his power or depose him. When a new leader comes to power, he has to ensure that he studies the political environment carefully before making any drastic changes within the society because to do so immediately might jeopardise his rule. He must first stabilise his rule through the studying of the different actors

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KFC Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example There are various economic forces that have a significant impact on the business operations of KFC (KFC, 2014a). This organization is greatly affected by global and national economic factors such as inflation and interest rates, cost of labor, stages of business cycle, unemployment rates and growth rates of economy (KFC, 2014a; Pride & Ferrell, 2012). The recession factor has affected the overall income of KFC and this has resulted into making some employees jobless and others hired for fewer hours (Ohme, Birinyi and Gupta, 2010). This was in major part due to the cutting down of the budget by the company. Economic forces restrict customers to spend lavishly in such fast food outlets (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). Government procedures and policies to a certain extent provide the required guidelines for smooth functioning of business operations of an organization (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). There are certain political forces that affect operations of KFC and these forces encompass some legal factors. Notably, the actions taken in political fields leads to guidelines that affect a restaurant’s customer satisfaction, menu, payroll and profits (Jurevicious, 2013). The stability of the political environment, position of government in relation to market ethics, government view on religion and culture, policies of government with respect to economy, and taxation policy on incentives and tax rates are the major forces that outlines the political environment (Ohme, Birinyi and Gupta, 2010). For instance, the intense rivalry of national election season can generate problems for KFC by creating an environment of negativity among the patrons (Jurevicious, 2013). In this case, the ambiguity about the economic conditions hinders spending. Therefore, patrons concerned about the national budget are probable to reduce their spending, which implies less eat outs.

FIN501 MoD 4 Case Assin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

FIN501 MoD 4 Case Assin - Essay Example A financial structure of a company on the other hand includes the short term debts, business creditors and other short term liabilities (Ho and Lee, 2003). Most businesses finance their business through debt or equity or a combination of both. Through debts the companies secure long term bank loans or take bonds which are redeemable after a long period of time. Through equity the companies issue common shares, preferred shares and sometimes the retained earnings injected at the end of the trading period where a profit has been realized. This literature will examine the financial books and ratios of 3 companies and determine their financial structure and the risks they run in choosing that particular mix (Ehrhardt, 2013). The choice of whether to use exclusive debt or equity financing or what mixture depends on the financial position of the business, the credit standing, the tax situation of the country and the nature of the business. This mix will determine what the cost of capital i s (Finnerty, 2013). Equity financing has its own advantages in that there is no burden of debt hanging over the owner’s heads, they therefore do not run the risk of going bankrupt unlike when financed by a debt. The owners too consent to the risk of losing all their investment in case the business fails. The disadvantages of equity financing is that the many the investors the more the control of the business is diluted and so are the profit shares. Debt financing on the other hand is advantageous to the management of the business in that the lenders do not take any control of the business or direct how the money lent will be spent. The lenders also do not share the profit of the company, all they are entitled to is the loan repayment and the interest on loan. But one of the major advantages of debt financing is that it reduces the tax liability of the business because the interest paid on loan is tax deductible. This protects a part of income from taxation and at the same tim e lowering your business’ tax liability. The disadvantages of debt financing involve ruined credit rating and risking bankruptcy (Besley and Brigham, 2008). An optimal capital structure is one that attains a good balance between the returns of the capital structure and the risks that the structure exposes the company to. The optimal capital structure will minimize the risks involved yet maximize the returns and it also increases the valuation of the stock in the stock market at the same time minimizing the cost of capital (Ho and Lee, 2003). eBay This is a multinational company based in America with outlets in more than 30 countries worldwide. It was started in 1995 and deals with providing consumer-to-consumer internet services. Its nature of business involves providing an over the internet market where customers can auction their goods, this was the initial venture. However, with time the company has diversified its services providing online advertisement services through e Bay classifieds, online payment through PayPal and online event ticket trading through StubHub (Gitlin, 2007). Between 2005 and 2009 it had acquired Skype but then sold a majority stake so as to concentrate on the other internet services it was renowned for. Examining the financial statements of the company for the period ended 31st December 2012 the following information was obtained. The company has a total assets value of $37.074 billion

Agustine and Aquina's justifications of the exercise of social and Essay

Agustine and Aquina's justifications of the exercise of social and political ruling - Essay Example ix). St. Thomas Aquinas was born in the early 13th century, of an affluent family, with direct blood lines to the ruling royal families of the day (Dyson, R.W., 2002, p. xvii). He began his religious training as an oblate, at the Benedictine monastery in Monte Cassino (p. xvii). Later, in 1245, became a member of the Dominican order, and furthered his education at the University of Paris where the German theologian Albertus Magnus introduced him to the study of Aristotle. In 1248 he followed Albertus to Cologne (p. xvii). It was earlier, however, while at the monastery, that Thomas studied Aristotle (p. xvii). Two great men, philosophers, separated by hundreds of years, whose interpretations and writings on political theory continue to influence the thinking of great men, women, religious, and political leaders today. This brief essay is an examination and comparison of the two schools of thought as they pertain to the governance of society socially and politically. The paper will rely on the works of St. Augustine, using his City of God as translated by Marcus D. D. Dodds (1950), and St. Thomas Aquinas’s Political Writings translated by R.W. Dyson (2002). To read either work without the benefit of a modern translation would be, at best, a slow and difficult endeavor that could perhaps, for some, take a lifetime. Under the guidance of the translators, we can gain a sense of the political ideologies of both Augustine and Aquinas. St. Augustine watched as the world around him spun out of control and into chaos, culminating with the fall of Rome, in 410 A.D (Dodds, p. ix). Rome’s fall brought crashing down the myths that Rome would last forever and rule the world (ix). It would have been a time when scholars, like Augustine, would be formulating thoughts and ideas, influenced by their philosophical teachings and interpretations, about world leadership and political and social manifestations of corruption and

Container and Shipping Industry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Container and Shipping Industry - Research Paper Example All these services are specialised services and the industry will have to depend a lot on these suppliers. Therefore, the power of suppliers is quite substantial. Threat of New Entrants: Container and shipping industry is capital intensive business and requires huge amount of investment to start the business. Safety and environmental concerns result in high levels of regulations for the industry. Therefore, it may be not as easy for any company to enter into this business, as in a retail business. The threat of new entrants is not substantial. Bargaining Powers of Buyers/ customers: Customers of the services for the shipping and container industry include big corporate houses and manufacturers. In today's competitive environment what these companies require is timely delivery of goods. This would make these companies quite demanding at times, and the container industry would be on their toes to provide efficient services. Threat of Substitutes: Substitutes for the container and shipping industry are mainly the road, rail and air routes. ... ompetitive Rivalry: Though there are not many companies in the container and shipping industry, on account of the nature of the business, but there is intense competition amongst the established ones' like Braemar Shipping Services Plc from UK, Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad, The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd., The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia etc. The factors like low level of product differentiation, high fixed costs and high exit barriers also give rise to good levels of competition. SWOT Analysis of the Industry Strengths: i. Long term agreements with clients, resulting in a committed client base ii. Specialised type of services, with an ability to carry huge quantities iii. High entry barriers in the form of higher investments and skills Weaknesses: i. Huge capital investments coupled with high depreciation costs results in lesser profit levels for the companies, which in turn results in delayed breakeven point ii. High exit barriers, imply that the company once in the business is compelled to remain in it for many more years irrespective of profit or loss being incurred Opportunities: iii. More movement of goods and services due to the trend amongst the MNCs to manufacture products in countries like China and then transport it back to the western world or Europe iv. Coordinated approach being adopted by leading players in the container and shipping industry v. With technological advancements it has become easier for the companies to track the movement of their consignments with techniques like GPS, RFIDs etc, which promises to make the industry much more efficient in the coming years. Threats: vi. Increasing threat of sea-pirates, particularly through the sea route via the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, where Somali pirates

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner - Essay Example It seems that Faulkner has developed the character of Emily with the purpose of exposing the society and how mean it can be to some individuals. Through the character of Emily, the film exhibits the hidden desires of black women in the contemporary society, wishing for social aristocracy on the social plain. What was the movie about? The movie shed light upon the theme of decay and how Emily loses everything in her life, she stops talking to everyone and decides to totally cut herself off from the society. She also commits financial fraud by not paying her taxes. The authorities sent her several notices but she decided to ignore them and never paid the dues to the government clearly committing financial fraud. To their respective existence in the society, both black and white people were striving side by side. Due to this reason the racial discrimination aspect was dormant and both black and white people come close to each other. It is one of the main reasons that Homer Barron and Em ily reach so close to each other that they develop an emotional bond among them. However, Emily was possessive about her beloved to such an extent that after the first time that she left her, she was desperate to ensure that Barron would stay with her for the rest of her life. Consequently, she kills him and preserves him in her house. Apparently, Emily’s action can be interpreted in general terms of blind love but an attempt to analyzing her character from social perspective makes it clear that as Emily, unlike other black women of her time had a white partner she actually developed a kind of pride that consequently nourished her imaginary sense of social aristocracy. It was impossible for her to sacrifice that cherished sense of aristocracy and by killing Barron she finally retains her self-pride. Emily’s State of Mind The film is very intriguing and covers many aspects of human personality, Emily is the most important character in the story and she takes her revenge in the story by killing Homer. She supposedly poisoned Homer to death. She bought rat poison to kill Homer; Homer was last seen by the people residing in the same locality as Emily entering the kitchen of Emily’s house. Emily becomes so desperate in the story that she forgets everything and seeks emotional support from the corpse of Homer. She cannot be blamed for revenge in the story. She was emotionally broken and had no friends or family members who she could connect with. Homer was the only person in the story who shows promising signs of bringing Emily to sanity but she soon discovers that he was interested in men and she could not digest this fact. Out of utter desperation she chose to poison Homer. This is quite evident from the fact that the corpse of Homer was found in the bed room of her house when she died. The locality members were shocked when they opened the room after several long years. She used to embrace the corpse of Homer and derive emotional support. Thi s cannot be called as revenge; this is utter desperation to seek emotional support. Laws broken by Emily and Homer Emily and Homer both commit frauds of different nature in the movie. Emily does not pay her taxes and Homer ditched Emily by not marrying her.  

How Do Employees Of XXX Perceive the Effectiveness of the Companys Research Paper - 1

How Do Employees Of XXX Perceive the Effectiveness of the Companys Staff Appraisal System - Research Paper Example In light of the research question, what constitutes an effective performance appraisal needs to be determined first, in order to appreciate, identify with and empathize with staff perceptions. Personal development is a necessary element for both personal and organizational benefits, and performance appraisals are the best means of identifying the training needs of staff, as well as being a systematic mechanism for evaluating the standards of staff performance, determining salaries and advancements and detecting any factors that impinge on staff effectiveness. An effective appraisal system is one that considers cultural values (Feng, Foster & Healing), that is perceived by staff as being fair and acceptable, that is a reciprocal cooperation between staff and management and one that is appropriate to daily duties (Duraisingam & Skinner, 2005). Such a system fosters staff satisfaction and motivation. A number of factors other than performance appraisal methods must be considered when developing a new and effective system; other factors that might explain staff perceptions of personal appraisals are fairness and cultural awareness. Kavanagh, Benson & Brown (2007) discuss theoretical support for performance appraisal processes and explain that such support is evidenced in ‘control theory and social exchange theory’ (p.134). Process control theory proposes that staff perceptions of fairness are related to the degree of control each employee is able to employ within the process (Konovsky, 2000, p.493 cited in Kavanagh, Benson & Brown, 2007). Social exchange theory, on the other hand, refers to ‘relationships that entail unspecified future obligations’ (Kavanagh, Benson & Brown, 2007, p. 134), wherein the way management treats employees is of significance. Fairness, therefore, may be perceived in relation to the amount of control an employee has within the p rocess and the way in which their appraiser handles the process.  

Strategic Partnering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Partnering - Essay Example The growth pattern for construction industry in the United Kingdom has been volatile and unpredictable. Between 1998 and 2005 quarterly results showed the industry on a jagged course rising and plunging narrowly and even tumultuously on a few occasion. Overall, the graph shows a slow upward curve amidst the patchy quarterly movements. See figures 1 & 2 below: The progress in construction of commercial building structures shows better output than that of constructions for private/public use. Growth has been perceptibly significant in Wales and Scotland. (RIC Construction Market Survey) The tremendous growth in communication and information technologies has had cascading effects on every industry and job profile. It would be nave to assume that construction industry in the UK or elsewhere could remain immune from the effects of globalization and the electronic systems. The changes have been fast enough to catch even the most seasoned veteran unprepared for the inputs necessary to address modern needs. At the moment, the United Kingdom construction industry is facing challenges from three quarters: total system revamp including taxation policy, shifting to the LSF system, and competition from Asian giants like China, India, and Korea. (Hellerman Tyton) Of late there have been spates of news reports of estate agents taking over or partnering existing house-owners in prime locations, especially beaches, for redevelopment and residents are happy at the encouraging prospects of investing on resorts with potential for handsome returns. The economics of redevelopment and reaping rich dividends in the bargain are quite tantalizing. In some parts of the United Kingdom land is scarce and it makes good sense to redevelop properties in such locations in accordance with planning regulations with an eye on fruitful returns on investments. Fiscally, the construction cost is within the means of someone earning average income with a little help from banks and other non-banking finance companies. Redevelopment scheme with prospects for income generation is currently a global phenomenon with potential for tie up with large tourist corporations. (UK coastal towns 'under development') In the present times when mergers and acquisitions are the order of the day in top business circles, the concepts of partnerships, alliances and joint ventures are crucial to maintain market presence and ensure survival. The partnerships may be in the form of two or more individuals or firms coming together each with its own areas and functions of expertise and inputs playing complementary roles. For instance, the partnership of construction and finance industries help the client in financing his construction project without anxiety about financial requirements. The alliance of construction firms and software companies augment construction know-how with computer aided technologies useful for planning and designing purposes. Partnership of construction industry with both finance and computer companies offer services and benefits resulting in fantastic economy of time and costs. (Navigant Consulting) Last but not the least, the concept of tie up between construction indu

Principles of Microeconomics Essay Example for Free

Principles of Microeconomics Essay 1) If average movie ticket prices rise by about 5 percent and attendance falls by about 2 percent, other things being equal, the elasticity of demand for movie tickets is about: B. 0.4 2) A basic difference between microeconomics and macroeconomics is that microeconomics C. examines the choices made by individual participants in an economy, while macroeconomics considers the economys overall performance 3) An economist who is studying the relationship between the money supply, interest rates, and the rate of inflation is engaged in B. macroeconomic research 4) After several years of slow economic growth, world demand for petroleum began to rise rapidly in the 1990s. Much of the increase in demand was met by additional supplies from sources outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC, during this time, was unable to restrain output among members in its effort to lift oil prices. What best describes these events? C. The rise in demand shifted the demand for oil to the right. As price rose, the quantity of oil supplied rose. 5) Price elasticity of demand is the: D. percentage change in quantity demanded of a good divided by the percentage change in the price of that good 6) The distinction between supply and the quantity supplied is best made by saying that B. supply is represented graphically by a curve and the quantity supplied as a point on that curve associated with a particular price 7) When labor is the variable input, the average product equals the D. quantity of output divided by the number of workers 8) The increase in output obtained by hiring an additional worker is known as B. the marginal product 9) Which of the following is the best example of a long-run decision? A. An automobile manufacturing company is considering whether or not to invest in robotic equipment to develop a more cost-effective production technique. 10) Other things being equal, when average productivity falls, D. average variable cost must rise 11) According to economist Colin Camerer of the California Institute of Technology, many New York taxi drivers decide when to finish work by setting an income goal for themselves. If this is true, then on busy days when the effective hourly wage is higher, taxi drivers will B. work fewer hours than they will on slower days 12) A firms demand for labor is derived from the D. demand for its output 13) Owen runs a delivery business and currently employs three drivers. He owns three vans that employees use to make deliveries, but he is considering hiring a fourth driver. If he hires a fourth driver, he can schedule breaks and lunch hours so all three vans are in constant use, allowing him to increase deliveries per day from 60 to 75. This will cost an additional $75 per day to hire the fourth driver. The marginal cost per delivery of increasing output beyond 60 deliveries per day B. is $5 14) Expected economic profit per unit is equal to C. the difference between expected average price and expected average total cost 15) If a firm in a perfectly competitive market experiences a technological breakthrough, B. other firms would find out about it immediately 16) A significant difference between monopoly and perfect competition is that C. the monopolists demand curve is the industry demand curve, while the competitive firms demand curve is perfectly elastic 17) A monopoly firm is different from a competitive firm in that C. a monopolist can influence market price while a competitive firm cannot 18) The difference between a perfectly competitive firm and a monopolistically competitive firm is that a monopolistically competitive firm faces a D. downward-sloping demand curve and price exceeds marginal cost in equilibrium 19) As long as marginal cost is below marginal revenue, a perfectly competitive firm should A. increase production 20) Because a monopolistic competitor has some monopoly power, advertising to increase that monopoly power makes sense as long as the marginal C. benefit of advertising exceeds the marginal cost of advertising 21) In the Flint Hills area of Kansas, proposals to build wind turbines to generate electricity have pitted environmentalist against environmentalist. Members of the Kansas Sierra Club support the turbines as a way to reduce fossil fuel usage, while local chapters of the Nature Conservancy say they will befoul the landscape. The Sierra Club argues that wind turbines B. reduce negative externalities elsewhere in the economy 22) When negative externalities are present, market failure often occurs because A. the marginal external cost resulting from the activity is not reflected in the market price 23) A merger between a textile mill and a clothing manufacturing company would be considered a B. vertical merger 24) A merger between a baby food company and a life insurance company would be considered a C. conglomerate merger 25) The fact that U.S. managers salaries are substantially greater than those of comparable managers in Japan may be related to A. an increase in the demand for CEOs 26) Suppose people freely choose to spend 40 percent of their income on health care, but the government decides to tax 40 percent of a persons income to provide the same level of coverage as before. What can be said about deadweight loss in each case? A. Taxing income results in deadweight loss, while purchasing health care on ones own does not result in deadweight loss. 27) The U.S. textile industry is relatively small because the US imports most of its clothing. A clear result of the importation of clothing is D. the price of clothing is lower than it would be without imports 28) Countries can expect to gain from international trade as long as they B. specialize according to their comparative advantage 29) Which of the following is an example of the law of one price? D. Because their countries have similar institutions, the price paid for a computer in Germany and the United States are about the same when converted into the same currency. 30) From the point of view of consumer and producer surplus, what problem may be created when a country subsidizes the cost of energy to consumers to help alleviate the burden of higher energy costs? C. It encourages the consumption of too much fuel at the expense of other  goods.

Reward systems at heritage le telfair

Reward systems at heritage le telfair Tourism industry is a heavy dependent of human interaction, including employees (Baum, 1993; Davidson, 2003). Go et al., (1996) argue that the of products or experiences quality relies on competent, committed, and satisfied hospitality staff. Subsequently, numerous studies have demonstrated a positive correlation between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction (Schmitt and Allscheid, 1995; Schneider et al., 1998; Ulrich, et al., 1991; Wiley, 1991) cited in Jing and Avery (2008). Hence, to ensure job satisfaction the appropriate reward mechanism needs to be adopted (Danish and Usman, 2010; Bai et al., 2006). Rewards play an important role in organizations today: they influence a variety of work-related behaviour (Eastaugh, 2002; Helmer et al., 1988) and as well as the motivation of employees (Nayeri et al, 2005). Reward can be defined as the benefit derived from performing a task, rendering a service or discharging a responsibility (Pitts, 1995; Silbert, 2005). Thus, this conceptual analysis aims at reviewing clear definitions of reward systems (Lawler, 1993; Herzberg, 1966) and its structure (Bartol and Srivastava, 2002). Light will also be shed on the development of reward systems by Zhou et al., (2009), its objectives by Lawler (1993), and the total reward system (Armstrong, 2006). Furthermore, the literature sets out the prominent reward practices of the hospitality industry argued by a myriad of authors, lists the tools to determine reward effectiveness (e-reward, 2009) and finally analyse the perceptions of managers and employees on rewards by Nelson, 2003; Perkins, 2007, among oth ers. 2.1 REWARD SYSTEMS Reward Systems are a critical part of any organisations design. The way in which they fit with its other systems will determine the latters effectiveness and the quality of life of its employees (Lawler 1993, p.2). Reward systems refer to the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits that workers receive from their jobs (Herzberg 1966; Katz and Van Mannan, 1977). Moreover, Byars and Rue (1997) define reward systems as being all the returns employees receive as a result of the employment by their organization, monetary as well as non-monetary. In contrast, Armstrong, (2006) incorporates the element of effective reward management in order to benefit both people and organisation in his definition. 2.1.1 STRUCTURE AND COMPONENTS OF REWARD SYSTEMS According to Bartol and Srivastava, (2002) and Grawitch et al., (2007, p.3), rewards could range from: Monetary and; Non-monetary incentives In addition further research by De Cenzo et al. (1996) has been agreed by Bartol and Srivastava, (2002) on the categorisation of rewards as being intrinsic and extrinsic (depicted in figure 2.1.1). Figure 2.1.1: Reward Structure-Source: De Cenzo et al., 1996 2.2 DEVELOPMENT OF REWARD SYSTEMS Attesting that reward development has experienced five phases, Zhou et al (2009) summed up the relevant records in table 2.2a. Table 2.2a: The Five Phases of Reward-Source: Zhou et al, 2009 To provide a historical glimpse, another version on the development of reward systems-figure 2.2b-has been compiled from Shermon, 2004; World at work, 2007; AWLP, 2006. Figure 2.2b: Brief Overview the Evolution of Reward Systems Source: Adapted from Shermon, 2004, World at work, 2007, and AWLP, 2006 2.3 OBJECTIVES OF REWARD SYSTEMS Every hospitality industry employer wants to recoup back investment on its employees (Glenn, 2006). Traditionally, the purpose of reward systems is to monetarily reward desirable behaviour (Bartol and Srivastava 2002; Rajagopalan and Finkelstein 1992). But, further research suggests that there are other objectives which potentially can impact organization effectiveness (Lawler, 1993). 1. Attraction and Retention Enz (2009) affirms that attraction and retention are among the main HR areas of concern in the hospitality industry. A firms reward system can influence employees desire to stay in the company-as demonstrated by Bamberger and Meshoulam, 2000 and MacDuffie, 1995. Similarly, Gerhart and Milkovich, (1992) are convinced that organisations which give the most rewards tend to attract and retain most people. However, owing to its poor image in terms of remuneration and working conditions (Baum, 2007; Kusluvan and Kusluvan, 2000), the hospitality sector has lost its ability to attract and retain skilled staff compared to other sectors (Christensen Hughes, 2002; Lucas and Jeffries, 1991; Barron, 2008). On a serious note Terry and Lam (2000) cited in Chellen and Nunkoo (2010) warns that if hotels want to survive in todays highly competitive arena, they earnestly need to attract and retain quality employees. Though not being a panacea, to facilitate organisational commitment to employees has be en the idea proposed by Dawson and Abbott (2009) with the aim of a positive relationship with attraction and retention of these employees 2. Motivation of Performance Wagner (1990) claims that a primary concern in the design of reward systems is how well the plan will work in motivating employees. Responding to this, the works of Gerhart and Milkovich, 1992; Lawler, 1971, 1990; Bamberger and Meshoulam, 2000, MacDuffie, 1995 have proved that reward systems have been demonstrated to motivate performance under certain specifiable conditions. Simons and Enz (1995) research translated that hotel employees viewed bonuses associated to guest-satisfaction scores as an opportunity for motivation. Affirmatively, Torrington et al, (2009, p. 162) and Rabey (2000) allege that expectancy theorys advocates and behavioural sciences believe that employees will work harder if rewards are attached. Nonetheless, (Luthans and stajkovik, 1999) contest that there are a few who challenges the above perspectives. Such a scholar is Kohn, (1993), who concur that any incentive system makes people less enthusiastic, hence, less committed to excellence to their work. Notwithst anding with the above views, Chopin et al., (1995) have found that compensation depends on firm size and performance 3. Skills and Knowledge Just as reward systems can motivate performance they can motivate skill development by tying rewards to it (Lawler, 1996b). Jamison and OMara, 1991 and Pfeffer, 1998 explain that healthy work programmes are those which provide employees with the opportunity to increase and apply their knowledge and skills to different situations. Indeed, Kilik and Okumus (2005) ascertained that education and training were associated with productivity in hotels. Also, there has proved to be a positive relationship between training and employee retention, as reported by Dearden et al. (1996); Umiker (1994); and Blundell et al., (1996). However, being reputed for its high labour turnover culture (Denvir and McMahon, 1992; Deery, 1999; Tracey and Hinkin, 2006; Pizam and Thornburg, 2000; Rowley and Purcell, 2001; Lo and Lamm, 2005), the hospitality industry faces a lot of educational investment loss when training was provided to those leaving employees (Kang and Gould, 2002, Iverson and Deery, 1997; Rowle y and Purcell, 2001; Jenkins, 2001). 4. Culture Kerr and Slocum (2005) are among the advocates of the approach that the reward system can be a powerful means for influencing an organisations corporate culture. This is because of their important influence on communication, motivation, satisfaction, and membership (Lawler, 1998). Going a step further and in accordance with Brewster (1995); Bellenger et al, (1984); MilikiĆ¡ (2007); and Nacinovic et al., (2010), Lawler (1998) suggests that pay systems can help to change culture. As a deduction, Bauer and Erdogan (2009) admit that which behaviours are rewarded and punished determine the progression of a companys culture. Tracey and Hinkin (2000); and Davies et al., (2001) propose that increased wages and improved management practices such as increase staff motivation, commitment, flexibility and the quality of employees within an organisation could be efficient tools to remedy for the labour turnover culture in the hotel industry. However, Buultjens et al., (2007) emphasise o n the fact that hospitality businesses should adopt a more strategic approach to reward and monitor its effectiveness. 2.4 THE TOTAL REWARD SYSTEM The time when reward was only about cash and when people worked only for money, has nearly reached, if not yet, its extinction (Thompson, 2002; Phonsanam, 2010; Silverman, 2003; Schuster and Zingheim, 2000). Gao (2009) states that hoteliers have shifted from traditional to total reward systems. Simply defined, Total Rewards are the monetary and non-monetary return provided to employees in exchange for their time, efforts and results (Worldatwork, 2007). Alternatively, Zingheim and Schuster (2000) suggest that the new concept of total rewards comprise four total reward components as depicted in figure 2.4a. Figure 2.4a: Total Rewards-Source: Zingheim and Schuster, 2000 For the purpose of this study, the below model has been derived from the extensive list of total rewards provided by Worldatwork (2007) (Find in Appendix) which will be used to categorise Heritage Le Telfair Golf and Spa Resorts reward model. Figure 2.4b: TOTAL REWARD MODEL Source: Adapted from: Total Rewards: Different things to different employers Worldatwork (2007) A summary of the components found in the TR system with specific reference to the hospitality industry brought the classification of some points (Refer to Appendix B) The justification to adopt a total reward approach might be because it improves job satisfaction, work efficiencies, job performances, psychological contract and organizational citizenship behaviours (Zhou et al., 2009). Pessimistically, Kantor and Kao (2004) attributes to HR professionals of feeling confused or sensing chaos regarding TR thus contributing to the poor, complex and risky development and execution of TR (Thompson, 2002) leading to counter productivity and resource wastage (Albertson, 2000). Ergo, an advice would be that all pay components should be aligned complementarily and that the TR strategy should be derived from business strategy and, most importantly, be communicated to all employees, (Lyons and Ben-Ora, 2002; Gilbert and Cornish, 2005). 2.5 REWARD PRACTICES IN THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR 2.5.1. MYTH OR REALITY? Stereotype thinking has been revealed to be that the tourism and hospitality sector offers low pay, very little training and career prospects, limited scope for promotion, and unsociable working hours (WTTC, 2002a; HTF, 2000; Walmsley, 2004). Nickson (2007) also narrates the same facts but he associates this situation to the endemicity of unskilled or semi-skilled employees in the hospitality sector. 2.5.1.1 Low Pay Recurring evidence shows that that the compensation of regular employees of the hospitality is averagely lower comparatively to other sectors (Deery and Shaw, 1999; Hoel and Einarsen 2003; ABS, 2006a; Baum, 2007; Lucas and Jeffries, 1991; Tracey and Hinkin, 2000;; Worcester, 1999). However, hotels and restaurant recruiters are reporting that subject to the growth of the industry employers are increasingly offering attractive recruitment packages to attract the right staff (Wilson, 1999; HCIMA, 2010). Furthermore, wages in hospitality is on a rising trend owing to an increase in minimum wage (Clarke and Chen, 2007; McManus et al., 2011). Yet, Baram (2008) reports that minimum wage raise is not enough to survive in a high cost of living economy. 2.5.1.2 Unsociable Working Hours The hospitality sector requires employees to work relatively long hours (Pratten, 2003; Baum et al., 1997; Kelley-Patterson and George, 2001; OLeary and Deegan, 2005; Wallace, 2003; Lo and Lamm, 2005; Baum, 2006; Karatepe and Uludog, 2007 and Wong and Ko, 2009; Birdir, 2002) which deter a good work life balance. Further contributing to the black list, this sector is also associated to high-burn out service jobs (Maxwell; Faulkner and Patiar, 1997). Astonishingly, we have not come across any studies which sing the praises of working hours in the hospitality sector. It can thus be deduced that the hospitality workplace will fit only those who love the job environment and working night shifts that Barrons et al., 2007 study concluded. 2.5.1.3 Limited Training The EFILWC (2004) and STB (2002) stress that training is viewed as interesting by both employers and employees but is not the priority due to time and money constraint. Jameson, 2000; Dawson, 2006; Roberts 1995; Pratten, 2003; Lucas, 2002; Maxwell et al., 2004; Choe and Dickson, 2010 and Cairncross and Buultjens, 2007 also ratify the lack of investment in training. Indeed, Sigala et al., (2001) and Lashley and Best (2002) affiliate this with the high labour turnover in the industry. Howbeit, employers who admit that employee training has become preponderant for hotels, gain from improved service quality, decreased labour costs, increased productivity and profitability, high retention (Kim, 2006). Such companies are Ritz Carlton which provides its employees with 200 hours of training each year (Snell and Bohlander, 2010), Choice Hotels International, Coastal Hotel Group, Four Seasons Regent Hotels and Resorts, and Disneys Polynesian Resort (Enz and Siguaw, 2000). 2.5.1.4 Limited scope for promotion and career prospects In accordance with Getz, 1994; Hjalager and Andersen, 2001 and Page et al., 2001, Walmsleys (2004) exact words for tourism jobs are lacking in a clear career structure. Furthermore, various studies have shown that the hospitality sector is not a career option but rather a refuge sector. (Szivas and Riley, 1999; Riley et al., 2002; Wildes, 2007). Wright and Pollert (2006) also talk about an inhibitation of promotion of employees in hotels. Though, Hai-yans and Baums (2006) survey findings revealed that a majority of 68.1% envisage their future within the hotel sector, the other facet of the research is that nearly half of the staff feel uncertain about their hotel career and whine about promotion opportunities. Regardless of the above, Visit Scotland/George Street Research, (2002) and Wilson (1999) found that careers in the industry were in fact considered challenging and interesting. 2.5.2 FINANCIAL REWARDS Financial reward are rewards that enhance directly the financial well-being of the employee Chelladurai, (2006) and consists of base and variable pay, employee benefits and allowances (Armstrong, 2002). In an effort to develop a comprehensive understanding of the remuneration in the hotel sector, Mars and Mitchell (1974, p.27) and Wood (1994, 1997) suggested that payment to hotel employees from the perspective of a total payment system is comprised of basic pay ,subsidized food and lodging, tips, fiddles and knock offs. Base pay Base pay is a crucial component of any individuals total pay, and is used as a tool by many employers to attract talent (Sturman, 2006; Walker and Miller, 2008; Saks et al., 1996). Basic pay is the rate of pay which notionally reflects the market value for a job in an organisation (Heery and Noon, 2001). By far, many studies discerned that wages were preponderant and powerful motivational factors among hospitality employees (Simons and Enz 1995; Griffin and Moorhead, 2009; Blinder, 1990; Lawler, 1991e). Nevertheless, as Milkovich and Newman, 1990 expressed, pay is only one attribute among many others in attracting candidates. Pay for Performance Plans Most hospitality businesses are currently using some form of pay-for-performance compensation (Berman, 2010). Pay for performance has often been viewed as a norm of distributive justice by Campbell et al., (1998). UNISON (2001) highlights that the most common types of performance pay are piecework, payment by result, organisation wide incentives, merit pay, performance- related pay, competence based pay, profit related pay. When pay advancement is based upon an assessment of individual performance, against pre-established objectives, it can be referred to as performance related pay (Egan, 2010; Tanke, 2000). Nonetheless, when employees receive permanent pay increases based upon individual performance assessments, this can be referred to as merit pay (Heneman and Werner, 2005; Park and Sturman, 2009). Indeed, research evidence clearly supports that pay-for-performance plans have been found to help achieve desired results, at both the individual level (Bonner and Sprinkle, 2002; Gerhart and Milkovich, 1990; Heneman and Werner, 2005; Lawler, 1971, 1981; 1992; Schwab and Olson, 1990) and organizational level (Gerhart and Milkovich, 1990; Gomez-Mejia and Welbourne, 1988; Lawler, 1981). In contrast Hayes and Ninemeier (2009) avow that hospitality managers disagree that pay should be linked to individual performance as this has proved unbeneficial to teamwork. Many other counteracting studies divulged that PFP plans do not always affect performance (Heneman and Werner, 2005; Kahn and Sherer, 1990; Kuvaas, 2006; Pearce et al., 1985; Rynes et al., 2004 and Benson and Brown 2000) and does not really lead to motivation (Marsden and Richardson, 1994; Harris, 2001). Furthermore, PFP has been categorised as being subject to favouritism, personal bias, and deliberate distortion (Pfeffer, 1998; Milkovich and Boudreau, 1991; Campbell et al., 1998) and as an anxiety generator among employees (Bassett, 1994). Thus, the minimum requirement for the proper functioning of PFP should be, as Kessler (1994) says agreeable to employees. Tipping Tipping is a common practice in the hotel industry and is a considerable source of revenue for service employees (Lynn, 2003; Azar, 2004). Lynn (2001) defines tipping as an economic payment that occurs in the context of a commercial exchange thereby encouraging many hotel managers to view it as a useful management tool. Ogbonna and Harris (2002) perceive tipping as an effective way to control employee behaviour and wage cost, and a potential path towards organizational profitability, whilst Lynn (2001) distinguishes tipping as a tool to measure customer satisfaction and servers performance. Also, tips represent an opportunity for workers to supplement low pay level (Wood, 1992). It is commonly believed that there is a relationship between service quality and tip size (Lynn and Graves, 1996; Conlin et al., 2003). However, empirical research examining this relationship found it to be insignificant (Lynn and Graves, 1996; Lynn and McCall, 2000; Lynn 2001; Azar, 2003a). As such, tipping is an investment for future good service and deters reduced attention (Pearson, 2010; Bodvarsson and Gibson, 1999; Lynn and Withiam, 2008; Lynn and Thomas-Haysbert, 2003). Azar (2007b) strictly disputes this and notes that future service is not dependent on tipping. Consequently, Casey (2008) warns service managers not to count on tipping to motivate staff to provide good service as researchers have found tipping negatively effects employee commitment. Withal, Wood (1992); Lucas, (1996); and Shamir, (1983) criticise this practice as research has demonstrated that tipping can bring perturbation, increase competition and individualism, and overdependence on customers among workers at the workplace. Williams et al. (2004) identified that the collection and distribution of tips method was also customary by managers. 2.6 NON-FINANCIAL REWARDS FOR EMPLOYEES Direct financial rewards albeit play a central role in the attraction of talented employees, it has been proved that they trail only a short-term impact on employees motivational levels (Ellis and Pennington, 2004; Samodien, 2004). This is where non-financial reward programs come in handy. They are in fact tied to the quantity and quality of individual performance to generate greatest impact on improving overall business value (Stolovitch et al., 2002). Non financial rewards, according to De cenzo and Robbins, (1994, p.413), emphasise on making life easier on the job more attractive. According to Armstrong (2002) it includes of recognition, achievement and responsibility. Non-Financial Recognition (NFR) I can live for two months on a good compliment. Mark Twain According to Moody (2008, p. 277), non-financial compensation is defined as satisfaction that a person receives from the job itself or from the psychological and/or physical environment in which the person works. Recognition forms an indispensible part of the total reward system of a company (Dessler, 2009; Human Capital Institute, 2009). Recognition typically relates to formally recognising employees accomplishment to strengthen employee loyalty, intrinsic motivation and productivity (Aamodt 2007; Dessler 2009; Marchington and Wilkinson 2008; Blum and Tremarco, 2008). Liu (2010) expresses that NFR can convey the message on the type of performance that the organisation expects from them to other employees Silverman (2004) and Human Capital Institute (2009) clarify that the NFR schemes may vary from informal to formal structures (See figure 2.6.3 a) Figure 2.6a: A dissection of Non-financial Recognition Schuster and Zingheim (2000) categorise recognition as being verbal, written, work related, social, symbolic, tangible, and financial. According to an employee recognition survey carried out in 2002, 84 percent of the responding 391 companies had the following forms of recognition: Note: Total adds more to 100% because respondents were asked to indicate all that apply. Gift Certificates 63% Other 31% Cash 58% Watches 28% Office accessories 41% Electronics 24% Jewellery 40% Travel 14% Household items 35% Debit cards 6% Table 2.6b: Employee Recognition survey Findings-Source: Compensation and Benefits Report, 2003 Some authors highlight the essential nature of employee recognition as a vector of motivation (Dutton 1998; Appelbaum and Kamal 2000; Saunderson 2004; Grawitch et al., 2006), identity (Dejours, 1993), component of meaningful work (Mow, 1987; Morin, 2001) and company success (Ford and Fina, 2006; Armstrong and Brown 2006; Cilmi 2005; Schuster and Zingheim, 2000). In fact, a lack of recognition embodies the second-largest risk factor for psychical anxiety at work (Brun and Biron et al., 2003) and to high turnover in hospitality industry (Raleigh, 1998). Surprisingly, Nelson (1998) reports that employee recognition might not be beneficial when it becomes annoying to others who have to hear the continuous praises of their colleagues. Moreover, it has been found that traditional forms of recognition such as Achievement Awards, Cash Substitutes, Nominal Gifts or Food, and Public Perks have diminished in importance for most of todays employees (Nelson, 2004). Results from various studies ha ve indicated that indicate that wage increases and cash incentives are important motivational rewards for lower-level employees (Hong et al,. 1995; Arnolds and Venter, 2007). Thus, managers should bear in mind that recognition might not always be appropriate for everybody. Fiddles and Knock-offs Although recruitment, retention, and understaffing issues in hospitality are well documented (Baum, 2002; Brien, 2004; Choi et al., 2000; Gustafson, 2002; Jameson, 2000), there is poor literature dedicated to the issue of fiddles and knock-offs (Jones and Groenenboom, 2002). In addition to tips, some hotel and catering workers might also benefit from Fiddles and Knock-offs (Wood, 1992). Fiddles refers to pilferage that goes on in hotels. Whilst knock-offs is a particular form of fiddle involving the purloining of (usually) small items such as soap and towels, but mostly consisting of stealing food (Mars, 1973; Mars and Nicod 1981). In accordance with Mars and Mitchell (1976) and Nickson (2007) who establish that fiddles and knock-offs are in fact institutionalised in hotels whereby management collude on allowing to a certain extent this practice, Gill et al. (2002) have also stated that small-scale theft of hotel property are tolerated as a form of shrinkage. The reasoning behind mig ht be explained by Hollinger and Clark (1983) who found that employer retraction against theft was inversely related to theft. Despite that, agreement is widespread that theft in the workplace is a serious problem (Greenberg, 2002, Weber et al., 2003) and has proved costly for businesses (McClurg, 2006). Hence, the challenge lies in managements concern in setting parameters beyond which pilferage will not be tolerated (Mars and Mitchell, 1976). Fringe Benefits Heneman and Schwab (1985) defined benefits as indirect pay or payment for time not worked such as health care, retirement account, and insurance. Benefits account for a big portion of the reward package, and employees recognise them as an integral part of their reward package (Gross and Friedman, 2004; Williams et al., 2007). In its simplest forms benefits may include: breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks, that the employees and their families can have (Rubis, 2004), free cab rides home after certain times (Oldfield and ODonovan, 2001). Namasivayam and Zhao. (2007) apprised that benefits should be offered to all employees as they found out that benefits had greater positive effects on motivation, retention and job satisfaction on non-managerial employees. Considering the lack of academic research in the field of employee benefits in the hospitality industry, information on employee benefits at three international hotels has been gathered from their respective websites in the table 2.6c. Conversely, Hansen (2005) recur that the cost of employee benefits in the united states is killing profitability for whole sectors. Because of such costs, organisations are increasingly implementing cost containment strategies to lower labour expenses (Lucero and Allen, 1994). The same authors continue to argue that negative repercussions can range from mild dissatisfaction to severe outcomes like outrage, resentment, and anger. Table 2.6c: Examples of Employee Benefits in international hotels THE RITZ CARLTON FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS SHERATON HOTELS AND RESORTS Well-tailored Uniforms Medical, Dental, Vision Coverage Life and Accidental Death Dismemberment Insurance Short and Long Term Disability Health Care and Family Care Spending Accounts Domestic Partner Benefits Vacation, Sick/Personal and Holiday Pay Retirement 401(k) Plan Employee Stock Purchase Plan Employee Assistance Program Educational Assistance Program Employee Discounts on hotel rooms, restaurant outlet meals and retail items Complimentary Employee Meals Complimentary stays at Four Seasons properties with discounted meals Paid holidays / vacation Educational assistance Dental and medical   / disability / life insurance Retirement benefits / pension Employee service awards Annual employee party / social and sporting events Complimentary meals in dedicated employee restaurants Comprehensive, low cost health insurance for employee and family Dental and vision insurance coverage Company-sponsored retirement plans (U.S. 401(k) program) Life Insurance and Disability Insurance Flexible Spending Accounts Employee Stock Purchase Plan Employee Assistance Program Adoption Assistance Domestic Partner eligibility SOURCE: Adapted from: http://corporate.ritzcarlton.com/en/careers/benefits.htm, http://jobs.fourseasons.com/workingatfourseasons/benefits/Pages/fsbenefits.aspx, http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/careers/offer/benefits.html 2.7 MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF REWARD SYSTEMS You cannot improve what you cannot measure Lord Kelvin Pfeffer (1998) remarked that there was little devotion in measuring the efficacy of rewards although the design of the reward system loomed much management attention. However, Armstrong et al. (2009) rate the importance of such practice even above the design and execution of rewards. The primordial reasons for measuring reward effectiveness are to apperceive the benefits and impediments of a reward strategy Hodgson (2010) and to discern potential areas for improvement (Armstrong et al. (2009). Yet, Heneman (2002) comments that the evaluation of a reward systems effectiveness remains often overlooked. For instance, reward survey conducted by the CIPD in 2009 showed that only 32 percent of respondents had carried out any form of evaluation. In addition, a survey of reward by e-reward in 2009 established that only a low proportion of 12 percent of respondents had evaluated their performance-related pay schemes. Tools used to carry out the evaluation, according to e-reward (2009a) are: External market survey Staff attitude survey Benchmarking Internal data analysis Equal pay reviews Apparently, simpler methods for such practice do exist. For example, a survey carried out by Edenred concluded that reliance on manager observation, feedback and employee surveys were common for measuring reward effectiveness Hodgson (2010). Other criteria that could be used to measure reward effectiveness include improved performance, compliance with laws and regulations, cost reduction, contribution to strategic plans (Bergmann and Scarpello, 2002); Gomez-Mejia, 1992) and employee attitudes (Ram and Prabhakar, 2010). Hence, hospitality businesses could engage in carrying out such assessments in order to investigate the problem of high labour turnover in the industry. The tendency for overlooking the evaluation of rewards as highlighted by Heneman (2002) can be justified by the following reasons provided by Pfeffer and Sutton (2006): Lack of time and resources to evaluate Bewildering sources of information Lack of training and skills in statistics Laziness Constant change in organisations 2.8 THE GAP BETWEEN HOW MANAGERS REWARD EMPLOYEES AND HOW EMPLOYEES WANT TO BE REWARDED Figure 2.8: What Do Employees Want From Their Jobs?-Sources: Foreman Facts, Labor Relations Institute of NY (1946); Lawrence Lindahl, Personnel Magazine (1949) Repeated with similar results: Ken Kovach (1980); Valerie Wilson, Achievers International (1988) Bob Nelson, Blanchard Training Development (1991) Sheryl Don Grimme, GHR Training Solutions (1997-2001) Most managers feel that all employees want is more money (Nelson, 2003). Research shows there is a wide gap between managers and employees on this issue, as shown in the figure 2.8.1. However, other survey findings revealed new elements which have not been found by the original study in 1996. Thus, the below list has been compiled from various authors survey findings on the subject in hand. Fair (competitive) Compensation (Perkins, 2007) Flexible working hours and time-off from work (Nelson,

Lehman brothers, credit crunch and the recession

Lehman brothers, credit crunch and the recession Introduction This report will focus on the credit crunch and recession and how they have affected the business environment that firms that operate within it and how their resources were affected. A case study on Lehman Brothers Inc is also included and will analyse the strategies of the firm and how it coped. It is important to understand that the credit crunch and recession are to separate situations but can occur at the same time. A credit crunch happens when banks and other credit companies are less willing to lend money and charge high interest rates to compensate the increased risk of lending; where as the term for a recession is used when an economy experiences two consecutive quarters of negative growth. For example the total number of goods and services produced by a country (Gross Domestic Product) would have to decline on a quarter by quarter basis for six months to be deemed a recession. The Credit Crunch The term ‘credit crunch was once a term only understood and used by economists but over the past two years it has been widely used in the media and in day to day life to describe the money troubles people are experiencing. The credit crunch can be simplified as banks and other credit lending firms being more aware of the risk customers and each other pose when lending therefore placing higher interest rates on loans to cover risk or simply declining to offer loans to higher risk customers. This cautious behaviour leads to dearer credit cards and mortgages becoming very expensive, pensions and Isa rates will decline. Investors will also be less willing to part with their money as stock markets fluctuate rapidly and in some cases bankruptcy and repossession will occur. Current Credit Crunch The credit crunch we are currently experiencing started in 2007 but was caused by companies strategies that worked in the economic boom but as the boom ended and the economic climate changed companies failed to react. Before 2007 the world economies were experiencing a boom and with money flowing freely financial companies became reckless, lending money with cheap interest rates to high risk customers who invested into property. The US Recklessness In the US companies were even more reckless giving billions of dollars worth of mortgages to customers who were high risk; for example no job, income or assets to secure against. The companies justified these risky mortgages by insisting if the customers ran into trouble rising house prices would allow them to remortgage their properties. At the time this strategy worked as the central bank interest rates were low but as they rose companies still carried on with the same strategy not suited to accommodate the rise and as house prices began to fall borrowers started to default on payments sending everyone into panic. These factors alone were not the sole reason for the global credit crunch; it was the way in which the debt was sold on to investors that spread the problem global. US banks were packaging sub-prime loans (people with weak credit ratings) into mortgage backed securities (collateralised debt obligations) these were sold on to hedge funds and investment banks who decided they were a great way to generate high returns, resulting in higher bonuses and profit margins. When interest rates rose and house prices fell customers started to default on their loans, the value of these investments plummeted resulting in huge losses for banks globally. How it affected the UK UK banks and financial companies were watching how easy the US companies were making money so invested heavily to gain a piece of the high returns the US companies were reporting, the investment of choice was the sub-prime backed investments and as the US housing market crumpled and interest rates rose the returns decreased and resulted in companies writing off billions of pounds worth of debt. As the risk of these investments increased finding new investors became impossible and many UK banks were using a securitisation strategy by using the investment market to fund their mortgage business and as the investments could not be sold the banks were left with the debt, causing them to decrease lending to safe guard their finances or in some cases fall into administration or become nationalised as Northern Rock did. The result of the credit crunch meant borrowing rates increased rapidly meaning the good value mortgages people were enjoying were no longer available, financial businesses became paranoid as to whom to lend money, increasing interest rates and asking for higher deposits to secure against default on payments. Businesses in trouble The stock markets were in turmoil and dropped sharply as confidence plunged and as powerful financial companies fell to the credit crunch paranoia set in and companies tried to secure themselves against facing the same fate. This resulted in businesses being unable to run their day to day operations. In most product based companies there is a time gap between production and sales, and some credit is needed to pay for production before receiving cash from sales. Many companies relied on credit for these cash flow issues and in the economic boom overdraft facilities etc were easily accessed, but as the credit crunch set in financial companies cut down on lending leaving many companies with higher costs than income leading to cuts in production and workforce to balance their finances. As the credit crunch caused banks to be nationalised and financial firms to go bust, the rate in which banks lend to each other (libor rate) rose to its highest since 1998 way above the Bank of Englands base rate this indicated that they were concerned as to who may go bust or simply didnt have any money to lend. This tense environment increased peoples worries and loss of confidence in each other indicated how hard the credit crunch had it the financial sectors once vast resources hard. Recession The term recession is used when an economy experiences two consecutive quarters of negative growth. For example the total number of goods and services produced by a country (Gross Domestic Product) would have to decline on a quarter by quarter basis for six months to be deemed a recession. The latest recession has been blamed on the fall of the financial markets but many causes have attributed to the severe downturn of the global markets. As the credit crunch hit the world economies slowed down, and the price of raw materials increased. Within a year the price of oil soared 40%, other materials such as steel and wheat etc saw similar rises. This resulted in higher production costs for companies that use these materials and transportation, energy and the service sector also saw costs increase due to the increased cost of gas and oil. When a business develops increased costs they tend to try and overcome them by raising the cost of their product or service so their consumers incur the cost which is called cost push inflation, this is where income becomes squeezed thus reducing disposable income. They can also cover these costs by cutting down on other costs such as workforce, some companies margins could not stretch to meet the higher material costs and subsequently went out of business. For example Silverjet, all these factors affect the economic downturn and contribute to the recession. The collapse of the housing market also contributed to the decline in the world economies. In boom years confidence was high and borrowing and saving was encouraged, this meant consumer spending was at a high and became a major factor behind economic growth. Consumers were able to remortgage their home easily as their homes grew in value, which enabled more spending and construction was easily affordable and profitable as people had money to buy or build new homes. As the boom came to an abrupt end the factors are reversed, borrowing is now harder and less attractive as higher interest rates are attached thus meaning less money to spend meaning less demand, leading to economic growth to contract. With borrowing limited and spending low, house prices continue to decrease reducing the effectiveness of the policies being used to combat the economic downturn such as the monetary and expansionary fiscal policy. The loss of confidence in the financial sector as the credit crunch hit has created a sense of paranoia amongst people who have lost their confidence in the wider economy. This has stopped people investing even if they have money to do so they are keen to keep hold of it as security as they are unsure what to expect. Spending has also decreased for the same reasons consumers are cutting back on shopping etc, this causes companies to enter into price wars or to cut down on production, costs are cut to enable the company to offer the lowest price or to simply survive. Cost cutting measures usually mean job losses, this increases unemployment which limits the amount people can spend therefore meaning companies need to make me cuts; it turns into a vicious cycle that government stimulus packages try to combat. Lehman Brothers Inc. Lehman Brothers Inc operated at a wholesale level, dealing with governments, companies and other financial institutions. Its core business included buying and selling shares and fixed income assets, trading and research, investment banking, investment management and private equity. In September 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company became insolvent with finances totalling $639 billion in assets and debt worth $619 billion; it became the largest bankruptcy in history. The company employed 25,000 employees worldwide including 5,000 and was the fourth largest US financial bank at the time of the bankruptcy. It also became the biggest victim of the subprime mortgage disaster that had put the global financial sector into meltdown. History In 1844 23 year old Henry Lehman the son of a cattle merchant immigrated to the United States from Rimpar, Bavaria. He set up home in Montgomery, Alabama where he opened a dry-goods shop. In 1847, following the arrival of his brother Emanuel Lehman, the firm became H. Lehman and Bro. With the arrival of their youngest brother, Mayer Lehman, in 1850, the firm changed its name again and Lehman Brothers was founded. The brothers expanded their dry goods store into a cotton business after noticing the potential the highly valued cotton had, even accepting cotton as a payment for products within their shop. Cotton trading became a key part of their business and they eventually relocated to New York, there Lehman became a member of the Coffee Exchange and then on to the New York Stock Exchange in 1887. In 1899, it underwrote its first public offering, the preferred and common stock of the International Steam Pump Company. The company then went from strength to strength underwriting many companies and becoming a powerhouse in the financial industry, prospering through world wars, civil wars and the great depression but the US house market crash proved to be its undoing as greed and the need for higher profits led them to take the decision to invest heavily into the subprime mortgage market which led to its demise. Subprime Mortgages Subprime Mortgages are loans offered to customers who would not usually be accepted for credit due to a poor credit score. The loans often have higher interest rates due to the higher risk a company takes by lending to a subprime borrower. There are many types of subprime mortgage plans on offer, the most common is the adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) which at first charges a fixed interest rate and then switches to a floating rate plus a margin. ARMs can be misleading to subprime borrowers who jump at the chance to take out a mortgage they were previously denied. By charging lower rates at first the mortgages reined in borrowers but as their rates were reset to variable rate which were considerably higher than the rates the borrowers were previously paying and many could not offered the new payment requirements resulting in loan defaults. During the boom Lehman were trading tremendously well and decided to invest in mortgage lending by acquiring five mortgage lenders, which included subprime mortgage lenders BNC Mortgage and Aurora Loan services which specialised in Alt-A Loans. Alt-A Loans are categorised between prime and subprime loans, Alt-A borrowers have clean credit histories but have limited documentation therefore occurring a higher risk, these borrowers proved very attractive to lenders as they could charge them higher interest rates than normal prime loans but were less risky than subprime borrowers. Lehman Brothers Success Lehman Brothers acquisitions proved a success at first; record revenues from Lehmans real estate businesses enabled revenues in the capital markets unit to surge 56% from 2004 to 2006, a faster rate of growth than other businesses in investment banking or asset management. The firm securitised $146 billion of mortgages in 2006, a 10% increase from 2005. Lehman reported record profits every year from 2005 to 2007. In 2007, the firm reported net income of a record $4.2 billion on revenue of $19.3 billion. Lehman Brothers were still continuing to grow and in February 2007 stock reached a record $86.18, meaning Lehman had a market capitalisation of close to $60 billion. This masked the real problem as by the first quarter of 2007 defaults on subprime mortgages rose to a seven-year high. Investors started to have concerns that rising defaults would affect Lehmans profitability, but the firm reported record revenues and profit for its fiscal first quarter. These concerns led to Lehmans chief financial officer (CFO) insisting that the risks posed by rising home delinquencies were well contained and would have little impact on the firms earnings. He also said that he did not foresee problems in the subprime market spreading to the rest of the housing market or hurting the U.S. economy. This statement showed the company had become reckless and the prospect of higher profits and keeping investors happy became their main concern and as long as profits were good the strategy stayed the same Credit Crunch hits Five months after Lehmans Brothers chief financial officers assurances that the company would be unaffected and safe from the housing problems the companys risks seemed to be catching up with it. Lehmans stocks fell sharply as two of Bear Stearns hedge funds failed, it caused them to shut down the BNC unit and cut 2500 jobs and also shut down some of its Aurora offices but as this may have been a sign of them cutting down their mortgage portfolio they continued to pursue the mortgage market becoming the major player gaining a portfolio of mortgage backed securities four times that of shareholder equity. The risk seemed to have paid off as their stocks increased and calm returned to the market, this was the opportunity to trim down their massive portfolio and release funds to secure against any losses the mortgage market may encounter by investing in other areas, however they seemed to choose to keep hold of the bulging portfolio. Lehman Brothers leverage was a high 31 in 2007 which in tandem with its massive mortgage portfolio made it increasingly vulnerable to any change in the market. In March 2008 Bear Stearns struggles continued and confidence in Lehman was fading resulting in a drop in shares of over 40% and although they managed to increase confidence by raising $4billion dollars people were becoming increasingly worried about the size of the companys high risk portfolio. In June Lehman recorded a second quarter loss of $3billion but managed to keep confidence high by raising $6billion through investors and noticing the ticking time bomb they were sitting on boosted its liquidity pool to an estimated $45 billion, decreased gross assets by $147 billion, reduced its exposure to residential and commercial mortgages by 20%, and cut down leverage from a factor of 32 to about 25. However, these measures were perceived as being too little, too late. On August 22, 2008, shares in Lehman closed up 5% (16% for the week) on reports that the state-controlled Korea Development Bank was considering buying the bank. Most of those gains were quickly eroded as news came in that Korea Development Bank was facing difficulties pleasing regulators and attracting partners for the deal. On September 9 Lehmans shares plunged 45% to $7.79, after it was reported that the state-run South Korean firm had put talks on hold. This caused the companys hedge fund clients to pull out, while its short-term creditors cut credit lines. On September 10, Lehman announced shocking fiscal third-quarter results early that highlighted the feebleness of its financial position. The firm reported a loss of $3.9 billion, including a write-down of $5.6 billion as well as these shocking results Moodys Investor Service dealt the company another blow as it announced that it was reviewing Lehmans credit ratings, and also said that Lehman would have to sell a majority stake to a strategic partner in order to avoid a rating downgrade. These developments led to a 42% plunge in the stock on September 11. With $1 billion left in liquidised assets, Lehman was quickly running out of time. Last-ditch efforts over the weekend of September 13 between Lehman, Barclays PLC and Bank of America, aimed at working out a takeover of Lehman, were unsuccessful. On Monday September 15, Lehman declared bankruptcy, resulting in the stock plunging 93% from its previous close on September 12

The Men of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes Essay -- essays research papers

The Men of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes â€Å"I Love Little Pussy† I love little pussy, /Her coat is so warm, /And if I don’t hurt her, /She’ll do me no harm. /So I’ll not pull her tail, /Nor drive her away, /But pussy and I, /Very gently will play. (http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/pussy.asp) â€Å"Georgie Porgie† Georgie Porgie, puddin’ and pie, /Kissed the girls and made them cry. /When the boys came out to play, /Georgie Porgie ran away. (http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/georgie.asp) As a young child, mother goose nursery rhymes are nearly the entire basis for learning. By memorizing and reciting these verses, children develop memorization skills, verbal skills through communicating them effectively, and vocabulary. Of course, these nursery rhymes also establish valuable life lessons too. â€Å"Humpty Dumpty† and â€Å"Jack and Jill† both teach us about the violence that can occur as a result of carelessness, and â€Å"Queen of Hearts† teaches children that bad things happen to those who steal. But not all of these nursery rhymes come with such happy lessons. The two that I have chosen teach a more morbid lesson. Each is about how men pursue women for sex. Both illustrate examples of men using women for sex and discarding them, however, their approaches stem from roots as far apart as the polar caps. In â€Å"Georgie Porgie†, Georgie is portrayed as an abusive character. Someone who takes the more up-front, perverted, approach to women. Georgie is illustrated as someone who takes advantage ...

The Battle of the Sexes :: Education Educational Essays

The Battle of the Sexes All students deserve an education that nurtures them, providing opportunities and experiences that inspire their creative and intellectual minds. Whether a student gets this education from a man or a woman should not make a difference. The fact of the matter is that in many cases the gender of a teacher does affect a student's ability to learn. In many instances, it also matters to some teachers if the student is a girl or a boy. Why would this be so? From research and personal observations and experiences, I will answer this question. At the elementary school level, the majority of teachers are women. In an experiment form the University of California, Los Angeles, boys were found to have better reading scores than the girls when "taught" by a machine. When a female teacher was brought in to give the lesson, the girls outperformed the boys (Thomas 122). Why is this? Maybe it's the difference in the behavior styles of the boys and girls. David Thomas, in his essay "The Mind of Man", says, "Boys are, across all cultures, much more boisterous and overly competitive than girls. They seek out physical competition ... this makes them harder to control than girls." Little boys create more distractions by being loud whereas girls are more docile and less disruptive. Tony Mooney, a secondary- school headmaster, says, "Women teachers find boys too noisy... and reward more 'feminine' behavior" (qtd. in Thomas 121). I am one of those women teachers that like the quietness of girls. From experiences of the past, I would say th at most other female teachers feel the same way I do. I can remember several instances in the past involving situations that concerned my brothers in relation to their education. My brother John and I attended the same elementary school. Since I was four grades ahead of him, he eventually ended up with many of the same teachers I had during my elementary school years. I went to pick John up from his second grade class as I did every day. One day in particular though, his teacher, Mrs. Janet Nitahara, who by the way was one of my favorite teachers, called me in to discuss John's behavior. When I walked in to the class I saw my brother sitting in the corner of the room in a chair. Mrs. Nitahara said that he talked too much and needed to learn how to be quiet and behave in class like I used to.

Social Discrimination Essay -- Sociology

During the Spring of 2012, The University of Southern Mississippi's basketball team made their first appearance at the NCAA tournament since 1991. The team played against Kansas State University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During the second half of the game, Kansas State was defeating the University of Southern Mississippi, due to their freshman point guard Angel Rodriguez who contributed many points. The Wildcats were leading the game by 70-64. As Angel Rodriguez was performing a free throw, some University of Southern Mississippi prep band students chanted â€Å"Where's your green card?† This incident made national news and labeled the band students of the University of Southern Mississippi as ignorant, immature, and racist. The intense of emotions towards Southern Miss' chance to continue having a position in the tournament struck the band members to resort discrimination against Rodriguez by using derogatory language. There are different stances that can take place when evaluating an incident such as this one. The University of Southern Mississippi is located in the Southern region of the United States which has an infamous reputation for racial discrimination and division for several years. When this is looked at by people from other regions of the United States, they will assume that the band members were racist. Angel Rodriguez is from Puerto Rico, an island in the northeastern Carribean. The majority of Puerto Rico's population consists of Hispanics and Latinos. Puerto Rico is not a U.S. State rather it is a commonwealth of the United States of America. This gives Puerto Ricans the benefits of having a United States citizenship; therefore not requiring them to have a green card to be in the United States of America. A gree... ...ed the boundary of the band student's perceived territory in the United States because of his ethnic background. Southern Miss' prep band has members of minority backgrounds. If the minorities also participated in the taunting, it shows that geography and racial discrimination is instilled in all races that are citizens of the United States. Rodriguez lives and attended school in Miami, Florida and for the band to question his citizenship status shows how racial divisiveness occurs even within the close knit regions of the United States. Miami, Florida is known for a large and thriving Spanish speaking population in the United States. Works Cited Williams, Melvin D. 2003. Racism: The Production, Reproduction, and Obsolescence of Social Inferiority. In New directions, ed. Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, and Peter N. Peregrine. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.