Is Corporate Social Responsibility a Way to Cover...

Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Motivations behind CSR 2 2.1 Self-Interest 2 2.2 Ethics 2 3. Arguments for CSR 3 3.1 Innovation 3 3.2 Cost-Saving 3 3.3 Brand Differentiation 3 3.4 Long-Term Thinking 3 3.5 Customer Engagement and Employee Engagement 3 4. Arguments against CSR 3 4.1 Misdirections 4 4.2 Controversial Industries 4 5. Conclusion 4 6. References 4 Is Corporate Social Responsibility a way to cover exorbitant charges? 1. Introduction Various authors have different definitions of what Corporate Social Responsibility. According to Lorde Holmes and Richard Watts, 1998 in their publication ‘Making Good Business Sense,’ they define CSR as â€Å"the continuing commitment by businesses to behave ethically and contribute to†¦show more content†¦2.2 Ethics Under the altruistic/ethical reason for CSR, firms believe that it’s paramount to do social good no matter the impact such actions would have on the financial position of the business. This principle depicts the business just as any other person with ethical responsibilities. While it is likely that enterprises are likely to engage in CSR as a result of self-interest, it’s quite unlikely that business will undertake CSR as an altruistic reason. This is because altruistic reasons go against business principles of profit maximization. For publicly held companies, such an action as pursuing CSR for altruistic reasons will go against shareholder interests creating a conflict between them and managers. Milton Fredman, 1970 was against altruistic reasons for CSR. He wrote in the New York Magazine that â€Å"the social responsibility of a business is to increase profits. In most cases, its only a privately owned enterprises that will be able to undertake CSR for ethical purposes depending on the interest of the owner(s). 3. Arguments for CSR Further, we need to look at the arguments for CSR. According to James Epstein, 2012 in an article in the Forbes Magazine, â€Å"Six Reasons Companies Should Embrace CSR† he gives the following six reasons to urge businesses to adopt CSR: Innovation, Cost-Saving, Brand differentiation, Long-term Thinking, Customer Engagement and Employee Engagement. 3.1 Innovation Under Innovation, Epstein, 2012Show MoreRelatedThe Olympus Scandal8082 Words   |  33 PagesJapan. In the 1990’s, Olympus incurred significant losses on financial investments made. These were subsequently hidden with the aid of investment companies by shifting the investments around. In the 2000’s, these losses were to be repaid by paying exorbitant merger and acquisition fees to these investment companies. After newly-appointed CEO Michael Woodford blew the whistle on these frauds, the company got into trouble. 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Dispute on Employee Motivation Free Essays

Arnold Bright is the Director of Human Resources at Company XYZ, in the same industry as Company ABC. John Chaplin has recent joined Company XYZ as Human Resources Manager. A recent graduate with a major in Organizational Behavior, he presents new ideas to Bright almost everyday. We will write a custom essay sample on Dispute on Employee Motivation or any similar topic only for you Order Now But, Chaplin has a speech disorder. He stammers, and cannot make himself clear at all times. A week back, Bright and Chaplin began to argue about employee motivation. Bright informed Chaplin that their company has the budget to enhance employee motivation with the best motivation enhancement program in the industry. He was referring to the use of Company ABC’s motivation enhancement program for its employees. Company ABC happens to be a leader in the industry, after all. Yet, Chaplin asserted that Company XYZ should develop its own employee motivation enhancement program with new research on the needs of employees at Company XYZ in particular. The argument turned into a dispute because Bright refused to agree with Chaplin. The latter was threatened that he would be fired if he fails to follow Bright’s instructions to implement Company ABC’s program. The Problem: Chaplin would lose his job if he does not agree to implement Company ABC’s program for employee motivation enhancement in Company XYZ. He knows, however, that his boss has an amenable personality. Thus, Chaplin would like to provide further information to Bright. He firmly believes that Bright has to be explained why it is best for Company XYZ to develop its own employee motivation enhancement program based on new research on its employees’ needs. After all, Chaplin is aware of latest research in the field of Organizational Behavior. Should Company XYZ implement Company ABC’s motivation enhancement program? Organizational behavior theories are known to differ as to what motivates employees, but not necessarily because the essential characteristics of all employees are varied across organizations and industries. Rather, the motivational needs of employees differ from organization to organization because separate work situations, ethics and settings, in addition to their interaction with individual personalities, teams, and managements call for different employee needs to be prioritized. Employee motivation is simply referred to as an organizational method to satisfy employees in areas where they feel unsatisfied. Whereas poor health and safety conditions might be the Number One challenge to encounter in Company ABC, it is possible that the employees of Company XYZ would be more motivated by higher salaries. Moreover, the employees of Company XYZ may hold a collective opinion that their working conditions are the best in the industry. Given that job performance is a function of ability and motivation, it is appropriate to inquire into the needs of workers in order to employ the correct mix of employee motivation strategies to boost job performance, company-wide (â€Å"Employee Motivation†). As an example, the employees of the Piketon Research and Extension Center and Enterprise Center were asked about the main motivating factors at their particular workplace. According to research findings, the employees believed themselves to be motivated by the following in the order of importance: â€Å"a) interesting work, (b) good wages, (c) full appreciation of work done, (d) job security, (e) good working conditions, (f) promotions and growth in the organization, (g) feeling of being in on things, (h) personal loyalty to employees, (i) tactful discipline, and (j) sympathetic help with personal problems† (Lindner). Contrary to these findings, a peer reviewed study on employee motivation found that most employees across various organizations believe the following to be the chief motivators at the workplace: â€Å"enjoyment of the work; work/life balance; pay satisfaction; link between pay and performance;† and â€Å"adequate staffing levels† (Katcher). Thus, it appears essential to increase employee motivation only after inquiring into the main motivators in a specific organization. Also within a single organization, the blue collar workers are expected to be more motivated by an increase in pay, while the white collar employees might believe that enjoyment of work is most essential. In this case, the organization would have to divide up its employees in two separate groups to inquire into the particular motivators for the blue collar workers as opposed to the white collar employees. It is best, therefore, for employee motivation strategies to be based on group by group studies. Chaplin should write a memorandum to Bright with latest research on the subject. It is possible that the latter has misunderstood Chaplin because of his speech disorder. Chaplin knows that Company XYZ has the budget to conduct new research on its employees’ needs to enhance their motivation. He should also mention in his note to Bright that implementation of Company ABC’s employee motivation program may possibly waste the resources of Company XYZ. After all, it may very well be that employees at Company ABC have a different set of needs altogether. So, even though Company ABC is a business leader, Company XYZ should refrain from blindly following its programs without a scientific inquiry into its own business processes and workplace culture. How to cite Dispute on Employee Motivation, Papers

Relational Database Implementation Report on Basketball Tournament

Question: Relational database implementationYou must implement the entity relationship model provided in the model solution to Assignment 1. The model solution will be released on the course website approximately TWO (2) weeks after the Assignment 1 due date.The recommended tool for this assignment is Microsoft Access, version 2003 or later. One reason for recommending Microsoft Access is that your course lecturer will be able to provide support in the use of this tool. If you choose to use a different DBMS, then there is no guarantee that your lecturer will be able to provide support. Note: If you choose not to use Microsoft Access, you must contact your lead lecturer as soon as possible before you start work on the assignment. The remainder of this document assumes you are using Access.In implementing the ERD provided, you must complete the following tasks: Map the ERD into a set of relations in at least Third Normal Form (3NF). You must ensure that your relations meet 3NF. There is no need to show your working. Select any two (2) of your relations from the previous step and for each of them: List all the functional dependencies present in the relation Demonstrate that the relation meets Third Normal Form (3NF), for example: STUDENT (StudentID, Name, Address, DateOfBirth)The primary key is StudentID; this is the only candidate key since Name is not guaranteed to be unique (two different students may have the same name). Address is also not guaranteed to be unique. There will be one student name per Student ID, since only one name is recorded for each student. There will be one address per Student ID; even though a student may have multiple address (e.g. a home address and a work address), the case study states that there is only a need to record the home address. There will be only one date of birth per Student ID. This means that Student ID functionally determines every other attribute in the table; therefore there are no repeating groups. There is a single simple can didate key, therefore no partial dependencies are possible. Name cannot be used to functionally determine any other attribute in the table since two different students may have the same name; likewise for address and date of birth, therefore there are no transitive dependencies in the table. Therefore it meets the requirements of first, second and third normal form. Create all the relations in a Microsoft Access database. Consider each attribute in every table and make appropriate choices regarding data types and sizes, indexes, required/not required, and validation rules. Your choices should be appropriate for each attribute and should support data integrity. (Note: see the Data Integrity section below for specific data integrity requirements.) Create relationships as appropriate. Enforce referential integrity for all appropriate relationships in the database. Explore the possibility of cascade update and/or delete options. Review the default indexes created by Access for each tabl e. You should ensure that the indexes follow the guidelines given in the set textbook. Populate the database with sample data. You must include sufficient sample data to test your queries and report(s). You should aim for at least 5 or 6 rows in every table. Please note that the expected result of query questions may depend on the actual sample data populated.Data integrityYou are required to implement integrity constraints within the database to enforce the following requirements:For the table Coach: All fields must be entered. BlueCard number must be an 6-digit number. Contact phone cant be null.For the table PlayedIn: All fields must be entered. The only valid values to indicate the match outcome must be won, lost, or draw. Score cant be null.For the table Earning: All fields must be entered. Prize must be not less than $100. Information requestsCreate queries to answer the following information requests. Note: Do not use the Access query builder (QBE) to create your queries you should type the queries manually using SQL view.Although it is optional to justify the effectiveness of your SQL statement for the request, the marking process of MS Access queries for information requests may also consider your justification of the effectiveness for your queries in the implementation report if you provide them. (Expected results using sample data for queries depend on your actual sample data populated in the database . The following results of queries are only examples. It is important that your implementation must reflect the correct business logic.)1. How many matches did each tournament have? Show the tournaments title and start date, as well as the number of matches of each tournament. Title StartDate NumOfMatch 2011 Challenge Cup 1/03/2011 2 2012 Telstra Cup 2/01/2012 2 2013 CQU Cup 5/01/2013 11 2. Which referee has umpired more than 5 matches? Show the referee name, contact phone and the number of times he/she has umpired. Q2- Query FirstNameLastName Phone NumRef Grace Duke 4908798 6 3. Which team never won any matches in the tournament titled 2013 CQU Cup? List the team name and the number of matches played. Q3- Query Team Name Num Played Glenmore 3 Helios 4 NorthStar 2 4. John would like to know the efficiency of each stadium used in the tournament held in 2013. For each stadium, show the stadium name, address, facility description and the number of matches. Order the result in ascending. Q4- Query StadiumName Street City State PostCode FacilityDes NumMatches Rocky Sport 17 Farm street Rockhampton QLD 4702 Various fields for different 2 Center sports Fun Sports Club 76 Lavdar ave. Rockhampton QLD 4700 Limited seat for viewer 2 Telstra Stadium 19 North Road Rockhampton QLD 4700 Rugby and basketball fields 3 CQ Basket 202 Harris road Rockhampton QLD 4701 Basketball field only 4 Center 5. Find out the details of the team which has won the highest prize so far. The details include the team name, founded date, the name of coach, the amount of prize and the tournament title for which the team won the highest prize. Q5- Query TeamName FoundedDate CoachName Prize Title Leopard 10/11/2002 Kim Jackson $5,000.00 2012 Telstra Cup 6. Find out the sponsor names who have sponsored the total amount more than $10,000 so far. Q6- Query SponsorName Total CQU $11,000.00 Education Queensland $11,000.00 Answer: Report on Basketball Tournament Database Functional Dependencies in two Relations Two relations Tournament and Match are being described here. Following is the structure of Tournament table- Tournament (TournamentID, Title, StartDate) Title TournamentID There is possibility that two tournaments can have same title, therefore title functionally depends upon TournamentID. StartDate TournamentID There is possibility that two tournaments start on same date, therefore StartDate functionally depends upon TournamentID. Following is the structure of Match table- Match (MatchID, StartDateTime, RefereeID, TournamentID) StartDateTime MatchID There is possibility that two matches may start at same date time at different stadium, therefore StartDateTime functionally depends upon MatchID. RefereeID MatchID There is possibility that the referee works for different matches, therefore RefereeID functionally depends upon MatchID. TournamentID MatchID There may be more matches in one tournament; therefore TournamentID functionally depends upon MatchID. (Janalta Interactive Inc. 2015) Demonstration of Normalisation in two Relations All relations in the database are in 3 NF form because all are following the rules of 3 NF form. The third normalization form is satisfied in the relations in the database by following the following rules- 1. There is not any column which is duplicate in any table.2. There are different tables related to different data.3. There is relation in all related tables.4. All the columns depend upon the primary key. The Tournament and the Match relations will demonstrate the 3 NF form The table Tournament has the primary key TournamentID and all the fields depend upon the TournamentID. It uniquely identifies the record in the relation. Every field except TournamentID cannot be unique in the Tournament table. Therefore there is only one candidate key and there is no partial dependency in the relation and the relation Match references the TournamentID of the relation Tournament. It enforces the referential integrity for the relation Tournament. The relation Match has the primary key MatchID. All the other attributes are dependent upon the MatchID. Every field except MatchID cannot be unique in the Match table. Therefore there is only one candidate key and there is no partial dependency in the relation. All the other relations are also satisfying the above 3 NF form rules as per the above two relations. (teach-ict.com n.d.) (About.com 2015) 1. SELECT Tournament. Title, Tournament. Start Date, count (MatchID) AS Num Of MatchFROM Tournament INNER JOIN [Match] ON Match. Tournament ID=Tournament. Tournament IDGROUP BY Tournament. Title, Tournament. Start Date;2. SELECT Referee.FirstName, Referee.LastName, Referee.Phone, Count(Match.MatchID) AS NumRefFROM Referee INNER JOIN [Match] ON Referee.RefereeID = Match.RefereeIDGROUP BY Referee.FirstName, Referee.LastName, Referee.PhoneHAVING Count(Match.MatchID)5;3. SELECT TeamName, count(PlayedIn.MatchID) AS NumPlayedFROM Tournament, Team INNER JOIN PlayedIn ON Team.TeamID=PlayedIn.TeamIDGROUP BY Team.TeamName, Tournament.Title, PlayedIn.OutcomeHAVING Tournament.Title='2013 CQU Cup' and PlayedIn.Outcome='lost';4. SELECT distinct StadiumName, Street, City, State, PCode, FacilityDescription, count(Stadium_Match.MatchID) AS NumMatchesFROM [Match], Stadium INNER JOIN Stadium_Match ON Stadium_Match.StadiumID=Stadium.StadiumIDGROUP BY StadiumName, Street, City, State, PCode, FacilityDesc ription, Match.StartDateTimeHAVING year(Match.StartDateTime)= 2013;5. SELECT Team.TeamName, Team.FoundedDate, Coach.FullName, Earning.Prize, Tournament.TitleFROM (Tournament INNER JOIN (Team INNER JOIN Earning ON Team.TeamID = Earning.TeamID) ON Tournament.TournamentID = Earning.TournamentID) INNER JOIN (Coach INNER JOIN Coach_Team ON Coach.CoachID = Coach_Team.CoachID) ON Team.TeamID = Coach_Team.TeamIDWHERE Earning.Prize=(select max(Prize) from Earning);6. SELECT SponsorName, Amount AS TotalFROM Sponsor INNER JOIN Sponsoring ON Sponsor.SponsorID=Sponsoring.SponsorIDWHERE Amount10000; Limitations in the Assignment Some points are missing in the assignment. For example 1. The queries of outer joins are missing in the assignment.2. There is lack of complex queries in the assignment.3. There is lack of creating the forms in the assignment. Learning during the Assignment 1. The assignment is giving the complete working knowledge about database. After completing this assignment, I learn more about the reports, queries and integrity constraints of MS Access. 2. The queries are very useful for general database. I am feeling very confident now in database. 3. There are hints given for the report in the assignment, I found the right way to create the report by the given hints. Therefore I did not go in the wrong direction to create the report. References [1] Janalta Interactive Inc. 2015, Functional Dependency, Viewed on 15th Jan 2015 https://www.techopedia.com/definition/19504/functional-dependency [2] About.com 2015, Third Normal Form (3NF), Viewed on 15th Jan 2015 https://databases.about.com/od/administration/l/bldef_3nf.htm [3] teach-ict.com n.d., Third Normal Form, Viewed on 15th Jan 2015 https://www.teach-ict.com/as_a2_ict_new/ocr/AS_G061/315_database_concepts/normalisation/miniweb/pg9.htm

National Stepfamily Resource Center Essay Essay Example

National Stepfamily Resource Center Essay Essay The first measure towards blending of a stepfamily is both parents taking a committedness to invariably work at their jobs and non give up when the traveling gets tough. Both of them have to understand the complexness of the state of affairs before acquiring into it. since kids with sensitive heads are traveling to be involved in the procedure. They besides have to see the fiscal portion of the whole trade. good in progress. to forestall struggles at a ulterior clip ( APA Health Center 2004 ) . The biological parent has to convey the thought of get downing a stepfamily to the kid. long before it really becomes a world. We will write a custom essay sample on National Stepfamily Resource Center Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on National Stepfamily Resource Center Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on National Stepfamily Resource Center Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This is to guarantee that the kid is given adequate clip to get by up and go comfy with the new agreement. Before get downing a stepfamily. both spouses have to guarantee that they have sorted out issues from their past matrimonies. They should take equal clip to mend and recover from the old relationship. so that they are emotionally ready to get down another relationship. After all. a bad relationship surely can non seed the seeds for a successful stepfamily. Childs are really susceptible to their environment during their formative old ages. Hence. both parents should exert utmost cautiousness and restraint to forestall the kid from witnessing struggles and statements. in order to be healthy role-models ( Way2Hope ) . Parents should be mentally ready to manage letdowns and maladjustments at foremost. since a stepfamily is surely non designed to be an ideal agreement. The key is to bit by bit construct regard and trust with members of the stepfamily. Children need to be invariably reassured that they were non responsible for the dissolution of the old matrimony with the biological parent. particularly if the cause of separation is the decease of a parent. There needs to be an unfastened communicating channel with the kids in the signifier of little treatments. so that kids are non left stranded with confusions. unreciprocated inquiries and repressed emotions. A parent has to guarantee that stepchild and biological kid are non discriminated and given equal attending. It is indispensable for a parent to speak entirely with the biological kid every bit good as stepchild. so that they can understand each other better. They have to happen ways to link to the kids by organizing new household traditions that take topographic point on a regular footing. One of the facets of a closely-knit household is making things together. which brings in squad spirit and the joy of sharing. Once a household tradition starts to go on on a regular basis. it gives a sense of togetherness to the kids and would be a measure in the right way towards constructing a blended household. Family game darks. monthly field daies. annual holiday and Thanksgiving Day dinner could all really good be good household traditions that could populate on for old ages. possibly even coevalss. Care has to be taken to guarantee that the relationship between the stepchild and biological parent is sustained. since the kid needs attention from the biological parent to see a wholesome childhood ( All About Life Challenges ) . However. kids turning under joint detention of detached parents end up being raised under two families with different regulations and patterns ( National Stepfamily Resource Center ) . Hence. this may take to the kid acquiring assorted messages from both parents and being forced into a province of confusion. Hence. both the biological parent and measure parent have to speak with each other and come to a decision about the methods of training and handling the kid. Even after making these things right. if the kid finds it difficult to accommodate to the blended household. the parents should give it some clip for things to work their manner out of course and be unfastened to the thought of seeking professional aid if needed. Giving kids infinite to do up their ain heads at their ain gait is the key to constructing new relationships with them. For case. it is non just to anticipate a stepchild to turn to a measure parent as â€Å"dad† or â€Å"mom† since their biological parent is non replaceable ( Jaffe et. al 2008 ) . In due class of clip. household bonds would finally turn stronger as the kid additions respect for the measure parent. Mention: All About Life Challenges. Blended Families – Common Sense. Retrieved 9 July 2008. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. allaboutlifechallenges. org/blended-families. htm gt ; APA Health Center. ( 2004 ) . Families: Making Stepfamilies Work. Retrieved 9 July 2008. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. apahelpcenter. org/articles/article. php? id=41 gt ; Jaffe. J. Segal. J. Hutman. S A ; Barston. S. ( 2008. 8 January ) . Blending Families: a Guide for Stepparents. HelpGuide. Retrieved 9 July 2008. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. helpguide. org/mental/blended_families_stepfamilies. htm gt ; National Stepfamily Resource Center. Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved 9 July 2008. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. stepfamilies. info/faqs/faqs. php gt ; Way2Hope. Blended Family Problems. Retrieved 9 July 2008. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. way2hope. org/blended_family_problems. htm gt ;

Management Theory Interview essays

Management Theory Interview essays The Microsoft Corporation is widely recognized as one of leaders of corporate success world-wide. In addition, within the industry, the managerial style of its huge pool of managers is widely considered to be as In interviewing Ibrahim, a Test Manager located at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington campus, I had the opportunity to note his management style, and draw many parallels to contemporary management theory. Ibrahim currently oversees twelve "test leads," who, in turn, oversee a pool forty-seven testers for the Microsoft Office product. He was asked to answer several of the following questions: 1. What is your management philosophy' How do you motivate your "I never really thought about it. I guess my management philosophy is a kind of "light touch" approach. I believe that for an employee to be really productive, they have to have a sense of "ownership" of the area that they are responsible foreither in overseeing the employees of a particular test area, or in the actual testing of the product. I find that giving them actual responsibility both bolsters their willingness to dedicate themselves to the task, as well as motivates them to perform based on the worry of being held personally responsible for their oversights at review time." 2. How do you feel about correcting employees' "That depends on what you mean by correcting employees. In my daily work one of the most important tasks is "guiding" my employees when they are experiencing difficulties. Unfortunately, although team employees are encouraged to "own" their work, there are times when tasks are, either not preformed, or not completed satisfactorily. It is ...

1867 reform act

In 1867 the second reform act was passed by Disraeli, there were many factors which brought about the reform act and public pressure was definitely one of them however there were other factors which helped the 1867 reform act to be passed, such as the conservatives being opportunists, the personal ambitions of Disraeli and also the fear of unrest that pushed the act to be passed. Public pressure had a large part to do with the passing of the 1867 reform bill in many ways. Most working class men at this time felt they were ready for the vote, this lead to the creation of pressure groups these would campaign for enfranchisement. In 1864 the national reform union was set up, this was mainly aimed at bringing the interests of the working and middle class men together in politics. Also created in 1864 was the reform league, although similar to the national reform union this was much more radical, it mainly aimed towards having universal male suffrage and a secret ballot. These groups would hold rallies of over 100,000 to try and put pressure on the government and get the bill passed, these groups doing this is significant evidence that public pressure could have been a large contributor to the passing of the act. It could also be argued that not only was the government being pressured into reform by these groups but it was scared of the repercussions and outbursts that could follow if the act was not passed. During this time Britain had gone through many difficult times such as , economic depression, a cholera epidemic and quite high unemployment. This would make the government anxious about the current temper of the general public and therefore wouldn’t want to upset them. An example of the public unrest would have been the Hyde park riots of 1867, where railings were ripped off windows were smashed and there was great uproar. This is then evidence that the bringing about of the 1867 reform act was also due to other reasons and not totally on pressure from the public, however it could be said that this fear of unrest was amplified by the pressure groups which would then suggest that public pressure was the main cause. Disraeli knew that to get this act passed and to stay in power he needed to take another step towards democracy, he wanted to attract the support of the back bench conservatives and the adullamites this is why the 1867 bill was much more moderate than the previous liberal 1866 bill. In the 1866 bill Gladstone had introduced the enfranchisement of people paying more than ? 7 in rent in the boroughs and ? 10 in the counties. This I believe was simply to radical and this is why I think it failed. The failure of the previous 1866 reform act by Gladstone I would say is also a contributor to the passing of the 1867 bill as people were not happy with this and therefore Disraeli saw his chance to strike and get the conservatives back into power. It could also be argued that the 1867 reform was pushed through as an opportunist act. At this time the conservatives had not been in power for over 20 years, at the time the liberal party was split, some wanting reform some not. The conservatives couldn’t miss this opportunity to get back into power or they could be out for another 20 years or even more. The death of Lord Palmerston in 1865 was a gateway as he had previously been the barrier to the idea of reform. The liberal party then didn’t sort out there problems and their government collapsed, this was when Disraeli saw the real opportunity and he put the conservatives in power in 1867. I would say that the opportunist mind of Disraeli and the conservatives was a large contributor of the passing of the act as if Disraeli hadn’t of seized the opportunity when the liberals were weakened he may have never had the chance. In conclusion I would argue that yes the pressure of the people on the government was large contributor to the bringing in of the reform act however it was not the only thing pushing for the act to be passed, conservative opportunism and fear of riot and revolt are just two other reasons that could have considerably helped to pass the 1867 reform bill.

Computer-Based information system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Computer-Based information system - Essay Example The paper will also discuss the computer-based information system of AT&T were misused by employees. The cloud-based data store is one of the recent information systems that was developed by AT&T Telecommunication Company. An article that was published by computer world indicated that the system is designed to help enterprise-based developers in the usage of (IoT) Internet of Things apps, as well as services. The system is designed to allow collection and the analysis of data more comfortable from various remote devices that are interconnected to large businesses (Hamblen, 2015). AT&T Company has also developed Monitoring systems for organizations. Currently, organization performance has been the primary focus for most organizations. Managers have been struggling on how they can improve the performance of their organizations by increasing performance by increasing supervision with a slight budget line. Monitoring systems have played a significant role in improving performance of various organizations (Computerworld, 1983). Computer based information system of AT&T has significantly reduced the cost of operations to most organizations. For instance, the development of cloud data stores played a significant role in cutting down the cost of hiring employees for a considerable number of organizations (AT&T Tech, 2012). Initially, most computer-based information systems of AT&T were predestined to improve the performance of the organization by either cutting down the cost of resources or improving the quality of services. Conversely, most information based system has been misused by employees for their personal gain. For instance, monitoring systems are designed to either monitor the performance of employees by the supervisors. A great part of monitoring systems is a computerized collection, analysis, storage as well as reporting

Biodiversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Biodiversity - Essay Example A more diverse portfolio in making policies helps in reduction of risks the County and its people have to incur in case there is investment only in some few sectors of the economy. According to biological researches, more than 40% of the global economy and 80% of the poor peoples needs comes from biological resources. Thus, the rich biodiversity in Indiana increases opportunities for improvement in life through medical discoveries from nature and response to challenges like climate change (Gamfeldt, Hillebrand, and Jonsson, pp. 1223). The livelihood of the people of Indiana highly depends and has thrived on biodiversity in the area. The presence of a variety of plant and animal species in the area provides an opportunity for consumption of different components of the diet. Consumption of diet that is derived from different plant and animal sources is significant for the prevention of nutrition-related conditions like obesity, thus helps in reduction of the health burden in the area. The industrial sector in Indiana has equally thrived from biodiversity in the country. Industries working in lines like wood industry, fiber industry, oil production dyes and the like have thrived due to existence of readily available resources for their operation in the area thus improving the economic status of the County (Emmett Duffy, pp.

Social and Formal Groups Comparison Essay Example for Free

Social and Formal Groups Comparison Essay I suppose that the Cornerstone Hospice center where I do volunteer work counts as a formal organization. As for a social group I did attend a church social club for mother’s years ago. With the social group all activities were pretty much the same for all. We did potluck each week and rotated who brought what. We did arts and crafts and rotated on who’s idea would be used and we had older more experienced moms as guest lecturers. As for the Formal group activities varied from one’s education and or experience and training. Only nurses could do their jobs and so on. I worked the office doing filing, sorting, or putting together booklets or filling orders for the nurses. They trained me to see and spend time with hospice patients but everyone pretty much had their place. Hierarchy in the social group didn’t exist and in the formal it went according to their position in the company. The norms for the social group were just to participate and for the formal group we had pages of information we had to go through study sign and were tested on. Membership Criteria for the social group was just that you were a mom or an expectant mom. They advertised in the city local paper and the church paper. As for the formal group anyone can volunteer however a back ground check has to be passed, you also have to be trained and pass all tests, and have a current Hepatitis vaccine. I sought them out since I wanted to do volunteer work and knew hospice centers took volunteers. Relationships with the social group were primary whereas with the formal group it seemed to be more of selective primary ties. Communications in the social group were always face to face and very friendly whereas in the formal group it varied from face to face to formal and in writing. Focus of the social group was person oriented and the formal group was task oriented because the task of seeing to it that the patients on hospice were getting the right kind of care was the number one goal and task of all of us. Reference: Macionis, John J. (2011). Society: The Basics (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Axia, Soc120 – Sociology course website.

Essay --

Sadruddin Jiwani HIV/AIDS Introduction: HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a disease of the human immune system, which is caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus. To understand it in a better way, let us break it down: H - Human - This specific virus can only infect human beings. I - Immunodeficiency - It weakens the immune system of the body by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection. A â€Å"deficient† immune system cannot protect you. V - Virus - A virus can only reproduce itself by taking over a cell in the body of its host. HIV is similar to other viruses like the common cold or the "flu". The main difference between the other viruses and HIV is that, the immune system can clear most viruses out of the human body, but it is not case with HIV. The human immune system cannot eradicate it, since the target of this virus is the immune system itself. Researchers are being conducted to figure out the reason for it. An infected person may experience a brief period of influenza-like disability, during the starting phase, followed by a prolonged period without any syndrome. As the disability progresses, it deteriorates the immune system more and more, making it more prone to get diseases, such as tumors and opportunistic infections which may prove to be fatal to the infected person. AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Let us break it down, to understand it in a better way: A - Acquired - AIDS is not inherited from the ancestors. It is acquired after birth. I - Immune - All the ... ...ld Health Organization (WHO) report shows that, most people living with HIV or at risk for HIV do not have access to treatment, care and prevention and there is still no cure. In spite of these challenges, there have been successes. Global efforts have been made to address the epidemic, specifically in the last decade. The HIV prevalence rates have been reduced in a small but growing number of countries due to prevention and new HIV infections are believed to be on the decline. In addition to this, the number of people with HIV receiving treatment in resource poor countries has increased 10 times since 2002, nearing an estimated 4 million by 2008. In U.S, not every healthcare provider is equipped to provide specialty care to people living with HIV. But if a provider cannot provide treatment for your HIV disease, the same person should refer you to someone who can.

Pardoner’s Tale

Dec 1st, 2011 Death. It has many shapes and sizes in books and stories. In Chaucer’s book â€Å"The Pardoners Tale,† it takes the shape of an old man. He is very old and weary and seems like a completely innocent character. But, in this tale, he is the cause of three deaths. He is the very embodiment of death itself. The first clue to the old man’s identity occurs when he provided the rioters with the directions to find Death. â€Å"†Well sirs,† he said, â€Å"if it be your design To find out death, turn up this crooked wayTowards that grove, I left him there today Under a tree, and there you’ll find him waiting†Ã¢â‚¬  182-185 In this quote the old man knows he is telling the rioters where the gold is. He knows it will turn the rioters against themselves. Once they saw he gold they started plotting to kill each other to take the gold for themselves. Another clue hinting to you that he is no ordinary old man happens to be when he is tal king to the rioters. â€Å"† Not even death, alas, will take my life; So, like a wrenched prisoner at strife Within himself, I walk alone and waitAbout the earth, which is My mother’s gate Knock-Knocking with my staff from night to noon And crying, â€Å"â€Å"Mother, open to me soon! †Ã¢â‚¬  142-152 In this segment from the story he is saying that he can’t die. But, it also shows that he wants to die. In line 152 he says â€Å"Mother, open to me soon! † -152, meaning that he wants to be die and be buried in the earth. Calling the earth his mother. The final easy-to-see hint is how he changes subject when talking to the rioters. You can clearly see in lines 147-152 that he wants to die.But, when the rioters accuse him of being death or being a spy for death and act like they will kill him he suddenly changes his aim. â€Å"See how I wither, Flesh and blood and skin! / Alas! When will these bones be laid to rest? † 154-155. Here is an examp le of him clearly showing that he is ready for death. â€Å"Say where he is or you shall pay for it! † -178 Once the old man hears this he tells the three rioters where death supposable is. But, he knows that he is sending them to the gold where greed will overtake them and they will kill themselves over it. Pardoner’s Tale Dec 1st, 2011 Death. It has many shapes and sizes in books and stories. In Chaucer’s book â€Å"The Pardoners Tale,† it takes the shape of an old man. He is very old and weary and seems like a completely innocent character. But, in this tale, he is the cause of three deaths. He is the very embodiment of death itself. The first clue to the old man’s identity occurs when he provided the rioters with the directions to find Death. â€Å"†Well sirs,† he said, â€Å"if it be your design To find out death, turn up this crooked wayTowards that grove, I left him there today Under a tree, and there you’ll find him waiting†Ã¢â‚¬  182-185 In this quote the old man knows he is telling the rioters where the gold is. He knows it will turn the rioters against themselves. Once they saw he gold they started plotting to kill each other to take the gold for themselves. Another clue hinting to you that he is no ordinary old man happens to be when he is tal king to the rioters. â€Å"† Not even death, alas, will take my life; So, like a wrenched prisoner at strife Within himself, I walk alone and waitAbout the earth, which is My mother’s gate Knock-Knocking with my staff from night to noon And crying, â€Å"â€Å"Mother, open to me soon! †Ã¢â‚¬  142-152 In this segment from the story he is saying that he can’t die. But, it also shows that he wants to die. In line 152 he says â€Å"Mother, open to me soon! † -152, meaning that he wants to be die and be buried in the earth. Calling the earth his mother. The final easy-to-see hint is how he changes subject when talking to the rioters. You can clearly see in lines 147-152 that he wants to die.But, when the rioters accuse him of being death or being a spy for death and act like they will kill him he suddenly changes his aim. â€Å"See how I wither, Flesh and blood and skin! / Alas! When will these bones be laid to rest? † 154-155. Here is an examp le of him clearly showing that he is ready for death. â€Å"Say where he is or you shall pay for it! † -178 Once the old man hears this he tells the three rioters where death supposable is. But, he knows that he is sending them to the gold where greed will overtake them and they will kill themselves over it.

Psychological Disorder Analysis Essay

The world of abnormal psychology is filled with many different types of disorders, symptoms, and treatment options. Today, I will be working with Roger, a middle-aged accountant living in San Francisco, California who experienced a car wreck a few months ago. He has been experiencing shakiness, breathlessness, heat flashes, and nightmares. He has been trying to cope with the symptoms that he is experiencing through alcohol consumption and going jogging. Using the skills I have learned about abnormal psychology, I will be able to diagnose Roger and provide an explanation as to why he is suffering from the type of disorder that he is experiencing, as well as determine the most effective treatment options available. Based on the information provided to me, I am diagnosing Roger with post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that is experienced by people who have been subjected to a traumatic, life-changing event. Although I am quite certain that this is the disorder that Roger is suffering from, I scheduled an appointment with him to get more details about the symptoms that he is experiencing. Me: Good morning, Roger, I wanted to call you in today to talk about the things that you are experiencing on a day-to-day basis so that I will learn more about yourself and the things that you are experiencing so that we can work together to come up with solutions that benefit you overcoming your experience. Roger: That sounds like a good plan, what would you like to know? Me: Well can you please begin with telling me what happened 2 months ago, so that I may hear it in your own words? Roger: Sure, about two months ago I was in a car accident where the other driver hit me head on. I wasn’t hurt, except for a few minor bruises, but my car was completely totaled. Since then, I try to avoid the area where I got into my accident. Me: Thank you for that information, Roger. Car accidents can be quite traumatizing and I’m sorry that you had to experience that misfortune. Roger: It’s okay, I’m just glad I got out of it alive. But the accident seems to stick with me no matter what I do, though. Me: Do you mind elaborating on that for me please, Roger? Roger: Well, ever since the accident I notice that whenever I am around the streets or in an automobile of any kind, I begin to feel shaky and out of breath. Then everything begins to get really hot and sometimes it feels like I am having a heart attack, so I begin to panic. Me: That’s very interesting Roger, have you been to your primary care doctor to see if there is a physical issue that is causing those symptoms? Roger: Yes, ma’am. My doctor told me that I am healthy as a horse and recommended me to you. So here I am. *laughs nervously* Me: I am glad that you are here to give me the opportunity to help you, Roger. Are there any other symptoms that you have been experiencing since your accident? Roger: Um, I’ve been obsessed with safer vehicles and I’ve spent a lot of time looking for an extremely safe car and have taken a defensive driving class. Some days I am so afraid to drive that I have to call my friends to come get me, and I can’t seem to find a car that meets my safety standards. Me: I can completely understand why you feel that way, Roger. Safety should always be the number one priority when out on the road. So you feel this anxiety only affects you when you are out on the roads? Roger: No, not at all. I’ve been having these horrible nightmares. Sometimes they are so bad that I can’t even make it to work, and my boss has started telling me that my performance is slipping, too. I’ve been drinking a lot since my accident because I can’t seem to get the thought of it out of my mind and it is the only thing that seems to help when I feel shaky. I’ve started to drink just to get the memory of the accident out of my mind. At home, I’m so worried about my family’s well-being that I try to keep everything clean and sterile. I don’t want myself or anyone in my family getting sick or going through what I went through. Roger: I know that this isn’t me and I don’t want to be please like this anymore, so can you please help me get past this? Because I don’t know what to do anymore and I’m having trouble just making it through each day. When I have my†¦panic attacks?†¦I usually head straight for the bar. Roger: After I have my nightmares, I usually can’t go back to sleep I go jogging. Being able to run helps me clear my mind of everything and just focus on the task at hand. Unfortunately, I’m not in very good shape so I can’t run for very long before I have to return home. Me: Thank you so much for explaining all of that to me in such detail, Roger, I could see that it was difficult for you. I want to let you know that it is excellent that you are going out jogging whenever you have a nightmare, and I want you to continue you doing that whenever possible in place of drinking. Me: Together you and I will find a way to get you through this, all I asking is for you to be willing to work with me. Can you do that, Roger? Roger: Yes, definitely. I’m ready to move on with my life. After the interview with Roger, I was able to gain more insight about his situation and am able to confirm that he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. As mentioned before, Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that is experienced by people who have been subjected to a traumatic, life-changing event such as being raped, in a car accident, combat, or witnessing someone else’s traumatic experience, such as a loved one or a friend, and even witnessing a violent death can cause acute and posttraumatic stress disorders. Individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder becoming sensitized to the event that caused the disorder, causing them to experience feelings of anxiety when exposed to certain things related to the traumatic event. One of the key symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder is involuntary flashbacks of the traumatic event which can lead to the development of more severe symptoms. Those symptoms include: * Nightmares- the event relives itself in the subconscious, usually leading to insomnia * Depression – not enjoying the things you once enjoyed, disassociation * Anxiety, panic attacks – negative reactions to situations or sights/events that trigger a reconnection to the trauma. * Avoidance – For a traumatic event such as a car accident, avoiding the area where the accident occurred. * Substance Abuse: The abuse of drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism to desensitize emotional response to flashback or other symptoms. The Cognitive model of abnormality realizes that everyone creates their own view of the world that comprises their reality (Comer, 2011). Unhealthy thoughts stemming from a traumatic event create the abnormal behavior individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder experience. Therefore, post-traumatic stress disorder is a behavior that is determined by how individuals perceive the life-changing traumatic event that they experience. Looking into the history of post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD was first discovered during the Civil War, with the development of battle PTSD, also known as ‘soldier’s heart,’ ‘shell shock,’ and ‘battle fatigue,’ becoming known officially as post-traumatic stress disorder after the Vietnam War. A study conducted by Brian P. Marx in 2010 discovered that soldiers developed PTSD regardless of how recently or how long they were deployed. The study also showed that the longer PTSD is left untreated, the worse it will get, showing that untreated cases will become more anxious, have a shorter attention span, and in general have much poorer mental health. The study also found that â€Å"the stress these soldiers were experiencing had a significant impact on their physical health such as immune functioning and cardiovascular disease (â€Å"The effect of PTSD and combat level on Vietnam veterans’ perceptions of child behavior and marital adjustment,† 2006, para. ). Today, about 50% of Americans experience a trauma during their life time and only 8% of those individuals suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. So what factors cause certain people to develop post- traumatic stress disorder, while other individuals remained unaffected? One of the most important factors to consider when determining what type of individual is more likely to suffer from PTSD is the nature of trauma the individual faced and whether the individual had preexisting anxiety issues before their traumatic event. Studies have shown that individuals who were exposed to severe, prolonged trauma or trauma affecting one’s family were more likely to develop PTSD than individuals who did not. Using the Cognitive model of abnormality as a guide, there are several options for treating posttraumatic stress disorder. The most effective treatment is cognitive therapy, in which â€Å"therapists help clients recognize the negative thoughts, biased interpretations, and errors in logic that dominate their thinking† (Comer, 2011). Cognitive therapy is most effective for individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because it teaches the individual positive ways confront the negative thoughts and emotions surrounding their experience with their traumatic event by showing them how to understand the trauma that they went through and the feelings that they are experiencing afterwards. Helping the individual suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder understand why they are feeling the way they do about their traumatic experience is also important, as well as identify the thoughts and actions that make symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder worse. There are also further treatment options for individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and most anxiety disorders, including: * Relaxation: an individual is taught how to relax certain muscles by themselves instead of relaxing as a whole. Relaxation treatments have been the most successful in the treatment of anxiety symptoms such as high blood pressure and headaches as well as insomnia and panic attacks. * Biofeedback: an individual is connection to a machine that reads involuntary body movements enabling the individual to learn how to control those movements. This treatment has been most helpful in those recovering from post-traumatic stress disorders. * Meditation: is achieved my turning one’s concentration inward and blocking everything surrounding out allowing the individual to obtain a sort of peace from blocking out stressors. Meditation has been successful in helping symptoms of anxiety such as high blood pressure, pain, and in some cases, viral infecti ons (due to having a weaker immune system as a side effect of constant stress and anxiety). * Hypnosis: individuals a guided by a hypnotist, who lulls the individual into a sleep like trance, similar to meditation. In this trance the subconscious takes over and individuals can sometimes be directed to act in unusual ways, experience unusual sensations, remember seemingly forgotten events, or forget remembered events. This method is helpful with post-traumatic stress disorder victims who are suffering from amnesia and are unable to recall the traumatic event in order to come to terms with what happened and learn how to recover from it. In conclusion, post-traumatic stress disorder is a disorder that is caused by a traumatic, life changing event such as being raped, in a car accident, combat, or witnessing someone else’s traumatic experience, such as a loved one or a friend, and even witnes sing a violent death. The most effective treatment option for post-traumatic stress disorder as per the Cognitive model of abnormality is cognitive therapy in which â€Å"â€Å"therapists help clients recognize the negative thoughts, biased interpretations, and errors in logic that dominate their thinking† (Comer, 2011). I hope that with my thorough evaluation of the origin, causes, symptoms, and treatments of post-traumatic stress disorder, I am able to help Roger overcome the symptoms that he is experiencing from his post-traumatic stress disorder and assist him with his therapy so that he can return back to a normal life. References Comer, R. J. (2011). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth. Faces of Abnormal Psychology Interactive. (2007). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder McGraw-Hill Higher Education Web Site, retrieved on February 2, 2013, from http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/psychology/faces/# The effect of PTSD and combat level on Vietnam veterans’ perceptions of child behavior and marital adjustment. (2006, Febraury). Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51(1), 4-12.

Project Development and Implementation for Strategic Managers

Project Development and Implementation for Strategic Managers Executive Summary Project management is pivotal to business growth and development. In project management, project selection using a relevant tool is critical. Therefore, project managers should put emphasis on the best tool to use when selecting a project.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Project Development and Implementation for Strategic Managers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is prudent to note that, project cycle should be followed appropriately to ensure the success of the project implemented in handled as stipulated. This paper takes a critical and succinct analysis of three projects and subsequent selection of one project for full implementation. Project 1 Productivity system analysis and management project Productivity system analysis and management project is an online human resource management tool that will be used to analyze and manage employees’ productivity in the company. Purpose and Scop e The purpose of this project is to install an efficient employee productivity analysis and management tool. The project will cover Golden Tools Ltd Company stores in Dubai. Project Executive Summary Productivity system analysis and management is an online human resource management tool used to analyze and manage employees’ productivity. This management tool comprises of software which takes a critical analysis of each employee performance and how to improve it. Project Objective Objective Targets To increase employee productivity in the company Excellent 80%-100% Good 69%-79% Accepted50%-68% To increase customer satisfaction in the company Excellent 80%-100% Good 69%-79% Accepted50%-68% To motivate employees for better performance Excellent 80%-100% Good 69%-79% Accepted50%-68% The project strives to ensure that productivity level is maintained high in the company so that the company continues to reap from the economies of scale associated with efficient and know ledgeable employee. Management Management is pivotal for the success of a project (Deegan 2009). This is because management streamlines the operation and goal of the company towards achieving the prescribed vision. It is prudent to note that, employees play a fundamental role in overall performance of a company.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Project Design Constraints Financial constrain features prominently in this project. Future Contingencies Future technological advancement poses a great challenge to the success of a project (Kotler and Keller 2009). This is because new technology will be required to maintain the desired success of the project. Points of Contact The points of points of contact will include the following Project Manager, System Proponent, User Organization, Quality Assurance (QA) Manager, Security Manager, and Configuration Manager. Project 2 Launch of a new product Project 2 is to launch a new washing detergent product in the market. The product is a house hold consumer product which will change washing forever. Purpose and Scope The purpose of this project is to plan for launching of a new product in the market. The project will cover Golden Tools Ltd Company stores in Dubai, (U.A.E.) before it is rolled to other places around the globe. Project Executive Summary A new washing product is necessary for household. This project will give consumer an opportunity to choose one the washing detergent. Project Objective Objective Targets To increase company profits Excellent 80%-100% Good 69%-79% Accepted50%-68% To increase customer satisfaction in the company Excellent 80%-100% Good 69%-79% Accepted50%-68% The project strives to ensure that the company sells high quality products for great customer satisfactionAdvertising We will write a custom report sample on Project Development and Implementation for Str ategic Managers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Project Design Constraints Financial constrain features prominently in this project. Future Contingencies Stiff competition in the market is the future contingencies. Points of Contact The points of points of contact will include the following Project Manager, System Proponent, User Organization, Quality Assurance (QA) Manager, Security Manager, and Configuration Manager. Project 3 Customer Feedback Software Installation Customer feedback software installation project is managerial software which will monitor customer purchasing trend, reaction and feedback. The information collected is needed for strategic planning. Purpose and Scope The purpose of this project is to install an efficient Customer feedback software installation and management tool. The project will cover Golden Tools Ltd Company stores in Dubai. Project Executive Summary Customer feedback is very important in plan as well prod uct development. In this regard, this project strives to enhance customer data collection for adequate planning. Project Objective Objective targets To increase enhance customer satisfaction Excellent 80%-100% Good 69%-79% Accepted50%-68% To enhance planning in the company Excellent 80%-100% Good 69%-79% Accepted50%-68% Project Design Constraints Customer feedback software installation requires technical knowledge which will ensure that some of the employees are taken for specialized training. Another constrain is timeAdvertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Future Contingencies Future technological innovation may render the current software obsolete. Therefore, continuous upgrade will be necessary. Points of Contact The points of points of contact will include the following Project Manager, System Proponent, User Organization, Quality Assurance (QA) Manager, Security Manager, and Configuration Manager. Project selection Project selection metrics Project 1 ID Project selection metric Supporting document Supporting document Weighted point Awarded points 1 Financial favourability The project measure of financial benefits Financial spreadsheet 15 10 2 Financial Cost The project innovative nature for enhance competition Business case 15 10 3 Organizational advantage Project ability to create new product which generate high profits to the company Visions document 15 12 4 Risk The level of risk the project has to the entire business Project charter 15 10 5 Internal efficiency The project ability to enhance internal operation Proj ect charter 15 10 Total 75 52 Project 2 ID Project selection metric Supporting document Supporting document Weighted point Awarded points 1 Financial favourability The project measure of financial benefits Financial spreadsheet 15 15 2 Financial Cost The project innovative nature for enhance competition Business case 15 14 3 Organizational advantage Project ability to create new product which generate high profits to the company Visions document 15 14 4 Risk The level of risk the project has to the entire business Project charter 15 11 5 Internal efficiency The project ability to enhance internal operation Project charter 15 15 Total 75 69 Project 3 ID Project selection metric Supporting document Supporting document Weighted point Awarded points 1 Financial favourability The project measure of financial benefits Financial spreadsheet 15 10 2 Financial Cost The project innovative nature for enhance competition Business case 15 10 3 Organizational advantage Project ability to create new product which generate high profits to the company Visions document 15 10 4 Risk The level of risk the project has to the entire business Project charter 15 10 5 Internal efficiency The project ability to enhance internal operation Project charter 15 10 Total 75 50 Based on the above project selection metric, project 2 is more viable that the rest since it has high aggregate points on selection metrics. Time Value of Money Time Value of Money play a major role in the analysis of the concept of capital budgeting. The theory of Time Value of Money states that â€Å"having a dollar today is worth having a dollar a tomorrow† (Drury 1996, p. 61). Time factor is significant in the analysis of current and future returns in a business world which surrounded with several risks. WACC The Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) is a critical element of capital budgeting. According to Drury (1996), â€Å"the Weighted Average Cost of C apital is a measure of how much a business needs to gain on its investments annually to maintain its current overall value†(71). Towards this, entities that offer loans or buy shares will expect a certain amount of return on their investment (Deegan 2009). Internal Rate of Return Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is a process used to find out the return percentage in a new business project that offers future cash flows. In the calculation of IRR, the application of annual projected payments and the initial investment is critical. Capital Budgeting Issues While carrying out capital budgeting, the calculation of the WACC should be done for the business and the calculation of IRR for the project to be undertaken (Reiss 2007). In a situation where the IRR is greater than the WACC, then it is a viable business project and should be pursued. It is prudent to note that, financial theory would recommend pursuing all projects that have an IRR in excess of WACC, but this should be done caut iously. In addition, increasing of a company debt or selling more shares normally alters WACC since the expected return on debt and equity rise. This depicts that some projects that were profitable due to a higher IRR will no longer be viable. Demski (1994) explains that, â€Å"firms should consider the WACC not only on the basis of current return rates, but also on more debt or owners shares† (23). A critical and succinct analysis of Wheel Industries case study reveals a number of financial situations which forms the basis of the recommendation made. Planning for product launch project Research will be carried out to determine the market segment through the use of questionnaires. Purpose This oral tool of data collection gives a deeper insight to the issue in question in certain ways, for example, by giving the participants a channel to voice their challenges and their various ways of dealing with them. Strategy for implementing the project The project will be implemented th rough proper planning and execution of tasks. The use of media and social network sites will be some of the calculated strategies for implementation. Fierce marketing strategies will be implemented prior to product launch to enhance awareness. Innovative TV adverts concerning the new product will be run on several leading TV channels in Dubai. In addition, marketing will also be done on social networks. Media publicity Golden Tools Ltd will invest resources in media publicity and technology as marketing strategy. Advertisements on the Audio visual medium are significant as it gives company an opportunity to flaunt its products. Social media Social networking sites as marketing tools provide a unique experience and feature that can only be taped by exploring the existing diversity. An innovative firm such as Toyota must tap in millions social network users globally. Kotler and Amstrong (2007) highlight that, â€Å"For resources to be in tune with the emerging opportunities there is need for dynamic marketing strategies† (38). Public Involvement Employees and public are quite important in implementation process. In this regard, they will form part of the implementation strategy. Intermediaries Globalization in the retail industry has yielded results due to the platform it has created in consolidation of the worldwide supply base. In the past, a number of international corporations either have shipped parts to their offshore affiliates or have relied on the local supply bases. Segmentation Market segmentation is critical as a paradigm shift in marketing strategy in global retail industry. In this regard, The Company will concentrate in area where it has a great competitive advantage while at the same time penetrating new markets. Target Table Class Social status Occupation Population size(million) % population A Upper Middle CEO, Business owners, Top Professional 5 5 B Middle Professional 30 30 C Lower Middle Clerical, Supervisors 35 35 D Skille d working Semi-skilled 20 20 E Working Casual, low grade 10 10 Project Costing Particulars Cost($000) Marketing 100 VIP product launch 50 Planning 5 Road show promotion 15 Labour 5 Total 175 Timescales for the implementation of the project Product Launch Promotion and selling Road shows TV marketing Online marketing Packaging Product design Planning 1 day 3 days 60days 1 day 10days 2 days 15 days 40 days Period Activity Preceded by Elapsed Planning 1 Product design A 3 Packaging B 60 Online Marketing 1 TV Marketing 10 Road shows CD 2 Product launch F 15 Promotions and selling EG 40 Critical Path Conclusion Project management is a critical process which requires serious planning and implementation of activities. Therefore, it is prudent to carry out a proper project selection using the best method. Similarly, tasks should be carried out on time to ensure that costs are incurred as budgeted. This is because when tasks are carried outside the stipulated time there are cost implications which are incurred. In this regard, the above implementation of the product launch project will strictly follow the time frame for successful implementation. Reference List Deegan, C 2009, Financial accounting theory, 3rd edn, London, McGraw-Hill. Demski, SJ 1994, Managerial uses of accounting information, New York, NY, Springer. Drury, C 1996, Management and Cost Accounting, 4th edn, New York, NY, McGraw Hill/Irwin. Guthrie, J Parker, L 1990, ‘Corporate social disclosure practice’: A comparative international analysis’, Advances in Public Interest Accounting, vol.3, pp. 162. Kotlar, P 2003, ‘Marketing insights from A to Z’, 80 concepts every manager needs to know. New York, NY, John Wiley and Sons. Kotler, P Keller, K 2009, A framework for marketing management. Philadelphia, Pearson International Edition. Ko tler, P Amstrong, P 2007. Principles of Marketing. New York, NY,John Wiley and Sons Reiss, G., 2007, Project management demystified. New York, NY,Routledge,

None Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

None - Case Study Example Races were fighting against one another, and African Americans seemed to be struggling for their rights everywhere they turned. It was a different time in America than today, and King’s speech reflected that. Similarly, Obama speech in Cairo was given with the same hopes and dreams that are still topical in our time. Even today, the world is divided by religious strife and tension. Obama’s hope when delivering this speech in Egypt was to express his sincere desire to eliminate this ugly period from the world’s history and to have all religions and people live in peace with one another. So, we have two speeches but one vision and dream. Three quotes that stand out in King’s speech begin with the statement â€Å"One hundred years later, the Negro still is not free†. This sets the tone for his remarks and gives the reason for the necessity of the speech. Furthermore, he mentions that â€Å"now is the time to make real the promises of democracy† (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have A Dream†). He is imploring Americans to not sit idly by and wait for change to happen. He says, rightfully so, that it must happen now. So, finally, the quote that is most memorable to this student is â€Å"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: All men are created equal† (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have A Dream†). This is a call to action and one that was heeded by millions across the country. Obama’s speech had a similar tone to King’s. He stated the problem directly with his quote, â€Å"We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world† (â€Å"Remarks by the President on a New Beginning†). He was genuine in his desire to set the record straight and to work on ways that the two parts of the world could begin to live more peacefully together. Another significant quote in this speech is when Obama

Discuss whether economic theory and the available empirical evidence Essay

Discuss whether economic theory and the available empirical evidence justi - Essay Example During the time of peek economy the company has to endure extra remuneration and compensation for the CEOs. Moreover, there is always deliberate discussion over the compensation policy, especially during the time of poor company performance and financial crisis (Balsam, 2002). In this regard, the aim of the paper is to examine the effect in the executive compensation regardless of the poor performance of the company with the help of various economic theories and the empirical evidence. According to Bertrand & Mullainathan (2001) the remuneration of the CEOs in an organisation is based on the principle of the economic agency model. In accordance with this model, the firm owners act as the principal and the hired CEOs are the agents acting on behalf of the owner. The authors argued the fact that the shareholder pays a key role in the organisation in designing the remuneration system of CEO’s in order to maximise the value of the organisation. Moreover, the article examines the fact weather the CEOs are paid on the basis of luck or not. Luck represents changes in the performance of the company, which are beyond the control of CEOs. These three measures include the changes in the pricing trend, firm performance, and year-on-year dissimilarity in the organisational performance. The finding of the evidence revealed that in the different scenario the CEOs pay is significant to luck. Additionally, it has been revealed that in the organisation the payment is largely affected by the luck not with the performance. Pay for the luck has large influence over the discretionary components, including compensation, salary, and bonus structure. It has been determined from the study that mode of the corporate governance plays a crucial role that significantly influences the CEOs remuneration (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2001). Moreover, the principle of agency model sometime helps the

Educational Enquiry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Educational Enquiry - Essay Example In regards, to appointments and work experience it is evident from the curriculum vitae that Ball has held various key positions in numerous institutions that are largely academically or educationally oriented. The academic qualifications and work experience of Ball helps in understanding his evolving position because of the fact that he has had a long participation or involvement with the education sectors that are even beyond the borders of the United Kingdom and his positions in the two papers talks about the evolutions that are being witnessed within the education sector. For example, in the position paper that he published in 2011 he talks about creating a new research agenda for educational leadership and policy, and this can be well understood from the previous research studies that he had written and contributed to, which alluded to a pending shift on the English education policy. The main points presented in the Ball’s 2011 article that was titled â€Å"A new researc h agenda for educational leadership and policy† To begin with, Ball (2011) wrote the article with primary intent to bring to the attention of researchers in the field of leadership and education policy about the new emerging research issues and the pertinent research questions that could help in understanding these emerging research issues in the English education policy. Therefore, the arguments presented by Ball (2011) in this article were mainly geared for use by researchers in the field of leadership and education policy but it could be applied further to researchers in other countries. At the start, Ball (2011) acknowledged the fact that there has been some changes and development in the English educational policy, which have lead to a subsequent change in the way learners are educated and even the way learning institutions are managed. Therefore, it is for this reason that there needs to be a radical change in the approach through which research studies are conducted on the English education policy so as to address pertinent problems and come up with solutions that are in tandem with the changed or the newly formed education landscape. From a wider perspective, it is can be stated that Ball (2011) was advocating for a paradigm shift on the research methodology that is normally applied by researchers in the field of leadership and educational policy since there is need to develop new research skills, data collection tools, and also exploit news locations for obtaining research questions. Ball (2011) suggested that the new research methodology that should be adopted by the researchers should integrate business and financial analysis, which means that the researchers should become conversant with the analytical analysis of an education policy from a business and financial perspective. This new research approach is promoted by the fact that the education sector has in the recent past witnessed increased incorporation of commercial players who were prev iously confined to the private school sector and thus, there is need to look at the education policy from the financial/ money side. According to Ball (2011), one of the key research issues that researchers should critically consider on English Educational Policy is the leadership within learning institut

Korean Film Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Korean Film Industry - Case Study Example As the paper outlines, renaissance, in general, refers to the time period in history when European art and literature was revived. This usually means the rebirth of art in the 16th century. Choi used it in his book to refer to the revival of Korean cinema and the new future towards which the Koreans moved without their hated government. The renaissance referred to the changes in the society as a whole influencing the art and film industry of South Korea. The society was becoming freer and filmmakers were coming with more ideas of freedom and socially conscious themes which were previously banned. Choi describes the revival of the Korean cinema where the local cinema was vanishing the films were made more commercially and globally. The barriers to the foreign imports were forced open and Hollywood entered South Korea. This rebirth of Korean cinema went a long way since 1992 till present, and today the films are commercial, global, and have evolving production standards. Renaissance th us refers to all these changes and advancements seen in the Korean cinema since the 1990s till the present day. These changes were highly noticeable in the films that were made in the following decade. The Marriage Life (1992) was a romantic comedy directed by Kim Yui-Seok. The film marked the renaissance of the Korean film industry with its depiction of gender roles, portraying the reality of love and sex, and attracting the younger audience towards the Korean cinema again.  The movie was about Kim Tae-guy who was a radio producer and Choi Ji-Hye who was a voice actress at the radio station. The couple falls in love and gets married. They have desires for sex and fantasies for getting married just as any young couple would have despite the objections from their respected families, they get married and begin their life. Eventually, they start experiencing the reality of married life with laundry piles and house cleaning but they still have a mutual passion for each other which mak es their married life exciting and happy. The film shows the marriage a tremendous success in the beginning but eventually, the couple starts to face a hectic life which becomes a nightmare (Stringer 32).   Ã‚  

Critical Analysis Of Arrow

Critical Analysis Of Arrow Arrow is a American television series which can be classified in the action adventure genre. The central character is Oliver Queen a playboy billionaire who was lost at sea when his yacht capsized and had to struggle for survival for five years alone on an uncharted island. The series starts with his return back home and his changed outlook on life. He takes up a persona of a masked vigilante and starts to fight crime with his weapon of choice being a bow and an arrow. The series is based on the fictional DC comic character Green Arrow and moves backwards in time as much as it does forward, to justify the actions of the now vigilante by keeping viewers a briefed by introducing flashbacks of events that happened to the the playboy/soft Oliver Queen to turn him into this darker character. The first episode premiered in North America on the CW (CBS and Warner Bros.) network on 10th October 2012 with international broadcasting taking place later in the year. The series being in its first season and having aired at this point a total of nine episodes world wide has been at the centre of a massive cross over from comic books to feature length films that is becoming a predominant theme at the Hollywood Box office. The reason why television series are playing such an effective role in this cross over is because of the depth of the character they can provide over a long series as compared to a feature film. With Chris Nolans Batman trilogy completed in 2012, the origins of Superman to be retold to a new generation in Zack Snyders The Man of Steel schedule for release in 2013, Green Lantern established as a character in the self titled 2011 release, the stage has been set for all of them coming together in the 2015 release of the Justice League (DC comics answer to Marvel comics Avengers). The character missing from this equation is Oliver Queen alias The Green Arrow who now stars as the central character in the television series Arrow. Arrow not surprisingly coincides with the 2011 television series finale of Smallville, which chronicled Supermans journey from childhood to becoming a superhero, taking over the 8pm time slot that was formerly held by Smallville on CW network. This has strategically worked on multiple fronts. Firstly it is being compared from the outset to Smallville, two shows that are inspired by DC comic characters which is working in raising interest amidst Smallville viewers and fans, secondly it is showing Green Arrow in a different light than his care free persona which guest starred in Smallville and lastly it has been placed before the very popular show Super Natural, both shows mirror each other in theme of being suspense action thrillers with central characters being hunters. The core team that has developed the series and has been successful in bringing it on air comprises of Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and David Nutter. The first three names have developed the story and script together or in part, for most of the season, while David was the director of the first three episodes, including the pilot, playing an intrinsic role in getting the series approved. In terms of familiarity with the central character, the DC universe and experience with successful shows, Arrow could not have hoped for a better team. Andrew Kreisberg in 2009 was the co-executive producer and writer for the hugely successful series Fringe and has actually written a comic book ongoing series Green Arrow and the Black Canary published by DC Comics starring Green Arrow. He was further involved in the marketing of the television series when he wrote the 10 page preview comic produced by DC for the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con,, sharing the same plot structure as the tele vision series which Kreisberg commented by saying, Anyone who grabs a copy: Hold onto it and as the (television) series progresses, youll appreciate it more and more. Greg Berlanti on the other hand has written the script for the movie Green Lantern, based on another DC character who will be paired with Green Arrow in the 2015 release of the Justice League while Marc Guggenheim has written television scripts for e.g The Practice and has also written for DC comics The Flash and Justice Society of America. Interestingly Dave Nutter is known for directing pilot episodes for television series and is often referred to as the pilot whisperer. His break came when he directed episodes of the X-Files but his claim to fame are still the first sixteen pilot episodes that he directed which all went on to become series, including Smallville. From an aesthetic viewpoint Arrow really has to be divided into 3 different segments for a fair analysis which are present Olivers public life, the flashbacks which take us back to the island and the action scenes in which Oliver acts out as the vigilante in costume. Firstly the lighting and color tones in all three are noticeably different. In the flashbacks the color tone turns to grey playing into the theme of his isolation, fear and confusion, instinctively pointing to the viewer that this is indeed a flashback/memory. Then we have the public life of Oliver Queen in which he continues to keep up his playboy faà §ade to cover up his darker alter ego. These scenes are often spent among family and friends or making public addresses, which are all well lit almost to the point of having a yellow tone to them, playing into the notion of the rich and famous, all glitter and gold. Then there are the night scenes in which the vigilante comes out to extract his idea of justice, in which t here is a lot of usage of shadows, setting the feeling of mystic and playing an important role in hiding Olivers face, from the villains as well as the viewers. In the flashback scenes the camera work remains edgy, almost has a hand free look to it while the editing in terms of cuts is very quick and often this technique is used to suggest lapses in time, from passage of hours, in some instances passing of days. The framing in these scenes, to compliment the editing, normally sticks to mid close up shots to extreme close ups so that the rush of the moment tempo can be sustained. Olivers public life scenes in the contemporary timeline show a range from close ups frames to long shots. There are a lot of establishing shots to justify the setting of the place from house, restaurants, night clubs etc, also the long shots are used to show the grandeur of the way Oliver and his family live. The editing cuts slow down as well and more time is spent in establishing one scene from one angle before switching to the next angle. The vigilante scenes revert back to the same formulae as the flashback scenes in terms of their framing and editing but differ in the way the camera is handled. The camera are more steady shots which are improvised by use of tracks and cranes but still are very different from the handheld look used in the flashback scenes. Diegetic sound has been used amply to justify certain scenes, examples of this are gunshots, the sound of the arrow leaving the bow, the sound of moving water in the flashback scenes reminding the audience that Oliver is on an island even at times when the water isnt shown, not to mention the music in the background from a party taking place downstairs when Oliver and other characters are having a conversation in a room upstairs etc. In non-diegetic sound, music from other artists is used in the romance scenes and other emotional situations but the most intriguing is the original music score that was composed by Blake Neely. The dark music theme sets the mood for this dark take on the Green Arrow character. Blake Neely admits in a promotional video released about the composition of the music, prior to the airing of the series, that he was pleasantly surprised when the writers of the show asked him to go as dark and menacing as he could. Most of the vigilante scenes and the flashbacks use only the original theme, which plays well in keeping the link alive in the audiences mind, that what happened to Oliver on the island has led to him becoming what he is now, the vigilante Green Arrow. The critical reception towards Arrow has been favourable with Metacritic giving it a score of 73%, based on reviews from 25 critics. Mary McNamara (Los Angeles Times) said the series has a quality look to it and an interesting setting ,Smooth without being slick, textured but not self-indulgent, Arrow reminds us that the best stories we tell are both revelatory and a whole lot of fun to watch. Robert Bianco (USA Today) stated Granted, its all standard superhero stuff but the action scenes are well-handled, the emotions and the characters mostly ring true, and the plot offers enough twists to keep you intrigued. while David Hinckley (NewYork Daily News) wrote Arrow turns out to be a lively show, probably better than hard-core Green Arrow fans expected. Thats a good start.. While there are praises for Arrow by and large by critics, the articles have an undertone of a pleasant surprise like they were expecting worse and I think that worked for Arrow as it took people by surprise, not for being that great but for being far better than they expected. Not all reviews were full of praise though for e.g Brian Lowery (Variety) called the characters as strictly two dimensional and argued that there is over use of action scenes for a hour long episode. He also compared the over all setting of the series and the central character as being a surrogate Batman story. The most telling of reviews was probably that of Ken Tucker (Entertainment Weekly) suggesting that Your interest in Arrow depends on how much you miss the troubled-in-love, conflicted-by-family heroics of Smallvilleit mirrors that series setup. I think Ken Tuckers review has nailed the essence of the fans reaction to the show. Arrow has appealed to Smallville fans who have adopted it as their logical replacement after the Smallvilles tenth season finale bringing the series to a close. Those who didnt take well to Smallville are having the same objections to Arrow, with common complaints being of the characters being too involved in their emotional family sagas and their love lives rather than taking the plot of the mystery forward. Some fans of Batman are viewing it as a step down as the background stories of the two characters have a lot of similarities, playboy billionaires coming back after many years to their respective fictitious cities (Gotham and Starling City), becoming maske d vigilantes fighting against crime and injustice. Luckily for Arrow, Smallville did have a large viewership and the comic book fans of Green Arrow have reacted well to the new television series which has enabled it to amass a descent following. Arrow has lived up to its hype through the cinematic way that its been written, filmed and edited. Use of the original music/score has allowed the viewers to follow the journey of Oliver from the present narrative to his flashes back in time with ease, while the diegetic sound is used amply and with good effect in the action scenes to capture the intensity of the moment. If the first nine episodes are any indication, which they are as Arrow has become CW networks first major success since the Vampire Diaries in terms of ratings, the series has all the potential of enduring against its competition. The co-writers past experience with writing for DC comics have aided them in bringing the best rendition of the character of Oliver Queen to the television screen, while the plot deepening in each e pisode, with the mystery surrounding his enemies and his past, is sure to keep the audience intrigued for what seems to be at least a couple more seasons to come. 3 ACT STRUCTURE ACT 1 The time period is contemporary London. The story follows our protagonist Jeremy, who is a successful banker in his mid 30s, coming from an affluent family. His commitment to his profession and ambition to climb up the corporate ladder has made it difficult for him to find his soul mate. After several years of attempting to find someone he lets Tim, his childhood friend, set him up on a blind date with Kelly, Tims neighbour. Kelly is in her mid 20s, a free spirited, care free personality, working in a local restaurant. Plot Point 1: Jeremy meets Kelly in a local diner and intrigued by her spontaneity is instantaneously attracted to her, as Kelly is to his ambitious nature. Jeremy decides to keep seeing Kelly which Kelly agrees to although deep down she realizes how different they really are. ACT 2 Eight months have passed since Jeremy first met Kelly. Jeremy keeps falling deeper in love with her and wants to marry her. In the back of his mind he also feels that Kelly might be interested in someone else as she has been acting emotionally distant recently, the truth being that he doesnt realize that Kelly is scared of a serious commitment. Despite all the troubles they have had on account of differences in their personality, and his suspicions, he feels that if she agrees to marry him all the problems between them will be resolved. Middle point: Jeremy proposes to Kelly in the diner where they first met, taken aback as she was expecting a more serious build-up, like a formal dinner, in which she would have been better prepared to make a well thought out decision, she is taken in by the moment and decides to say Yes. After further contemplation Kelly decides that she does love Jeremy but could not spend the rest of her life with someone so different. She wants to get break off the engagement. Although knowing it will be extremely heartbreaking for her, she is more concerned about Jeremy, as the last thing she wants to do is hurt him. Plot Point 2: Jeremys suspicions increase as Kelly seems even more detached after the engagement. Against his better judgement he goes through her mobile text messages in which he sees a text from her to Tim saying I rather be with you. This sends Jeremy in a rage of fury and he decides if Kelly is having an affair with his best friend, then their engagement is over. ACT 3 Jeremy has an altercation with Tim in which Tim denies any involvement with Kelly. Jeremy then decides that he should call Kelly to his place and give her a chance to explain. He would be willing to forgive her anything but this and wants her to tell him it isnt true. As Kelly is on her way over Tim calls her and tells her what Jeremy was accusing Tim off. She is hurt as through all their problems Kelly never thought of anyone else while she was with Jeremy. The text message was completely unrelated to Jeremy and was a joke between two friends on a unrelated topic. Climax: Kelly arrives at Jeremys house only to find that he has adopted a very cold demeanour towards her. He asks her whether she had cheated on him with Tim. She thinks about telling the truth but sees this as the only way she can break the engagement without making Jeremy feel that he is not worthy of her. With bitter sadness she says Yes and leaves the house with tears rolling down her eyes. For the first time since they met, Jeremy and Kelly are on the same emotional place, they do love each other, but understand they were never meant to be. Synopsis of the Pitch Idea In contemporary London, Jeremy a successful banker in his 30s, driven by ambition and overburdened by his work hasnt found the time to find his soul mate. After much hesitation he lets his childhood friend Tim set him up on a blind date with a girl named Kelly. Kelly in her mid 20s, works in a local restaurant as a waitress and is the polar opposite in personality to Jeremy. When they meet opposites attract and Jeremy asks Kelly if he can continue seeing her to which she agrees. Half a year later they have grown to love each other but that doesnt stop them from having major fights on account of their personality differences because of which Kelly starts becoming emotionally distant. Jeremy being blinded by love mistakes this as Kelly being interested in someone else. He feels that whatever the reasons for their problems in the relation, internally and externally, will resolve themselves if he proposed to Kelly. Jeremy proposes to Kelly in the diner where they first met, taken aback by the suddenness of the gesture, Kelly is taken in by the moment and decides to say Yes. Only a few weeks later to realize that love is not enough when two people are just not compatible. Although she loves him, she realizes for both of their sake she needs to end things with Jeremy but she cant think of a way in which it wont Jeremys suspicions increase as Kelly seems even more detached after the engagement. Against his better judgement he goes through her mobile text messages in which he sees a text from her to Tim saying I rather be with you. This sends Jeremy in a rage of fury and he decides if Kelly is having an affair with his best friend, then their engagement is over. Kelly arrives at Jeremys house only to find that he has adopted a very cold demeanour towards her. He asks her whether she had cheated on him with Tim. She thinks about telling the truth but sees this as the only way she can break the engagement without making Jeremy feel that he is not worthy of her. With bitter sadness she says Yes and leaves the house with tears rolling down her eyes. For the first time since they met, Jeremy and Kelly are on the same emotional place, they do love each other, but understand they were never meant to be. COLD CHARACHTERIZATION OF LEAD CHARACTERS IN THE SCRIPT KELLY JEREMY OUTER MOTIVATION (Goal) To make the relationship work To make the relationship work OUTER CONFLICT Not coping well with Jeremys seriousness of life A bit too dependent on Kelly INNER MOTIVATION (Dramatic Need) To remain care free To control things INNER CONFLICT Loves Jeremy but cant be herself with him Largely discontent with himself EXTRA-PERSONAL CONFLICT None Dissatisfied and disillusioned by the world in general SECOND LEVEL OF SELL To bring happiness to whom ever she meets None TRANSFORMATION ARC From care free to being heart broken (negative) From being caring to becoming cold hearted (negative) WORST ATTRIBUTE Blunt Controlling BEST ATTRIBUTE Idealistic Determined Kelly Is a strong woman who likes to live life one day at a time. She is 24 years old and has lived in London through out her life. Her blunt and care free nature make it very easy for her to make friends with strangers but as she doesnt believe in staying in one place or dependant on anyone, she has a way of losing touch with friends, although never on a bad note. The most important people in her life have been her parents, her dad is still alive but her mother passed away when she was 16 years old. Shes what one would consider conventionally pretty, not that tall and has a tendency to act and dress casual at most times. Shell often be seen in her favourite pair of jeans, a short shirt and a wool cap. She is down to earth but firm in her beliefs of being herself and is blunt, more out of spontaneity than rudeness. She met Jeremy in a casual conversation in a bus and decided to stay in touch with him after he asked to exchange numbers. Over time she has fallen in love with him but deep dow n is concerned about the contrast between his controlling nature and her care free attitude. Jeremy Jeremy has also lived in London his whole life and is the only son of an extremely wealthy couple. He is a successful banker in his mid 30s and ran into Kelly in a bus on the way back from work when his car broke down. Hes tall, blonde and considered to be handsome. He is the strong silent type, who doesnt say much and feels he can freely speak in front of very few people. His love for Kelly has grown as he sees himself quite differently when hes with her than when around other people. As much as he loves her he understands that his habit of always wanting to be in control of things is an inherit part of him and doesnt understand how that would play out in the future with someone like Kelly. He also has a obnoxious side to him as his rich upbringing makes him feel that he is better than the common folk. He is extremely determined to stay set in his ways and finds it hard to take no for an answer. Research Idea (Research on the Project) Trials and tribulations in any relationship have always intrigued me especially the dynamics of two people trying to make a serious commitment to each other yet failing to end up together when, for all intents and purposes, they seem like nice people in their own right. When a friend of mine from another University in England mentioned working together and wanting to make a short film on problems faced by young couples in the contemporary British society, we got to work searching for material online. I looked through articles on the internet and some interesting statistics that I came across were suggesting that dwelling over the past and your ex, was a strong cause of emotional stress and depression. According to the 2011 survey carried out by YourTango.com, an online website dedicated to articles on relationship aspects and advice on matters, most people are still hung up on their ex: 71% of people say they think about their ex too much; narrowed to singles the figure goes up to 81%. More than half (57%) of singletons say thinking about their ex prevents them from finding new love. Both women and men remain attached to their exes. 74% of women and 64% of men think about their ex too much 76% of women and 70% of men have looked up an ex on the internet 50% of women and 40% of men say they look at their exs Facebook or other online profile too often. I felt the only way to make it intriguing for the viewer would be if the story revolved around everything that one shouldnt do in a relationship rather than discussing what one should. So after reading another article What Is The Best Way To Overcome Jealousy? I though the male counterpart in the story should suffer from jealousy as chronic jealousy according to the article leads to jumping to conclusions, suffering from paranoia, putting yourself in stress with recurring negative thoughts ultimately leading to moments of lashing out which make it difficult for the other person to stay with you. Having characterized to male character, I wanted the story to be balanced, so it was imperative that the female character embodies certain traits that cause the rift between them and blame isnt one sided. So the female character being free spirited is scared of a serious commitment to someone slightly older and more grounded than her. Although they have gotten engaged and she does love him, how does she react to realizing that they just arent compatible in the long run and would end up making each other miserable. I helpful article on this front was one written in 2009 by Simon Oaks titled How To Break Up With A Man: Dont Be Ambiguous. The article suggested that the best way to go about breaking of your relationship was to Make A Clean Break, by not hinting about it but rather saying the words Its over so it makes matters clear , secondly to Be Direct and not leave messages, letters etc, but by having the conversation face to face. So to make the story more complex, the female character spends more time trying to break off their engagement by suggesting, hinting and growing emotionally distant thinking that would be a better ploy and less heartbreaking for the male character but instead leads to more paranoia, suspicion and stress on his part. The feel/tone of the film is inspired by two different films, a French 70 minute film written and directed by Olivier Roberge and Patrick Boivin called Fall Finally that I saw online which follows a couples love affair and eventual breakup. I felt the cinematography for a low budget film, with interesting and crisp color toning and camera movements was inspirational. The camera movements could be done without excessive or expensive equipment and the up and do of the relationship were handled well. The other is a short film Symmetry made by filmmakers Will Hoffman, Daniel Mercadante, and Julius Metoyer, which plays with our yearning for balance, and reveals how beautiful imperfect matches can be, which has inspired the editing style of the flashback/memory scenes in which Ill attempt to use point of view (POV) shots a time lapse effects in post editing to make it visually different from the rest of the film.