Saturday, August 31, 2019

Saladin 6e Chapter 12 Nervous Tissue

Nervous System Set 2 Study online at quizlet. com/_6rnj1 2. What are the classifications of neurons? 3. What are the four types of neuroglia in CNS? 4. What are the two types of fast axonal transport? 5. What are the two types of neuroglia in PNS? 7. What do brain tumors arise from? 8. What do schawnn cells do in PNS? 9. What does the neuroglia or glial cells do? 10. What guides microtubules along axon? 11. What is anaxonic neuron? 12. What is anterograde transport? 13. What is astrocytes? 14. What is axonal transport or axoplasmic flow? 1.What are schwann cells? envelope nerve fibers in PNS. produce a myelin sheath multipolar, bipolar, unipolar and anaxonic oligodendrocytes, ependyal cells, microglia and astocytes Fast anterograde and fast retrograde. Occurs at a rate of 20 to 400 mm/day Schwann cells and satellite cells. masses of rapidly dividing cells. meninges (protective membrane of CNS), Metastasis from nonneuronal tumors in other organs. Often glial cells that are mitotically active throughout life spiral repeatedly around a single nerve fiber. support and protect the neurons.Prevents neurons from touching eachother and gives precision to conduction pathways motor proteins (kinesin and dynein) carry materials â€Å"on their backs† while they â€Å"crawl† along microtubules many dendrites but no axon. Help in visual processes movement away from the soma down the axon maintain structure. â€Å"nerve growth factors† secreted by astrocytes promote neuron growth and synapse formation 0. 5 to 10 mm/day. always anterograde. moves enzymes governs speed of damged nerve fibers. two way passage along an axon 16. What is bipolar neuron? 17. What is dynein? 18. What is pendymal cells? 19. What is fast anterograde transport? 20. What is fast retrograde transport? 21. What is Initial segment? 22. What is Internodes? 23. What is kinesin? 24. What is microglia? 25. What is multipolar neuron? 26. What is myelin sheath? 27. What is myelination? 28. Wh at is neurilemma? 29. What is nodes of Ranvier? 30. What is oligodendrocyes? 31. What is retrograde transport? 32. What is Satellite cells? 33. What is the trigger zone? 34. What is unipolar neuron? one axon and one dendrite. motor proteins in retrograde transport line internal cavities of the brain.Secretes and circulates CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) â€Å"transport† moves mitochondria, synaptic vessicles, other organelles toward the distal end of the axon for recycled material and pathogens – rabies, herpes simplex, tetanus, polio virus. The short section of nerve fiber between the axon hillock and the first glial cell the myelin covered segments from one gap to the next motor proteins in anteograde transport. (supply) â€Å"soldier† small, wondering macophages formed white blood cell called monocytes one axon, multiple dendrites. Most common, most neuron in brain and spinal cord an insulating layer around a nerve fiber. s segmented production of the myelin sheat h. thick outermost coil of myelin sheath. contains nucleus and most of its cytoplasm. gaps between the segments of myelin sheath form myelin sheathes in CNS. forms an insulating layer that speed up signal conduction movement up the axon toward the soma surround neurosoms in ganglia of PNS. provide electrical insulation around soma. Regulate chemical environment of the neuron the axon hillock and initial segment single process leading away from the soma. Sensory from skin and organs to spinal cord 6. What are tumors? 15. what is axonal transport?

Little Miss Sunshine Theme Essay Essay

An important idea in the film â€Å"Little Miss Sunshine† directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris is the idea that being a winner is more about perseverance and having fun than coming first place and always succeeding. A key character in the film is Richard Hoover, who portrays the development of this idea through his dialogue, costume and camera angles. Initially as defined by Richard, the world is split into only two types of people, â€Å"winners and losers†. Richard’s opening shot shows a middle-aged man orating to an audience, with a large projector behind him showing ‘the 9 steps’. The low angle establishing shots make him look like a man of importance, but ironically, once his speech has ended we realize he is speaking not to a large crowd of people, but a near empty classroom, with only 10 people. While there is a slight feeling of pity it also brings a note of humor to the speech as Richard who was portrayed as the ‘winner’ of the scene is now revealed to be more of a loser. The opening line of the film is â€Å"There are two types of people in this world, winners and losers† indicating to the viewer that the idea of what makes someone a winner will be dominant throughout the film. The statement is also used as a voice-over for the films first scene, where Olive is practicing winning a beauty pageant. Through this the audience quickly connects that Richard’s view of success has greatly influenced his daughter’s, as she practices her ‘winning’ face. The opening scene has been carefully chosen by the Dayton and Faris as a way to communicate to the audience that Richard’s perspective on winners will be a significant theme throughout the film. Richards’s obsession with winning and how he pushes this onto others is again witnessed as he manipulates Olive into not eating ice cream. When the slightly chubby Olive chooses Waffles and ice cream for breakfast, Richard implies that fatty foods and beauty pageants cannot co-exist. His careful choice of words â€Å"Have you ever seen a fat beauty pageant winner? † show him using Olive’s ambitions to dictate her behavior. He knows she cares deeply about this, and takes advantage of it. The Hoovers reaction to Richard is subtle but vital suggesting to the viewer that when people reach this level of obsession with victory it is no longer appropriate. As in this scene, Richard is shown in a close up of his face. However, when Dwayne, Grandpa and Frank try to get Olive to eat ice cream, they are shown with a mid-shot, displaying their cohesion when trying to cheer up Olive. This group shot further enforces Richard’s separation from the group, illustrating how the family is starting to realize that Richard’s attitude is no longer acceptable. The next important scene is were the audience finally sees Richard at his lowest point, and how he has invested so much of his life into the 9 steps that he cant bear to move on. When Richard is confronted with Sheryl screaming â€Å"Fuck the 9 steps Richard†¦I never want to hear the nine steps again! † he realizes that the foundation of his life might all be crap. Richard urgently hunts down Stan, his ex-business partner, but is met with further rejection. Richard is unable to accept that Stan has moved on, replying, â€Å"You mean give up? One set back, you’re ready to quit†. This scene is important for displaying the theme of what makes someone a winner because it fully encompasses the fact that Richard has become so consumed with compartmentalizing the world into winners and loser, he can no longer see the difference between giving up and just moving on. Costume was also used in this scene to fully emphasize the contrast between Stan Grossman (the winner) who wore an expensive suit, and Richard (the loser), who has on trainers, kaki pants and a cheap polo shirt. When Richard’s father dies, we see an important shift towards the idea of participation relating to winners. The directors have chosen this moment for this idea of what makes a winner to take a significant shift as the audience can see that the grief of losing his father causes Richard change his view on success as he learns to appreciate family. Choosing between abiding by the law (remaining with the body at the hospital) or supporting his daughter, makes him realize that coming first doesn’t always make you a winner. â€Å"If there’s one thing my father would have wanted it’s to see Olive perform in the LMS pageant. † This dialogue shows how Richard has developed, realizing that winning is more about determination and taking part, than first place. Winners are now seen as people that â€Å"don’t give up. † He sees that it wasn’t about Olive coming first for Grandpa, it was about her taking part. Finally the family makes it to the pageant but things start to take turn for the worse when Richard sees the rest of the competition. His expression goes from one of pride and excitement to a look of surprise and worry with and his mouth agape as it gradually dawns on him that the whole point of the trip (winning the Pageant) is no longer a reality as the other contestants are obviously much more experienced and competitive. Richard then rushes into the changing rooms to hurriedly tell Sheryl â€Å"I don’t want her to go on†. This shows that he still believes that it is better to avoid being a loser by not participating than to try and have fun with the risk of not winning. Although the audience can tell by Richards ashamed face, and avoidance of eye contact with Sheryl that he is somewhat embarrassed about having this feeling. This attitude is directly contrasted to the advice that Grandpa gave to Olive â€Å"A real loser is someone so afraid of losing that they don’t try at all†. The final scene where we finally see the idea that winning is more about perseverance and having fun than coming first is when Olive performs her dance routine. In this scene Richard finally understands what being a winner is really all about and instead of telling Olive to stop dancing he instead takes part jumping on stage and validating Olives choice to take part by copying her movements, regardless of if they are going to win. This is when he realizes that participating because you enjoy it is also a lot more fun, smiling and laughing as his family takes the stage, skipping in circles and whooping. This final scene fully conveys to the audience the joy and fulfillment you can gain if you leave your inhibitions behind and have fun by following your passions In conclusion an important Idea in Little Miss Sunshine was displayed through the use of Richard, a main character, coupled with various cinematic techniques such as dialogue, camera angles and costume. This helped to show how initially in the Hoover household a winner was someone who always came first and put their goals before everything else, even family. But gradually as the film progressed they came to realize that striving for first place is an unfulfilling goal but being a true winner is someone who has the perseverance to take part and have fun, regardless of how what others say.

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Effect of Globalization on the Chinese Economy

Running head: ASSIGNMENT 1 Assignment 1 – The Effect of Globalization on The Chinese Economy Pilar R. Reyes Dr. Z. Judith Mushipe EDL 805-304 – Strategic Management of Global Change Saint Thomas University February 24, 2013 Globalization has early roots when   when humans first settled into different parts of the globe. Globalization, however, has shown a solid and quick progress in modern times and has become an international force which, due to technological advancements, has increased in speed and scale, so that nearly all countries across the globe have been affected and engaged.The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of globalization in the economic growth of China, an emergent and developing nation. Globalization is â€Å"the increase in international exchange, including trade in goods and services as well as engage of money, ideas, and information† (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, & McNamara, 2012). Further, globalization is defined as â€Å"the growing similarity of laws, rules, norms, values, and ideas across countries† (Dess et al. 2013). In short, globalization is the progressive incorporation of national economies through the breaking down of global trade barriers. In many ways, China represents an idyllic model of an economy that has been impacted and has taken total advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization. In little over a quarter of a decade, this immense country has emerged from the rim of economic insignificance to lead the world in respect of economic growth.China has was able to do so by joining the World Trade Organization, implementing responsible government policy, attracting foreign direct investment, and developing vast export-oriented industries. Near the beginning 1980's, China's economy was very fragile due to its inward looking government system of a socialist planned economy under the Mao government. Living standards were below world averages, and there was barely any economic growth. Al so, there was no inflation due to no extent in growth and unemployment rates were incredibly low.Since opening up to globalization under the Deng XiaoPing government in 1978, through adopting the ‘open door' policy with an outward looking government system, China's system gradually transformed to a socialist market economy, establishing Special Economic Zones in the Southern coastal provinces, opening up to trade with world economies. With the globalizing Chinese economy in transition, impacting substantially on a growing unemployment rate since the 1980s to estimated 9% in urban areas while rural is estimated to be as high as 30% in 2003, while the economy has moved into inflation of 3. % (Nolan, 2004). However, the impact of globalization has improved living standards dramatically, with annual per capita disposable incomes of US$993 in 2003 compared to 1978 of US$299, with a extraordinary growth in the Chinese real GDP (US$1. 4 trillion in 2004) at an average of 9. 5% annual ly and gaining US$1200 billion in 2003 from exports with a rise of 7% per annum for the past decade, has placed China as the sixth-largest economy and the fourth biggest exporter in the world (Nolan, 2004).China's Communist Party has put into practice responsible government policies and long-term strategic planning of slowly opening itself to the integration of the world, has ensured political stability gaining rapid growth, surviving the 1989 Tiananmen Square rebellion, the 1997 Asian crisis and last year's SARS virus without making concessions to democracy, whereas socialist regimes around the world have dissolved. However, China is in good hands as the future seems to be prosperous as Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, predicts that by 2040 China will overtake America as the world's leading economy (Amsden, 2004).Not to my surprise, the results of China's recent affluence have not been shared equally amongst the nation's 1. 3 billion citizens. A noticeable and growing disparity i n the annual per capita disposable incomes of urban communities and rural communities, currently 7703 Yuan (US$993) respectively 2476 Yuan (US$299) (Nolan, 2004). This is due to the impact of globalization, directing 97% of foreign direct investment (FDI) along coastal cities allowing coastal communities to boom while inland rural communities are languishing, with 800 million people left behind by the current growth.Clearly, the economic globalization of China has affected its environment as well. The unrestricted Chinese economic growth has caused the loss of biodiversity, deforestation, desertification, persistent organic pollutants and environmental degradation bringing with it serious air, water and soil degradation throughout the country Air pollution from manmade greenhouse gases is an immense concern for major economic cities of China, causing health issues.Also, since the 1980's the population increased by 200 million, despite a ‘one child policy' implemented by the go vernment, coupled with the increased level of economic activity, this has placed a huge strain on China's infrastructure, with growing housing shortages and traffic congestion (Amsden, 2004). The government has committed to improving infrastructure, but this will inevitably be at the cost of the environment.Much of China's recent economic success from globalization can be credited to responsible government policy and long-term strategic planning. Over the past quarter of century, the economy has gone through a period of drastic structural reform, designed to increase efficiency and competitiveness. A number of state owned enterprises of key sectors have been deregulated, with an increase in private enterprises, competition policies have been introduced and the tax system has been overhauled.China's WTO membership in 2001 has also resulted in the dismantling of many protective trade barriers, such as the gradual phasing out of tariffs, which now averages 12% (Amsden, 2004). Through g lobalization, China has experienced a fluctuating inflationary status from inflation in 1993 of 14. 7% to deflation in 2002 of 0. 8% and now inflation of 3. 4% (Amsden, 2004). Although overall prices have been steady of falling over the past seven years, recently food prices has relatively shot up by 9. 7%, due to flooding of agricultural areas in 2003 (Nolan, 2004).The government is working closely with the central bank and state banks of China, placing new taxes on savings and has lowered interest rates down to 2% thus to influence an increase in aggregate spending to hop out of the liquidity trap, switching deflation into minimal inflation. Also, the government has placed bonus offers also such as extensions to official holidays and strong government spending to fuel consumer spending. Nevertheless, to reign in the risk of high inflation, the government has capped increases in utility costs and limiting lending by state banks.Due to globalization, the Chinese government has also increased confidence in the economy through its macroeconomic policy. In the past few years, fiscal policy has resulted in strong government spending underpinned by massive bond sales to boost the economy, helping to sustain GDP growth averaging 9% (Nolan, 2004). As a result of joining the world trade organization in 2001, China had gained a more vast export market, leading to upswings in the primary sector of 2. 9% and the tertiary sector at 7. 5% and the boom in secondary sector at 9. 9% increasing year-on-year gaining US$640. 9 billion in 2003 alone (Amsden, 2004). The Chinese Yuan is pegged by the reserve bank of China to the US dollar of 8. 3 Yuan, thus, increasing the competitiveness of domestic export-oriented industries allowing an expansionary effect upon the domestic economy(Amsden, 2004). WTO membership, however, has provided China with globalizing stability, gaining extra resources, accessing to; world technology, market information, global production and distribution ne tworks, and also reduced disruptions to trade by reducing unpredictable policy shifts and promoting stability in China's external economic relationships.Moreover, it is reinforcing growth of the rapidly globalizing Chinese economy, increasing FDI into exports and domestic production; upgrading management skills and technology. All these factors have made the globalizing Chinese economy the most attractive location for foreign companies to base their operations. Its vast pool of low cost-labor and the country's 1. 3 billion consumers for every conceivable product and service. And with a low tax rate for export-oriented industries in some cases of mere 10%, has continued to attract a disproportionate share of FDI coming into Asia (Amsden, 2004).China has gained a growth over US$52 billion of FDI between 1999 and 2003 at the expense of its South-East Asian neighbors and the ‘Asian Tiger' economies of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and even Japan with a decrease over the 4 years of US$4 7 billion dollars (Amsden, 2004). Increasing foreign direct investment (US$52. 7billion) of 10% year-on-year from globalization has allowed the Chinese economy to develop a variety of export-oriented industries, sucking in imports and dictating global prices of everything from steel to microchips.Around the globe, shelves are stacked with low-cost goods churned out by â€Å"the world's workshop. † Today, manufacturing by foreign trans-national corporations (TNCs) amounts to a over 50% of the national economy. TNC's also account for over half of total exports, worth an annual $50 billion dollars (Nolan, 2004). In summation, China has been impacted and has taken full advantage of the opportunities presented by globalization.China's economy has experienced a period of rapid economic growth from the 1980's, surpassing all other world economies. The impacts of this growth have been both positive and negative, with the majority of financial rewards flowing to the top end of the soc ial ladder and the environment suffering greatly. Through continued government involvement and strategic planning, however, it appears that China will continue to develop economically and establish itself as a major international economic player in the future to come. ReferencesAmsden, A. (2004): The Rise of â€Å"The Rest† – Challenges to the West from Late-industrialising Economies, Oxford: New York. Dess, G. G. (2012). Strategic management: creating competitive advantages  (6th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Mohr, A. (2013). The Effects of Economic Globalization on Developing Countries. Retrieved February 23, 2013, from http://smallbusiness. chron. com/effects-economic-globalization-developing-countries-3906. html Nolan, P. (2004): Transforming China: globalization, transition and development. London: Anthem.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia Research Paper

The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia - Research Paper Example Bolsheviks, who used their power in the Petrograd Soviets to gain support from the armed forces, successfully propagated the Bolshevik Revolution. Referred to as the Red Guards, Bolsheviks armies, led by the Military Revolutionary Committee took part in the revolution that shaped the course of Russian political arena. The Bolshevik Revolution came at a time when Russia was at the brick of collapsing under its numerous problems occasioned by its leadership (Litvin 2001, 49). Reasons for the Bolsheviks revolution The Revolution emerged, as the people of Russia grew weary of the rule of Czar Nicholas II, who had compelled over ten million Russians to join the First World War The Soviets were disillusioned by the death and suffering they underwent during the war and considered Czar Nicholas II an unworthy leader. In addition, the Soviets were angered by the move by the Russian Provisional Government to launch an offensive against the German and Hungarian armies. The Russian Provisional G overnment emerged after overthrowing the regime led by Czar Nicholas II, the former consisted primarily of bankers, industrialist and lawyers, who had promised to end Russia’s involvement in the World War, a promised they did not fulfill. The people of Russia protested the insurgence against these armies, but the government paid little attention to them. In addition, the Provisional Government officials who continued to amass wealth through corruption and massive taxes imposed on the Russian working class disillusioned the Soviets. The political elite were impervious to the suffering of the common folk in the nation as they continued in the footsteps of Czar Nicholas II. The Bolshevik Party sort to establish a government led by the workers and peasants able to make decisions that favored the Russian proletariat and bring to an immediate end the tyranny witnessed at the hands of the Provisional Government. Demonstrations against the government on the grounds of its support for the war led to crises in the Provisional Government and the emergence of the slogan, â€Å"all power to the soviets.† Another reason for the Bolshevik Revolution was the Provisional Government’s refusal to distribute land to the Russian masses and soldiers, who had requested land ownership over long periods of time. The peasants and workers took part in several revolts against landowners and tried to forcefully acquired their land, but were defeated by the Provisional Government, which also imprisoned the Bolsheviks Party’s leader. This apprehension of the leader resulted in Lenin going into exile for fear of being captured by the government. This served to further ignite the workers’ passion for a change in governance (Service 2005, p. 88). Moreover, we note that life in Russia in 1917 had become intolerable to the peasants and workers; disarray had ensued in sectors such as transportation, political and industrial relations. Massive declines in industr ial production resulted in closure of a majority of businesses in the nation’s industrial centers. Plunging production and closure of enterprises resulted in massive unemployment and loss of

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Banking - Essay Example Although a preferred means of solving the inherent challenges in the current banking industry, the reality is that it has its own disadvantages, as discussed in this essay. According to economists, there are a number of benefits of banks consolidation. One of these advantages is increased efficiency in the banking sector. Consolidation eliminates geographical restrictions in the banking industry, exposing it to high levels of competition, driving out all inefficient banks from the industry. This is not the only way of ensuring efficiency in the banking sector; moving to larger banking organizations too increases their levels of efficiency due to economies of scale and scope of work. Since consolidation increased the diversification of the loan portfolios by banks, thus lowering the probability of a future banking crisis. Mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry are economical, providing banks with an opportunity to minimize their expenditures. In the event of a merger, there is closure of overlapping branches, laying off any unnecessary staff, and sale of unwanted capital goods, thus minimizing some of the operational expenditures while at the same time creating some of income for the bank. Merging also increases sales volumes of banks’ products, especially when done from a central branch. One of the major advantages of consolidation in the banking sector is market diversification, creating new geographical markets. With these new markets is an increase in business revenues. Bank mergers additionally create stronger market power, changing the pricing offered by the banks. Although argued as a means of beating the inherent operation problems in the industry, consolidation faces a myriad of drawbacks. Critics of this form of banking fear on the elimination of the smaller banks from the banking industry due to acquisitions. Not only do the investors lose in such instances; small businesses too lose their source of funding. Large business organizatio ns seek funding from large banks while small businesses seek for funding from the small banks. If large banks acquire the small banks in an effort to minimize competition, small businesses lose their source of funding. If this trend persists, the banking industry risks suffering from domination by a few banks. This makes the banking industry less competitive, reducing the quality of services provided to the customers. Some of the economists however argue that this does not have any significant effects on the industry, since there is freedom of entry into the market, and thus balances the equation of competition. Differences in the working cultures of the merging banks could lead to failure of these mergers. In their initial stages of merge, different businesses suffer from increased operational costs, for instance resultant from communication differences. Although experts argue on the efficiency of creating bank mergers, the reality is that when a merger takes place, managers face m ore vast and complicated organizations, exceeding their usual capacity. They may lack the essential expertise required in the field, reducing such bank’s efficiency. Some of the experts argue that the creation of stronger markets provides the banks with an opportunity to exploit their customers. Strong markets mean that there are reduced

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Leadership and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Leadership and Management - Essay Example Let us discuss both concepts in detail in order clarify that leadership and management have no clear differences. Leadership refers to the act of guiding people towards the achievement of goals and objectives. Leaders within organizations are people who encourage followers to utilize their full potential and get new opportunities to learn (Cherry, 2010). Leaders view the need for change as an opportunity for individuals to grow in their professional lives and increase their levels of productivity (Elkington, 2010). Leaders motivate people to put all of their efforts to achieve their goals. The goals can be personal, social, political, or organizational depending upon the circumstances. The role of leaders in the whole process of achievement of goals is to identify the need of the followers, making them aware of the need to fulfill those needs, giving followers a well-designed and effective strategy to follow to achieve those goals, and motivating people to continue their efforts in case of any problem. Leaders are the people whom their followers believe. Followers have full confidence in the ac ts and thoughts of their leaders and they do exactly what their leaders ask them to do in the process of achieving goals and objectives. On the other hand, managers manage the activities of their employees. They do so to achieve organizational goals without any delay and in an effective manner. As Simmons (2012) states, â€Å"managers always realize that effectiveness is the real goal, and efficiency is necessary but not sufficient for sustaining a healthy organization†. Managers guide their employees whenever they feel some difficulty in their assigned job tasks, plan activities, do proper scheduling of tasks, organize the activities of employees, lead and motivate them, control all issues related to workplace so that no delay occurs in the achievement of goals. Management generally deals with doing things

Monday, August 26, 2019

Management Control System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Control System - Essay Example superiors and subordinates) works together towards a goal. To work together requires every member of the organization to have a direct participation in every plans and actions that will be taken by the organization. Giving each member the right to speak out and express their views towards existing situations will eliminate the gap between superiors and subordinates, and will unite the two separate levels. It gives subordinates a feeling of satisfaction on their job by giving them a chance to play vital roles in administrative planning, thereby motivating them to be more productive on their work. Participative budgeting promotes respect to every member of an organization, thereby tightening working relations in the organization that is a key factor of an organization effort to attain their goals and objectives. Budget Allocation is not an easy task. A reliable budget proposal comes out from proper analysis of the strategic and operational plans, which are submitted by key people of an organization. These plans are based on the current situation and need of every level of the organization. If each member is given the chance to decide on the expense and income of the organization, it is much easier to formulate more reliable budget plans. The procedure may take time conducting open forums or debates, but it will surely lead to a well-synthesized budget plan. Operational plans will become effective by emphasizing priorities. Transparency Corruption is the biggest problem among organization. Through participative budgeting, there will be a clear statement of the allocation of resources, expenses, and transparent administrative procedures of how the plans are formed. Those who are in-charge of budget monitoring will be more accountable of their action to avoid mishandling of funds. Goal Congruence and Responsible Management Managers and members of an organization become more responsible for their departments as watchers of action plans, and budget analysts. Subordinate managers who are in direct control of everyday operation and who have direct knowledge of the every situation could enhance the planning process. By giving the subordinate managers to create their own budget, it opens the chance to subordinate managers to create a budget that would meet their department's goal resulting to higher degree of goal congruence. Complexity in the budget could be minimized when every member of the organization work together to provide alternative solutions to problems. 2. Identify deficiencies in Scott Weidner's participative budgetary policy for planning and performance evaluation purposes. For each deficiency identified, recommend how the deficiency can be corrected. Deficiencies 1. Appropriation of target figure is done by superiors. Managers are not allowed to participate in setting the appropriation target figure. Recommendation: Managers should be given the chance to participate in setting up the appropriation target. Managers are the one who knows the actual needs of their department, so they should be given the right to propose or give input for the setting up of the appropriation

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Information Needs for the AIS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Information Needs for the AIS - Case Study Example However, changes in the technology of production in a company may necessarily not need be preceded by a change managing of information systems concerning accounting management. Importantly any firm seeking to undertake a change in accounting management systems has to evaluate critically evaluate and settle on an alternative that best solves the problems at hand (Allahyari & Ramazani, 2011). The reason is that the management accounting systems (MAS) conditions depend on the degree to which the causes of change are known to the organization as well as their indicators. Therefore, any hurried change in accounting management in response to technological changes in the manufacturing department could have a serious security risk to an extent of comprising the integrity and security of any data involved in the accounting management 2. The second misinformation is that new information technology guarantees improved accounting management in a company. While IT is a critical tool in accounting management in many firms purchasing and installation of systems and personnel to implement, IT strategies might not be enough to a company. This is because, the integrity of the systems and process depend on those operating the systems and the value that these systems have to the organization in question (De Marco et al., 2012). For instance, there is a high dependency on the ethics and personal responsibility in ensuring effective use of IT systems, a factor that has to be considered in rolling out such systems. For a firm to benefit fully from IT facilities and services in accounting there has to be effective IT governance, proper information system strategies, vision, IT strategic alignment to the strategic vision and mission of the organization (De Marco et al., 2012). 3. Cybercrimes and cyber-attacks are commons resources that only require government intervention to solve. The increasing cases of cyber-attacks in accounting departments and have led industry players to call

Saturday, August 24, 2019

How to successfully execute business negotiations in Iran Essay

How to successfully execute business negotiations in Iran - Essay Example As a means of communication, shaking hands is the first gesture of recognition when meeting someone. As far as the opposite gender is concerned, a male has to wait to see if the female is extending her hands. If she does not, then a simple nod with a smile is considered as a polite gesture. Doing business in Iran requires the individual to be mindful of the culture and communication that prevails in the country. They are expected to dress conservatively yet smartly. Female alongside wearing a conservative dress, will have to cover their hair with a scarf (Circles of excellence, 2010). 2. Cultural Dimensions 2.1. High Context vs. Low Context Apparently, Iran can be associated with following a ‘high context’ culture of communication. The aspect that puts them into this category is their usage of flowery language and linguistic ability. According to Bar (2004, p. 27), â€Å"Iranians accord great import to the context of communication.† This holds true not only in cas e of communication with each other, but also in case of communicating with foreigners. However, the foreigners arguably may not be sensitive to majority of the contextual implications that are being shared via the communication. In certain aspects, the culture in Iran can be associated with low contextual dimension. They are pragmatic and considerate of force ratios. However, it does not surpass rational considerations. The considerations regarding confidence building, hardly ever bend over to the practical goal. 2.2 Cultural Gender Roles There are different expectations and roles for men and women in Iran. The society as well as the culture requires men and women to portray or rather demonstrate their characteristic in a way that is expected from them. Women have to portray preservation, modesty and dedication towards their home and family, whereas men demonstrate the reputation of their family through work. This kind of behavior is associated with the kind of upbringing that they have had. It is a norm in the Iranian society to maximize gender role differences and discrimination. It has been witnessed that there is no strong desire among the authorities to change this perception. This has been the tradition of the country for a long time (Dastmalchian, Javidan and Alam, 2001). 2.3 Religion and Business Majority of Iranians describe themselves as religious, thereby stating that their beliefs play a crucial role in their way of living as well as conducting business. Religion has some sorts of influence in the way business is done in the country. Religion does not only involve worship and ritual, but they also outline moral principles stating how true believers should be living their lives. The impact of religion on business induces honesty, loyalty as well as justice. This highlights how religion and business is associated to each other in a country like, Iran (Miller and Ewest, 2013). 2.4. Taboo Mannerisms: What Not To Do To make appointments a month before t he actual date of meeting and confirming the same a week before. Thus, avoiding any confusion. To not be late in attending those meetings. To have all business cards and materials translated into Persian (Farsi). To not be impatient as business negotiations often take quite a long time (Vayama, 2013). 3. Business Structures 3.1 Developing Relationships

Friday, August 23, 2019

An evaluation of the recruitment strategies at HiTec Essay

An evaluation of the recruitment strategies at HiTec - Essay Example If HiTec focuses on recruiting graduates to fill these vacancies, they will require training to keep up with the fast-paced evolutions in technology that support business operations as graduate maintain limited experience in modern IT. As illustrated by Gustafson (2002), this can be very costly from a financial perspective without guarantees of return on investment in a business environment where many graduates recruited struggle to keep up with the pace of technology development. Therefore, it is more conducive to keeping recruitment efforts low-cost, which makes recruitment of high-skilled employees already working in competing companies more viable for HiTec as this strategy reduces the need for ongoing and costly training to ensure recruited graduates are capable of keeping up with the pace of technology development. Primary issues facing HiTecHiTec currently has an insufficient recruitment methodology, consisting of headhunters and newspaper advertisements. Whilst this strategy brings the organisation thousands of applicants, these advertisements are not grabbing the attention of high-skilled employees with strong skills in advancements in modern IT technologies. Hence, for all of the time invested sorting through these applications, the company still maintains vacancies as not all applicants maintain the proper skill-sets needed to give the organisation competitive advantage. With headhunters representing such high costs without guarantee of return on this investment, the business maintains opportunities.

The Growth of Jazz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Growth of Jazz - Essay Example Joachim-Ernst Berendt wrote â€Å"Jazz has always been the concern of a minority—always† (3). In 1700s, music played a significant role in African American culture. The roots of jazz can be traced back to the times of slavery where slave work songs were created in the form of ‘call-and-response’ to tell a story, and pass the time, a song leader would call out a line and the rest of the workers would respond to his call†¦ Soulful songs called â€Å"spirituals† were also sung by slaves. These expressed their strong religious beliefs as well as their desire for freedom (Jazz History). Work songs and spirituals were part of the establishment of jazz and these twin elements laid the foundation for this genre of music. The pleasant-sounding music of the black community known as â€Å"Ragtime† impacted the American scene in the 1800s. Many European communities were migrating to different cities of America, by now known as the â€Å"land of opportunities.† Multiplicity of musical traditions arrived with immigrants. The African American composer Scott Joplin combined these traditions with the melodious music of the black community and provided it with a profound soul-force. â€Å"Ragtime† was born thus. ... When in 1920, black people began migrating to cities like Chicago and New York to improve their financial prospects, they brought along with them jazz. The combustible younger generation of America liked this music. They rebelled against the old-fashioned ideas of their parents, surprisingly though! Jazz culture was responsible in a big way to the creation of genre of women known as â€Å"flappers†, who cut their hair and took to shorter dresses. Berendt wrote â€Å"Many great jazz musicians have felt the connection between their playing styles and the times in which they live† (4). Jazz music responded to the societal changes that were taking place, due to political, cultural, social and ideological developments that impacted the people. Thus â€Å"In the turn of the century around 1920, many artists made their mark by playing in the discreet underground nightclubs known as "Speakeasies" which are high class , "Blind pig" lower class or "Smokeasy" for smokers†(J aaz Music). Jazz was on the move. The Breakthrough for Jazz New musical innovations were flooding the market and they brought music to the reach of the common man. Jazz music got shot in the arm. American airwaves, dance halls, auditoriums and homes reverberated to the melodies of jazz notes. In 1930s many jazz bands were formed and it became the most popular music. Its bouncing beat and swing music made the people rush to dance floors on a recurring basis. â€Å"However, thing were beginning to look up for Jazz Music once the invention of the record player or phonograph was made to play jazz albums. In addition, radio stations helped promote Jazz music, and made it popular among the public. Jazz Music became music of class that earned the era a nick name known as the "Jazz Age† (Jazz

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Bacterial Morphology Essay Example for Free

Bacterial Morphology Essay Question A and C answers. A wet mount stain is when a drop of water is placed onto the microscope slide. The water on the slide helps to support the organism and sample. The water fills the space between the cover slip and the slide. This action allows the light from the microscope to pass through the slide and the sample for better visualization of the organisms. A direct stain occurs when a charged color portion of a basic dye like methylene blue combines with the negatively charged portion of and organism allowing the bacterium to become directly stained. In direct staining, the organisms must be fixed by a process such as heat. Fixing the slide prevents the organism form washing off the slide before visualization. This is accomplished by passing a smear of the bacteria through flame. The heat sets the proteins of the organism thus causing the bacteria to attach to the slide. The organism can become damaged from the setting process and the use of heat prior to staining. In indirect staining, the negatively charged colored portion of an acidic dye is repelled by the negatively charged bacterial cell wall. This causes the background to be stained while leaving the organism’s cell wall to remain colorless and unstained. Question B answers Specific bacterial morphologies noted in exercise one come from the spiral bacteria sample. The shape appears to be corkscrew in nature and vary in length throughout the sample slide. The length varies but the width seems to be uniform. The color most likely arises from the stain used to allow for better visualization of the organism. The Bacillus sample has no discernable morphology and appears as round ended, and cylindrical shaped in nature. The organisms have a black tint which is probably related to the type of statin used for visualization of the organism. Question C Bullet 1 The direct smear sample and the indirect smears shown were different in appearance based on the staining method. The Direct Smear stained slides showed that the cells picked up the dye and were stained for better visualization as well as for differentiation of organisms viewed. The Indirect smears showed visualization of organisms and cells unstained and were visually different from the direct smear. Question D The plaque smears are somewhat circular in areas and irregular in other areas. The appearance is unlike the yeast slide. The plaque smear cells appear to contain a discernable nucleus which is absent in the yeast slide. The yeast smear shows uniformity in the shapes and sizes of the sample provided. The plaque smear shows irregularity in shape but a significant difference in the size of the sample cells provided. Question E I was unable to obtain an oral swab from my cheek but was able to visualize the slide provided and base my response on it. The cheek smear sample shows cells that are irregular in shape and in size. The cells appear to have a darker center which is located in differing regions from cell to cell. The samples appear to be clustered in together and tightly packed. The plaque smears are circular in areas and are in differing patterns and shape compared to the cheek cells. The plaque smears are round and differ in size. The cheek cells are differing in shapes and packed close together. Reference Hands-on-Labs. (2012). A Laboratory Manual of Small-Scale Experiments for the Independent Study of Microbiology. Englewood, CO. Available from www.labpaq.com

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Overview and Evaluation of the Smart Grid

Overview and Evaluation of the Smart Grid The Smart Grid, Smart City Program was arguably one of the widest-ranging technology assessments of smart grid products in the world. It saw: The deployment and testing of several smart in-grid and customer-focussed technology groupings across the Ausgrid network and EnergyAustralia retail business in New South Wales Examined the impacts and benefits of additional distributed generation and distributed storage solutions Involved approximately 17,000 electricity customers in consumer-focussed trials examining how residential customers could contribute to peak demand management through behavioural changes The Smart Grid, Smart City Program focused on residential customers, as they represent the largest user group in Australia, and generally have more discretion over when and how much energy they use. Little was known before the Smart Grid, Smart City trials about how customers perceived, or how they might respond to, the opportunities that smart grid technologies offer. Most residen tial electricity customers in Australia are currently provided with limited information and very few incentives and tools to manage their domestic electricity use. A quarterly electricity bill is the main source of customer feedback, and this only shows the total amount of energy used during the previous three months, limiting the opportunities to systematically modify behaviour in order to save electricity and money. Based on the trials undertaken, this final Smart Grid, Smart City report, Shaping Australias Energy Future: National Cost Benefit Assessment found the potential for a net economic benefit of up to $28 billion ($2014) over the next 20 years from the deployment of smart grid technologies in Australia. This report demonstrates that there are four key aspects to realising these benefits and improving consumer pricing outcomes: Technological development and deployment of enabling (smart grid) technologies The introduction of cost reflective electricity pricing including d ynamic tariffs Consumer behaviour change with respect to electricity consumption (to better manage any future growth in peak demand) Energy market reform4 (many aspects of which are already underway) Realising the potential benefits requires an integrated solution if any one aspect is not implemented, then the extent of net national economic benefits available will be reduced. A large proportion of the net benefits identified can be derived from the economic deployment of a number of in-grid technologies which improve operational efficiency, reduce capital investment (through better managing peak demand) and deliver improved reliability for consumers at a lower cost. There are vast differences across Australias electricity grid, from highly populated suburban areas to sparsely populated rural areas, and different smart grid technologies are better suited in different circumstances. For those Australians living in suburban areas, there are significant potential benefits from certa in in-grid technologies. Likewise, for less densely populated rural networks, there are alternative in-grid technologies which can assist in improving the reliability and cost of managing the grid. Smart grid can simply be defined as the deployment of Information technology and also communication technology with the aim of improving the way electricity is generated, transported, distributed and stored. Across Australia, the distribution and the retail value chain elements primarily makes up the smart grid system. However, the impact also cut across how electricity is generated and transmitted. In this report, the smart grid smart city program which was funded by the Australian Government will be examined. The smart grid study focused primarily on residential distribution network and also with the introduction of a data centre for information processing. Smart grid technology find application in several purposes which can be grouped into customer side application, key enabling application, grid-side application, renewables, distributed energy and electric vehicles, data collection, processing and back-office. Several logical layers can also be used to represent each of the appli cations which could be traditional power systems equipment, communications network, computing capability, and also smart grid application layer. The Smart Grid Smart City (SGSC) program is one of the largest smart grid projects in the world. It was announced in 2009 by the Australian government with the aim of implementing smart grid technology at a large scale in line with the National Energy Efficiency Initiative (NEEI). It happen to be the first large scale smart grid project in Australia which was executed by Ausgrid and its partners. The project was aimed at showcasing the importance of the deployment of smart grid technology in commercial scale, building both public and corporate awareness of the economic and environmental benefits of smart grids, gathering an elaborate data with the aim of informing wider industry implementation of the various applications of smart grid across Australia, and also to investigate the interaction with other existing infrastructure. So many trial s were examined in the program which includes the deployment of smart meter infrastructure, distributed generation and distributed storage, and also the utilisation of electric vehicles in the Australias electricity distribution network. So many trials were deployed in the program. Part of the trials that is of interest to me is the deployment of the smart meter infrastructure. This trial entails the installation of smart meter at various residential buildings. The various components that make up the smart meter infrastructure are the communication technologies for information transfer to and from the smart meters communication unit, the meter management system, home-office operational systems. (Energy Australia, Sydney Water and other partners) and also the customer acquisition application. With the deployment of smart meter, data for electricity usage, storage and delivery were obtained for participating household. Another fascinating part of the Smart Grid Smart City program is t he distributed generation and distributed storage work stream which was initiated with the aim of providing critical data and information to help understand the implication of greater penetration of the combination of distributed storage and generation in conjunction with other smart grid technologies. In addition to the aforementioned, the electric vehicles project is also a part of the Smart Grid Smart City program I find interesting and it was aimed at understanding the potential impact of the utilisation of electric vehicles in Australias electricity distribution network.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Causes and Strategies for Aggressive Customers

Causes and Strategies for Aggressive Customers INTRODUCTION Tourism and hotel industry is growing among other world industries due to its significant impacts on the social and economic development of a region or country (Avelini, 2003, p. 130). The tourism industry worldwide generated US $ 944 billion sales in 2008. In year 2008, international tourists arrivals reached 922 million and World Tourism Organization (WTO) forecasts that approximately 1.6 billion new arrivals of international tourists are expected worldwide in 2020. The tourism industry has fourth rank after fuels, chemicals and automotive products among other categories. These facts and figures shows that tourism industry is key industry in worlds economy because it gives employment both directly and indirectly and thousands of families are relying on the income of tourism industry (WTO 2009 Publications). Clearly in the hotel industry, customer service is the backbone to customer satisfaction which is depends on the employees. In other words, in the tourism industry, hotels and other accommodation are one of the most important organizations for providing services. That is why Chebat and Kollias, (2000, p. 67) argued that, customer service employees are the key players in molding customer experiences as they finally manage the manners in which the service transaction delivered and employees provide tangible services in the form of delivering food, helping customer into their particular rooms and also give intangible services in the form of making visit again to the hotel. Others also argued that Sperdin and Peters (2009, p. 171), customers want professional services and satisfying experiences with full of good performance. Because hotel industry shows that there is higher frequency of interaction with customers if we comparewith other service industries (Hoffman Chung, 1999, p. 73). More over according to Chen and Yu (2009, p. 8), service employees with knowledgeable and caring characteristics are able to influence the perceptions and thinking of the customers. Customer service has verbal and non-verbal behaviors between service provider and the customers (Clive Muir, 2008, p. 241).Effective customer service is attained through using these four areas: the services provided by service sector, the customer service employees hired by service companies, the customers served by service companies and the service managers hired by service companies; customer service could fail if there is any lack in one of these four areas (Layman, 2001, p. 80). However, a unique but distressing feature during the service role is that service companies are expected to face aggressive behavior from customers. For this reason Baron,(1993, p. 142) identified three levels of aggression linked to service employees. In first level, withholding cooperation, spreading rumors and using offensive language behaviors are shown from customer side, in second level, intense arguments and verbal threats are shown. Lastly in third level, frequent displays of intense anger, physical fights and the use of weapons kinds of behaviors are shown from customers side. In this paper, we pay attention to the first and the second levels of aggression as they are very common in the service arena of the hospitality industry. In addition, aggressive behavior could arise during service encounters especially when things are going wrong (Smith Bolton, 2002, p. 5). When customers got angry, most of them behave aggressively, say something bad and try to hurt an individual (Bougie et al., 2003, p. 379). The study of organizational behavior and psychology give remarkable attention to the study of anger and it is also important for managers to know under what circumstances, customer got aggressive and is important for optimum resource allocation, staff development and training (Kennedy et al., 2010, p. 2). Several service companies realize that they always face the high level of stress due to customer aggression. In explaining what the service employees can do towards aggression, Lemmink and Mattson, (1998, p. 506) developed research about friendly employees behavior with customer satisfaction. Their study showed that personal warmth by customer service employees leave positive impacts on aggressive customers. So it is argued that, service employees have significant impacts on aggressive customers to mold their aggressive, anger, noisy behavior into normal behavior and make loyal with the particular service company. Then again, all the reviewed articles clearly show that the most important part of delivering superior services includes: how to deal with customers who are frustrated or angry and must know how to turn the situation. In spite of the growing trend of handling aggression, several tools can be used to resolve the situation in a way that will leave the customer satisfied: 1. Keep a positive attitude. 2. Encourage customers to vent their emotions. 3. Find out the facts. 4. Understand the customers feelings. 5. Suggest a way to solve the problem. 6. End on a positive note. Of course taking these proper steps, give motivation to managers and their employees to calm angry customers and turned their behavior into satisfied customers which encourage customers to continue doing business with the department and company (Levine Debra, 1992, p.27). In this regard, specific term emotional labor is used in service marketing and management literature, which is the interaction of employees and customers, it focuses on front line employee when they interact with public and it requires to produce an emotional state for another person (Pugliesi, 1999, p. 128,131).Hochschild, (1983, p. 7) defined emotional labor in her book The Managed Heart that â€Å"the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display, emotional labor is sold for a wage and therefore has exchange value† (p. 7). This definition illustrates that emotional labor is the act of showing emotions in front of customers as a part of job. According to Karatepe,(2011, p. 280)research regarding customer aggression and its detrimental impacts on employee outcomes in front line service jobs is sparse. For this reason Chu and Murrmann, (2006, p. 1181-82) argued, it has been seen that there is little empirical research concerning emotional labor in service marketing and management literatures. In summary in consumer behavior dealing with aggressive customers is important to effectively manage aggression but this is not an easy task which means that customer while behaving aggressively; customer service employees need to mold the behavior of such customers through using emotional labor. In this regards, critical identification of aggressive customers and in response appropriate mechanism to mold their behavior should be put in place .This study will fill the gap by making some contribution on the existing literature through empirical and theoretical examinations. 1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS After formulation the research problem, following research questions have been found: * What are drivers of aggressive behavior? * How to handle aggressive customers and how to mold their aggressive behavior from the side of customer service employees? 1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of this thesis is to explore the behavior and pattern of aggressive customers reaction in the Hotel industry in Sweden. To accomplish our purpose, we are going to study different features of consumer behavior and customer voice for the success of the industry. Detail analyses of the approaches and reactions taken by customer employees at the hotel industry will be explored.In this paper we want to make contribution on the existing service marketing management specifically emotional labor literature. Finally, the outcome of our research may bring important implications for business practices in the hospitality industry. 2. Theoretical Frame work 2.1 Understanding the Customer wants The key to customer service is doing the right thing at the right time. According to Barcal, (2004, p. 10) here are the most important customer wants and needs which create positive customer perceptions about the customer service employees and the company that leads to better customer relationships. These customer wants are described below which customers expect to be done according to their wants. Customers always want their problems to be solved. But sometimes, if service employees cannot solve the customer problems, they can create positive perceptions through addressing the other less customer wants. Customer expects that their wants, needs, expectations, feeling, and words should be acknowledged and understood. It means service employees should listen to the customer. When customers feel understood and acknowledged it gives good impression to customers which lead to good customer relationships. Customers also want availability of possible choices and options that helps the customers to make the decisions. But when they feel helpless or powerless, they could exhibited frustrated, angry, and aggressive (Barcal, 2004, p. 10-11). Customers also want â€Å"positive surprise†. It means that service employees must go beyond customers hopes and expectations, like offering discount or providing some extra benefits which are not available to them before. Positive surprises are most useful when dealing with angry or aggressive customers. Consistency, reliability, and predictability are also important customer wants. This explains that customers are expecting to be treated in a consistent way. After acting accordance to these wants, customers feel sense of security and confidence with service employees and with company as well. This kind of behavior leads to loyalty. Beside customer wants value against their time and money investment. When customers consider value, they also consider how they are treated by customer service employees. It is very hard for service employees to affect the value of prices of services or products but they can add value through helping the customer in other ways (Barcal, 2004, p. 11 ). Reasonable simplicity is also an important customer want. It implies that service employees should make things easier instead of provision of complicatedservices; otherwise customers will be frustrated and aggressive. Speed and prompt service is the important want of customers which are expected from service employees. Customers want their problems be solved quickly and efficiently, as well as how fast they are being served. Confidentiality is an important aspect of customer service. Customers want some degree of privacy when talking with service employees and they feel uncomfortable if there is other staff or other customers around them. At the end, customers want the sense that they are important. Listening to and acknowledging customers demonstrate that they are important. The importance can be given through specific phrases and techniques through which they feel important. (Barcal, 2004, p. 11-12). Based on the arguments present above, all these customer wants need to be acknowledged by service employees, fulfilling customer wants make organizations attractive, otherwise leads to frustration/dissatisfaction which in some cases leads to aggressive behavior of customers. 2.2 Concept of aggressive behavior Customer aggressive behavior is relatively new area due to which its attraction is increasing from last decades areas, including social sociology (unethical behavior, lying and unethical decision making), organization behavior (e.g: dysfunctional employees behavior, fraud) and literature on criminology, taxation and insurance fraud have already been researching on aggressive behaviors for last many decades Fisk et al., (2010, p. 5) but research on customer aggressive behavior is mostly inspired by Lovelocks (1994) research work. As a result, it has been generally observed that aggression is common in businesses (fitness, 2000, p. 148). For this reason it is important to look at neighboring concepts linked to aggression that are developed and used by different scholars. Regarding aggressive customers, popular terms include â€Å"Jay customers† (Lovelock, 2001, p. 73), â€Å"deviant consumer behavior† (Moschis Cox, 1989, p. 732), â€Å"Aberrant consumer behavior† (Fullerton Punj, 1993, p. 570), â€Å"consumer misbehavior† (Fullerton Punj 1997a, p. 340), there are also less common terms including â€Å"problem customers† (Bitner el al., 1994, p.101), â€Å"dysfunctional customer behavior† (Harris Reynelds, 2003, p. 145) and â€Å"inappropriate behavior† (Strutton et al., 1994, p. 253). Of the popular terms, Christopher (1994), originated the term â€Å"Jay customers â€Å"and provided broad definition of the concept , Jay customers are defined as â€Å"ones who act in a thoughtless or abusive way, causing problems for the firm, its employees and other customers† (Lovelock, 2001, p. 73).These kind of customers  ´misbehave ´ bases for some kind of benefit and he also stated that these customers have following characteristics including labels thieves, breaking rules, the aggressive, criminals and dead beats (Lovelock, 1994, p.47). In viewing other important less common terms connected to aggression behavior of customers Harris Reynalds, (2003, p.145) defined dysfunctional customer behavior â€Å"Actions by customers who intentionally or unintentionally, overtly or conversely, act in a manner that, in some way, disrupts otherwise functional service encounters†. These norms are formed through customs, manners, rules and regulations, laws, and mores ´ (Moschis Cox, 1989, p. 732). In the service encounter context, norms are based on lodgers of role theory which states that humans behave dynamically but surely depending on their social identities and situations (Biddle, 1986, p. 68). In this context, customer behavior is considered to be deviant when it violates the accepted standards of exchange behavior (Fisk et al., 2009, p. 8). In addition , â€Å"Aberrant† also describing the customer behavior† behavior in the exchange setting which violates the generally accepted norms of conduct in such situations and which is therefore held in disrepute by marketers and most customers† Fullerton and Punj (1993, p. 570). Moreover they also stress that deviant behavior by consumers is the representation of overall customer behavior rather than signifying psychologically or physiologically type of behavior. But in later studies, Fullerton and Punj (1997a; 1997b; 1997c; 2004a) exchange the term ‘aberrant with ‘customer misbehavior. This term has been used widely within the customer misbehavior literature and various authors like Albers-Miller, 1999; Tonglet, 2002; and Freestone and Mitchell, 2004) have applied this term in their research works. One can easily understand that it is hard to provide a single comprehensive definition of the concept aggressive customers. However aggression can be looked as a situation in which customer behave out of rules and regulations, norms and customs of the company.Beside their action goes to the extent disturbing the routine day to day activity of the customer service employee at those particular moments. This could be because customers have been treated unfairly and unhappy with overall service of the company or unpleasant environment. 2.3 Causes of Aggressive Behavior Customers are playing significant role in organization. Due to the importance of customer, marketing and management researchers have keen to know the better understanding of the customer emotions especially the negative emotions which leads to customer aggression and created in customer employee interactions (Smith Bolton 2002, p.5). Furthermore, the interaction between employee and customer is routine work but when things go wrong with customer it shows negative emotions which normally leads to aggressive behavior. (Kennedy et al., 2010, p. 2). Several researchers have investigated the causes of aggressive customer behavior. There are various causes due to which aggressive behavior among customers is created. The traditional way of looking at aggression in service arena shows that customers misbehave up on service for example Deffenbacked et al.,(2001 p.718) described in such a way that aggressive behavior created due to the poor service provision from service employees and customers consider that they have been treated unfairly. At the general level, some other also looked at aggression from social psychology point of view, across service settings, customers experience fair or unfair situation of services for this reason experiences could be classified in to different categories of justices (i.e distributive, procedural and interactional justice)(Clemmer, E. C. 1993, p. 197). As a result Kennedy et al., (2010, p. 1) highlighted that customer is directly related to the perceived source of violation which includes (distributive, procedural and interactions justice). It means that anger on a company or organization is related to the violations of distributive justice but anger on an employee is related to the violations of both procedural (response time) and interactional justice. Secondly, they pinpointed that attributes of sins of omission (things could and should have been done by the employee) and low levels of interactional justice (treatment received) fully mediate anger that targets the employee. From another point of view Kennedy et al., (2010, p. 2) stated that , aggression also occur when required behavior violates an acceptable standard of behavior in the particular manner where the customer does not feel valued, respected or not treated with dignity during interaction with employees. In support of this idea,Mc Call-Kennedy and Spark (2003, p. 255) exploratory work showed that customer compare how they have been treated and how they should be treated during service failure and recovery attempts. Moreover when customer believe that they should be treated in acceptable standard but the service provide could not manage to do it , then at the end customers show negative emotions in term of aggressive behavior. Fullerton Punj (1993, p. 571) model suggests that there are two main important factors on which aggressive behavior is based on and can be seen in line with cause of aggression * Customer traits * Customer disposition Both of these characteristics include psychological, demographic and social/group influences due to which aggressive behavior occurs where psychological characteristics represent traits of personality, attitudes and moral development traits (Katz, 1988, p. 177). Fullerton Punj(1993, p. 571), also identifies wide range of demographic factors that affect aggressive behavior; these factors include age, sex, education and economic status. In contrast, a social influence contains a variety of group-level issues such as socialization, norm formation, and peer pressure (Moshcis Cox 1989, p. 732). However, this model also describes that there are also contextual factors due to which aggressive behavior occurs, these factors include the physical environment, the types of products/services offered and as well as the public image of the firm and most importantly, Fullerton and Punj (1993) said that aggressive behavior is more dependent on the interaction characteristics between customer service employees and customers. Therefore, at this stage it can be conclude that customer aggression emanates from provision of poor services; customer experiences of unfair situation in service setups and at the time the customer feel not valued, respected or treated properly. Customers would express their aggression in different ways. However, the most common type of aggression in service arena is supposed to be through verbal. 2.4 Verbal aggression As argued by Hutton R (2003, p. 2), verbal aggression is anger expressed vocally. It is a common behavior as it is rather easy expression of anger only words and sounds are involved. By looking at how problematic verbal aggression is, one should make a distinction between verbal aggression to oneself and to others. â€Å"Cursing at oneself, for example, is a possible reaction to ones own behavior when this behavior is considered negative and attributed to oneself†. While for an outsider this verbal aggression may still be interpreted as unfriendly and as an indication that the verbally aggressive person is easily irritated or bad tempered. (Smith, D et al 2004, p. 537). Customer verbal aggression, which refers to customers verbal communications of anger that violate employees social norms (Grandey et al., 2004 and Boyd, 2002; Grandey et al., 2007; Harris and Reynolds, 2003 cited in Karatape et al 2008 pp 713-714 ) such as swearing, yelling, threats, condescending remarks, and sarcasm. Hence, it would be reasonable to think that these types of aggression are followed by possible consequences which affect the employees and the organization as well as the customer. In this paper, we sought to emphasis on behaviors this type of aggressive behavior thatoccurs frequently, instead of extreme or rare situations. 2.5 Consequences of Aggression Customer dissatisfaction response following a service failure accompanied by s specific emotion like anger , disappointment, regret and worry influences consumer behavioral intension such as complaining, switching, spreading negative word of mouth and doing nothing (Mattila ,S and Ro ,H 2007 p. 90). Earlier research done focusing on the aggressive component of the relationship between customer and service employees have also identified that the extreme stress of aggression by customers results in service worker burnout from the side of service employees (ZureYagil, 2005, p. 83).This frequent hostility from customers creates non conducive working environment that customer service employees may want to avoid whenever possible (Grandey et al., 2004, p. 6). Moreover Yagil (2008, p. 146-147) supported this view by stating that regular contact to negative behavior customers results can be viewed from three different points i.e: negative emotional reaction, negative attitude towards work and physical harm on the employees. In explaining the consequences of aggressive customers up on the service setting understanding conceptual distinctions that has been provided by this scholar are very important: These concepts are also described below Emotional reaction customers having threatening and rude behavior affect mood of the employees and reaction of intimidation, feeling of anger and depression. Beside some others also feel high degree of stress due to customer aggression on the service providers. Work related attitudes and behaviors: employees lower job satisfaction accompanied by decreased organization commitment is potential consequence of customer aggression Physical harm: aggressive customer in some situation may goes to the extent of causing physical harm to employees. This happens to be the less frequent consequence of aggression in the in most service rendering organization. In general.by the same token customers aggression affects the organization due to the prevailing customer misbehavior in effect such behavior decreases employees commitment, loyalty and performance level towards their work. 2.6 Customer Service Employees 2.6.1 Myth of Good Customer Service for Customer Service Employees â€Å"The Customer is always right† Its a great slogan provided by H. Gordon Selfridge. But according to Barcal), 2004, p. 8), it is wrong and misleading. He said that customer is not always right because customers always demands unreasonable requests and expectations. It is very important for the customer service employees that they do not perform their day today activities under this assumption. Instead customer service employees should consider following two phrases. The customer always deserves to be treated as if he or she is important and his or her opinions need, and wants are important to listen. Of course, customer deserves to receive maximum effort from customer service employees who are serving him or her. Service companies not only need to focus on what they are providing to the customers but also how to provide products or services effectively which is the realistic excellent customer service (Barcal, 2004, p. 9). 2.6.2 Importance of Customer Service employees â€Å"People are your most important asset,† is wrong. The right people are your most important asset. (Jim Collins, 2001, p. 171).This is to show the importance of having diligent, motivated and service oriented employees in organization. According to LiverlockWirtz (2007, p.311), the most important demanding jobs are the front line positions in service firms. Employees are expected to be fast and efficient to do operational tasks, as well as become courteous and helpful in dealing with customers. In this context, the front line employees are the key input to deliver service excellence and become source competitive advantage especially in the hotel industry. 2.6.3 Relationship between Service Employees Behavior and Customer Satisfaction Many studies have tried to examine the relationship of service attitudes of employees with customer satisfaction in hotel industry. Trumble (2004, p.1) argued that according to norms of culture, smiling is a â€Å"mask exchanged out of politeness†. Researchers found different effects of smiles in business studies. According to Kattara et al., (1999, p. 321) human interaction is salient factor for determining customer satisfaction. When the customers are satisfied, they may be forgiving other problems. Hospitality industry majorly depends on the customers responses and the positive customer experiences. In hotel sector, superior services are dependent on employees and employees are the foundation of competitive advantage. They stated that actions of customer service employees are the foundation of service quality and customer satisfaction in hotel sector. Because customer service employees increase hotel image, actual and perceived service quality. They also found that hotel managers should focus on employee development through allocating resources. Chun Min Chu (2007, p. 1083) determined four factors of customer service employees behavior in his study with perspective to customer service employees behavior and customer satisfaction in hospitality industry: Friendliness Empathic feeling Enthusiastic service Problem solving He concluded that service companies must give more attention to front line employees with proper training and emotional support which is necessary for them to cope with the increasing demands of customer service 2.6.4 Service personnel; source of competitive advantage According to LiverlockWirtz (2007, p.311) from a customer ´s perspective, the encounter with service staff is the most important aspect of the service industry. From a firm ´s perspective, the service levels and how the service delivered is important source for creating competitive advantage through front line service personnel. Service employees are important with respect to customer and firm perspective because front line staff is: Is a core part of the product:Service employees are the most visible element of the service during delivering service and significantly responsible for quality of service. Is the service firm: From the customers perspective, a front line employee is the service firm. Is the brand:The service which provided by front line employees are the core part of the brand. 2.6.5 Characteristics of customer service employees According to LiverlockWirtz (2007, p.313) following are the important characteristics of customer service employees; 2.6.5.1 Boundary Spanning In every service company, customer service employees are boundary spanning. It means that they link the inside of the service organization to the outside world. In boundary spanning, customer contact employees focus on operational and marketing goals. Service employees perform triple roles, creating service quality, improving productivity, and making sales. This multiplicity of roles in service jobs creates role conflicts among service employees which must be identified by management of the organization to improve their performance. Sources of Conflict Service employees have three main causes in role stress: person/role, organization/client, and inter-client conflicts which can affect their performance towards customer satisfaction. Person/Role Conflict Service employees have conflicts between their job requirements and their own personality, self-perception, and beliefs. For example, service job require smiling with customers even with rude customers and they must show friendly behavior with rude customers. These factors create personal conflicts between service employees and management. Organization/Client Conflict Service employees face the dilemma in many cases when they should follow the company ´s rules or follow to satisfy the customer demands. This conflict is called two bosses dilemma. This dilemma arises due to exceptions in customer demands a sit violates the organizational rules. So in this case customer service employees faces conflicting customer needs and requests, as well as organizational rules, procedures and requirements. Inter client conflict This conflict is stressful and unpleasant because it is difficult to satisfy both sides; customer and organization. When service employees trying to satisfy the both sides during service delivery process, inter client conflict creates. 2.8 Emotional labor Emotional labor means that service organization are expecting to show emotions in front of customers. Customer service employees are expected to be cheerful and sincere with customers. Emotional labor occurs when there is a discrepancy between front line staff, way of behavior and the emotions that management requires them to show in front of customers. The main aspect in emotional labor is that services firms must know about the ongoing emotional stress among their employees and train employees how to deal with such stress and to cope with pressure arise from customers(Pugliesi, 1999, p. 126). More overemotional labor is the controlling of service employees behavior to show the suitable emotions (Chu, 2002. p. 1). Emotional labor is only used for workplaces but also uses every aspect of persons life. But we will discuss emotional labor according to service industry context. Emotional labor is relatively new term described byGuy, M. E. and Newman, (2004, p.289) that, â€Å"Emotional labor applies to both mens and womens work, but is the ‘softer emotions, those required in relational tasks, such as caring and nurturing, that disappear most often from job description, performance evaluations, and salary calculations†. It means that a person changes behaviors (emotions, verbal cues, body language) according to the suitable situation. According to Hochschild 1983, there are two types of emotional acting: * Surface acting * Deep acting * Surface Acting In surface acting people do acting and show emotions without feeling and realizing that emotion. This type of emotional labor is mostly used in workplace. Surface emotional labor involves changing the negative emotions such as anger, sadness, aggression into happier emotions such as happiness, care, excitement etc. * Deep acting While in deep acting, there are two different emotional actions are involved. In first emotional action, person show actual emotions what they feel. The second emotional action is true method acting, in which person use past emotional experiences to encourage real emotion which is not felt before (Hochschil

Monday, August 19, 2019

Tension and Suspense the Novel and the Opening Scene of the Film Jaws E

Tension and Suspense the Novel and the Opening Scene of the Film Jaws Peter Benchley wrote "Jaws" the novel before it was made into a film directed by Steven Spielberg. "Jaws" is a thriller with the main aim being to build up suspense and tension. In the novel Peter Benchley uses many variations of language techniques to emphasise important points that build up suspense. He also uses sentence and paragraph structure to affect the reader in many different ways. Steven Spielberg on the other hand uses different camera angles and shots alongside lighting effects to create atmosphere and tension. In the background he uses music and sound effects to add to the dramatic visual images he creates. Finally Steven Spielberg uses specific dialogue to show the victims feelings and emotions. At the beginning of the film the soft, relaxing underwater noises of communicating sharks instantly sets the scene and creates the feeling of being deep underwater. The familiar beach sounds have a calming effect, which immediately lulls the audience into a false sense of security. The black screen that appears at the start of the film doesn't provide the audience with anything interesting to look at so the focus is strongly on the soundtrack. When the opening credits appear, the contrast between the bold, white credits and the plain black screen really stands out. The white credits could symbolize the innocence and vulnerability of the victims against the black, evilness of the shark. As the credits start to roll the first note of the chilling "Jaws" music is struck. The peaceful aquatic sounds are abruptly interrupted by the slow, deliberate minor strokes ... ... him and Chrissie really creates atmosphere. Every time the camera switches to the boy the audience is reminded of how frantic the atmosphere around Chrissie is. The contrast of these two opposite atmospheres makes the attack seem far worse in the film than in the novel. I think that the film involves the audience more than the novel because the use of camera shots can bring the audience close to the action. The shark's eye view is a very good shot and ultimately brings the audience into the middle of all the panic and confusion. It also build suspense as the audience can see exactly what the shark can see and when the shark is advancing towards Chrissie's legs they know exactly what the shark is aiming for. When the attack is going on the close-ups at water level make the audience feel like they're in the water.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Women in the Work Force- 1960s Essay -- Essays Papers

Women in the Work Force- 1960s The 1960s were a time of social and political identification for American women. Despite the victory of voting rights, women still experienced discrimination in daily life. With the current millenium drawing to a close, women today still express concern of unequal treatment. It is important to glance backwards in history and remember the struggles that our mothers and grandmothers experienced. Thanks to the women of the past, women of the present are able to participate in politics and receive equal pay for equal jobs. The struggle continues, but we conquer more discrimination every year. It has always been a popular misconception that women are the weaker sex.1 This idea leads to the opinion that women can not possibly perform the same job requirements as men. Why should a woman seek further education when she cannot handle a job physically and psychologically in the male work force? A woman who does decide to work out of the home could not expect to earn as much as her male counterpart since she can not do the job nearly as well. History paints the picture of women staying home as homemakers where they belong. We see the ideal woman as June Cleaver from the TV sitcom Leave it to Beaver. A feminist author Betty Friedan wrote a best-selling book arguing that magazines, advertisements, educators, and social scientists portray women as happy as housewives.2The Feminine Mystique explained this portrayal of the trapped women into a life of raising children, taking care of the home, and giving no chance labor outside the home. Despite the expectation of women as homemakers, women broke free. They wanted to take more active roles in politics, society, and the work force. One arena of support cam... ... Jovanovich, 1987) p.236. 4 John Winters, Jr., http://nimbus.ocis.temple.edu/~rkarras/winters2.htm, Representation of Women in the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. 5 See Robert L. Daniel, p.263. 6 See Robert L. Daniel, p.264. 7 See Robert L. Daniel, p.264. 8 See Robert L. Daniel, p.276. 9 See Robert L. Daniel, p.277. 10 See Robert L. Daniel, p.277. 11 See Robert L. Daniel, p.277. 12 See Robert L. Daniel, p.257. 13 See Robert L. Daniel, p.257. 14 See Robert L. Daniel, p.258. 15 See Robert L. Daniel, p.258. - Gabin, Nancy F. Feminism in the Labor Movement: Women and the United Auto Workers, 1935-1975. London: Cornell University Press, 1990. - Spain, Daphne and Suzanne M. Bianchi. Balancing Act: Motherhood, Marriage, and Employment among American Women. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1996.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Real Dictatorship Between Stalin and 1984 Essay

Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from the 1920 until his death in 1953. He has done a lot of good things for his country but during his reign, he also has a lot of mistakes and these mistakes we also can see in the story called 1984. 1984 tells the story of a country’s authoritarian regime and the â€Å"big brother† in this country how to maintain his regime. I find a lot of common between the Stalinist regime and the regime from 1984. I put my point or view is divided into three parts, and now I will describe it one by one. First one, I have my topic sentence called the common between these two slogans â€Å"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU† from 1984 and â€Å"KGB STILL WATCHING YOU† from the Stalin’s regime. And I also can show that the quote in page 2 from 1984: â€Å"On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran. We know that BIG BROTHER is the â€Å"god† in the country in 1984. The â€Å"BIG BROTHER† can be seen in everywhere in this country even if people’s home, so it just want people knows that they should know they need to loyal to BIG BROTHER and work for him. Second one, I will take about the KGB, I have my topic called â€Å"the KGB† from the Stalin’s regime and the Ministry of Love† from 1984. The Ministry of Love is a spy agencies to monitor the people who lives in this country. We can see the quote in page 4 to 5 from 1984: â€Å"The Ministry of Love was the really frightening one. There were no windows in it at all. † â€Å"It was a place impossible to enter except on official business, and then only by penetrating through a maze of barbed-wire entanglements, steel doors, and hidden machine-gun nests. † In another way, the KGB is also a spy agencies to have spied for Stalin, and anyone who was tortured and in most of the times murdered. There is a good example for this is the story of a Jewish man who lived in soviet Russia, and one day the KGB arrested him in the middle of the street for making conspiracy plans of killing Stalin. The innocent man was tortured, and when he still wouldn’t admit that he was planning to kill Stalin, they threatened him by saying that they will shoot his whole family if he won’t, and he had to sign. Finally he was sent to a labor camp, otherwise, he would have died. For this research evidence is wrote by Arik Rattli.

Cafe yumm

It is not intended to serve as sources of primary data or illustrations of effective or ineffective management . Let's assume that it is currently October of 2011 and you are exploring the opportunity of becoming a Caf © Yumm! franchisee by opening a Caf © Yumm! near the I-JO campus on E13th street. Alternatively, you can open a Caf © Yumm! in downtown (two blocks from the LDT). For the downtown location, you face the following uncertainty: the city plans to build a huge office and apartment complex (with estimated 100,000 square feet office space and 150 apartments). The city will vote to make final decision in a year from today.If the project is approved by the city, the construction will take a year (starts this month next year and ends a year after that). You estimate the probability of the approval of the project by the city is 75%. To evaluate the franchise opportunity with Caf © Yumm! , you start to collect info as below. For both the I-JO and the downtown locations, y ou have the following estimates of the expenses to become a part of the Caf © Yumm! : Franchise fee: $35,000. This is one-time charge, paid to Caf © Yumm!. Advertising osts: between 1% and 2% of the gross sales paid to Caf © Yumm! n annually basis; currently 1. 5% of the gross sales. You will pay the advertising cost by the end of each year. Service fee: 6% of the gross sales paid to Caf © Yumm! by the end of each year. For the I-JO location, you estimate that the initial investment is $350,000. That includes the remodeling cost and the first-year rent which is $6,000 per month for this 1,200 square feet restaurant space. The lease of the restaurant space will be guaranteed for the next seven years. The rent, however, is expected to vary every year. The rent will be paid by the end of each year.From the opportunity analysis, your estimate other expenses and sales for the I-JO location are as follows: Expenses and Sales Labor Cost Non-labor Fixed Cost (Equipment lease, utilit y, insurance, and other miscellaneous costs Cost of Food ; Service Sales per $250,000 $36,000 $185,000 For the downtown location, you have the following choice depending on if the city approves the construction of the new office and apartment complex: Choice A: Rent a 1,500 square feet facility now The initial investment: $500,000. That includes the remodeling cost and the first-year ent which is $15,000 per month for this 1,500 square feet restaurant space.The lease of the restaurant space will be a seven-year agreement (early termination and sub-rental are not allowed). The rent, however, is expected to increase to $20,000 per month after the new office and apartment complex is built (if the project is approved). The rent will be paid by the end of each year. Estimated labor cost, cost of food and service, and sales: the same as those of the I-JO location before the new office and apartment complex is built; two times of those of the I-JO location after the ew office and apartment complex is built (assume that if the new complex is not built, the estimated numbers will remain unchanged).Estimated non-labor fixed costs: $4,500 per month. The number will increase to $6,500 after the new complex is built. Choice B: First rent a 1,000 square feet facility now; if the new office and apartment complex is approved by the city, you have the option to expend the rental space to a total 1,500 square feet (by contracting the next door rental space – the only way to expand the space in downtown area). The probability of the availability of that dditional 500 square feet space in this month next year is 80%.In addition, you estimate that the probability of the availability of that additional 500 square feet space after the new office and apartment complex is built is 0%. For this Choice B, you estimate The initial investment now: That includes the remodeling cost and t year rent which is $10,000 per month for this 1,000 square feet restaurant space. If you get the additional 500 square feet space, the remodeling cost is $200,000. The monthly rent for the total 1,500 space is $20,000.Estimated labor cost, cost of food nd service, and sales: 75% of those of the I-JO location before the new office and apartment complex is built; 125% of those of the I-JO location after the new office and apartment complex is built if no expansion is performed; two times of those of the I-JO location after the new office and apartment complex is built if the expansion is performed. Estimated non-labor fixed costs: $4,000 per month for the 1,000 square feet facility and $6,500 per month for the 1,500 square feet facility.You currently don't have any cash to start and run the business. You need to borrow oney to pay the initial investment and the franchise fee. You have two alternative ways to raise capital: Bank Option: The money can be financed from a Portland-based ABC bank at the annual compound rate: Wall Street Journal Prime Rate + 12%. If you loan from the ABC bank, there is no monthly payment. However, you must prepare one check to pay off your loan (principal plus interests) at the end of the seventh year.Early payoff is not allowed. Partnership Option: As an alternative, a local investment firm offers you the following financial â€Å"partnership† opportunity. Under the partnership agreement, the firm would rovide you all the cash needed to start the business (initial investment including all remodeling costs, and the franchise fee). In exchange for this, the firm would receive 80% of all your net profit at the end of the seventh year (if there is any).

Friday, August 16, 2019

A Lesson before Dying: What Makes an Educated Man? Essay

A Lesson before Dying is a memorable novel, set in Bayone, Louisiana in the 1940’s, about an uneducated, illiterate black man, Jefferson, who is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to death. While on trial, his defense attorney likened him to a hog, calling him nothing more than a fool and a cornered animal. Jefferson’s godmother wants him to become a man before he dies. She persuades two men, Grant Wiggins and Reverend Ambrose, to visit with Jefferson and teach him what it means to be a man. While both men desire the same outcome, they disagree about what it means to be an educated man. Grant believes that his college degree gives him all the knowledge he needs. However, Reverend Ambrose believes that being educated goes deeper that reading, writing, and arithmetic. Grant Wiggins, the son of plantation workers, returns to his hometown after attending college with an attitude that his education somehow sets him apart the other black men living in his community. He becomes a plantation teacher, completing the cycle of returning to his roots. While he is outraged with how other blacks are treated, he does not use his education to help the cause. Instead, he becomes angry and bitter. He does not believe he can help Jefferson and he does not want to get involved: â€Å"What do I say to him? Do I know what a man is? Do I know how a man is supposed to die? I’m still trying to find out how a man should live. Am I supposed to tell someone how to die who has never lived? † (Gaines 31) Reverend Ambrose is a black preacher, determined to preach the gospel and lead people to salvation and an afterlife with Christ. Reverend Ambrose wants the blacks in his community to live peacefully with the whites and to rise up from the ashes of slavery. He is kind and compassionate and lives a humble life. While he is not educated like Grant, he is very wise to the realities of life. He believes that his knowledge of people makes him more educated than Grant. Reverend Ambrose believes that Grant looks down on him, because he is uneducated. He is determined to put Grant in his place by calling him â€Å"boy† and telling him what he thinks of him, â€Å"When you act educated, I’ll call you Grant. I’ll even call you Mr. Grant, when you act like a man. † (Gaines 216) Reverend Ambrose is angry that Grant does not really see what Tante Lou has done for him. He is frustrated that with all of Grant’s education he still does not understand his people: â€Å"Cause reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic is not enough. You think that’s all they sent you to school for? They sent you to school to relieve pain, to relieve hurt–and if you have to lie to do it, then you lie. You lie and you lie and you lie†¦ You tell them that ’cause they have pain too, and you don’t want to add yours–and you lie. † (Gaines 218) Reverend Ambrose understands why Tante Lou made sacrifices to send Grant to college. She wanted Grant to return home and make a difference for his people. It makes Reverend Ambrose angry that someone as educated as Grant cannot really see how people really feel. Reverend Ambrose believes that it is better to lie in order to prevent others from hurting. He wants Grant to reassure Jefferson of the existence of Heaven. He wanted Grant to lie and say he believed in God and Heaven: â€Å"I won’t let you sent that boy’s soul to hell. † He did not want Grant to acknowledge to Jefferson his lack of faith in God. He wants a dying man to have the hope of an afterlife that was better than his life here. Reverend Ambrose could not understand how an educated man would take away the hope of a man that set to be executed. While it would be easy to argue that Reverend Ambrose not as educated as Grant, one cannot overlook the fact that his worldly knowledge goes far deeper than Grant’s. He understands the depths of people’s souls, and knows how to comfort and led them to knowledge and truth. Grant, on the other hand, is naive about other’s feelings. His education lacks real life knowledge, as well as the ability to interact with people. Reverend Ambrose sees where Grant is lacking and believes that until he opens his eyes and heart to those around him, he will never truly be educated. Works Cited Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson before Dying. New York: First Vintage Contemporaries, 1994. Print.