Interview with a manager free essay sample

I met for coffee with Gretchen Knipfel, Regional Manager of Marketing and Sales at Our House Senior Living. Our House provides assisted care, memory care and senior apartments in a residential setting where residents are able to maintain relationships and stay active in their community. Our House has been a primary living resource in Wisconsin and Minnesota for over 15 years. Gretchen’s territory provides care for 165 residents. She has been employed for the company for over 3 years. Compassionate, determined, well spoken and assertive are words that best describe Gretchen. Gretchen is 53 years old, a mother of 2 daughters, belongs to the local Curling Club, is an avid golfer and enjoys sailing. She graduated from UW Stout with a Bachelor’s Degree in Retail Marketing. Her education has given her opportunities in varied careers. Her first job out of college was an Assistant Buyer in retail in Minneapolis. As the market began to fluctuate retail was not at the premium. We will write a custom essay sample on Interview with a manager or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She then chose a different career path in real estate. Real estate became very lucrative so she moved back to Wisconsin to continue a career in Land Development Sales for recreation and retirement. About 4 years later she landed a job as the Executive Director in community development for the City of Ripon Chamber of Commerce. Shortly after her employment with the City of Ripon she was married and later had two daughters. She began working in Real Estate and Banking in rural Wisconsin for several as her schedule was more flexible and less demanding. Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and eventually became a patient at a local assisted living facility and was later admitted to a CBRF with Hospice care facility. Within 30 days of admission Elaine had passed away. Life experience took Gretchen to a new found passion to educate families about the options for their loved ones diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Previous experience in marketing and sales tethered her compassion for families and seniors with Alzheimer’s. An assisted living conglomerate contacted Gretchen about management potential in her hometown for a couple of newly acquired assisted living facilities. And that is what brought her to Our House. A few interview questions: 1. What is the mission of Our House? What role do you play in it? Gretchen: Our House refers to the mission as the â€Å"Promise†, and it’s as follows: We are passionately committed to making a difference in the lives of the residents and families we serve. We provide the highest quality care and excellent services. While promoting social interaction of seniors in a nurturing Home-Like Environment. Gretchen: What role do I play? I mentor the community directors and foster partnership and care to residents and their families. 2. Describe a typical work day and or work week. Gretchen: My days involve networking with partners in care. Visiting community hospitals and competitors with different levels of care. RCAC can only do limited care and patients need alternative placements. 3. How do you view your division? Gretchen: I view our division as the saviors of compromised seniors and a refuge for families struggling with healthcare requirements. 4. Describe your Management style. Gretchen: I am in a mentoring role not a dictorial position. In mentoring I find that communication is the key between partners in care and families. All levels of family and care providers need to be open and honest to foster the most enriching and engaging environment that a senior can expect. 5. Which skills are necessary to be a manager? Gretchen: Compassion, honesty and being open-minded. 6. What are your strengths in your current position? Gretchen: Compassion, honesty and being open-minded. 7. What are your weaknesses in your current position? Gretchen: Compassion with people that I’m mentoring and personal and emotional attachments to individuals and their families in need of care, which is also my greatest strength. 8. What is the biggest obstacle you face in your position? Gretchen: The biggest obstacle I face in my position is the distance of travel to many of the houses and being unable to commit after hours. 9. How many employees do you oversea? Gretchen: I have 8 directors that answer to me. 10. How do you motivate your employees? Hospice employees experience a wide range of powerful emotions between the physical demand and the reality of loss and death. I believe one of the bigger rewards in this type of work really comes from within. A lot of times after a loss of a resident I reward staff with a day off for reflecting on personal and professional growth.

Traditional VS Self-Publishing 2019 Everything to Know Before Deciding

Traditional VS Self-Publishing 2019 Everything to Know Before Deciding Traditional VS Self-Publishing 2019: Everything to Consider Before Deciding You might be about to make the wrong decision.Its scary. You want to or have already written a book and now its time to decide between traditional versus self-publishing.Which can help your book see the light of day?Traditional Versus Self-PublishingYouve finally made the decision. After years of saying I should, youve made the bold decision to finally sit down and write your book. Its a tough, yet brave decision. Sitting down to get your message out in the world will be one of the most challenging yet rewarding things you do. But now that youve made this decision, you may be wondering:Should I approach a publisher and go down the traditional route? Or should I self-publish and become an indie author? Which is better, traditional publishing versus self-publishing?Before the age of the internet, the only way a writer could get their book in front of millions was to send a book proposal and a query letter to a traditional publisher or agent. The writer hoped that day’s gatekeepe r had dranktheir morning coffee, woken up on the right side of the bed and actually given your letter and proposal more than a 10-second glance.Unfortunately, the likelihood of that happening was slim to none.This resulted in brilliant people like yourself being denied the opportunity to share their experiences, stories, and knowledge with the world. The Publishing Industry Is ShiftingThankfully, this industry is changing for the better at least for those of us who are savvy in self-publishing.With the development of online marketplaces like Amazon, the publishing process has changed. You can distribute your book to everyone, regardless of what some traditionalpublishing house thinks about your idea.You have a book inside of you and the world needs to read it!NOTE: We cover everything in this blog post and much more about the writing, marketing, and publishing process in our VIP Self-Publishing Program. Learn more about it hereWhy Self-Publishing?The publishing world has changed, a nd its time for you to reap the benefits. Here are seven reasons whyself-publishing is the best route to take- and why you’ll think twice before dealing with a publishing company again. #1 You Don’t Have to Wait for PermissionWith self-published books, you do not have to wait for anyone to give you the green light.Youdecide when and how to publish a book.Youdecide whose hands your book gets into.Youdecide how successful you are.In other words, you don’t have to convince any gatekeepers to allow your book to reach the global market.â€Å"But, don’t traditional publishers have a good idea for what will sell or not? I mean, if they reject my book, they’re probably right that no one would want to buy it.†Wrong.Have you ever heard of Tim Ferriss’s bookâ€Å"The 4-Hour Workweek†? It has been aNew York TimesandWall Street Journalbestseller for over four years. It sold nearly 1.5 million copies and has been translated into 35 differen t languages.Oh, and get this: It was rejected by the first 26 publishers it was presented to.Maybe youve also heard of a certain childrens book, the one about a young boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead who discovers he is a wizard. The†Harry Potter†franchise is a patent bestseller, with the last four books in the series being the fastest-selling books in history.Yet it was rejected by 12 publishers in a row, and was only picked up because the eight-year-old daughter of an editor demanded to read the rest of the book. Even then, after the editor agreed to publish, they advised J.K. Rowling to get a day job as she had little chance of making money in childrens books. Little did they realize the publishing success they had stumbled onto.Now, just imagine all the other authors out there who stopped after the first 10 or 20 doors slammed in their faces, believing the lie that they didn’t have a profitable idea.You cannot allow other people to determine your success.Self-publishing gives you the avenue to do that. You and your readers decide the worth of your words, rather than one person at a publishing firm who may not realize the potential publishing success in their hands.#2 You Can Publish Your Work QuicklyIf you were to take your book to a traditional publisher, it would take years to publish.For example, it may take up to six months for you to even hear back about the book proposal. And assuming they accept your proposal, it will take at least another year before the book is actually published.With self-publishing, you can produce your content as quickly as you want. And in the Amazon Kindle store, you can publish a new book whenever you want. That way, you can share your work as quickly as you create it!#3 Bring Home the (passive) BaconTraditionally-published authors are typically paid an amount of money up front. However, once the sales come rolling in, they only get a small cut of the earnings.Why? Because they have to pay the publishing house, the editor, the marketers, the designers, etc.But when you self-publish, you take in most of the earnings (save for the money you actuallychooseto spend on marketing, book production and publishing). On Amazon, for example, self-published authors receive 70% of the royalties for an eBook priced between $2.99 and $9.99. Now that isn’t bad!#4 You Form Invaluable ConnectionsSelf-publishers around the world have gathered online and in person to provide a community that supports one another in publishing their work.These connections become priceless as you meet other up-and-coming influencers like yourself.â€Å"Wait- so where would I meet these people?†Because self-publishing requires that you find your own editor, cover designer,formatter and launch team members, you end up connecting with people throughout your whole writing experience.Self-published authors also gather on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit.The camaraderie allows people to expand far beyond what they could have done on their own, or what they would have been limited to with a traditional publisher.#5 You Control Your ObjectiveSo much of a book is influenced by the motive that fuels it.Is your motive to make money?It isto launch a new career?Is it to share your story?Is it to become a public speaker?Or, is it simply something to cross off your bucket list?Remember, writing a book ishard work. And nothing is worse than seeing your hard work be transformed into something you didn’t want. When you self-publish, you are able to preserve the dignity and genius of your objective. No one is pressuring you to sell more books, or to taint your message so that it will reach wider audiences.You are notpigeonholed or made to become someone you’re not comfortable with.You writeasyou, andforyou. And that is liberating. That is self-publishing freedom!#6 You Control Your Creative ConceptThere are horror stories about autho rs whose ideas and voice became unrecognizable after they went down the traditional route.When you work with a traditional publisher, you don’t just sell them your manuscript, you sell them your idea.Your book may become something you are not comfortable with. Or, your dreams for a sequel or a revision may be completely squandered if it does not comply with the motives of the traditional publisher.But as an independent author, you retain total creative control.You are free to be expressive with your work. You are free to be vulnerable and controversial. You are free to beyou.When you self-publish, you also controlwhoyou write for. If you sell via the Amazon Kindle store, you can choose, and then tweak, your categories and keywords. You determine your marketing efforts. With 45 percent of e-book sales going to indie authors, audiences are showing that they respect and want to purchase the ideas of everyone- not just those endorsed by traditional publishers.#7 You Control Your FutureMost people looking to write a book want to earn more money, gain more freedom or have a platform to share their ideas.When you self-publish and have complete ownership over your ideas, you also have complete ownership over your future.There is no traditional publishing firm to stop you from selling a supplementary online course that includes material from your book, starting a speaking career, re-releasing your book with a hardcover or audiobook, or even releasing an updated version of your book.You determine the trajectory of your book, your ideas, and your publishing career when you self-publish.Even Big NamesChoose Between Traditional Publishing VS Self-PublishingThough there are some benefits to traditional publishing, even some well-established and successful  authors admit that the joys of being an indie author outweigh a traditional publishing deal.Via SelfPublishing.comSo much, in fact, that big name entrepreneurs who have large followings and couldeasilyget a trad itional publishing deal are opting to go the self-publishing route.These people includePat Flynn, Jeff Goins, JoshuaFields Millburn Ryan Nicodemus, Johnny B. Truant andJames Altucher.What You GetSelf-PublishingTraditional PublishingSole control of your book's outcomeâÅ"“XSole control of your book's rightsâÅ"“XControl over the storyâÅ"“XControl over the coverâÅ"“X100% of royaltiesâÅ"“XEditing includedXâÅ"“Cover designXâÅ"“MarketingXXDeadlinesXâÅ"“Why Go With Traditional Publishing?As you can probably tell, we here at Self-Publishing School are huge advocates of being in control and ensuring you get all the money you deserve for the work youve put in.That being said, sometimes traditional publishing will be the best option to fit your needs.Here is why some people might opt to go with traditional publishing instead of reaping the rewards of self-publishing.#1 You have connections in the publishing industryThe chances of landing and agent and making it in tradi tional publishing is very low.Because this market is very saturated and publishers really only publish certain types of books, those who have better luck with traditional publishing are those who have connections within the industry.Bascially, if you know someone who is an agent or an editor at a publishing house, it might be beneficial for you to work with them in order to get published through that house.#2 You want the labelThe best perk when it comes to traditional publishing is typically the fact that you cansay youre a traditionally published author.Because you have to go through a number of different processes and rejections in order to make it with traditional publishing, it can be seen as a sign that youre a better writer than others.However, as much as it can sound impressive, it doesnt always mean it is.#3 DistributionBook distribution is much easier as a traditionally published author, mostly because you dont have to deal with any of it.Traditional publishing houses ha ve very wide reaches and because of this, your book can reach a lot more stores in more places than if you traditionally publish.#4 Less responsibility on your partIf youre the type of person who just wants to write the book but dont want to worry about the title, book cover design, editing, or more, then traditional might be for you.Keep in mind that traditional publishers do purchase the rights to your book when you get a book deal and therefore, can make you alter anything in it to meet their needs.Meaning, your plot and characters can drastically change. If youre okay with that, then traditional publishing works for you.#5 No upfront costs to youKeep in mind, this doesnt mean traditional publishing is necessarily free.Typically, those who get traditional book deals receive an upfront payment of varying amounts. From there, the rest of the expenses fall on the publisher.However, those upfront payments arent often big enough to cover your living expenses for the length of time i t takes to get your book finished and out into the world. And that means youll still have to continue to work another job while writing and meeting deadlines in order to get your book done.#6 A slow and steady processThis can be both a pro and a con. If youre not in a rush to get your book out into the world, then the slow and lengthy traditional publishing process might be a good thing for you.Via SelfPublishing.comUltimately, Self-Publishing Will Change Your LifeIt may be that, like quite a few writers, youve dreamed about working with a big-name publishing house all your life, and nothing will satisfy you until you get that experience. There is nothing wrong with that. If youve identified this need early on, then maybe its best for you to go down the traditionalpublishing route.

Biography of Norman Rockwell, American Painter

Biography of Norman Rockwell, American Painter Norman Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator best-known for his  Saturday Evening Post  covers. His paintings depict real American life, filled with humor, emotion, and memorable faces. Rockwell shaped the face of illustration in the mid-20th century and with his prolific body of work, its no wonder hes called Americas Artist. Dates:  February 3, 1894–November 8, 1978 Rockwells Family Life Norman Perceval Rockwell was born in New York City in 1894. His family moved to New Rochelle, New York in 1915. By that time, at age  21, he already had a foundation for his art career. He married Irene OConnor in 1916, though they would divorce in 1930. That same year, Rockwell married a school teacher named Mary Barstow. They had three sons together, Jarvis, Thomas, and Peter and in 1939, they moved to Arlington, Vermont. It was here that he got a taste for the iconic scenes of small-town life that would make up much of his signature style. In 1953, the family moved a final time to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Mary passed away in 1959. Two years later, Rockwell would marry for the third time. Molly Punderson was a retired teacher and the couple remained together in Stockbridge until Rockwells  death in 1978. Rockwell, The Young Artist An admirer of Rembrandt, Norman Rockwell had a dream of being an artist. He enrolled in  several art schools, starting with The New York School of Art  at 14 before moving on to The National Academy of Design when he was just 16. It wasnt long before he moved on to The Arts Students League.   It was during his studies with Thomas Fogarty (1873–1938) and George Bridgman (1865–1943) that the young artists path became defined. According to the Norman Rockwell Museum, Fogarty showed Rockwell the ways of being a successful illustrator and Bridgman helped him out with his technical skills. Both of these would become important elements in Rockwells work. It did not take long for Rockwell to start working commercially. In fact, he was published many times while still a teenager. His first job was designing a set of four Christmas cards and in September 1913, his work first appeared on the cover of  Boys Life.  He continued working for the magazine through 1971, creating a total of 52 illustrations. Rockwell Becomes a Well-Known Illustrator At the age of 22, Norman Rockwell painted his first  Saturday Evening Post  cover. The piece, titled Boy with Baby Carriage appeared in the May 20, 1916, issue of the popular magazine. Right from the start, Rockwells illustrations carried that signature wit and whimsy that would make up his entire body of work.   Rockwell enjoyed 47 years of success with the Post. Over that time he provided 323 covers to the magazine and was instrumental in what many called The Golden Age of Illustration. One could say that Rockwell is easily the best-known American illustrator and most of this is due to his relationship with the magazine. His depictions of everyday people in humorous, thoughtful, and sometimes wrenching scenarios defined a generation of American life. He was a master at capturing emotions and in observing life as it unfolded. Few artists have been able to capture the human spirit quite like Rockwell. In 1963, Rockwell ended his relationship with the  Saturday Evening Post  and started a ten-year stint with  LOOK  magazine. In this work, the artist began to take on more serious social issues. Poverty and civil rights were at the top of Rockwells list, though he did dabble in Americas space program as well. Important Works by Norman Rockwell Norman Rockwell was a commercial artist and the amount of work he produced reflects that. As one of the most prolific artists in the 20th century, he has many memorable pieces and everyone has a favorite. A few in his collection do stand out, though. In 1943, Rockwell painted a series of four paintings after hearing President Franklin D. Roosevelts State of the Union address. The Four Freedoms addressed the four freedoms Roosevelt spoke of in the midst of World War II and the paintings were appropriately titled Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want,  and Freedom from Fear. Each appeared in the  Saturday Evening Post,  accompanied by essays from American writers. That same year, Rockwell painted his version of the famous Rosie the Riveter. It was another piece that would fuel patriotism during the war. In contrast, another well-known painting, Girl at the Mirror in 1954 shows the softer side of being a girl. In it, a young girl compares herself to a magazine, throwing aside her favorite doll as she contemplates her future. Rockwells 1960 work entitled Triple Self-Portrait gave America a look into the quirky humor of the artist. This one depicts the artist drawing himself while looking in the mirror with paintings by the masters (including Rembrandt) attached to the canvas.   On the serious side, Rockwells The Golden Rule (1961,  Saturday Evening Post) and The Problem We All Live With (1964,  LOOK) are among the most memorable. The earlier piece spoke to international tolerance and peace and was inspired by the forming of the United Nations. It was gifted to the U.N. in 1985.   In The Problem We All Live With, Rockwell took civil rights on with all his painterly might. It is a poignant picture of little Ruby Bridges flanked by the headless bodies of U.S. marshals escorting her to her first day of school. That day marked the end of segregation in New Orleans in 1960, a monumental step for a six-year-old to take on. Study Norman Rockwells Work Norman Rockwell remains one of the most beloved painters in America. The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts was established in 1973, when the artist gave most of his lifes work to the organization. His goal was to continue to inspire arts and education. The museum has since become home to over 14,000 works by 250 other illustrators as well. Rockwells work is often loaned out to other museums and frequently becomes part of traveling exhibitions. You can view Rockwells  Saturday Evening Post  work on the magazines website as well. There is no shortage of books that study the artists life and work in great detail. A few recommended titles include: Claridge, Laura. Norman Rockwell: A Life.  New York: Random House, 2001.Finch, Christopher. Norman Rockwell: 332 Magazine Covers.  New York: Artabras Publishers, 1995.Gherman, Beverly and Family Trust Rockwell. Norman Rockwell: Storyteller With A Brush.  New York: Atheneum, 2000 (1st ed.).Rockwell, Norman. Norman Rockwell: My Adventures As an Illustrator.  New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988 (Reissue edition).Rockwell, Tom. The Best of Norman Rockwell.  Philadelphia London: Courage Books, 2000.

Explain similarities and differences in the organizational cultures of Term Paper

Explain similarities and differences in the organizational cultures of any two of the organizations listed below - Term Paper Example An organizational culture also consists of specific customs and traditions that have been passed on through the employees. Many companies encourage the use of historical stories and events to relate the company’s strong culture and how its people are its biggest asset. Slogans, taglines and symbols can also be categorized as part of the organizational culture; many employees will draw motivational forces from these objects and improve their productivity. IBM and Toshiba are two of the well-known computer manufacturers who have their own organizational culture present in their company. Each of them has specific strengths and weaknesses which they have overcome through the efforts of their employees. Although many people believe that since they are competitive companies, their cultures and norms will be more of less the same, however this is not the case. For simplicity, we have carried out a research of the companies based on their head-office culture which gives the most accur ate description of the type of culture the original creators wanted. With the advent of globalization, this activity has become increasingly difficult, however some aspects are more clearly visible then others. What we have seen is that there are both similarities and differences in the cultures and both have their impact on the workings of the company, and while some have positive effects, others may prove to be disastrous. Introduction An organization is always affected by the culture it has. Culture can be defined as beliefs, behavior, language, and way of life for a particular group of people or a certain time. The importance of having a uniform culture throughout the company cannot be emphasized enough. In 1992, John Kotter and James Heskett published Corporate Culture and Performance, a landmark study of more than 200 US companies. They concluded that over time, organizations that managed their staff well saw their share prices increase more than 10 times higher than organizat ions that did not. In this article, we will be discussing the organization cultures of two large multinational companies which deal with the manufacture and distribution of laptops, computers, servers and other computer hardware devices. The companies are IBM and Toshiba. About the Companies IBM’s roots can be traced back to the year 1911 and has ever since been dominant in the IT business. While they remained competitive in some product categories, they failed in others. However, they remained true to their culture and this is the reason why they have remained a prominent player in the industry for so many years (Lesser & Prusak, 2004). Toshiba on the other hand, was started in the year 1939. Toshiba has always remained a competitive firm in the computer industry; however it has never missed out on opportunities in the electronics industry. Throughout its history, the group responsible for Toshiba expanded strongly, both by internal growth and by acquisitions, buying heavy e ngineering and primary industry firms in the 1940s and 1950s and then spinning off subsidiaries in the 1970s and beyond. They maintained its integrity and its strong culture. Some have attributed this strong culture as the backbone of its success. Some experts however say that it will be this culture that may lead to its eventual downfall; this argument is debatable and is out of the scope of this paper. What we must understand is that for a comparative analysis we must set a few parameters. For our purposes we will be discus

Data Analysis Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Data Analysis Project - Assignment Example Additionally, the study applied a chi-square test to analyze the relationship between the ownership of a vehicle and the visiting of an outside facility besides the SU facilities. The results show that there are no relationships between gender & exercising once a week, and cigarette smoking & gender. Additionally, the results showed that there are substantial examples of associations between gender and the type of exercise, gender and the frequency of exercising, being a member or not of an athletic team and the rating as well as satisfaction of participants using the SU facilities. Major disparities in the results show that, although gender determines the type of exercise chosen, there are no major relationships between the frequency of attendance and the choice of attending exercise sessions once a week. The measurement tool for this research is a questionnaire comprising of 6 questions for this section of the study which seeks to analyze the data on exercise habits and it relates one variable with another. The data set considered three types of question types comprising of multiple and closed-ended questions. For the multiple choice questions, the participants were expected to select any of the answers that suit them best. For the closed-ended questions, only answers such as ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ were allowed as this would make part of the numerical data analysis. Through the representation of results as ‘yes’ or ‘no’, numerically this can be presented logically as 1s and 0s for every ‘yes’ and ‘no’ respectively. In this case, questions that require ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers provided the independent variables that other items on the variable list depended on. For instance, the questionnaire requires participants to indicate their sex. In this case, each male case is denoted as a 1 and every female participant is indicated as a 0. In this

Comparing the Electoral and Party Systems of China and Russia Essay Example for Free

Comparing the Electoral and Party Systems of China and Russia Essay The collapse of the international socialist network changed the world at the turn of the century. The failure of the many socialist regimes ended the confrontation between East and West and provided an opportunity to restructure the international order. The individual states of East Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, China and the former Soviet Union took differing paths and chose differing restructuring strategies, which themselves led to different courses of transformation. The former hard-line socialist regimes of Russia and China had to face the challenges brought by the new world order specifically on altering its political structures. This paper would compare the government and politics of China and Russia focusing on the electoral laws and their impacts on the party system. Moreover, this would try to recommend some possible measures to ensure the development of democracy for both countries and to address some of their problems. Russia is a vast country with an imperial and authoritarian past. By area, Russia is the largest country in the world, almost twice the size of the United States. The population includes numerous minorities, with 36 national groups containing more than 100,000 people, Russia’s rulers have in the past been autocratic empire builders, basing their imperial expansion on control of the serf society and a rural community. Russia’s experience in communism represented a culmination of a authoritarianism. The Union Soviet Socialist Republics encompassing 15 European and Asian Republics, formed the former Russian Empire. The politics of Russia take place in a framework of a federal presidential republic. According to the Constitution of Russia, the President of Russia is head of state, and of a multi-party system with executive power exercised by the government, headed by the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President by the parliaments approbation. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, while the President and the government issue numerous legally binding by-laws. Although Russia has traditionally been ruled by absolute monarchs and dictators, it currently has a democratic system of government. Since gaining its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Russia has faced serious challenges in its efforts to forge a political system to follow nearly seventy-five years of Soviet rule. With a new constitution and a new parliament representing diverse parties and factions, Russias political structure subsequently showed signs of stabilization. As the transition period extended into the mid-1990s, the power of the national government continued to wane as Russias regions gained political and economic concessions from Moscow. Although the struggle between executive and legislative branches was partially resolved by the new constitution, the two branches continued to represent fundamentally opposing visions of Russias future. One of the world’s oldest civilization consisting states and cultures dating back thousands of years ago is China. It is a cultural region, ancient civilization, and nation in East Asia. The deadlock of the last Chinese Civil War has resulted in two political entities using the name China: the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), administering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau; and the Republic of China (ROC), administering Taiwan and its surrounding islands. It has the worlds longest continuously used written language system, and the source of some of the worlds great inventions including paper, compass, gunpowder, and printing. The Peoples Republic of China is working within the framework of a single-party socialist republic. The will of Chinese citizens is expressed through the legislative bodies of the Peoples Congress system. Peoples Congress members at the county level are elected by voters. These county level Peoples Congresses have the responsibility of oversight of local government, and elect members to the Provincial Peoples Congress. The provincial Peoples Congress in turn elects members to the National Peoples Congress that meets each year in March in Beijing. Current political concerns in China include lessening the growing gap between rich and poor, and fighting corruption within the government leadership. The support that the Communist Party of China has among the Chinese population in general is unclear because national elections are mostly CPC dominated, as there are no opposition political parties and independent candidates elected into office are too scattered and disorganized to challenge CPC rule. According to Hague and Harrop, â€Å"Party systems are the interaction between the significant political parties. In a democracy, parties respond to each other’s initiatives in a competitive interplay. The party system also reflects legal regulation applying to all parties. In China, a dominant party system is in place wherein one party is a constant component of the executive, governing either alone or in coalition. The dominant party system was more common in the twentieth century than it is today and China is one rare example. The dominant party of the PRC is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The leadership of the CCP is enshrined in the PRC Constitution. State power within the PRC is exercised through the CCP, the Central Peoples Government and their provincial and local counterparts. Under the dual leadership system, each local bureau or office is under the theoretically co-equal authority of the local leader and the leader of the corresponding office, bureau or ministry at the next higher level. The ruling Communist Party committee at each level plays a large role in the selection of appropriate candidates for election to the local congress and to the next higher level. China is a country that accepts involvement from multiple political parties. Apart from the CPC, the ruling party, there are eight political parties. They are China Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China Democratic National Construction Association, China Association for the Promotion of Democracy, Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, China Zhi Gong Dang, Jiusan Society, and the Taiwan Democratic Self-government League. Most of them were founded during the anti-Japanese war and the national liberation war. They support the political leadership of the CPC, which has become their historical choice during the long years of cooperation with the CPC and through common struggles. Although there are other political parties present in China, these parties are not opposition parties, but parties participating in the discussion and administration of State affairs. Moreover, these parties serve to endorse CCP’s policies. Meanwhile, Russia is working on a multi-party system wherein the legislature comprises several minority parties, resulting in coalitions or minority government by the leading party. The multi-party system in Russia resulted to the rise of not just one political party unlike the case of China. Although, United Russia occupies the majority seats of the Duma, the seats obtained by the Russian Communist Party, as well as other parties, are significant in producing checks and balances to the Russian Assembly. Electoral systems were made to answer the question of how to convert votes into seats. In elections to the legislature, the main questions is whether an electoral system ensures that the seats obtained by a party are directly proportional to the votes received (Hague and Harrop 146). In China, the people do not directly elect delegates for the National People’s Congress (NPC). China practices democratic centralism wherein direct democracy is only practiced at the local levels and the elected delegates in the local people’s congresses in turn elect their representative at the NPC. Delegates for the local people’s congresses are elected using the first-past-the-post system (FPTP). FPTP is a type of non-proportional system wherein parties are not rewarded in proportion to the share of the votes obtained. Specifically, FPTP takes the plurality form of non-proportional representation where a candidate only needs a plurality of votes to win a seat and a majority of votes is not required. In Russia, seats in the Duma were formerly elected half by proportional representation (with at least 5% of the vote to qualify for seats) and half by single member districts. However, President Putin passed a decree that all seats are to be elected by proportional representation (with at least 7% of the vote to qualify for seats) to take effect in the December 2007 elections. Particularly, Russia is adapting the list system to confer delegates for the Duma. The list system is the most common method of proportional representation in which parties submit a list of their candidates and then the votes they obtain determines the percent of seats they get. In proportional representation, the goal is to represent parties rather than territories. For China, the adoption of the list system is recommended to develop a genuine opposition party. For many decades now, the rule of the CCP did not face any significant challenger in China. There have also been secessionist movements due to some ethnic and cultural cleavages such as the Tibetans who are lobbying from independence from China. The adoption of the list system would allow the voice of the minority to be heard in the NPC thus ensuring the democratic rights of the people. It will also make China less prone to violence, just like what happened in the Tiananmen Massacre were students on protest were open fired by Chinese military, since grievances can be acknowledge in government institutions such as the NPC. It is necessary to abolish democratic centralism since government processes are easily manipulated by local bureaucrats to advance their own selfish gains. Political reform in China is a matter of opening the ‘nominally open’ elections to other political parties. For Russia, the current electoral system is well on its way to democratize the Russian political system. However, the recent decree of Putin would make it difficult for smaller parties to obtain a seat in the Duma. Seven percent is such a high threshold and may cause the marginalization of the smaller parties and the domination of the more established ones. A lower threshold is hereby recommended and that Putin’s decree for the December 2007 elections should be repealed because it is a hindrance for the continuous democratization of Russia. These formerly hard-line socialist regimes have adopted measures to cope up with the new international order. However, not both were able to give way to democratization due to the electoral and party systems that they adapted.

The Fight between Christianity and Satanism :: essays research papers

The Fight between Christianity and Satanism This is a fight between a slave world and a free world. Just as the United States in 1862 could not remain half slave and half free, so in 1942 the world must make its decision for a complete victory one way or the other. As we begin the final stages of this fight to the death between the free world and the slave world, it is worth while to refresh our minds about the march of freedom for the common man. The idea of freedom — the freedom that we in the United States know and love so well — is derived from the Bible with its extraordinary emphasis on the dignity of the individual. Democracy is the only true political expression of Christianity. The prophets of the Old Testament were the first to preach social justice. But that which was sensed by the prophets many centuries before Christ was not given complete and powerful political expression until our nation was formed as a Federal Union a century and a half ago. Even then, the march of the common people had just begun. Most of them did not yet know how to read and write. There were no public schools to which all children could go. Men and women can not be really free until they have plenty to eat, and time and ability to read and think and talk things over. Down the years, the people of the United States have moved steadily forward in the practice of democracy. Through universal education, they now can read and write and form opinions of their own. They have learned, and are still learning, the art of production — that is, how to make a living. They have learned, and are still learning, the art of self-government. If we were to measure freedom by standards of nutrition, education and self-government, we might rank the United States and certain nations of Western Europe very high. But this would not be fair to other nations where education had become widespread only in the last twenty years. In many nations, a generation ago, nine out of ten of the people could not read or write. Russia, for example, was changed from an illiterate to a literate nation within one generation and, in the process, Russia's appreciation of freedom was enormously enhanced. In China, the increase during the past thirty years in the ability of the people to read and write has been matched by their increased interest in real liberty.

1 07 Anne Bradstreet

Part 1: Short Answer 1. Identify and explain an emotion that Bradstreet expresses in her poem that any mother might have. She is sad that her children are growing up and leaving home. 2. Read  Bradstreet's biography. List two hardships she endured throughout her life. Then, in at least two sentences, explain how these hardships might have influenced her poem â€Å"In Reference to Her Children. †Ã‚   All colonists were fighting for survival due to lack of food, the climate, ect. She was afflicted with smallpox and had very bad health.I think these hardships might have influenced her poem because maybe she knew she was going to die soon and wanted to leave them with those words. 3. Figurative language is an important element in poetry. Taking tone and style into consideration provide a simile that could be inserted in Bradstreet's poem and briefly explain your comparison. â€Å"My love for you all is sweet like sugar† This could be inserted in her poem because she loved her children very much and it’s comparing her love to the sweetness of sugar. 4. Using the poem, answer the following questions. a. How many children does Bradstreet have? She had 8 children. . How many are girls? She had 4 girls. c. How many are boys? She had 4 boys d. What did the first child do when he grew up? Her first child moved away from home when he grew up. e. Where are the last three children? Her last 3 children lived with her, as they were not old enough to leave yet. 5. What comfort is Bradstreet giving to her children by saying:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"In chirping languages oft them tell You had a Dame that lov'd you well, That did what could be done for young And nurst you up till you were strong† She wants them to remember that they had a mother who raised them until they were strong enough to live on their own.Part 2: Extended Response 1. Was Hester Prynne a heroine? Write a persuasive paragraph defending or condemning her actions. Some say that Hester Prynne was a heroine. Well, what exactly is a heroine? A heroine is basically a female version of a hero. When I think of a female hero I think of super woman, not Hester Prynne. I don’t think she should be considered a heroine because she didn’t really do anything heroic, they say she dealt with her consequences with grace. This may be true but how does it make her a hero? All she did was endure the consequences of a crime she committed.If Hester Prynne is a heroine, than woman in jails and prisons might as well be heroines too! 2. Imagine the guilt Reverend Dimmesdale must have felt. Did he do the right thing? Write a paragraph to defend or condemn his actions in keeping silent for so long. I think he felt extremely bad and guilty because he was causing harm to himself about it. However, Reverend Dimmesdale did not do the right thing. He let the secret go on for a long time while basically lying to the people. He was acting like he didn’t know who Pearl’s father wa s. He was probably scared of being treated how they treated Hester and it made it worse that he was a Reverend.

Managerial Economics Essay

Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics 4. Describe the importance of the â€Å"other things equal† assumption in managerial economic analysis. 5. Describe what constitutes a market, distinguish competitive from non-competitive markets, and discuss imperfect markets. 6. Emphasize the globalization of markets. NOTES 1. Definition. Managerial economics is the science of directing scarce resources to manage cost effectively. 2. Application. Managerial economics applies to: (a) Businesses (such as decisions in relation to customers including pricing and advertising; suppliers; competitors or the internal workings of the organization), nonprofit organizations, and households. (b) The â€Å"old economy† and â€Å"new economy† in essentially the same way except for two distinctive aspects of the â€Å"new economy†: the importance of network  effects and scale and scope economies. i. network effects in demand – the benefit provided by a service depends on the total number of other users, e.g., when only one person had email, she had no one to communicate with, but with 100 mm users on line, the demand for Internet services mushroomed. ii. scale and scope economies – scaleability is the degree to which scale and scope of a business can be increased without a corresponding increase in costs, e.g., the information in Yahoo is eminently scaleable (the same information can serve 100 as well as 100 mm users) and to serve a larger number of users, Yahoo needs only increase the capacity of its computers and links. iii. Note: the term open technology (of the Internet) refers to the relatively free admission of developers of content and applications. (c) Both global and local markets. 3. Scope. (a) Microeconomics – the study of individual economic behavior where resources are costly, e.g., how consumers respond to changes in prices and income, how businesses decide on employment and sales, voters’ behavior and setting of tax policy. (b) Managerial economies – the application of microeconomics to managerial issues (a scope more limited than microeconomics). (c) Macroeconomics – the study of aggregate economic variables directly (as opposed to the aggregation of individual consumers and businesses), e.g., issues relating to interest and exchange rates, inflation, unemployment, import and export policies. 2 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics 4. Methodology. (a) Fundamental premise – economic behavior is systematic and therefore can be studied. Systematic economic behavior means individuals share common motivations and behave systematically in making economic choices, i.e, a person who faces the same choices at two different times will behave in the same way both times. (b) Economic model – a concise description of behavior and outcomes: i. focuses on particular issues and key variables (e.g., price, salary), omits considerable information, hence unrealistic at times; ii. constructed by inductive reasoning; iii. to be tested with empirical data and revised as appropriate. 5. Basic concepts. (a) Margin vis a vis average variables in managerial economics analyses. i. marginal value of a variable – the change in the variable associated with a unit increase in a driver, e.g., amount earned by working one more hour; ii. average value of a variable – the total value of the variable divided by the total quantity of a driver, e.g., total pay divided by total no. of hours worked; iii. driver – the independent variable, e.g., no. of hours worked; iv. the marginal value of a variable may be less that, equal to, or greater than the average value, depending on whether the marginal value is decreasing, constant or increasing with respect to the driver; v. if the marginal value of a variable is greater than its average value, the average value increases, and vice versa. (b) Stocks and flows. i. stock – the quantity at a specific point in time, measured in units of the item, e.g., items on a balance sheet (assets and liabilities), the world’s oil reserves in the beginning of a year; ii. Flow – the change in stock over some period of time, measured in units per time period e.g., items on an income statement (receipts and expenses), the world’s current production of oil per day. (c) Holding other things equal – the assumption that all other relevant factors do not change, and is made so that changes due to the factor being studied may be examined independently of those other factors. Having analysed the effects of each factor, they can be put together for the complete picture. 6. Organizational boundaries. (a) Organizations include businesses, non-profits and households. (b) Vertical boundaries – delineate activities closer to or further from the end user. (c) Horizontal boundaries – relate to economies of scale (rate of production or delivery of a good or service) and scope (range of different items produced or delivered). 3 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics (d) Organizations which are members of the same industry may choose different vertical and horizontal boundaries. 7. Competitive markets. (a) Markets. i. a market consists of buyers and sellers that communicate with one another for voluntary exchange. It is not limited by physical structure. ii. in markets for consumer products, the buyers are households and sellers are businesses. iii. in markets for industrial products, both buyers and sellers are businesses. iv. in markets for human resources, buyers are businesses and sellers are households. v. Note: an industry is made up of businesses engaged in the production or delivery of the same or similar items. (b) Competitive markets. i. markets with many buyers and many sellers, where buyers provide the demand and sellers provide the supply, e.g., the silver market. ii. the demand-supply model – basic starting point of managerial economics, the model describes the systematic effect of changes in prices and other economic variables on buyers and sellers, and the interaction of these choices. (c) Non-competitive markets – a market in which market power exists. 8. Market power. (a) Market power – the ability of a buyer or seller to influence market conditions. A seller with market power will have the freedom to choose suppliers, set prices and influence demand. (b) Businesses with market power, whether buyers or sellers, still need to understand and manage their costs. (c) In addition to managing costs, sellers with market power need to manage their demand through price, advertising, and policy toward competitors. 9. Imperfect Market. (a) Imperfect market – where one party directly conveys a benefit or cost to others, or where one party has better information than others. (b) The challenge is to resolve the imperfection and be cost-effective. (c) Imperfections can also arise within an organization, and hence, another issue in managerial economics is how to structure incentives and organizations. 10. Local vis a vis global markets. (a) Local markets – owing to relatively high costs of communication and trade, some markets are local, e.g., housing, groceries. The price in one local market is independent of prices in other local markets. 4 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics (b) Global markets – owing to relatively low costs of communication and trade, some markets are global, e.g., mining, shipping, financial services. The price of an item with a global market in one place will move together with the pries elsewhere. (c) Whether a market is local or global, the same managerial economic principles apply. (d) Note: Falling costs of communication and trade are causing more markets to be more integrated across geographical border – enabling the opportunity to sell in new markets as well as global sourcing. Foreign sources may provide cheaper skilled labor, specialized resources, or superior quality, resulting in lower production costs and/or improved quality. ANSWERS TO PROGRESS CHECKS 1A. The managerial economics of the â€Å"new economy† is much the same as that of the â€Å"old economy† with two aspects being more important – network effects in demand and scale and scope economies. 1B. Vertical boundaries delineate activities closer to or further from the end user. Horizontal boundaries define the scale and scope of operations. ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Marketing over the Internet is a scaleable activity. Delivery through UPS is somewhat scaleable: UPS already incurs the fixed cost of an international collection and distribution network; it may be willing to give Amazon bulk discounts for larger volumes of business. 2. Number of cars in service January 2002 + production + imports – exports – scrappage during 2002 = Number of cars in service January 2003. Number of cars in service is stock; other variables are flows. 3. [omitted]. 4. No, models must be less than completely realistic to be useful. 5. (a) Average price per minute = (210 + 120 x 4)/5 = 138 yen per minute. (b) Price of marginal minute = 120 yen. 6. (a) Flow; (b) Stock; (c) Stock. 5 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics 7. (a) The electricity market includes buyers and sellers. (b) industry consists of sellers only. The electricity 8. (a) False. (b) False. 9. [omitted]. 10. If there are scale economies, the organization could product at a lower cost on a larger scale, which means wider horizontal boundaries; and vice versa. 11. Yes. Horizontal boundaries: how many product categories should it sell? Vertical boundaries: should it operate its own warehouses and delivery service? 12. Intel has relatively more market power. 13. (b). 14. Both (a) and (b). 15. Competitive markets have large numbers of buyers and sellers, none of which can influence market conditions. By contrast, a buyer or seller with market power can influence market conditions. A market is imperfect if one party directly conveys benefits or costs to others, or if one party has better information than another. WORKED ANSWER TO DISCUSSION QUESTION Jupiter Car Rental offers two schemes for rental of a compact car. It charges $60 per day for an unlimited mileage plan, and $40 per day for a time-and-mileage plan with 100 free miles plus 20 cents a mile for mileage in excess of the free allowance. a. For a customer who plans to drive 50 miles, which is the cheaper plan. What are the average and marginal costs per mile of rental? (The marginal cost is the cost of an additional mile of usage.) b. For a customer who plans to drive 150 miles, which is the cheaper plan. What are the average and marginal costs per mile of rental? c. If Jupiter raises the basic charge for the time-and-mileage plan to $44 per day, how would that affect the average and marginal costs for a customer who drives 50 miles? 6 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics Answer (a) It is helpful to sketch the total rental cost as a function of the mileage (see figure below). The breakeven between the two plans is at 200 miles per day. For 50 miles, the time-and-mileage plan is cheaper. Average cost = $40/50 = 80 cents per mile. Marginal cost = 0. Total cost ($) time-and-mileage plan unlimited mileage plan $60 $40 0 100 200 Quantity (miles per day) (b) For the 150 mile customer, the time-and-mileage plan is still cheaper. Average cost = $(40 + 0.2 x 50)/150 = 33 cents per mile; marginal cost = 20 cents per mile. (c) After the increase in the basic charge, the average cost = $(44 + 0.2 x 50)/150 = 36 cents per mile, while marginal cost = 20 cents per mile. The increase in the basic charge doesn’t affect the marginal cost. 7

Autism Shots or unknown essays

Autism Shots or unknown essays While some researchers are trying to find the cause of autism, others are trying to find new treatments for autism. There is no cause of autism; therefore, there are many different therapies. Some might fall short of the perfect treatment due to not well researched, not consistent, and not comprehensive. Some of the therapies that are used today are Sensory Integration, Chelation, Gluten and Casein free diets, and Applied Behavior Analysis. Applied Behavior Analysis is the best form of treatment because it is the most logical, it has positive scientific results, and it shows a great deal of improvement in autistic children. Lets start off by explaining what autism is; it is repetitive and restricted behaviors that include very narrow interests, inflexible adherence to routines and rituals, repetitive motor movements, or preoccupations with parts of objects. Autistic people suffer in three domains, which include social interaction impairments, communication impairments, and the presence of repetitive and restricted patterns of behavior. Communication impairments can include poorly developed language, lack of conversational skills, language that is stereotyped, and play that is similarly stereotyped or lack the quality of make-believe. Social impairments can include poor eye contact, poor nonverbal communication, lack of mutual attention behavior, poor awareness of others emotions, and poor peer relationship. The first treatment is called Social Integration which is defined as an innate neurobiological process and refers to the integration and interpretation of sensory stimulation from the environment by the brain, and it focuses on three basic senses: tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive. There are many reasons why this particular therapy is lacking. First, all observations took place in treatment sessions. So it did not indicate either it affects childrens behavior in their ...

alturism Essay Example For Students

alturism Essay Altruism is used in discussions of ethics as an alternative to ethical egoism: the belief that people ought to be selfish. Altruism leads us to find a middle ground between being purely self interested and devoting our entire lives to the group. We learn that its not preferable to be too self interested, but can be harmful to devote all your energy to other people. A little too much self interest can be as harmful as too much virtuousness towards others. As an ethical egotist, what you might learn from altruism is; there are certain situations where it could pay not to be self interested. A good example would be several people stuck on a deserted island. If everyone left destined for their separate survival, surly only a few would live very long. If the people banded together, shared the work and supplies, surely most or all would survive longer.This shows that there are situations you can handle better when you chose to be in a group, then on your own. In conclusion I think any person should carefully consider before deciding to act in their own interest or act for a group that they are part in. People should try and think of what might be more beneficial for them in the long term as well as immediately. If the worst is true; and humans are purely selfish beings, what people should do is substitute a little altruistic philosophy in their thinking. This would help incorporate every self interested person into a group that functions better than any people could individually. It would probably help expand the available choices for people who feel they cannot make a decision. I think it can also lead the world in a more tolerant direction.

Freinheit 451 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Freinheit 451 - Term Paper Example The book is an excellent piece that combines enchantment with enlightenment and awakens the imagination of humanity. Fahrenheit 451 is set in the twenty-fourth century and brings up a new environment where the media controls the people, in addition to the problems of overpopulation and censorship. An individual citizen is not readily accepted and the intellectual is seen as an outlaw in that society. In this society, television has taken up the common belief of family ties. The fireman has become an igniter of fire and destroyer of books instead of an insurer against fire and its dangers. Books are seen as evil and illegal because they influence people to think and ask questions about the way things are done in that society. The story begins with an incitement where Montag meets Clarisse McClellan. Montag works as a fireman who burns books for a living. One day as he walks home from work, Clarisse who introduces herself to him approaches him. Clarisse is young, beautiful, and energet ic. She presents herself as an antithesis of anyone that Montag has ever met as she engages in a conversation with him especially in things that Montag has never considered. She is very inquisitive and she ponders about things such as love, happiness and the contents of the books that Montag burns. This character fascinates Montag (Bradbury, 1967). Over the next several days, Montag encounters a series of disturbing events that begin with his wife, Mildred, wanting to commit suicide through swallowing a full bottle of sleeping pills. This is followed by a strange occurrence that he encounters as he responds to an alarm about an old woman who has a stash of hidden books. When he reaches there, the woman stuns him by choosing to be burned along with her books. A few days after this, he learns that young Clarisse has been hit dead by a speeding car. This heightens the dissatisfaction in his life and he begins to find a solution by reading books from the stash that he stole from the fir es he started. When Montag fails to report to work, his manger visits him at his home and explains to him that it is normal for a fireman to wonder what books give and he elucidates how books came to be burned. As Beatty explains, special interest groups and other minority groups laid their objections to books that offended them. Soon, all books were written with intent not to offend any person. He explains that this was not enough and the society as a unit decided to burn books instead of permitting differing opinions from authors. Beatty tells Montag to take 24 hours, read the books, and find out whether they have anything important and then give them off for incineration. This turns Montag into a long and frenzy night of reading (Eller & Touponce, 2004). When he becomes overwhelmed of reading, he turns to his wife for support but his wife prefers television to his company and does not understand why her husband takes the humiliating task of reading the books. When he remembers Pr ofessor Faber, he decided to visit him so that he can help him. Faber tells him that the value of the book is in the awareness of the life in them. He tells Montag that he needs the leisure to read them and the freedom to act upon the ideas of the books and offers to help him read. Faber will contact a printer to reproduce books and Montag will plant them in the residence of firemen to harm the reputation of the profession and destroy censorship. This leads to a completely