How does Tesco maintain its lead in the online grocery market Assignment

How does Tesco maintain its lead in the online grocery market - Assignment Example Against this background, this essay seeks to critically evaluate the measures implemented by Tesco in order to maintain its lead in the online grocery market. The paper starts by outlining the historical background of the supermarket chain; this is followed by a detailed analysis of how it harnesses the use of the internet in its operations. Background information about Tesco According to Datamonitor (2004), Tesco PLC is the largest food retailer in the UK and it operates around 2,318 stores worldwide where 1,878 stores are located in the UK. The supermarket chain also operates stores in the rest of Europe and Asia and it is headquartered in Hertfordshire, the UK. The company is comprised of 367,000 employees worldwide (250,000 of them in the UK), sales of more than ?37billion and it has an estimated 30 % of the market share in the grocery industry in the UK. However, Paton (2005) suggests that Tesco now ranges far beyond food, given that it now offers services which include â€Å"b anking, flower delivery, online diets, legal advice, DVD rental and telecoms.† Tesco prides itself in training and retaining talented workers despite criticisms by other sectors of the society. Technological factors Technological development in ICT has immensely contributed to the positive growth of the organisation, especially through the use of the internet. For instance, online shopping has significantly improved the operations of the organisation given that the bulk of its customers can conduct their business in the comfort of their homes. The supermarket chain has fully harnessed the use of the internet in its online grocery market. The supermarket chain is comprised of Tesco.com, a wholly-owned subsidiary offering a complete online service, including tescodirect.com and tesco.net (Datamonitor, 2004). The company is also in a better position to maintain its lead in the online grocery market because it offers a range of online financial services. According to information o btained from (http://www.essaycoursework.com/modelanswer/business/help/pestle/tescos.php, ND), Tesco.com is regarded as the world’s biggest online supermarket and it is believed that it generates sales worth over ?577 million every year. There are different factors that contribute to the success of Tesco’s online business. Specially designed website Through the use of a specially designed website, Tesco is able to appeal to the interests of many customers as possible regardless of their geographical location. It acts as a global store whereby people from all corners of the world can make purchases online which is a great advantage for the organisation. The other reason for its success in online business is that its website has a catalogue of every product offered, which makes it relatively easier for the customers to do online shopping in the comfort of their homes without any hassle. The website is user friendly given that it is easier to navigate in search of differe nt products. Research has shown that there are more than one million households that use the company’s online services across the whole world and this is seen as a competitive advantage to the company since it is better positioned to receive more revenue from its operations (Datamonitor,

Need for the study Essay Example for Free

Need for the study Essay Empirical studies about the impact of globalization on Belize are rare. This paper studies the economic development of Belize in the light of globalization, privatization and economic liberalization. It studies how beneficial the economy has been to the people after the opening of the economy. It perceives and looks at the performance of BTL and its role in contributing to the development of the country. Research Questions The following research questions are asked in this paper: 1. How has globalization affected the economic development of Belize? 2. How has globalization affected the welfare of its people? 3. How has globalization affected the success of the dominant telecommunications company BTL? Purpose of the Study The research methodology is the set of processes used to collect and analyze data. Research methodology is defined as a structured set of guidelines or activities to assist in generating valid and reliable research results. This part describes the research methods and procedures used to obtain and analyze data in this study. Research design reflects the structure of the research project and provides the means of collecting suitable data to answer the research questions. This paper seeks to identify the social, political, economic and cultural issues and outcomes which have emerged from globalization in Belize. It reviews the telecommunication sector of the country by looking at the reports of BTL. It studies the performance of the BTL. It highlights the achievements and failures of the company. It researches and examines the company’s services in the light of the government’s telecommunication industry. A detailed analysis is conducted about the success and failure of globalization in Belize by using studies which provide analysis on the economic performance of the country. Finally the study uses research material to examine the globalization success or failure in Belize as compared with its neighbors. The impact of telecommunications industry in the light of globalization is studied and researched extensively in the paper. Literature Review Belize is a Central American state which became independent in the early 1980s. The country has a multicultural society with various ethnic and racial groups. The country has pursued an economic policy which is dependant on free trade and foreign investment. Agriculture exports comprise the majority of the country’s exports. An estimated one hundred and eighty five American companies have invested in the country’s infrastructure and telecommunications sector. With a population of three hundred thousand people, the government continues to invest in developing the infrastructure of the country (Neuman 26, 2003). The country enjoys decent standards of living with relatively stable electrical, telephone, and water infrastructure. However major roads of the country are hampered by lack of development. Belize City and Dangriga are the important sea ports which handle shipping arriving from the United States of America. All major international airlines provide regular flights to the country. Belize has embarked upon a program of economic liberalization which includes a fifteen million dollar electricity program (Neuman 27, 2003). Estimated twenty million dollars funds have also been received from the Inter American Development Bank. This money will be used to invest in social sectors and services. Another two million dollars have been collected to invest in poverty reduction programs. Another major investment project is the Agricultural Health Project which seeks to modernize the agricultural production and distribution sector. Brazil has provided assistance for the development of soybean in the country. The aim of the government has been to diversify its agricultural exports and decrease reliance on the export of sugar cane.

Martin Heidegger :: essays papers

Martin Heidegger Note: The main work from which text was drawn is "The Question Concerning Technology". Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher, who developed existential phenomenology and has been widely regarded as the most original 20th-century philosopher. His works include complicated essays such as "An introduction to Metaphysics" and "The Question Concerning Technology." In his essay "The Question Concerning Technology," Heidegger attempts to create several intricate arguments regarding technology and the significance of information. One prominent theme in this essay is the idea and meaning of info rmation. Heidegger presents his thoughts by searching for the roots of the ideas behind information. He includes many references to German, Greek and Latin vocabulary to better explain his ideas. In order to fully understand the meaning and significance of informa tion, one must be educated as to the accurate definitions of some basic vocabulary regarding information. The first word that is significant to the idea of information that Heidegger explains to the reader is "episteme." Episteme in basic translation can be defined as "knowledge." "(Episteme is a term). for knowing in the widest sense. (it) means to be entirely at home with something, to understand and be expert in it. Such knowing provides an opening up. As an opening it up it is a revealing." This leads to the next expression, "alethia." Alethia is used by Heidegger the same way it was defined by the ancient Greeks; "revealing." This same word is translated by the Romans to "veritas." Again, "veritas" in English is used to mean "truth" which can be unde rstood as "correctness and representation." It is in this change, due to translation of ideas, that Heidegger notices some inconsistencies. Information is an often misused term in Heidegger's opinion. As previously noted, the translation from one language to another can often turn true definitions of words askew, and this can cause serious problems with larger concepts of technology and an id ea of "enframing" (gestell). Gestell is a German word whose direct translation means "enframing." The idea of enframing is also quite prevalent in this essay. "We now name that challenging claim which gathers man thither to order the self-revealing as standing-reserve: "ge-stell" (enframing). We dare to use this word in a sense that has been thoroughly unfamiliar up to now. According to ordinary usage, the word Gestell (frame) means some kind of apparatus, e.g., a bookrack. Gestell is also the name for a skeleton. And the employment of the word Gestell(enframing) that is now required of us seems equally eerie, not to speak of the arbitrariness with which words of a mature language are so

Problems in Baltimore

Baltimore is a port city that is filled with many popular tourist attractions such as its museums, aquarium, and sports teams. It is also a city that has been on the decline for many years. The crime, drugs, and unemployment levels have all risen over the past two decades. Back in the Baltimore heyday, it was a booming city with high levels of port traffic. Today however, the ports are not seeing as much activity as before and that has led to an increase in unemployment and crime. Could Baltimore be on the same path Camden, NJ was on: booming port overtaken by crime and drugs? The television series â€Å"The Wire†Ã¢â‚¬  was based in and on Baltimore. Created and written by a former journalist for the The Baltimore Sun, David Simon, each season focuses on a different facet of the city: the illegal drug trade, the sea port system, the city government and bureaucracy, the school system, and the print news media. The show tried to create a realistic vision of an American city through truthful characters. There are good cops portrayed in the show, however many of the officers are incompetent, show excessive force, and are portrayed as having human qualities. Some residents and city officials credit the series for increased scrutiny by the media on its government, education system, drug problem, and crime. It did shed light on the illicit drug use in the city and its effects on the lower class's ability to grow in the fields of education and organization. In 2011, the U. S. Census Bureau reported that Baltimore County, MD had a population consisting of 65. 4% white and 26. 8% black/African American residents. The median household income in Baltimore County is $63,959. Broken down further, minority median income is $31,400 versus $57,048 for white/caucasian residents. Across the country, taxes and costs of goods and services is on the rise. It is very difficult for a family of four to live on $31,000 a year without public housing assistance and welfare programs. The poverty statistics are very interesting. According to the census data, 28% of Baltimore families with children under the age of 18 are living below the poverty level. That number increases to 40. % for female-headed families with no father present. The blame for poverty is an age-old question which usually produces the same answers: high taxes, barriers to occupational entry, and other economic factors. When you factor choice into the equation, the numbers change significantly. The poverty rate diminishes greatly for households that choose to marry and have children later in life, obtain a higher education, and stay of out jail. The poverty rate for married households with children under the age of 18 is 7. 4%. The answer seems simple: obtain higher education and marry later in life. Cecelia Elena Rouse, an economist and Dean of the Woodrow WilsonSchool of Public and International affairs at Princeton University, conducted focus groups in Baltimore City, MD. She was looking at income expectations to determine if there was a correlation between expected income and college attendance. The sample consisted of low-income minority high school seniors. She found that income expectations of low-income minority students are not so different from higher-income students. Low-income students are less able to turn their college plans into college attendance (Rouse 1314). The Maryland State Department of Education has reported that starting in 2007, city schools were beginning to show progress in its school reform effort; graduation rates were rising while dropout rates were decreasing. While progress has been made, more work and focus needs to be done in the Baltimore education system. The non-attendance rate has been recognized as a problem among low income students. Poor students are four times more likely to be chronically absent than their peers. Problems standing in the way of good school attendance include inadequate transportation, unstable housing, lack of health care, high incidence of chronic illness, and poor nutrition and safety concerns (Chang 7). Baltimore is one of three cities that have attempted to address the issue of absenteeism. The school districts and the community have partnered in building a culture of attendance. Strategic grants and investments have helped to make this possible. Franklin Square Elementary and Middle School is a successful model in Baltimore. Approximately 91% of its students receive free or reduced cost lunches and the class sizes are large, often 40 or more students in a class. Despite that, the school has one of the highest attendance rates in the city. There is an outreach program that holds students accountable and creates an environment of wanting to go to school. The school provides clean uniforms, dental care, after school activities, and free haircuts to help boost attendance (Chang 9). The question that needs to be answered is can the high school culture in Baltimore continue to cultivate this safe, nurturing environment such as the one created at the Franklin School. Upper elementary and high school students offer new problems that need to be addressed; teen pregnancy, drug use, and gangs being three that stand out the most. In the early 1990's, a study was completed in Baltimore that focused on teen mothers. It started in the late 1960's and followed two hundred fifty teenage mothers who gave birth during that time. In 1988, the first born of the teenage mothers were in their teen years and the sample statistics showed 37% had dropped out of school, 46% had completed high school, and 17% went on to higher education. This study concluded there was a direct correlation to the number of years the father was present, high maternal education aspirations, few years on welfare, high preschool cognitive ability, attendance in preschool, and no grade failure in elementary school and continued education beyond high school (Brooks-Gunn 278). In its fourth season, â€Å"The Wire†Ã¢â‚¬  focused on the education system in Baltimore. A first year middle school math teacher, who was a former police detective, struggles to connect with his students. Many of these students were schooled in drug dealing and gang activities. He came to the realization that in order to get them to learn, he had to trick them into learning. The fourth season of â€Å"The Wire † focused on the social conditions that cripple the Baltimore education system: fragmented families, declining neighborhoods with few legitimate jobs, indifferent city leaders, and a lack of educational resources. Even the students who want to learn face enormous obstacles, one of the biggest being the Baltimore education system compared to others in the country, is far behind. â€Å"The Wire † portrayed the problems plaguing the students and teachers. It is a pattern that will continue to be repeated generation after generation until the city, state, and federal governments make a commitment to rebuild it. According to the FBI crime statistics released in 2011, Baltimore is the fifth deadliest city in the country and the seventh most dangerous in overall violent crime despite its lowest homicide rate since the 1980's. It has taken decades of poverty, disinvestment in the community, and a general sense of hopelessness for Baltimore to become known as such a violent city. Arresting and prosecuting criminals is a crucial step in combating crime, however reinvestment into the community by federal, state, and local governments is also needed to turn the city into a safe, prosperous environment. There is a long-standing theory that suggests that teens are more likely to use heroin, crack, and/or cocaine if they have first used alcohol or marijuana, the latter which is preceded by alcohol and tobacco. In a study that was conducted in Baltimore, the median age for first drug use (alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana) was 14 years of ago and first heroin, crack, and cocaine use was 17 years of age (Curry 441). Parental drug use was a determining factor in predicting childhood drug users and also peer influence (Curry 442). There needs to be continued focus on educating and rehabilitating the young drug users before they begin exploring with injection drug use. The Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance was launched in 2002 to establish a way of understanding the changing neighborhoods and quality of life within the city. Forty outcome indicators were developed in order to measure progress and to hold the city leadership accountable (Bembry 97). A study was conducted comparing five US cities, Baltimore being one of them, and the effects of federal spending on the cities over time. Two â€Å"health checks † were taken, six years apart and looked at hardship factors: poverty, unemployment, dependency, housing built before 1939, percentage without a high school diploma, and the crime rate (Parker 1844). In each city, there was significant progress over the span of six years which show that federal spending, or any spending at the federal, state, and/or local levels, can help revitalize the community. In tough economic times, there is more need for government funds to help the community as unemployment rates are high. High unemployment creates desperation which spurs crime. According to the Census Bureau, in 2011 one in four Baltimore residents lives in poverty leaving more than 37% of Baltimore's children live in poverty. Being born into poverty is a good marker for being poor throughout life and creates an entire host of problems: high school dropouts, high crime rates, high poverty rates. Similar to various historical periods in history, being born into poverty creates a high predisposition for remaining in poverty. Federal, state, and local programs have created positive change and effects in cities like Baltimore where crime and poverty are some of the highest in the country. However during difficult economic times, government spending is difficult to procure and if it is being spent incorrectly or ineffectually it is not reaching as many people as it could. Rebuilding a city that has been mired in poverty is a difficult task with high costs. History shows us that initiating change while children are young and reinforcing that change can foster growth within a community. In Baltimore, urban planners are striving to rebuild communities with a mix of lower and middle income families. They feel this will improve the chances of residents maintaining their homes, patronizing local business, going on to post high school education, and keeping their neighborhoods safe. Despite ominous statistics, Baltimore has shown some improvement through programs implemented by the government. A dedication by leaders and the community will be key in the rebuilding of Baltimore.

Family Essay

1. Describe 5 different types of familiesA family is a group of people living in a household together either by reason of marriage, blood relation or adoption. Families are the reason for creating today’s society. This is because in a family, people are created and brought into the world, cared for, and given the correct tools to survive in life.There are five different types of families, which are as follows:I. Nuclear Family: The nuclear family is a family that consists of a mother, father, and their child/children. In most cases, the parents in a nuclear family are married. An alternative name for a nuclear family is an elementary family.II. Extended Family: The extended family expands wider than the nuclear family. This is because it consists of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins living either nearby or in the same household.III. Single Parent: A single parent is when a parent lives without their spouse, leaving them with most of the responsibilities to raise the chi ld/children on their own. A single parent is usually considered the primary person who takes care of the child. In some cases due to divorces or separation, the child lives with their primary parent, but is given the privileges of visiting the residence of their noncustodial parent, meaning the parent who does not have complete custody over their child. In this case, the noncustodial parent is most likely to be the father of the child. Single parenting has been caused by many reasons in today’s society, which include:Death of a partner.Child abuse.Neglect.Divorce.Adoption, when the adoptive parent does not have a partner/spouse.IV. Blended Family: A blended family or sometimes called a â€Å"step family† is a relationship when both spouses have been married before and have remarried again, which sometimes lead to a child being brought into the marriage from the past relationship.V. Foster Family: Foster means to help someone grow  and develop. A foster family is two adults that take care of one or more children that belong to other parents. This action is usually called adoption.2. What are the rights and responsibilities of family members?A right is something that people are entitled to. A responsibility is the opportunity to work independently and make your own decisions without being told what to do. Being a part of a family imposes rights and responsibilities on each family member that must be taken seriously. The overall rights and responsibilities of family members are essentially to look after the house and to take care of each other. The responsibilities of the parents are very critical.This is because a parent is supposed to feed, clothe, shelter, educate and provide a safe and comfortable living environment for their child/children. The rights of parents are to interact with their souls mates especially through tough times when they need someone to talk to. Overall, parents should provide companionship for each other. Similarly, child ren also have responsibilities, which include performing the chores that their parents give them to do.These chores can include cleaning, assisting with cooking and looking after younger siblings or other family members. Children also have the responsibility to be respectful and obedient to their parents. The right of a child is to be able to request some things that can be valuable to them from their parents. Perhaps most importantly, the joint responsibilities and rights of all family members are to ensure that the home is a safe and loving environment.3. How does social pressure affect the family?Social Pressures are the combined pressures that surround individuals during everyday life. Examples of social pressure are Peer Pressure, and Academic Pressures. Social Pressures can be confusing and stressful. Despite the strain, these are common pressures that families are normally faced with, especially in the teenaged life. Social pressure affects the family because if not properly managed, it can cause family members to make poor choices, which can lead to the family breaking apart, someone being taken away from the family, or in a worst case scenario, death.Social pressure with the big impact of it, sometimes lead family members into taking drugs trying to relieve their stress. Social pressure can lead up to death in various occasions. This reason is caused mostly because of the pressure that is placed on an individual, forcing them into taking dangerous medication or hanging themselves which leads to death. Many people turn to drugs or alcohol to relieve themselves from pressure. Other social pressure that people are affected by is unemployment or a general lack of finances.In this case it can force a family member to start stealing and committing robbery in attempt to provide for their family members. This can affect the family because it usually leads to person being remanded to prison for several years. Imprisonment of a parent automatically causes the d ynahousehold to become a single parent family and When it comes to the family members trying to fix their problems with alcohol or drugs, this can normally lead up to addictions.In reference from pastor Philip Stubs, he states that social pressure affects a family unit primarily by way of supplanting the family time that is essential for the nature of the family unit. The competition with the family time, from various social events, projects or circumstances results in individual family members opting to reduce their involvement with their family and instead investing their time, money, and emotional energy in societal events, resulting the family unit being weekend. †4. Divorce has been one of the causes of the change in the Bahamian family Structure. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons to support you answer.Before answering this question it is first and most important that we understand what is divorce. â€Å"Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate. à ¢â‚¬ (Mark 10:4) â€Å"Now to the married, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. † (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). In the â€Å"Oxford Student’s Dictionary,† a divorce is the legal ending of a marriage. An online dictionary, â€Å"Datasegment.  com,† refers to a divorce as a legal dissolution of a marriage contract by a court or other body having competent authority.I agree, divorce has been one of the causes of the change in the Bahamian family structure. I then questioned Pastor Stubs on his view of the question. Pastor stubs agreed as well, he stated that â€Å"Of course the Bahamian family structure has also been defined by single parents who have never been married. While many single parents continue to lead excellent households, the best model for a family is the one in which a married man and woma n work together as a team and lead the household and family.I then questioned pastors from my church, Abundant Life Church where Pastor O’Neil Russel along with Pastor Gil. gave their view about the question. They too agreed with the statement. The pastors said that â€Å" Indeed, divorce has been one of the major causes of the change in the Bahamian family structure. As a nation, the Bahamas has been founded upon biblical principles. The biblical model for the family is for a husband and wife to be living together in a godly marriage which, as a result, produces children which ought to be brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord.However, when a divorce occurs there is a disorting of what the family structure ought to look like. The structure is different when a husband and wife are not living together and this structure produces problems in the homes with the children as well as with society as a whole. In the Bahamas, there have been many divorces and as a result the basic family structure is deficient in function and effectiveness when it comes to our society.5. To what extent does the change in the Bahamian family structure lead to the many social problems in our society todayIt is very important to understand first that every family makes up today’s society. The change in the Bahamian family structure is highly responsible for the many social ill in our country say’s pastor Gil. This is especially the case when it comes to young men. Most of the social problems in our society are being committed by young men. These young men do not have any sense of identity, direction, or purpose in life.When the young men decide to take part in criminal activity, it always ends up in to a family losing a loved one. In the Bahamian society today, many residents complain about the men who are doing the crime not being brought up properly in their homes. The reason being for that problem is because of the fact that there is no father figure i n the hose hold. This is the job for their fathers. When a father does not live up to his responsibility in the lives of his children, he causes problems with their identity.They are not given the discipline, love, acceptance, and direction that God has designated the father to introduce to them and thus they turn to other vices or persons to the detriment of their lives. The intake of this question from Rev. Philip Stubbs was very straight forward to the question too as well. Rev. Stubbs said that â€Å" In our society the family is the most foundational unit. It is through the family that persons are socialize, that is to learn social skills so that they might be properly prepared to function well in society.The sad diminished familial situation had directly resulted in many social problems in our society. These problems include low academic performance, violation of the nation’s laws, low levels of ambition and long term planning amongst young people. † In my opinio n, the social problems are mainly because of how some parents are raising their children. Inside the homes, some parents may not take time to spend with their children, show no kinds of love towards them, treat the aggressively and with all of this being done can lead to the child being a pest to the Bahamian society.6. How do you think the family can help to combat the social problems of today?The family can help to combat social problems today by being responsible enough to raise their children properly. Parents should pay close attention to the problems that are going on today and realize that because of the poor teachings about being a good citizen are leading to the many problems today. Pastor Gil says that â€Å" the family can help to combat the social problems of today by seeking to remain together as husband and wife while raising godly children in the fear and admonition of God. The parents are to be an example to the children of godliness and they should as a result foll ow their example.When more families decide to take on this purpose, the social problems of today will be decreased over time. Wanting to know more on what someone else thought we could do to combat social problems, I again question Rev. Stubbs on his point of view. He said that â€Å"Socialization through transference of excellent values like self- respect, respect for others, respect for law and order, promotion of Christina spirituality, promotion of education and industry are key ways Bahamian families can help to combat social problems in the Bahamas.7. Assess the role the church plays in creating a good familyBefore we can answer the question, we must first understand what is a church. A church is said to be a place that we can go and give thanks and praise to the almighty God. We can also go to the church for weddings, funerals, help with funds, and family crisis. The church plays a very big role in creating a good family. Pastor Gil says that â€Å" the church plays a funda mental role in creating a good family.The church is the pillar , ground of truth and the place where the family ought to go to receive biblical preaching and instructions that will help them to grow together into becoming a family that is pleasing to the Lord. It will train fathers to lead, wives to submit to the husbands in the Lord, and for children to obey their parents. The church is important because the teaching of God’s Word will help the family to be what it ought to become in the sight of God so that it will be functioning and the possibility of it producing social problems is decreased.

Interview Tucker Max dishes on the state of publishing

Interview Tucker Max dishes on the state of publishing "How I made Simon Schuster give me my own publishing company:" An Interview with Tucker Max As you probably know if you’re a frequent reader of this blog, there are now many ways to bring a book to market. Whether it’s in print or digital, self-published or through a publisher, with or without an agent, the choices available to a new author is almost mind-boggling. Tucker Max is different. As the author of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, he ignored all the options available to writers and made publishers do what they’d never done before - give an author their own publishing company.In these times of great change, it's possible for authors to forge their own path - as Tucker did by picking and choosing the elements of self-publishing and traditional publishing that make the most sense for his book.Watch our interview with Tucker - or read the transcript below - for some inspiration! How publishing worked 15 years agoHi Tucker, it’s great to have you with us today. Let’s start from the beginning - can you tell us from the early days when you started to write and wanted to get your stories out into books?Tucker: Yeah, I started in writing in a totally different era (2001). I used to send emails to my friends, and they thought they were really funny. They kept telling me, †you need to publish this. This needs to be a book." Question 3: Why is that audience going to care? What are you going to say that's interesting and valuable to them?If you cannot answer those three questions clearly, then don't write a book.Now let's say you can answer those three questions. I would say that for almost all non-fiction, the best bet is to self-publish. That way you get to control the rights to the book, and you can use it to promote whatever it is you're trying to promote. As soon as you go traditional, you have now sold the rights and royalties to that book to someone else. So you can't give copies away. If you're trying to do speaking gigs with the book, you've got to buy the book at price from your publisher.If you want to do excerpts, if you want to use the content other places, you don't own the content anymore, the publisher does. And they don't care about your business at all. They care about selling actual copies of the book. So for most non-fiction authors, their goals are not aligned with a publisher’ s goals. So that's why going self-publishing is the better route, for almost all non-fiction authors.Photo credit:  Mac Danzig.If you're a non-fiction author, do you agree with Tucker's take on publishing? What has been your experience of working with a traditional publisher, if any? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Free Essays on Internet Advertising

The Encarta Encyclopedia states that advertising is a â€Å"form of commercial mass communication designed to promote the sales of a product or service, or a message on behalf of an institution, organization, or candidate for political office.† There is evidence that advertising existed thousands of years ago, but it only became a major industry in the 20th century. With the advent of the internet, the industry has grown even more. The first newspaper ad was published in 1672 and offered a reward for the return of 12 stoles horses. The first regularly published newspaper in America, the Boston News-Letter, began running ads in 1704. Benjamin Franklin made them more legible 25 years later by using larger headlines. (Advertising) Internet advertising has grown over the last several years. In 1995, around $54.7 million was spent, $300 million in 1996, $1 billion in 1997, and around $2 billion was spent on internet advertising in 1998 (O’Guinn,p.542). With this steady growth there has been an increasing need for industry standards. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) was founded in 1996 to oversee the relatively new business of online advertising and to create some sort of industry standard. Its goals are to provide and promote the effectiveness of interactive advertising to advertisers and agencies, to serve as the key advocate on behalf of sellers of interactive advertising, to increase the share of advertising and marketing dollars that interactive media capture in the marketplace and to be the primary source of information and expertise about interactive advertising and marketing for its members and for the advertising community at large (Shelby). The IAB compiled a list of the top reasons to use interactive advertising and how to measure performance. The reasons are to increase brand awareness, up-sell the customer to a premium product or service, increase usage of the brands, generate trial, co-market with non-compan... Free Essays on Internet Advertising Free Essays on Internet Advertising The Encarta Encyclopedia states that advertising is a â€Å"form of commercial mass communication designed to promote the sales of a product or service, or a message on behalf of an institution, organization, or candidate for political office.† There is evidence that advertising existed thousands of years ago, but it only became a major industry in the 20th century. With the advent of the internet, the industry has grown even more. The first newspaper ad was published in 1672 and offered a reward for the return of 12 stoles horses. The first regularly published newspaper in America, the Boston News-Letter, began running ads in 1704. Benjamin Franklin made them more legible 25 years later by using larger headlines. (Advertising) Internet advertising has grown over the last several years. In 1995, around $54.7 million was spent, $300 million in 1996, $1 billion in 1997, and around $2 billion was spent on internet advertising in 1998 (O’Guinn,p.542). With this steady growth there has been an increasing need for industry standards. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) was founded in 1996 to oversee the relatively new business of online advertising and to create some sort of industry standard. Its goals are to provide and promote the effectiveness of interactive advertising to advertisers and agencies, to serve as the key advocate on behalf of sellers of interactive advertising, to increase the share of advertising and marketing dollars that interactive media capture in the marketplace and to be the primary source of information and expertise about interactive advertising and marketing for its members and for the advertising community at large (Shelby). The IAB compiled a list of the top reasons to use interactive advertising and how to measure performance. The reasons are to increase brand awareness, up-sell the customer to a premium product or service, increase usage of the brands, generate trial, co-market with non-compan...

Sumptuous

Sumptuous Sumptuous Sumptuous By Maeve Maddox In response to my post about the use of the word unctuous in the context of cooking, several readers suggested that speakers might be confusing unctuous with sumptuous. If they are, they must not know the meaning of sumptuous. English-speaking cooks who use unctuous to describe pork roasts are referring to taste, texture, and juiciness. The word sumptuous, although often used to describe a meal, has nothing to do with the taste of food. The word sumptuous derives from the Latin verb sÃ… «mÄ•re, â€Å"to take, consume, spend.† From the verb comes the Latin adjective sumptuosus, â€Å"costly, expensive.† At different periods of history, governments passed what were called â€Å"sumptuary laws,† laws that criminalized overspending by certain social classes. The expression â€Å"born to the purple,† meaning, â€Å"born into the royal family,† comes from sumptuary laws that restricted the use of an expensive dye called Tyrian purple. In ancient Rome, for example, only the emperor could wear a Tyrian purple cape trimmed in golden thread. Only senators were permitted to decorate their togas with a Tyrian purple stripe. European sumptuary laws were enacted throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and even found their way to the New World. The Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a sumptuary law to limit the wearing of lace, gold buttons, ruffles, capes, and other expensive items to citizens with a net worth of 200 pounds or more. A sumptuous meal is an expensive meal. It will have numerous courses made up of a wide variety of dishes and drinks. Here’s a description of a sumptuous dinner offered at the cost of $99,300 by a caterer to the rich and famous: The dinner includes ritzy ingredients such as duck eggs and truffles, as well as a dish of Wagyu beef touched with silver leaf that’s served on a bed of dry ice. Each dish in the eight-course meal is combined with a fine wine, such as the $27,680 bottle of La Romanee-Conti, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, 1990. The price tag also includes a harpist, a poet and doves, as well as chef Adam Simmonds, who earned a Michelin star in 2006.   One can probably assume that such an expensive and lavishly produced meal would include well prepared, tasty food, but not necessarily. It would be possible for a sumptuous meal to be lacking in palate-pleasing food. Another reader suggests that unctuous may be a mistake for scrumptious; an interesting thought, as scrumptious is a colloquial coinage thought to be an altered form of sumptuous. Initially, expensive or luxurious things were described as scrumptious, for example, â€Å"a scrumptious house.† Then, scrumptious became a general term of enthusiastic praise like wizard or smashing, for example, â€Å"That portrait of Thomas More is really scrumptious!† Finally, because it must have often been applied to food, scrumptious came to mean delicious. Another comment points to a possible explanation for the trending use of unctuous with English-speaking cooks: onctuex (feminine, onctueuse) is used by French cooks to describe food that is creamy. However, I can’t think that a word meaning creamy is exactly the right one to describe a pork roast. English has enough adjectives to describe things that taste good without resorting to unctuous or scrumptious. Here are a few: delicious delectable mouthwatering appetizing tasty flavorful toothsome palatable succulent luscious Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†At Your DisposalApostrophe with Plural Possessive Nouns

Educational Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Educational Issues - Essay Example The effects of bullying to the students and the entire community were also addressed in the study (Cordeiro, 2006) argues that bullying tends to lower the self esteem of the students who are always subjected under the stress of bullying. The issues facing new comers in schools especial the immigrants are suppose to be addressed through such programs that will aim to find the safest practices to address the issue. According to ISLLC standards 1 leaders are suppose to enhance the success of each and every leaner through the development ,articulation stewardship and implementation of learning vision that is accommodated and supported by all the stake holders. Hence through these standards, the principal should always aim to address the issue of bullying so as to facilitate the achievement of this vision. There many challenges and problems that any administrator may face in this state. However the problem of multiculturalism is the most outstanding problems in many schools in this state. There is need for the students and the various departments to be involved in the awareness campaigns activities so as to be able to deal with the issue cultural diversity within the school. The issue of a diverse culture has been caused by the ever increasing number of immigrants from other countries hence many staff members in this state are not happy with the issue of other communities from outside enrolling into schools around this state. Majority of those who enroll are always treated as the minority and a lot of learning resources are kept away from them. This situation creates a lot of disparity among the students in terms of performance hence the African Americans who are the minority, end up being disadvantaged. All this is attributed to by the lack of enough experience on how to work in a multi cultural environment. Another issue affecting education in this state is the fact that majority of staff members in this state are Caucasians hence this denies students from the min ority group a chance to develop their relationship with students or workers from their ethnic community. The issue of multi races in the state has caused racism in the schools hence it is important for the leaders in the education sector including the school administrators/principal to address this issue by applying the ISLLC standards no 6 diversity which advocates for the school principal to be able to understand ,be able to respond and influence relationship between students and the staff both in terms of political ,economical, legal and cultural relationship this kind of relationship should be reflected both in the class room and in the school compound and in the community. Also the principal should be able to plan and use his thinking and problem solving techniques that will enable him handle the issue of racism as stated in standards 5 of the ISLLC decision making strategies Discouraging test score is another area that has tried to evaluate the number of drop outs in schools i n relation to failing common exams like English language .in this state ,there is a big assumption that the use of F/R/L program has dropped drastically because learners fear being embarrassed because of failing exams. Hence in order to address the issue of discouraging test scores, parents and the educational community have a role to play in

Security policy document Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Security policy document - Term Paper Example The Global Security Inc consist of three major components of security Architecture those components include; process, people and tools that have been integrated to protect the entire assets of Global Distribution Inc company. In terms of process, the company has a well structured and secure distribution channel across all its networks situated in Canada, United States and Mexico. In addition, the company has a well defined work process whereby, the organisation has various departments that have been integrated together for security purposes. Among those departments include; I.T department, finance department, Human resource department to mention just but a few. In terms of people, the organisation has employed more than three thousand and two hundred people in different departments. It has also been reported that the organisation has been experiencing continuous growth. The growth has been attributed to the technological creativity and innovation in the organisation. The number of em ployees has been increasing in order to help the organisation achieve its security goals and objectives (Schlachter, 2005). Â  The Global Distribution Inc has a well organized security Architect that consist of the following components; Technology, Accessibility and Control of the border, Identification management, Validation, architectural adjustment, training, guidance before and during disaster occurrence, inclusion and exclusion. In terms of technology, Global Distribution Inc utilizes both computer software and hardware.

Bicycle Thieves Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bicycle Thieves - Movie Review Example In many ways, the young boy represents a purity and moral fortitude that elders around him have difficulty to master. The young boy accompanies his father through his long, arduous and ultimately futile attempt to locate his stolen bicycle. But throughout these travails, he hardly betrays his immaturity. The poise and understated maturity of young Bruno is pleasing to see. I believe it is upon De Sica’s directorial discretion that Bruno’s character was drawn on those lines. There is one scene in particular where the young boy’s maturity comes to light. It was when his frayed and tired father slaps him on the cheek out of his own inner frustrations. Bruno was hurt and he starts to cry. He moves away from his father and sulks. Yet, when his repentant father comes to him to console and cajole, he does not rebuke him. Instead of playing truant and throwing a tantrum, young Bruno allows his dad to make peace with him. Eventually, his father takes him to a restaurant t o buy him a luxurious cake. In a subtle irony, De Sica showcases how the young can sometimes lead the old and display more maturity. Neo-realist cinema might be passe for modern audiences, but when De Sica gave it full expression in Bicycle Thieves it was fresh and inventive. In fact, poverty as a theme for commercial cinema was thought unviable by many producers. Consequently, De Sica had difficulty garnering funding for his project. The fact of the availability of only a limited funding actually accentuated the neo-realist feel in the film. For example, the lead actors are all amateurs who barely had any acting experience prior to the film. The scenes were all shot on location without using any studio settings. The material reality of poverty was well captured too. After all, it doesn’t require expensive props to execute a film based on the ordeals of poverty. Consistent with the neo-realist style the background music for the film is minimal. The idea is to let the story cr eate its own sense of drama and poignancy without the aid of music. Moreover, an austere production philosophy resonates with the poverty and frugality at display onscreen. (Wakeman, 1988) The film is good material for philosophical inquiry. In my view, the essence of the film is the last scene where the victim decides to become the victimizer. When Antonio Ricci (the protagonist) decides out of desperation that he would steal a bicycle to recompense what had been stolen from him, the title Bicycle Thieves takes on an added dimension. What was till that point in film a reference to the gang of burglars who steal bicycles and resell them in the market, now includes the aggrieved loser himself. This is a powerful political statement on part of De Sica about the nature of poverty and the evaluation of morality in this economic realm. In other words, the film can be seen as an early exploration on the vicious cycle of poverty and crime. There is little doubt that the director’s t ake on these twin blights of society are rather sympathetic. This much is evident from the overall tone and effect of the film. In this sense, the film is a powerful social and political comment – something that is apt for further study from sociological perspectives. (Ratner, 2005) In sum, Bicycle Thieves is an important work in the history of world cinema. Its appeal is universal because its theme is universal and based on humanism. Bicycle Thieves is an intense film that has an underlying engagement with humanist

Did Lincoln really want to free the slaves Research Paper

Did Lincoln really want to free the slaves - Research Paper Example "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it." (Lincoln 1862) President Lincoln wrote these words in August 22, 1862 to journalist Horace Greeley, an abolitionist who wrote for the New York Tribune. This was one month before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. It is clear from this dialogue that Lincoln’s main concern at that time was to preserve the Union at all costs and not a sweeping condemnation of slavery. Even though The Emancipation Proclamation was a historic event and precipitated the end of slavery, the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery. This was because Lincoln did not have a deep conviction for or against slavery. Lincoln's objective was to preserve the Union and not to free the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was a historic event and precipitated the end of slavery. It was the first time that blacks could serve as militia. Blacks were allowed to enlist in the Union Army and Navy and consequently became agents of their own liberation. Lincoln needed extra troops on the ground in order to defeat the Confederacy and preserve the Union. Over 200,000 black troops were added to the Union Army. (US National Archives & Records Administration n.d.) 3 It is clear from his actions that Lincoln’s primary concern for issuing the proclamation was to build up the Union army in order to defeat the Confederacy. Since the Union prevailed in the war, Lincoln succeeded in his goal for a Union victory. Another example that shows that The Emancipation Proclamation was a historic event and precipitated the end of slavery was the subsequent passing of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The Emancipation Proclamation was a precursor to the thirteenth amendment which made slavery illegal in every state, not just those affected by the Em ancipation Proclamation. Congress ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution on December 6, 1865. (13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery n.d.) Without the Emancipation Proclamation mandating freedom for some blacks, there would not have been the impetus for Congress to pass sweeping legislation mandating freedom to all blacks in the form of the Thirteenth Amendment. Even though The Emancipation Proclamation was a historic event and precipitated the end of slavery, The Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery. This is because Lincoln did not have a deep conviction for or against slavery. The following is an elaboration upon the correspondence quoted in the beginning of this essay. 4 I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was." If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new

Business decision making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business decision making - Essay Example Under these forms of business analysis items, three major items need identification. These are the actual variables under consideration, the objective functions and the constraints involved in the development of the linear programming for production in a company. In the information provided, the variables available are X1 representing the bicycles produced and X2 representing the number of trucks to produce. The objective of this problem is to maximize profits to 16X1 and 14X2 respectively. Therefore, the total profits Z= 16X1+14X2. The objective function of this problem function here that is to maximize profits will be represented as Max Z= 16X1+14X2. For this problem, we seek an optimal solution that will optimize profits. Establishing the constraint, we have to identify the difficulty the organization is facing. That is limited resources of labor time. The total time required for the production of a bicycle and the truck is time taken in the lathe equation 2X1+1X2

Anaylsis Wordsworth A Slumer Did Steal My Sleep Essay

Anaylsis Wordsworth A Slumer Did Steal My Sleep - Essay Example There are many connotations of words and phrases. In the beginning, â€Å"a slumber did my spirit seal† connotes the idea of the author being unconscious or unaware of reality, in that a sleep has rendered him ignorant of reality. â€Å"The touch of earthly years† is a phrase which connotes the idea of immortality or agelessness. The last two lines are especially connotative â€Å"Roll’d round in earth’s diurnal force, with rocks, and stones, and trees†. These phrases and words are earthy and connote the physical world around us. They are also suggestive of nature and the natural lifecycle of the environment. The characters mentioned are both the author and the subject who appears to be female. The author speaks for himself at the beginning, then describes the fate of a woman, the subject of the poem. The relationship between the two is suggested in the lines â€Å"she seem’d a thing that could not feel, the touch of earthly years†. The author describes his perception of this woman, as someone who seemed otherworldly, or beyond physical interference. This suggests that he was in love with her, and that this love blinded him to her vulnerability and humanity. There are several images used. â€Å"Rocks and stones and trees† conjure images of death, burials, nature and of life cycles. â€Å"I had no human fears† and â€Å"the touch of earthly fears† convey images of a realm beyond physicality and time. â€Å"Slumber† is a symbolic word. Rather than literally meaning sleep, the author uses this word to symbolize his sense of being unaware of the vulnerability of this woman. â€Å"Human fears† symbolizes the spiritual dimension the author seems to have existed in when he was with this woman.†rocks and stones and trees† are symbolic of the fact that this woman is now dead and buried, in the ground, part of the earth. Themes in this poem appear to be loss and the feeling that

Business decision making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business decision making - Essay Example Under these forms of business analysis items, three major items need identification. These are the actual variables under consideration, the objective functions and the constraints involved in the development of the linear programming for production in a company. In the information provided, the variables available are X1 representing the bicycles produced and X2 representing the number of trucks to produce. The objective of this problem is to maximize profits to 16X1 and 14X2 respectively. Therefore, the total profits Z= 16X1+14X2. The objective function of this problem function here that is to maximize profits will be represented as Max Z= 16X1+14X2. For this problem, we seek an optimal solution that will optimize profits. Establishing the constraint, we have to identify the difficulty the organization is facing. That is limited resources of labor time. The total time required for the production of a bicycle and the truck is time taken in the lathe equation 2X1+1X2

Ethics and Values Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics and Values - Case Study Example Confidentiality is an imperative standard in nursing ethics; however it might be overruled in certain situations. Generally, revelation of confidential information with the consent of the patient is not deemed to be a violation of confidentiality. However, the quandaries of safeguarding confidentially occur in those circumstances when the patient does not provide the approval to disclose. In such cases, the ethics of confidentiality clashes with a rationale of harm prevention (Badzek, Mitchell, Marra, & Bower, 1998). Case in Question: Application of Ethical Theories and Principles The case under discussion presents a quandary in terms of maintenance of confidentiality and prevention of harm to the patient. In such a situation, on one hand the physician owes the obligation of confidentiality and on the other he has to shelter the patient from harm. Since the patient belongs to a culture where the males make the decisions regarding health care, the physician should try to persuade the patient about the necessity of disclosure of her disease to her family. If in case, the patient does not agree for the disclosure, the physician would have no other option than to disclose the matter to the patient’s family. ... The ethical theories and decision-making models attempt to characterize the boundaries of morally satisfactory actions and clarify the guiding principles for making resolutions within those boundaries. The two most common approaches in the process of ethical decision making are the utilitarianism theory and the deontological theory. The utilitarianism theory also known as the ‘consequentialism’ was formulated by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. This theory characterizes the ethical goodness of acts by their outcomes (Jamieson, Smart, and Williams, 1973).  The utilitarianism theory differentiates between good and bad act on the basis of the contentment produced by the outcomes of the acts. According to this theory those acts are considered to be correct that generate maximum contentment for the utmost number of people. Thus, the utilitarianism theory prescribes that, once in a while, certain good be forgone for the overall good of larger number of people. The deonto logical theory is often referred to as the theory of duties and was formulated by Immanuel Kant. This theory differentiates between right and wrong by accentuating on the observance of duty as the chief indicator of moral rightness (Frankena, 1973).  The actions and behaviors are considered to be right or wrong on the basis of the intentions behind those actions and not by the end results. Thus, as opposed to exploring the outcomes of actions as in the case of utilitarianism theory, as per the deontological theory the selection of the act is examined. The belief of respect for another individual is intensely entrenched in the deontological theory, which results in the notion

Social Psychology Essay Example for Free

Social Psychology Essay I think that Social Psychology can only explain some of why football hooliganism happens; I don’t think it is the only reason. I think another main cause of football hooliganism is â€Å"over-excitedness†, and the fans just become immersed in the moment. This, when mixed with passion for the game, I think, is another vital cause for football hooliganism. To summarise I thinkâ€Å"concoction† of passion and â€Å"over-excitedness†, and Social Identity Theory are the reasons football hooliganism occurs. Social Identity Theory has a real world validity which is shown at football games as football hooliganism is common in some countries, such as Poland, and can be applicable to a lot of cases of football hooliganism. Social Identity Theory can be used to find out why there is violence at football games. Furthermore, A range of studies have shown support of the idea that people are willing to see their group as better in some way than other groups. Tajfel, for example, replicated his experiment with a variation to prove that his findings were reliable. There is also a practical application, in that the theory helps to explain a wide range of social phenomena, such as football hooliganism. Social identity theory doesn’t take into account other factors which might be influencing behaviour, for example Dobbs and Crano in 2011 showed that under some circumstances there is much less in-group favouritism than suggested by Tajfel. The theory also doesn’t explain why there are individual differences in the level of prejudices shown. There are also other possible explanations of prejudice which might offer a fuller account of prejudice, for example the Realistic Conflict Theory which sees Social Identity Theory as only part of the explanation. It suggests that it is not just the creation of two groups that leads to prejudice, but that they need to have a goal in sight for conflict/prejudice to develop. Secondly, there is a theory that when humans have their sense of humanity taken away from them, and they are in turn treated as if they are animalistic. This can be used to prove football hooliganism because they are in conflicting goals and therefore they are fighting like animals in order to receive the prize of a football victory. In conclusion, I think that the use of Social Psychology can be used to understand and, more importantly, prevent football hooliganism. This is because the Police could use Social Identity Theory to understand what they needed to do in terms of policing the stadium, keeping peace and where to â€Å"shepard† the fans. This could possibly reduce the amount of prejudice and discrimination at a football match, and therefore, using Social Identity Theory, reduce the amount of football hooliganism. However, I believe that football hooliganism isn’t a result of just Social Identity Theory; I think passion for the game, as well as â€Å"over-excitedness† has a part to play too.

Female Genital Mutiliation

Female Genital Mutiliation Female Genital Mutilation According to the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO), Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, means partial or complete non-therapeutic removal or injury of each of the external female genitals for religious or cultural reasons (utz-billing Kentenich 225). FGM is an injury, physical and mental harm towards women and girls. Female Genital Mutilation has existed for over two thousand years, and over 125 million women and girls have experienced FGM in about 30 countries (Wilson 2013). It happens to 2 million girls every year (utz-billing Kentenich 226). FGM is performed mainly in Africa. (utz-billing Kentenich 226). A narrative coming from the article from Bulletin of the World Health Organization describes a real story, â€Å"I was just seven years old when I was cut,† said Leyla Hussein, a British woman of Somali origin. â€Å"The first thing I hears was my sister screaming. Then it was my turn. Four women held me down while they cut my clitoris. I felt every single cut. The pain was so intense – I blacked out.† (Shetty,Priya 6). Instruments that are used to execute FGM are unsterilized knives, razors, scalpels, pieces of broken glass, and so forth, or sterilized instruments under medical conditions (utz-billing Kentenich 226). The ages of girls/women when they undergo circumcision differ regionally (utz-billing Kentenich 225). In Ethiopia and Nigeria, 7- to 8-day-old babies are mutilated. In Somalia, Sudan and Egypt, girls, between 5 and 10 years old, experience circumcision. In some regions in East Africa, women undergo the circumcision during the wedding night, in some regions in West Africa during their first pregnancy (utz-billing Kentenich 225). There are four types of FGM in practice. Type one (clitoridectomy) means â€Å"removal of the clitoral foreskin†; type two (excision) stands for â€Å"removal of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minor†; type three (infibulation) stands for â€Å"removal of the clitoris and the labia minora and majora†; other types such as â€Å"pricking, piercing of clitoris or vulva, scraping of the vagina†, and so forth, are classified as type four (utz-billing Kentenich 226). Many of women and girls who have undergone some forms of FGM suffer severe mental, physical and social consequences. Women will suffer different types of physical consequences of FGM, such as â€Å"bleeding, wound infections, sepsis, shock, micturition problems, fractures, and so forth, as well as undertaking chronic physical problems like â€Å"anemia, infections of the urinary tract, incontinence, infertility, pain, menstruation problems, dyspareunia, and so on (utz-billing Kentenich 225). Mental consequences of women after undergoing FGM include the feelings of â€Å"incompleteness, fear, inferiority and suppression† that have a great impact on the whole life of women (utz-billing Kentenich 227). FGM also causes sexual problems such as loss of sexual desire caused by dyspareunia and reduced or no ability to have an orgasm are confirmed (utz-billing Kentenich 227). According to the record from Utz-billing and Kentenich, women have some symptoms of â€Å"chronic irritability and nightmares’, and woman also have a higher risk for â€Å"psychiatric diseases† such as â€Å"depressions, psychosis, neurosis and psychosomatic diseases† (utz-billing Kentenich 227). Ground on the interview study done by 47 women in Senegal, over 90 % of patients count FGM as a traumatic experience and depict feelings of â€Å"helplessness, fear, horror and severe pain†; 78% did not expect the intervention; nearly 80% had â€Å"severe fear or affective disorders† after FGM (utz-billing Kentenich 227). FGM is deeply rooted in the tradition and culture of a society (utz-billing Kentenich 225); in some cultures or societies, FGM is being performed since the mists of time. Female Genital Cutting is a social norm, which means that men and women often support FGM without question since it is a conventional practice that has occurred in communities from generations to generations (orchid project website). FGM serves the encouragement of the patriarchal family system and can be an instrument for birth control (utz-billing Kentenich 226). FGM is considered as being closely connected with cleanliness, virginity, healthiness, beauty and morality (orchid project website). In some societies, the mutilated genital is a symbol of feminity, of transition from girl to woman and of beauty (utz-billing Kentenich 226). In some communities, the girl who does not experience circumcision is considered as â€Å"unclean and sexually promiscuous†(orchid project website). On the other side, many communities believe that a girl needs to be cut in order to marry well; even though mothers do not want their daughters to be mutilated because of her own painful experience, she is less likely to quit the practice as a result of â€Å"social sanctions in place† (orchid project website). In other words, the girls who are cut will have a good marriage because the goal is to guarantee moral behavior and faithfulness of women to their husband, and it also promotes purity and enhances fertility (utz-billing Kentenich 226). On this basis, FGM also serves for protection of the woman from suspicions and disgrace (utz-billing Kentenich 226), and the girls will be thought to be cleaner, more fertile and will be a virgin until her wedding night (orchid project website). In addition, economic reasons play an important role in practicing FGM. â€Å"Parents get money for the pride proportionally to the degree of the operation† (utz-billing Kentenich 226). Women who experienced FGM have good incomes and have a high social status (utz-billing Kentenich 226). Based on the research which a total of 500 Nigerian women answered the reasons for FGM done by utz-billing Kentenich, we could know that 95% response that FGM is executed for cultural and traditional reasons; 49% said that FGM helps to prevent promiscuity; 18% answered that not mutilated vulva is ugly; 11% believed that FGM prevents the death of male newborns; 9% claimed that the reason to perform FGM is due to pressure of relatives; 6% reported religious reasons (utz-billing Kentenich 226). Concerning human rights, none of the cultural, religious, or social reasons for the performance of FGM could be accepted, since FGM has no health benefits and always leave women with lifelong physical and emotional trauma, and FGM objects women the right of freedom from bodily detriment. FGM is already condemned by many international organizations; the fight to end FGM is now global, with international agencies such as WHO, the World Medical Association, the UNESCO, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICER), and so forth (utz-billing Kentenich 228), and has strong support from governments. Looking back to history, international pressure to end FGM has been aggrandizing since 1997, when the WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA issued a joint statement calling on governments to ban the practice (Shetty,Priya 6). The commitment was renewed in 2008 and, in 2012, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution to enhance efforts towards the elimination of FGM (Shetty,Priya 6). Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Belgium have specific laws that ban FGM (utz-billing Kentenich 228). Africa, Egypt, Benin, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bisson, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and the Central African Republic are in the course of e liminating the practice of FGM with specific laws (utz-billing Kentenich 228). Canada, USA, New Zealand and Australia also have laws against FGM (utz-billing Kentenich 228). For instance, in Germany, FGM is regarded as a simple, dangerous, serious bodily injury, manslaughter, or maltreatment of wards; offenders who execute FGM can be sentenced to 15-year imprisonment (utz-billing Kentenich 228). Throughout history, the very first international seminar about FGM was held in 1979, â€Å"recommending the adoption of clear national policies, establishment of national commissions, intensification of general public awareness, and TBA education† (Wilson 27). After several decades of doing cross-agency evaluated studies, papers, and articles recommending methods to eliminate FGM, and holding many conferences, six key factors for waiving FGM have become well recognized by NGOs and government bodies as good practice. These six key elements are â€Å"a non-coercive, non-judgmental human rights approach†, â€Å"community awareness raising of the harmfulness of the practice†, â€Å"the decision to abandon needs to be collective†, â€Å"requirement of community public affirmation of abandonment†, â€Å" intercommunity diffusion of the decision†, and â€Å"a supportive, change-enabling environment† (Wilson 27). Based on the six key factors mentioned above, ascertaining the most effective and suitable strategies for eliminating FGM has become a controversial issue referring to moral, disease, and legal models (Wilson 27). Furthermore, according to Diop, in order to effectively end FGM, â€Å"human rights-based education programs should be continued, legislation against FGM should be enforced and funding both locally and nationally for initiatives to end FGM should be increased† (Priya Shetty 7). Adopting a commonly stands, some argue that practicing FGM should be condemned and punished by legislation; however, formal legislation is considered as a poor instrument in terms of cultural change (Wilson 27). Moreover, the legislative approach does not work effectively. The situation is that several sovereign states have legislation which outlaw the practice of FGM, either as a specific criminal act or as an act of bodily hard or injury, and many states have an extraterritoriality clause which makes it unlawful for their citizens to go abroad to let FGM practice (Brown, Katherine, David Beecham, and Hazel Barrett 3). UK’s Female Genital Mutilation Act (2003) only applies to those who have permanent residency rights, so people having temporary residency visas, such as students, undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, and so forth, are uncommitted (Brown, Katherine, David Beecham, and Hazel Barrett 3). Therefore, as Diop said, legislation against FGM should be tougher and b e enforced so that FGM can be effectively solved. In other words, what governments should do is to implement appropriate legislation and policies to keep girls from being taken overseas and undergone the circumcision. Simple education campaigns that are designed to impart knowledge on the disadvantageous health outcomes of FGM can be problematic as well, although these education campaigns do a little work (Wilson 27). Women in some countries are not given the same educational opportunities as men. In other words, women have very little power; if they want to end the cycle of mutilation, they would be left behind and would be in trouble (Emily Deruy News). Since FGM is deeply rooted in the tradition and culture of a society, women fear that if they do not make their girls cut, these girls would not be good for marriage, which would make their lives be full of exclusion and poverty in many places (Emily Deruy News). Advocating education can be a possible solution for ending FGM. Education could lead women to the labor market, which would have an impact on weakening traditional family structures. School should be playing an important part in raising awareness of FGM. An education program adopted by every school can provide a breakthrough in cultural attitudes (Nursing Standard 35). School can also impart knowledge to girls from people from different cultures and from mentors who do not support FGM; in the meanwhile, girls may be less likely to continue the cycle of mutilation (Emily Deruy News). Not only women and girls should be educated, but also men and boys should be educated. Educating men and boys about the harm and risk of FGM is considerable. One report released by UNICEF presents data demonstrating that in many countries where FGM takes place â€Å"most women and men think the practice should end† (Priya Shetty 6). But the problem is that even though men want the FGM to end but th ey have to follow it because of social reasons (Emily Deruy News). On this point, the status of women should be increased via education so that women could have abilities to fight for themselves; however, increasing the status of women is also a complex and deep problem involving culture, societies, and tradition. Public declaration for ending FGM could be a possible solution. According to David Adam, â€Å"by spreading the message of abandonment along their social networks, neighboring communities are introduced to the idea of abandonment, often reducing or even removing resistance to the idea† (Priya Shetty 7). This solution works effectively. For example, the very first public declaration took place in Senegal in 1997, and since then the number of community abandoning FGM has grown exponentially (Orchid Project website). Moreover, communities in Guinea, Somalia and the Gambia have done public declarations of abandoning practice, which is good, and other communities are declaring as well (Orchid Project website). In addition, FGM messaging that encourages abandonment can be introduced in the social media, which could draw attention to people all over the world and let people start focusing on FGM (Orchid Project website). Also religious leaders, government officials, celebrities, and superstars can take good advantage of their influential voices in order to contribute to support FGM abandonment (Orchid Project website). Not only NGOs and governments want to abandon FGM, but also churches in Kenya are uniting in effort to end female genital mutilation. The Kenyan bishops and other faith groups are combined together to form a committee to help to end the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (National Catholic Reporter 6). Since â€Å"the church is interested in promoting values and cultures that will enhance human life†, what they have done is to sign the national plan for the clergy to outlaw the execution of FGM, and they consider FGM as a â€Å"retrogressive† practice which â€Å"degrades a woman’s life†(National Catholic Reporter 6). So the churches in Kenya think that FGM must be stopped. In short, compared to what NGOs and governments have done, churches do not have great influence on ending FGM, but churches play a helpful role in assisting to end FGM. Overall, those people and organizations that do not support FGM are always trying to find some ways to stop FGM; however, what they have done does not effectively play a part in ending practices in short term, but their efforts do work. Whereas, the progress in ending FGM is slow. On the basis of data from Priya Shetty, the rates of FGM in a few countries are decreasing. In Kenya, these rates in women aged 15- to 49- year-old fell from 38% in 1998 to 26% in 2008; in the Central African Republic, rates fell from 43% in 1994 to 24% in 2010 (Shetty,Priya 6). After several decades of effort by every single movement of abandoning Female Genital Mutilation, according to the UNFPA/UNICEF Joint Program, 10,000 communities have abandoned Female Genital Mutilation all over the world, which is a good sign (Orchid Project website). This phenomenon occurs in the countries, such as Senegal, Mauritania, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Nigeria (Orchid Project website). This data tells us that attitudes towards FGM have been changing in countries, even though it is not that obvious; however, this means even if the execution of FGM is still universal, there is a change in opinions taking place, which could help to pave the way for further action (Orchid Project website). In the light of Orchid Project website, some countries in West Africa made huge progress on FGM abandonment. For instance, over 5,500 villages have abandoned FGM in Senegal (Orchid Project website). It is still sad to know that more than 3 million female infants and children are at risk for undergoing FGM annually (Sipsma 120). The existence of FGM gives these innocent girls and women lifetime pain and injury. I think the existence of FGM is so ridiculous, and it is also ridiculous that women and men in some regions still subject to practice because of tradition, culture, and society, even though they all think FGM should end. Good thing is that some West Africa countries, like Senegal, stop executing FGM and attitudes towards practicing FGM is changing as well. According to this current trend, I could say confidently that ending FGM is a long-term program and is just around the corner, if every single person, NGO, and government continues to work on the projects of ending FGM whole-heartedly. Work Cited Brown, Katherine, David Beecham, and Hazel Barrett. The Applicability Of Behaviour Change In Intervention Programmes Targeted At Ending Female Genital Mutilation In The EU: Integrating Social Cognitive And Community Level Approaches. Obstetrics Gynecology International (2013): 1-12. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Dec. 2014. Churches Unite In Effort To End Female Genital Mutilation. National Catholic Reporter 39.26 (2003): 6. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Dec. 2014. Emily Deruy, â€Å"How Realistic Are the New ‘Solutions’ to the Female Genital Mutilation Epidemic?† ABC News (2013). http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/realistic-solutions-female-genital-mutilation/story?id=19750777singlePage=true> Web. 11 Dec. 2014 â€Å"Orchid Project†, http://orchidproject.org/category/about-fgc/why-fgc-happens/> Shetty, Priya. Slow Progress In Ending Female Genital Mutilation. Bulletin Of The World Health Organization 92.1 (2014): 6-7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. Sipsma, Heather L., et al. Female Genital Cutting: Current Practices And Beliefs In Western Africa. Bulletin Of The World Health Organization 90.2 (2012): 120-127F. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Dec. 2014. Utz-Billing, I., and H. Kentenich. Female Genital Mutilation: An Injury, Physical And Mental Harm. Journal Of Psychosomatic Obstetrics Gynecology 29.4 (2008): 225-229. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. Wilson, Ann-Marie. How The Methods Used To Eliminate Foot Binding In China Can Be Employed To Eradicate Female Genital Mutilation. Journal Of Gender Studies 22.1 (2013): 17-37. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

Airborne Express :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a highly competitive industry the structure of a firm is very important to its success. Today firms are moving away from the centralized structure of the past, and adopting a more decentralized structure (Management Challenges in the 21st Century p 315). The air express industry is no exception. FedEx, the leader in the air express industry since the late eighties, is also leading U.P.S. in the race to become decentralized. Airborne Express is not even in the race. In order to compete in today’s changing environment, Airborne Express needs to move away from its old fashioned centralized structure and form a more decentralized structure. The old fashioned structure is not the only variable that makes Airborne the follower in the air express industry. The Internet and information systems are transforming the air express market into an electronic commerce market, and Airborne needs to transform it’s operations to meet this growing market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This report describes the strengths and weakness of the organizational structure of Airborne Express. Furthermore, it also gives recommendations for future changes in Airborne Express. The first section of this report addresses how the organization of the firm evolved, and what changes are taking place structurally in its industry. The second section discusses labor issues in the air express industry and how they affect Airborne Express. The third section addresses the growing electronic commerce market and how it’s affecting the industry and Airborne Express. 1) Structure of Airborne Express During the eighties many air express companies were formed and many were destroyed. However, three companies came out of this highly competitive period on top. They were FedEx, U.P.S. and Airborne Express. Airborne survived this highly competitive period by adapting to the external forces affecting the industry. One of the external forces affecting Airborne was the size of the competition. U.P.S. and FedEx were just swallowing up competitors. So Airborne decided the best way to compete was to be the low-cost provider of air express service. Robert Cline, CEO of Airborne explains their strategy â€Å"When you are up against UPS and Federal Express, those guys are so big and so well capitalized that you have to have a tool to fight with them. It wasn’t going to be size; it wasn’t going to be how well-known we were. So, we decided to be the low-cost operator.†(Washington CEO P 33). However, to become the low cost operator Airborne had to make many structural changes .

Hunger Games Book Talk

Hunger Games Book Talk Could you survive on your own and in the wild, with every one out there trying to make sure you don't live to see the sunrise? I think I probably wouldn't be able to survive in the wilderness, much less if people are trying hard to make sure I don't survive until the next day. I am used to getting my food in the supermarket, already processed, and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to hunt, kill or even build a fire. But Katniss Everdeen could. She is a 16 year-old who is able to support her widowed mother and 12 year-old sister Prim, by hunting in the forbidden woods of District 12 with her best friend Gale.They all live in the Seam, the poorest part of District 12. QUOTE. Due to a cruel twist of life, Katniss Everdeen ends up being the first volunteer ever of District 12. She is joined by Peeta Mallark, the baker's son. Both are picked to represent District 12 in the 74th Hunger Games. Feeling already sentenced to death, they are dealt another unfortunate blow when Haymitch, a drunk ex-victor, is assigned as their mentor. During the preparation for the games, the audience is bewitched by the alleged romance between the two representatives of District 12 and dub Katniss as â€Å"the girl on fire†.When real and false emotions collide, trouble  grows  between the two, because only one can make it out alive. During the Hunger Games loyalties grow or switch, some contestants stay in the arena forever, while one victor and only one is expected to come back home alive. Do you know where the author got her inspiration for the book? How her personal experiences and the historical context influence her writing? I recommend the novel mainly to teens, ages 13 and up, since it is full of suspense, action and it is rather interesting because it is not only a book about a game where everyone needs to fight each other until someone dies, ut it is something much complicated that talks about how governments always want to have all the power and be in control, and about personal freedom, sacrifice and what it means to be yourself and not submit to society's expectations. Personally, I loved this book after the  first chapter or so, since the novel starts moving at a fast pace that keeps you entertained and wanting to know more. Also the author is very descriptive about the setting, the characters physical appearance and their feelings, that you can almost feel your in the book. http://www. scholastic. com/thehungergames/videos/classical-inspiration. htm

A New Beginning †Employment Relationships Essay

All relationships require a beginning. Employment relationships can be as challenging and rewarding as personal relationships. It is therefore important to ensure that your recruitment process analyses all elements that may affect future relationships and its adherence to employment law legislation. It is assumed that both parties enter this contract at any stage verbally, written or implied voluntarily. Employment law legislation helps employers meet the minimum standards required for a healthy relationship. Internal factors As a prospective/ new employee it is important to understand the Company Strategy. A transparent strategy allows you to promote your business as it enables new employees to see the direction the company is working towards and the potential growth and job security that this offers. It also gives potential candidates an indication of development programmes that are offered and therefore what career opportunities are available. The feeling of belonging is an important emotion of increasing loyalty. Hierarchical Structures give an insight of potential movement within a Company regardless of size. If your desire is to move your way up the company ladder, you need to know there are going to be roles available. External factors A review of your Companies Demographics will help you understand where your employees come from and then what type of workforce is available to you. From this you will understand any challenges that you will face when recruiting and what plans you will need to put in place to recruit the right person to the right job. Market Influences: An evaluation of what is happening within your area with similar business may assist you with tracking your business growth and potential issues. Do you have any new  competitors on the horizon that may attract your employees which could leave with a labour force issue? Equally a business that is struggling may go into receivership and then give you a situation where you have the opportunity to recruit some key and highly trained employees. Importance of determining Employment statuses The differences – 3 Examples Type of Employment Status Worker A contract of employment in place either written or verbal Payment is received for work. It would be agreed on what interval at the point of agreeing the contract Work has to be completed, by the agreed worker, however they would be able to provide an alternative worker if agreed in advance. There is a set period of time that the work is expected to last. Often if works overrun then penalty clauses are built in as part of agreed contract. Employee Employed under an employment contract The contract details: Rights, responsibilities and duties. Regular payments on agreed Company terms i.e. 4 weekly, Monthly. Guaranteed minimum wage protection Statutory paid holiday entitlement Working time directive on rest periods and number of hours worked per week Protection from discrimination Self Employed Is an individual who takes sole responsibility for whether their business is a success or fails They are responsible for paying on tax and NI contributions and receiving wages They do not receive paid holiday leave or sickness benefits They have no employment rights They can be both employed and self employed at the same time. Why? To ensure they know their employment rights if they are entitled to them. Such as maternity/paternity leave, sick leave, holiday leave entitlements. Ensure correct payment of tax and National Insurance. If unchecked and incorrectly paid then the employer is liable for mispayment of tax and it would be expected that the employer resolves this. Causing unnecessary expense and reduced levels of trust. Ensure that the individual is fully aware of what type of benefits they would be entitled too. During – Employment Relationship Importance of a Work Life Balance This is about how an individual combines work with the other areas of their lives, such as children, family, friends and hobbies. There is no definitive answer or formula, and this will range greatly for each individual. It may also change on a daily basis depending on impacts outside work. Just as impacts inside work can affect an individual’s home life. Is there an answer? No – not just one. As each person is individual so a flexible number of options available will suit a diverse workforce. The Working Time Directive covers Rest periods, Night working, Working hours and Holidays. Rest Periods: Workers are entitled to a rest period of 11 hours in a 24 hour period, and must receive one weekly rest period of 24 hours in a 7 day period. Shifts of 6 hours or more also entitle workers to a 20 min rest break. It is worth making note that there are different rules applied for young works and night workers. And therefore legislation will need to be adhered to if employment is undertaken in these areas. Night Work: A night workers hours should be based on the principle of an average 8 hours within 24 hours over a 17 week rolling period. For businesses that use an electronic tracking of hours for example Tesco, whereby an employee clocks in and out. A review of the night teams working hours over a 17 week period would be accurate. Manual processes would be more difficult to maintain and  analyse, but it is imperative that a secure process is built in order to manage this. Working Hours: It is an employer’s responsibility to ensure that an employee or contract worker do not work more than an average of 48 hours per week over a 17 week period, unless the employee or contract worker has made the decision to opt out of the Working Time Directive. As mentioned before it is an employer’s responsibility to ensure that adequate records are kept to show adherence to this legislation. Some roles can be excluded from this measure and those are roles that are unmeasured such as executives or family workers i.e. nannies/au pairs. Holidays: Workers are entitled to a minimum of 28 days or 5.6 weeks paid annual leave per year. This entitlement must also be applied pro rata, and is not able to be rolled over into a new holiday year. Workers continue to accrue their holiday entitlement whilst on maternity leave or long term sick and this will need to be taken before the end of the holiday year. Family/Parent – related legal support There are a number of pieces of legislation that support families and parents. These include the following: Maternity Leave: There is a great amount of information relating to maternity leave, and a wealth of sites and government documentation that will assist employers on how to best support members of their workforce who are pregnant. Employees are entitled to the following- Time off for antenatal care – an employer can ask for proof of appointments. A maximum of 52 weeks maternity leave. This is made up of 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave (OML) and 26 weeks additional maternity leave (AML) AML is dependent on length of service and length of leave should be discussed at regular meetings with the employee. Maternity leave can commence any time after the 11th week before her expected week of childbirth (EWC) I find it useful to use the Government website that allows employers to enter key dates supplied to guide you when the key weeks are.  (https://www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave/entitlement) A mother is legally unable to return until two weeks after the birth of her baby. After OML a woman is entitled to return to the same job she held prior to leave with all the rights and benefits she had including any annual pay raises. After returning from AML she may only come back to the same job if reasonably practical, otherwise an alternative must be offered. Maternity pay is paid for the first 6 weeks at 90% of average earnings and then 33 weeks at  £138.18(April 2014) It is worth noting that the average weekly earnings can be increased by increasing wages in the 8 weeks leading up to the 15th week before the EWC. A woman is also now able to transfer some of her maternity leave – Please see notes on Paternity leave for further details. Throughout the duration of her pregnancy a woman must not be financially worse off, and a full understanding of the Equality and Diversity act will assist you from making any decisions which would treat a woman unfairly. Paternity: Ordinary Paternity leave allows a man to take two weeks leave. This has to be taken within 56 days of the birth. If only one week is used the second week will be lost. This period of leave cannot be extended for multiple births. Paternity pay is paid at  £138.18 (April 14) or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Additional paternity leave APL can be taken once a mother returns from Maternity leave and take up to 26 weeks leave. An employee is entitled to return to the same job they held before and any pay increases, benefits whilst they have been off. Adoption Leave: Employees will need to have 26 weeks length of service ending in the week that they are due to go on adoptive leave. A thorough recruitment process will ensure that a newly employed member of staff will have advised you of an ongoing application. They are then entitled to take up to 52 weeks leave. Within this period they may be entitled to 39 weeks statutory adoption pay. In turn a partner may also be entitled to paternity leave or additional paternity leave. Proof from an adoption agency must be provided and leave will commence from the date the child comes home to the family. Adoptive leave pay is paid at  £138.18 as with other statutory pay. (Ref: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1828) Dependents Leave: An employee is entitled to have time off to deal with a ‘family emergency’, or someone that they look after. There is no set list of what a dependant could be this something that would be discussed at a return to work. However a list within your Companies staff handbook or intranet would be a useful resource. Persons covered (this list is not exhaustive): Spouse Child Partner Grandchild Grand parent Someone that depends on you for their care. This leave covers emergencies and not for events that you have notification of, such as cover for school holidays. There is no set limit for how much time an employee can take, however an emergency is not an ongoing event and alternative policies, such as holiday, sickness or unpaid leave may need to be arranged if the situation is not easily resolved. In these situations an employer does not have to pay the employee for time off, however a fair approach should be adopted and again transparency through guidelines within staff handbooks and company intranet is advisable. A supportive and easy to access policy will underpin your Company ethos and values, and send out positive message to would be employees. Why should employees be treated fairly in relation to pay? To pay employees who: Complete similar work Through job evaluation is deemed to be of an equivalent level Produce the same amount of skill, decision making/own initiative and effort, Whilst this may morally be wrong, and be in breach of the Equality Act 2010. Allowing your business act in this manor without safe guards and checks to prevent this will allow you to be liable if found guilty. Firstly, financially this could be devastating. One claim may lead to another, and publication of findings and court cases will be damaging to your Companies reputation. This  in turn will lead to probable issues in recruiting new personnel and increasing/continuing current business. Secondly issues may arise through misguided reactions to other individual cases, which is why a periodic review of payroll is important. Any amendments in salary for an individual or team should be sense checked with a member of the HR function or with your employment law specialist. The Equality Act 2010 has been put in place to assist ‘employed’ individuals or persons classed as ‘workers’ to work in a safe and fair environment. Some parts of the legislation protect certain characteristics that would be vulnerable in the work place. Protected Characteristics Sex Race Gender reassignment Disability Sexual Orientation Marriage/Civil Partnership Pregnancy Age Religious beliefs (Ref: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4614) These protected characteristics would prevent an individual from being treated less favourably than another person would be. Direct Discrimination i.e. Turning an employee down for promotion because they were undergoing Gender reassignment. Indirect Discrimination occurs when a policy or procedure treats someone without a protected characteristic less favourably. I.e. advertising and recruiting for a Handyman, when a woman could do the job also. Harassment Occurs when a person/s treat you in a manner that makes you feel threatened, humiliated or distressed. This can be over a sustained period of time or sporadic/individual events. This is based and measured solely on the individual in receipt of the unwanted behaviour and should be investigated fully, following company guidelines. Employees should receive dignity at work training and understand your company values to prevent any behaviours being judged as the norm’ Victimisation ‘Picking on someone’ for any reason, including protected characteristics, can also come under harassment. It may be because of where they live or what colour hair they have or how large they are. It can be sustained over a period of time or on an individual occurrence such as being blamed for an error. The way this makes a person feel is equally as damaging as forms of harassment, therefore a quick and prompt resolve is important. What is a psychological contract? This an element of an employee’s contract of employment which may not actually be documented, but is what is ‘implied’ to an individual either at interview or from ways of working within your organisation. I.e. Contracted hours state 9-5 but it is expected that to finish the job, you stay until it is done. To go on time will be frowned upon. Or working Sundays is not in your contract, but you would be putting your team under pressure by not taking your turn. These are the things that actually happen on the ground. Clear statements of terms and conditions with updated and relevant staff handbook allow staff to see all the policies. Good training of managers and team leaders will demonstrate the company values. Challenging any decisions and what the snow ball effect would be is also a key way to see how policies will be interpreted. The end of an employee relationship There are three main ways an employment relationship can come to an end: Dismissal Choice Redundancy When looking at dismissing someone both the reason and the process must be fair. Dismissal is deemed fair when under the following headings: Capability – ill health or performance Conduct / Misconduct – a different process for gross misconduct Redundancy – less staff required Legality – breach of right to work Any other substantial reason – Resignation/Retirement/Death/TUPE or End of fixed term contract. As long as your process is solid and well documented. This process becomes unfair when the way in which it is handled is deemed unfair or poorly executed. If one of the 9 protected characteristics is proven to have been a contributing factor. Importance of Exit Interviews It is recommended that a member of the HR function conducts any interview with a member of staff that is leaving. The function of that representative should be at least an equal of the person being interviewed. Employee: It gives them an opportunity to discuss the real reasons for leaving. It will help you understand if there is something that can be changed. However it is worth noting that by this stage it is very difficult to change someone’s mind; however they will feel that they have a voice. Employer: Helps you to understand any key management weakness’s that you may have or issues with bullying. It will be like a puzzle, building up a picture if you have a high level of turnover from one specific area. You will be able to build a training programme and invest time through mentoring when establishing the facts. It will also allow you to prevent where possible any constructive dismissal claims. Redundancy When looking at starting redundancy an organization should first ensure that it looks at the reasons why? Is it going to benefit the business as negativity at starting a process such as this will create a high amount of negativity? Review your company’s formal policy and procedure on redundancy. Also have you a formal agreement a trade union or employee representatives? A clear plan should be evident and look at the following areas: Planning Keep your plan up to date and flexible Identify the Pool for Selection Area of the business that needs to be reduced Are the alternatives e.g. – reduction in working week / pay Consult employees Timely notification Treat people like human beings Transparent communication Criteria for Selection Length of Service Attendance records Disciplinary records Performance records Work experience Skill and qualification Competencies At the beginning of the process the business should establish how these criteria will be weighted. Documented scoring programme Appeals and Dismissals A clear process should be place to assist the appeals/dismissal process Right to be accompanied at meetings Continue with meetings if it is felt that there are more questions to be answered. Suitable alternative employment Can you replace somewhere else within organization or sister company Alternative job within same area using job matching skills Redundancy payment To receive must have worked for the company for two or more years Based on age, weekly pay and length of service Counseling and Support Assist with building a new CV Training on interview skills Use contacts within the business to identify job opportunities (Ref:http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/redundancy.aspx#link_2) The Impact on those left behind can be substantial. There is something called ‘Survivors syndrome’ where they do not feel lucky to still have a job, but guilty for those that have gone. It creates unease and lack of job security with may incur unseen increases in key skills labour turnover. It is important to keep all employees communicated too with relevant and update information on the company’s prospects. Continue to talk to them, offer reassurance where needed to continue to support morale issues. This will help those that are left feel valued and more secure. Bibliography CollinsonGrant – Employment Law for managers -5th Edition June 2014. Martin,Whiting &Jackson – Human Resources Practice – 5th Edition.