Oppressed Rights by the Oppressive Regime in Margaret Atwood’s the Handmaid’s Tale Essay

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale delves well into the horrid nature of extreme control and immoral limitations in defining the corrupt theocratic government at large, and more specifically the effect this control has on the society’s women. In an age in which a newly emerged and merciless governmental system called the Republic of Gilead has â€Å"put life back to the middle ages,† sparked by a widespread panic of infertility, personal freedom and individuality have become unimaginably reduced (Genny 1). Handmaids selected to live in the houses of wealthy, well-respected couples go through a life entirely designed by the government for the sole purpose of bearing children. Caught between following the strict rules made for women by the Republic and breaking them in secret for the sake of her sanity, the protagonist Offred essentially but not purposefully offers close to nothing for her society’s benefit. Not allowed to read, write, speak her thoughts or even look another in the eye, the most she can offer proves to be occasional, well-monitored grocery errands and the slight possibility of providing the gift of life for an elite Commander and his Wife. Parallel to a dystopia in which Offred has been stripped of the most simplistic allowances, women in today’s various Middle Eastern societies find relatively equal difficulty in utilizing their strengths due to the severe suppression and forced structure of their daily lives. Regardless of the varying context of these two scenarios, they both present themselves problematically in light of women’s personal struggle to contribute in society—in both Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and the modern Middle East, seemingly unethical yet extreme theocratic government exercises examples of such radically unformed control over its people that the exploitation and demeaning of the natural rights of women become prevalent. But on what grounds should the male citizens of the Republic of Gilead and those in today’s foreign communities be granted more liberation and opportunity while the women are held more captive of their own independence? As Offred finds herself trapped in such an unreasonably restrained living situation, she instinctively recognizes the current lack of available free will because she once knew what freedom looked and felt like. For example, in opposition of her training as a handmaid with the Aunts, she cannot help but wander her ind back to the pre-Republic days â€Å"thousands of years before,† when she and fellow females could actually go to school and watch â€Å"movies of the rest of the world† that even included â€Å"dancing[,] singing, ceremonial masks, [and music],† clearly taking place in a land where â€Å"people†¦were happy† (Atwood 118). Offred as well as other handmaids in her place inevitably suffer within their reality by trying to maintain a grasp on the memories of such privileges they once took for granted, such as real television to promote quality education. Instead of living the naturally liberal life of opportunity that was once available to Offred and existed in her home and school life, such a vision has been taken away by the government and exists now only in her memory, as the Aunts present to her and the other potential handmaids a government-approved film with â€Å"the title and [few] names blacked out†¦with a crayon so [they] couldn’t read them†Ã¢â‚¬â€another example of a ludicrous constraint, reading, that could have instilled fruitful possibilities in the mind of a woman (Atwood 119). In addition, as if the recollection of accredited education and other past events were not enough a cause of longing, Offred also recalls the fearless, empowering spirits of her late loved ones—particularly her mother whom she spots in the film, â€Å"wearing the kind of outfit Aunt Lydia told [the handmaids] was typical of Unwomen in those days† while â€Å"smiling, laughing†¦and raising [her] fists in the air† (Atwood 119). To witness such a wild and free spirit in action, that once was allowed for women but has been officially banned by the radical Christian followings of the Republic of Gilead, undoubtedly sparks a deep temptation within handmaids to rebel against this authority inflicting such â€Å"unacceptable losses of intellectual liberty†; however, such a temptation proves to be a challenge to pursue for some women today (Tolan 1). While the initial teachings of Islam attempted to improve living conditions for Muslim women by granting them some of the same rights as men in the seventh century, women become incapable of endorsing these rights when their society attempts to enforce the â€Å"laws† of the Islamic religion, described by the Columbia University professors who wrote At the Crossroads of the World: Women in the Middle East: Today, many Muslim women do not have the opportunity to enjoy rights once considered theirs by their religion. Women may be unaware of their rights or live in societies where these rights have been misinterpreted or misrepresented by individuals in power (be it the state, culture, or family). In Muslim countries around the world, there is a fundamental difference between what is prescribed by religious texts and what is actually practiced, a gulf between the ideal and the real (Esposito 1998, xiii). Often, the purportedly ‘religiously grounded’ restrictions placed on women within certain societies have little or nothing to do with the teachings of Islam. More often they are a function of socioeconomic and political factors. Recent examples of such restrictions included Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, which prohibited women from receiving medical attention from males and placed other restrictions on their movement in public (Revolutionary Association of the Women in Afghanistan)(Crocco, Pervez, and Katz 110). At most, these women are granted with the illusion that they possess legitimate freedoms, when in actuality their government prohibits this execution with the false justification that it simply conforms to the Islamic religion. The handmaids and all women alike governed by the Republic of Gilead correspondingly must follow the rules of the regime that claims to be operating in the name of the Christian faith in an attempt to validate its restrictive essence. Thus, no question exists as to how Offred becomes â€Å"increasingly reckless with her actions and behaviors,† or to why in the end â€Å"there is the strong possibility that her recklessness has cost her her life† (Genny 1). Most emphatically does Offred’s situation come off as unjust when she finally experiences a small taste of the natural freedom she once had but still deserves. Because it is obviously an â€Å"oasis of the forbidden,† she has to force herself to â€Å"hold†¦absolutely rigid† when the Commander invites her into his off-limits personal turf to play a game of Scrabble, something harmless, yet banned. Despite â€Å"[t]he fact that [she’s] terrified,† Offred still recognizes that â€Å"this is freedom[;] an eyeblink of it,† as if â€Å"he were offering her drugs† (Atwood 138-139). While Atwood implies in her novel that â€Å"feminist utopianism cannot avoid the taint of totalitarianism,† she employs the concept of defiance in that Offred can nourish her natural tendencies to actually enjoy herself through breaking the rules (Tolan 30). Similarly for the women in Iraq, the Ba’ath Party that emerged in 1963 sought provisions for women’s equality, including the liberties of education and employment; however, outside the major urban center of Baghdad, â€Å"the society still relegated Iraqi women to a very inferior position vis-a-vis men† (Brown and Romano 1). To maintain two adjacent communities with such contrasting ways of governing women is arguably contradicting and therefore, a cause for concern. Ultimately, women have simplistically natural rights that ought not to be rendered in the least, especially by illegitimate theocratic governments. Under no circumstances are the rights to thought, decision, reading, and writing, among many others, capable of being outlawed justifiably, regardless of gender. With such liberties, women carry great potential in contributing to society, despite the possibility of infertility or radically religious devotion—and in a lot of cases, that contribution can be imperative. Today in Iraq, a woman cannot own private property or hold any status, while forced to give up her education and marry a stranger. However, women still make up 65% percent of the population, and make up 70% of the agricultural workforce (Al-Jawaheri and Harris). Though they continue to fight for the equal rights and treatment they deserve while accepting their low circumstances, the crucial importance of granting women this moral blessing remains strong.

The debate between essentialism and social construction

The debate between essentialism and social construction is a very complicated one. Since both essentialists and social constructionists have different perspectives on matters, in order to be able to decide whether or not there was a presence of homosexual persons over time and place certain aspects have to be taken into consideration. Such as, was it biologically inherited, was it brought about with a preference on acts and desires or overtime influenced by religion, culture, beliefs, social norms, and acceptance has a define answer is a tough decision to make. Essentialists are stereotypical; they choose to have a set definition of a homosexual, whereas a social constructionist would have variations in their idea of what makes a homosexual. A social constructionist would disagree with whether the presence of homosexual persons over time and place have a set thought as to homosexuality was biologically inherited because they would feel that, that would be limiting the thought of other aspects influencing homosexuality. Social constructionists would feel that there is not just one set category or definition that makes you a homosexual. For example, an essentialist would say that a homosexual is someone who has black hair; therefore everyone who has black hair to an essentialist would be a homosexual. Whereas, a social constructionist would say black hair, brown, yellow, purple it doesn't matter it is in fact what that person felt that made him a homosexual. So taking an essentialist point of view stating that there was homosexual persons throughout time and place would discriminate other homosexuals who had different sexual desires, preferences, and acts that transcended through time due to other influencing matters. Matters such as culture, social norms and acceptance, beliefs, and backgrounds are good examples. Whereas Gordon and Abott state, â€Å"Social Constructionism usually has to do with categorizing. † This statement could be viewed as someone stating that religion is a deciding factor to whether someone is homosexual and someone else saying that background is a deciding factor to deciding homosexuality. There are two ideas or theory's stated here that both do influence homosexually. A social constructionist would be able to figure out what is means to be influenced by religion and what is meant to be influenced by background, and be versatile between the two the groups allowing homosexual individuals themselves to decide which factor influenced them even if it was both religion and background.. While an essentialist would simply state those definitions and state which category he/she would fall into there would be not switching into groups. (Gordon and Abott). In the article the Hijras of India by Serena Nanda, the Hijras of India are viewed as a separate group just like gay, lesbian and bisexual people in any other cultures, countries, religions, etc, just because their differences are not viewed as a social norm. They are also treated differently in every aspect because of different influences such as births and weddings. Hijras are a religious group of men who dress and act like women either because they are men who are bisexual and gay, or because when they were young boys they were castrated because of religious beliefs. The Hijras that were castrated when the where young boys are neither men nor women and cannot reproduce so they are viewed as powerful, able to curse those who disrespect them, yet outsiders in their contribution to this India society. Considering gay, lesbian and bisexual lives are not accepted in this culture, would it be reasonable to say that these men who started this religious belief where gay or bisexual men are looking for a way to express there emotions in this non accepting society? This would be a social constructionist view because over time actions and desires have changed in this society because acceptance, beliefs, culture, etc have become more accepting and understanding of the true meaning behind this religious belief. Some other things that came up were are these acts still being performed to younger boys and is this against their religion to deny a human being the right to be male and reproduce (source: Nanda)? In Class on Tuesday September 23, 2003 we had a class discussion on biological differences or mishaps that happen to babies that make it confusing to decide what sex that baby really is. In this class discussion we looked at different examples of baby girls who had their chromosomes in tact but their ovaries were inside of them and had larger clitorises. Should they have been men? We also looked at many other different situations pertaining to that subject. This could also relate back to the Hijras because they could not help what was done to them and this was only done because of social norms and social acceptance. This being an essentialist point of view there was a need for order and meaning. A social constructionist would just simply say that they could fall into many categories and find out what it means to be an XYYY baby or an XX baby with no vagina hole. â€Å"Thus, social constructionists spend much time â€Å"deconstructing† things: demonstrating that a group of categories have no truth and showing how they are socially accomplished (Gordon and Abbott)† Instead of the doctors, parents or the Hijra men who decided what sex a child should be a social constructionist would not follow the social norm in a need to have order and find an answer they would except the difference and make it a category with meaning. Ancient Greece provides another example of how there has always been a presence of homosexuality with an influence from culture. There was presence of homosexuality then and still is today but it has been influenced throughout time by culture, acceptance, social norms etc†¦ , because over time religion, cultures, etc have become more important and more needed for order to place people by the essentialists (Vance). Social constructionist views are more acceptable to differences and variations form the social norms of order and judging. They have shown that there has been a presence of a homosexual person over time and place but not just one type of homosexual person variations of unique homosexual persons. Social constructionism proves that there is not just one way to be but many ways and many categories we can all fit in not judging upon sexual orientation.

Public Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public Argument - Essay Example On the other hand Celie perseveres mistreatment, first by her step father, Fonso and later Albert. The theme of how the oppressed can redeem themselves through unity is well depicted in the film. This is shown when Celie and Sophia put away their differences and become fast friends. Celie goes to an extent of nursing Sophia’s wounds when she is arrested. In addition, this is a feminist movie. It is about a lady finding out who she really is and the value she has and will always have. In the south, Celie endured the patriarchal culture which during her search for truth, she realizes is abusive to a woman. At the beginning, she thought that wife battering is a normal thing. That is why she even advises Harpo to regularly beat Sophia. She even doesn’t deny it when Sophia questions her about it. She later learns that women are equal to men in virtually everything, including knowledge, power and finance, when she escapes from Albert after meeting Shug. When she returns in Ge orgia, at the end of the film, she is a very independent not a submissive and weak lady she used to be. Celie being one of the major female characters in the film, she has a variety of character traits that make the play more appealing and make expression of the themes easy. The ability to love unconditionally, to endure and strength are the three major attributes that make up Celie’s personality. ... This abuse don’t change her from being gentle and caring In various instances in the film Celie considers others first before she considers herself. This is an act of loving others more that she ever loves herself. She takes abuse from Fonso in order to save Nettie and her mother from his cruelty. When she realizes that Nettie might be forced to marry Albert, she marries him to protect her from that. In addition she allows Nettie to move away from the farm, knowing very well that she is the only family and friend she has ever had. This is because she believes that this would protect Nettie from him. In spite of all the difficult circumstances that Celie finds herself in, she survives due to her endurance. She is not only able to put up with uncertainty of Shug’s love, but also to withstand sexual abuse of Fonso, poverty, prejudice, miscarriages, Albert’s cruelty, and loss of Nettie. She is known to love unconditionally. She loves Shug even before meeting her and she is very happy when she realizes that Shug loves her back. Even if Shug doesn’t always treat hers well, she still loves her. When Shug goes away, she decorates a house for her and paints it with purple color and preserves it in hope that she will once return. She also has steadfast love for Sofia. When she is arrested, Celie helps in caring for her wounds, visits her often and encourage her to make her feel better (Klein 91). The movie had a great impact in my life. First of all it provided me with the insight into how life was in the south then, where women were oppressed, men were very abusive and a society that was very judgmental. Although it is an interesting film, it is very emotional film. The various mistreatments that the various female characters go through in the film drove me into

Cyber Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cyber Security - Essay Example This essay discusses cyber security and focuses on Stuxnet, a highly effective computer virus. According to Infosecurity Magazine (2014), researchers (Symantec and Kaspersky Lab) found out that Stuxnet virus was developed by the working together of the U.S. and Israel with the intention of destroying five Iranian Industrial Firms. Its industrial automation was however carried out by the contractors that were working within the Natanz plant. From this assertion, one can deduce that the final target of the attack was a uranium enrichment facility that was in Natanz. However, Kelley (2013) asserts that Stuxnet worm was introduced into Natanz power plant through one of the workers’ thumb drive. The introduction of the virus led to the increase in the pressure of spinning centrifuges whereas on the other side, control room, it showed that everything was working normally by replaying recordings that were considered good by the controllers of the plant (Shamah, 2013). In his writing, Kelly further asserts that the main intention of the introduction of the warm was not to do away with the centrifuges, but to reduce their lifetime. According to Kelly, the U.S. and Israel unleashed the second variation only after some few years. They unleashed it not only because it was undetected, but also because they also wanted to attack the centrifuges as well as replicate the virus all types of computers. Thus, it is the knowledge of a second virus that led to the detection of the first version of Stuxnet.

National Branding vs Private Label Branding Essay

National Branding vs Private Label Branding - Essay Example Usually, it is hard to know, without the aid of chemical analysis or other forms of tests, whether private brands match national brands. Uncertainty may occur due to many reasons. For example, a bread company produces many private-label breads. This however does not mean that private brands are of the same quality as the name (national) brand. The bread company may differ in its formula when producing private brands, and we should also consider that the private brands may not be as fresh as the national brands (Kis 10). Similarly, we can also look at the case of say the largest brewer of beer in your region under its own national label; can also be among the biggest supplier of private-label brand of beer. Many private-label brands of wines and spirits as you have witnessed are produced by well-known national-brand companies. Consumers are usually willing to pay more for national brands, because they are confident in their quality. This way they evade the risk of purchasing a low-qua lity product, which is usually a private label brand. Hence, if they can be convinced to try out cheaper brands and find out that their quality is similar to the national brand they are accustomed to, they may switch (Lincoln 23). In a Gallup Poll, it was discovered that about 80% of consumers who tried a product with a private-brand label like a store brand, instantly became regular buyers. Store-brand customers are typically well-informed people, who pay attention to the labels. The Gallup Poll also showed that many consumers make an effort to study the labels and prices. The Poll indicated that 40% of shoppers are selective: this means that they compare products on different dimensions considering the quality, price and special offers; therefore they do not just choose the national brand. Most national-brand products are known to be of a superior quality; therefore, they are usually sold for significantly higher prices than private labels. In June 1984, the Private Label Manufact uring Association conducted an independent research where they compiled a "Market Basket List" for 17 staple items. Private labels’ total cost was found to be lower compared to national brands. It was found that private-label shoppers generally pay less as compared to national brand shoppers. Private-label strength is highly susceptible to economic conditions and will vary depending is this factor. This means that private-label market shares goes up when the economic situation is not good and down when the economy is good (Mennen 23). The main reason for the existence of brand names is because consumers usually need to be sure of quality when they lack the time, opportunity, or ability to examine other options. Brand names simplify the selection process, since you will find that the products are cluttered. A survey by DDB Needham conducted in 1994 indicates that 60% of consumers prefer factors pertaining to national brands, for example, security, value and comfort, as opposed to private label brands. National brand-name goods have better competitive advantage over private labels, due to their solid foundation. They have a running start. The strongest national brands have been in existence for decades and have consistent quality. National brands have value for retailers, which mean that retailers must have them, since consumers expect to find them widely distributed. If consumers fail to find them, they are

The color purple shades of gender discrimination Research Paper

The color purple shades of gender discrimination - Research Paper Example Even people that have not met before recall good old times like old friends do, and this just shows that nobody, and nothing can ever be too far away. This is something we can all be thankful for, in this modern age of technology. The truth be told, this phenomenon of globalizing just about anything was anything but ordinary, as Alice Walker tells through her story The Color Purple. Written in such a way that highlights the most-likely unheard-of situations in Georgia during the 1940’s, this kind of setting was very much near to what Walker had experienced when she was growing up in Jim Crow South (White). Being the daughter of a sharecropper, and living in a place that has a strong discrimination against African-Americans, she got engaged with the need to be free, just like any other person, regardless of the color of their skin. Through these eyes, Walker was able to show many readers the feelings and situations of African-American women that, aside from the color of their s kin, were also looked down upon by their own people too, because they were females. She herself was a witness to such injustice, because she grew up seeing her father doing it to her mother and her female siblings (Bates). Although many women were already starting to awaken and realize their potentials, their contributions as well as the power of their own thoughts, they were still considered as deviant, in being different from what is considered normal (â€Å"Deviant†). This form of deviance from the picture of being an obedient, quiet and dutiful wife fueled many African-American women’s need to be recognized more or less an equal of men, and thus need a redemption from the common norms, as portrayed in some of Walker’s stories (Bloom). The Color Purple delves into the thoughts and feelings of two sisters, Celie and Nettie, whose bond was so strong that even if their only connection for a very long time was through their letters to one another. Even if they ha ve gone through so much hardship, it was like they never were separated. The whole story was written in such a way that it was narrated through letters exchanged between the two sisters, during the time when Nettie, the younger sister decided to work as a missionary-teacher in a remote part of Africa for a long time, and when her sister Celie was starting to recognize what she actually wants in life. Even though it took a very long time for the two sisters to reconcile, in the end everything came in full circle upon their much awaited meeting. Aside from the struggles of being women in a male-dominated world, the story also shows the different kinds of relationships among kin, friends, and lovers that eventually shape a human being’s personality as a whole. The story began as Celie’s letter to God, because she mustn’t tell anybody about what happened to her, lest she gets killed (Walker 1). She wrote to God how her mother was getting sicker and sicker, how she g ot raped twice by their Pa Fonso, the man whom they thought was their real father, how she bore him a daughter then a son, and both were taken away from her when they were still a few months old. Since what happened, she never had a good relationship with her Pa, or any other man. She just stayed quiet and submissive, even after her Pa had her married to a certain Mr.____, which she chose not to give a name (Walker 6). Although Mr.____ would have wanted to marry Nettie, Fonso decided that since Celie was already spoilt (she already had two children), she would be

BP Oil Spill Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BP Oil Spill - Coursework Example e done by the team to prevent the natural ecosystem from being affected by the oil spill.6500 vessels had been used in the process to clean the sea making BP spend $14 billion on the disaster and response. The supply chain experienced a major challenge in that the goods later produced by the company could not meet the overwhelming demand that existed in the market. In addition, its requirements met an alteration of terms and agreements. Dispersants were among the goods whose production was low at 500 weekly gallons as opposed to the required 50000 gallons a day demand. The company also had a problem with some of its affiliate suppliers who claimed to be capable of providing certain commodities but inflated their prices (Waters, 2011). There had been no plan to handle such disaster hence the company suffered hugely in the global supply chain index. Sea transport for commodities like oil is a cheaper alternative than air, rail or road transport. Transport links between continents are limited. Road and rail are convenient ways to transport oil inland while sea shipping remains the cheaper and most efficient way to transport oil between offshore countries or continents (Waters, 2011). Air transport is expensive and risky. It also cannot accommodate and guarantee a large quantity

Exam Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Exam Questions - Assignment Example One of the techniques is to starting the process with individual ideas. Every individual should first put down their own ideas individually. After the first step, everyone should then bring up their ideas. Judgments should be withheld and no one’s ideas should be criticized. This then should ensure that everyone is heard. The group should then go radical and ensure that even the impractical are analyzed for any possibility. There should be emphasis on generation of many ideas as possible. The group should then build on individual ideas. c) The problem solving model can help the management team to gather information on the market and identify possible solutions to their problem. They can then define their issue, gather information and try to brainstorm ideas that can solve the problem on the sale of their product. They will then come up with a solution after critical analysis of several ideas. However they are likely to encounter difficulties in gather adequate information on their problem of their sales. This then will hinder the identification of possible solutions. d) Individuals working on their own should consider identifying the issue at their stake before trying to generate any ideas. After that, the individual should consider the technique of looking at issue on different points of view. This will enable the individual be able to consider several possibilities when generating ideas. a) The characteristics of critical thinking include defining the problem that is at hand and understanding well. Another feature is asking as many questions as possible to get all the necessary information on certain issue. Critical thinking also involves clear analysis of several assumptions and biases on certain ideas. Tolerating ambiguity avoiding emotional reasoning in several cases are also common features of critical thinking. c) Fallacies of relevance are arguments whose premises are logically relevant and are therefore in a position to establish a clear

Context of Workplace Education and Training Essay 2 (3000words)

Context of Workplace Education and Training 2 (3000words) - Essay Example rced to restructure, augment and reshape their economic and labor strategies as investors turned more and more to underdeveloped countries to bring their capital where labor is less costly. The Australian government was compelled to grapple with these new realities as unemployment rate rose from 1.6% in 1970 and peaked at 10.1% in 1992. The workforce had to be retrained to be more competitive. It was in this context that Australia adopted and implemented the Vocational Training and Education system. VET is a system of education incorporated into school curricula and workplace trainings that aims at preparing the student or the worker with the necessary competency that will hone them into competent members of the workforce able to compete in the global arena. The Australian VET is characterized by its nationally unified system, Competency-Based Training (CBT) and Work-Based Learning (WBL). Globalization, the VET and other related concerns have impacted even on established Australian i ndustries like Travelex. Travelex is one of the world’s biggest foreign exchange companies. It was founded by Lloyd Dorfman of London in1976 which initially made a breakthrough into the airport scene in 1986 in Heathrow Airport, an arena used to be monopolized by clearing banks. In 1989, it set up foreign exchange units in Australian airports under permission from the Ansett Airlines, operator of the Australian airport terminal. Today, the company operates in 93 airports around the world, has presence in about 30 countries in the world and employs about 6000 people. Australia is its third biggest market (History of Travelex). The Travelex business has three divisions. The Global Business Payments division accepts commercial and personal clients’ requests to service payments in almost all parts of the globe in their preferred currencies. The Retail Division, the largest in the world, which has 700 branches all over the world, sells banknotes and foreign exchange in most currencies

Rock and Roll History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rock and Roll History - Assignment Example The giant electronic screen behind the stage showed the various band members and the other guest artists from time to time, focusing on one individual at a time. There were times also when the said electronic screen showed some fancy cartoons or caricatures of people. B Description of the Performance – the band was quite remarkable because the band members played all their songs all the way back to their start as a band. In other words, the mixture of the songs was eclectic and there was hardly any misstep in their performance. Band members memorized all their songs, even the old ones, and Linkin Park did not limit itself to purely rock and roll songs or the usual rap metal songs in their albums. For fans of this band, their performance was considered one of the best so far but on the other hand, those who hate the sound of rap may find their music too hard on their ears. All the thumping and the shouting at times may sound like irritating noise instead of soothing music to unfamiliar ears. The sheer volume of the sound system made the song lyrics inaudible most of the time although many of the fans are already familiar with these songs. On the whole, it was an awesome performance. Instrumentation was good while the articulation of the sou nd at high volume was excellent. C Description of the Artists/Band (musical genre) –the songs of Linkin Park are associated with rap metal music and also with nu metal (or alternatively termed as new metal, neo-metal, or aggro-metal) which is a type of music that is heavy on metal combined with hip-hop music and hardcore punk with additional mixtures from grounge music (characterized by growling vocals and sounds from distorted electric guitars) using apathetic, ennui, or angst-filled lyrics. The sub-genre of music from the Linkin Park band is somewhat a cross or blend between two styles of music which are hip-hop and

Charles Chocolate case Essay Example for Free

Charles Chocolate case Essay Traelene beals â€Å"9am Friday† First, a formal case analysis This should be written in a business style format using short paragraphs and sentences, self-explanatory headings, and any figures/tables that would facilitate reading. Reports are to be no longer than 2000 words (excluding appendices Issues to be addressed – No measures of productivity or efficiaency in the plant- no way of telling if the plant was doing a good job. Difficult demand forcasting due to seasonality of sales. 2 new stores had ok type sales. Best clients of Wholesale sales changed focus on cheaper items and also own products. Sales agents could be fired with 90 days notice. Other parts of US haven’t heard of us. Of the 221 wholesale customers purchase just $1000 worth of products. Other 125 purchase between 1000 and 2000 per year. Sales agents, don’t know how to represent the all products. Speculating future orders from wholesale clients to customize boxes and logos-waste of capital. 60% of the total online/phone orders were from existing customers. Online sales haven’t grown – orders processed within 3-4 days. Why ship internationaly(only 5%)—Antartica Really Summer problem at Sandwich heaven – why did staff leave? How to get new staff in this tight labour market. Marketing service – old fashioned — Undefined Target market? Packaging ? (tourists publicatins, seasonal print media and radio spots) How to increase awareness without diluting the brand. Leverage on solid search engine raankings to promote online sales Basic website, reminder service to customers-good/bad? Sales agents dint provide links to top accounts. Companies revenues had grown because of Sandwich heaven(franchising) High reliability on tourism. Corporate gift marketing – 25% discount – market was good – Explore boston ? ice cream sales Increase retail penetration? Acquire a niche chocolate company? What about the tradiotnal brand name? Internal capacity? Relocate factory? Background Charles produced high-quality, hand wrapped chocolates, Portland creams. Best quality, many loyal customers across the world. Huge factory(24000 sq foot)-owned-. Only 75 retail and 35 production employees, 20 in management. Working hours 7am-4pm(each day). Leverage long shelf life Wholesale production required early planning and online sales required late production†¦ Production planning was completed by data distortions arising from out-of stock and over stock issues. – out of stock-over production – killed the pricing – by discount pricing. Special orders put the whole order on a stand still Retail stores provided 50% of sales. – Wholesale had 30% of sales – Charles is just used as an add on product. Online and phone – online 4% of total sales. –phone is 6% of total sales60% of all these orders were from regular orders.. Avg sales $138 by phone and $91 from website†¦High growth industry†¦ Sandwich heaven – 10% of sales Industry High demand for organic/dark chocolate- anti oxidant properties.

Professional Growth Development Essay Example for Free

Professional Growth Development Essay In every profession it is essential for an individual to develop and grow professionally. Leaning is a ritual aspect in professional development. Each day presents new demands that call for specified techniques in solving them. This paper studies career development for registered nurses working in the ICU.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first step an individual needs in personal growth is to personally understand themselves that is creating and having self-awareness. This involves an understanding of ones self what an individual is and where they are their own environment as well as their perceptions. When a person understands what and where they are the benefits he or she is likely to get one various like, it would enable the individual to establish the essential steps they need to take so as to be more competent in certain particular situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In essence by establishing myself as an individual; I am able to establish the aspects within me that require development in order to be competent (Johnson 2003). This would also help me professionally, and as well to become the person I desire to be. Self-awareness offers a launch pad and foundation from where I can charter and enhance my development and thus the probability of becoming the nurse I want to be. The other benefit of self-awareness is that it enhances my individual sense of sensitivity and aids me to present myself in the way that I wish to as well as create the kind of impression I desire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other significant benefit about self-awareness is that an individual like me is able to communicate effectively (Johnson 2003). In view of the rational nature of the nursing profession as relates to practice; patients, families as well as the interdisciplinary health care organizations self- awareness is crucial as it provides me with a foundational knowledge of my self- understanding as well as self- knowledge. My individual familiarity with myself as a nurse that is born out of the realization of my self- awareness is a basis for self-acceptant as well as self-appreciation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However for me as an individual to attain a high level of self awareness I have   to overcome certain personal factor that, become a barrier bas a tutor (nurse tutor/speaker) the fear is an emotional response that the nurse has to learn to deal with to achieve the full potential of self awareness. As a nurse I have to understand my personal fears as this would enable me get the support I need to progress and how to change to be the person I want to be. Additionally as a nurse I must be ready to change so as to be the person I want to be. I must abandon the â€Å"old† ways which have or were hindering me from being the teacher /speaker I want to be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The individual nurse has to build within him/her as high level of self-esteem so as help develop the process of self-awareness. High self esteem makes an individual feel great about him/her self which makes it easy for self-exploration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to expand the level of my self-awareness as a nurse I should be able to involve myself with others through conversations so as to learn more about my personality. For instance a nurse I can engage myself with colleagues to understand who I am, and what the teaching professional is all about. She can also engage with students too. This I can achieve by; asking questions then sharing the response I receive with my colleagues. I can also adopt the approach of self-interrupted, where I periodically challenge the participants to offer examples as well as concepts learned up to that point (Jeff Menguin 1968).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The effect of dialogue is that it can help me to develop my self –awareness in two broad categories, when the nurse is expressing her/himself, she or he begins to develop the speech skills as well as self-understanding is raised to a new lever. The process of dialogue enhance the aspect of clarity that is needed both in speech and teaching skills similarly suggestions as well as observations the colleagues as well as students together with others would promote the level of awareness as relates to aspects of themselves that were initially unknown to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second aspects for the nurse to consider while trying to develop his/her speech/teaching skills is the theory of critical thinking critical thinking can generally be defined as the intellectually disciplined process that an individual employs actively and skillfully to analyze, synthesize with the aid of concepts to evaluate information generated by observation or experience. Thus critical knowledge presents the individual with an integral competent in the development of self-awareness and its addition to reflection as a nurse enables them to understand their encounters. For instance as an nurse educator who has a problem of too much â€Å"teacher talk† and I make proposals to her colleagues as well as others is likely to find better solution to my discussion skills. The critical thinking process would enable me nurse to understand the other aspects that coalesce to form situation during my speech or teacher talk sessions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Brookfield (1987) critical thinking involves first identifying as well as challenging the assumptions the nurse educator is likely to make. The nurses should then consider the significance of the context under which she operates and then explore as well as be very imaginative to find other alternatives. I can then engage in what is known as reflective skeptism. However it does not have to be in this sequence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the best ways an individual may best achieve the best approach toward great critical thinking would be through reflections. As an individual nurse educator, I should try to flashback on my past experiences that helped my speech or teaching skills growth and those that as well as changed the speech /teaching skills, however these aspects could either be personal or professional. I should then analyze as well as evaluate my response to these situations like the kind of approach I took. Further I should look at what I normally do when attempting growth or change as relates to my profession as well as personal life. I should then consider the various results of my approach and whether the approach elicits the desired change or growth and finally consider the various steps I took to make the approach work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third option involves the theory of envisioning, that is trying to imagine what may be. This theory presents the nurse teacher with a look and understanding at what they wish to be and therefore a chance to grow. For instance an individual who wants to change but engages in the same process to obtain the desired change will always have the same results and thus be in the same familiar position he or she does not want to be in. thus it is essential for one to reflect on their past experiences of growth as well as change in their lives to determine the degree of changes as well as growth envisioned and at the same time achieved was aided or influenced by their sense of recognizing the possibilities of the outcome.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In most cases the nurses’ educator may view the chances of growth as a result of her or his life experience. However it is prudent for the individual nurse educator to find ways to expand this vision of growth to become something achievable and desired.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In essence an individual’s thought process offers an essential component to expanding their vision as the thinking patterns greatly affects the process of vision. Creative thinking thus presents a very effective as well as efficient means to development growth and change if well incorporated to the critical thinking concept as well as that of reflection. The integration of these three processes is vital as they help to broader the individual’s vision and equal aids him or her in understanding as well as referring their options and or possibilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The focus of creative thinking is usually based on â€Å"exploring ideas generating possibilities† as well as finding various correct answers instead of first a single answer (Harris, 1998). According to Harris (1998) creativity is the ability to appreciate new ideas and change and be ready to play with ideals as well as Charles, possibilities. In view of this definition a nurse educator may be able to develop my speech/teaching skills through the exploration of newfound ideas. Like in instances when I engage in discussions with my friends or colleagues both at personal and professional level I am able to find new ways to which I can make my presentations. This new developments may serve to enhance the educators speech /teaching skills   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are about five principle ways in which the creative thinking process is able to manifest itself; firstly there is the evolution process where the already existing ideas are broadly expanded as well improved on. This can be summarized as â€Å"a work in progress† in essence the nurse should by has learned or as well mastered. She can thus begin the process of synthesis that involves choosing an idea from two or more ideals. The chosen is an integration of the other thoughts resulting in a better way which she can present during her speech and at the same may be a best way to approach and make presentations to her audience. The third step of revolution process where a new idea that is considered best but is totally different from the previous one may be developed. For this case I can as a nurse during my presentations should look for new innovation ways even if they involve radically changing the already learned ideas. This may involve a new approach to new audience that she has not handled before to enable her meet their expectations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fourth aspect of creative thinking involves reapplication of â€Å"old† ways to new situations for instance if in a previous speech certain phrases or processes worked and she or he is faced with a similar audience, she can reapply the same processes used. The final aspect would involve change of direction. This entails the speaker/teacher shifting attention for one perspective to another to fix the demanding situation.      References Combs A, 1962: Perceiving, Behaving A New Focus for education Association for   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Supervising and Curriculum Development, Washington DC Lemin K, 1947. Group Decision and Social Change in Reading In Social Psychology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Holt, NY. Mentoring Relationships   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mark came up to me last week and broached the subject of mercy killing of terminally ill patients by medical staff. He explained how painful he is finding it attending to such patients feeling their pain, hearing them groan in pain and breaking the bad news to the kin. As an intern, this had taken toll on him and with time he would become disillusioned. We talked over the issue and discussed what the consequences would be. We have developed a tight professional bond since he was assigned to me as his mentor. We reinforce each other when the pressure is too much. Mostly, he draws from my large experience to find solutions to his problems while I rely on his youthful vigor that makes me feel rejuvenated at times when am hopeless. Our relationship is therefore complementary. Mentoring involves two individuals where a person acts as the guide who is more knowledgeable in a certain filed to a new entrant in that field. As the mentor I provide my protà ©gà © with source of information and advice. The protà ©gà © presents me with questions, observations and ideas for scrutiny and recommendations. This relationship is beneficial to us both in terms of profession growth. The protà ©gà © can always walk up to me whenever encountered with a problem. He or she is guaranteed of my accessibility and availability to discuss professional issues. In my interactions with my protà ©gà ©s, I recount to them the various instances my protà ©gà ©s have saved the day for me. I once overlooked a skin rash when diagnosing a patient only for my protà ©gà © to point it out to me. It later proved to be the key to our treatment. Some of my mentorship relationships are long-term others short term. They usually end once the protà ©gà © has gained enough knowledge. I usually wean off my protà ©gà © in terms of assistance or help with time as he or she gains more experience. Our relationship will continue till the point where the protà ©gà © is fully assimilated in that field. My mentoring relationships therefore are temporary processes with the aim imparting knowledge on new nurses in our hospital. Through this mentorship program we are able to enhances the ability of new employees to exercise their full career potential. (Developing mentoring)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theoretical approach taught in schools cannot be fully relied on in the real world especially in the nursing world. A new nurse will need hands-on experience to learn how to carry out various delicate tasks. Instead of leaving a new nurse to grope in the dark, I provide him or her with tested and proven solutions or workable plans. As the protà ©gà © internalizes these skills, I gradually fade further into the background. I let him or her more freedom to work on his or her own without close supervision. The protà ©gà © is developing new knowledge and applies his or her original ideas to it. Over time, he or she acquires knowledge that would be useful in advancing his or her career. Mentorship does not necessarily come at the onset of one’s work life. It can also apply where an experienced individual in one field decides to practice in a different field. He or she will look for guidance from those who preceded him or her in that field. (Developing mentoring). When I decided to switch to being nurse educator ten after becoming a Registered Nurse, I armed myself with an MBA. But even with this theoretical base, I would not have matured into all rounded educator if the senior educators did not mentor me. They guided me on how to handle and motivate student nurses. Usually, the mentor will have undergone the protà ©gà © stage at a point in his or her life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Our mentorship program helps individuals achieve potential growth in their nurse careers. Inexperienced entrants gain confidence through our mentorship. When they start out, they fear that they will fail to live up to the professional expectations. They want to deliver but are not given full chance to prove their abilities. This is especially so in fields that requires maximum care in handling work. That is, when work involves delicate procedures such as nursing. Through our mentorship programs however, a person who has been through it all guides the new nurses through the operations of the hospital. We also give the protà ©gà ©s support in delicate organizational operations. We push for the protà ©gà ©s case to the hospital’s administration to ensure that the protà ©gà © is allocated more satisfying roles in the hospital. Our mentorship program also provides the protà ©gà ©s a forum to present their ideas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  New entrants after observing operations and by applying knowledge learnt elsewhere may develop ideas to improve our operations. He or she will present these ideas to his or her mentor putting forward all major points of the idea, its merits and demerits and other issues such as cost. Together we brainstorm the issue to see how workable it is. We as the mentors straighten out any assumptions that the protà ©gà ©s may have wrongly made drawing from our advanced knowledge and our wealth of experience in that field or organization. This would give the idea a more realistic and workable face. We as mentors are also able to easily gain audience with the administrators to push for the adoption of the idea.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a mentor, I also provide psychological support to new entrants who find the hospital environment to be too hostile. The first few days at work are usually frustrating to the point that some may consider quitting. Most of the workforce will not care how well a new nurse has adapted to the job. They expect speedy service and will grumble at the slow service offered by a new nurse. Some of the seniors are even very hostile to the new nurses.   We step in to reassure the protà ©gà © and make him or her (protà ©gà ©) to feel appreciated and welcome. I also provide an opportunity for the new nurses to make friends especially with my colleagues. This makes the new employee feel welcome. (Developing mentoring)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My mentorship services can either be formal or informal. Formal is the sense that its start can be traced to a particular time. Both my protà ©gà © and I know that we are getting into a mentorship program and both approve of it. Our roles are set out clearly for both of us. This mentorship program is mostly assigned in that the faculty allocates the protà ©gà © to me. It can also be self-appointed. Here, the protà ©gà © approaches and arranges with me for a mentorship services. This relationship is usually long and its results measurable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mentorship relations that are informal do not have a specific beginning time. It just happens that I find myself in a mentor-protà ©gà © relationship with another person. Rather it is not what we had set out to do. It’s the situation that makes one of us to rely on the other for guidance and counseling. This relationship develops due to another relationship in place between us. When it’s evident to both of us that we are in a mentorship relationship and approve of our roles we continue to play them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A new nurse may be inducted in to a hospital through an organized mentorship program usually by assignment. He or she learns the hospital’s style of doing things. Such a program ensures a new nurse fits in and is able to deliver quality service. It boosts his or her confidence and job security. Whenever I offer mentorship services, I achieve self-gratification and also strengthen my leadership skills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What my protà ©gà © and I settle for depends on the issues at hand.   Different people will have different needs. As mentor I sometimes determine future job my protà ©gà ©. I usually encourage the protà ©gà © to raise his or her level of education to achieve faster rise through the ranks. I also provide guidance to my protà ©gà © on what line specialize in depending on his or her strengths. I also advise the protà ©gà © on how to avoid certain mistakes in their careers that would hinder their rise. (Developing mentoring)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My mentorship relationships are built on key individual characteristics found in both of us. We must have adequate understanding of each other. Only then can we help each other out. Only with good understanding of each other can we combine to set up goals. Both of us are more comfortable with each other and can open up more easily if we are familiar with each other. Another key characteristic is respect. I should not look down at a new nurse as incapable rather should see him or her as an individual with a potential to be exploited. I must believe in my protà ©gà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s abilities and treat him with dignity. Communication between us is key. Without a functioning communication, neither the protà ©gà © nor I would be in a position to put across ideas, questions or recommendation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We start by identifying the needs and determining our end goal. Then we put in place a clear plan indicating the specific roles of each party, and the formula for achieving our end goals. Then we develop the framework by which to adopt the plan. The program is then set up with regular appraisals done to determine its effectiveness. (Canadian Nurses Association, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cost of a mentorship program is forbidding. It requires a lot of resources to set up. It is also prone to sabotage by either parties. The mentor may also take advantage of the protà ©gà © either financially or sexually. To prevent such problems I usually insist on meeting normal our meetings and in my office. Workplace Violence In my career so far, the worst experience I have had was to work under a menacing senior nurse as a greenhorn. She had a bad tempered and I took the worst of it. She would constantly shout and gesture at me. I could no right thing in her eyes no matter how hard I tried. She heaped blame on me on things that were even beyond me as an intern. What hurt me most was when I did a good job and expected praise only to get a reprimand for a certain commission. I started feeling that I was in the wrong career and almost quit in frustration. Only after I talked to another senior nurse who was my mentor did I regain my interest in my vocation. She told me to stand my ground and engage my senior in a reasonable controlled argument. She also told how to report the issue to the administration if the harassment did not stop immediately. When I did not back off when the bully came at me, it took her by surprise and she ended up breaking down. She explained her fears and hardships to me, which she wa s passing on to me. The behavior stopped immediately and my job became more fulfilling to me. When Rose, one of my protà ©gà ©s, approached me with the same problem, I related my experience to her. I told her that she should neither give up on her vocation nor accept bad treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Workplace violence is violence meted against employees of an organization. It could be across employees of the same rank who unite and make life hard for others or it would cut across different ranks. Here, the seniors mistreat the junior rank employees. Work place violence could be verbal or physical. It includes sexual harassment, racial slurs or mere rudeness. It can also occur from the customer being served. Some customers are very rude to the new employees when being served. Some jobs have higher risk of workplace violence than others.   Social work services and cab drivers are examples of work groups, which face a lot of hostility from customers.  Workplace violence meted to a junior officer by a higher rank officer is very prevalent. It even passes off as effective management. This is especially in high-tension work environment such as a theater in a hospital.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I always address the problem of work place violence when mentoring my protà ©gà ©s. I spell to them what is work violence, how to recognize it and the options open to the protà ©gà ©Ã‚  Ã‚   Nurses are usually the recipients of verbal onslaught and physical attacks b physicians. Nurses are also victims of attacks by their colleagues who gang up to victimize a targeted member or their workforce. The victims of these bullies have to deal with many accusations and insinuation that are untrue. The bullies usually blackmail their victims or just use threat of violence to stop them from reporting. When they zero in on a target, they are sure that they will not get punished making them bolder in their attacks. The victims recoil further unable to take any action.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bullying of nurses by fellow nurses is most unfortunate as this is supposed to be a team that functions together in provision of health care. Most of these attacks are prompted by jealousy especially where senior nurses see new recruits as having had an easier time when joining the profession. They brand them demeaning names and  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   withhold information from them. They sabotage their work and heap blame on the young entrants. The poor attitudes of the senior nurses are passed on to the physicians who also ridicule and harass the new recruits.   The new nurses are criticized at the slightest of mistakes. The bullies may make crude remarks or use non-verbal language to hit out at the recruits. They make work environment for the new nurses very hostile. (O’Reilly, Pauline, 2005)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I usually present to my protà ©gà ©s the effects of this violence on new nurses in the long run.  When faced by continued bullying, most nurses want to quit. They were previously enthusiastic about the vocation and had great ideas in mind on how to care for their patients. Not being given a chance to develop into fully skilled careers frustrates them. They become disillusioned and want to leave. Constant intimidation and humiliation leaves them greatly dissatisfied. This leads to high turnover of nurses as more nurses quit causing acute nursing shortages. Most of them will quit at the first opportunity o getting on their job. Others will even opt for a lower paying job than nursing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bullying also harms the victims both bodily and mentally. New nurses feel unappreciated and disliked for their hard work. The constant reminders about their failures get to them. They cannot get an outlet from constant pressures and threats. The workload is made much more difficult by withholding of some necessary information. Hospital administrations do not provide an avenue for them to air their grievances. In fact they are supposed to forward their complaints through the same nurses who oppress them. Pushed to a corner, they develop escapist tendencies such as drug abuse, alcoholism and depression. They also exhibit other characteristics such as insomnia, general unkemptness, irritability and sheer timidity. They experience burnout and may suffer from nervous breakdown. Some may even turn suicidal due to the frustration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some victims of bullying internalize the inferiority complex. They see the whole process as a rite of passage that everybody must undergo. They take the abuse in their stride and will act timidly lest they provoke the bullies. They feel that at one time it will be over. Instead of actively fighting the oppression, they expect that through their passiveness they will gain acceptance and be spared from further attacks by the bullies. (O’Reilly, Pauline, 2005)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the hospitals, they get reduced productivity from their nurses. There is huge nurse turnover as more nurse’s walk away. High turn over leads to high cost of training and recruitment affecting the hospitals bottom line. Nurses who remain have a big workload and this hurts the quality of service delivered. This is serious having in mind the sensitivity of healthcare provision. The hospital also misses out on creative ideas and innovation that the new nurses would have implemented. They are not only denied a chance to air them but it is also constantly drummed into them how useless they are. If some of these ideas had been considered, hospitals would make huge steps towards achieving better service delivery and cost cutting and increase efficiency. When the hospital administrations allow the vice to go on unabated, they are killing growth opportunities that would have otherwise been available to them at very low cost. Nurses cannot attempt anything new for fear that it does not take off, it would lead to further attacks and humiliation or even loss of jobs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most bully nurses are arrogant, inhumane and selfish. They fall back onto threats and intimidation when running their workplaces. They fear new nurses who might have better qualifications and who might replace them at some point. To wad off this threat, they attack the perceived rival. They are not open to any different point of view and will enforce their view on everybody.   They usually hold a key supervisory role earned through domination of those under him or her. They expect everybody to rise through the ranks slowly just as they did no matter the qualifications. In their roles they use coercive force. Victims of bully attacks are usually new nurses who are very enthusiastic about putting skills they learn in to use. They are ambitious which the senior nurses interpret as a threat. (O’Reilly, Pauline, 2005)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In general, the patient stands to loose when bullying is allowed to escalate. Bullying kills team effort among the nurses of different ranks. These nurses and physicians are supposed to operate as a team in order to save lives. Disharmony among nurses would have negative impact on quality of health care. It may even lead to loss of lives. This would spark off another blame game, which would most probably point at he new nurses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To overcome bullying in hospitals, the administration should put a stop to the vice. They should put in measure that allow for reporting and prompt penalizing of bully attacks. They should put it clearly that all workers of the hospitals should be treated with dignity and respect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The administration should also organize for effective communication avenues for the hospital staff. Junior nurses should access the hospital management at all times. The hospital administration should enhance communication between the various work groups. Bonding sessions and team building activities should be organized. The hospital should make the nurses to feel appreciated and wanted not as free riders that should be admonished. Higher ranks of hospital staff especially senior nurses should be made to be supportive of the junior nurses in their early period of the careers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another strategy to overcome bullying in hospitals would be to encourage the victims to take up Non-Violent Communication. This means that while they do not absorb the vilifications and abuses, they do not react in the same manner used by the bullies. They counter them by calm firmness and engaging them in controlled argument. The victims should maintain a record of the attacks and keep on reporting to the authorities. In this endeavor victims should come together in a one non-violent but firm voice. (O’Reilly, Pauline, 2005)   Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  References O’Reilly, Pauline, RN, MN, 2005. Professional Growth: Fostering Psychologically Health Professional Relationships. BCIT, School of Health. Developing mentoring Canadian Nurses Association, 2004. Achieving Excellence in Professional Practice: A Guide to Preceptorship and Mentoring. Developing Programs for preceptorship and Mentoring. Retrieved on 10/24/07 from http://www.cna-nurses.ca/CNA/documents/pdf/publications/Achieving_Excellence_2004_e.pdf

Marketing plan and analysis of Al Hilal foods

Marketing plan and analysis of Al Hilal foods The brand has great opportunity to grow in cities other than Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Faisalabad and Multan as they have created much credibility in big cities of Pakistan. 11 Also it has opportunity to GO GLOBAL. Customers outside Pakistan have more loyal behavior towards Pakistani products so there is a chance for this brand to grow globally. 11 Threats: 11 3.Understand the construction of a marketing plan 12 3.1 Produce the marketing plan for your organization 12 Executive summary: 12 Current market situation: 13 SWOT analysis: 13 Objectives and issues: 14 Marketing strategy: 14 Action programs: 15 Controls: 15 3.2 Risk in marketing plan and Mitigation strategies: 15 Risks: 15 Mitigation strategies: 15 3.3 Importance of each component of the plan: 16 4.Understand to Promote the Marketing Plan in Support of Strategic Objectives 16 4.1 How the plan supports strategic objective: 16 Plans of Fresher and their support to objectives: 16 4.2 Outline an approach to gain agreement of the marketing plan: 17 5.Conclusion 17 6.References 19 Introduction to Al-Hilal Foods Al-Hilal foods is a Pakistani company owned by Mr. Ch. Farrukh Sattar. The organization exited about 10 to 15 years ago. At that time it made only one product line i-e Sultan Ghee. After flourishing in that field it introduced its new product line i-e 100% pure juices a brand named as FRESHER in 2009. The brand flourished in just one year through WORD OF MOUTH marketing strategy and gave a tough competition to other big brands like Nestle, Minute Maid etc. Al-Hilal is listed a listed company. Fresher was first introduced in 5 flavors that are Mango Guava Peach Strawberry Orange After fabulous success of these all flavors Fresher introduced a new flavor called FALSA. As Fresher gained success within period of only one year they introduced new brands in 2010 names BOOMER and COOLER. Boomer is a fizzy drink and has 3 flavors Orange Lemon Cola While Cooler has 4 flavors that are Apple Orange Pineapple Grapes The Fresher company is working hard day by and moving forward in the field of 100% pure juices. Mission: Their mission is to promote locally. Vision: Their vision is prosperity of Pakistan. ( Ref. 7) Understand How The Marketing Plan Supports Strategic Objective 2.1 Explain how the strategy of your organization Impacts Upon marketing planning: Strategy: Strategy is a long term actions/plans which are made by some organization to achieve their peculiar targets/goals. (Ref- 1) According to Michael Porter the strategy is all about the mixture of different activities which are differentiated from competitors to pronounce unique mix of value. To him its all about differentiating yourself from customers as well as competitors. (Ref-2) Without a strategy the organization is like a ship without a rudder, going around in circles Joel Ross Michael Kami Marketing strategy: A marketing strategy is a process or model to allow a company or organization to focus limited resources on the best opportunities to increase sales and thereby achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. (Ref-3) The set of objectives which an organization allocates to its marketing function in order to support the overall corporate strategy, together with the broad methods to achieve these objectives Chartered institutes of marketing The above two examples show that , marketing strategy is actually the strategy that support overall corporate and which a company has to use efficiently to market its products on best opportunities while converging the limited resources to achieve its goal. Marketing planning: Marketing planning is a logical sequence and a series of activities leading to the setting of marketing objectives and the formulation of plans for achieving them (Ref-4) Now we can interrelate all the above terms with the help of diagram below. Business Goals Market Strategy Marketing Mix Marketing Plan The above diagram shows that an organization has to set business goals which are actually the target of company or mission statement. The next level comes of marketing strategy which is esteemed rule that company has acquired to market their products. After establishing the market strategy company moves forward towards marketing mix in which it define the whole marketing mix i-e Product, Pricing, Place and Distribution. Afterwards the process of writing of marketing plans comes in which company has to describe the whole market activities which are used to acquire business goals. (Ref-3) 2.2 Impacts of strategy on marketing planning: Under this heading the strategies of organization will be discussed and the impacts of that strategies on the marketing of organization will be noticed. What effect that strategies will throw on organizations long run and short run will also be discussed. Here we are talking about Fresher marketing plans. As described earlier it is a Pakistani local company that is making 100% pure juices and this is one of the marketing strategy of Fresher that make it distinguishes from others. The company has many competitors in the same line of 100% pure juices i-e Nestle, Shezan, Minute Maid etc. But the Fresher is successful yet to maintain the no. 1 position in the brands of 100% pure juices. And also Fresher is successful to maintain its positioning against Nestle and other strong brands like Minute Maid. The benefit what Fresher will get due to this strategy is that competitors are not attaching it from all the sides. Only fresh juice companies are interested to attach its strategies. It has no concern with any other product line of competitors. Another strategy of Fresher is that they are using PET BOTTLES instead of juice boxes which made their product easy to use for the customers and the look of their brand product is totally different from others. They are also using SHRINK WRAPS for the packaging of their products. The one more thing that makes their product discriminate is tags hanged with the bottle of juice on which a little description of brand and ingredients are written. These tags make the look of the product more elegant and it again helps to make a strong positioning of the brand. The promotion strategy that Fresher following is WORD OF MOUTH. They are using any other strong promotion strategy which again differentiate the brand from others in market. But as they are not focusing the advertisement strategy now when they that much stabled in market, they can spoil their positioning as well. Fresher has strong distribution strategy which has been helping the brand to be strong so far i-e they used ROLL OUT strategy of distribution. They started the distribution of their product from their own city and then they spread it in other cities with the passage of time when they had grown enough in the market. The strategy has a benefit that other strong competitors like Nestle, Minute Maid etc didnt notice such small brand and didnt take action for that. In the meanwhile Fresher entered in the market and had got a strong market positioning. Fresher had got another benefit of this strategy that is they maintained their resources with it. They started distributing their product in their city only and when they have earned enough money they spread it over other cities of Pakistan as well. 2.3 Component parts of a marketing plan: Parts/Categories with which a marketing plan is made up of are called components of marketing plan. Here the heading will elaborate all of its parts one by one. Executive Summary: It is the first component of the marketing plan which explains the summary of the whole marketing plan for the quick review by the management of the company. Mostly three issues are mentioned in this part. The Challenge Challenge consists of a little elaboration of product for which marketing plan is made and the summary of goals such as sales figures and strategic goals.. Company Analysis Company analysis mostly consists of the answers to following questions What are goals of the company? To what thing it focuses more? What are the strengths of that company? From what culture it belongs? What are weaknesses of the company? And in what market shares it exists? etc. Competitor Analysis In competitors analysis a short report about competitors weaknesses, strengths, market position and market shares is presented. (Ref-5) Current marketing situation: Its a marketing audit which shows the current market situation of the company by comparing it with the past situation of its own and with the market situation of competitors. It presents data about the market, product, competition and distribution. SWOT analysis: SWOT analysis is basically the analysis in which strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the product (to be marketed) are given to have a complete look on companys analysis. The firms internal environment presents strength and weaknesses while external provides opportunities and threats. Objective and issues: This heading defines the objectives of company in different areas such as market share, sales, profit etc. Also this category will deal with all the issues and problems that effect these objectives. Marketing strategy: In this category a marketing strategy or approach is recommended to achieve the particular objective. It is the main and important part of marketing strategy structure. The strategies will elaborate the marketing mix (product, price, distribution, promotion) as well. Action programs: In this step a report is given about details of marketing strategy. The report answers such questions like how will all plan start? Who will do it? What will be the cost of all plan? Etc. Controls: Indicates how the progress of the plan will be monitored. 2.4 Risks and advantages in the devised marketing plan: Risks: Fresher is having a big threat in the market due to its lack of advertisement strategy now when it has gain that much credibility. Other competitors in the market has built strong image through their advertisement promotion strategy. Now it is the time when Fresher might think of making a strong and highly attractive advertisement to throw behind all the competitors. Fresher is not having a properly educated team of employees and it dont have proper departments such as HR department, RD department, Marketing department etc. So the employees working in the competitors firm are more competent and they can make proper decision at proper time. Fresher has to work on it as well. It may form a proper team so that they can compete in the leading market. As Fresher employees are not that educated in their particular field, they have disagreement in the selection of strategies. This is the major risk for the Fresher in the market as it can lead to fall of the company. Advantages: Fresher has specialized workers only in the field of making juices. Their worker knows the formula and they are best trained workers in juice making as they have to make only one product line at one time and they concentrate fully on it while competitors of Fresher have more than one product line so their workers have less command on juice making. The earlier promotion strategy of Fresher (word of mouth strategy) is quite impressive as no competitor can concentrate on upcoming new brand in this way. It gave Fresher to expand rapidly in market. The different packaging of Fresher bottle made them different and they expand undoubtedly in the fresh juice market. The biggest advantage to Fresher was the introduction of 100% fresh juice first in the market which make them differentiate from the competitors and thus they expand rapidly. 2.5 SWOT analysis of Fresher Juices: The company is new in market and has no good setup so they have not worked on their SWOT analysis by themselves. I made its SWOT analysis by my own conclusions and analysis of the company. Here are some strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for the company. Strengths: They have short brand name which a basic strength of Fresher. Brand name is thus easy to remember by customers so its demand in market increases. And it is also flourishing in middle and low class segmentation of customers (as the customers in such classes are mostly uneducated) just because of its short brand name and easy memorizing quality. Short brand name also creates word of mouth easily. The highest market share in the product line of 100% pure juices is gained by Fresher. It has best attractive packaging of its juice bottles so far that is a main strength and attraction of customers towards this brand. Its availability is much good as compared to other brands in the market. Weaknesses: The brand is new in the market so it is not financially strong as compared to competitors. It will take some time to become financially strong for which it has to strong its marketing. Advertisement is weak and now when the brand has earned much credibility its essential for it to make powerful advertisement to make it more strong and reliable as brand has less or near to no TVC recall. Positioning is the major weak point of the brand. They have to make it strong to further grow in the market. Opportunities: The brand has great opportunity to grow in cities other than Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Faisalabad and Multan as they have created much credibility in big cities of Pakistan. Also it has opportunity to GO GLOBAL. Customers outside Pakistan have more loyal behavior towards Pakistani products so there is a chance for this brand to grow globally. They can launch more brands as well which is again a great opportunity for the company to grow. Threats: Fresher has promoted its products only through word of mouth so its a great threat for it. Other competitors that are promoting their products through advertisement and other strategies of promotion can gain more repute. If a pre-established brand of outside the country launches its product here in Pakistan, there would be a great threat for Fresher as it is a new brand here. The strengths and weaknesses come from internal origin of organization while opportunities and threats come from external origin of organization. Helpful to achieving goals Harmful to achieving goals Strengths: Short brand name Highest market share Packaging strength Availability strength Weaknesses: Financially weak Weak advertisement Weak positioning Opportunities: Growth in small cities of Pak Go global Launch more brands Threats: Lack of promotion strategies Other brands Understand the construction of a marketing plan 3.1 Produce the marketing plan for your organization Executive summary: Challenges: The companys product is 100% pure juices and its target customers are mainly diet conscious people, children, upper class, upper middle class and middle class society. But it can also target to lower class customers easily as juice is a thing which a normal person use in everyday life. The product is already differentiated from others because it falls in 100% pure juice category. And Fresher was the first to start this category in Pakistan. Company analysis: The Fresher is a new company in 100% pure juices product line. The company has high market share due to its previous marketing strategies in which main one is word of mouth through which it was promoted and gained the high market share rank. The companys weaknesses are finance, weak advertisement and weak positioning. Here we are designing some strategies by which its growth rate can increase and it can maintain its market share. It can make its advertisement strong and so its positioning too. Competitors analysis: Freshers competitors are companies who make 100% pure juices like Nestle, Minute Maid etc. Now if we come to Nestle, the company has a big weakness that it is dealing with 100% pure juice as well as nectars on the same time which make their focus diverted to both lines in the same time. While its strength is, it has a strong brand positioning earned by other product lines first. Market share of Nestle is lower than that of Fresher but market position is strong enough. Current market situation: The current market situation of Fresher is going not that bad when we talk about its distribution in big cities. The Fresher has the highest market share in product line of 100% pure juices while all other competitors have left behind. The demand of Fresher is also increasing day by day due to its good taste and flavors. Its giving a tough competition to its competitors in the market. Competitors didnt notice it first because it used only word of mouth marketing strategy first and took benefit of this strategy to achieve its goals. But in promotion the other companies (competitors) are moving forward to it now as it is lacking its interest in promotions. The Fresher has best packaging as well. SWOT analysis: Strengths: Short brand name Highest market share Packaging strength Availability strength Weaknesses: Financially weak Weak advertisement Weak positioning Opportunities: Growth in small cities of Pak Go global Launch more brands Threats: Lack of promotion strategies Other brands Objectives and issues: The main objective of Fresher is to maintain its market share in the line of 100% pure juices. Then it also wants to expand its business in other cities as it is a good opportunity for it to grow more in the market. The increase of sales is required for the increase in profit. To make strength of positioning. Now the main issue is that the other companies in the same product line are also struggling hard to compete the market share of Freshers. The Fresher has to maintain its demand by which it can maintain its market share. The issue concerning the expansion of the brand in other cities is to face the other local brands in those cities. Marketing strategy: Fresher makes following marketing strategies to achieve its goals. Fresher has to focus on advertising strategies such as TVC, radio commercials, Print media ads etc. Ads can be made more attractive by using advertisement marketing strategies such as humor, fun, models or TV actors etc. The attractive the advertisement will be the more the customer will be attracted towards the product. They can use different distribution strategies to promote their brand more e.g they can distribute free samples in the areas where product is not known enough. They can fit stalls in main areas/markets of different cities for the promotion. As children are more attracted towards juices and pure juices are good for their health, they can conduct different activities for children to attract this group of consumers. Also the fresh juices are mostly used by diet conscious people so Fresher can also use the same strategy of activity conductance for these consumers as well. In this way they attract their most targeted customers. All these strategies can help to achieve goals of company. Attractive advertisement and free sample distribution can help to expand business in small cities and activity based strategy can help to increase sales. Hence all these type of strategies can be used to increase sales, increase in profit and to maintain the high market share. Action programs: Now it is turn to plan the actions. Fresher can appoint workers to fulfill these strategies. First of all Fresher has to maintain proper departments such as HRM department, RD department, Marketing department, Finance department and so on like this. Then Fresher has to assign them their duties. Human resources department will manage human resources which are one of the major sources Fresher needs. Marketing department will implement these strategies and will check the results. Finance department will assign finances to each department and make a check and balance on it. Plan can be started from distribution of the products as free samples. So that more and more people in other cities can know about the brand. It will increase sales and profit as well. Now this finance can be invested on advertisement and other strategies and so on. The cost of all the strategies will be planned by finance department and marketing department as these are marketing strategies. Controls: The system cant be effective and efficient until and unless it is supervised and controlled properly. So the control in implement of these strategies is also very important. Here marketing managers of Fresher will be the persons who look after all these things and implement strategies. 3.2 Risk in marketing plan and Mitigation strategies: Risks: Risks in above strategies are only few. As company is not financially strong as compared to its competitors so might it cant afford advertisement expenses. The other risk could be short term effect (which is never been required) of some strategies like activity based strategy etc. Mitigation strategies: If finances do not allow Fresher to make an attractive advertisement then Fresher can go for rank purchasing in commercial complexes like Hyperstar, Metro etc as it costs less than that of advertisement. The benefit of this strategy will be that the people of every targeted market of Fresher can gain knowledge about the product easily. It would be a long term effect of marketing strategy. Activity based strategy would be short term strategy so instead of this we can use another strategy in which Fresher can appoint some of its employees ( sales persons) to sale their product at low price or less profit by going door to door in different colonies of different cities. It could have a long term effect on consumers mind. 3.3 Importance of each component of the plan: First component is executive summary. The summary explain the whole summarize data of the plan in short form so that the reader or to which report is being presented can save his/her time and he/she can found what is written inside the report and whether the report is meaningful or not? The executive summary has a lot of importance in marketing plan as it contains companys challenges, companys analysis and competitors analysis. 2nd component of the plan is current market situation. It is necessary to provide so that a marketer or person who has to act upon the plan should know that at what level the company stands and what level they have to move to increase growth rate of the company. The third component of the plan is SWOT analysis. Mentioning it in the plan in necessary because it helps to analyze the strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats of the business with the help of which a person can make marketing strategies. The forth component of the plan is objectives and issues which explains all the goals and their related problems in plan. The fifth component of the plan is marketing strategies. This is the main step in the plan to which company has to work to achieve goals. The sixth step is action programs. The step is important as it tells that how to implement these strategies and who will implement them and what will be the cost of all strategies. The final step is of control. This is also one of the major step of the plan as it is necessary to tell how to control the whole strategic system and who will control it? Understand to Promote the Marketing Plan in Support of Strategic Objectives 4.1 How the plan supports strategic objective: Plans of Fresher and their support to objectives: Fresher is assigned following plans. Attractive advertisement The attractive advertisement of fresher can attract more and more customers towards the brand which will help to increase the sales. Increasing sales maximize profit and when company earns more profit it will be able to expand its business. The advertisement can help in building strong positioning as it contains slogan and jingles through which an image that is different from its competitors can build up. The better positioning will help to maintain market share. Streghthen positioning, profit maximization, expansion of business Distribution of free samples Again its the marketing strategy that will help to maximize sales when people around will try the samples and will be attracted. Maximize profit will lead expansion of business and strong market share. Activity based marketing Activity based marketing strategy can only help to achieve goals in targeted consumers market by increasing sales at that category of customers. Rank/Shelves booking This strategy can be useful for better positioning of brand as it creates a good image of the brand. The most visible shelves will be booked by Fresher, the more consumers will be attracted towards the brand. Personal sales Again this marketing strategy will increase Freshers sales and its demand and again the profit will be increased. Actually all the strategies are made up to maximize the profit first and then other effects accompany it. 4.2 Outline an approach to gain agreement of the marketing plan: Conclusion In this assignment we learned about strategic marketing, How marketing plans supports strategic objectives, How a marketing plan is constructed and How to promote the marketing plan in support of strategic objective? We chose Fresher, A Pakistani 100% pure juice company and looked upon its marketing strategies, what Fresher is using now and what should it use in future to promote itself more. Fresher is well known company of Pakistan whose marketing system is not that good while it needs a perfect marketing system now when it has gain that much credibility. Though marketing managers are working in the company but company is not showing enough results in this field due to which there are chances of their fall down in future. Fresher is using some excellent marketing strategies such as WORD OF MOUTH, ROLL OUT strategy, SHRINK WRAPS, PET BOTTELS, TAGS, 100% pure juices etc But we suggested some more marketing strategies to them by our own study and analysis. We made a marketing plan in which some marketing strategies were suggested such as ATTRACTIVE ADVERTISEMENT, ACTIVITY BASED PROMOTIONS, SHELVES BOOKING in markets, PERSONAL SALES and DISTRIBUTING FREE SAMPLES to increase its sales and profit. As Fresher has high market share so these strategies will help it to sustain the market share and to increase growth rate of it. At the last we made a marketing plan and saw that how these plans support objectives. We also discussed the SWOT analysis of the company which tell us that company less threats and less weaknesses and more strengths. We also discussed risks regarding strategies but they very low.

The River Of Freedom Essay -- essays research papers

In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, the Mississippi River plays many roles and holds a prominent theme throughout much of the story. Huck and Jim are without a doubt the happiest and most at peace when floating down the river on their raft. The river has a deeper meaning than just water and mud, almost to the extent of having it's own ideal personality. It provides the two characters a means of escape from everything and everyone, and puts them at ease. Although quite constrained in it's capacity to provide freedom of movement, the raft offers the two a certain amount of freedom in actions, words, and emotions. Huck senses this truth when he mentions how; 'other places feel so cramped and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.'; (Twain, 113) However, the freedom that is experienced on the raft can be deceiving. This freedom is only temporary and will not last forever. Huck and Jim cannot live on a raft traveling down the Mississippi forever and must focus on the main situation at hand, getting Jim his true freedom A freedom that stretches beyond the limiting reaches of a raft.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Huckleberry resents the objectives and beliefs of the so-called 'civilized'; people of the society around him. Huck likes to be free from the restrictions of others and just be himself, living by his own rules. He disbelieves the societal beliefs that have been embedded in his mind since birth, which is shown by his brother-lik...

What is outsourcing Essay -- Globalization essays, research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is Outsourcing? It is a method in which companies subcontract labor and support to outside agencies (Klepper, 1997). How, why, and who companies outsource to are quickly becoming social topics of discussion in our society. Everyone seems to have an opinion on outsourcing. I bet that I can walk into a social gathering right now and hear discussions like â€Å"outsourcing is good for the American consumer† or outsourcing takes jobs away from all of the hard working Americans.† In either case, outsourcing has raised great concerns over its effects on the American economy. In this paper, I will discuss the types of outsourcing, pros and cons associated with outsourcing, management views of outsourcing, employee views of outsourcing, and give my opinion of outsourcing. What does outsourcing do? It enables companies to focus on the mission at hand, to save money and be competitive. Depending on a Company’s needs determines the type of outsourcing that company may use (Embleton, 1998). Outsourcing is a very diverse market, and there are many different outsourcing options from. Two common types of outsourcing I will focus on are Information Technology (IT) outsourcing and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) (Bowen, 1998). Through research, I found that Information Technology (IT) Outsourcing is a rapidly growing market. I.T. outsourcing enables companies to continue to manage their core business, while outside agencies manage their technology needs (Bowen, 1998). It’s a way of getting rid of those high paid, college graduated employees. I.T. outsourcing allows companies to use cost-cutting methods to cover computing needs, large mainframe and midrange data center, manage numerous networks and run desktops across the globe (Bowen, 1998). Advantages of outsourcing information technology include, but are not limited to, less capital expenditure, less management headache, and keeping focus on core competencies. Less capital expenditure means a company does not have to buy expensive hardware and software. Less management headache relieves companies of having to hire and manage accounting personnel. Keeping focus on core competencies affords companies’ time to strengthen and gain a competitive edge over the competition (DiRomualdo, 1998). Disadvantages of outsourcing information include less managerial control, may be more expensive, and Sec... ...Workers in developing nations will get new and higher-paying jobs, and consumers in the U.S. will be able to buy products that are cheaper than if they were made at home. But is this really good for our society. We will soon find out. References Bowen. T and LaMonica, M. (1998). IT gets picky with outsourcing. Infoworld 20(33), 1-3 De Rose, L. (2004). The Downside to Outsourcing. Electronic Buyers’ News. July 14, Issue 1066. DiRomualdo, A & Gurbaxani. (1998). Strategic intent for IT outsourcing. Sloan Management Review. 39(4), 115. Earl, M.J. (1996). The risks of outsourcing IT. Sloan Management Review. 37(3), 26-33. Embleton, P.R & Wright, P.C. (1998). A practical guide to successful outsourcing. Empowerment in Organizations. 6(3), 1-11 Hayes, R and Pisano, G. (1994). Beyond World-Class: The New Manufacturing Strategy. Harvard Business Review. 72(1). Klepper, R & Jones, W. (1997). Outsourcing information Technology, Systems and Services. Prentice Hall. Nicholas, J. (1998). Competitive Manufacturing Management (Singapore:McGraw-Hill). Chapter 19, Managing the Supply Chain, pg 672 Strassmann, P.A. (1995). Outsourcing: A Game for Losers. Computerworld. August 21.