Saturday, August 31, 2019

Explain what is meant in the Bible by the phrase “God is good.”

A) Explain what is meant in the Bible by the phrase â€Å"God is good. †Many worshippers of God like to believe that he is intrinsically good; this means that he is good in himself. People try to argue this by the Bible and through many things in the Bible such as the 10 commandments and the creation of the universe as well as the many miracles of the Saints. God is seen to act morally good as he creates a world which is seen to be good, therefore he must be. â€Å"God saw that it was good, and it was good. † The Ten Commandments show us what good is according to God.The Ten Commandments explain to us how we should act and what our religious and social duties should be. God could be said to be showing his love for this through these laws. Another common biblical image of God is that of a judge to whom we all answer to, however, if God is seen as a judge â€Å"Psalms 75:7 But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another,† then he must be trying to divide the good from the bad, we could see this as God trying to protect the people who worship him from the sinners, however it is hard to distinguish the bad from the good.The Ten Commandments offer a guide for this, so that we can see what is wrong and what is right, so therefore we could see this as a good act of God as throughout the Bible God demonstrates his desire for justice for his people. People may follow the Ten Commandments because they are scared of the possibility of going to Hell or that they are so full of faith for the Lord that they follow them without thinking, that if it is the wish of God then they must act and follow these rules. The Old Testament displays God as being vengeful and punishing those who sin, whereas in the New he is seen as being forgiving and loving.These are two sides of God which keep people obeying the Ten Commandments, as there are two opinions of him, one that he is punishing and the other that he is forgiving. God also punishes those because he loves all people and love involves showing another what they have done is wrong so they can learn from it. God could be seen as good, as even though he punishes those who have sinned, if they repent they can go to Heaven, which means he gives everyone a chance.God is a transcendent being therefore some people believe that we cannot  understand God’s actions as it is far too complex for us to comprehend. This is written in the Bible with the story of Issac and Abraham. In Genesis 22 as a test for Abraham God says to him â€Å"Take your son, your only son, Issac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering. † Abraham responded to God’s command with immediate obedience. Christians believe that if we obey God without question and trust that His plan is best we exalt His qualities and praise Him. Due to Abraham’s unwavering trust and faith in God provides Christians with an example they must follow.As God saw Abrah am’s belief in Him an Angel came down to Abraham and told him he could sacrifice a ram instead. God uses Abraham’s faith as an example of the type of faith required for salvation. This type of faith in the Lord is the basis for the Christian religion and that we should follow in this way when we receive the Christian faith for the sacrifice God made for our sins, Jesus Christ. We may not know what He has planned but that it must be for the greater good so we must follow His wishes. Not only do people have faith in God, but in the Bible and that we are lead to believe God is good and nothing else.Jesus Christ preformed many miracles in the Bible such as feeding the 5,000, raising a widow’s son from the dead and healing a paralysed man as well as many more. Not only that but there are over 10,000 people that have been canonised including St. Joan of Arc, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Valentine. To become a Saint you have to perform a miracle and it be recognised b y the Catholic Church. Miracles bring much happiness and joy to people and the act can rarely be explained, surely these acts are a great act of God and must be good if they bring happiness. People also believe God is good because he keeps human kind in some sort of order.Law breaking is bad therefore we are punished if we do break the law. The law is there to make us be good individuals and do the right thing according to society. When we follow the law we are told we are being good and are rewarded with a chance to go to Heaven, this is told to us in the Bible. A chance at getting to Heaven is an incentive for us to do good deeds and abide the law. We then read from this that if we are good we are rewarded and if we are bad we are punished which keeps people abiding by the law and why so many people over thousands of years have been scared at the prospect of going to Hell.People could view this as God keeping us in line and not letting us stray and do the wrong thing; in essence h e is saving us from going to Hell by creating laws and putting them in place so we know what is right and wrong. In conclusion, the phrase â€Å"God is good† in the Bible means that God in himself is good, he can never be otherwise as he is just good. His acts are good and the punishment he inflicts on others is so they change their ways and realise what they’ve done and repent their sins. He does this out of love for every human as we are created in his image and he wants us all to be cleansed of sin and go to Heaven.He uses the Ten Commandments to set these guidelines for us and help us on our journey to Heaven as well as showing us some of his goodness with the miracles that can occur in this world. The miracles that we hear of in the Bible make many people wonder what Heaven is actually like if something so great is described and it makes people seek out repentance as well as being good ourselves so we are allowed to go to Heaven.B) â€Å"It is difficult to believ e in a God who is perfectly good. †(10) Many sceptics of God and the Christian faith think that it’s hard to believe there is a God that is good in himself and can’t be anything but that.Not only that but many people also believe that he is not good, as so much punishment is shown in the Old Testament and the idea that God created Hell in the first place to punish people who sin. People argue that if God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and omnibenevolent he would not let natural disasters to happen, even though Christians say natural disasters happen to punish humankind for our sins. The Lord God of the Scriptures says this about himself. â€Å"For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.†As well as this, it is also written in Psalm 5:5 â€Å"You hate all who do wrong,† therefore it is hard to believe that God is a forgiving and loving God who accepts everyone, if he hates all who do wrong, even if they are regretful about it. In many different scriptures God is described as wrathful and punishes those who do wrong, this was most likely written to stop people from sinning and obey the 10 Commandments. This still does not make people want to believe in him, however, and many people question whether God can be perfectly good if he is punishing those who do the slightest thing wrong even if it was to help someone else.If God is being described as jealous and hateful, then we can deduce that he is not all good as he has a capacity to hate, which is seen as negative by most. He is also described as warmongering as he constantly is battling evil and Satan. People could say these wars are necessary and that he must protect us from Hell and the Devil, however in the New Testament it completely goes against this describing him as peaceful and forgiving so it is difficult to know whether he is punishing the sinners for the rest of humankind’s benefit or that he is just being hateful towards anyway who slightly steps out of line.Moreover, the story of Abraham and Issac also challenge our idea of God being all peaceful as he asks Abraham to sacrifice his son which he is willing to do. A lot of non-believers would ask why God asks this in the first place as it seems completely morally wrong to tell a father to kill his only child. Christians argue this was to test Abraham’s faith in God, but surely Abraham would feel conflicted about doing this if he cared for Issac at all. This could tell people who do not believe in God that God almost corrupts people who worship him as they think that is the most important thing to do in life and nothing else.This could be an example of one of the ways God isn’t perfectly good if he commands the people who follow him to kill their own children to prove they have faith in him. Not only that but if there is evil in the world to start with, God must have created this evil, therefore how can he be all good? God created Hell and all his Angels, Lucifer, one of his angels was cast out from Heaven and sent to Hell where he became known as the Devil. God did not create evil as nothing evil can come from God. Satan and other demons were at first good angels, created by God, but they became evil of their own free will, given by God.This â€Å"fall† was a free choice of these created spirits, who rejected God and his reign. Therefore Christians would say that it was not God’s fault however he created Heaven and Hell therefore he must have known or considered there to be some evil in the world. Many people can see why Christians believe in God, that there are so many different texts saying he is our protector and that he loves humankind and is forgiving and all-knowing. However I do agree with the statement â€Å"It is difficult to believe in a God who is perfectly good,† as there are many texts that also say he is vengeful, wrathful and warmongering.It says he is hateful and that he condemns sinners so itâ⠂¬â„¢s hard to believe in a God when there are two sides to the story. When there are stories of God commanding people to kill their children to prove their faith and that God created Hell in the first place. Christians like to believe in God for security as they believe him to be intrinsically good, but how do they know this is true when there is so much punishment and hate in some of the scriptures describing him. This is why many people are sceptical that he exists and if he is actually all good.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Progressive Era and Gilded Age Essay

In Walter Nugent’s book Progressivism: A Very Short Introduction, he claims Progressivism emerged as a response to the Gilded Age, an unfortunate era that left the average working Americans poor while a new class of wealthier people started to rise. Nugent explains to us the breakdown of Progressivism and what occurred when it struck our nation. Progressivism began to come together in the end of the 1800s due to the ills of American Society that had developed during the great spurt of industrial growth. It shaped and progressed from 1900 to 1917 and finally started to disappear from 1917 to the early 1920s. Nugent claims Progressivism emerged as a response to the Gilded Age, an unfortunate era that left the average working Americans poor while a new class of wealthier people started to rise. For once, Americans sensed change in their society. Some change for the good but most of it for the worse. Nugent talks about how cities began growing up faster than the blink of an eye. The railroad companies started to turn into monopolies. Unfortunately, more problems started to rise in America other than this one. The rich became wealthier and the poor became poorer. The nation had also previously faced a serious recession from 1893-1896, and recovery did not actually really begin until 1897. Other factors that occurred during the progressive era: prostitution and alcohol abuse, the great railroad strike of 1877, and the Homestead Strike. The main progressive leaders, such as, Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, and Woodrow Wilson stepped in to make a difference. Theodore Roosevelt claimed he backed up the middle class and showed no mercy toward monopolies. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson accomplished many things such as: the 16th amendment which modified the structure of taxation, demolishing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to dissolve trust so the railroads would not create a complete monopoly in the North West part of the country, the 18th amendment which banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, and the passing of the Woman’s Suffrage Act in 1920 which allowed women to have larger roles in issues with our society. However, according to Nugent, reformers such as Jane Addams, W. E. B DuBois, and Booker T. Washington also had a huge impact on the Progressive Era as well. Addams founded settlement houses like the famous Hull House, where immigrants and the poor resided. The Hull- House also showed change could come without overthrowing the political and economic system. DuBois, head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), helped to reduce discrimination. Nugent later describes what occurred in America when Progressivism slowly started to die out. It considered to have ended with the outbreak of the First World War. The war left over 53,000 killed in combat while 63,000 died from other causes. A Flu pandemic also struck which killed roughly 600,000 Americans. In conclusion the progressive era had rough times. Although not everything turned out completely successful, it did put America in the position it needed to be in in order to achieve success.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Life of early man Essay

But these changes in early human’s life had taken a very long time. Through ‘Early Human’s Life’ educational series, we are trying to take some snapshots f efforts made by early humans to become civilized. Today, we live a better life in concrete fiats and facilitated with TV, Video, schools and colleges; have variety of nutritional foods, and better means of communication and transportation. But can you imagine a life without such facilities for us? A life where there is no big society, no house to live, no good food, no clothes to wear etc. How does It feel to listen? Yes, you are right. we are talking about the wild life. And this was the life of none other than our ancestors (Early man) who used to live in Jungle nd lived a very hard life. Life style and food of early humans: Early humans lived in Jungle and were afraid of bigger and stronger wild animals. t Of2 themselves behind the bushes. But it could provide them security from wild animals, rain, winter and sun heat. So, they started living in caves. As food and clothes is the basic necessity of humans, they started wrapping tree leaves and animal skin over their body to protect themselves from cold and heat. But they needed food also to live. They do not know how to grow crops in fields and finding food was not easy. In search of food, they had to go from one place to another. Earlier, they used to eat fruits from tree or roots of plants. Then they started hunting animals for food. Discovery of tools: In start, early man started killing small animals for food. But they could not kill large animals with their bare hands. So, they used sharp edged stones to kill animals. Probably, this was the first tool he had started using for his need. They kept on improving their tools with time and requirements. They found that if they tied a sharp stone to a long piece of wood, they could throw it to a wild animal at a longer istance and they did not require go near to kill it. This was the invention of a spear. Later, on they improved it by making with bones and started using tools not only for hunting but also for cutting, digging and sewing. Discovery of Fire: Early humans ate raw flesh as they did not know how to cook their food. They had seen broken out fire in Jungle severally, but did not know how to make it and how they could use it. Rather, they were afraid of it like animals. With time, they felt that they could use it for keeping themselves warm in winter. But making fire was really a big problem. So, they decided to keep Jungle fire burning and started to adding dry grass or leaves to it. But it was not a permanent solution. One day, they saw sparks coming out from rubbing stones who were rolling down from the hills or some other way and got idea to make fire by rubbing two stones. This was really a great discovery as now they were able to make fire whenever required. With time, they learnt other uses of fire too. They found that they can light up their caves and protect their family from cold and wild animals using fire. They also came to know that the roasted food is much softer than raw one and also tastier to eat and this was the beginning of cooked food. In this article, we discussed about hard life of early humans and their efforts to make it more comfortable. We explored the ways he invented tools, fire and searched better place to live in. In our next article, we shall discuss some more very interesting discoveries by early human and the expected ways he explored them. We shall also discuss his efforts to be more cultured and what make him social in behavior.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

ART - Essay Example It also resembles more of a Southwest United States portrait because of its subject – a woman who is stringing beads. The braid on the woman also resembles a woman who would be living in this area of the United States during this period of time. What is also striking about this woman is that she is sexualized. This painting was painted in 1924, and perhaps the mores during this time in Europe was looser than in other places, especially the United States, but the nipple on this woman is almost dominating in the picture. But this is the only part of the picture that shows her to be a sexualized being, so it is striking that this part of the painting was so prominent. It is almost as if one is not supposed to take their eyes off of the woman's nipple. Beyond this, the colors and the lighting are extraordinary. The shadows and the light on the face show her features, and the same kind of light and shadows are on her hair that play up the dominant part in her hair. Her braids are a lso tinged with the same sort of light and shadows, all the way down. Her skin on her arms show the same. The shadows and the light are used to great effect to delineate and highlight what the painter wants us to see. The painting also does not necessarily reflect the realist movement. It is painted in broad brushstrokes that are not visible, and the features of the woman are almost in caricature. Her nose is pointed, more pointed than probably the actual woman had. This is not a picture of a woman as she really looks, but, rather, it is a picture of the woman as the painter wanted to portray her. It is a bit cubist, as noted above, but mostly reflects the southwest art movement that was prominent during this period of time. The geometric forms of this painting are not just in the way that the woman is portrayed, although these geometric forms are subtle, more subtle than a typical cubist painter, but also in other parts of the picture. This includes the stairs, which show sharp geo metric patterns, and the wall behind her, that shows the same sorts of geometric patterns. There also is a certain sense of solidity in the form. This is not necessarily a fluid form, but one that is almost sculptural in the way that the form is portrayed. She is engaged in work, in that she is working with her beads, yet, this is not necessarily portrayed in this painting. It is as if she was captured perfectly still. This was a hallmark of this particular painter, especially during this period of time, as he was working with poses that were more stylized and solid, as opposed to fluid. Adrian Piper – Vote/Emote This next piece of art is an interesting mix between a Marcel Duchamp sort of Readymade and photography. Duchamp, with his Readymade art used everyday objects and displayed them as art. For instance, he might bring in a bicycle wheel and call it art, or a toilet. In this case, the Readymades would be the window boxes. These are everyday objects that would be found in a home, and they are presented as works of art. The light boxes are silk-screened, which gives the photographs behind them more of the feel of a painting. Yet, beyond the windows themselves, are clearly other works of art that resemble paintings and photographs. Behind one of the windows is clearly the black protest marches of the 1960s civil rights movement. It shows the African Americans marching on Washington, with a sign that says â€Å"

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Opinion Polls Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Opinion Polls - Essay Example Findings are then tabled, presented or read out to the public so that they know how the whole initiative was received. (Word web online, 2008). Recently, media companies have also included opinion poll in their prime time bulletins where a sample of the views given out is read and the percentage of the voting shown. The power of these polls can not be taken lightly since they have in many occasions reflected their contributions in decisions made concerning different matters. There are allegations that the results from the polls sometimes do not reveal the reality. The evidence against them is usually demonstrated by parties who see it as being more critical than considerate. These claims go further to indicate that the views presented were in fact not randomly sampled. The argument whether opinion polls should be done away with or the question of their importance in elections needs to be tackled carefully. Opinion polls in last elections would have caused a stir of mixed reactions just incase the final vote outcome went otherwise. Many people were keeping an eye on them, unrest was most likely to occur then. Liberal Democrats polls indicate that the party is not fairing badly. Its members applause the fact, saying its been a tradition. Recently, polls stood at almost fifty percent before fluctuating. Liberal is blaming conservative for allegedly fixing the election. Members of conservative were denied democratic rights of voting for sitting MEPs contrary to their style where all members cast the ballot in the same box. (Liberal Democrat Voice, 2008). The Liberal Democrat Opinion has strongly come out against its opponent criticizing them of failure to deliver their promises. Among the issues given the priority include economic recovery, crude oil and its products ever rising prices and the main contest, the ability to retrieve British troops in Iraq and other countries in the Middle East. The two closely competing parties that are conservatives and labour have had fierce battles against each other with the aim of finally being the torch bearer. Elsewhere Labour party continues to give the government headaches, laxity in the judicial system and the controversy in the Home office. There are claims that the government has no clear intention for its citizens. The working force too is clogged with inefficiency, malice among other failures. Opinion polls carried out recently indicate that the voters feel the same way about the order of the day. There have been calls for Blair to resign but he would not just yet. A lot of interest has been shown by people who closely monitor the activities of the polls. As a result, mixed reactions come up due to different personal views. There are groups who back them totally while others are so against them. Another lot lies neutral but with their recommendations on how these opinion polls can be made better. On rare occasions though people have agreed on poll results only to differ completely when maters they have a hand get voted against. Polls have it that a third of supporters are now backing the Liberal Democrats rather than the two other parties that is, the Conservative and Labour. In the wake of general elections, polls come in handy and indeed offer statistics about a feel of the real thing on the ground. Labour has taken advantage and taken the priority to ensure Britain's effect globally is still felt. Key roles include

Monday, August 26, 2019

The Economy of Irish Republic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Economy of Irish Republic - Essay Example (Christopher T. Whelan 2007 ).However the current position of the slump in the ICT market has caused a temporary slump in the period of 2006-2007.It has been suggested that a policy focusing on retaining a deflated real exchange rate/real wage rate would benefit Ireland in the longer term.towards a macro-economic balance. (Christopher T. Whelan 2007 )In 2001 alone the interest rate was more than 3 % for the economy and it has been brought down recently to pave the way for a better monetary policy based economic performance by marked increase in public finances strengthened markedly and a cut down in the public debt with a surplus in the Foreign trade balance. (OECD 2001-2006)There have been recent strong gains in the disposable incomes and wealth, and investment has improved but there is a marked danger of the labour supply shortage.The better part of the Irish economy is that it has managed a low inflation rate (5%) for the past one decade despite the high fuel prices in the interna tional market and tax increases in tobacco prices and the service sector. (OECD 2001-2006) Inflationary pressures are also coming from the employment sector but have been avoided in the interests of a tight fiscal and monetary policy.However in the face of the promising productivity growth the monetary conditions in Ireland are expansionary based upon the rapid increases in house prices and private sector credit and lending. (Christopher T. Whelan 2007 ) Tax revenues have also been promising in the face of a booming economy and have enabled sizable tax cuts and increases in real spending over the past three years for the business community.There is also an over all increase in consumer spending based on the successful international and EU trade performance of Ireland with in the past few years.Coming back to the interest rates there has been a peak in overall inflation because of the above factors but the nominal interest rates have been accordingly adjusted to adjust to the hazards of inflation without disturbing an overall real increase in disposable incomes The success of the Irish Economy mainly due to the governments attempts at the effective macro-economic policy management. Currently the Irish Economy has a nominal GDP of 180.7 billion. with a real GDP growth of 6% and a Nominal GDP per capita of $44,500. (National Statistics 2006).With an export industry that relies heavily on food processing, beverages, engineering, chemicals, pharmaceutical and construction and an export industry based upon machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, and beverages the country deals mainly with the US and the Great Britain in terms of Foreign trade. (www.imf.org). Popularly labelled as the "Celtic Tiger" the country has witnessed massive GDP growth in the past three years alongwith its progressive industrial policy and massive foreign direct investment. (Honohan, P. and Walsh, B. 2002) The economy did take a slump during the post 9/11 scenario and there was no longer the

Hitler's Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hitler's Germany - Essay Example This essay will assess whether Hitler’s ability to appeal to the German people was the source of his power or whether his personality traits and psychological abnormalities were more significant. Hitler’s ability to appeal to the German people lay in his skills at oratory. With his words, Hitler was able to mould public opinion in his favour. As a member of the lower class strata, Hitler had the added advantage of winning over the masses who felt themselves wronged by the German authorities. He claimed himself to be one of them which created an aura of trust and respect for the man who had risen from amongst the lower class. His style appealed greatly to the working class of Germany who felt understood by this leader. Hitler’s speeches were outspoken which helped create an image of courage and bravado to his personality. The Germans needed someone to blame for their disastrous defeat and this was provided to them by Hitler. Hitler’s singular appeal through his skills as an orator also lay in the message he conveyed. He was able to define a scapegoat upon which the German people could vent their wrath for the shame they felt at their defeat in the First World War and the terms of the Versailles Treaty – namely, the Jews. Waite contends that the Fuhrer was himself a man who suffered from deep rooted feelings of inferiority and guilt; he felt that Hitler could have been suffering from a fear that his own blood was impure and that his sexuality was warped. This led him to try and over compensate by directing those feelings outwards on to other elements of society – the Jews and Communists (Mitchell, 1973:41). His views were derived from H.S. Chamberlian whose interpretation of history stated that of the three major strains that comprised mankind, two of them had been Aryan, namely the Greeks and the Aryans who created culture, while the third strain, i.e., the Semetic one, was culture destroying.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Ps Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ps - Essay Example My interest in Communication studies developed after I worked as a street cleaner volunteer in Hangzhou. During this time, I cleaned the streets and guided citizens and tourists through giving any information they needed about Hangzhou. With the example given, the British couple was quick with their questions and went on with their trip, while the American teenager conversed with me much longer. She did not want to go yet, until her friends arrived. She immediately introduced me as a â€Å"friend,† as if we have known each other for years. This interaction made me aware of my own culture and how conservative we can be in dealing with other cultural groups. I actually see myself as outgoing, but this American girl was an extrovert who loved learning about other people. I would have seen her questions about my job as not necessary, or even disrespectful, but the way she asked questions made me feel comfortable in answering them. She knew how to â€Å"connect† with me. Bec ause of her and other people I interacted with, I became curious of people’s communication approaches and behaviors. Why was this American girl so warm and open with me? How can I develop such a sociable communication style? These are some of the questions that bog my mind up to now, and I know that a Communication degree will help me answer these questions. Because of this work experience, I was able to interact with different people from diverse genders, religions, and cultures, and I realized how these factors greatly shape how people speak and interact with others. Who I am and who they are have an impact on our communication patterns, because together, we add to the context of our communication event. In addition, I learned how interesting communication is. I took communication for granted before because it seems to come so naturally, when in reality, it is not a natural process, because, for me, communication is a social product and a social process. I believe that comm unication has its individual elements too, such as the effect of personality on communication styles, but it has its environmental factors also. Thus, my work experience opened my mind to the complex and fascinating world of communication that I now want to pursue as my major. Prompt 2: I was fifteen when I was looking for my essay on Han culture, specifically our food culture. I already had it typed for our school paper, when I saw my father reading it. He said that he liked the sincerity of the writing and asked me who wrote it. He was impressed to know it was me, and it continues to be one of the happiest days of my life, knowing that my father appreciated my writing. Writing in Chinese is my forte. It is a part of me that flows naturally and with pride. I still have much to learn about English, but Chinese, as a first language, is easier for me to use to express my ideas, arguments, and emotions. The Chinese language is an important part of my Han identity, a way for me to becom e and to develop further as a Chinese and as a global citizen. To become a Chinese Han is to learn and to practice our Chinese language and cultural beliefs and practices. Though my parents are not utmost traditional Hans because of our modern Westernized lifestyle, we speak and write in our local language at home, school, and everywhere else. Some of our family members and neighbors already teach English as the first language for their children, but not in

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Airlines and the Oligopoly Market Structure Assignment

Airlines and the Oligopoly Market Structure - Assignment Example These advantages are witnessed in service pricing, destination services, marketing, and promotion, as well as the established hub philosophy that drives either point-to-point destination services or major hub development. Much of these competitive advantages come from establishing a market-oriented culture, defined as â€Å"delivering superior value to customers† (Narver, Slater & Tietje 1998, p.242). It is about aligning the business model based on three dimensions, having a customer orientation, a competitor orientation, and the ability to coordinate all business units with an inter-functional, systems-based philosophy and structure (Gauzente 1999, p.2). The majority of the airlines identified in the research article have established a market-oriented business model and internal culture, that provides both competitive advantages over other airlines in this oligopoly as well as a strong brand in the consumer market. A market orientation strategy â€Å"is a powerful competiti ve advantage, because it is an invisible asset that takes a long time to establish and one that is difficult to imitate† (Johnson & Verayangkura 2001, p.2). ...   a market structure, constant environmental scanning occurs to witness the competitive behaviors of rival firms to avoid market share losses or loss of brand reputation in consumer markets. Nickels, McHugh & McHugh (2005) identify a competitive advantage as better development of core competencies. These are â€Å"functions that the organization can do as well or better than any other organization in the world† (Nickels, et al., p.257). In the article â€Å"the joys of oligopoly†, it is identified that the core competencies of Southwest Airlines, as one example, is the ability of the firm to structure its scheduling, labor, and point-to-point destination services to provide low-cost, no-frills service that continues to bring the business significant revenues from satisfied customers. While larger competitors with more market presence continue to provide customers better in-flight services that require a higher pricing model, Southwest is able to manage its services ef fectively and with limited perks for the more frugal consumer. Southwest is also able to follow an A to B flight philosophy which fills more seats daily rather than waiting at a regional hub for connecting traffic that allows for almost instantaneous departure after a flight has arrived at the airport (Associated Press 2001). The core competencies of Southwest are labor-related, flight capacity scheduling, and independence from hub philosophy. However, other airlines that do utilize a hub philosophy consider this a competitive advantage in this market structure as it provides â€Å"greater frequency, more destinations and lower fares than customers could expect without it† (Associated Press, p.3).

Friday, August 23, 2019

Social Networking Sites Privacy does not exist anymore Essay

Social Networking Sites Privacy does not exist anymore - Essay Example The employers in some organizations monitor the postings related to the workplace that the employees post in the online forums. The employers do this in order to discipline their staff and make them abstain from any immoral behavior. It is a practice in some companies that the articles or the photographs are checked with the senior management staffs before being posted online. If after screening they are considered unfit for public sharing, then they are not put up on the social sites and other online forums. In this process, it is ensured that the company’s image and reputation are maintained while it makes promotions to fuel its performance. The negativities.The users should be cautious while putting any information on the social networking sites. Often, the employers make a detailed search for the candidate they are going to hire. Here a debate is existent about whether it is ethical to learn details about a prospective candidate by going through the profiles of the candida te on the social sites, such as the Facebook or the MySpace. However, the users should be aware of the possibility of their profiles being vied by their prospective recruiters. The contents posted online reveal lots of information about the person which a purposefully crafted resume does not contain.Besides, the employees face problems in their job front for behaving injudiciously on the online communities. In an incident, the hospital staff has been found to post obscene pictures on the social sites.... Here a debate is existent about whether it is ethical to learn details about a prospective candidate by going through the profiles of the candidate in the social sites, such as the Face book or the MySpace. However, the users should be aware of the possibility of their profiles being vied by their prospective recruiters. The contents posted online reveal lots of information about the person which a purposefully crafted resume does not contain. Besides, the employees face problems in their job front for behaving injudiciously on the online communities. In an incident the hospital staff has been found to post obscene pictures in the social sites. The management of the organization in which they worked found the incident and suspended all the employees involved in the incident. Confidentiality issues with the social networking sites Every day several news appear in the media channels revealing the unscrupulous use of the internet. The social networking sites provide the people with the opportunity of sharing the updates of their daily activities with their friends and close ones. They can upload pictures, put status updates and can comment on the posts of the other connections. This apparently is harmless and is done with the sole intention of communicating with the known people. But these on the other hand lead to misuse of the social platform. Face book and privacy issues The face book grew in popularity initially due to the privacy it offered and the professional looking visual effect (Golden, 2010). The posts made on the Face book contain various kinds of information that are visible to the contacts. The people can tag their friends on the pictures uploaded to the albums in the account. Some of these contacts are

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Nowadays, Food Has Become Easier to Prepare Essay Example for Free

Nowadays, Food Has Become Easier to Prepare Essay Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes, from a period when he hunted for his food to the present era when man is dependent on preprocessed foods. During this period not only has man changed his mode of eating but his whole lifestyle as well. In pursuit of more in this competitive world, man no longer has time as he once had. He is caught in a race against the clock. A person who finishes more in lesser time is considered more efficient. This pressure to do more in less time has affected his eating habits as well and, as a result, man no longer has time to cook food. Early mans only objective was to seek food to sustain him and his family. Nowadays finding food has taken a back seat to other priorities, such as career and education. Food is no longer of that importance. This is not an encouraging trend. People are too dependent on preprocessed or precooked food, which no longer has the freshness it once had. Such foods loose their mineral and vitamin content and are not as healthy as fresh food. That is why the number of diseases is also rising. People have also shifted to high calorie content food like French fries, pizzas, and ice cream, etc., which is causing obesity, fatigue, etc. As man is becoming busy and too involved in his busy schedule, he has no time even to take care of his own personal needs. Furthermore, cooking is an art which is dying out. People once enjoyed cooking . It was a means of eliminating stress and tension. People were once able to relax during this time and reflect on their lives. People may tend to argue that by using precooked and preprocessed food they are efficiently using time and can use this precious time saved for other purposes. But is it really worth it? This is a question whose answer can invite much speculation about whether by saving this little time we are inviting lots of other problems, which could easily be avoided. It is actually making our lives not simpler but more complicated. We have lost many of the simpler things in our lives, like the simple acts of selecting our evening meal, preparing it, and enjoying it with our loved ones, and we are worse off for it.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Mr. Mallards Story of an Hour Essay Example for Free

Mr. Mallards Story of an Hour Essay Experimental procedures where destined to be made about the emotion filled story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin. The story details Mrs. Mallard’s situation about how she feels about her husband and the result when she finds that he is not dead. Kate Chopin does a great job telling the reader Mrs. Mallard’s feeling’s, but not at all tells the reader about Mr. Mallard’s point of view. I will be creating a point of view for Mr. Mallard to try and get a better understanding of what could have been the situation between the two. Since the very day I laid eyes on her, I knew she was the one for me. Her beautiful smile and her ecstatic personality made me come to realize that, I had to claim what was spiritually mine. Her name was Louis, a creative and ambitious young woman. All throughout my days of monitoring her every motion, I gained the courage to grow out of my shy state, and make my approach towards her. So from that point on we started engaging in conversation and growing closer to each other day after day. It seemed as if time had flown by faster than it had ever done before in my life. It came to the point that I loved this woman so much; all of my hard earned money I made from my small job down at the local grocery store in town, I took it upon myself to buy a wedding ring. So then I asked her for her hand in marriage, and ever so joyously she replied with such excitement in her voice, yes! Immediately, tears started rolling down my face and all of my best memories were erased, in storing the special memory that took place that very day. We had a simple but elegant wedding ceremony in the local chapel that she and I were both attending previously. â€Å"Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, I now pronounce you husband and wife. The moment I heard those very words, is when I knew I had accomplished my life goal at being happy. She had gone all around town screaming to her family that she is married now and that she will forever be happy for as long as she lives. I took it that we would always be united as one, and that nothing could ever come between the love we both shared. Several years went past and Louise and I seemed to be doing very well in our marriage. I had given her all of me and it seemed that she had given me all of her as well, but I would get an internal feeling that she was not happy in our marriage. Adding up reasons of why she may be unhappy with how things were going, it just did not seem to add up. It had dawned upon me that maybe she did not want to be with me anymore. Personality wise, she had become the total opposite. Before we got married she was kind, passionate, and had a smile that was golden; then she started to grow silent and mean towards me and others around her. For a while I blamed myself for reasons that seemed to be undeserving, and thought that I mistreated her in some unknown way. Unfortunately, Louise was found to have a very bad heart problem and often times she would blame me for her misfortune. As a caring man I would just accept the blame and try to do anything possible to try to make her forget about the condition and live her life fully. My plan always appeared to not succeed and I grew tired of the mistreatment that I clearly did not deserve. I took matters into my own hands and came up with a plan that would determine just how much she felt about me. I came across the daily paper and read about a local railroad disaster that left a number of people dead and injured. My good friend Richards was the side kick in the situation, I had him tell Louise’s sister, Josephine, that my name was on the death list and that she should tell Louise immediately. After receiving notice that my plan was fulfilled, I began to observe Louise’s reactions towards the situation. I hid in the main bedroom closet in a secret passage way that I created for emergency situations years ago. I heard Louise come in crying and sobbing about the news, I became excited that she was crying over my so called death and I felt that she did still love me very much. Hours went past and I became comfortable with the results that I got in my little experiment, but little did I know, Louise became happy with my death and stated that she was â€Å"free† numerous times to herself really loud and joyously. Very confused I asked myself how she switched feelings so quickly and how could she be happy about the situation. She would talk to herself very in-depth about how her life is now that she is independent and fantasizing about all of the days and years to herself that she wanted for so long. I felt so crushed inside because I had given her any and everything that she could possibly want. I took care of her when she was sick, made all of her wishes come true, and took it upon myself to do anything to make her smile. Why she would treat me this way, I asked myself over and over until I became fed up with it. When Louise went to the bathroom I snuck over to Richards’s house and told him what all I found out about and wanted to give her the news that I was not dead. Richards and I walked over back to the house to tell Louise that I was mistakenly put on the death list, and that I was indeed very much alive. I waited outside and let Richards go in the house first to make the plan free of suspicion and got ready to make my approach inside. Boom Boom! My heart was beating very loudly as I was nervous to go inside. I opened the door and Josephine is first to see me; she screams very loudly in shock of my appearance. Richards tries very hard to prevent Louise from seeing me, but was too late in the action. Louise dropped to the floor immediately and had no sign of life in her. I ran to her to see if she was ok holding her very tight, screaming for someone to call the doctor. The doctor arrived within twenty minutes, after only observing her for five minutes he pronounced her dead due to a heart attack. Tears ran down my face as if someone had poured a bucket of water on my head. I began to feel guilty for her death thinking maybe she would still be alive if I had never made that stupid plan in the first place. Thought maybe if I had known how she really felt, I would have just let her be free from me and live her life happily instead of me standing in her way. I learned a very important lesson that day; things in life should not be taken for granted no matter how much you want it to go your way.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Heroes Of The Middle Ages English Literature Essay

The Heroes Of The Middle Ages English Literature Essay The Anglo-Saxon period and the Middle Ages period were two major historical sections of English history. These two periods have very distinct aspects of literature. The hero has evolved from one period to the next. The epic hero was during the Anglos-Saxon period, and the romance hero was during the Middle Ages. These heroes have similar qualities, but the evolution from the epic hero to the romance hero is very evident. Heroes played an important role in British Literature during the Anglo-Saxon period and Middle ages and set values and characteristics for many warriors and knights of the time period. The Anglo-Saxon hero is also known as the epic hero. He or she is typically a warrior who shows no mercy and fights for his or her country. This is the type of hero that is usually portrayed in ancient wars. This hero is ruthless, however, very obedient. Courage and loyalty defined the epic hero. For example, he or she will do anything to protect the lord. This hero performed his or her duties with little emotion, often performing grueling and gruesome tasks without any complaint. He or she did whatever it took t perform the duties. Beowulf is a great example of an Anglo-Saxon hero. The comitatus can be defined as an agreement lords made with their warriors. The epic hero was true to the comitatus. Warriors fought for their lord; warriors provided protection, while the lord provided everything else the warriors needed. This relationship was crucial for the survival of everybody. No one has a place to live without the land from the lord, and no one has protection from the enemy withou t the warriors. A major part of being an epic hero was showing respect to your own family members. In Beowulf, Unferth killed his own brother. Beowulf, being an epic hero, related Unferths actions to being a coward. Beowulf describes Unferth as a coward for killing his own brother. This is one of the greatest crimes in the Anglo-Saxon period. Families and tribes are held in such high regard that for someone to betray his or her own family member is one of the worst possible crimes. Beowulf supports his success with stories involving fighting sea-monsters, while he discredits the worthiness of Unferth. Beowulf says, Breca has never- nor you either- done a deed so bold and daringà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦though you became your brothers killerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦for that you needs must suffer punishment in hell. Beowulf talks about the lack of Unferths achievements, and he mentions the wrongdoings of Unferth. Unferth killed his own brother, and Beowulf points out that Unferths actions have made him unable to be a hero . Family always comes first, and a good hero always protects his or her family, and certainly never harms his or her own family member. Anglo-Saxon heroes also avoided showing emotion. Sadness only gets in the way of the task at hand. the warrior must focus on his or her objectives, and not succumb to his or her emotions. These feelings only cloud the thoughts of the warrior. This would hinder him or her from doing the best job. A warrior must ignore his or her feelings to avoid death. Every action must be perfect. War is no place for someone to think twice or feel bad about anything. A warrior needs to have a way of not thinking about the action, but performing it with deadly accuracy every time. Fate and courage play a large part in Beowulf. Beowulf says, Wyrd often spares an undoomed man, when his courage endures. It was believed that the gods had control over fate. If a warrior shows courage, he will be spared. Courage is detrimental if the warrior wishes to survive. Courage plays an important role in fate, and it comes to play in everyday fighting. Courage will simply help a warrior survive, disregarding fate. A courageous warrior will attack his enemy when he or she needs to and make the decisions promptly before it is too late. Before battle, a warrior must mentally prepare. He or she must build up the courage to fight through any obstacle that comes in the way. Also, before battle, a warrior must free his or her mind of any negative emotions, such as fear or sadness. These negative emotions will only cloud the warriors mind, making it a little bit harder to perform every task. Being emotional in battle could kill a warrior. Good warriors always hid and controlled their emotions during battle. Epic heroes were known for their respect, ruthlessness and lack of emotion. However, like any other hero, they sought fame. Beowulf says, let him who can bring about fame before death- that is the best for the unliving man after he is gone. Warriors were not doing everything for the good of their country or lord. These men and women were also famous for their feats and accomplishments on the battlefield. Death was always a possibility every time a warrior went to battle. The Anglo-Saxons did not believe in heaven or anything after life on Earth, therefore, life on Earth was to be lived to the fullest. People held nothing back, all glory and fame was earned during life; there was nothing to look forward to after death. Therefore, a warriors greatest achievement was to succeed on the battle field. After Beowulf dies, he is described as the mildest of men and the most gentle, the kindest of folk and the most eager for fame. This shows that desiring fame was completely acceptable in the Anglo-Saxon period. People strived for fame and honor. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was not enough to just be a good warrior, that warrior needed to be known for being a good warrior. A romantic hero must possess an understanding of his inner-self or inner-world.   He must also understand the value of his experiences through emotions, intuition, and feelings rather than logically reasoning.   The audience must also be able to emotionally connect with the romantic hero on some level of emotion so that no matter the experience of the hero, the audience will relate to his experiences. A romantic hero transcends society; birth and class are unimportant. The battle the hero takes part in is internal, and the hero makes his or her own rules. Unlike the great warrior, self knowledge is valued more than physical strength or endurance. This hero is more intellectual than the epic hero. However, this hero is moody, isolated and introspective. Also, his or her loyalty is to a community. The earliest accounts in which Arthur appears portray him as a historical hero who comes to assume national importance.  Ã‚  By the Twelfth Century he has been transformed by courtly writers from a historical and national hero to a hero of romance. After the Anglo-Saxon period, the Middle Ages period took over. The epic hero transformed into the romance hero. King Arthur is one of the famous romance heroes of his time. King Arthur has been described as the leader of battles, who slaughters many pagans. He was a hero and a king, commonly referred to as the savior of Britain. Many stories about King Arthur have been transformed around myths, legends and scattered and contested facts. He was based on many historical figures. The legend of King Arthur was first mentioned in The Gododdin in 600 AD. The text praises a certain warrior but says he was no Arthur. Arthur is known as an extraordinary warrior. The Welsh did not describe him as a king but as a war leader. His legacy was quickly spread after 1138 when Geoffrey of Mummouth wrote the first full biography of King Arthur. This quickly spread of Europe and allowed Arthur to become a figure of romance. However, this biography has not been proven to be factual. This further leads t o the idea that much of what is known about King Arthur today is based on fictional stories. During the Middle Ages, John Hardyng and Robert Mannyng accepted the legend of King Arthur as real; however, William of Newburgh thought of Arthur as a fictional character. Also, in the Decline and Fall, written by Edward Gibbson, he stresses the reality behind King Arthurs tale and believes it to be a true story (Ashe vii). Arthurs character has been filled with many virtues and few flaws, each varying from text to text. He has been described as compassionate and generous. He rarely acted in ways of wrath or pride; he was the Romantic hero of his time period. He is well known for being faithful to his knights and his queen. Jacques de Longuyon made of list of heroes, and among this list of many notable characters from Julius Caesar to men of the Bible was Arthur. He was a symbol of glory, valor and virtue. Arthur was first put into literature in the French romances. These were of Celtic and Welsh origin. His claim to royal leadership was the Sword in the Stone from Robert de Borons Merlin early in the thirteenth century. Arthur was the only man who was able to remove the sword from a slab of rock. King Arthurs stories have many origins to Celtic stories such as the hunt of the white stag and journeys to enchanted castles and forests. Elements of his stories include abduction and loss of Guinevere, battle of Camlan and the death and return of Arthur. He led his armies to battle with a religious purpose similar to the epic hero, however, those religions were very different. King Arthur had the image of the Virgin Mary on his shield, and his battle cry was the name of the Mother of God. During one of his many battles, legend says that King Arthur kill 960 men in one day by himself. A welsh writer wrote, Arthur, having carried the cross of Christ on his shoulders for three days and three nights, was victorious in the Battle of Badon. Myth and truth always surround the legends of King Arthur. It has become difficult to differentiate between what is true and what is false. Arthur transformed from a historical figure to a figure of mythic proportion. This is primarily because most of his stories and legends were only transferred by word of mouth. This provided a lot of room for exaggerations and fairy tales inside of the stories of King Arthur. The courtly entourage was a necessary step to transition King Arthur from a local chief to a great king. This was something new about the romance hero that the epic hero did not have. King Arthur had incentive to succeed in battle from a woman, and King Arthurs bravery and nobility would reciprocate back to the woman and be incentive for her to be pure. King Arthur is described as more courtly and less barbaric, as possessing other than marital attributes and abilities. Courtly love was established during the Middle Ages and greatly emphasized in the legend of King Arthur. In this time period, knights devoted themselves to a single lady. In principal, courtly love was purely emotional; no physical actions were to take place. Therefore, whether the lady was married or single, courtly love was accepted as a normal cultural action. The Art of Courtly love was written by Maries chaplain Andreas in 1175, and this laid the laws of courtly love in this time period. This piece explained how to approach a lady the proper way and address his desires of courtly love. This piece also explains how to communicate to one of a lower class, for example, a nobleman may address a man of the middle class because the nobleman is of a higher class. Although courtly love was intended to be purely emotional, physical relationships were started because of courtly love. Many knights and their respective ladies went passed courtly love and took part in physical actions usuall y leading to adultery. In the Wedding of King Arthur, he said, This fair lady is more than welcome to me, for I have loved her since I first saw her and the hundred knights and the Table Round please me more than any riches. This statement is a great example of his courtly love and chivalry. He is not the epic hero from the Anglo-Saxon era; he focuses more on love and chivalry. He cares about his lady and his knights. Love and honor are more important to King Arthur than riches and fame. Overall, the epic hero and romance hero were similar warriors, but their supporting characteristics were very different. The epic hero was more ruthless and focused on battle and his army, while the romance hero was very different. The romance hero focused more on love and relationships outside of battle. Courtly love played a large role in the romance hero but was not a part of the epic hero. However, the epic hero did place a lot of respect on family and respect. These heroes of the Anglo-Saxon period and the middle ages played a large part in much of the British literature of these time periods.

Adopt a Child :: Essays research papers, Adoption

Adopt-A-Child, Inc., is a licensed, non-profit adoption agency dedicated to the ideal of bringing together couples or individuals seeking to build their families with foreign-born infants or children who need homes. The children we identify for adoption have been irrevocably released by their parents or other relatives due to death or abandonment. These youngsters are orphans according to U.S. and international legal definitions. Therefore, in accordance with the laws of both countries concerned, they are fully available for adoption. Our staff of trained social workers have completed numerous adoptions with couples and individuals throughout the United States and with U.S. citizens abroad. We support and educate our clients, empowering them to make the best decision for their particular situations. Our focus throughout the process is on social service, to ensure the best possible adjustment of children and parents to their new families. Adopt-A-Child has developed a strong network of relationships with adoption officials in many foreign countries, gaining a reputation for unquestionable reliability and integrity. In each of these countries we have developed a trained, experienced and well-supervised staff with whom we communicate closely, and are able to direct via phone, fax, and e-mail. We also make regular visits to the countries from which we adopt in order to monitor operations, visit orphanages and to meet with adoption officials. We are a full-service agency providing not only adoption assistance but also pre- and post-adoption support counseling. Among our services, we maintain a very active parents network to provide a forum for education, socialization, recreation and mutual support.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Letter to Frank in Eveline Essay -- essays research papers

Dear Frank,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You have made the biggest difference in my life in so many ways. Ever since my mother died, I have had a tough time getting along with things. You helped me liberate myself, from all the troubles that I know of. How you help me from day to day is priceless and I want you to never forget how much I care about you. You know that our relationship has been stressed on a little because of my father’s relentless attempt to put an end to it. I want you to remember that we did continue to see each other because we know that he is wrong for trying to keep us apart and that we do mean a lot to each other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we decided together to go away and leave everything we know of behind, I felt a bit nostalgic of the idea. I know that I am supposed to be there with you now, but I couldn’t come and I want to explain myself. This whole idea of getting married and moving away came quite quick. You are usually always sailing everywhere, and don’t have too much care for responsibility. Now you want to settle down right away, which befuddles me. I know you want to be with me and mean good, and I the same, but there are other things I must think of in all of this. Another possible problem is your tendency to spend all your money in one shot. We have to learn together to grow and be more responsible if we are to make a big change like getting married, not to mention moving away. You know that wh...

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Essay --

Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Same Sex Marriage Though the United States in modern times has fostered a politically correct environment, where any form of bigotry or bias is frowned upon and scorned, and though we live in a country that was founded upon the principle of equality, gay and lesbian Americans today still struggle for acceptance, and to be allowed in all fifty states to legally marry their partner. While this nation has fought bigotry and bias for many years, the same sex marriage issue came into focus in the late 1960's, and has grown in fervor and ferocity every decade since then. Today there is still no unified federal law or policy in place in regards to this important issue, and states have many different views and policies in place, as do different political parties, religious sects, individuals and other organizations. It is difficult to believe, in this day and age, that we as a nation still struggle to recognize and respects the rights of all individuals. Gay and lesbian people believe that they should have the same legal rights as heterosexual couples in regards to marriage, and they have valid points. If you spend your adult life in a relationship with someone, they should be able to have rights when you face a medical crisis or die, and they should also be able to take advantage of the same tax breaks as any other couple. Opponents, especially religious opponents, consider gay marriage unnatural and a violation of the traditional union between a man and a woman, but it is also important to point out that at different points in American history, women and minorities were not viewed as equals to the white majority. Thankfully those things have changed over time, and much like the civil rights movements, th... ...disagree with their party's core values in regards to this issue, but they are a small minority. To put it very simply, I don't see how anyone, in this day and age, can argue with same sex marriage. I believe in the principles that this great nation was 5. founded upon, that we are all created equally, that we have a right to liberty, that if we don't break laws or hurt anyone, we should be treated fairly, and that discrimination of any kind is wrong. Also, there is supposed to be a separation of church and state, so I don't believe religious morals and principles should guide policy or law. Ultimately, I believe we will get past this issue, as volatile and polarizing as it is, and same sex couples will get the legal rights they deserve, and this country will not sanction legalized discriminations against anyone due to their skin color, sex, religion, or sexuality.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Organizational behaviour Essay

An organization is a group of people who work independently towards a common goal. Organization achieves their goals by creating, communicating, and operating the system existing in every organization. To better organize and manage the organization, manager needs to understand the element of the social system, role and role conflict, as well as the culture of the organization. In this assignment, we were asked to study a case regarding the role conflict and culture that were faced by Amir as a management trainee at a well-established organisation which at the same time, he is a husband and a father of two children. Based on the study case, we found out that Amir is facing with inter-role conflict, personal-role conflict, role overloads and role ambiguity. All these role conflicts must be solved professionally as it can affect Amir’s work performance and the perception of the organizational members towards him. In order to resolve these problems, Amir has to study the changes t hat happen in the culture of the organization as he needs to adapt with the new environment. There are two types of cultural changes in organization, that are the cultural revolution and the cultural evolution. In Amir’s case, he is confronted with the cultural revolution. Thus, he needs to know the process of creating back the organizational culture so that he can create a good culture. Look more:  starbucks moorhead essay OBJECTIVE 1. To define organization culture. 2. To describe the factors shaping the organizational culture. 3. To know role and define role conflict in the study case. 4. To know how to resolve the role conflict in organizational. DISCUSSION Question 1 Do you think that Amir is facing the problem of role conflict? If yes, identify the kind of role conflict Amir is facing. Role is when someone understands the relative importance of those tasks, in other words, they know the priorities of their various responsibilities, while role conflict is a situation in which an individual encounters  deviating role expectations. In my opinion, yes, Amir is facing the problem of role conflict that consists of inter-role conflict, person role conflict, role overload and role ambiguity. Below is the explanation about these role conflicts in this case. I. Inter-role conflict Inter-role conflicts occur when an individual occupies more than one role with inconsistent expectations. In other words, certain role with expected of a person are in conflict with the other roles that the person holds. For example, Aminah has a class-mate that wants to lodge at their room for one day but the room-mate disagree because they have their own rule which is not outsiders are allowed to stay in the room. In this situation, Aminah has to faces the conflict on which role should be performed whether as a class-mate or a room-mate. In Amir’s case, Amir as a husband does not know how to manage time between the family and the company. Amir was required to do all kinds of work until he has become a workaholic. In the same time, Amir was not able to give sufficient time to his family as he devoted most of his time working even on Sundays. II. Person-role conflict Person-role conflicts may define when a role holder is required to perform a role that contradicts or violates the role holder’s attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. As an example, when a staff expected to punch card for his friend, indirectly it may contradicts the staff attitude and beliefs where by a staff in the company should not to punch card for the other staff except themselves. Throughout Amir’s case, Amir has to assign with various other roles and was required to coordinate and communicate with diverse groups of the workforce.  However, the team members do not want to give full cooperation in fulfilling the tasks. Indirectly, was scolded by the boss for errors committed by other team members. III. Role overload Role overload occurs when there is a lack of balance or reasonableness in the number or the extent of expectations from a role holder. It also happens when the expectations sent to a role holder are unmanageable and there is not enough time for the role holder to perform all the roles expected of him or her. For example, where a student is expected to study while at the same time expected to do part time job. As a student, they must expect to perform some other roles even though it is impossible to be done in the same time. In this case, it’s similar with Amir which is he was required to do all kinds of managerial task from conducting office correspondence and conducting business meetings to solving the complaints of customers and subordinates. As time passed, Amir became more efficient and performed various roles in increasing effective manner. IV. Role Ambiguity Role ambiguity occurs when there is lack of clarity in understanding what expectations or prescriptions exist for any given role. A role holder lacks sufficient information in performing the role. This results in the role holder feeling unsure on how to act in his or her role. As an example, a new student in second intake was entered in the university and they did not receive complete information regarding the subject or any related activities. Indirectly, the student’s do not sure how to act in his or her role. In this case, the first few months on job Amir have to faced on stress which  is he was entrusted with limited tasks related to his area of expertise as a management. It is because the organization did not explained to him regarding his role as a management trainee. Question 2 What could be done to resolve his problem? For every problem, there will be solutions and ways to overcome. Amir who deals with many types of role conflicts can handle the problems well if he knows how to deal with it. I. Inter-role conflict In solving Amir’s dilemmas of role conflict as a worker and as a head of family members, the best way in dealing with these problems is he must know how to manage his time well. He also needs to understand and distinguish his responsibilities in holding both roles. Amir should avoid working on weekends as that is the only time to have a good time with the family members. This is to make sure that at the same time of being a dedicated worker to the organization, he can spend his quality time with his family members as well. II. Person-role conflict As a former Management Executive, for sure Amir will expect the task of management trainee would involves his area of expertise that is, management. However, different roles were assigned to him. In solving this matter, Amir should confront with his superior and ask for a good explanation regarding his exact tasks that he needs to fulfill. He also should stand for his right if he was scolded for errors not committed by him. In my opinion, even though the tasks given are not in his area, Amir can take the tasks as a new thing to learn. III. Role overload As a worker, the tasks given by the superior is a must to do but, if Amir thinks there is a lot of work to be done in a time, he should suggests his superior an assistant if possible. Amir should not be stressful with the multi tasks given in order to maintain a good quality of work. If the superior could not fulfill his suggestion, maybe Amir could ask for higher pay. Even though money could not promise happiness and could not replace the time that he can be with his family, at least he would feel satisfied and appreciated for the job he done. IV. Role Ambiguity The transfer of information between the sender and the receiver is very important in an organization. Improper communication of information definitely will result misunderstanding between both parties. In solving Amir’s role ambiguity as he was not explained the role as a management trainee, what he should do is get a clear information on his role from his superior. Even though he has a strict taskmaster, he must be brave enough to ask and get the exact information from him. Or else, he should get the right information either from the seniors or other colleagues. Question 3 Comment on the culture of the organization that Amir work in.  Prior to comment further on the culture of the organization that Amir work in, it is necessary to explain briefly on what is the Organizational Culture. Organization are more than a workplace, they are place where people spend most of their time. Thus, the culture of the organization is important for employees to stay and work happily. Organization Culture according to Robbins and Judge is a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organization. Organization Culture is a set of assumption, beliefs, values, and norms shared by everyone in an organization. Organization Culture change in two ways, Cultural Revolution and Cultural Evolution. There are two main type of organization culture, and it is called dominant cultures and subcultures. It is appropriate to categories that the type of  culture that Amir works in is subcultures. Subcultures develop to reflect common problems, situations or consequences that are faced by members in a department. However, it is also includes the core values of the organization. Correspondence to Amir situation that can be seen from the case study article, it is said that his role as management trainee is not properly explain, and when he is assigned with various roles that required him to communicate to a different group of workforce, problem started to occurs and these problem starting to put pressure on Amir. A cooperation that is essential in completing a task was not given to him by other members, instead they act rudely to him. And if there is an error made by other members Amir was the person who will be scolded by his boss. We can see here that it is logical to categories that Amir working in a subcultures environment because Amir is facing a problem in his work, and he is the one who received the consequences of others mistakes, and it is clearly that the core values of the organization isn’t quite harmony because of the values and ethics that is being practice by other members in the organization.. Differ with dominant culture, dominant culture are the core values that are shared by everyone in an organization, which can be understand that everyone have a same work ethics that allow them to complete their work efficiently. Cultural change is influence or is shape by several factors, firstly is characteristic of people within the organization, the values, beliefs, and attitudes that is bring by the people inside are shared with each other. If most of them have good values it will influences other to do so and vice versa. Secondly, cultural change is being shape by the nature of employment relationship. This factor comes from human resources policies that is enforced in an organization, for example trying bonuses with performance levels. Employees may take these policies as motivating factors to work harder. Third factors is design of organizational structure, defines as primary reporting relationship that exists within an organization where a division of work can be seen clearly. Lastly, cultural change can be shape by the organizational ethics, it is a moral values, rules and principles outlined to employees on how they should act and behave when it comes to dealing with each other and also with people outside the organization. A suggestion could be shared here, as a top management in an organization, Amir’s boss should be a role-model to his subordinates, he should create an efficient organizational culture in order for them to achieve successfulness. In order to create a prosper organizational culture, Amir’s boss can follow the following steps. First step is formulae a strategic values, which is a basics beliefs about an organization’s environment. Secondly is, develop cultural values, which the values that the employees need to have and act upon in carrying out its strategic values. Third step is, create vision, vision is a picture of what the organization is going to be in the future. Fourth step is, initiate implementation strategies, which is develop action strategies to accomplish its vision. And last step which is the step five is, reinforce cultural behaviors, reinforcement may take various form such as reward system that acknowledged desired behaviors. CONCLUSION Organizational behaviour is concerned with people’s thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions in setting up work. Understanding individual behaviour is in itself a challenge but understanding group behaviour in an organization environment is a monumental managerial task. Role conflict is a situation in which an individual encounters divergent role expectations. This occurs due to different perception and expectations of a person’s role. As we work together in an organization, we should treat people in the organization as a family. In this way, it is easier for us to communicate and interact with each other. The organization itself needs to plant this input in the minds of the workers so that the people that work in the roof of the firm will work happily without any conflicts. REFERENCE 1. Organizational behaviour oxford Sarah Sabir Ahmad 2. Kamus Dwibahasa Oxford Fajar Joyce M. Hawkins

Friday, August 16, 2019

Digital Fortress Chapter 25

Inside the Clinica de Salud Publica, visiting hours were over. The gymnasium lights had been turned out. Pierre Cloucharde was fast asleep. He did not see the figure hunched over him. The needle of a stolen syringe glinted in the dark. Then it disappeared into the IV tube just above Cloucharde's wrist. The hypodermic contained 30 cc of cleaning fluid stolen from a janitor's cart. With great force, a strong thumb rammed the plunger down and forced the bluish liquid into the old man's veins. Cloucharde was awake only for a few seconds. He might have screamed in pain had a strong hand not been clamped across his mouth. He lay trapped on his cot, pinned beneath a seemingly immovable weight. He could feel the pocket of fire searing its way up his arm. There was an excruciating pain traveling through his armpit, his chest, and then, like a million shattering pieces of glass, it hit his brain. Cloucharde saw a brilliant flash of light†¦ and then nothing. The visitor released his grip and peered through the darkness at the name on the medical chart. Then he slipped silently out. On the street, the man in wire-rim glasses reached to a tiny device attached to his belt. The rectangular pack was about the size of a credit card. It was a prototype of the new Monocle computer. Developed by the U.S. Navy to help technicians record battery voltages in cramped quarters on submarines, the miniature computer packed a cellular modem and the newest advances in micro technology. Its visual monitor was a transparent liquid crystal display, mounted in the left lens of a pair of eyeglasses. The Monocle reflected a whole new age in personal computing; the user could now look through his data and still interact with the world around him. The Monocle's real coup, though, was not its miniature display but rather its data entry system. A user entered information via tiny contacts fixed to his fingertips; touching the contacts together in sequence mimicked a shorthand similar to court stenography. The computer would then translate the shorthand into English. The killer pressed a tiny switch, and his glasses flickered to life. His hands inconspicuously at his sides, he began touching different fingertips together in rapid succession. A message appeared before his eyes. SUBJECT: P. CLOUCHARDE-TERMINATED He smiled. Transmitting notification of kills was part of his assignment. But including victim's names†¦ that, to the man in the wire-rim glasses, was elegance. His fingers flashed again, and his cellular modem activated. MESSAGE SENT

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Benefiting from Learning About the Flaws of People

Benefiting from learning about the flaws of people they respect or admire. Usually it just so happen that we people are young they tend to have a lot of heroes, or someone they respect or admire. They soon learn when they grow up that these people they have admired for so long have flaws just like anyone else. Leaving them feeling disappointed or upset, but what they don’t know is that learning about these flaws can be beneficial to them. People benefit from learning about the flaws of people they respect or admire. What they soon learn is that people make mistakes, no one is perfect.Including those they may look up to the most, for example their parents. Their parents are the ones who teach them right from wrong, and so the kids may expect their parents to go by this as well. Most of the times the kids are disappointed to find out their parents aren’t perfect either. After that, they either chose to make the same mistake or chose to learn from it. â€Å"Monkey see, mo nkey do. † It can even be beneficial coming from someone they don’t even know. It could be someone who sang their favorite song, or stared on their favorite TV show. For a kid to have a celebrity as an idol is very common.Celebrities are people just like us so they are going to make mistakes; it is how they deal with the problem that’s beneficial. But because they are famous, everyone can see their mistake. People can also benefit to one’s peers. Watching someone they love or admire, make a mistake than learn from it, is extremely beneficial. They can accept that person for who they are and become more mature. It is very important that we learn at a young age that no one is perfect, and they can’t always set high expectations for everyone. Especially if they set the expectations for someone they have known all their life.Everyone’s has flaws and they should be expected. â€Å"There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings g iven to us to learn from. † It is not always good to have an admirer that makes mistake and they follow but don’t ever learn from. It important to, grasps it, learn from it, and consider it a blessing. Don’t be disappointed if their hero wakes up one morning and brushes his teeth with ice hot instead of tooth paste. Instead, always look up to what they admire about them, and try to relate to it. Work cited page: http://www. inspirationalspark. com/making-mistakes-quotes. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Monkey_see,_monkey_do

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Mystery Shopper Next

For our marketing Research project we were required to carry out extensive research on the topic of mystery shopping. This project required us to construct a mystery shopping programme of a service business. The service business that was chosen was Next, a renowned retailer for fashion and homeware. The project will outline the objectives of the research and the mystery shopping programme.It will also examine the results of the programme and suggest possible recommendations. Methodology The primary objective of the report was to find out the public’s perception of Next. In order to attain this information, we decided it was best to initiate a mystery shopper programme. This programme involved hand-picking ten individuals, based on age, sex, and location, to act as consumers in Next. Each individual was to enter the chosen store and to return honest feedback on their experience, through the use of a questionnaire.The drafted questionnaire examined areas such as store layout, st aff, and ambience. The objective of this was to access direct knowledge of consumers opinions in areas that were outlined in the questionnaire and mystery shopper briefing. In order to eliminate bias, each selected individual was briefed on understanding the questionnaire and what aspects of the shop were to be examined. The chosen method provided us with objective feedback which was essential in the completion of the report. Findings In this section of the report we will show our findings of each store that was visited.Altogether there were seven stores visited. (Sligo, Enniskillen, Letterkenny, Athlone, Castlebar, Limerick and the store in the Jervis shopping centre in Dublin). These are our findings: Sligo The Sligo store is located in the quayside shopping centre in Sligo town. The store was visited on four occasions. On each occasion the store was clean and tidy on the inside and out. On every visit the changing rooms were tidy. The outside of the shop was attractive and inviti ng towards customers, with posters advertising a sale and an entrancing and eye catching clothes display in the window.The store is completely wheelchair accessible. No one was greeted as they entered the store, on one visit members of staff were standing around talking amongst themselves, and only one person thought that there was a welcoming atmosphere in the store as it was warm and there was calming music being played. Three out of four people were pleased with the temperature within the shop with one person thinking the air conditioning was turned up too high. The clothes on display were easy to reach for three out of four of the customers, with the same amount finding that all sizes were on display.Only on two of the visits were the staff wearing the correct uniform, such as name badges. On just two out of the four visits the staff asked if assistance was needed and only one customer said that eye contact was made with them and that they were polite. At the till there was an a verage of 1-4 till kiosks open with less than five people in each queue. On all four visits it did not take long to get served and all of the customers were thanked for shopping at the store, but found that the exit signs were not clearly illuminated.All four people said that they would recommend the Sligo store to others. The overall opinions of the store varied. One out of the four customers said that it was perfect. Out of the other three, more helpful staff, a new layout, lower shelves and a bigger store were mentioned. Enniskillen The Next store in Enniskillen is located in the Erneside shopping centre in Enniskillen. This store was visited on only one occasion. On this occasion the entrance and the outside of the store were clean and tidy. The inside was also tidy.It was attractive on the eye and the changing rooms were spotless. The outside of the shop looked attractive and inviting due to the black and white theme on the outside of the shop which ‘Next’ is renow ned for. The store is wheelchair accessible. The customer was not greeted by any member of staff on entrance to the store and thought the atmosphere was not welcoming as it was dark inside the store. The customer thought that the temperature in the store was comfortable. They were not asked however by any member of staff if they needed assistance.The customer found that some of the rails in the store were too high but all sizes were stocked and that the staff were helpful when asked about the sizes, but not all members of staff were wearing a name badge. At the checkout four checkouts were open and there was less than five people in the queue, and did not have to wait long to get served. The customer was thanked for shopping at the store and found that the exit signs were clearly visible. This customer said that they would recommend this store to others and that the staff were quite friendly but could have been more helpful.They’re overall opinion was that the store could be bigger with more or better lighting conditions. Letterkenny The Letterkenny store is located in Letterkenny Retail Park. This store was visited on one occasion. On this occasion the outside of the premises was not clean and tidy and did not look attractive and inviting to customers as it looked dirty. The store is wheelchair accessible. On entering the store the customer was not greeted by a member of staff and the atmosphere was not welcoming as the music in the store was very faint and couldn’t be heard clearly.Other than that the inside of the store was clean, tidy and attractive. The temperature in the shop was fine also. No member of staff asked the customer if they needed assistance. The customer was not able to reach some of the clothes as they were hung too high. Not all the sizes were displayed and stocked but the staff did check to see if they had the size in the store room. The changing room was tidy and uncluttered. When the customer got to the till four tills wer e in operation, there were more than five people in the queue and it took six minutes for them to get served.The staff at the checkout were described as friendly and thanked the customer for shopping in the store. The exit signs were clearly illuminated. The customer said their overall experience of shopping in the store was disappointing but acceptable. The customer also said that they would not recommend this store to others because not all sizes were stocked and the atmosphere in the shop and the customer service was poor, and suggested having more staff on the floor. Athlone The ‘Next’ store in Athlone is located in the Athlone Town shopping centre, just off the M6 motorway.This store was visited once only. The entrance to the store was clean and tidy and the outside of the store was attractive and inviting to customers. The store is wheelchair accessible. When the customer entered the store they were not greeted by anyone. The atmosphere within the shop was not wel coming as there was no music being played in the store, but the temperature was acceptable. The inside of the store was attractive, but the changing rooms were not tidy and unsatisfactory. The clothes were easy to view and reach but not all sizes were displayed.No member of staff asked if the customer needed assistance, but they were polite and helpful when getting a bigger size for the customer. All staff were wearing full uniform including name badges. When the customer got to the checkout there were four tills in operation and did not take long to get served. They were not thanked for shopping at the store but said the checkout staff were friendly and the exit signs were clear and illuminated. The customer said that they would recommend this store to others as they had a good overall experience in the store but feel that more staff are needed.Castlebar The Castlebar store is located in Lannagh Road Retail Park which is a five minute walk from the main street in Castlebar. The ent rance to the store was not up to standard as it was not clean and tidy, although the front of the shop was. The store is wheelchair accessible. When the customer entered the store they were greeted by a member of staff, and due to this made the atmosphere of the store feel welcoming. The inside of the store itself was clean and attractive and the temperature of the store was fine. A member of staff offered assistance, with a smile and good eye contact was made.All staff were wearing the correct uniform with their name badges. All of the sizes were displayed on the rails and they were easily accessible. The changing room was clean and tidy. At the till only a limited number of tills were in operation with less than five people in the queue and it took around three minutes to get served. The customer was thanked for shopping at the store and the exits were clearly marked and illuminated. This customer would recommend this store to others due to the friendly and welcoming atmosphere, b ut suggests better parking facilities. LimerickThe Limerick store is located in the Crescent shopping centre in Limerick which is situated two miles outside of Limerick city centre. The entrance to the shop was not clean and tidy and was blocked by a stand, this did not make the store look attractive and inviting to customers, although it was bright and lit up, the stand spoilt it. The store is wheelchair accessible. The customer was not greeted by a member of staff on entering the store and the atmosphere was not very welcoming. Also the store did not have a modern feel to it, which ‘Next’ would have a reputation for being.The store was not clean or tidy either. The temperature in the store was not sufficient as the customer found it very stuffy. One of the good points about this store was that a member of staff did ask if the customer needed assistance but did not smile or make eye contact while doing so. The staff were wearing the correct uniform including name badge s. The clothes were easily reachable on the rails but not all sizes were displayed or stocked and staff were not helpful when asked for another size. The changing room was clean and tidy.At the checkout there were 1-3 checkouts in operation with more than five people in the queue. It took ten minutes to get served, and the checkout staff did not speak. The customer was not thanked for shopping at the store but the exit signs were clear and illuminated. This customer would not recommend this store others due to not being felt welcomed or comfortable in the store and believes that the store should be renovated. Dublin There are many next stores in Dublin but the one that was visited was the one located in the Jervis shopping centre in Dublin city centre.This store was visited on one occasion. The entrance to the store was not clean and tidy but the outside of the store looked attractive and inviting due to the window display of the stores clothing. The store is wheelchair accessible. On entering the store the customer was not greeted by a member of staff, but the atmosphere was welcoming and the temperature in the store was nice and warm. The inside of the store was clean, tidy and attractive. The customer was not asked by any member of staff if they needed assistance. The clothes were easy to view and reach, and all sizes were displayed.The changing room was clean, tidy and uncluttered. At the till there were between 1-3 checkouts open, there was less than five people in the queue, it did not take long to get served. The staff were not neatly dressed and wearing their name badges but they were polite and made good eye contact with the customer and thanked the customer for shopping at the store. The exit signs were not clearly illuminated in this store. The customer would recommend this to others as the staff were very friendly. But said that they should be better dressed. RecommendationsIn this part of the report we outline the recommendations that we would mak e to Next based on our findings from the mystery shopping exercise. These are our recommendations: Firstly we believe that they should retrain right across the board. From shop assistants right up to managers. There should be a strict set of rules implemented into this training and an exam must be passed by all employees. The employees will then get a certificate to say that they have completed this. The managers would have to complete a more advanced course, dealing with all the topics the employees have to with a few added extras.During this training the following must be covered. Employees 1. Customers must be greeted when they walk in the door to make them feel welcomed. 2. Staff must ask customers if they need assistance within thirty seconds of them being on the premises. 3. When speaking to customers, speak politely and mannerly and eye contact must be made. 4. Correct uniform must be worn at all times. Especially a name badge. 5. Staff must make sure that the changing rooms are clean and clutter free at all times. 6. Make sure all sizes are on display. 7.If there is a substantial queue at the till, get another staff member to open another till. 8. Always thank the customer for shopping at the store. Managers 1. Make sure the outside of the premises is kept clean. 2. Delegate different employees to particular jobs. And make sure everybody knows what there job is. 3. Make sure that the music in the shop is on, clear and loud enough so the customers can hear it but not so loud that it is deafening. 4. Keep on top of the uniform issue as this was one of the weak areas of the mystery shopping survey.Secondly we believe that you should have a review of all your stores and try and complete any work that needs to be done. Such as a new layout or renovation. For example. The store in Limerick was described as not very modern. Next is well known for having a fashionable range of clothing and if the shop does not reflect this image then customers will not come in to the store. Another example would be a lot of rails have been described as too high. You could combat this by making them lower or having a hook that customers would use to reach the clothing. Finally we would recommend that you should look at your staffing policy.On a number of visits to your stores it has pointed out that if there was more staff then it would have been a better shopping experience. Even one more extra staff member per store would make a huge difference. Conclusion Overall, the project was a huge success. The implementation of the Questionnaire gave us valuable opinions which were vital in being able to recommend changes for the service. The physical aspect of the mystery shopper enabled us to gather first hand, unbiased information which would have been very difficult to receive, had another method of research been chosen. Appendices:

Supply Chain Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Supply Chain Management - Assignment Example Perhaps the foremost social and economic responsibility levied upon private and public organisation in recent decades is the maximisation. This responsibility is being increasingly codified in law and various governmental orders. Its influence is becoming increasingly pervasive through a constant series of federal court decisions as well as steady enlargement in the size and scope of administering agencies. Despite the pressure from the competitors Nostovia's new airport will undertake effective supply management as the cutting edge. Higher number of satisfactory customers and efficient services will maximise the profitability of Nostovia by attracting a large number of foreign tourists. It is argued that the supply chain standards are not fixed at a uniform level or universal conditions cannot be established. Several factors should be taken into consideration while implementing a supply chain implementation or improvement plan. Factors contributing to the effective development of supply chain management are many and varied, which include: The main source of competitive advantage in services industry is efficient service for the customers. Supply chain plays an important role in the efficient service provision to the customers. "The goal of a supply chain should be to maximise overall supply chain profitability. Supply chain profitability is the difference between the revenue generated from the customer and the total cost incurred across all stages of the supply chain. Supply chain decisions have a large impact on the success or failure of each firm because they significantly influence both the revenue generated as well as the cost incurred. Successful supply chains manage flows of product, information, and funds to provide a high level of product availability to the customer while keeping costs low." (Chopra & Meindl, 2004;