Benjamin Franklin in his Autobiography Essay

Similar to Benjamin Franklin in his Autobiography and Frederick Douglass in his Narrative, Pip in Great Expectations also demonstrates the archetypal boyhood to manhood narrative. Each story recounts a journey of growth and development, of maturation and self-discovery through experience. In addition, the protagonist of each novel has a purpose which directs his actions and decisions throughout the course of his journey. However, one significant difference exists between the two historical characters and the fictitious Pip-while Franklin and Douglass both strive for realistic and self-improving goals, Pip, like his imaginary character, entertains an idealistic dream. Pip desires to leave his former social class as a common boy and advance in life as a gentleman. This idealism quickly consumes Pip and becomes both the thematic center of the novel and the psychological mechanism that encourages much of Pip’s development. Ironically, many instances in the novel show that the symbols and figures of the wealthy class that Pip idolizes are in fact his greatest tormenters. From their unfavorable effects on Pip such as abuse, pain, and unhappiness, manifests the idea that social standing does not determine one’s happiness and well being, and most importantly, one’s self worth. Even before Pip becomes a member of the wealthy class, his mere exposure to it initiates a procession of pain brought about by physical, verbal, and emotional abuse. Miss Havisham, despite her eccentricity, represents the class, wealth, and advancement that direct Pip’s actions and emotions for a large portion of the novel. Upon hearing about Miss Havisham’s desire to see Pip, Mrs. Joe â€Å"pounced upon [Pip], like an eagle on a lamb, and my face was squeezed into wooden bowls in sinks, and my head was put under taps of water-butts, and I was thumped†¦ and rasped, until I really was quite beside myself† (52). Dickens’ clever use of violent rhetoric such as â€Å"pounced,† â€Å"squeezed,† and â€Å"rasped† and the metaphor, â€Å"like an eagle on a lamb† paints an unpleasant predator-to-victim scene in the reader’s mind. Mrs. Joe’s ecstatic reaction over the idea of Pip’s opportunity to befriend the wealthy class makes this scene the novel’s first hint of social advancement that will later consume Pip’s life. Consequently, Mrs. Joe becomes the first instrument of the upper class to inflict pain on Pip, carried out by the violent and painful bath. The physical abuse Pip endures here, so early in his childhood, also foreshadows the misery and pain he will later encounter among the upper classes. Moreover, closing the scene with â€Å"my ablutions were completed† (53) presents a resemblance between the simple bath and a ritual cleansing. The word ablution is most often associated with biblical allegories where priests were required to cleanse themselves before approaching the altar of God. Dickens’ word choice here seems to imply that Pip’s violent bath was necessary not only in cleansing him, but ridding him of the soil from his common life that might taint those in higher places. This bath scene serves as the novel’s first subtle but significant example that involvement with the upper class does not determine well being. The pain Pip endures from his first exposure to the upper class alerts the reader that an apparently positive development in his life (Miss Havisham’s invitation to her world) may have results to the contrary. Apart from physical abuse and torment, Pip’s first interactions with the wealthy class also cause him to suffer emotionally. The general magnificence and grandeur of Satis House exists not only as a symbol of the lives of the upper class, but as a symbol of Pip’s romantic perception of the upper class as well. In this aspect, it is also a source of misery for Pip and he realizes, â€Å"daylight never entered [Satis House]†¦ and under its influence I continued at heart to hate my trade and to be ashamed of home† (125). The ornate grandeur of Satis House has raised in Pip a new consciousness of his own low birth and common bearings. After his first visit, he even lies about his experience there, unwilling to sully his thoughts of it with the contrasting plainness of his every day world, for it must remain â€Å"far above the level of common doings† (72). Pip’s first visit to Satis House is a momentous event in his life. It raises in Pip an awareness of social contrast, robs him of his youthful innocence and sense of fulfillment and thus, further exemplifies the misery that is inherently linked with representations of the upper class. With the introduction of Miss Havisham and Satis House, the character Estella moves to the forefront of the novel as the ultimate symbol of Pip’s unattainable dream in Great Expectations, and the greatest cause of his sufferings. Ironically, Estella’s condescension and spite matches Pip’s feelings about himself in the world of Satis House. He accepts her condescension, â€Å"Why, he is a nothing but a common laboring-boy! † (60), without defending himself because he idealizes Estella and sorrowfully believes her to be right. This is particularly evident during times when the difference between their social classes manifest itself in the smallest things, â€Å"I had never thought of being ashamed of my hands before†¦ her contempt was so strong, that it became infectious, and I caught it† (60). Moreover, Estella consistently refers to Pip as â€Å"Mr. Pumblechook’s boy† (58), â€Å"silly boy† (266), or simply â€Å"boy†, using any word but his real name. This is a form of verbal abuse because it ultimately degrades Pip to a gender with no unique identity. Estella practices a deliberate cruelty on Pip that wins his deepest love and causes him to develop a passionate but unrequited devotion for her. This is one of the harshest examples of the pain and torment Pip must endure as he interacts with the upper class. Through these accounts, it becomes evident that social standing and wealth does not always determine well being. In fact, it may accomplish just the opposite-physical pain, emotional disturbance, and misery from the knowledge of one’s common bearings. Even when Pip becomes a gentleman and is received by society, there is a sharp decline in his confidence and happiness that accompanies this rise in social status. Pip’s unofficial entrance into the world of a wealthy gentleman can be marked as the event where he put on a real gentleman suit. Interestingly, Pip describes, â€Å"after this memorable event†¦ I felt rather like Mother Hubbard’s dog† (152). While a notable occasion such as this would have naturally allowed for happiness and celebration, Pip instead compares his elevated social standing to a common animal of a children’s poem. The demeaning effect of the suit, versus it’s intended dignifying effect, not only foreshadows the unsatisfactory life Pip will lead as a gentleman, but poses further doubt on the hopes and ideals Pip holds of the wealthy class.

The European Parliament

The Efficiency of the Decision Making Process of EU Parliament Last Name First Name Course Name Course Number 08 October 2012 The European Parliament is separated into two legislations, primary and secondary. The primary legislation are the ground rules and basis for all EU action. The secondary legislation involves decisions, directives and regulations which are based on the objectives and principle in the treaties (Bungenberg, 2011). How does the EU parliament make a decision? The standard decision-making process is called â€Å"Ordinary Legislative Procedure† or the co-decision.This presents the direct election in the EU Parliament that decides together in the EU legislation in the Council, both the EU legislation and Commission Drafts. The EU treaties is the foundation of the rule of law, this defines every taken action by the EU which is founded on treaties that have been decided on democratic and voluntary approval of the EU countries. This is the Treaty of Lisbon, which developed the policy number of areas where the co-decision is employed (Bermann, 2011) The UE parliament also has more control to disapprove any proposal in the Council.The directives, regulations and other acts are established to set new EU treaties which are obtained by different forms of legal decisions. These legislation involve opinions, recommendations, directives and regulations, Some are creating, others are binding, some can be implemented to all EU nations, others not. The combined decision-making process of the EU parliament has shared to develop the effectiveness of EU policy when it comes to the environmental legislation in EU countries. The parliament, as veto power with co-legislator in the procedure of co-decision, has been important to organizational actors.It is connected to the EU commission, which is a non-voted body, to delegate with its concern rights to the drafting of the election (Avbelj, 2011). Moreover, its informal institutions and interactions with othe r nations, the Council of Ministers, National Parliament and the EU Commission, have been specifically significant in creating more legitimate and appropriate benefits for the proper application of internalizing many environmental externalities, common policies (Campuzano, 2011).The decision making of the EU Parliament is efficient because they are guided by the objectives, cohesion and sustainable growth of the organization. References AVBELJ Matej, KOMAREK Jan (eds. ). Constitutional pluralism in the European Union and beyond. Oxford:  Hart,  2011. BERMANN George (et al. ). Cases and materials on European Union law. St. Paul, MN:  Thomson/West,  2011. BUNGENBERG Marc, GRIEBEL Jorn, HINDELANG Sreefen (eds. ). International investment law and EU law. Berlin:  Springer,  2011. CAMPUZANO DIAZ Beatriz (et al. ). Latest developments in EU private international law. Cambridge:  Intersentia,  2011.

Formal Memo Proposal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Formal Memo Proposal - Research Paper Example Organizations have rivals as well as companies that complement their services. The audience should realize that the greater benefit goes to the end users who use the goods or services provided by the business. Traditional B2B transaction procedures are ineffective because they require enterprises to calculate transactions costs for setting up and maintaining stores. The personnel carrying out the transaction must be paid duly besides footing other business expenditure when linking up with other firms. Additionally, organizations must ensure that they have conducted many operations to decrease the overall costs incurred. The distributors are also required to prepare to handle high quantities of goods. Poor business-to-business transaction strategies have led to poor profits in businesses. Ineffective B2B strategies play a significant role in contributing towards massive losses that businesses incur when carrying out transactions. Dependence on stores to allow easy distribution of goods calls for extra business expenditures such as personnel to move and distribute goods to other enterprises. The current B2B transaction procedures are ineffective because of the high quantities of goods supplied. The transactions are run with utter inaccuracy due to involvement of high human processing systems. The ineffective brick and mortar transactions can benefit from digital methods, but there are businesses that are yet to exploit the alternative. The proper B2B strategy will help businesses facilitate lucrative transfer of raw materials, components, and parts that can boost their revenue base. The quantity of sales may not be high in a single transaction, but it accumulates to a high amounts. A business does not need to focus on selling goods to customers only. Businesses have the potential to explore transaction procedures that have on costs and increase the overall profit expected.

My Personal Experience With Swine Flu Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

My Personal Experience With Swine Flu - Article Example Thus, when I checked my temperature again, I discovered that it went up to 39.5 degrees. As a result, I decided to go for a walk and I intended the closest clinic to get myself checked out. I was told to go back home and take a long rest. I panicked a great deal not knowing what to do. The doctor gave me a paracetamol to reduce my fever and pain. It is a major ingredient in a variety of flu and cold remedies. On the following day, my nose went runny. I had a body ache and a throat infection. Worse than that, signs of extreme fatigue, joints’ pain, and diarrhea have appeared on me. I was much confused when I had a cough. About three successive days, I have been taking paracetamol. I tried to console myself through taking showers from time to time. I looked for coming up with some rest and interior tranquility but in vain. Furthermore, I used to drink about 1.5 to 3 liters of water in an attempt to get my temperature down. Nevertheless, the symptoms were a bit strange so long as my temperature did not come down. It wavered between 38.5 and 39.6 degrees. Frankly, I remarked that my state of health was not progressing at all. So, I was strongly determined to consult another doctor. The first doctor I consulted in Harly Street made it clear to me that symptoms of swine flu touched me. As a doctor, he decided not to inform me beforehand because he had to do a PCR test, a test that can both detect and dissect the H1N1 virus. For the results to be confirmed on his part, 48 hours are required. The moment the doctor heard my pitiful and painful story, he decided to offer me some anti-viral and anti-bacterial medicines. He gave me Tamiflu, a medication that can be used to treat flu infections in children and adults. He also told me to start taking it with no hesitation. He added that if I were an H1N1 negative, I had to stop it. Thereupon, I phoned my dad and recounted him my whole story.  

Equal and Superior Services of Restaurants Research Paper

Equal and Superior Services of Restaurants - Research Paper Example This concept of equality and superiority can easily be understood by the example of restaurants. Most of these restaurants are providing services but very few of them are capable of providing superior services with equality. People visiting restaurants are from diverse environment settings and have dissimilar needs. Thus a restaurants need to achieve the status of being superior by providing equality in outcomes of experiences of different individuals. Like:Ambiance/ decoration: People who wants to dine out definitely requires something especial to feel and eat. Efforts should be made to impress the customers by providing them relax and pleasant environment. Furnishing should be comfortable yet functional.Waiting Staff: Few things that make the first impression about the restaurant, waiters/waitresses are among them. Hiring trained staff proved to be the backbone of the restaurant business. Customers expect friendly, polite and professional treatment from the waiting staff. Healthy F ood: If customers have caloric information of the meals on the menu card or on request, it will be an additional service on behalf of the restaurant. Trying to have variety and creativity in the recipes of meal prevent customers to feel boredom from same kind of menu. Use of Advance Equipments and Technology: Restaurants should accept the credit cards to provide ease to the customer in payments. In addition, restaurants should have their own website in order to display their latest packages, new recipes.

A judgmental international classification of financial reporting Essay

A judgmental international classification of financial reporting Practices - Essay Example Without conceptual framework there have been many issues and problems that have emerged with the passage of time and different people have different opinions on solving the problem (Hines, 1988). Therefore there has been a need for some guiding principles or some kind of structure on the basis of which different decisions can be taken and reporting of financial statements could become reliable and consistent (Zeff, 1972). With regard to this, conceptual framework is helpful because it provides a guideline and a foundation of anything and it can be referred to by people (Nobes, 2006). Conceptual framework issued by FASB The following image gives an overview of the conceptual framework issued by FASB. In an ideal world accounting reports that are developed using the suggested conceptual framework would be more useful than other accounting reports which are prepared without using of conceptual framework. ... Considering its importance, there are several objectives of accounting department and these objectives are described below: Preparing Reliable and Consistent Financial Statements Accounting has a major role to play in any organisation (Amaratunga , & Baldry, 2003) because accountants prepare financial statements and records the financial transactions of the company (McCarthy, 1982). These reports and financial statements reflect the proper financial information which is helpful for the stakeholders of the company including investors, employees, shareholders, suppliers, government agencies, customers and potential customers as well as competitors (Ball, & Brown, 1968). The main objective of accounting is to provide information which is useful for the users of financial statements like investors, creditors, and other stakeholders (Chua, 1986). Therefore it is integral that the information provided by the organisation is useful, accurate, authentic, consistent and reliable. Inaccurate i nformation can mislead the users of the financial statements and it could also distort the decisions taken by the management on the basis of financial statements therefore it is important for the organisation to prepare financial statements that follow the principles accepted by others as well (Hogarth, 1993). Thus, a conceptual framework would be required which the accountant can use as a guideline while preparing financial statements to make the financial information consistent and reliable. Keeping Records of all the transactions in a systematic way The other major objective of accounting is to keep records of all the transactions that occur in day to day routine processes in a systematic way (Abdel-Khalik, & Ajinka, 1983)

Why accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why accounting - Assignment Example ) under ‘You’re Hired† portion: that the Department of Labor and Statistics indicated that â€Å"employment of accountants and auditors will grow faster than average for all occupations through the year 2016† (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) which makes pursuing accounting very attractive. The â€Å"Career Options† tab provides various career options in different fields and endeavors for accountants. The two things that were interesting are: (1) under non-profit and education area which presented options for accountants under the roles of a CPA at a favorite charity; an accounting teacher; as well as a volunteer accountant, where non-profit organizations and educational institutions could use their skills to generate more funds; (2) under travel: where accountants could pursue a full-time profession in other international destinations and could assume roles such as auditors, and CPAs in tourism and hospitality organizations (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: Travel), which are career paths that are dynamic. profession: such as strong leadership, communication skills, technological know-how, and being business savvy. The two things found interesting were: (1) learning to lead is through experience and from seeing oneself assuming leadership roles; it is interesting since one could be encouraged to be a leader through daily experiences; and (2) finding out how to develop communication skills through school activities, such as working in groups, making presentations, participating in public speaking endeavors, and acting in plays (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: CPA Skills), among others. The â€Å"Real Life CPAs† tab is all about information and experiences of known people who are CPAs in different industries and environments; such as Julie Herwitt and Mary MacBain, to name a few. These two CPAs were found to be most interesting, since: (1) Julie Herwitt has been a CPA for 27 years and was

Why I deserve this scholarship Personal Statement

Why I deserve this scholarship - Personal Statement Example Due to the economic meltdown, I found myself currently unemployed and struggling financially. I am a single mother of three children and we are on public assistance. It did bother me a lot to find myself in this troubling circumstance yet it was not a moment to lose hope. It occurred to me that being on public assistance would not do good in the long run so I returned to school to get my AS in Criminal Justice. These prompted me to seek this scholarship. It would be of great help as I wouldn't be having problems on paying for the books, student's loans, or other school necessities. It would be a happy blessing if I would be able to win this scholarship. Be rest assured that this is not only for my personal gain, this scholarship would pave way for me to serve my country in a more efficient and quality-oriented manner. I would strive to be the best student that I could be and be worthy of such opportunity.

Shark tank review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Shark tank review - Essay Example The second entrepreneur is Dave Greco who was asking for 90,000 for a 40% stake in his company. He claims he is a successful sales man and he claims he has a solution for companies through boosting their sales through packaging the sales strategies in a mobile application. The sharks quit on the deal after finding his pitch to have many inconsistent. Mark was the only shark that had made an offer but later withdrew his offer therefore Dave was not successful. The third entrepreneur in this episode was rick smith who was offering his Vegas magic show to the sharks at 1.5m for a 20% of the company. Rick was offering a family friendly magic field show in Las Vegas. The sharks did not get convinced as they claimed his business was not unique and its market is very competitive. Based on the reasons all the sharks quit on the deal and rick walks away without a deal. The final entrepreneur is Donny McCall whose business, known as invest a rack, involved the transformation of a pickup truck in about 30 minutes to a larger cargo carrying vehicle. He was asking for $100,000 for a 10% stake in his company. Sharks claim that he should get into distribution and go oversees to cut cost therefore all sharks quit on the deal. On season 3 episode 3 the first entrepreneur is Travis Perry business was a two month program that allowed people to learn how to play the guitar through the a chord cuddy. The sharks are very impressed with idea. Travis asking price was 10% stake for a $125k in the company.

Multicultural education Essay Example for Free

Multicultural education Essay From its early beginnings in the 1960s, multicultural education has since been in a constant state of evolution both in theory and in practice (Gorski Covert 1996). In the last four decades, it has undergone repeated transformation, focusing and conceptualization as challenges emerge one after the other from a rapidly changing population demographics and a significant growth in diverse multicultural groups. The result is a multitude of conceptualizations reflecting different foci but which basically share the same ideals rooted upon the need for transformation or change. Gorski (2000) defines multicultural education as a â€Å"progressive approach for transforming education that holistically critiques and addresses current shortcomings, failings, and discriminatory practices in education†. These shared ideals that include social justice, equity in educational opportunities, and the dedication to help students reach their full potential as learners and as socially conscious and active individuals provide the basis for understanding multicultural education. It is a process of action, through which adults achieve clarity about their condition in this society and ways to change it (Phillips, 1988). Multicultural education acknowledges that schools, among all other institutions, play a pivotal role in building the foundation and acting as major influencing factor for the transformation of society and the elimination of oppression and injustice. The realities of the times clearly speak for the growing importance and relevance of multicultural education. Cultural diversity in schools is indeed one considerable challenge but like any other, it can be a most welcome opportunity. History has shown us that nations are enriched by the ethnic, cultural, and language diversity among its citizens (Banks, 2001). Schools play a significant part in finding ways to harness and redirect cultural diversity into creating unity and progress in schools and ultimately to society in general. References: Banks, J. A. (April 2001). Diversity within unity: Essential principles for teaching and learning in a multicultural society. New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved on May 28, 2009 from http://www. newhorizons. org/strategies/multicultural/banks. htm Gorski, P. Covert, B. (1996; 2000). Defining multicultural education. Retrieved on May 28, 2009 from http://www. edchange. org/multicultural/define_old. html Phillips, C. B. (1988). Nurturing diversity for todays children and tomorrows leaders. Young Children: 43(2).

Explain The Relationship Between Strategic Management And Human Resource Management Business Essay

Explain The Relationship Between Strategic Management And Human Resource Management Business Essay Every organisation is trying to become more efficient and more productive. The key to an organisations success is to become more global and advance from a technological prospective. In order to become more efficient and to make its goals achievable, an organization should focus the most important assets of all other resources, which is the human capital or the intellectual assets. After all, none other than a person or an employee executes every achievement or any activity in an organization. Thus keeping this particular asset in good terms and managing it up to a standard is quite a challenge in terms of time and similarly finance. However, having a well organized and a well-managed human resource brings more significance to an organizations wellbeing. This essay will investigate how Strategic Management (SM) and Human Resource Management (HRM) are related, and then evaluated the role they play in providing organisations with a competitive advantage. Strategic management deals with devising people interventions that help an organization to develop the customer behaviour to promote the competitive advantage (Saini, 2009). The strategic management process helps the organisation to react quickly towards the new challenges. This dynamic method helps organizations find new and more efficient ways to do business. Strategic formulation, which is the practice of classifying a companys goal and strength and strategic implementation which express as the process of allocating resource and developing structures are the two components of strategic management process (Kramar, Bartram and De Cieri, 2011) Strategic management processes raise the organizations to discover new and more capable ways to do business. Situation analysis, strategy implementation, strategy formulation and strategy evaluation are the key elements of the strategic management process (Kramar, Bartram, and De Cieri, 2011). By dealing with these elements of the SM process in order listed, companies can assess and re-evaluate situations as they develop; always making sure, the company has positioned itself optimally in the business environment. Situation analysis engages with looking over the companys internal and external environments and the context in which the company fits in to those environments. As a way of implementing, observations are made about companys internal environment and investigations are carried out to find out how employees interact with each other at all levels. In the completion of the situational analysis, a strategy is formulated. (Kramar, Bartram and De Cieri, 2011). This involves determin ing the companys strengths to decide which strategies could be implemented. Operational strategies involve routine operations, outlining the procedures and process by which the company does business. Competitive strategies involve finding ways to compete with a particular industry or business (Kramar, Bartram, and De Cieri, 2011). Strategy implementation is the third step in the strategic management process. It involves the implementation of the formulated strategy. The final step in the strategic management process engages observing the results of an implemented strategy (Kramar, Bartram, and De Cieri, 2011). As mentioned, these four elements and the process of building a good strategy would be very significant to an organization, which presumes to manage their intellectual resource with great efficiency. Using strategies would help HRM to be more rapid and supervised in their decision making process and in achieving the objectives and targets of the entity (Kramar, Bartram and De Cieri, 2011) Human resource management described as a set of activities aimed at building an organizational performance (Plumb, 2008). Also having a good HR management department is identically important to an organisations strong financial. Any organization is goal oriented and has targets to achieve, and the employees of the organization perform them. The employees are the works force in the entity, thus managing and maintaining them is very crucial and very vital to its top managers on behalf of the organization. Managing the work force is also important as it gives the foundation of a healthy entity; this happens only if an entity holds a strong work force that is right for the job (Payne, 2010). Having a strong work force opens many opportunities for the organization in terms of growing their day to day businesses, and consequently by overcoming supplementary trades the company unwraps a pathway to a successful and a most importantly a sustainable organization in today competitive world. Thus, using strategies and planning HR activities is quite important to a business entity for the betterment of the employees, which consequently brings success to the organization itself. HR strategies are laid down according to the overall objectives of the organizations in the same way as investments or marketing strategies. However, HRM strategies explained through quantifiable terms so that outcomes of them measured. Also, HR strategic objectives go past the basic calculation and control of staff numbers and minimization of costs (Barrett, 2009). The function of a Human Resource Management strategy is when adopting their HR practices, organizations must take into account the interest of the fit between these firm strategy and practices. As a result, the main goals of strategic HRM is to make sure that HRM is aligned with the strategic needs of organization (Saini, 2009). Strategic management is important in all kind of organization activities to achieve their long-term goal. Hence, most of the managers agreed that perceived strategic management is the most important capability and information technology as the least important competency for HR managers (Payne, 2010). Strategic management domain contains visioning, analytical and leadership skills that managers viewed as important for human resource (Payne, 2010). Thus HR leaders can make significant role to strategy development and achievement as well as to improve the quality of decision related strategy and talent. Overall, the relationship between HR and management is becoming mutual. HR executives are trying to become a part at the management table and they are concerned in everyday management activities. However, there is still a long way to go if HR is to become a strategic partner at all levels. In order to do that, HR needs to expand its internal competencies to deal with organizational issue s and find ways to suggest creative and innovative solutions to organisation wide issues (Kramar, Bartram and De Cieri, 2011). Meanwhile for harder strategic HR themes like cost cutting, rate of return productivity measurement, performance measurement it has been noticed that the employees volunteer reluctantly. Therefore, a clear dualism is apparent in HR intervention that organisations have been adopting for their survival (Saini, 2009). In addition, strategic management prescriptions are never comfortable when put together with pluralist employment relations framework (Saini, 2009). Some organisations have a practice of using strategies not only in HR but also in other aspects of their organisations to achieve their target goals and objectives without any hassle. Practicing strategies in HR would be beneficial not only to the employee but also it is the right way to do the right job (Lawler, Boundreau, 2009) Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) also identifies the long-term effects of HR decisions on the employment and development and development on the bond between management and staffs in the organisation as being significant (Barrett, 2009). This is important if the company wants to gain competitive edge through its workforce. As a result of, HR departments integration to the business, the personnel were re-looked as a resource in the company. On the other hand, SHRM system helps effectively by answering the requests of the strategy and environment and assists strategic flexibility with the goal of achieving the active fit (Pablos, Lytras, 2008). Strategic management can also help the organization to identify their strength, weaknesses, and opportunity and threat. So, that the organization can compete with their competitive firms and build their profit and achieve their success. Strategic management as general and within HR, helps to organize how HR systems and practices with the aim of developing a competitive advantage for the firm (Pablos, Lytras, 2008) According to Porter, (1994) competitive advantage defined as an advantage that arises from observing and realizing ways of competing that are unique and distinctive from those of rivals, and that can be sustained over time. Some researches tell that human resources can become the cause of competitive advantage for the organization is not new. At the same time, the organization need to understand that competitive advantage is not permanent (Pablos, Lytras, 2008). The speed with which competitors are able to acquire the skills needed to duplicate the benefits of a firms value-creating strategy determines how long the competitive advantage will last (Pablos, Lytras, 2008). In addition, it has accepted that firms can generate a competitive advantage from their management practices. Organizational resource leads to a constant competitive advantage when the resources are valuable, rare and have no substitute (Pablos, Lytras, 2008). Human resource needs to create organizational values in or der to be a source of competitive advantage. Therefore, organizations offer jobs in which individual can show their different skills (Pablos, Lytras, 2008). When the firm choose a strategy, they make choices among competing alternatives. Competitive advantages help to sketch the organizational procedure by analytically and the emergent strategy help the rational decision making process by senior management and enhance the firms competitiveness. In addition, the organizations can develop a long-term competitive advantage. Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) allows the adaptation of HR practices, the knowledge, and the behaviour of the employees as regards the immediate needs of the organization. In brief, SHRM must facilitate strategic flexibility with the goal of reaching an active fit (Pablos, Lytras, 2008). In the past, organizations and their top managers assumed the status of managing the most vital intellectual assets of an entity. Thus, they tried to bring in systems in which they could be in track of workers and their actions, which is handling and regulating the work force of an organization. However, as the world has evolved throughout the years and due to many reasons, managers have understood the workforce is also kind of a resource that is in common with other resources. As a result, they implemented the process of strategic management. Therefore, in conclusion this essay has expressed how strategy and planning are related to HRM, the relationship between strategic management and HR management and how strategic human resource management helps to develop the competitive advantage of firm. As proved above, practicing of these strategies would absolutely assist an organization in achieving their aims and objectives. Consequently, it is significant for HR management to change from being primarily administrative and operational to becoming a strategic contributor.

Eurasian Hedgehog :: essays research papers

CONTEXT AND CONTENT. Order Insectivora, family Erinacediae, genus Erinaceus, phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, subclass Theria, intraclass Eutheria. DIAGNOSIS. Erinaceus europaeus can be distinguished from other hedgehogs by spines and its size. The spines average about 1 inch in length (Grolier 1972). The quills are set in transverse bands, which vary in color. It has approximately 5000 spines (Feldhamer et al. 1999). Erinaceus europaeus is about 7 to 10 inches (17.5-25.4 cm). GENERAL CHARACTERS. E. europaeus males are 10  ¨Ãƒ ¹ inches long. The female averages  ¨Ãƒ º inches smaller. They average 10-12 inches including the tail. The length of the tail is 1 inch. The tail consists of 12 vertebrae (Beddard 1902). Also, the tail is thin, cylindrical, and naked or scantily haired. The weight of both males and females can get up to 2  ¨Ãƒ ¸ lbs. (Burton and Burton 1969) or 400-1100 grams (Grzimek 1968). HRL is 13.5-30 cm and TL is 1-5 cm (Grzimek 1968). The height of the shoulders is 5-6 inches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The quills covering the back and the top of the head are  ¨Ãƒ º-1 inch in length. Each spine is set at an angle to the skin. They are set in transverse bands, which vary in color from base to tip depending on the various zones of the body. Some of the spines have a yellowish-gray color. The spines do not have grooves. The rest of the body is covered with coarse hair. This area is light brown (Grolier 1972).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of the four feet have five clawed toes. There are 5 pads on the sole. E. europaeus walk on the sole of their feet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are 14 or 15 ribs in E. europaeus the also do not have a caecum. DISTRIBUTION. Erinaceus europaeus occurs throughout Europe and Northern Asia. In Asia, it goes as far north as the limits of the deciduous forests. They live in burrows, which are often dug in a bank or stump. FORM AND FUNCTION. On the back and top of the head, E. europaeus has sharp spines. On the bottom of the body, legs, and tail is a coarse fur coat.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They have rounded bodies and are squat. The muzzle is sharp and comes to a point. The eyes are roundish and broader than they are long. The ears are small and round, which barely project beyond the hair and spines. Both the eyes and the ears are well developed. The sight seems to be poor, but smell and hearing are acute.

Essay on Whitman’s Bivouac on a Mountain Side -- Whitman Bivouac on a

Analysis of Whitman’s Bivouac on a Mountain Side  Ã‚      First published after the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, Walt Whitman’s poem â€Å"Bivouac on a Mountain Side† portrays more than just the tangible picture of a transcendentalist’s vision. The mood of the poem reflects the author’s observations and visions of the Civil War while stationed in Washington and Virginia as well as his beliefs about the war by use of imagery and symbolism.    The use of imagery in â€Å"Bivouac on a Mountain Side† is one of the compelling factors that draws the reader into the poem so that he/she no longer reads what Whitman is writing, but rather sees what he is describing and understands Whitman’s place in the war. Different from other Whitman poems, â€Å"Bivouac on a Mountain Side† does not contain the title phrase anywhere in the body of the poem, but rather sets the stage for the described scene. Whitman’s use of imagery in â€Å"Bivouac on a Mountain Side† provides the basis for symbolic representation in the poem. In the first line of the poem, â€Å"I see before me now a traveling army halting†, begins the description of a troop that he is observing. Starting with the second line of the poem, Whitman attaches meaning to each of the elements in the poem. â€Å"A fertile valley spread, with barns and the orchards of summer† symbolizes the peaceful stillness of a country that has not been torn by war. In a sense, the second line is used to represent an unadulterated America. However, behind that lies â€Å"the terraced sides of a mountain, abrupt, in places rising high, broken with rocks, with clinging cedars, and with tall shapes dingily seen† (lines 3 and 4). The description of this grand and almost menacing mountain, in contrast to the val... ...ut first hand observations of the war taking place around him. Looking deeper into the poem enables the reader to gain Whitman’s insight about the soldiers during the war: their fear, excitement, and hope.          (1)  Ã‚   I see before me now a traveling army halting (2)  Ã‚   Below a fertile valley spread, with barns and the orchards of summer, (3)  Ã‚   Behind, the terraced sides of a mountain, abrupt, in places rising high, (4)  Ã‚   Broken, with rocks, with clinging cedars, with tall shapes dingily seen, (5)  Ã‚   The numerous camp-fires scatter’d near and far, some away up on the mountain, (6)  Ã‚   The shadowy forms of men and horses, looming, large-sized, flickering (7)  Ã‚   And over all the sky- the sky! Far, far out of reach, studded, breaking out, the eternal stars      

Importance of Foreign Market Entry

For a business organization to grow, it has to constantly find new opportunities to exploit. Globalisation is a large driving force that has led to the trend of the rising number of business organizations operating beyond their home country. As with globalisation,there is now a decrease in trade barriers which makes doing business abroad easier. Likewise,there is also an increased in the number of competitors in the local market and many a times, a organisation has to expand into a new foreign market so as to achieve a higher market share. One major pushing force for a organisation to go abroad is the limited opportunities in the local market which could either have no need for the organisation’s offerings or the market could be quite saturated. A global market,on the other hand,offers endless possibilities and a bigger market. Consider a small country like Singapore which only has a population of close to 5 million, a business organisation can do so much more with an expansion overseas whereby the population size is many times the local population. Local companies like Eu Yan Sang (traditional chinese medicine) or Prima Taste have their products located in different parts of the world where there are definitely a demand for it. Consider the Chinatown in London where many Chinese nationalities are currently residing/studying at. Chinese products that are found in their home countries are bound to appeal to them due to the brand familiarity as well and if there is a demand for such products,business organisations can reap from the benefits by supplying these products. This is also the case for many agriculture industries whereby the production of the products are far much more than what the population can consume. The amount of coffeebeans that are harvested in Latin America are more than sufficient for its population and organisations can make a profit out of it by actually selling the excess. The importance about a global expansion is also the competitive advantage the organisation is able to to reap. Firstly, the organisation may become more fficient due to the larger market size. Economies of scales which was previously not attainable due to the limited population size can now be realised as the number of markets and customers increase. Underutilised machinery can also be put to fuller use as the number of orders increases. For another class, we actually visited the Manner production plant in Vienna and we noticed that many of their machines were not running at full capacity. By exporting overseas and increasing the demand for Manner products,this can actually help increase the production and make better use of these machines. Besides achieving economies of scale, the organisation may be able to reap the benefits of an experience curve and this can further bring cost of productions down or making the organisation a more efficient one. Another advantage of a foreign market entry is that it can actually increase the product life cycle when it is sold in less developed countries. For a product with a short life cycle(especially technology gadgets),exporting it to other less developed countries can prolong its cycle as the level of sophistication and technology that is demanded might be lower. Consider the case of cellphones in a developed country like Japan. New models of cellphones are constantly introduced and it will not be long before a model is phased out. Manufacturers of the older model can then find a new market in a less developed market (for example, India) that does that require the newest technology but just require the cell phone for its basic functionality.

I and Thou Essay

Present essay engages in critical examination of basic concepts, observations and ideas, created by famous Jewish writer and philosopher Martin Buber in his book ‘I and Thou’. Buber’s book is often mentioned as one of the major influences in Western philosophical literature of the 20th century. Specifically, the philosophy of dialogue, promoted by Buber resonated with and influenced similar contribution of such philosophers and critiques, as Levinas, Bakthtine, existentialist philosopher (Sartre) and others. Based on the analysis of Buber’s ideas and their general philosophical context of the time, present essay defends the thesis that Buber’s philosophy should be regarded as a utopian project, characterized by the idealist vision of human society and nature and inability to find solution to real social contradictions. I and Thou In his analysis of ‘I’ in contemporary world Buber focuses on classic tradition of the philosophy of consciousness, derived from Descartes and Kant. In this tradition ‘I’ is understood as pure subject of autonomous reason and ethical actions. The novelty of Buber’s contribution is that he tries to dialectically link individual ‘I’ with Other (Thou). Unlike earlier attempts of Hegel and Husserl, Buber’s attempt is characterized by deep influences of Judaism religious tradition. Basically, Buber conceptualizes the binary opposition of I and Thou as the source of any human relationships in the real world. In contrast to ‘I’ relationship with ‘It’ (an object), ‘I’ –‘Thou’ pair is characterized with intersection and exchange between different consciousness, both individual (human) and objective (God). God is referred to by Buber as Eternal Thou, one that constructs the firmest tie with ‘I’. ‘It’ – ‘It’ relationship is regarded by Buber as the relationship which may be measured by the quantity of the objects we have in our daily life (Buber, 34). This relationship is not intimate and conscious. In contrast, â€Å"I†-‘Thou† is a living relationship between people lasting as long as another person is present in physical proximity and consciousness. The presence of an individual near another individual automatically results in the exposition of ‘I’-‘Thou’ relationship even if it not perceived consciously. Spiritual relationship between different subjects (‘I’ and ‘Thou’) is the basic law of human existence in general. Buber tries to interpret this law using hermeneutic method. He argues that even in language, saying ‘Thou’ implies addressing your words and feelings to a given person and hence, ‘Thou’ can not be detached from consciousness – it constitutes its distinct part. Using example of a tree, Buber shows that notwithstanding our perspective, a tree would always be an Object for us, because it lacks consciousness: â€Å"I can subdue its actual presence and form so sternly that I recognize it only as an expression of law. † (Buber, 51). Buber argues that I-Thou relationship can not be properly explained – it is best explicated by the concept of Love, reflected in God. God become ‘Thou’ when he is directly spoken too. According to Buber, God is present in every aspect of human consciousness including arts, culture and music. Therefore, I-Thou relationship finds its outmost realization in the link between God and an Individual. Critique of Buber’s ideas Notwithstanding positive role of Buber’s ideas in the formation of 20-th century existentialism and humanist philosophy of Dialogue, one should point to crucial drawbacks and deficiencies of Buber’s ideas and approach. As it was noted in the introduction, it seems to us that Buber falls into the trap of idealism and utopianism in the explanation of real human relations. Moreover, his use of religious doctrine of Judaism in addressing real world relationships may also seem to modern researchers problematic. First of all, human relationships in Buber’s book are conceptualized through the prism of individual consciousness, an approach that was revolutionary in 18 and 19-th centuries, but significantly fell behind modern developments in social psychology, social and political sciences. Buber treats human relations at the level of individual consciousness, however, it contradicts empirical facts, which argue that individual behavior is mediated and influenced by cultural codes, traditions, institutions, such as family, law, working organization, education etc. To say that human relationships may be reduced to abstract notions of ‘I’ and ‘Thou’ means avoiding difficult issues of social roles, positions other factors. To say it plainly, in Buber’s concept ‘I’ is an abstract notion – it is not a real, historical human being, but rather a certain philosophical concept. Moreover, it seems problematic to argue that ‘I’ is pure in its will and thoughts. Psychoanalytic approach to human subjectivity vividly demonstrated that human consciousness is influenced by sub-conscious destructive forces, often unknown by an individual. There is no denying the importance of the fact, that Buber’s interpretation of ‘I’ –‘Thou’ relations as the concentration of love, attachment is also idealist in essence. Such interpretation fails to see national, class and gender contradiction, which divide different human beings. Religious interpretation of God as ‘Eternal Thou’ also seems controversial from scientific point of view. Buber argues that God is present in every sphere of human life, including literature, music and culture. However, these are created by men and hence, no role of God in their formation is evident. Moreover, it seems problematic to argue that God as perceived in Judaic tradition is the expression of love and intimateness. As Old Testament suggests, God was rather a protector of eternal laws, who punished people for non-abidance, rather than was a center of universal love. Notwithstanding these evident drawbacks and contradictions, one should point to crucial contribution of Buber’s book to Western philosophy. No matter how utopian and idealist, Buber’s philosophy proved to be particularly instrumental in the development of French existentialism and Russian school of literary critique. Buber’s perspective on world as an inter-subjective relationship found its further development in the philosophy of Sartre, Kamu and other French philosopher. Levinas used Buber’s philosophy of dialogue in the analysis oral speech and narrative language. Paralleling this development, Russian literary critique Bakthtine used Buber’s ideas in his analysis of Dostoevsky’s protagonists through the prism of their dialogical relations at the level of consciousness. The last, but not the least, it should be mentioned, that Buber’s concepts were the paramount of humanist philosophy in the 20th century. Notwithstanding their idealist and utopian nature they served as regulative ideas of behavior for several generations of intellectuals, including such renowned as Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse. To sum it up, Buber’s book â€Å"I and Thou’ provides modern researcher with new concepts and ideas, many of which seem controversial and paradoxical. Basic deficiencies found in Buber’s philosophy are linked with his utopianism and idealism and lack of attention to modern developments in social science, social psychology. The unnecessary reduction of human society to individual level makes it impossible to see a broader picture of inter-group relations and general social institutions role in human behavior. Notwithstanding these deficiencies, Buber’s book provides a source of interesting and thought-provocative reading.

Price, Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Activities Essay

Ferraris are a luxury good, known for their performance and prestige with prices of up to  £500,000. In this study there will be an effort to evaluate if a Ferrari would still be as desirable if it was available at  £20,000. To do this we must examine the relationship between the behaviours of consumers and price with a further examination of marketing activities. Firstly we need to define what consumer behaviour, price and marketing activities are, by understanding the consumer we can then create products that meets their wishes and needs which is vital in achieving success. An investigation of the Utilitarian (rational) consumption model will follow allowing the identification of driving factors that affect consumer’s decisions. This allows the introduction of Pricing, viewing towards perceived quality and value. The contrasting Hedonic view allows the introduction of socio-psychological factors on consumer behaviour such as personality and social class. We must appreciate our level of involvement with the product and what factors this may cause. This will allow us to fully appreciate whether the change in price will result in the Ferrari still being as desirable as when it was at a higher price. The study of consumer behaviour â€Å"is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use or dispose of products, service, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desires† (Soloman et al, 2002, p4). Therefore by studying what factors affect how and why consumers make these consumption decisions, marketers may be able to understand and therefore adapt to these decisions. Consumer behaviour incorporates ideas from many different disciplines such as psychology, sociology and economics. (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000), in a marketing context we take note of all these concepts and try to come to a balanced answer. A full examination of consumer behaviour looks at how consumers maximise their utility (satisfaction) based on a cost-benefit analysis of price and product scarcity, this was thought of the Utilitarian or rational way of behaviour. (Baines et al, 2011). The key determinant is that the functional benefits must be greater than the costs exp ended. Very often we would class the cost expended as being the price paid for an item, this is a difficult term to classify but is best explained by Baines, Fill and Page (2011), (p331) â€Å"we consider price as the amount the customer has to pay or exchange to receive a good or service†. This however fails to mention that how consumers â€Å"perceive a price-as high, as low, as fair- has a strong influence on both purchase intentions and purchase satisfaction.† (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000, p 144). For example a passenger who paid  £1 for his Ryanair flight will feel more satisfied one who paid  £71 due to purchasing at a later date. Here we look at whether a Ferrari is still as desirable at a lower price, to do this we must examine how customers affect to a change in prices, known in economic terms as the elasticity of demand. This measure how much demand will shift as a result of a change in price. To do this we can look at how in rational thinking consumers wish the be nefits to outweigh the costs, the benefits of buying a new Ferrari may be the quality and value you get for the price you paid. However as each person has a different wished level of quality we use the term ‘perceived quality’, often based on â€Å"informational cues that they associate with the product† (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000, p145). Looking at the relationship between the perceived qualities and pricing often it is thought that price reflects quality (Baines et al, 2011). This is challenged by the aspect we take our perceived quality from many cues, not just price, such as more extrinsic values such as brand image. Therefore it can be classes that â€Å"consumers use price as a surrogate indicator of quality if they have little or no information to go on† (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000, p150). The idea of brand image as a cue introduces the more hedonic concept of feelings, desires and perceptions into the consumer’s decision. As already discussed prices and quality are not measured in purely rational terms they encompass our perceptions of the product, price and measure of quality. Our perceptions are personal to us and it is vital for marketers to understand what factors may affect these perceptions. To do this we must understand how consumption may be irrational (hedonic) involving the â€Å"multi-sensory, fantasy and emotional aspects of consumers’ interaction with products† (Soloman et al, 2002, p37). This view stresses that we purchase products because of how they make us feel or look to others. This is sometimes classed as emotional or socio-psychological buying (Baines et al, 2011). The stark difference between utilitarian and hedonic consumption can be seen in the process of proposition acquisition. We draw up a motive for acquiring the product; this may be out of functional (rational) or desire (irrational) means. We then gather information on the product drawing up a shortlist of brands, followed by an evaluation of the proposition. When it comes to the purchase of the item it is important to consider â€Å"the personal importance a person attaches to a given communication message† (Baines et al, 2011, p 90) this is classes as the person’s involvement. As discussed in Fill (2009, p174) the characteristics involved with involvement can be seen in three phases, that of contextual elements, the influencers and the outcomes. Our level of involvement with a product can play a role in the price fairness we perceive for this product. At states of low involvement where â€Å"the purchase suggests little risk to the consumer† (Fill, 2009, p176) we require little information and use past experiences to make our decisions. However at high levels of involvement where, â€Å"a consumer perceives an expected purchase that is not only of high personal relevance but also represents a high level of perceived risk† (Fill, 2009, p 176), consumers will invest a great deal of time researching the item to reduce the perceived risk and will draw on extrinsic information and may draw more on hedonic terms. The relationship between price and involvement can be seen at both levels, at low levels price allows individuals to discriminate between low-involvement purchase decisions as â€Å"price, packaging, and point of purchase displays and promotion’s work together to cue and stimulate an individual into trying a product.† (Fill, 2009, p 180) At high levels of involvement price is not such a determining factor, with other factors playing a more significant role. Involvement does not juts affect the importance placed on price it also affects how a product is marketed to the consumer. This raises Ratchfords (1987) thoughts of involvement being linked with feeling and thinking. He sought to think how people thought about products and class them as high/low involvement and whether they were a product you bought rationally, what you thought of the product, or irrationally, how the product made you feel. In this instance the purchase of a Ferrari which would have been a high involvement/feeling product there is â€Å"a need for emotional advertising† (Baines et al, 2011, p91). With the shift in price it can be argued that the product has now became a high involvement/thinking product so more informative advertising is needed. Further links between price, consumer behaviour and price can be seen in Fill (2009, p 181) arguing that at low levels of involvement consumers will â€Å"decide upon their usual brand until they notice a price promotion† ,this then may be become there habitual buying pattern. As discussed earlier at high levels of involvement, more emotional and informative advertising is used there are many reasons for this including that factors such as lifestyle, social class and personality can all affect our hedonic consumption. In the sphere of personality there are three main approaches. Firstly the psychoanalytic approach Freud outlined how we are driven by subconscious drives in three parts our ID, Ego and Superego. It is argued that certain products are bought to fulfil our needs and urges such as the purchase of a Ferrari. The reduction of price may then not allow us to fulfil this urge. A differing approach is that of Trait theory, where we are classified by our types of personality. The purchase of a  £500,000 car may be seen as fulfilling one personality type, by reducing the price to  £20,000 the market segment may change and as â€Å"car manufacturers†¦ market products on the basis of personality types† (Baines et al, 2011, p96) this may ch ange the whole marketing process and the way this process is presented. The final school of thought is the Self Concept Approach that we â€Å"buy goods†¦ for the brand they represent and its relation to the buyer’s perception of their own self-concept or personality.†(Baines et al, 2011, p96). In this model it may be argued that price is a determinant factor as we may buy to show we can pay high prices to others. Added to this is the idea that the brand gives you a self-image therefore a change in the price can affect the branding and may lead you to a different purchase decision. The price change may also change what reference group a Ferrari would belong to it may no longer be an aspiration so may become less desirable. The change in price may however be beneficial when looking at consumer behaviour in relation to lifecycle and social class. Focussing on lifecycle â€Å"we hypothesize that people in the same stages of life purchase and consume similar kinds of products† (Baines et al, 2011, p108), a £500,000 Ferrari may fall into the stage of empty nest 1, where there is large disposable income, the shift downwards in price will allow a Ferrari to become more accessible to different stages of the lifecycle, thus making it more desirable to these groups. To conclude pricing, consumer behaviour and marketing activities are all linked. By determining whether the consumption is either rational or irrational we can investigate the level of involvement one may have with that product. This then allows us to look at how perceived values, price and quality link with the way the consumer behaves. As consumer behaviour study evolves from â€Å"early emphasis on rational choice†¦to a focus on apparently irrational buying needs† (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982, p132) we are able to investigate other factors that may relate to consumer behaviour such as lifestyle, social class and what level of involvement is involved. As we can see in rational decisions there is a link between price and behaviour, with the benefits outweighing the costs, the same can be said at decisions of low involvement. However other extrinsic factors have to be considered when making higher involvement decisions. The decrease in price therefore may make the Ferrari more desirable if you are making the purchase at a low involvement level however at a higher level other factors need to be considered to give a true representation of its desirability. Reference List Books and Ebooks Baines, P. Fill, C. Page, A., (2011), Marketing, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press Fill, C. (2009), Marketing Communications : Interactivity, Communities And Content., 5th ed., Harlow: Pearson Education Limited Schiffman, L,G. and Kanuk, L,L. (2000), Consumer Behaviour, 7th ed., London: Prentice Hall International (UK) Limited Solomon, M., Bamossy, G., Askegaard, S. and Hogg, M. K. (2006) Consumer behaviour: a European perspective, 3rd ed., Harlow: Financial Times. Lecture Notes C18FM1 2012/2013 Online Journals Holbrook, M, & Hirschman, E (1982),. ‘The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun’, Journal Of Consumer Research, 9, 2, pp. 132-140, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 October 2012.

The Following is an article about the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013

Headline: The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, and was held in Brazil from 15 June to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tournament, along with hosts Brazil and UEFA Euro 2012 runners-up Italy, who were admitted because the Euro 2012 winners, Spain, had also won the most recent FIFA World Cup in 2010. Generating Ideas: (Points):[ Actually these are facts. But we can generate and customize our own ideas and create a healthy an article. ] Brazil successfully defended their title with a 3–0 win over Spain in the final. It was their fourth Confederations Cup title and third in a row, after previous wins in 1997, 2005 and 2009. #According to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the best version of the tournament ever played. The competition was the first national team tournament to employ goal-line technology, which will als o be used at the 2014 World Cup. #Italy was awarded a spot in the competition because Spain had won both the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. Since both competitions award their winners a place in the FIFA Confederations Cup, the runner-up of UEFA Euro 2012 received an invitation to the tournament. #six stadiums are used, each in a different city. #The Official Emblem of this tournament features a stylized interpretation of Brazil’s national bird, the Rufous-Bellied Thrush (Sabia-Laranjeira). The colouring of the bird is the result of a creative interpretation inspired by the colours of Brazil’s national flag, whilst simultaneously showcasing the country’s colourful fauna. The lightness of the bird’s flight symbolically eflects the warm, hospitable nature of the Brazilian people and acts as a reminder of their national pride. #Teams had to name a 23-man squad (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline of 3 June 2013. The squads were announced by FIFA on 7 June 2013. #the competition's dates were confirmed by FIFA on 27 July 2011 in the build-up to the draw for the 2014 World Cup's preliminary qualification rounds. #All eight teams entered the group stage. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the semi-finals, while the bottom two teams in each group were eliminated from the tournament. Prior to the opening ceremony at the Brasilia National Stadium on 15 June, demonstrations took place outside the stadium, organised by people unhappy with the amount of public money spent to enable the hosting of the FIFA World Cup. Police used tear gas and pepper spray to quell the protests. The demonstrations were part of wider unrest and rioting in Brazilian cities initially sparked by increased ticket prices on public transport, but growing to express deeper public disenchantment with the financial management of the country by its Government, specially due to the high inflation. In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time would be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. #Fernando Torres was awarded the Golden Boot award on tie-breakers. Both he and Fred scored five goals and made one assist, but Torres was given the award due to having played fewer minutes over the tournament #The official match ball for the Cup was produced by Adidas. It was unveiled during the draw for the competition. The ball is named â€Å"Cafusa† #The FIFA Confederations Cup final attracted the largest sports television audience in Brazil this year, and topped 2013 viewing figures in Spain. #The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Final was a football match to determine the winners of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. The match was held at the Estadio do Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 30 June 2013 and was contested by the winners of the semi-finals, Brazil and Spain. Brazil defeated Spain 3–0 with goals from Fred and Neymar, thus breaking Spain's record of 29 games without a defeat. #Neymar inspired Brazil to a crushing Confederations Cup victory over World and European champions Spain in the Maracana. The Barcelona superstar scored a stunning strike just before the break and his goal was sandwiched by two Fred goals early in each half, the first a scrappy affair and the second a neat curled finish. Spain did not help themselves, with Sergio Ramos missing a penalty before fellow centre back Gerard Pique was sent off.

Journey Speech

My baby sister Is now 5, my younger brother now 14, and me, I'm 16,' the scenery and their ages have changed again. With these physical changes it also changes the emotions in the characters. The protagonist doesn't need to force her smiles towards her little sister because she can see and understand how simple her life is and that ‘she has no worries, no regrets. They make it to the end of the block and the protagonist takes both of her siblings and takes them off the street they had been walking and into the world with her as their protection. She is able to do this with no qualms knowing that they wont have to go through the same ordeal that she did and she will always be there for them. Through this physical representation of a virtual journey it shows how a journey can develop through a metaphysical state and not be based on finding a specific destination but instead a safe place. Year of Wonders† focuses on the emotional and moral development, therefore making it a spiritual based Journey. This Is known to the reader as the mall charter, Anna Firth, has no need to continuously travel to perform her journey. Anna is living in a town stricken with the bubonic plague, as they have isolated themselves to prevent the spread. They are unable to call upon others to assist in the treatment of the ill and just use others abilities to ensure the towns survival of the plague.As lives start to be taken by the plague, many of the townspeople believe It is to do with witchcraft. Two characters, Aunt and niece, Me and Nays Goodie, have always been able to help the town with herbal remedies and have been the local midwives, but after their deaths Anna is convinced by Eleanor Employing to assist a women In labor and she 1 OFF many situations which all start to slowly influence her thoughts and change her as a person. She starts to become stronger and not Just be a young widow, who has also lost both her children.She starts to fight for other people in the tow n and help them through hard times. Although she isn't able to do this all unscathed, she is unable to understand Why did He raise us up out of the clay, to acquire good and expedient skills, in such extremity, and then send us back so soon to be dust when we yet had useful years before us? Such in the case as Maggie and George Vicars. Anna makes herself a tincture' from the poppy she had stolen from Eleanor to help with the anguish and she was able to have pleasant dreams.Anna and the town continue to be affected by the plague and many more die, Anna tending many in their deathbeds. Anna and Eleanor also assist Merry. Anna slept well that night, feeling for once that she has accomplished something that has turned out right. After many more deaths and obstacles the plague has stopped affecting the town and the people are told they are no longer quarantined. At this meeting Anna's stepmother Para is hysteric with the loss of her last child, Faith.She was ‘clutching the maggoty remnant of her daughter's corpse. ‘ Implosion, Para and Eleanor enter a embrace, trying to calm and comfort Para, Faith's head comes apart from her body and Para lashes UT and slits Liner's throat and stabs herself, leaving Anna with no family and one of her closest friend's gone as well. Eleanor asked for Anna to look after her husband and through this relationship Anna is able to experience a physical intimacy she has longed for for quite some time.This intimacy is something that has helped Anna start to feel better but it is short lived as she learns that parts of what she thought were true about Eleanor and Michaels relationship were actually lies and is repulsed by him. As Anna is asked to help with the birth of a bastard child from the Bradford Emily, she finds herself haggling with Elizabeth about receiving money to take the child and leave this city.There are many events that influence Anna change as a person but the biggest chance for her is not Just a spiritual one. She makes the move to Venice, with the Bradford child, and settles there missing some aspects of her old town but feeling safe and happy with her two daughters, feeling that she is now at home. Oh, The Places You'll Go! Shows how a person is able to be in control of their own physical and emotional Journey. This is presented to the reader through the narrator stating YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. ‘

Improving management with UK high performing companies Assignment

Improving management with UK high performing companies - Assignment Example 2005:5). W.L. conducts customer survey as a means of equipping the management with customer needs. Customer responsiveness would determine the survival of a company in the market or its exits. Understanding consumer behaviour is a mechanism that helps the company to develop management strategies, which target customers’ needs. Markets analysts believe that disparities that affect service quality would influence high performance of an organization. Balancing of management perceptions verses customer expectation is a factor that would influence the overall performance of the company. W.L. Gore approach to Performance Management W.L. Gore uses the following approaches to create an environment of performance management. First, W. L. Gore management has instituted teamwork in company performance. Production of products constitutes efforts from various departments in a company. For instance, manufacturing department has to lies with logistic department to deliver material in time. A ccounting department has to settle financial constrains of the company and human resource department has to ensure satisfaction. Organisations, which demonstrate elements of teamwork, post impressive results because they are able to respond to customer demands as well as employees needs (Allen and Wilburn, 2002:56). Motivation theories attribute employee satisfaction to the amount of services they deliver to the company. Quick respond of consumer expectations ensures that company remains viable in the market. Company’s sales indicate that consumers of the company’s product are happy about the quality offered in the market. Second, W.L. Gore management has introduced employee training with a view of equipping employees with skills required in challenging environment. Advances in... The paper introduces to the W.L. Gore as a material company, which has demonstrated high performance in UK. The service culture of the company puts it a notch high among other companies because it has been able to command a great success. The paper stresses out that W. L. Gore operates in a highly competitive environment. This challenge demands strategic approaches that would influence product behaviour in the market. What we are also reminded in the paper is the information that W.L. Gore uses the following approaches to create an environment of performance management: , its management has instituted teamwork in company performance. Second, W.L. Gore management has introduced employee training with a view of equipping employees with skills required in challenging environment. Third, W. L. Gore uses quality leadership to create an environment of high performance. Fourth, W. L. Gore demonstrates effective service delivery and product production because it has addressed issues, which i nfluence product supply and customer satisfaction. Then we are swiftly moved to another case, which is the Bacardi & Martini. The paper indicates that Bacardi & Martini UK case of performance management is due to competitive market environment, consumer behaviour, and change in technology. This assignment teaches that the consumer behaviour demonstrates the level of satisfaction, where you can also read specific examples about it. In conclusion, organisations address factors that influence employee satisfaction as well as customer responsiveness.

Drug testing in the public sector Research Paper

Drug testing in the public sector - Research Paper Example In this context we can refer to the research by the Ulster protestant, Brian Mawhinney, who was extremely against the application of mind altering drugs and considered it as highly immoral to provide syringes and needles for the purpose of treating the drug users. Mr. Mawhinney therefore conducted a survey for gathering data about the positive sides of those services and their role in preventing the infections from spreading. The research delivered results proving that genuine health related advantages can be gained through such services and consequently he started supporting the program. iFor further discussions on this issue it is necessary to go through the various thoughts and perceptions of the various researchers and their researches regarding drug testing particularly in the public sector. ... iolence, accidents and often lead to suicidal attempts that might give rise to long term absence from job, dropped level of performance, accidents and subsequently unemployment. Further the usage of illicit drugs causes psychiatric impairment and the injections used during drug intake can eventually spread communicable sickness like HIV and Hepatitis B and C.iii Illicit drug abuse proves to be a serious spoil for the health and safety of the drug addicts as well as the non addicts along with the society at large. For instance, the one who is driving a car and is under some drug influence, tends to cause accident to the passengers, pedestrians and the drivers of the other cars, and for this reason Drug Testing at the office especially in the public sectors must aim at trimming down the costs with respect to absenteeism, employee’s work life and productivity. According to the Quest Diagnostics director Barry Sample, â€Å"We all know how devastating a single accident can be whe n an impaired driver gets behind the wheel,†iv not only this, the work place should also try to eradicate drug abuse for the safety and security of the community.v The practice of drug testing is most widespread among the employees in responsive designations within the public sector, private transportation organizations and those dealing with the federal government.vi Role of Government CICAD plays a major role in the drug abuse eradication program specifically in the regions of Latin American and the United States. viiGovernment plays a crucial role in this regard since it is their duty to maintain and protect the society from any kind of abuse. In the year 1988, the Drug-Free Workplace Act had been passed by the congress government that ultimately gave rise to the Federal Workplace Drug Testing

Major Educational Issues in Further Education Essay

Major Educational Issues in Further Education - Essay Example All these issues are current concern to further education. Further Education has, therefore, become not only a national but also an international movement in view of its widespread global application. From among all above mentioned issues of further education, more important one appears to be specially the context of retention and achievement - its ever dynamic enhancement and persistent maintenance of higher standards. This is not possible without pupil-teachers -- at City & Guilds Certificate on Further Education Teaching Stage 2 - perfecting their teaching-learning skills. Two questions arise while writing about this matter: According to Learning and Skills Council (LSC), overall level of retention and achievement generally varies between 66 to 87 per cent among youth of 16 to 19 years (Government of United Kingdom, LSC) after due training. What is more important here is maintaining a consistent performance on the higher side of teaching and learning through dynamic and skilful efforts towards an excellent retention and achievement levels. How it is to be done S. Wallace has an interesting and revealing perspective in this matter. This author writes quite analytically: For a student teacher, or a teacher at the beginning of his or her career, it is usually (and understandably) the case that the focus of his or her anxieties, and therefore his or her planning, is upon the performance of teaching rather than upon the achievement of learning. I use the word 'performance' here advisedly, because the inexperienced or student teacher tends to envisage a lesson as a time to be filled by his or her own activity. They have to be 'teaching' all the time - which can mistakenly be taken to mean doing all the talking, making themselves the constant focus of the class, having to fill any potential silence with words. This, ironically, may mean the students have less opportunity to learn and that the teacher has no time to focus on whether they are doing so. If we remember, however, that the primary objective is about students' learning and that this, after all, is what all the teaching is for, we can begin to adjust our focus and to recognise that the careful pl anning, implementation and recording of assessment are central to what the lesson is about. It's not just about teaching; it's about learning. The teaching is only a means to that end (Wallace 64). Retention and achievement are clearly related to teaching and learning skills and maintaining quantitative alongwith qualitative levels of excellence through further education, continued and periodic updating of skills, and use of every possible tool for obtaining information, knowledge, experience and continuous self-assessment. How to impart information and knowledge is

HIV pandemic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HIV pandemic - Essay Example As such, the prevalence of the HIV epidemic continues to traverse across all quarters of the globe although the burden of the epidemic varies considerably between regions and countries. The worst hit region in the world is Sub-Saharan Africa whereby nearly one in every 20 adults is living with HIV, accounting for 71% of people living with HIV across the globe (Sidibà ©, Zuniga and Montaner 6). I am exploring this epidemic of HIV because I want to sensitize people on the prevalence of the disease, as well as assist in instituting significant changes that might bring down the afore-mentioned statistics. HIV and AIDS is not a killer disease as purported across various platforms, but a preventable and manageable health condition that people can live with and still fulfill all their dreams, goals and aspirations in life (Bahcall 1159). HIV refers to Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome mostly known as AIDS. As such, when this virus infects a person, he or she gets weak and loses ability to fight other opportunistic infections including even cancer. Many people who have the HIV virus end up testing positive for AIDS after developing other opportunistic infections, especially after their immunity levels drop. As such, having the HIV virus does not always means that one has AIDS (Dodds 790). However, a person can live as many years as possible with this virus before developing AIDS. HIV and AIDS are not curable diseases. As such, due to increase on research and medication available today, it is possible for a person to live a normal life with minimal interruption in quality of life. HIV normally attacks and destroys the CD4 white blood cells commonly known as the T-cell whose main function is to fight diseases in the body. As such, when the immune system of T-cells reduces to a very low point, one loses the ability to fight infections in his or her body. However, several conditions arise for patients infected

Learning Disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Learning Disability - Essay Example The learner does not frequently understand what he or she is reading. Confusing mathematical symbols plus numbers. Awkward pencil grasp and pitiable handwriting skills. Trouble observing multiple directions, organizing thoughts along with what they want to speak. Communication disorders Problems associated with speech, language as well as auditory processing. They range from uncomplicated sound repetitions like stuttering to sporadic misarticulation of terms, to absolute inability to utilize speech plus language for communications, or aphasia (Haynes, Moran, & Pindzola, 2011). The basis of communication disorders comprises hearing loss, neurological disorders, or brain injury. Others include mental retardation, history of drug abuse, emotional and psychiatric disorders, physical impairments like palate, and developmental disorders Characteristics includes: Difficulty in observing directions, attending to conversations, and articulating words. Difficulty in understanding the perceptio n of what has been said and expressing oneself. Do not observe social rules of conversation. Difficulty in using verbs. Difficulty comprehending jokes or sarcasm (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2012). Teaching strategies for learning disabilities It is important to begin by defining specific expectations with the learner first. Provide instantaneous reinforcement of accurate responses. Apply various modalities, like oral presentation, overheads, diagrams, and activity-based learning. Apply direct teaching methodology, such as phonics, or pronouncing words simultaneously. Use alternative evaluation methods, like an oral test, closed book test having dissimilar requirements for answers, and taped tests. Negotiate written assignments (Martin, 2008). Teaching strategies for communication disorders First understand what form of communication disorder the student has. Show consideration in terms of patience and acceptance Support speech practice through one-on-one conversations about their interests. Never mimic those with a speech disorder. Create practicing verbal skills sessions involving pairs of students as they read aloud, and working on problems orally, or otherwise play games which encourage speech development (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2012). Placement options for learning disabilities Learners with learning disabilities should be educated under least restrictive environment, with the flexible setup to meet the learner individual needs. This includes: General education class having aids and modifications. State special schools. General education class having specialist services, or residential program. Placement options for communication disorders Focus on classroom interactions, language and communications applied, so as to help students learn to communicate in these environments. Apply unambiguous language, as well as communication planning within a non-deliberate language applicat ion. For instance, unconscious selection of language is significant features of school and class environments (Haynes, Moran, & Pindzola, 2011).

Competitiveness and Customers Satisfaction Research Proposal

Competitiveness and Customers Satisfaction - Research Proposal Example Although current recession continues to be evident, economists project that as soon as the economy recovers local and international travel businesses would again progress. The US government (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2008) calculates that their number of international visitors will rebound by year 2010 and beyond. Thus, this is certainly a good news in tourism business; particularly those with high number of travelers as customers like hotels, restaurants, car rental companies, tourist attractions and online merchants. This study investigates he business competitiveness and customer satisfaction in "Airline Ticketing business", which is group in two varied settings: The Online booking and purchasing versus Office ticket booking and purchasing (Traditional booking and purchasing). Travel agencies would most likely benefit the study, since results can be one of their ultimate basis of In the totality, this research aims to assess by comparing the competitiveness and customer satisfaction in both Airline ticket online booking and purchasing, as well as Airline ticket Office ticket booking and purchasing - popularly called as the traditional booking and purchasing. The study intends to assess by comparing the competitiveness and customer satisf... 1. Determine the marketing strategies adopted by Airline ticket online booking and purchasing and office airline ticket booking and purchasing businesses' 2. Assess the level of competitiveness in Airline ticket online booking and purchasing and office airline ticket booking and purchasing businesses in terms of: a. Number of successful airline ticket bookings b. Number of successful airline ticket purchases c. Companies' Net Income d. Current total number of customers 3. Find out the level of customer satisfaction in Airline ticket online booking and purchasing and office airline ticket booking and purchasing businesses to the companies' based on: a. Customer Services a.1. Customer-Customer Service Representative Interaction a.2. Customer assistance b. General facilities & accessibility c. Costs Office and Online 3 4. Test the significant difference in the competitiveness and customer satisfaction of Airline ticket online booking and purchasing and office airline ticket booking and purchasing businesses. 5. Establish the significant relationship between the level of competitiveness of Airline ticket booking and purchasing and the level of their customers' satisfaction. Problem Statement The study intends to assess by comparing the competitiveness and customer satisfaction in both Airline ticket online booking and purchasing, as well as Airline ticket Office ticket booking and purchasing - popularly called as the traditional booking and purchasing. The entire course is further directed to answer the specific questions below: 1. What marketing strategies are adopted by Airline ticket online booking and purchasing and office airline ticket booking and purchasing businesses' 2. How competitive are

Leadership and darwin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership and darwin - Essay Example Indeed, human beings are known to be highly adaptable to their external environment so as to optimize their success within the given paradigm of work environment. In the highly competitive business of contemporary times, the workforce continuously strives to creatively evolve skills and strategies that would optimize the intended output. The organizational culture that facilitates learning environment and promote shared learning is able to gain competitive advantage. It helps the workers with wider scope to improve his skills and core competencies for improved performance outcome. Thus change is not an inherent part of development but also serves as vital input for motivating people to adapt to challenging environment. Most interestingly, Darwin’s theory becomes critical ingredient of organizational leadership. Leadership primarily refers to people who are able to bring about changes within the society. Indeed, effective leaders are able to inspire people to adopt more accommo dating approach to changing dynamics of environment. The inherent traits of leaders are important paradigms that support Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

Sexual Selection Essay Example for Free

Sexual Selection Essay Ornamental traits have always been known to be important in attracting mates. However, it has been unclear for a long time why this is the case. The sexy sons hypothesis proposes that females choose showier males and engage in polygamous relationships in order to maximize the viability of their offspring. The pathogen avoidance model states that females select for showier males in order to protect themselves and eventually their offspring from infection as these males are overall more healthy. Both theories fall short in that they do not acknowledge the importance of parenting in the health of offspring as sometimes, theoretically more viable offspring don’t thrive due to having low amounts of paternal care. I analyzed many different studies that have been performed throughout the years in an attempt to unravel this clash of views among many respected evolutionary biologists. Though it is inconclusive which theory of sexual selection is more representative of nature, this paper demonstrates the complexities involved in both theories and why potentially, both may be correct in one way or another. Introduction Sexual Selection is a very important driving force in nature and even in our everyday lives. However, it is important to note that it is only prevalent if it goes against mechanisms of natural selection. Essentially, secondary sex traits are costly to the individual and are therefore not optimal to have. Instead, one must acknowledge that the goal of an organism’s existence in an evolutionary standpoint is to reproduce. Having these costly ornaments is only selected for because they must in some way increases an individual’s likeliness to produce offspring—even at the cost of survivorship and viability. Two very important mechanisms of sexual selection that are known are the sexy son hypothesis and the pathogen avoidance model. The sexy son hypothesis states that females choose males with showier or more attractive traits in order to select for genes for pathogen resistance in order to pass those â€Å"good genes† onto their offspring. The pathogen avoidance model states that females select for males with secondary sex traits in order to distinguish between the diseased and the healthy males in order to stay safe from pathogens. Both theories are widely used to explain many evolutionary trends, but are they mutually exclusive? It is possible that both theories are correct in certain scenarios. However, one must look into the mechanisms of both in order to find out. Overview of Sexy Sons Hypothesis  The sexy son hypothesis which was popularized by Ronald Fisher is currently stated as a possible explanation for the great diversity of ornamental traits in animals. These ornamental traits are known to negatively affect the longevity of the individual but benefits its reproductive success. Essentially, females prefer to choose attractive and showier mates in order to produce attractive sons who are selected for by females, which leads to greater amount of grandchildren and so on. On top of that, through this theory, the idea is presented that females don’t simply select for the trait itself, but instead for the possession of the trait. The difference, no matter how subtle, is important to acknowledge because theoretically, a male may possess a trait that is actually harmful to the mating relationship but is still desirable. As long as the trait itself signals â€Å"better genes† in terms of offspring health, it doesn’t matter what the trait itself isthe possession of that trait is enough. One such example of this is the trait of infidelity in a monogamous relationship. Though it is â€Å"better† to remain in that single mate relationship for the female because it allows her genes to be passed down instead of another member of the same species, the trait of infidelity may actually signal vigor and health in males and thus, the female will still be attracted. This leads to children who are also non-monogamous and through many generations, the non-monogamous, â€Å"good genes† are passed down to multiple grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc. Another aspect of the sexy son hypothesis involves female selection for male genes through the selection of â€Å"good sperm†. In terms of long term success in reproduction (offspring which also produce many offspring), individuals should encounter many potential partners and when better partners are found, they should re-mate in order to maximize health of offspring. It is apparent the sexy son hypothesis argues heavily against monogamy and in favor of polygamy due to polygamy’s ability to maximize mate quality and quantity. The current social structure in many species today including humans revolves around monogamy, and the sexy son hypothesis proposes that monogamy is simply not optimal due to not maximizing reproductive success. The question arises: why does monogamy exist in many social constructs if it is contradictory to the single goal of evolutionto reproduce? Thus, it is important to justify the presence of monogamy in order for the sexy son hypothesis to hold true. It is a prevalent question in the scientific community to this day why monogamy exists. Most families in nature involve heavy emphasis on maternal care which leads the male to provide for and invest in less than the female parent. Natural selection has so far favored this relationship where females invest a lot of energy into caring for offspring while males compete with other males of the same species for females. What current evolutionary biology supports is that that optimal mating protocol involves the pursuit of many partners to maximize offspring. Fit males are defined by the statement that If x is fitter than y, then probably x will have more descendants than y (Pence, C., and Ramsey, G., 2013). Essentially, a fit individual is one whose probability of spreading their genes to the next generation is relatively high which only seems to back up the theoretical prevalence of polygamy where monogamy currently exists. Many theories for the justification of the presence of monogamy exist but I will be going over the process of male mate guarding. Male mate guarding is defined as the close association between a male and female prior to and/or after copulation for paternity assurance (Brotherton, et al. 2003). One thing that a group of evolutionary biologists discovered was that the availability of partners plays a large role in this discrepancy (Schacht, Ryan, and Adrian V. Bell 2016). What this means is that in communities where males are valued over females (male-biased gene pool), for example in humans, females to mate with may be a scarce resource. This may lead the males to act in their best interests and achieve paternity with one female. This is possibly because with a lack of females, each female is viewed as more â€Å"valuable† and thus paternity with multiple females may have too big of a time expended/risk to reward ratio as competition will be extreme. This leads to males that are more fit to mate with the limited number of females and the males that are not as fit will be left out as there are such limited resources. This shows that in the sexy sons hypothesis, the concept of limited female availability is not accounted for as the primary goal is to maximize offspring fitness and survivability by mating with numerous different mates. Though I have talked about male mate guarding, the same concept applies to females in the context of sexual selection as females must be choosy with males (limited males) and expending too much time with non fit males (time expended vs reward) takes away from potentially producing offspring.