Spunk: Kill and Story

Brianna Walton English 101 What Goes Around Comes Around Men’s role in the eyes of society is to be the head of the house, to provide for the family, and to be physically and mentally strong. They are taught not to show their emotions but to bury them. Society has taught us that the aggressive man will run the bigger business, make more money, eventually have a more successful life. Men who tend to be soft spoken and timid are looked at as weak in the eyes of others as well as in society. In Zora Neale Hurston's â€Å"Spunk,† there is a conflict between Joe and Spunk. Spunk is having relations with Lena, Joe's wife. Joe seeks revenge and Spunk kills him. Ultimately Spunk is killed supposedly by Joe's evil spirit. The language captures the tone in the story, which strengthens the saying â€Å"what goes around comes around†. Spunk is looked at as the town’s hero because he is not afraid of anything and he is physically strong, when in all actuality he should not be glorified by the town’s people because he is nothing but a bully. Joe is the exact opposite of Spunk, he is physically weak but mentally strong. The purpose of this story is to show that the physically bigger male doesn’t always win. Karma is always out looking for revenge and eventually the man that has spunk will be shown. Spunk is first introduced as a giant brown-skinned man that’s known for his bravery. The town’s people rejoice as they see him even though he is walking arm and arm with someone else’s wife. He is seen as the â€Å"ideal† male because he is strong and brave. Joe’s introduction is completely different. He is immediately looked at as weak by the town’s people because at the mention of his wife you could see the pain he was suffering in his eyes, his face, his hands, and even the dejected slump of his shoulders showed the pain he was suffering from the absence of his wife. It is obvious that Joe is not respected by his peers. Joe pulls out the razor to show them that he plans on killing Spunk, they don’t believe that he has what it takes to kill Spunk. They even go as far as laughing boisterously behind his back as they watched him go into the woods. The overall tone used in â€Å"Spunk† is seriousness and irony. The serious tone is shown when its seen that Joe’s wife is having a public affair: â€Å"Now Joe knew his wife had passed that way. He knew that the men lounging in the general store had seen her, moreover, he know that the men knew he knew. † This means Hurston uses this conflict to create a serious tone in the story. Moreover, a bigger conflict with Joe and Spunk occurs: â€Å"Joe came out there wid a meat axe an' made me kill him. This also sets up a serious tone. Hurston uses this conflict to fuel the next part of the tone in the story. There is also ironic tone in the story † But Spunk says twan't no bob-cat nohow. He says it was Joe done sneaked back from hell! † The author sets this tone up by making the story supernatural and spiritual. The mood in the story that seemed to arise was anger. The first part of the anger is towards Lena. â€Å"Lena looked at him real disgusted but s he don't answer and she don't move outa her tracks. She was cheating on her husband in public. She should have divorced him or fully left Joe, instead of mistreating and humiliating him in public. The second part of the anger is towards Joe. â€Å"One could actually see the pain he was suffering, his eyes, his face, his hands, and even the dejected slump of his shoulders. † The reader wonders why Joe let Lena and Spunk make a fool out of him. For that, the reader is angry at Joe’s timid personality. In â€Å"Spunk,† Hurston uses a series of language devices. The allusion element is vividly used: â€Å"Joe came out there wid a meat axe an made me kill him. He sent Lena home and led the men back to Joe-crumpled and limp with is right hand still clutching his razor. † Hurston sets Spunk up to be an over-exaggerator in the story without saying he is. The author also uses the conversation between the Elijah and Walter to exhibit the distinctive dialogue: â€Å"Ah like him fine but tain't right the way he carries on wid Lena Kanty, jus' 'cause Joe's timid about fightin'. This form of down south olden' days slang give a different edge to the story, that the reader does not experience in modern day. The story displays a dramatic irony: â€Å"It was Joe, â€Å"Lige that dirty sneak shoved me†¦ he didn't dare come to mah face†¦ † This makes the reader say isn't that ironic. Hurston displays Spunk to be the bad guy he is that killed the good guy, then is killed. In the beginning of the story an allusion is presented to the reader: † Looka theah folks! cried Elijah Mosley, slapping his knee gleefully. ‘Theah they go, big as life an' brassy as tacks. † This gives the reader the conception that there is going to be some drama in the story. The dialogue in this story establishes realism: â€Å"Gimme some soda water. Sass'prilla, Ah Reckon. † The dialect shows the reader the setting is probably during the days when blacks did not have an education or wasn't really allowed to get educated. The dramatic irony enriches and evokes the central idea: â€Å"If spirits kin fight, there's a powerful tussle goin' on somewhere ovah Jordan, cause Ah b'leeve Joe's ready for Spunk an'aint skeered of anymore†¦ Karma gave the illusion that Joe returned and killed Spunk. However Spunk's guiltiness about killing Joe led him to his fate. The dominant element of â€Å"Spunk† is the central idea, karma. Hurston exhibits karma: † He pushed me ‘Lige-the dirty hound pushed me in the back! † Spunk Banks was claiming Joe Kanty's evil spirit kill him. Spunk took Joe's wife and killed him, nevertheless Spunk died. This is a classic case of what goes around comes around.

Unit 9 Nvq Level 3

Unit 9 1. 1 As a nursery nurse you need to contribute to a programme of age-appropriate activities designed to stimulate the children you are working with: †¢ Keep an accurate record of achievement file on your key children †¢ Be a pro-active team member, offering appropriate support to your colleagues †¢ Liaise with and support parents and other family members †¢ Attend ALL out of working hours activities, e. g. training, monthly staff meetings, parents’ evenings, summer fayre, Christmas party, etc. †¢ Be flexible within working practices of the Nursery.Be prepared to help where needed, including domestic jobs within the Nursery, e. g. preparation of snack meals, cleaning equipment etc. †¢ Work with the Manager and her team to ensure that the Nursery’s philosophy is reflected †¢ Record accidents in the accident book. Make sure that parents read and sign the report. †¢ Look at the Nursery as a ‘whole’, where your help is most needed and how you can most effectively meet the needs of the children in your care †¢ Make sure that every child is collected by someone known to the Nursery †¢ Respect the confidentiality of information received Develop your role within the team, especially your role as a key worker †¢ Specified Child Care Tasks: a. Prepare and complete activities that match the child’s stage of development b. Make sure that mealtimes are a time of pleasant social sharing c. Wash and change children as required d. Provide comfort and warmth to an unhappy or sick child †¢ Help to make sure that the environment meets the needs of Nursery children, reflecting their cultures and religious backgrounds, and stages of development †¢ Be aware of the high profile of the Nursery and to uphold its standards at all times. . 2 In my role I am expected to support the staff, to be reliable and build a good relationship with the children, encouraging them to the best of th eir ability in their learning, to assist their growth in knowledge and assist in enhancing their development, so they can grow holistically. To be aware of any weak areas that I come across whilst working with the children, for example a child that may need extra support within their numeracy, literacy or phonics time. I am also expected to deal, to the best of my ability, with challenging aggressive, rude or traumatised children.Whilst I may need to do this at times I am also aware that the class teacher is there for support. I have had to deal with bad language used by a pupil when dealing with the child I explained that the words used where not words that should be used. I found out why the pupil had said those words and asked what words we could use instead. As well as working with my own class teacher I can be asked at times to go and support another teacher in another class. I am expected to adapt very quickly to the other class and to the lesson there having.My role also mean s that I will support the children so they are confident in their journey though the school. It is important that I conduct myself in the correct manner within the school as children will often mirror others actions. I remain professional at all times and act appropriately. 2. 1 As part of our job role it is important to carry out reflective practice especially because we work with children/young people and our effectiveness will have an impact on them and their learning.Reflective practice means thinking about and evaluating what you do and discussing any changes which could be made. This means focusing on how we interact with colleagues, service users and the environment. It means thinking about how we could have done something differently, what we did well, what we could have done better. How we can improve what you have done. It also means reflecting our own values, beliefs and experiences which shape our thoughts and ideas.This will allow us to obtain a clearer picture of your own behaviour and a better understanding of our strengths and weaknesses- so that we can learn from our own mistakes and take appropriate future actions. Improving the quality of our performance: – Allows us an objective look at our practice in order to improve    – Helps us to recognise what we do well so that we can apply these skills in other situations    – Improves professional judgment – Helps us to learn from successes and mistakes to enhance development    –Helps us to plan for future situations and therefore respond more positively to change    – Enables us to apply the skill of reflection to the personal development cycle Reflective practice allows us to support the children better and better- if we have concerns about how the session went we can look back and work out what more we could have done. We may have used one resource and found it useful and then choose it again with another child. 2. 3 Everyone has different valu es, beliefs and preferences.What you believe in, what you see as important and what you see as acceptable or desirable is an essential part of who you are. The way in which you respond to people is linked to what you believe in, what you consider important and what interests you. You may find you react positively to people who share your values and less warmly to people who have different priorities. When you develop friendships, it is natural to spend time with people who share your interests and values. However, the professional relationships you develop with people you support are another matter.As a professional, you are required to provide the same quality of support for all, not just for those who share your views and beliefs. This may seem obvious, but knowing what you need to do and achieving it successfully is not the same thing. 3. 1 It is a nursery nurse’s duty to provide a safe, warm and caring environment where children feel welcomed and loved and are able to lea rn and develop at their own pace, with guidance and supervision as appropriate, in order that parent may have peace of mind to go to work knowing that their child’s well-being is paramount.The duties and responsibilities are: †¢ To listen to parents as experts on their own children, to respect families traditions and childcare practices and to follow parents’ wishes as closely as possible within the context of caring for children from several different families. †¢ To plan and provide activities and resources appropriate to each child’s age, stage of development and individual needs and interests with due regard the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). †¢ To provide a safe environment, both at the child minders property and on outings.To teach children safe practices and to hold a current first aid certificate. †¢ To maintain discipline and encourage positive behaviour. †¢ To be aware of the signs and symptoms which i ndicate the possibility of abuse and to be aware of the current procedure for reporting concerns. †¢ To provide a varied nutritional menu with due regard to the dietary requirements of each child, parents wishes and the current professional recommendations for children’s diets. †¢ To provide a healthy environment and to encourage children to make healthy choices. To liaise with and, where necessary, to seek advice from professionals, with due regard to confidentiality, including preschool leaders, school teachers, health visitor. †¢ To adhere to requirements set out by relevant authorities such as Ofsted, insurance providers, inland revenue. †¢ To comply with relevant legislation such as that covering health and safety, food hygiene, fire or planning requirements and to keep appropriate records with due regard to confidentiality. †¢ To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).A child minder should also love and nurture every ch ild so they grow confident and strong and develop into healthy and caring young people and adults. 4. 1 While at work it helps me when I have an appraisal meeting with the manager, this is because I can pick out the things I think I do best and the things I don’t do as good as I should be doing. This is also useful as the manager will have some points to speak to me about things so then I can use these to help me become a professional nursery practitioner. It’s also useful when I get supervised through new things e. when I first got key children I got so much help and supervision through this that it made me become stronger at work. 5. 1 The reasons why it is important to evaluate learning activities are: †¢ To see what is working and what needs removing or changing       †¢ To assess how the activities are being delivered and how they could be improved       †¢ To see how the activities are being received by the participants Evaluation is import ant as it helps out when planning and helps you to think about the learning that has taken place.Spending time going through the learning activities and seeing how students have responded to a certain task or question, can really help re-shape it for future classes. It is also important to look back at the learning objects so you can measure what the children have learned. If you do not think carefully about learning objectives at the planning stage, it will not always be possible to evaluate whether pupils have achieved them. Learning objectives need to be clear for this to be possible. †¢ Learners must understand what the outcomes mean. †¢ They must be achievable. †¢ We must be able to assess pupils against them.Evaluating helps you to see if something is succeeding or may need changing. If students whizzed through the activity and then looked rather bored then it would be obvious that the task was a bit too easy and not really suitable or beneficial for that group. Therefore you would need to try and make it more engaging and stimulating, perhaps by making it more difficult or time-consuming so the students really have to work to complete it. If the activities are taking longer than expected and you can see that the students are really struggling, things again would need to be addressed.

Pompeii: Tales from the Eruption Essay

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston had an art exhibition entitled â€Å"Pompeii: Tales from the Eruption†. There are almost 500 artifacts and cast of the remnants of dying people that were showcased. It also included a documentary film about the discovery of these artifacts and footage of the fierce eruption of Mt Vesuvius. The artifacts presented are tools of trade, jewelries, like necklaces and bracelets, murals and paintings, marble statues, and mosaics. One of the jewelries displayed is the golden snake bracelet. It is designed with a two headed snake biting the rims of the circle with an engraved figure of a lady, it maybe a goddess worshiped at the time. The helmet of the gladiators is also displayed. Gladiators are like wrestling superstars we idolized today, they are brave fighters who kill one another for freedom. They are the pitiful warriors used as an entertainment by the emperors and the people. There are also statues like the Statuette of Mercury which is made form gold and silver. Mercury is wearing a golden hat and a golden bag hanged over his neck. He carried a staff with wings and snakes, it is like the medical symbol, caduceus. And beside him is a cock with a golden collar. On the other hand, the Head of an Amazon is made from marble in mid-1st century AD. It was founded at the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, the city beside Pompeii, this is one of the best Roman copies of a type of Amazon of the Classical period. One of the amazing artifacts is the Triclinium A founded in . It is a mural of the god of music, Apollo, playing his lyre with his two muses on his side, Euterpe and Cleo. Apollo wears his cloak over his shoulders, he carried his lyre on his left arm and his head was adorned by laurel leaves. The mural is a fresco brightly colored in red, which was once displayed in a dining room. In connection with the dining room, is the silver Kantharos. It is a wine cup embellished with olives. In Roman beliefs, olives and wine are symbols of wealth. It can be predicted that these objects are used as status symbol by the rich citizens of the old city.   The Mosaic with Gorgon, House of the Centenary, Pompeii, is a floor mosaic from glass and stone tiles. It was designed and intricately arranged with different figures in the upper and lower portions. At the center inside a circle is the face of the gorgon Medusa, in Roman culture gorgon is an ugly creature. Medusa as we commonly know is a women cursed with snakes in her head. It is believed that anyone who looked into her eyes turned into stone. That is why; the floor mosaic at that time is used to ward off evil spirits and intruders alike. These objects provided a glimpse of the culture and lifestyle of the people of Pompeii. As the artifacts suggest, inhabitants of Pompeii are elegant people, they are the type that loves entertainment and jewelries like the ones we see in epic movies about Rome. These golden bracelets, statues and murals we see today were once flaunted by the gorgeous people of the old city. It reminded me of the rich city before it was devastated by the gruesome lavas that burst out from Mt Vesuvius. The eruption of the gory volcano was painted by Pierre-Jacques Volaire in 1777. The oil painting depicts the violent upsurge of molten lava from the mouth of Mt Vesuvuis. The lava is like a monster engulfing everything that comes his way living or non-living. There are people crossing the bridge, scurrying and running helplessly to save their lives and over the sky hanged the black clouds. The painting looked alive to me. I felt like I was there, struggling among the throngs of wallowing children and shrieking men and women.   It felt like the 911 incident although it does not relate from nature but the catastrophic event and the devastation. The eruption of the volcano in Pompeii was experience by the people; my experience in the 911 incident is only through media coverage. However, it still felt achingly the same. There are other depressing objects showcased in the museum. The plaster cast of a mother and her child that was found on the same house where the golden bracelet was discovered was totally heartbreaking. I can almost feel the terror the mother would have felt and how she fervently prays for God to save her daughter. There are more remnants of people found, in the large Palaestra and the Via Stabiana. The picture of the cast from the staircase of the House of Fabius Rufus showed how desperately people tried to escape from the wrath of the volcano yet they were ferociously burnt by the sea of molten lava. If I were caught in that deadly situation, I would probably feel as if the world was coming to an end as described by all religious denominations. I would have been praying so hard for God to come and rescue me, although I could imagine, at that time all you can hear were the terrifying screams and cries from all the inhabitants running for their lives over the thundering rage of the volcano. And although it happened years ago, I still felt sorry for them, I hope that their soul will find peace someday. My visit at the museum is an experience that will never be forgotten. It arose a state of awareness in me that made me realized how tragic life could be, I remembered the different tragedies that had walk and distraught the different life forms in earth; hurricane Katrina, World War 1 and 2, the tsunami in Indonesia, and the 911 incident. It made me feel angry and anxious because I know when this disasters occur we cannot do anything about it but I am thankful and happy because after all those catastrophes we have move on, we are still continuing to live our life until the end. All these mixed emotions overwhelmed me as I watch all the objects presented in the museum. It has been a sensible learning experience that relates the world today and the city that once live gloriously, the city of Pompeii. Works Cited Focus work of Art: The Eruption of Mt Vesuvuis. North Carolina Museum of Art. 14 April 2008 < http://www.ncartmuseum.org/artnc/object.php?themeid=1&objectid=1>. Houston, Museum of Fine Arts â€Å"Pompeii. Tales from an Eruption. 2 Mar 2008. Eosarte.eu. 14 April 2008 . Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. 14 April 2008

Susan Sontag on Photography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Susan Sontag on Photography - Essay Example In all of her works, Sontag believed that the proliferation of photographic images had developed a worldwide recognition that photographs ought to be exact representations of reality. Thus, the essence of photography is pure reflection of reality. As such, every photographer must know, both technically and artistically, the proper way of capturing images in order to deliver a pure message about a phenomenon. In this paper, we intend to examine further some of Sontag’s critical teachings about photography by emphasizing on its purpose, the ideal relation between the photographer and his subject, and the key issues surrounding the practice of photography. After this, we deepen our understanding on the essence of photography by looking at one essential issue, that is, the problem of photo manipulation in modern photojournalism. In this part, we first study the trends in photographic manipulation to understand how the practices have been caused, either directly or indirectly, by t echnological and commercial innovations. After this, we discuss why and how photo manipulation is done. Such topics are to be discussed in relation to specific cases of photo manipulation in the mass media like newspapers and magazines. ... A. Important Ideas: Susan Sontag’s On Photography Susan Sontag condemned photography by asserting that it only delivers images that are nothing more than shadows of reality. As she metaphorically strengthened this thesis, humans who view photographs are like trapped men in a cave who only see the shadows of the outside world. What they deem as ‘real’ are actually distorted reflections of reality. To arrive at a more meaningful discussion of On Photography, let us first delve into her definition of photography. To Sontag, to photograph is to appropriate to the thing being photographed. It is an act of non-intervention. Thus, there should be distance between the photographer and his subject. However, she believed that since photographs do not provide contextual stories about the world, they become miniatures of reality. The world, therefore, becomes a series of unrelated particles or phenomena, with no interconnectedness or continuity. But the capacity to imitate re ality is not the only definitive characteristic of photography, for in the artistic activity of the photographer he is able to elevate his creations as pretentious works of art. As narrated by Bridget Brimer in her online article entitled Literary Interpretation and Analysis of Susan Sontag's Book, On Photography, Chapter 1: "In Plato's Cave", through the use of various skills in photography, the photographer is able to convert a phenomenon into an image that provides a transient experience to its intended audience. Thus, Sontag saw the act of photographing as symbolic shooting, or even raping. Sontag reckoned that photographing is like raping since the photographer sees his subject in a manner that is unavailable to himself (subject’s). He gains knowledge about

Career Trends Assignment (Restaurant and Hospitality Management) Coursework

Career Trends Assignment (Restaurant and Hospitality Management) - Coursework Example (3) Social trends is another factor that affects career growth where fads and shifts in social philosophies outlines which industries are more or less demanding career-wise .(4) Population affects career trends given that people of different age, gender and, education have varying demand of goods and services. On this, people are able to outline what jobs falls on the path for them to satisfy their demands. (5) Politics and economic factors outline policies that direct the flow of goods and services in the market, and inflation factors that affect hiring rates. (6) Life roles apart from being employed people play other roles in life e.g. parenting, student, or childhood. How we think about them may influence how we look at careers in general and how we make choice in our lives (All Star Directories, 2011). The above factors are important in career trends, especially in the hospitality industry. Hospitality industry being a day-to-day industry requires skilled and trained personnel to be involved. Economic globalization in this industry, where people of different cultures need our services, provides room for career growth in linguistics. New technology brings about more skilled personnel to embrace it in the industry (Jitendra, 2008). It creates career growth for persons to take a career path in adapting the new technology in this industry. Demographic here means that more people will have high demand for our services. Social trends in philosophies influence peoples’ habits. It opens new doors, example on emphasis on living a healthy life or taking rest will make people look for hotels where these factors are essential. Careers will be open for people to learn on how the philosophies affect the industry (Jitendra, 2008). There are a number of career trends in the hotel with predictable outcomes. First is where employers are raising the educational bar. This has made many colleges that use

Healt Care Reforms & Affordable Care Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Healt Care Reforms & Affordable Care Act - Essay Example Also this paper tries to compare Canadian & US health care systems. Health Care Reforms & Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act puts in place strong consumer protections, provides new coverage options and gives you the tools you need to make informed choices about the health. This act aims at providing affordable health care to individuals & families by reducing the premium costs, capping out-of-pocket expenses and providing tax relief for businesses. Also, for those who didn’t have insurance cover earlier, would be able choose a convenient plan for them. The ‘insurance exchange ‘intends to provide buying power by offering affordable choices of private insurance plans. Also small businesses will get new tax credit to help offset the cost of covering their employees (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services) Conditions that led to the introduction of the bill In US, increasing health care costs in the last few years have has been a great economic burden on i ndividuals, organizations and also fort the government. There has been a steady increase in the proportion of individuals without a health insurance cover. The recent estimate from the Census Bureau indicates that more than 46 million were uninsured in 2008 (Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers).Increase in healthcare costs and spending on health care has been consistently increase at a higher rate than the growth in GDP. Recent projections suggest that total spending in the U.S. health care sector exceeded $2.5 trillion in 2009, representing 17.6 % of GDP. (Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers) For organizations, healthcare cost is a main component in employee total remuneration and steady incline in the health care costs has started showing its effects on their base salary. This is because organizations provide wages and benefits; such increasing health care costs tend to reduce the proportionate increases in salary. The steady growth in health care spending has placed a n increasingly heavy financial burden on individuals and families. Governments & Local authorities are also struggling with this upward movement spending on health care. Spending on the means-tested Medicaid program now the second largest category of outlays in their budgets, just behind elementary and secondary education. (Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers) Economic Effects of the bill Healthcare reforms bill has various provisions like guaranteed issue and partial community rating. These provisions would help the applicants with similar demographics to obtain the same premium from the insurers without regard to many of the pre-existing medical conditions. Under this bill, all individuals and families with incomes up to 133% of the poverty level are eligible for Medicaid facility and Low income persons and families above the Medicaid level and up to 400% of the federal poverty level will be provided with Federal subsidies. Small business that doesn’t offer health cov erage to their employees will also share the responsibility healthcare spending. Also co-sharing & deductibles are to be eliminated for select insurance benefits in the "essential benefits package" like for Level A or Level B preventive care (Wikipedia) Affordable care act provides for deduction on Medicare tax on Individual or Family income over $200- 250K and this becomes a major source of revenue for the healthcare reforms. Also insurance

Globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Globalisation - Essay Example This country has a multi-ethical population of 39 million as per 2010 of which 82.6% are Christians, 11.2% Muslims and other religions take the remaining 6%. It is currently in a transition stage trying to implement a new constitution that was adapted in 2010 a process in which it is planning to move from its current administrative subdivisions of 140 districts and 7 provinces to a form that will have 47 counties each with an elected governor. The GDP of this country as by 2010 was estimated at $ 32 billion with an annual growth rate of 5.4%. Its main parts of the economy are tourism, agriculture, and light industries. In addition, it has six full-pledged public universities and approximately thirteen private ones (Bureau of public affairs 2012). Globalization has played a great role in shaping the African economic and political landscape (Falola & House-soremekun 2011). Kenya being one of them, it has experienced drastic changes on various aspects of its economy. Agriculture is the engine of the Kenyan economy (Robbins & Ferris 2003). Although Kenya has almost all its northern and northeastern parts as semi-arid, it continues to enjoy vast agricultural productions from its southern, western, and central part that are agriculturally productive. In the recent years, we have had what we call globalization of markets, which has enabled this country to export its excess agricultural products. It has also enabled it to get more farm inputs and equipment to enhance its agricultural productivity. Globalization, through globalized market has been a very big boost to the economy of this country. Another impact of globalization on Kenya’s agricultural sector is attraction of foreign investors. These investors, who have mainly invested in horticultural products planted on large tracts of land for export, have caused an increase in Kenya’s exports to other countries resulting to Kenya being ranked among the leading exporters of vegetables and other horticultu ral products in the European Union market (Mithofer & Waibel 2011). Another important sector of this country economy is the tourism sector. This country has a vast range of natural resources that include landscape, people, climate, and wildlife (Bowden 2007). These natural resources act as tourists’ attraction. Globalization has enabled this country to enjoy an increasing number of tourists’ visitation. According to Jafari (2003), Kenya is the most popular tourists’ destination in Africa, receiving about 6% of the total tourists who visit the African continent. This sector has played a very vital role in this the economic development of this country. Another way that globalization has contributed in improvement of this sector is through attraction of foreign investors. These investors build resorts and other facility on tourist attraction points, which provide accommodation and other services to tourists. Actually, I think is the sector of the Kenyan economy tha t has experienced the impact of globalization. Globalization has also influenced greatly the Kenyans ‘lifestyle. With market diversity, which results from globalization, Kenya has been able to import some of the products that it does not produce locally. According to (USTR 2005) Kenya is currently the 80th largest export market for U.S. goods. These exports have greatly influenced the people’s lifestyle form their eating habits to the way they communicate and socialize with one another. It is

Climate Change and Management and Mitigation Term Paper

Climate Change and Management and Mitigation - Term Paper Example In the contemporary environment of fast advancing technology and rapid globalization, climate change has become a major concern for the environmentalists. The various drivers of climate greatly contribute towards sustenance of life and determine characteristics and distribution of ‘natural and managed system including the cryosphere, hydrology and water resources, marine and freshwater biological systems, terrestrial biological systems, agriculture, and forestry’(Parmesan and Yohe, 2003; Thomas et al., 2004). The managed system can broadly be defined as systems that have considerable human input like agriculture, health etc. Hence, the interdependence of the systems becomes an important factor for the wider implications of climate change. The rapid advancement of technology has brought about a massive change in our lifestyle which has not always been in our best interest. Some of the ways and means, which have contributed to our better living conditions, have also brought certain challenges in its wake that needs our urgent attention. The limited natural resources like water, land and fresh air are being taken for granted with scarce regard for the future legacy that our children are going to inherit from us.   The history has been witness to gradual and abrupt climate change through the millions of years which has been responsible for the extinction of living organisms, including plants, animals and human life. The changes in the physical geography of the earth have also been contributed to the abrupt changes in the earth’s climate caused due to some known and unknown factors. The Eastern Island Civilization and Maya civilization ar e prime examples of climate change caused primarily due to the widespread ramification of a highly developed society and urbanization.  

Violence in the workplace(hospital nursing department)plan of action Essay

Violence in the workplace(hospital nursing department)plan of action - Essay Example The proposed program to respond to the issue of workplace violence in nursing, workshop will be conducted among the nursing staff. There are four main components of the interventions: assessment, program development, implementation and evaluation. The whole program will consist of three months for assessment and dry runs, twelve sessions during a period of six months and three months for the evaluation of the program. Successful outcomes for the intervention will be established at 50% decrease in reported cases of violent behavior among nursing staff and satisfaction rating of 75% from participants. Assessment will determine were conflicts or violence occurs between nursing staff. The dry-runs will be evaluated as they are completed and will serve as reinforcement to workshop strategies. The program development will involve nursing managers, human resource development consultants and staff representatives. The implementation of the programs will be initiated with a series of three work shop sessions with eight to ten participants. Participants will be chosen at random among the population defined as most vulnerable or susceptible to conflicts that led to violence. The issue of violence either against or by nursing professionals has a considerable impact to society not just health care. Current legislation emphasizes the responsibility of administrators and managers to create safe and secure working environments. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (2002), the safety and well-being of nursing professionals directly affects the quality, delivery and value of health services. Though the workplace safety statutes have been in place to address the issue in the industry, the NIOSH (2002) saw it fit to develop specific legislation for the nursing profession in consideration of th professional exposure to risk, stress and violence. Case in point:

Confidential Human Resource Records Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Confidential Human Resource Records - Essay Example These files could be found in the form of electronic data or paper. The human resource department is highly responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of employee records. The employee records can be divided into three types including personnel file, payroll files, and employee medical file. The data is entailed personnel file includes a job application, contact information, resumes, copy of appointment letter, performance record, etc. The payroll file contains a history on employee compensation record, loans, incentives, etc. The employee medical record is kept under extreme security as it contains employee health record and medical check-up history. The confidentiality of these records is of prime importance. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) demands confidentiality of the information related to employee health insurance given by the employer. Similarly the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ensure the confidentiality of employee health and medical record. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) recommends that HR personnel should implement practices for assuring confidentiality by making separate files for keeping each record. The access to these files must be granted under specific conditions (â€Å"The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission† 1). In Ohio, there is no law, which allows an employer to permit an employee the access to his or her personnel record. However, there are two exceptions in which the employee could access the information under specific conditions mentioned in Ohio State law. According to Ohio Revised Code 4113.23(A) the organization, hospital, laboratory or employer is liable to furnish the medical record to the employees related to themselves on their request. This section of the law is applicable on all types of physical

Global Education and Development in Africa Research Paper

Global Education and Development in Africa - Research Paper Example For a country to get developed it is necessary to have a stable political system. History tells us about Africa’s long history of oppression under the rule of English who came to the continent because of the diamond and gold mines. The English and the Dutch agrarian settlers imposed Apartheid and adopted the policy of segregation and rule over the natives of the land. The Africans were denied basic rights and had no part in the political system of their own country. Apartheid laws served to legalize this discrimination against the African blacks. The country itself saw economic prosperity as the white oppressors exploited the native Africans while suppressing and depriving them of many things. Therefore even at the end of Apartheid in 1990, the suppressed nation therefore was still a developing nation. Many international contributions are now being made towards the educational and economic development of Africa. Free education programs have been introduced all around the count ry and young Africans have now begun to realize the value of education. With the help of free education there is a hope for Africa to develop as well. Problem statement The researcher tries to find out the factors, which affect the education of Africa. The researcher focuses on the factors which make Africa have a low literacy rate and how education can get common at this part of the land. Literature review Education is the most important factor that contributes towards leading a society towards success. Education changes and affects not only the personality of the student but also changes their entire thought process, which eventually influences... According to the paper education is the most important factor that contributes towards leading a society towards success. Education changes and affects not only the personality of the student but also changes their entire thought process, which eventually influences positively on the society. According to Troy, education is important for the development of the nation as a whole. For the empowerment of nations and people, the most important thing is education. This paper makes a conclusion that education is the right of every human being. Education makes one capable of living a good life. It opens doors to better employment and quality of life. Education makes one think and work for the country and helps in making the nation get to know about the importance of jobs, technology and industrialization. It is basic human right and should be provided to both men and women. The education in Africa should be free of cost so that the poor can acquire knowledge and contribute towards the development of the country. Africa is rich in resources and minerals. Due to increased population there is a lack of food. Investment should be made in Africa to make it developed. There should be jobs available for people so that they can also earn out of it. The British capture over Africa can be regarded as the worth of Africa. Africa has diamond mines and that is why they were captured. Therefore, it is not a country which does not have resources. The real truth is that they were suppressed and therefore, they were not able to develop. The apartheid laws make one understand the intensity of the English rule and the oppression of the Blacks. A stable political system is obligatory for getting a developed country and continent at large.

Analysis of Phosphate Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Phosphate Essay The aim of the experiment is to determine the concentration of phosphate ions in unknown samples. A series of dilution of known concentration is performed from the phosphate working solution. Each of the prepared working standards, the unknown samples and the blank are then made to react with a mixed reagent which have been prepared after acid wash of the glasswares Glassware * 2 Beakers * 11 conical flasks * 9 Volumetric flasks 50 ml * 1 Volumetric flasks 1000 ml * Pipette type 1 Pipette 25 ml * Stir rod * 11cuvette * Spectrophotometer Chemical needs; hazards and safety precautions: 1. Sulphuric acid It is very hazardous in case of skin contact. It is classified as corrosive, irritant and permeator. Safety needs: Lab coats,safety goggles and gloves should be worn to minimize risk of contact. In case of: †¢Eye Contact: Check for and remove any contact lenses. In case of contact, immediately flush eyes with plenty of water for at least 15minutes. Cold water may be used. Get medical attention immediately. †¢Skin Contact: In case of contact, immediately flush skin with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes while removing contaminated clothing and shoes. Cover the irritated skin with an emollient. Cold water may be used. Wash clothing before reuse. Thoroughly clean shoes before reuse. Get medical attention immediately. †¢Serious Skin Contact: Wash with a disinfectant soap and cover the contaminated skin with an anti-bacterial cream. Seek immediate medical attention. †¢Inhalation: If inhaled, remove to fresh air. If not breathing, give artificial respiration. If breathing is difficult, give oxygen. Get medical attention immediately. 2. ammonium heptimolybdate Ammonium heptimolybdate e is harmful if swallowed or inhaled. It causes irritation to the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. It affects kidneys and blood Safety measures: Lab coats,safety goggles and gloves should be worn to minimize risk of contact. 3. Potassium antimonyl tartrate Slightly hazardous in case of ingestion. Non-corrosive for skin. Non-sensitizer for skin. 4. Ascorbic acid Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Safety measures: Lab coats, safety goggles and gloves should be worn to minimize risk of contact. 5. Hydrochloric acid Concentrated hydrochloric acid forms acidic mists. Both the mist and the solution have a corrosive effect on human tissue, with the potential to damage respiratory organs, eyes, skin, and intestines. The HCL should be used in a fume hood and personal protective equipment such as rubber or PVC gloves, protective eye goggles, and chemical-resistant clothing such as lab coats should be used to minimize risk when handling hydrochloric acid. Procedures and calculations. * All of the glassware’s to be used are to be washed with acid (HCL) and then with distilled water. * Nine standards, a blank and 2 random sample are going to be analysed. * Prepare a series of working standards in the range of 10-500 µg NO2-N/L * To 50 cm3 of each working standard and sample add 1. 0 cm3 of sulphanilamide, mix and stand for 2 minutes Calculations 1ml = 0. 5  µg of NO2- 1000 ml of solution contain = 10 ml of NO2- (100  µg) 50 ml of solution contain = 1 ml of NO2- (10  µg) SN| Volume of standardPHOSPHATE solution (s)| Volume ofwater| Concentration| Absorbance| 1. | 1. 0| 49| 10| 0. 003| 2. | 2. 0| 45| 50| 0. 035| 3. | 3. 0| 40| 100| 0. 058| 4. | 4. 0| 35| 150| 0. 074| 5. | 5. 0| 30| 200| 0. 099| Blank| 0| 50| 0| 0. 000| Sample A1| | 0. 022| Sample B1| | 0. 068| Result A Graph of absorbance (OD) against concentration ( µg). Using the equation (y=mx+b) to determine concentration of samples. Let Y equal the concentration. This is what will be solved for. Let X equal the absorbency of the sample. This is the absorbency measured by the spectrophotometer Allow â€Å"to equal the slope and b to equal the y-intercept y= 0. 019 x + 0. 947 Concentration of Sample 1 Absorbance of sample A1 = 0. 022 y= 0. 019 (0. 022) + 0. 947 = 0. 947 Concentration of unknown sample 2 Absorbance of sample B2 = 0. 068 y= 0. 019 (0. 068) + 0. 947 = 0. 948 Discussion The concentration phosphate ion in of samples D and E were determined In this experiment I determined the concentration of phosphate ion in samples D and E. These values were determined by obtaining data from solutions of known concentration. These solutions were placed in the spectrophotometer and then by plotting a graph of absorbance vs. concentration, an equation was produced from which the unknown concentration were determined Conclusion From the result of the experiment, it was determined that the relationship between concentration and absorbance is linear. The amount of light absorbed by a solution varies directly with solute concentration.

Functions and role of a marketing audit

Functions and role of a marketing audit A marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic examination of companies or business units marketing environment , objectives, strategies and activities with a view to determining problem areas and opportunities and recommending a plan of action to improve the companys marketing performance'( Kotler.P,1977 ). Product- products in Hilton Kensington restaurant (west eleven) offering guest a wider selection of dishes and healthier choices. They not only incorporate important elements such as nutritional values, serving size and standards but also locally produced ingredients which is good. Price and promotion- price and promotion in west eleven restaurant is quiet amazing. The breakfast buffet is just  £12.95 which is a combination of both continental and English foods and dinner is contemporary European cuisine and carvery (buffet) for 21.95. Promotion includes highlife cards for regular guests which gives 50% discounted price for lunch and dinner. For promotion with kids meal drinks are free as well. People- The staffs and managers having a very good communication links and power distance is low to medium as well. The main strength is each and every staff working as a team and a team leader to control as well. So we are enable to make a good relationship with customers or in other words a good buyer- seller relationship. These all things help to realize that the reputation of brand that we are involved in, is in peoples hands. Process- In west eleven restaurant micros is a good technology which is using now to make good relation between waiters, chefs and the guest. The services of starters from 7min and main course 20min now a day. Physical evidence- we are maintaining a better brand image now for extending customer service relationships, selection, value, low price and to challenge with competing brands. It is the element of service mix as well which allows the customer again to make judgement on the organisation. Environment Environmental analysis enables an organisation to develop appropriate marketing strategies including the marketing mix. Environment can be divided into micro environment and macro environment. Important external forces that influence the marketing strategy include Customers- customers in west eleven restaurant always looks for quality of food rather than quantity. Most of the guests who are regular because they are meeting their needs. In the guest comments card 90% of the guest rating 7/10which is good not excellent. The major marketing segment is internet and apart from that print media, brouchers etc was there as well. The things like printed media will work inside the hotel wall posters of special offers, sports calendars etc to promote the guest. Competitors- competitors with Hilton Kensington hotel is Mariots south Kensington and novhotel Hammersmith which are upscale category but not luxurious category. The competition is taking place because they are patronized by same target customers, in same product class but there are differentiation, with a same geographic area and a similar price category. All of these hotels got good size, quality and interior decor in restaurants. But the price and value offered is just satisfactory when comparing to west eleven and the emarketig is not good enough as well. Both hotels having bit different strategies because they are concentrating more in leisure guest when Hilton restaurant is focusing mainly for business customers which includes business executives and airline staffs. PORTERS 5 FORCE MODEL Barriers of new entry Existing competitors entering new attractive domestic market.Economies of sale. Emergence of new entreprenal players. Supplier bargaining power Importance of volume to supplier Availability of skilled employees and management. Powerful brands( customers married to loyality scheme) No of competitiors Ratio demand capacity Industry profitability Buyers bargaining power Product diffrenciatioon Willingness to pay for brand name. Buyers incentives Threat of substitutes Switching costs Price-performance trade Of substitutes Products for products. Eg: same food ingredients and Products by competitors in differ-ent names. Five force analysis (source : porter 1980) Macro environment- it impacts on hospitality industry and affects all competitors. PEST frame work is very helpful in carrying out an environmental analysis of the organisation. PEST stands for political, economical, social and technological influences. Political/ legal:- political factors have a direct impact on the way of business operates. The political environment is not stable enough and things are getting changing in regular intervals. V.A.T is changing from January onwards from 17.5 to 20. Terrorism activities are increasing day by day. Economic:-Global recession happened in the mid of 2008s affects badly to the Hotel industry nationally and globally. But now its slowly recovering from the second quarter of 2010 and expected to continue the level of growth in the coming years. Currency inflation is playing a major role in economic growth. Intrest rates which are growing will affect partially as well. I.T has made a lot of difference in the current environment. Eg: If we take wi-fi or broadband in London 95% (est) of the people will use at home, work place or while travelling which is v.good, when comparing countries like Cuba which will be 5% or less which shows a huge penetration of I.T. Social:- one of the sociological factor increased population growth which adversely affecting hospitality industry. Now a days people are not spending much because of recession. When taking age distribution according to census of 2008 UK labour force is about 30.3 million workers, roughly the same size as the combined labour force of California and Texas. What the demographic trends shows is people of age group between 16-34 only working 30% of the total labour force which is bad as young people not working and the others work a lot. London society consists of a cosmopolitan culture which is much much larger in the amount when comparing with other major cities. Technological:-Introduction of ERP systems, emodels and High Speed Broadband systems increased their efficiency to serve their royal customers. But control measures have to take to mitigate the system failure risk, otherwise it will harmful the customer satisfaction. Productivity Productivity is a measure relating a quantity or quality of output to the inputs required to produce it. The benefits of marketing in Hilton are global reach, lower cost than traditional market methods, trackable and measureable results, personalisation, better conversion rates etc. In the other hand the risk which facing are dependability of technology, security, privacy issues, worldwide competition through globalization etc. The Main current problem and challenge which facing cost effectiveness are increased commodity prices. So now a days what is happening is food cost is going higher. Systems The use of intranet is more than extranet in my restaurant. The use of intranet is dominated by email followed by new service and product information, market information, employee listing etc. Marketing information systems providing accurate and timely information about development in the market place. Marketing control systems are good . The control procedures are looking and evaluating quarterly.most of the annual plan objectives are being achived. Provision is made to analyse periodically the profitability of different products, markets and channels of distribution. In my restaurant marketing auditor is responsible for all these systems. Organisation Marketing organisation audit is mainly considered as effectiveness of the organisation activities as well as efficiency of the operation of a company. The organisational structure supports most of the marketing activities. We got good working relation between sales and marketing. Product managers are able to plan profits and sales volume as well. Strategy The mission statement was not that much clear and feasible. The objectives stated in a clear form to guide marketing planning. The markets are segmented at an average fasion. For overall marketing decision process key things which are using are marketing performance audit and marketing competency audit. Marketing resources are some what allocted optimally to prime market segments and marketing mix like product quality,service,promotion, distribution etc.

Theories of Culture in Organisations

Theories of Culture in Organisations In this chapter the researcher will provide review theories relevant to the stated research questions. The culture is the important subject that can be explained and defined in many ways. The Hall (1976) explains the culture as a mans medium that forms the human life of an individual. Accordingly there is not one phase of human life that is not influenced by culture. This means personality, how people behaves to others and express themselves, how they move and solve the issues, how their critics are planned and put forward, as well as how government and economic systems are put together and function. According to Hofstade, (1997) culture is the collective programming of the mind based on values. Stark (2001), suggested that diversity not only includes race and gender, but also goals, values, role expectations and thoughts. Thus there is an infinite range of individuals characteristics and experiences that can be labelled diverse. They can include elements such as age, sexual orientation, religion, physical disability, life style, physical appearance, economic status, education, family type and geographic orientation Thomas (1991) credits the emergence of diversity, as an issue, to three factors: the global market which makes doing business intensely competitive, the changing composition of the workforce (Toosi, 2002), and the increase in individuals celebrating their differences instead of contesting what makes them unique. A broader definition and the emergence of diversity as an important issue, helps set the stage for diversity being recognized as a potential source for competitive advantage Perry and Mankin (2004) identified the importance of perception in influencing trust in management. They identified that staff perception of management turnover increases difficulty in attaining employee trust as it instils feelings of insecurity. Lee and Brand (2005) found a positive correlation between perceived personal control over the physical environment and self-reported job satisfaction. They also found that perceived personal control was positively related to workplace satisfaction. The perception of management support will positively impact upon trust. Research has found (Stokols et al., 2002) that greater perceived support for creativity at work is associated with lower stress and greater job satisfaction Cultural diversity has an important place in the communicational problems in multinational or global business. Informing incompletely about cultural structure and properties of an employee group causes wrong estimations in the period of performance evaluation, measurement and, in general, the decision making of management (Akova, 2000; Deniz, 2000); in most multinational or global businesses difficulties are encountered in the performance evaluations of employees because of cultural needs of showing diversity. For instance, Americans prefer the announcement of their performance results directly to themselves, whereas Asians generally indirect ways. Thus, development of a standard performance evaluation system applicable in all departments of most multinational or global businesses would not be realistic (Arslan, 2001). From an employee perspective, research has shown that individuals who perceive that diversity is supported and encouraged in their workplace are likely to hold positiv e attitudes towards their organization, their job and their career (Hicks-Clarke and Iles, 2000). Such workplaces are characterized as having a positive atmosphere or climate for diversity, where this term is conceived of as the extent to which human resource diversity is valued and in which employees from diverse backgrounds feel welcomed and included (Hicks-Clarke and Iles, 2000, p. 324). Conversely, other studies have found that employees who do not feel valued because of their race and ethnicity consider that this negatively affects their job and career satisfaction and job involvement (Cox, 1993) and their ability to interact with others (Kossek and Zonia, 1993). West and Mayor (1997) in their study concluded that characteristics of top management team members affect the organisations capability to seek out and concentrate to compelling information about future conditions and competitive environments. 2.2 Different approach in managing the culturally diverse organization: The basic concept of managing diversity accepts that the work force consists of a diverse population of people. By realising the difference between the employees and if it is properly managed this will become a great asset for the organisation and work to be done will be more efficient and effective. Race, culture, ethnicity, gender, age and disability are examples of diversity factors. (Bartz, Hillman Lehrer, 1990:321) There are many definitions diversity management, but the essence of the concept contents that; Diversity management is founded on the premise that harnessing the differences of a diverse population of people, will create a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where their talents are being fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met (Kandola Fullerton, 2000:8) Social scientists have been trying for long to identify the relationship between culture and behavior of the people in different regions. In many ways culture is no longer a terminology but it is interpreted as the set of guidelines for a society to live in (Venken 2002). On reflecting on this view the organizations can be viewed as the minor social institution. In general, culture is a vague concept and many scientists have tried to define it in many ways and measurement of this concept related to the definition (Perks and Sanderson 2000). Human resource management have tried to put forward the importance of the cultural diversity in business while the research exists only in the areas of human resource management such as recruitment, organizational socialization and in service training, it is widely viewed that there is a deep study needed in the field of cultural issues.(McGuire et al, 2002). The diversity movement is hailed by many as a positive change, in which organizations voluntarily engage in a process of systemic cultural transformation designed to eliminate any further forms of exclusion. This development coincides with a general change in the political climate seeking to reverse many of the legal mandates of the previous decades, most notably affirmative action. To reinforce the desired state of managing diversity at the organizational level, revised recruiting, appraisal, development, and reward systems, as well as an enforceable diversity policy need to be implemented (Allen and Montgomery, 2001; Hemphill and Haines, 1998; Miller, 1998). Ingley and Van der Walt (2003) have developed the two different frameworks to describe the diversity related to decision outcomes in firms. The decision outcomes can be related to the performance outcome of the firm because all decisions affect how a firm can use its resources to reach its performance goals. Thus, the frameworks can be useful to understand the connection between diversity and firm performance. The first framework in figure 1 shows how the outcomes of the decision process in boards are mediated by varying amounts of diversity. If the board is diverse then the outcome, according to this framework, can be unintended which may lead to the outcome that was originally intended. Moreover, the framework shows how diversity on the other hand can lead to an unintended but a more creative outcome than was intended, or lead to a situation where an agreement cannot be reached because of irresolvable conflicts (Ingley and van der Walt, 2003). The framework has the title Intended, unintended, and realized outcomes of diversity and board dynamics and is illustrated in figure The second framework is displayed in figure 3.2 and it shows diversity related to the strategic context and the quality of the decision process of the board. The framework shows that in a stable and safe business environment, more diverse boards may produce low quality decisions in contrast to more homogeneous boards. The literature points out that diversity in boards suits firms which operate in a more turbulent and changing environment where the strategic complexity is high (Ingley and van der Walt, 2003). The framework can be helpful in explaining differences between industries. The framework is called Diversity, strategic context, and board decision quality and is illustrated in figure 3.2. There are numerous studies that implicate that diversity in firms is a positive and maybe even necessary aspect to consider when the members of the BoD and TMT of a firm are appointed. Five arguments for diversity are presented by Wang and Clift (2009). First, the market is becoming more diverse. Thus, the firms could benefit from adapting to the customers different needs, and from creating a deeper understanding for the market and the customers. Second, an individuals beliefs, attributes and cognitive functioning are varying with variables such as age, gender, and race; this implicates that creativity and innovation is enhanced by diversity. Third, the variety of perspectives that emerge from diversity could lead to a wider range of alternatives for the decision makers to evaluate, which enables them to get a more effective problem solving process. Forth, diversity may lead to an improved understanding of the surrounding environment. Finally, diversity may enhance business in a global marketplace due to the cultural and ethnical dimensions of diversity, thus, enhancing the understanding of different cultures (Wang and Clift, 2009). Furthermore, Martell and Caroll (1995) say that creativity and innovation are closely related to a diverse group of people, which in turn makes it easier for the TMT to be flexible in a changing and dynamic business environment (Carson et al., 2004). 2.3 EFFECTIVENESS OF DIVERSITY MANAGEMEMNT: It has been in the discussion among the researchers about the effectiveness of the diversity management in the organization or business. The researchers and management gurus have argues various benefits of the diversity management of the different organizations that have increased the diversity measures of their organization. But the important parameter to be found is under what condition the diversity measure of the organization at its maximum. According the Haas (2008) the diversity measurement is methodologically complicated. And due to the variety of factors and situational outcomes of different studies are not able to complete. Hass distinguishes three main theories focusing on the role of gender, ethnicity and age factors to find out the firms performance. He used social identity theory based on Festingers work(1954) to study the individuals comparing themselves with the others in the organization. this comparison causes the team members to reflect on their performance level and it will lead to positive or negative level of self image to belong the other group. This will cause to increase the overall performance of the group. This comparison can be of individual level or on group level to increase the performance. The group comparison will make the group strong and it will ease the communication among the group members. Another perspective of the Hass is the similarity-attraction theory (Byrne, 1971). Based on the demographic characteristics the individuals perceive that they belong to similar groups and which nurture the trust, mutual cooperation and interaction among the group. It will lead to the formation of the subgroups thus causing the less functioning of the team at large. The third perspective distinguished by the Haas is information processing and decision making theories (Gruenfeld et al 1996). According to this view the heterogeneity within a group causes the improvement in information exchange and it enables the decision making. Normally the different group members have great variety of resources using more diverse networks than the homogeneous networks would do. It is to be noted that the this perspective pertains with the positive outcome of the diversity where as the other is more looking to the negative outcome of the group structures and processes. In Haass study of diversity and team performance linkage the first two perspective are much more supported by the results of the empirical studies reviewed than the third one. Most of the studies conducted by others gave negative results of the diverse groups and structures. So it can be conclude here that the elegance of the information processing and knowledge diversity perspective is defined by the messy reality and of the interpersonal and group process in the organizations. In other words the power of diversity is meets the reality of diversity of power and interest (Klein and Harrison, 2007). The context of the diversity and the effectiveness is addressed by the Lopez Fernandez and Sanchez Gardey. For this the diversity is defined in the multidimensional point of view associating the democratic diversity and human capital diversity. In the theoretical framework the Lopez and Gardy stress that the diversity doesnt influence the organizational or group performance directly but it is more influenced by the process like decision making process. Also the different configuration of human resource practices may affect the organizational dynamics differently, and at the end the group may have different affects on workgroup performance and sustainable competitive advantages. So in order to extract the benefits from the diverse work force the companies need to strategically place the human resource operations and systems. Lopez and Gardy found three different HRM orientations. The Individualistic control orientation The group development orientation The group control orientation The individualistic control orientation is referring to an orientation which is characterized by the Focus on individuals rather than on the work groups. Rigid control mechanism and little self control within the work groups Strong market orientation for achieving human capital rather than emphasizing the intra organizational development of human capital The group development orientation is characterized by the A strong focus on the work force rather than on individuals A system of open and flexible Human resource practice which allow self control within the work groups A focus on the intra organizational development of human capital The group control organization is characterized by the A strong emphasis on groups Rigid external control mechanism and a little self control Preference for external markets to recruit employees and no stress on intra organizational development of human capital According to the study conducted by the Hardy and Lopez it is found that the individual pattern hinders the decision making process in the diversified groups. The study also conclude that the to foster the cognitive benefits of the diversity, a collective and interactive HRM orientation suffices to benefits from the work group diversity. 2.4 ADVANTAGES OF DIVERSITY IN WORKPLACE: In many ways the culturally diverse organization is considered as the asset and resources. The diverse workforce is increasingly helpful when the organization is practicing new ideas or expanding the business plans, if the organizations are able to recognize the diverse potential on the work force then the greater advantage can be obtained (Iles 1995). There are a plethora of literatures claiming the performance advantages of the diverse work force over the homogeneous work structures (Cox, Lobel and MacLeod, 1991; Cox and Blake, 1991). one of the advantage is the redundant options for the multi cultural organizations in attracting and retaining the best talent. the capabilities and skills of the minorities and women offer a wide labor pool. The organizations that are able to attract and retain the minorities and offer the gradual career advancement treatment in the formal way gain competitive advantage and high quality human resource individuals. Researchers suggest that diversity provides benefits to organizations, including: the capability to attract and keep the best talent available; reduced costs due to lower turnover and fewer lawsuits; enhanced market understanding and marketing ability; greater creativity and innovations; better problem solving; greater organizational flexibility, better decision making; and better overall performance (Cox, 1993; Cox andBlake, 1991; Cox, 1991; Robinson and Dechant, 1997; Carlozzi, 1999; Griscombe and Mattis, 2002; McAllister, 1997; Watson et al., 1993). These benefits have the potential to influence organizational performance and the bottom-line. Also the diverse work force is more important to meet the demands and skills for competing and to satisfy the clientele in the extremely competing global marketplace. Such diverse organizations have a strong understanding of the requirements of the legal, political, social, economic and cultural environments of foreign nations (Adler, 1991). Second in hi-tech industries the wide range of talents generated by the ethnic and gender diverse organization becomes a huge advantage (Morgan 1989). The diverse organization are seems to be brilliant in the problem solving and have better ability to extract the meanings this will help to reflect the multitude of meaning regardless the group thinking. The diverse organizations tend to possess more organizational flexibility, and are better able to adapt to changes. Women, for instance, are said to have higher tolerance for ambiguity than men (Rotter and OConnell, 1982). 2.5 DISADVANTAGES OF DIVERSITY AT WORK PLACE: As in the many system the diverse organization has also its disadvantages over its moderate advantages. In problem solving situations the extraordinary cost in the financial and time resources may nullify the benefits of the diversity and it can lead to the dysfunctional conflicts. Diversity is not suited for the situations in the uncertainty and complexity which may lead to the frustration and confusion. Some time diversity can make difficulties to come to a decision on a particular course of action and it may result in developing the negative synergy and cultural clashes in within the team or organization. Traditionally the cultural conflicts within the organization between the minority and majority groups are solved in the favor of the majority groups this will cause the delivering full performance by the minority members in the critical situations. OReilly (1992) found diversity to be associated with lower level of psychological identification with group members which would tend to detract from overall performance and result in adverse effects on organizational measures of productivity, absenteeism and turnover. Homogenous groups have been found to outperform culturally diverse groups particularly where there are serious communications issues which make it more difficult for everybody to make optimal contributions to the group effort (Sheridan, 1994).The absenteeism and higher turnover are the two main problems identified in the multicultural organizations. Several researches shows that since 1960s the absenteeism among the minorities and woman is consistently higher on absenteeism and turnover than their majority counterparts OReilly(1992). There are also downsides with diversity. Ingley and Van der Walt refer to a study conducted by Milliken and Martins (1999) where some of the findings are pointing on the negative aspects of diversity. First, there could be problems with integration. Second, the turnover of members is higher in more diverse groups. Third, diversity could lead to affective costs (Ingley and van der Walt, 2003). Another issue regarding the negative effects of diversity is communication and coordination between members in a group as heterogeneity could inhibit the effective use of skills and knowledge (Van der Walt et al., 2006). Groups that are more diverse have a lower level of member satisfaction although this effect diminishes when the group stays together for a longer time (Ingley and van der Walt, 2003). 2.6 CHALLENGES WHILE PURSUING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL DIVERSITY Nonetheless the success of some organizations when deciding to manage their diversity, there are also some that have failed while attempting the same. There are several reason to be linked for the failure of in the initiatives of the diversity initiatives. One of the reasons is the lack of top management involvement. The long term effectiveness of the organizational culture is limited in these organizations where the lack of top management initiation mainly predominant (Konal, Prasad, Pringle, 2006). Some organizations are still viewing the diversity in the legal and compliance aspects only and are not addressing the important management/leadership qualities needed for the implementation at the hand. According to Susan Meisinger (2008) many organization concentrates their diversification completely on the issues around representation and compliance. If the organization include the diverse workforce and they use hiring policies that are in strict compliance with the law they believe t hat their diversity strategy is a success. Mullins(2008) also states that the diversity strategies in order to be successful must also focus on achieving strategic business results and look for ways to leverage diverse groups of workers to create new opportunities for success. Others are avoiding to address the specific cultural definitions that are present in each countrys specific needs and develop a diversity strategy around those needs to ensure that the organizational goals will be fulfilled. Another view is the pay for performance developed by the Trompenaars(1994), according to him many managers around the world are in favor of this principle but they translate differently the terms pay and performance. The culture is a time depended term and it will undergo changes due to the economic trends or migratory trends among the others. This will affect the organization and as in like the culture. The cultural values changes as the countrys value changes. This phenomenon will cause the new challenges for managers that needed to adapt their management styles in order to meet the organizational goals. It is to be noted that the all changes in the employees cant be addressed by the management in the same manner. (Cross,2000) While developing the successful diversity initiatives managers may come across different barriers and challenges. Superficial or not properly implemented diversity initiatives will cause the negative affects causing the harm to the organization structure. Mutton and Hernandez (2004) brought some of these barriers after conducting a deep study on a variety of industries and they conducted series of conversations with the participants that shows the barriers to these initiatives. Organizational culture: while trying to amplify diversity issues to all parts of the organization, diversity managers need to carefully explore the organizations culture in order to be able to frame and communicate the issues of workplace diversity in an effective manner. For example, taking a subjective approach while explaining diversity issues to an analytical and linear type of culture, might become a barrier when trying to get the desired point across Middle management and employee buy-in: Lower levels of management and the general employee population do not know what it is they are dealing with when addressing these diversity initiatives, thus resulting in lower levels of buy-in. Kreitz (2008) identifies three elements that are vital when implementing diversity initiatives, but have proven to be challenges for some organizations: Top management commitment The skilled training and breadth of organizational knowledge HR possesses Shared understanding that managing diversity is not an isolated problem to be solved but an ongoing and lengthy process Stockdale and Crosby (2004) provide a list of mistakes to avoid while implementing diversity initiatives. This list is the result of what various authors call, Common diversity traps: assuming that short-term training will be enough failing to relate diversity to the organizational mission and key products waiting to collect all possible data and ignoring employee perceptions as data for taking action waiting for everyone important to be thoroughly behind the effort not paying attention to the impact of resistance people in important positions isolating the effort in one department (such as human resources) or under one person not differentiating between good intentions, usually contained in verbal expressions of support of diversity, and the impact of specific institutional actions that go against diversity not building coalitions and support with different stakeholders who may fear that the diversity effort will not include them assuming that managing diversity is just good common sense and people skills measuring success by the quantity and magnitude if diversity activities and events, rather that the impact on the work and people Tjoswold and Leung (2003) identifies decision making to be negative impacted because of problems with communication in a cultural diverse organization. Since the spoken word is interpreted differently conflict could arise from differences in values and norms. Even written communication is interpreted differently depending on your values and norms. One very interesting finding is from the article Managing Functional diversity, risk taking, incentives for teams to achieve radical innovations from Cabrales, Medina, Lavado, Cabrera (2008) where they have found that the multifunctional teams has some disadvantages in reaching consensus due to the diversity of perspectives 2.7 HOW TO ACHIEVE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS Some researchers as well as experts have mentioned different ways that can help organizations success in their diversification methods. Out of the many in the plethora of literatures the researcher found a few that come in line with the research domain. Below the researcher present a few of them which are divided in different categories for the easier understandings. Clear definition of what diversity means to the organization: by this definition itself we understood that the need of clear picture and reason in the diversification process. Each organisation should have their clear rationale in doing the diversity initiatives. As Schmidt(2004) mentioned, organizations should separate between diversification that are based in facing the legal implications and of policy character between those that are really invested into achieving the recruitment of people and talents that they identify as beneficial to the initiatives. Also according to the Helms, Dye and Mills (2009) there should be clear understandings between the management of diversification and the notion of equal employment opportunities initiatives. Stockdale and Crosby (2004) suggest the need of integrated human management systems at the corporate strategy level for the diversification process. Top management support: an effective diversification process has 100% supports from the top management (Schmidt 2004). Basically it is to be understood that there should be strong vision of diversification goals and the ways in which it attains the goals. The goal should be organised to monitor through the top level of management and this support should be consistent in the diversification process and should address the importance of the initiatives. Stockdale and Crosby (2004) All around employee involvement is necessary: apart from having the top leadership support it is to be noted that the support from the employees at all levels of organisation is important in the diversity initiatives. Mutton and Hernandez (2004) suggest that having a strong diversity/compliance professional help in delivering the high level of commitment to the rest of the organisation. One of the other method in ensuring the employee commitment is developing the performance measures, accountability initiatives and evaluation initiatives. Creation of the work groups is important where the discussion about the diversity is carried out and a group leader will be needed to report the employee concern to the top management periodically. This method of employee initiation will help to develop the diversity in to the core culture of the organisation. Assign a reasonable growth period: the diversification cannot be taken from a quick point of view, they should be viewed as the long transformational process instead. The organisation and management need to understand diversification process need time before reaping the benefits can be appreciated. As in any system the integration of new methods and process to the organisation culture will take time. With diversity initiatives the organisation must considered a trial and error period until the stated benefits of the diversification can be found. So this is the reason why the organisation do not give too early in the process of diversification process. Stockdale and Crosby(2004) suggest to pilot and experiment the situations and encourage an environment of learning from experience where errorless implementation is not expected. In general, clear and integrated management practices also can be observed during the implementation of the diversity initiatives. All managers should put their maximum efforts to achieve the vast meaning of what it means diversity. Both the structural and cultural changes are needed to implement the successful diversity strategies. Managers of the organization must execute and follow certain number of processes to reap the benefits of the diversity. Some of the management practice includes target recruitment, education and training program intended for the underrepresented individuals or groups, career development, flexible work arrangement, mentoring, workshop among the others (Helms 2009). Helms also mentioned the other success factor that must be present at the moment of an organization decides to execute diversity. 2.8 Managing Diversity in the work place The term diversity management have emerged in the recent time as a voluntarily corporative initiative directed at the systematic recruitment and retainment of employees belonging to the diverse social identity groups.(Prasad,Pringle and Konrad, 2006). The voluntary organizational actions are intended to develop the greater inclusion of the employees from various domains into the formal or informal organizational structure through special policies and programs. Further to this notion some view the diversity management and their contribution will add competitive advantages to the organizations thus improving its business performance. The managers of the organization need to develop different skill sets to achieve the success of their organization and their own benefits. These developments causing many initiatives can cause the ideal environment that works naturally for the total diversity within the organization.(Thomas 1992). A good practice for the organizations that aim to manage the diversity would be to investigate what are the practices required for a good diverse workplace environment. Taylor Cox (1993) suggests that organizations need to undergo the transformation to accept the multiculturalism within the organizations. According to Taylor the objective of managing the diversity is to absorb the all socio cultural backgrounds to the organizational core culture to amplify the organization

Race and Affirmative Action Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Race and Affirmative Action Race is an issue that is embedded in the nation’s history and continues to spur discussions on how the different minorities and ethnic groups must be treated fairly. Affirmative action is a recent attempt to solve the discriminations produced by racial inequality. However, affirmative action is also being scrutinized as scholars and the public debate the benefits and harms of affirmative action. A Historical View Throughout the past 30 years, affirmative action has been the answer to racial inequality. The policy began in 1965 under President Johnson. It was used to redress issues of discrimination, following the civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees on education and jobs. From the outset, affirmative action was envisioned as a temporary remedy that would create a "level playing field" for all Americans. Affirmative action policies required that active measures be taken to ensure that blacks and other minorities receive the same opportunities for career advancements, school admissions, scholarships, and financial aid that had been nearly exclusive provisions for whites. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the landmark legislation that prohibited employment discrimination by large employers (over 15 employees), whether or not they had government contracts. As a result, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established. Lyndon B. Johnson issued the E.O. 11246 regulation. It required government contractors and subcontractors to implement affirmative action policies to expand job opportunities for minorities. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCC) was designated to administer the regulation. In 1973 the Nixo... ...or group identity should not say that a person is naturally disadvantaged. There are many blacks in the US that are hindered by the economy, but there are also rich blacks and poor whites. Race should not determine who gets into college because black society as a whole is not entirely disadvantaged. Bibliography: Affirmative Action: The Perspectives in Detail and Overview: The Issue at a Glance. Public Agenda Online. 20 March 2003 http://www.publicagendaonline.org/ issues/overview.cf?issues_type=race. â€Å"Bush Enters Affirmative Action Fray.† CBS News. 16 Jan. 2003. 20 March 2003 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/11/politics/main536148.shtml. â€Å"Narrow Use of Affirmative Action Preserved in College Admissions.† Cnn.com. 25 June 2003. 13 July 2003 <http:cnn.law.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&expire=-1&ur1ID=6839596&fb..>.

The links between social class and educational achievement Essay

The links between social class and educational achievement There have been many theories about social class and educational achievement and this essay will concentrate on the conflict theory and the functionalist theory. This essay will examine the links between class and achievement. It will describe and critically analyse the different sociological theories on education relating to class, and apply these theories to educational experiences, structure and practices. The different perspectives will be used to analyse inequality in relation to different social classes in the UK. This essay will also provide evidence of inequality in British education and identify and evaluate key policy developments in education provision in relation to social class Functionalist theory focuses on the ways the education system as a whole meets the needs of society. It emphasises the interdependence of the social system and stresses the process and behaviours that maintain it. Durkheim (cited in Haralambos et al: 2000:777) ‘saw the major function of education as the transmission of society’s norms and values’. Functionalist theory believes that schools should serve intellectual, political and social purposes (Sadovnik et al: 2001). Functionalists believe that schools ‘foster the value of equality of opportunity’ by placing pupils in the same situation in the classroom (Haralambos et al: 779). They maintain that education sorts students based on their ability, as argued by Parsons: †¦[students] conduct is assessed against the yardstick of the school rules; their achievement is measured by their performance in examinations†¦the same standards are applied to all students regardless of ascribed characteristics such as sex, race, family... ...will have long term positive results’ (Haralambos et al 2004: p621). Sure start was criticised that its impact on children and their parents was unsatisfactory. ‘However it is too early to assess its impact on children’s formal education’ (ibid). These policies have been created because there is a LINK between class and achievement for example working class pupils do less well in school. Summary This essay has discussed and critically analysed the different social theories of education relating to class, it has applied these theories to educational experiences, structures and practices. It has addressed different social theories of inequality in relation to social classes. This essay has also provided evidence of inequality in British education and finally identified and evaluated key policy developments in education provision in relation to social class.

contract law :: essays research papers

In the case of Fletcher vs. Peck, the Yazoo land grants were on trial. One Georgia legislature had sold millions of acres to four separate companies at a price of two cents per acre. (Garraty 174). When the next legislature came into power, it was learned that many of those legislators that sold the land had been corrupt. The companies had sold land to many small farmers who had no idea that the land should not have been sold in the first place. When the grant was taken away by the Georgian legislature, the farmers looked to the Supreme Court. (Corwin 151). The Court could have easily decided not to hear the case. The whole land grant process had been corrupt, so the Georgian legislature had the right to take them away, but Marshall believed there was something more to this case. He decided that he would hear the case. Marshall declared the rescinding act void because it violated peoples rights, and went against the separation of powers. For Marshall, this explanation was simply not enough, so he turned to the Constitution to find something in writing to support his decision. He found his support in the contract clause. The problem Marshall had was that the contract clause was there to protect persons waiting for a contract to be carried out, a land grant is over and done with once the land is handed over. (Corwin 153). By using a very loose interpretation, Marshall stated that when something is granted, the granter is not expected to try and take back what he has been granted. In reality, the Constitution did not say this at all, but morally it made perfect sense. Marshall believed that there was a moral contract involved and that both parties should assume that the grant is permanent. By using a very broad interpretation of the Constitution Marshall made this moral contract a legal one. Marshall used his broad interpretation of the Constitution to strengthen the judicial branch.

Disastrous Date Essay

Three years ago my good friend set me up on a blind date, but before going on the date I wanted to get to know my potential date. After talking to him for a couple of weeks and getting to know him we finally decided to have our first date. He was a gentleman he came to the airport to pick me up, opened the door and was polite. Our conversation in the car had no awkward moments of silence as we headed to our restaurant. The restaurant was his pick which was a surprise to me since it was Ruth’s Chris Steak house. We ordered appetizer’s and drinks to start off the date, we talked and laughed over dinner and shared some embarrassing moments over dessert. In my mind I thought is this night too good to be true. We spent over three hours talking and laughing as the night came to an end the waitress brought our check. This is where it gets interesting. As he’s frantically checking his pockets for his wallet in my mind I’m thinking he’s joking with me he did have a sense of humor over dinner. Don’t get me wrong I don’t ever mind paying for dinner, but on a first date â€Å"forgetting your wallet† might be pushing it especially when you’re having dinner at a steak house. At the end I ended up paying for our dinner which wasn’t cheap, we headed out and drove back to his hotel and it turned out his wallet was left behind now I don’t know if it was intentionally left behind, but it was defiantly at the hotel. We freshened up and headed out again to continue our night. Till this day my husband and I laugh at my first disastrous date and what’s even funnier is that my husband is the guy who â€Å"forgot his wallet.† So my bad experience actually ended up turning into a good one.

The Role of Marketing

1. Markets bring together buyers and tell oners of goods and services. In some cases, such as a local fruit stall, buyers and dealers meet physically. In other cases, such as the tired mart, business can be transacted everyplace the telephone, almost by remote control. We penury not go into these details. Instead, we use a general commentary of food foodstuffs. 2. What the term market means A market is a shorthand expression for the process by which households decisions some utilization of alternative goods, firms decisions about what and how to bring on, and workers decisions about how a lot and for whom to work be all reconcile by adjustment of pricesPrices of goods and of resources, such as labour, machinery and land, adjust to ensure that scarce resources atomic number 18 used to produce those goods and services that ordination demands. 4. Economics studies markets and prices Much of economics is prone to the study of how markets and prices enable society to set tle the problem of what, how, and for whom to produce. Suppose you buy a beefburger for your lunch. What does this founder to do with markets and prices? You chose the caf because it was fast, contented and cheap.Given your desire to eat, and your limited resources, the low hamburger price told you that this was a good vogue to satisfy your appetite. You probably prefer steak precisely that is more than high-ticket(prenominal). The price of steak is high generous to ensure that society answers the for whom question about lunchtime steaks in favour of mortal else. 5. The sellers viewpoint instantly think about the sellers viewpoint. The caf owner is in the business because, wedded the price of hamburger shopping center, the rent and the engage that must be paid, it is still assertable to sell hamburgers at a profit.If rents were higher, it power be more profitable to sell hamburgers in a cheaper atomic number 18a or to switch to luxury lunches for rich executives on ex pense accounts. The student behind the snack bar is working there because it is a adequate set out-time job which pays a twat of money. If the wage were much lower it would scarce be worth working at all. Conversely, the job is unskilled and there argon plenty of students looking for such work, so owners of cafes do not have to walk very high wages. 6. Prices guide your decisionPrices be guiding your decision to buy a hamburger, the owners decision to sell hamburgers, and the students decision to entertain the job. Society is allocating resources meat, buildings, and labour into hamburger end product through the price system. If nobody desire hamburgers, the owner could not sell full at a price that cover the cost of running the caf and society would break no resources to hamburger production. Peoples desire to eat hamburgers guides resources into hamburger production.However, if cattle contracted a disease, thereby minify the economys ability to produce meat product s, competition to purchase more scarce supplies of beef would bid up the price of beef, hamburger producers would be compel to raise prices, and consumers would buy more quit sandwiches for lunch. Adjustments in prices would encourage society to allocate resources to reflect the increased scarcity of cattle. 7. We have adopted a general definition of markets There were several markets involved in your purchase of a hamburger. You and the caf owner were part of the market for lunches.The student behind the antipathetical was part of the local labour market. The caf owner was part of the local wholesale meat market and the local market for rented buildings. These descriptions of markets are not very precise. Were you part of the market for lunches, the market for prepared food, or the market for sandwiches to which you would have turned if hamburgers had been more expensive? That is why we have adopted a very general definition of markets which emphasises that they are arrangement s through which prices influence the allocation of scarce resources.