Starbucks Coffee Shop Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Starbucks Coffee Shop - Essay Example The Starbucks brand has been known not only for its coffee and food, but mostly for being one of the companies which incorporates customer service as part of its brand proposition. Over the years, Starbucks has positioned itself as the third place, next to home, and office or school. This so-called Starbucks experience embodies the intangible aspect of the store's brand offer. The core products that Starbucks offers are tea, coffee and pastries. However, even though being a coffee shop does not confine the Starbucks brand as a store where such products can be bought. This intangible (Gabbott & Hogg, 1994) that accompanies the products that consumers pay for is comprised of the total experience they get in the form of service from the shop's crews. Apart from the physical product such as coffee and food, the service in the Starbucks requires customers to participate in the service. This according to Wolak, Kalafatis and Harris (1998) is the inseparability characteristic of service. Because consumption cannot be separated from the provider which is the Starbucks' staff, what Starbucks offers can only be achieved by the customer by participating in the service, i.e. placing her order, and paying and waiting for her drink. That is, it is required on the customer's part to personally take part in the service, which they do so by queuing in the line and waiting for her turn, placing the order that they desire and then waiting for it, either on the table (for food) or at the counter (for coffee). This is the inseparability of Starbucks. Variability/heterogeneity The third dimension of service according to Gabbott and Hogg (1994) is the heterogeneity of the service. In terms of Starbucks' service, its variability lies in the difference between employees at the service counter who greet the consumers. While the way employees get orders from employees and serve them their drink vary less, the methods as regards employees approach to interacting with the employees varies in terms of the way they greet their customers. This is because in the former action, the idea behind the action is the same; that is, the employee takes the order, processes it and delivers it to the customers. In the latter performance, although the idea is the same, there are reasons for variations that depend on the employees' ability to interact with the customer. Perishability The fourth dimension of service is perishability or its dependence on time as regards its consumption (Wolak, Kalafatis & Harris, 1998). Starbucks' service is perishable in that as the customers become more aware of the inability of supply of service, they can opt to

Cultural Differences In Interpersonal Relationships English Language Essay

Cultural Differences In Interpersonal Relationships English Language Essay What is your friendship style. It is probably different for each one of you and you all have your own friendship style as well. Friendship consist of mutual liking, trust, respect, tolerance, and often even love and acceptance under any conditions. They are established usually on the basis of similarities or common ground between the individuals. Friendship in real life may involve intimate touching between individuals. We can be a friend no matter what reasons. It does not matter where we from, which countries. Therefore, I would want to discuss about the difference between friendship styles with cultural background especially, cultural differences in interpersonal relationships. Many foreigner comers to the United States mention that people from US do not know what true friendship is. Americans seem very friendly at first time, but the friendships do not forward to another step. Americans are usually very friendly and kind to people eventhough they are not really close with, and they also being more generous in what others talk about than people are from many other countries. Because of this, it can be make someone to confuse who comes from a country where people are deserved first. It may seem like some difficulty to other people who from many other countries. 2 Case descriptions Steve and Yarer first met in their chemistry class at an American university. Yarer was a student from Jordan. He was excited to get to know an American; he wanted to learn more about American culture and hoped that he and Steve would become good friends. At first, Steve seemed very friendly. He always greeted Yarer warmly before class. Sometimes he offered to study with Yarer. He even invited Yarer to eat lunch with him. But after the semester was over, Steve seemed more distant. The two former classmates didnt see each other very much at school. One day Yarer decided to call Steve. Steve didnt seem very interested in talking to him. Yarer was hurt by Steves change of attitude. Steve said we were friends, Yarer complained. And I said friends forever. What was wrong in the relationship between Yarer and Steve? Are Americans fickle? Why did Yarer feel confused? Because he is an outsider to American culture, he doesnt understand the way Americans view friendship. Americans use the word friend in a very general way. They may call both acquaintances and close companions Friends. Americans have school friends, work friends, sports friends and neighbourhood friends. These friendships are based on common interests. When the shared activity ends, the friendship may fade. 3 Analysis and solutions of the case 3.1 Problems and underlying cultural differences As you can see this case, there is one big problem. Steve and Yarer they did not understand their cultural background. Understanding ones cultural background is not easy and simple. However, if you want to make effort to make a friend, you should know about his or her cultural differences. What is the most important point to considered an appropriate topic to discuss about with your friends from many other countires. Many international students said that they do not know how to make a good conversation with Americans and suffered from make a friend in US, because of a lack of understanding ones cultural factors like background information. People from different cultures have different organizations of interpersonal relationships and they have different expectations of people in the same category. As you know, Steve is from US. He seemed very friendly at first time, but it did not go for long relationship. So Yarer disappointed about Steves behave and he confused why Steve changed. From this case, we can find out what is American friendship style like. According to Cornell University international student and scholars office department, they mentioned that what is American friendship like. The American pattern shows typical Americans friendships are like they initially kind at first time because they do not really put any meaning to word friend. For instance, in US, word friend mean anything like many kinds of friend. There could be work friend, study friend, gym friend and so on. Therefore you do not have to put a big meaning to be a friend. Just try to get use to their friendship style because we all have other kinds of friendship style depends on what countries we are from. 3.2 Solutions and recommendations Your friendship and the way you look at friendships will be influenced by your culture. In cultures around the earth we observe friendship defined by the way people interact with each other, how they display their affection toward close and loving friends. But the word friend has different meanings in different countries. The misunderstanding about friend during intercultural communication sometimes may hurt ones feeling and cause in bad effects as well. Many international newcomers or students feel very disappointed that they do not know Americans well. Here are some advices: Even though you wish that Americans will invite you to come over and hang it out to get to know each other, do not take it seriously. They may not put any meaning of it. Just try to take it as a refuse to your request. Take the first step as make you to get close with them. Do not be frustrated to ask about certain thing that you need to know. talk with them with interesting topics. Such as talk about your country, cultural background and etc. They will interest to those topics because differences between culture factors always sounds fun. -Approach to them with your own friendship style. Do not frustrated to talk to them and shared your thinking. They will welcome what you think about them and care about them as well. If you want to be a good friend, just show them your true heart. It will bring out a trustworthy friendship to you If you think too much to make friend from many other countries, it will not forward to another steps to move on. You should act with confidence. And do not forget you should try to know other peoples cultural background. Also, you need to understand and respect their cultural background. 4 Conclusion The meaning of friendship may give everyone to interest but it also sort of difficult to describe. Communication style differences can also bring out misunderstandings about the other persons intentions and purpose. A main point to having successful intercultural relationship is establishing an effective relational culture. It is true that understanding ones cultural background is sort of difficult however; we should put our effort to make a good relationship with people from many other countries. If you want to maintain a good friendship with others, you should respect others first and approach to them with your true heart. People from many other countries may have different friendships between you have so we should prepare to comprehend others cultural fact and background information. Like any other friendship, intercultural friendships still hold a lot of uniqueness. In fact, friendship rules are individually negotiated so that no two friendships are alike. We create our own relat ional culture that determines whether we will be successful. 5 Literature http://www.silvaultramindsystem.com: The Silva Methods latest and most up to date program for training your intuition http://www.china-nafsa.aief-usa.org/chpter3.pdf http://www.friendship.com.au/ http://www.helium.com/knowledge/143177-what-is-friendship

The Stereotypical Old-West Lawman :: Media Stereotypes Stereotyping

The Stereotypical Old-West Lawman Justice, duty, silence, wisdom, bravery, self-reliance, independence, respect; these are all characteristics of the old-west lawman. Matt Dillon, marshal of Dodge City, is just such a lawman. His sense of justice, duty, and wisdom epitomize the stereotypical old-west hero. In the episode entitled Fawn, Marshal Dillon is charged with a woman that escaped an Indian camp. She is accompanied by a young Indian girl. They are in Dodge till the womans husband arrives fetch her. While the woman is waiting for her husband a man comes to speak to her. He accepts her and the little girl. When the husband arrives he wants the girl to go to a reservation, but the woman refuses to let her go. The husband divorces the woman and goes back east. The woman must run with the little girl because the government wants to put the little girl on a reservation. Marshal Dillon arranges for the man that spoke to the woman earlier to take both the woman and the little girl away with him. This saves the little girl. Throughout the episode Marshal Dillon defends the woman, because he thinks she and the little girl are treated unjustly. In the episode entitled How to Kill a Friend, a pair of gamblers come to town. They try to bribe Marshal Dillon, but he refuses to take their bribe. Later, someone shoots at the marshal as a scare tactic. He figures out that the gamblers shot at him and he runs them out of town. Usually such men move on to another town and dont return; but these men returned. This time they brought a gunman to keep Dillon in check. The gunman turns out to be an old friend of the marshal. He tries to convince his friend to leave, but the man has turned bad and refuses. Eventually they get into a confrontation. In the process, Dillon shoots and kills his friend. Though he is saddened that he killed his friend, he had to do his duty. He had done his best to dissuade his friend, but had to fulfill his duty. In the episode How to Die for Nothing, a bunch of cowboys from Texas come into town. One of them is drunk and when the marshal tries to take away his gun, he tries to shoot Dillon. Dillon had to shoot the cowboy and he ended up dying.

Consumers’ Perception of Quality Essay

This study primarily investigates the underlying factors that help to form consumer perception of quality toward private universities in Bangladesh. Five beliefs have been identified as salient to perceive the quality of private universities of Bangladesh. These are quality faculty members, university environment, campus facility, quality education and university image/reputation. Multi-item measures were used for data collection. Results revealed that three factors: campus facility, quality education and university image/reputation have positive and significant influence on perceived quality of private university in Bangladesh. Quality faculty members and university environment do not have significant influence on perceived quality of private university in Bangladesh. INTRODUCTION: Higher education in the university level has been imparted through two major types of institutions, namely: public university and private university. The concept of private university in Bangladesh is not a very ancient one. The emergence of private university in Bangladesh began with the enactment of a series of laws governing higher education in 1992. To fulfill the ever-growing demand of institutions of higher studies, at present there are 85 universities in Bangladesh where only 29 of those are public universities and remaining 56 are private (University Grants Commission Website). Establishment of private universities released the pressure of large-scale admission seekers for the limited number of seats available in public universities. The Private University Act 1992 mentions that the main objectives of private universities are to meet the growing demand of higher education and to create skilled manpower for the economic development of the country. The present study analyzes the perceived quality of private universities in Bangladesh focusing on some salient beliefs like quality faculty members, university environment, campus facility, quality education, image/reputation. Private universities in Bangladesh, no doubt, have contributed to responding to the social demand for higher education by absorbing a good number of students who otherwise could not have received university degree. The private universities are attracting a large number of students, while it seems that the reputation and teaching-learning process of the public universities are secularly on the decline, despite the fact that their worldwide reputation is higher than some of the private universities. The state has to form some sort of â€Å"accreditation council† and those private universities that satisfy certain critical minimum requirements of inputs, processes, and outputs will be given accreditation by the proposed council. RELATED CONSTRUCTS OF THIS STUDY: Faculty Members: Faculty members are one of the most important and crucial factors for any private universities. In order to evaluate perceived quality the key factor to be considered is the quality of the faculties as it has a significant influence on the perceived quality of private universities. Also to provide quality education the faculty members are also chosen from a pool of excellent academic background with national and foreign degrees. For ensuring the sound academic environment, now private universities are emphasizing research work of the faculty members. University Environment: The university environment is another factor for choosing university and perceiving the quality of a particular university. Therefore it is important that the university must have a congenial environment that will ensure friendly student-teacher relationship, politics free and no session jam or delay in achieving graduation, well organized authority, zero discrimination and good and healthy premis es. Campus Facility: The campus facility of any private university must have the basic facilities as well as some value added facilities as the students of private universities are paying some premium price in getting the education here. Quality Education: The students who get enrolled in private universities must have a minimum educational background to qualify for the admission test and finally enrolled in the university. The curriculum is designed to meet the international standard as well as the students should be able to take part in any competitive examination with full confidence as compared to those of public universities. The student-teacher ratio and the grading policy also have an impact on the quality education. Image / Reputation: The image or reputation of the university has an impact in the job market. The private universities like North South University, East West University, BRAC University, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), American International University, Bangladesh (AIUB) have been able to create an acceptance to the students and guardian community by their image and reputation. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: The objective of this study therefore is to identify, analyze, and explore how the students perceive quality of the private universities and what are the extrinsic factors (faculty strength, university environment, campus facility, brand image, and quality of education) influencing perception of quality to the students and guardians. Each of these extrinsic cues has positive or negative impact on the students’ evaluation of private universities in Bangladesh. Having identified all the cues we need to find out which cue/s has/have more influence on the students while evaluating the perceived quality of a particular private university. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE: Given the importance of the topic, it is not surprising that a great deal has been written about quality. Consistency limitation preclude a comprehensive review (Castleberry 1985), only the literature that is relevant to the objectives of this exploratory study will be discussed here. Unlike the approach taken in this paper, many authors have offered definitions of quality. For example, Crosby (1979) defined it as â€Å"conformance to requirements,† while Kotler (2006) defined it as â€Å"the rated ability of the brand to perform its functions.† Others have highlighted aesthetic considerations. Thus, Bohr (1980) notes that quality â€Å"†¦also means aesthetic and sensuous pleasure as well†¦it is timeless style, simple elegance and a sensation that makes people feel comfortable and satisfied to be near it.† Garvin (1984), however, concedes that the definition of quality â€Å"remains a source of confusion.† He states that quality often is equated with conformance to tight manufacturing standards but that there are many other dimensions of quality as well, to wit: performance, durability, reliability, serviceability, the â€Å"bells and whistles,† and aesthetic elements. In a similar view, Gronroos (1984) acknowledges the need to define quality of services in terms of consumer perceptions and suggests that service quality may be a function of a number of variables, i.e., consumer expectations, technical and functional characteristics, and image. After classifying definitions of quality that have appeared in marketing and other disciplines, Holbrook and Corfman (1985) developed a definition of quality within the framework of value theory, specifically: quality is the â€Å"extrinsic, self-oriented, passive value.† An empirical test of their conceptual definition was only marginally successful and the authors concluded that they had provided only a partial answer to the quest ion of the meaning of quality. Years ago Wittgenstein (1953) stated that to understand quality from the consumer’s standpoint, one must be concerned with the everyday use of the word. However, as evidenced by examples from the literature, researchers generally have not adopted this approach. Moreover, no study was found which explored the extent to which consumers’ definitions of quality depend upon the product or service being considered. Another line of inquiry in the current study is whether consumers evaluate quality before and/or after purchasing a product or service ant, if so, how. Economists, who probably have contributed most to this topic, are divided into two groups. Wilde (1981) represents those who feel quality is a search attribute (i.e., quality perceptions are formed before purchase). Others (e.g., Hey and McKenna 1981), however, feel that perceptions of quality are formed only after purchase and hence quality is an experience attribute. Of the many issues relating to quality, consumer researchers seem to be most interested in how consumers evaluate quality. Most work has explored the effects of various cues and cue combinations on perceptions and evaluation of quality (Olson 1972, Olson 1977, and Monroe and Krishnan 1985). Recently, Gronroos (1984) and Parasuramen, et al. (1984) have developed conceptual motels of service quality and have identified possible determinants of perceived service quality. The fact that these are service quality motels suggests that the evaluation, as well as the definition, of quality is likely to be context-bound. Gronroos, however, has only tested his model with a sample of service business executives, and the Parasuramen, et al. motel is now being tested empirically. Therefore, considerable work must be done before a better understanding of the meaning and role of quality from the consumer’s perspective is achieved. ATTITUDE TOWARDS PRIVATE UNIVERSITY: As a purpose of the study, we examine the information integration process by which consumers form Attitudes toward Private University (APU). As per cognitive process of consumer decision- making, consumers combine some of their knowledge, meanings, and beliefs for choosing private university to form an overall evaluation. These considered beliefs might be formed by interpretation processes or activated from memory. All Beliefs about Private University: The pretest is conducted to identify the salient beliefs towards private university. Convenience sample of 26 students from North South University and East West University have been provided a survey question asking the attributes they consider to perceive the quality of private university.

Ethical Dilemmas Essay

Having a career in the human services field is one of the most rewarding jobs. It requires compassion, a sense of urgency and an overall desire to help others. But with the rewards the job comes with, it also does come with a handful of tough situations to come in contact with. As a human service worker, you many come across a range of clients from a family just needing assistance to a client in a life threatening situation. The importance of understanding these issues in depth and knowing how to execute the problems with the safety of the client in mind is crucial. Conchita is a twenty five year old female who has confided to her case worker that she is being sexually harassed by her classroom training instructor. Her case worker is indeed faced with a few dilemmas in Conchita’s case. As stated by the National Organization for Human Services, there are two statements that would apply to this case. Statement one which reads â€Å"human service professionals negotiate with clients the purpose, goals, and nature of the helping relationship prior to its onset as well as inform clients of the limitations of the proposed relationships (Ethical Standards, n.d.)† works directly with statement three. This statement reads â€Å"human service professionals protect the client’s right to privacy and confidentiality, except when such confidentiality would cause harm to the clients or others, when agency guidelines state otherwise, or under other stated conditions. Professionals inform client of the limits of confidentially prior to the onset of the helping relationship (Ethical Standards, n.d)†. These two statements would best suit this case due to the confidentially of Conchita’s case. Although the social worker has given her trust and privacy to Conchita, her health may be in imminent danger and therefore the confidentiality may have to be broken in order to better protect her. This all ties in with statement one because it states that as a professional you are to inform your clients that there are limits to the  social worker- client relationship. This step in the beginning stages of starting a case is extremely important for your client to understand that their health and safety matters and if need be, confidentiality will be broken to prevent further danger. In short, there are two possible solutions that come to mind when I see this case. The social worker can ignore protocol and ethical standards by respecting Conchita’s wishes and not reporting the situation; or he/she can inform Conchita on the importance of rectifying the situation, bringing the harassment to an end by filing a grievance, removing him from the classroom, and also giving her proper counseling to overcome the situation. In the end, the harassment needs to come to an end for the overall well-being of the client. If I was her case worker, I would remind her of the conversation we had when we first met. Confidentiality is very important, and I have agreed to protect her word unless I believe she is in danger. Sexual harassment can be detrimental to one’s well-being so I would have to report the inappropriate behaviors. Although it is not ethical to break confidentiality, it is legal (Mandell & Schram, 2012, pg. 516) and in the end it could save my clients from years of pain and suffering. Because it is legal and for the fact that there are legal protection such as privileged communication to support human service workers of having to open up about a situation that was promised to the client to be confidential, I would use these to my advantage to get Conchita help in her situation. Also, there may be more than one victim and by telling me what happened, Conchita may have helped others come forward. In Herman’s case, he shared with his counselor that he is no longer using controlled substances but he has recently sold some to a friend. His probation officer called his counselor to inquire about Herman and shared that he has some suspicion about Herman using and selling drugs again, and if so his parole will be revoked. When referring to the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals provided by the National Organization for Human Services, Herman’s situation would apply to statement three. â€Å"Human service professionals protect the right to privacy and confidentiality  except when such confidentially would cause harm to the client or others, when agency guidelines state otherwise, or under other state conditions. Professionals inform clients of the limits of confidentiality prior to the onset of the helping relationship (Ethical Standards, n.d)†. Privacy, defined as the right to be left alone (Mandell & Schram, 2012, pg. 522) is one thing that Herman believes he has to right to. Although Herman most likely confided in his counselor figuring he is protected by his right to privacy, he has put someone else’s life in danger by providing them with a drug. Also, being that he is on parole he has violated his parole order. I believe telling Herman’s parole officer would be completely unethical. Herman has confided in me because he knows that we have a confidentiality agreement and he trust me when it comes to telling me things that he normally wouldn’t tell someone. I would refer back to the ethical guidelines and read statement twenty seven which says â€Å"Human service professionals seek appropriate consultation and supervision to assist in decision-making when there are legal, ethical or other dilemmas (Ethical Standards, n.d)†. Herman’s act of selling drugs and being on parole is now touching on a legal matter, because he is not supposed to be participating in any illegal activities while on parole. I believe although it is unethical and would break the confidentiality between Herman and myself, I would tell his parole officer what he has expressed to me. He has sold drugs to a friend, which can cause harm and even result in death and more importantly he has broken the law. In the last case, Indira has admitted having sexual relations with a young man who is believed to have a sexually transmitted disease. She is extremely worried and does not know what to do but does not want to tell her parents what is going on. Indira is only fifteen years old, so to know she is a minor is very important in a case like this. Statement four of the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals is an important statement to remember for Indira’s case. â€Å"If it is suspected that danger or harm may occur to the client or to others as a result of a client’s behavior, the human service professional acts in an appropriate and professional manner to protect the safety of those individuals. This may involve seeking  consultation, supervision, and/or breaking the confidentially of the relationship (Ethical Standards, n.d)†. Sexually transmitted diseases are nothing to joke around about or to take lightly. As her counselor and for her being a minor, I would have to take my concerns to her parent or guardian in order to have her checked out by her doctor. Her overall health may be in danger if in fact she has had unprotected sex with someone who has a sexually transmitted disease. I would express my concern to Indira. Doing some research with Indira and educating her as to what the dangers are and what a sexually transmitted disease really is. Also, I would remind her of our confidentiality agreement and reinforce that if there are reasons for me to believe that she is in danger then I would need to call her parents or she would need to tell them herself. In the guidelines of Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals in statement fifteen it states â€Å"human service professionals describe the effectiveness of programs, treatments, and/or techniques accurately†. This ethical standard would apply to me as the professional in Indira’s case because I would gather information on support groups, or specialty doctors to her parents in order to make sure she receives the proper care now and counseling or youth groups to support her, let her know she isn’t alone and how to be more cautious when it comes to sexual interactions in the future . The human service field can be extremely challenging at times. There will be many times that clients want to confide in you, they trust your privacy and confidentiality agreement and do tell you things they don’t just tell anyone. Some of these secrets are currently or will eventually cause harm to the client and may have legal bindings to break the privacy agreement that was made in the beginning of the counselor-client relationship. Using the National Organization for Human Service Professionals has given detailed guidelines on what is expected of and how to properly execute ethical dilemmas. References Mandell, B., & Schram, B. (2012). Understanding Legal Issues. In An Introduction to Human Services Policy and Practice. National Organization for Human Services. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43

Chapter Nine Summary essays

Chapter Nine Summary essays In this section of the book, Paul finally understands what the war is about and why he is there. But he learned this grim reality after a traumatizing event. He begins to see the devastation and agony the war brings accompanied with its empty heart. After being reassigned to a flank that is brought in whenever the battle plans go wrong, Paul prepares for battle. But he is reassured knowing his faithful comrades, Kat and Albert, are at his side. But Kat and Albert cant assist him with his mind struggle for the company of his mother. While conversing with Kat and Albert, Pauls hunger can be contained no longer and he pulls out his mothers potato-cakes. Paul pauses for a minute and pictures his mother in front of a hot stove with a broken heart. Pauls thought of this brings him to tears, but he must push this to the depths of his heart in preparation for the arrival of the Kaiser. The soldiers spirits are lifted after being handed new equipment that shunned their old ones. Paul and his comrades begin to converse of the war and the Kaisers arrival which erupts into a debate of who is the enemy and who is the good guy. They regard that both sides are defending their homes and their fatherland so it stands to reason of who is committing wrong doing. This debate then strikes up an argument of how the war could have been avoided, but Tjaden clears the air with the view that the war will bear peace for future generations. Following the inspection of camp by the Kaiser, the soldiers become enraged after finding out that the new equipment was only a front for the Kaisers inspection. Paul feels safety after hearing he and his flank will be going to Russia because of rumors going around camp, but he discovers that it was actually a rumor. He will just be going through the forest, up the line once again. In the forest is w...

Delphi DBGrid MultiSelect (Explanation and Example)

Delphi DBGrid MultiSelect (Explanation and Example) Delphis DBGrid is one of the most widely used DB-aware components in database related applications. Its main purpose is to enable your applications users to manipulate records from a dataset in a tabular grid. One of the lesser known features of the DBGrid component is that it can be set to allow multiple row selection. What this means is that your users can have the ability to select multiple records (rows) from the dataset connected to the grid. Allowing Multiple Selections To enable multiple selection, you only need to set the dgMultiSelect element to True in the Options property. When dgMultiSelect is True, users can select multiple rows in a grid using the following techniques: Ctrl Mouse clickShift Arrow keys The selected rows/records are represented as bookmarks and stored in the grids SelectedRows property. Note that SelectedRows is only useful when the Options property is set to True for both dgMultiSelect and dgRowSelect. On the other hand, when using dgRowSelect (when individual cells cannot be selected) the user wont be able to edit records directly through the grid and, and dgEditing is automatically set to False. The SelectedRows property is an object of type TBookmarkList. We can use the SelectedRows property to, for example: Get the number of rows selectedClear the selection (unselect)Delete all the selected recordsCheck whether a particular record is selected To set dgMultiSelect to True, you can either use the Object Inspector at design time or use a command like this at runtime: DBGrid1.Options: DBGrid1.Options [dgMultiSelect]; dgMultiSelect Example A good situation in which to use dgMultiSelect might be when you need an option to select random records or if you need the sum of the values of the selected fields.   The example below uses ADO components (AdoQuery connected to ADOConnection and DBGrid connected to AdoQuery over DataSource) to display the records from a database table in a DBGrid component. The code uses multiple selection to get the sum of the values in the Size field. Use this sample code if you want to select the entire DBGrid: procedure TForm1.btnDoSumClick(Sender: TObject);var i: Integer; sum : Single;beginif DBGrid1.SelectedRows.Count 0 thenbegin sum : 0; with DBGrid1.DataSource.DataSet dobeginfor i : 0 to DBGrid1.SelectedRows.Count-1 dobegin GotoBookmark(Pointer(DBGrid1.SelectedRows.Items[i])); sum: sum AdoQuery1.FieldByName(Size).AsFloat; end; end; edSizeSum.Text : FloatToStr(sum); endend;

Origin of the Roman Satire Genre

Origin of the Roman Satire Genre Roman literature began as an imitation of the Greek literary forms, from the epic stories of Greek heroes and tragedy to the poem known as an epigram. It was only in satire that the Romans could claim originality since the Greeks never split satire off into its own genre. Satire, as invented by the Romans, had a tendency from the beginning towards social criticism- some of it quite nasty- which we still associate with satire. But the defining characteristic of Roman satire was that it was a medley, like a modern revue. Menippean Satire The Romans produced two types of satire. Menippean satire was frequently a parody, blending prose and verse. The first use of this was the Syrian Cynic philosopher Menippus of Gadara (fl. 290 B.C.). Varro (116-27 B.C.) brought it into Latin. The Apocolocyntosis (Pumpkinification of Claudius), attributed to Seneca, a parody of the deification of the drooling emperor, is the only extant Menippean satire. We also have large segments of the Epicurean satire/novel, Satyricon, by Petronius. Verse Satire The other and more important type of satire was the verse satire. Satire unqualified by Menippean usually refers to the verse satire. It was written in dactylic hexameter meter, like epics. Its stately meter partly accounts for its relatively high place in the hierarchy of poetry quoted at the beginning. Founder of the Genre of Satire Although there were earlier Latin writers instrumental in developing the genre of satire, the official founder of this Roman genre is Lucilius, of whom we have only fragments. Horace, Persius, and Juvenal followed, leaving us many complete satires about the life, vice, and moral decay they saw around them. Antecedents of Satire Attacking the foolish, a component of ancient or modern satire, is found in Athenian Old Comedy whose sole extant representative is Aristophanes. The Romans borrowed from him and other than extant Greek writers of comedy, Cratinus, and Eupolus, according to Horace. The Latin satirists also borrowed attention-grabbing techniques from Cynic and Skeptic preachers whose extemporaneous sermons, called diatribes, could be embellished with anecdotes, character sketches, fables, obscene jokes, parodies of serious poetry, and other elements also found in Roman satire.

Fieldwork Skills and Supervision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fieldwork Skills and Supervision - Essay Example One particular area of emphasis in these sessions is the use of touching, which builds an additional effective level of connection between therapist and patient (Popa M and Best P, 2010). The therapist and I would use massage to warm up the clients’ backs and other muscles. This posed challenges at times because some of the patients would refuse physical contact. In the beginning, I had difficulty with touching all of the clients, but it became easier over time as I developed more confidence. The afternoon session followed a similar schedule.My role in this session was that of a trainee dance movement psychotherapist. In general, the main goal of these sessions was to develop consistency as a group, so that participants would feel a sense of trust and belonging as part of a team (Burns CA, 2012). This gives patients the chance to improve their social skills in expression, communication and forming relationships. Another area of need is improving and expanding the range of moti on available to each patient. Obviously, attendance is very important for patients to show development over time. Also, ensuring that each session has a clear structure from beginning to end maximizes the efficient use of each patient’s time, particularly using the beginning and the end to help patients understand and realize their own areas of improvement (Burns CA, 2012). The patients build trust through having fun and feeling safe when it comes to expressing feelings and needs (Barton EJ, 2011).

Romantic Love is a Poor Basis for Marriage Essay

Romantic Love is a Poor Basis for Marriage - Essay Example One day, a love-struck couple marry with all the complements for each other then the next day they are cursing one another in front of a judge. With the growing effects of media and the rampant news of the activities of celebrities which tend to become the models for younger generations nowadays, â€Å"love† is much celebrated and exalted in choosing a partner and deciding on marriage. However, it is interesting to note that â€Å"love† is now understood more on the feelings a person feels towards another rather than its basic ingredients which are patience, kindness, humility, loyalty and others. Men and women alike, now think they are more intelligent, more informed and allow themselves to find out if they have the â€Å"chemistry† to make a marriage work. They test this by staying together under one roof without getting married and if their sexual desires are satisfactorily met, then they decide to marry each other. However, in the long run, they find out that they made a mistake and therefore end up in a divorce. One of the studies on this topic was that of Tennov’s â€Å"limerence† which is the state of â€Å"being in love†, seeing all the good things in a person and disregarding the bad, just simply feeling good about everything that is happening in the relationship. The sad thing about this state is that, it only lasts for around two years (Owens). With the aforementioned study, it could be said that making romantic love the foundation of a relationship is foolish, not unless one plans to change partners every two years. More and more studies are being held these days about love and marriage, with the desire to dig into what makes marriages work. when one looks around, only a handful seem to have all that it takes for a marriage to be happy and lasting at the same time while so many seem to be lost without a manual. Scholars around the world search the differences of marriages, ones that work out and those that d o not. In this extended search, there have been so many conclusions made, suggestions given to couples, seminars held and probably more will be done to inform people and make their relationships work. One thing is for sure, romantic love is not enough to be the basis for marriage. There is a saying that says, â€Å"Love goes out of the window, together with the plates and spoons when there is no food on the table†. In some cases, this is literally true. Couples who joined themselves together in marriage can simply lose their temper when they are clawed by poverty and other troubles. This has been one of the guiding principles of most ancient an more recent eastern marriages. According to the studies of Lawrence Stone regarding English families until the eighteenth century, marriages were made on the basis of need for financial stability and lineage (Macfarlane). Despite this circumstance, many marriages worked well if the basis for such comment would be the lesser divorce rat es as compared to modern statistics. People then lived according to the norms and cultures of their age and space so that they were able to suppress their want to choose the person they would like to marry on the basis of romantic love. Taking into consideration the study on â€Å"

Major Report on Rational and Adaptive Strategy Research Paper

Major Report on Rational and Adaptive Strategy - Research Paper Example An efficient model provided by Burgelman enables to comprehend the effectiveness of strategies undertaken by an organization in dynamic business environment. Moreover, the two strategy making processes including induced strategy process and autonomous strategy process proposed by Burgelman offer various companies with comprehensive understanding of induced or existing business environment and autonomous business environment or the emerging business environment in determining effectual business environment. Consequently, the two frameworks of strategy making process are related with the strategies formulated and implemented by PepsiCo Inc. in order to identify and measure the effectiveness of these strategies. In this report, the strategies adapted in recent past by PepsiCo are critically analyzed in light of Burgelman model. Based on the understanding of the existing strategies of PepsiCo, certain pertinent recommendations have been provided that can ensure long-term growth and susta inability of the business. . Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Key Features of the Burgelman’s 3 Stage Model 5 The Living Organization Develops Using Evolutionary Methods 7 Three Conceptual Frameworks Supporting Strategy Making 8 Tool I – Forces Driving the Company’s Evolution 8 Tool II - Evolutionary Framework of the Strategy Making 9 Tool III- Process Model of Internal Corporate Venturing 10 Strategic Analysis of PepsiCo Based on Burgelman’s 3 Stage Model 11 Induced Strategy 12 Autonomous Strategy 13 Strategies Executed by PepsiCo 14 Environmental Sustainability Initiatives of PepsiCo 17 Implemented Strategies 20 Measuring PepsiCo Success and Identifying Its Barriers as well as Strength Factors 20 Conclusion 24 Recommendations 25 References 27 Introduction PepsiCo Inc. is one of the most successful multi-national companies engaged in foods and beverages products with more than US$ 65 billion net revenues. The company operates in mor e than 200 countries with it’s headquarter in New York, United States. PepsiCo consists of brand like Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana, Frito-lay and Gatorade. The success of PepsiCo can be attributed to its quality products and distinct competitive strategies. The company seeks to achieve healthy rewards to its investors and provide opportunities to its employees by ensuring quality products to its widely distributed customer segments (PepsiCo Inc., 2004). It has not been an easy task for PepsiCo to reach the level as it is now. In its journey to success, the company confronted with many ethical and legal challenges. Primarily, the challenges like entering into other countries with different cultures and laws were indeed difficult to manage and abide by. However, the company has been able to efficiently overcome its challenges with the efficient implementation of its strategies based upon the vivid circumstances (PepsiCo Inc., 2004). Strategic decisions are a complex task to be perform ed by the multinational companies like PepsiCo. The present business environment is complex and dynamic which is affected by several factors. The dynamism in the business environment continuously pressurizes the company to constantly evaluate its strategic decision making process in order to sustain and survive its business in highly competitive business world. The traditional strategic planning process does not provide relevant aid to

Option 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Option 3 - Essay Example The new burger consists of a seven inch burger served with some French fries and a medium glass of Coca Cola at a considerate price of $6.25. It has made the burger longer as compared to the previous ones to draw more customers. It has used hyperbole in its advertisement that is evident in the commercial picture. Hyperbole develops strong impressions of the potential customers creating suspense that leads to purchase. The trope has targeted the young generation due to the use of sexual desires in its contexts. Use of phrases such as ‘feel your desire with something long and juice...’ has been used to portray sexual scenes (Nudd). The picture also reveals a seven-inch burger with a woman’s mouth wide open. The burger seems so big that it cannot fit into her mouth and a ‘dirty minded person’ is bound to think of something more sexual. Young women and teenage girls have been represented in the advertisement due to the sexual appeals of the long seven-inc h burger. Burger King has used this fact to portray the large size of the Burger. Most modern day commercials have adopted the use of sexual desires because research has proved that sexuality tend to seek more attention. Teenagers have been targets using sexual appeals due to their experiences from school lectures. Moreover, they are also addicted to junk foods as compared to adults. They form the larger share of the population and are frequent visitors of fast food chains such as Burger King. The use of hyperbole to describe the seven-incher has attracted more teenagers since it has given a different impression of the burger. Most teenagers are subject to impulse buying that do not require making of rational decisions. Awareness can also be caused through sharing of experiences. Teenagers also tend to have the same tastes and preferences when it comes to matters of food and diet. Sharing of information about the burger maybe done using social networks such as

Apple (Motivation and leadership) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Apple (Motivation and leadership) - Term Paper Example Leadership is the driving force behind the success and failure of business organisations. It determines the way resources are utilized and human capital is led for the welfare of the entire company. The kind of leadership that a company has is responsible for its growth and expansion and the creation of competitive advantages in the environment (Noe 2013, 24). Successful businesses have leaders who understand the changing business trends and devises strategies that are in tandem with these changes. This paper examines the human resource practices are Apple Inc., showing how they have been essential in steering the company to its status as one of the best company in the manufacture of various kinds of consumer electronics. Apple Incorporation is an American company that is among the world’s leading companies in the productions of electronics and related peripherals. The company’s main line of operation is production of computer softwares and other related electronics such as mobile phones among other gadgets (Grady 2009, 7). Some of the products that the company has been well known for include the iPad, iPhone, iPod as well as Mac computers. The company has been expanding and increasing is presence in many countries, it is estimated that at the start of 2014, it had established close to 400 retail stores in more than 15 countries worldwide (Grady 2009, 11). In addition, the company has developed online stores to appeal to clients who do shopping online, on this stores, the company sells computer hardware as well as different other related softwares. However, despite the progress that the company has been making, training employees remains its main activity in a bid to remain competitive and keep pace with rivals. Human resource functions at Apple Inc., have been significant in the process of helping the company to remain relevant and competitive amidst the changing business environment. It is important

Although consideration is often referred to as the 'badge of Essay

Although consideration is often referred to as the 'badge of enforceability' for a contract in English law, in assessing the - Essay Example However, under the doctrine of promissory estoppels, any party can recover what it has rightfully earned, or the value of detriment suffered by reliance on the agreement, even if a court decides there is no legal contract (MacMillan & Stone, 2013 p.27). Thus, consideration forms one of the fundamental elements of a legally binding agreement, and is often referred to as the ‘badge of enforceability’ for a contract in English law. However, in assessing the validity of a variation in the terms of an existing contract, consideration is but one line of argument. This is because: Consideration is regarded by the English courts as the principle way of determining the existence of a contract (MacMillan & Stone, 2013 p.34). The significance of consideration as a vital aspect of a contract in English law is that; it is through the existence of consideration, that the other essential elements of a legally binding agreement are fulfilled. ... However, while this aspect is a principal requirement in the English contract law, there are further assessments that might be made; in spite of the mere fact that consideration really existed in the contractual agreement, which then nullifies the agreement as unenforceable. Therefore, while consideration forms a fundamental building block as far as the English contract law is concerned, it has emerged that it is not indispensable, and thus there are circumstances under which the courts can regard a contractual agreement that did not entail consideration to be legally binding, while also nullifying a contractual agreement that involved consideration as unenforceable in law (Gillies, 1988 p.72). This simply means that, despite the fact that consideration is a cardinal requirement in the English contract law, it must be interpreted in the context of other principles of a binding contract, and thus consideration is but one line of argument. First, despite the fact that consideration cou ld really exist in a contractual agreement, there is limitation offered to the concept of consideration, which states that past consideration is not consideration (Busch, 2005 p.33). This legal requirement then makes consideration but one line of argument; because it clearly shows that the mere existence of consideration is not sufficient to make an agreement legally binding, since if consideration is past, the contractual agreement will be regarded unenforceable, despite the existence of the consideration (Schulze, 2007 p.49). This principle has been established and demonstrated in various case laws, which has served to show that consideration is a

Apple (Motivation and leadership) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Apple (Motivation and leadership) - Term Paper Example Leadership is the driving force behind the success and failure of business organisations. It determines the way resources are utilized and human capital is led for the welfare of the entire company. The kind of leadership that a company has is responsible for its growth and expansion and the creation of competitive advantages in the environment (Noe 2013, 24). Successful businesses have leaders who understand the changing business trends and devises strategies that are in tandem with these changes. This paper examines the human resource practices are Apple Inc., showing how they have been essential in steering the company to its status as one of the best company in the manufacture of various kinds of consumer electronics. Apple Incorporation is an American company that is among the world’s leading companies in the productions of electronics and related peripherals. The company’s main line of operation is production of computer softwares and other related electronics such as mobile phones among other gadgets (Grady 2009, 7). Some of the products that the company has been well known for include the iPad, iPhone, iPod as well as Mac computers. The company has been expanding and increasing is presence in many countries, it is estimated that at the start of 2014, it had established close to 400 retail stores in more than 15 countries worldwide (Grady 2009, 11). In addition, the company has developed online stores to appeal to clients who do shopping online, on this stores, the company sells computer hardware as well as different other related softwares. However, despite the progress that the company has been making, training employees remains its main activity in a bid to remain competitive and keep pace with rivals. Human resource functions at Apple Inc., have been significant in the process of helping the company to remain relevant and competitive amidst the changing business environment. It is important

Credit Markets Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Credit Markets - Research Paper Example The next step in the treasury auction process is the bidding process, which entails the prospective buyers of the credit items making the bids, either through a process of competitive or noncompetitive bidding (Treasurydirect.gov, n.p.). The competitive bidding allows the prospective buyers to offer their bids competitively up to the maximum limited amount of securities, while in the noncompetitive bidding; the prospective buyers have to agree with the terms of the sale of the securities as set. The final process in the treasury auction process is the issuance stage, which is the stage where the bidders who successfully bid and were allocated securities in different categories have the securities delivered to them. When treasury delivers the securities to the bidders, it then charges the total amount of the cost of securities on the accounts of the successful bidders (Treasurydirect.gov, n.p.). 2. Discuss the activities of other major new debt-securities issuances (agency, municipal, foreign, and others) from collected articles, including lead underwriter(s), the amount of each issue, and other reported terms. Major new debt-securities issuances have been occurring in the USA credit market. Among the major new issuances in 2015 include the issuance of securities worth $483.615 million by the Washington Municipal (Thomson Reuters, n.p.). The Washington Municipal securities were preliminarily issued on February 10, 2015, with the Foster Pepper being the underwriters and also the bookkeepers (Thomson Reuters, n.p.). Another new security issuance includes that of the Michigan Finance Authority worth 197.535 million, which was issued on February 13 of this year, with the J P Morgan Securities LLC., being the underwriters (Thomson Reuters, n.p.). On the industrial front, OHR Pharmaceutical issued new securities worth $25.0 million on 5th February of this year, with Cowen Group being the underwriters (Thomson

Military Culture: A Dynamic Phenomenon

Military Culture: A Dynamic Phenomenon Military culture is a dynamic phenomenon which undergoes evolution in consonance with changing environments. Effects of changes may not be sudden or abrupt but over a period of time; however the variations in environment have potential to alter the entire character of an army. Sequel to this, organizational changes have direct bearing on military culture, as they define the lifestyle of a military outfit. These changes coupled with increased requirements of specialized outfits due to intrinsic geographical diversity have catalyzed cultural shifts in our military. These smaller and particular set ups have actually created/likely to lead to a no of variant or sub-cultures in the army. This sub-cultural shift if not controlled and channelized may result into serious mutations from our very strong, seasoned and well evolved military values as well as culture. In view of above, carryout an in depth study of change in the culture of Pakistan Army attributable to organizational changes as well as concept of specialized outfits with a view to suggest remedial measures to offset any ill-tendencies / disadvantages. . ABSTRACT Culture is diverse in nature. It exists everywhere on this earth. Pakistan is has a rich Culture which is a blend of various cultures that existed in the sub ­continent during the pre-partition era. Our psycho-social and socio-economic environment has deteriorated over the past decades. The employment of units in Sub Conventional Warfare in the last decade and due to Indians Pro Active Operations Strategy has affected the military culture in Pakistan Army. The military culture whether it is affected by the organizational changes and establishing of the satellite cantonments or not is a question that has been discussed in this paper. The social and cultural problems like reduced ethical values, increased careerism, individualism etc has greatly influenced the military lifestyle. The military culture which had very strong values, customs and traditions is undergoing a process of degradation. More so the media and general awareness has also played a major role in giving rise to materi alistic approach among the officers and soldiers alike. This study has highlighted the reasons for the degeneration of military culture and also gives certain recommendations which can reduce the level of deterioration and revive the lost traditions which are a hallmark of our Military Culture. TABLE OF CONTENTS S/No Title Page Preliminaries 1 Theme ii 2 Abstract iii 3 Table of Contents iv Part-I 4 a. Basic definitions and historical perspective 2 b. Roots of Military Culture of Sub Continent 10 c. Part-Il 5 a. Organizational / role changes over past 16 decade in Pakistan Army b. Strengths of Military Culture 17 c. Deformation in Military Culture due to Changes 19 in organization and Role Part-Ill 6 Effects of socio-cultural disorder on Pakistan Army 23 Part-IV 7 Recommendations 27 8 Bibliography 33 EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES AND CREATION OF SPECIALIZED UNITS ON MILITARY CULTURE An Army without culture is dull witted army, and a dull witted army cannot defeat the enemy Moa Tse Tung Introduction 1. Cultural and social changes have been a dominant part of the evolution of mankind. Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society  [1]  . Military society is a unique and distinct entity with its own sub-culture. This form of culture provides an environment under which leadership and management are exercised in the armed forces. Military culture is often determined and modified by the nature of the society of its origin. Although the elements of the military culture like training, discipline, codes, conditioning etceteras play a pivotal role to bring about changes in the cultural traits of military personnel, the cultural traits of the society remains its very foundation. 2. For a military outfit it is extremely important to have a team equipped with an enriched military culture which can deliver in the hour of need. What makes a soldier fight? In some cases it is the motivation based on ideology, in others it may be materialistic motives. It takes a wide span of time to inculcate all those attributes which a soldier needs to withstand challenges in the combat. This is a whole time commitment where one spends more time in dealing with professional choirs than with normal society. History is witness to the fact that military culture has played a key role in the final outcome of many battles. Culture is a barometer of societys health. An eroded culture will be a reflection of the illness of a society and vice versa. 3. After 9/11, not only affected the society of our country but also transformed the military culture of Pakistan Army a lot. The Sub Conventional Wars in Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Swat and areas of Balochistan resulted in formation of new specialized outfits with specific tasks. Indians Pro Active Strategy has also resulted in the organizational changes as well in the form of establishment of new satellite stations/ cantonments. These organizational changes has affected the military culture in Pakistan Army prevailing a decade ago resulting in the deformation of already established military customs, traditions and culture. There is a dire need to identify the deformation that has taken place and the effort that is required to remove/ correct them. Aim 4. To carry out an in depth study of changes in Pakistan Army culture in historic perspective, current changes in the culture attributable to organizational / specialized outfit related transformations, with a view to suggesting remedial measures to offset the deformation in the military culture. PART-I BASIC DEFINITIONS AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Basic Definitions 5. In order to undertake the study it is imperative to understand the following basic concepts so as to build a sound base for the analysis. a. Society. The English word society emerged in the 15th century and is derived from the French word societe. The French word, in turn, had its origin in the Latin word societas, which means a friendly association with others, from socius meaning companion, associate, and comrade or business partner. The Latin word is probably related to the verb sequi, to follow, and thus originally may have meant follower  [2]  . In political science, the term is often used to mean the totality of human relationships, generally in contrast to the State, i.e., the apparatus of rule or government within a territory. In the social sciences such as sociology, society has been used to mean a group of people that form a semi-closed social system, in which most interactions are with other individuals belonging to the group. Societies may also be organized according to their political structure. In order of increasing size and complexity, there are bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and state societies. These s tructures may have varying degrees of political power, depending on the cultural geographical and historical environments that these societies must contend with. Thus, a more isolated society with the same level of technology and culture as other societies is more likely to survive than one in closer proximity to others that may encroach on their resources. A society that is unable to offer an effective response to other societies it competes with will usually be subsumed into the culture of the competing society. b. Ethos. Ethos, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is defined as the characteristic spirit, prevalent tone of sentiment, of a people or community; the genius of an institution or system, although it originally has its roots in the Greek word etho or to be accustomed to  [3]  . In a place where one might gather often, the opportunity for developing communal values indefinitely arises. These types of values are those which are established in the meaning of ethos. Therefore, to be a good example of ethos, one most portray the types of traits that are most valued within a society which sometimes differs for every society. For example, those virtues as related to Athens would be justice, courage, temperance, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence, and wisdom.  [4]   c. Culture. Culture is defined as the sum of symbols, ideas, forms of expression, and material products associated with a social system. It is a dynamic medium through which societies create a collective way of life reflected in such things as beliefs, values, music, literature, art, dance, science, religious ritual, and technology. In this sense, it is literally the source from which we create most of what we experience as reality, and as such its place in human life is enormously important  [5]  . Culture is the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior. Culture thus consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institution, tools, techniques, work of art, rituals, ceremonies, and other related components. Some researchers say that culture is concerned with the state of mind, spirit and civilization. Even human society also enjoys its own particular culture, or socio- ­culture system which overlaps with other systems. Variations among socio-cu ltural system are attributed to physical habits and stretches to the range of possibilities. Culture is inherent in various areas of activity, such as language, rituals and customs. The attitude, values, ideals and beliefs of individuals are greatly influenced by the culture in which they live. Precisely, culture is the sum total of the ways of life of people in a particular society. Culture is the key to understanding a group, has a lot of practical value to a sociologist. If we know the culture and its implication for man or group of men, we can predict certain part of their behavior, and explain most of its part actions. Following aspects of culture are vital  [6]  . (1) Culture is a continuously changing process. It adapts itself to new situation and environment though it is not observed since the changing process is quite slow apparently but has deep under currents. (2) Whenever culture of a society is dilated upon, the instance of that society is not protected. d. Mores. Mores are norms that reflect deeply held cultural ideals about how people should behave. Mores make more important distinctions, such as those between good and evil, virtuous and sinful, laudable and repugnant. A societys mores define standards of behaviour that are more serious and punishment for their violation tends to be both more certain and more severe. Mores extend beyond the rightness or wrongness of certain acts to the most profound ideas about life in a society is supposed to be about  [7]  . e. Military Culture. The military society is a unique and a distinct entity with its own sub culture. This form of culture provides an environment under which leadership and management are exercised in the armed forces. Military culture is often determined and modified by the nature of the society and of its origin, although, the elements of culture like training, discipline ,codes, conditioning etc play a significant role to bring about changes in the cultural traits of military personnel, nevertheless, the cultural traits of the entire society remains as the foundation. Since differences or changes in cultural traits are brought about by these elements, they become factors of consideration, particularly in crisis or battle situation. The performance and conduct of soldiers in crisis and battle are the sum total of cultural traits they have imbibed over a period. Military culture is generally based on ideals of honour, sacrifice and discipline, thereby appearing different from the t raditional value system of any society. The extent of attainment of these ideals; account for the professional rating of the military. This consequently differentiates a professional army from a non ­professional one. Pakistan Army evolved along with the history of the nation itself and has experienced modifications of its military culture at various critical times. The different stages that the army experienced has helped to modify its culture to what it is today exercising both positive and negative trends on its professionalism. Historical Perspective 6. Genesis of Military Culture in a Global Perspective. Military culture can be traced back to the genesis of human society itself. The interesting phenomenon is that despite the wide diversity of the worlds cultural scene, military culture all over, has the same basic ingredients and therefore cannot be isolated drastically from the national culture. Military culture breeds respect, honour and regard for fellow soldiers. Its builds a positive culture in which its members live. It is the mainstay of any successful military organization  [8]  . Military culture, apart from geographical influences, also has deep historical roots in the genesis of the particular army as well. The armies raised by the colonial powers retain the imprints of colonial occupation in their overall outlook. As humans developed their dwellings into communal groups and the network of tribal society began spreading, so did the profession of arms. Initially all members of the clan were supposed to take up arms whenever circumstances necessitated acquiring or retaining. As civilization grew larger, different people took to different walks of life. This was the origin of professionals. In order to understand the genesis of military culture in its broader perspective, Ancient civilizations of Egypt and Greece will be mention here:- a. Military Culture of Ancient Egypt. Egypt is known as a land of ancient wisdom  [9]  . By the 1468 BC, small groups of people started settling down along the banks of the Nile. These settlements became small villages and in time the headman of one village grew stronger and more powerful than his neighbours. Finally his descendants became rulers were known as Pharaohs and there subjects worshiped them as gods  [10]  . The first Pharaoh to rule the Kingdom of upper and lower Nile was Menes, but Hyksos was the first ruler who organized the army and gave birth to the ancient military culture of Egypt. The Hyksos dynasty were driven out by Ahmes in 1567 BC, and from his time onwards, the practice of methods of war became an essential part of the Pharaohs training curriculum. The cities needed dedicated people to defend them and the state needed a powerful army to implement its policies within and without. The Army was the only tangible instrument of power, so great care was take n to indoctrinate its members in a way that that believed in the divinity of the monarch. The important components were: ­- (1) Chivalry. (2) Courage. (3) Honour. (4) Duty. (5) Patriotism. (6) Sense of Sacrifice. (7) Fidelity. (8) Unquestioned Obedience. (9) Divinity of the Cause. b. Military Culture of the Greeks. Greeks are a part of our mental furniture, our cultural baggage. Alternatively, they are the rock on which the painfully constructed edifices of our experiences actually rest  [11]  . But which Greeks are they, precisely, whom we should look back to, to trace the genesis of military culture? Alexander, the greatest flag bearer of Greek Culture, was not a Greek but a Macedonian. Nevertheless, Greeks were a warrior people. War, as Heraclites of Ephesus put it round about 500 BC, is the king and father of all things and all men, some he makes free some slaves. War in ancient Greece, defined the political rights and responsibilities of citizens and colonies, as well as providing a peculiarly demanding test of brute physique and mental strength. It drew the line between the free and the unfree both within the Greek world and between the Greeks and the surrounding barbarian or non-Greek cultures. Apart from their cardinal values of their military cult ure, the Greeks had moral opposition to militarism that sets classical Greek military culture apart from that of the peoples, ancient or modern, making it ancestral in particular to Western military culture  [12]  . ROOTS OF MILITARY CULTURE OF SUB CONTINENT 7. The Indus Valley civilization and culture emerged in about 2500 B.C. Later in 3rd century BC, King Ashoka gave a concept of highly trained and professional Army to the subcontinent. Military culture based on Ashokas values of bravery and wisdom, flourished in the land for the centuries to come. Early Muslim Conquests and Our Military Culture (1) In early 8th century, Muhammad Bin Qasim defeated Raja Dahirs army at Hyderabad. This exposed people of Subcontinent to the Islamic military culture based on brotherhood, bravery, justice, equality, honour and sacrifice. (2) The next major exposure to our military culture was of Muslim sultanate which was established in Delhi by early 13th century. In 16th century the Mongols, who were the decedents of Genghis Khan swept over the mountain passes from Central Asia came to this region. Now, besides the balanced culture of Islam, the harsh culture of YASA (the constitution of the Genghis Khan), the cast-ridden culture of Hinduism and soft culture of Buddhists and Confucius got induced into the military culture of Subcontinent. The British Colonial Era (1) The next cultural big bang occurred due to the arrival of British on the scene. The British restructured and reorganized the local forces. British Raj influenced various facets of our military culture like customs, institutions, and ceremonies. (2) In British Indian Army, religious tendencies were not advocated; rather British officers laid emphasis on loyalty, duty and regimentation. They presented new ideas like mess culture and the creation of rank of Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO). They also created phenomenal training institutions like Military College Jhelum and Command and Staff College Quetta. So our military culture till independence was a cluttered culture of various civilizations and did not have a single theme to be pursued. Transition Period (1947 1953). 1947 brought new dreams, new hopes and new challenges for the new army. That was the right time to identify our true military culture and shun all unwanted elements. But unfortunately that could not happen because at the time of independence Pakistan Armed Forces were deficient of officers. The shortage of officers, forced Pakistan Armed Forces to retain almost 500 British officers on contract at senior command and staff appointments, who maintained status quo. Therefore, Pakistan Armed Forces could not find their cultural identity in its new composite entity. Disengagement of the residual British officers in 1953 was the beginning of the development of a new military culture. Consolidation Era (1953 1971). This phase witnessed political instability and the appointment of General Ayub Khan as the Commander-In-Chief. This era brought the idea of Martial Law in the Pakistan Armed Forces. Present shortcomings in our present military culture, due to interactions with the civilians, have their roots embedded in the time frame of consolidation era i.e. from 1953 to 1971. Another important happening in this time frame was the realization that we should give away the British traditions and in this search of our identity and national pride, the pride in affiliation with the British Crown was disowned by symbolic removal of the word Royal that preceded all unit designations. This era also saw 1965 War. The armed forces enjoyed an intimate backing from the civilian masses and the war made soldiers as national heroes. e. Period From 1971 1977 (1) This era witnessed the darkest turn in our National history. Nation faced a political defeat in a military arena. (2) On the contrary, the strength of the Armed Forces was not decreased and the Government maintained a strong and efficient military. Our culture did not change much in this period but the masses and the Armed Forces started feeling the requirement of integrating the Islamic values into their daily lives. f. Period From 1977 1988 (1) This era again brought the Armed Forces to the center stage of national politics. In this phase, religion remained central to General Zias philosophy. Changes such as comprehensive ban on drinking were implemented. A cultural shift from a westernized life style to a more Islamic life style started to begin. (2) Military co-operation with other countries improved. It was estimated that about 30,000 Pakistani troops were stationed in 24 different countries in 1983. This brought a wave of prosperity among the officers and men. There was a swift shift of culture in this time frame from western style to core oriental and Islamic way of military life style. This was the era whose impressions can still be found in our present military culture. Period From 1988 1999. This era was characterized by democratic rule and political instability. In a span of seven years, four governments were changed. Due to self interest of various political parties, the political atmosphere remained charged. In spite of tall claims, the economic state depleted and foreign investment decreased due to rampant corruption, deteriorating law and order and political instability. During this decade, both India and Pakistan became overtly nuclear. This gave a temporary boost to National spirit and the public sentiments aroused. This was immediately followed by the Kargil Campaign. Our culture, however, did not change much during this decade. Period From 1999 to 2007 (1) General Pervaiz Musharaf took over as Chief Executive after military coup. Qualified / suitable Retired military / civilians were appointed as heads of prime organizations which gave an economic boost to these organizations. This era also attracted foreign investment, offered better job opportunities and increase in foreign exchange reserves. Some of its achievements were:- (a) WAPDA was saved by the Army from total disaster. (b) Pakistan Railways was rescued and it started giving profit. (c) Steel Mill also started giving profit. (d) Media became independent and a lot of private channels were opened. (2) The events of 9 / 11 changed the complexion of international environment and perception of our people. Government decided to become an ally of NATO forces on Global War on Terror (GWOT). Effects of this strategic shift can be seen even today. In later stage of his reign General Musharraf lost his pride as a leader which had direct influence on the image of the Army. This era can conveniently be termed as one man show. The episode of Dr Abdul Qadir Khan, assassination of Akbar Bugti, Lal Masjid operation and removal of Chief Justice, holding of President office being in uniform and emergency declared on 3rd Nov 2010 were some of the controversial decisions resulted in the decline of Musharafs era. i. 2008 till todate (1) Army pulled out from all political institutions. Elections were held and Political Government was set in. Inefficient people with accelerated promotions got appointed as heads of prime institutions. At occasions, National and Provincial Assemblies gave a picture of fish market. The institution which had the public mandate lost its value, resultantly all organization from transport (PIA and railways) to energy sectors are on verge of collapse. Corruption, lawlessness, injustice, worst energy short fall, unabated inflation and price-hike have further compounded the situation in the country. There seems to be no strategy to give relief to the commoners. Uncontrolled and un-steered media became a monster. Instead of providing strength to the society it started to bash various organizations with Army as no exception. Presently, talk shows have become famous for blame game and use of un-parliamentary language. Some of the under mentioned incidents clearly show planned Army bashing by m edia and politicians:- (a) 2nd May incident. (b) Memogate scandal. (c) Salala post incident. (d) North Atlantic Treaty Organization supplies issue. (2) However, during this period Army totally remained focused on military affairs and improved its image. Professionalism came back and training took the center stage. Some of the highlights of this period are appended below:- Army level war games (AzmeNau series). Year of soldier with introduction of Base line menu. Pay package was considerably increased. Introduction of Yum e Shuhada including Shuhada package. Year of training focusing back to basics. Army level study periods. Incentive of free uniform and plots for JCOs / soldiers. Revision of policies. Improvement in Information Technology environment (inclusion of Office Automated System). Success of Military Operation in Swat. Management of Internally displaced personnel (IDPs). Introduction of combat dress. Enhanced accountability. PART II Organizational / Role Changes over Past Decade in Pakistan Army 8. Organizational Changes. After the incident of 9/11 and the following Global War on Terrorism brought not only changes to the Pakistani Society but also had definite changes onto the military culture of Pakistan Army. It changed the outlook of almost entire army as to how it looked before its commitment in the Sub Conventional Warfares operations. It definitely had some positive aspects to its credit but as far as military culture is concerned it brought some drastic unwanted changes and deformation. The organizational changes that took place during this decade were:- a. Commitment of Army in civilian affairs to include monitoring of various state run institutions which were decaying due to inefficiency, which included:- (1) WAPDA. (2) Government educational institute. (3) Hospitals. (4) Census. (5) Elections. (6) Railways. (7) Pakistan Steels and others. b. Pakistan Army moved to the lawless Federally Administered Tribal Area along the Durand line after the invasion of Afghanistan by United States of America. Pakistan Army moved to these areas for the first time after the independence. The units and formations those were deployed have a changed role not previously practiced or known to them. They were not properly trained for this type of warfare. These units had to undergo changes not only in their role but also in their military culture due to the changed environment. These changes in the military cultures were demand of the situation and time. With the passage of time these unwanted deformation in the military customs and cultures came with these changes in the organization and roles of the units and formations of army. 9. Evolution of Special Units/Outfits. The last decade saw changes in terms of evolution of specialized outfit and units. The raising of these units, outfits and organizations vastly improve the combat potential of the Pakistan Army. The evolution and raising of these new units and outfits was the need of the hour. These specialized units were trained; equipped and stationed at special locations in consonance with their operational roles. The examples in case are Light Commando Battalions and Units of Army Strategic Force Command. Due to their peculiar roles and task, these units were cut off from the routine life of a cantonment; adversely affecting the military culture of these outfits. 10. Establishments of Satellite Station/Cantonments. In the last one decade, Indian Army has been evaluating and practicing its Pro Active Operations Strategy. This strategy has serious consequences for Pakistan Army resulting in the construction and establishments of new forward cantonments/satellite stations. Pakistan Armys response to Indians Pro Active Operations Strategy is New Concept of War Fighting. This entailed moving of troops to forward locations during the peace time. This factor has further put troops and officers away from the main cantonments and away from the military cultures. This also includes affecting the training and grooming of all ranks. 11. Strengths of Military Culture. Pakistan Armed Forces enjoys the reputation of being a professional combat force capable of taking on any operational task. This has been proved time and again by our troops engaged in the nation building, United Nations peace keeping missions and during war with India. Some of the strengths of our military culture are:- a. Symbol of National Unity. Ever since its emergence, military has maintained its nationalistic ethos despite various cultural, ethnic, religious rifts gripping Pakistani society. The military has a stature of being above these, thus acting as a unifying force for the country. The role it played in subduing the anti national forces has earned them the respect and are being viewed as the Symbol of National Unity. b. Strength of Institution. The institution of armed forces is constituted on strong ideological foundations of defense of the motherland from internal and external threats. c. National Army. Military culture has an inherent flexibility of warmly accepting all individuals without any discrimination of caste, creed or colour. A large number of Balochi Youth has been inducted in all arms and services of Pakistan Army not only to bring them in mainstream but also to make Pakistan Army as true National Army. It approves healthy competition of achieving professional excellence and rightful doings. d. Religious Values. The recruitment of armed forces is carried out on voluntary basis. Because of the inherent religious strength of our society the desire for martyrdom has always been the prime facet of our military culture. e. Fair System. Military has a s

Ordinary People :: essays research papers

The book Ordinary People explains the troubles that occur in a typical American family. The family, the Jarrets, tries to maintain as much as a normal life as possible without a dysfunctional status. In the beginning of the story, the family deals with minor problems that had little impact to them. Since they had just moved to a new house in a new neighborhood, they try to establish relationships with other neighbors. Their son, Conrad, faces depression in which he must recover from through frequent visits to the hospital, and to his psychiatrist. The father of the family, Calvin, is a determined and responsible man, is positive on his outlook in life and looks forward to everything, including having a productive day at work. He tries to take care of Conrad by giving sending him to a psychiatrist. The mother, Beth, a strong working woman, is also like Calvin; she is responsible to the family as well. Obviously, the parents have no personal problems, but ironically they create conflic ts with each other. Although these conflicts are very minor, they eventually build up to separate the family later on throughout their marriage. An example of this was seen while the parents had troubles deciding where and when to go on vacation during their night out at dinner, because both their times conflicted with each other. The both of them always had minor conflicts that sprouted out every once in a while, but they were acceptable to each other. Conrad on the other hand had problems with his low self-esteem, grades in school, depression, suicide and interacting with other people. The loss of Buck brought Conrad down to his depression and low self-esteem, which eventually collapsed on his academic achievements in school. Also his social attitude towards society was weak, since his moods were always aimed towards quiet environments and loneliness. He took blame for his brother’s death in a boat accident and wanted to commit suicide. Conrad wanted to be in his own world, where he could relax and be in peace from all the annoying people in his life. The only people he really spoke with outside of his family were his teammates in his swim team, Lazenby, Bergen, his psychiatrist, Jeannine, and Karen. This did not necessarily mean that he liked the people he had relationships with. Conrad found his own teammates annoying, his psychiatrist too nosy in his life, and Karen wasn’t creditable either because she had similar problems like him, since they met each other at the hospital.

The Riders Essay -- Literary Analysis, Tim Winton

An individual’s ‘Sense of Place’ is predominantly their place of belonging and acceptance in the world, may it be through a strong physical, emotional or spiritual connection. In Tim Winton’s novel ‘The Riders†, the concept of Sense of Place is explored through the desperate journey of its protagonist, Fred Scully. Scully’s elaborate search for identity throughout the novel is guided and influenced by the compulsive love he feels for his wife Jennifer and their family morals, the intensity of hope and the destruction it can cause and the nostalgic nature of Winton’s writing. Two quotes which reflect the ideals of a person’s Sense of Place are â€Å"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him.’(Aldous Huxley) and â€Å"It is not down in any map. True places never are.† (Herman Melville). Huxley and Melville’s statements closely resemble Fred Scully’s jou rney and rectify some of his motivations throughout the text. Scully’s ‘Sense of Place’ strongly revolves around the idea of a healthy marriage, a happy family, and ultimately, the presence of love. He believes that he and Jennifer have an honest relationship and that she is like his â€Å"sheet anchor...a steadying influence on him†, (p.20) but Winton contradicts this by frequently incorporating foreshadowing into Scully’s dreams to signify that Scully’s marriage is not what it seems. ‘In his dreams that night he ran, never stopping to see what was behind him, blindly going on into darkness’ (p.22). This quote highlights his trusting nature towards his relationship with Jennifer, and foreshadows the â€Å"blind† shock that he will suffer when he is betrayed. Scully does not only feel intense love for his wife, he is also devoted to his daughter Billie. He b... ...ecomes clear, that Scully’s home, his life and ultimately his Sense of Place is in Ireland with Billie by his side. It is with this newfound knowledge that Melville’s quote rings true: Scully’s true places; his daughter and his memories cannot be found on any map, only deep inside his heart. Fred Scully endured an emotionally destructive journey in order to discover his true identity and Sense of Place. In order to attain his identity Scully learnt how love could be both dangerous and wholesome, how much it hurts to have his hopes raised only to be shattered by the truth and experienced spiritual travels back to his secure past. Throughout Scully’s journey Winton reinforces the concept of Sense of place with the techniques of flashbacks and foreshadowing, which crucially contribute to Scully’s newfound Sense of Place: anywhere where Billie and him are together.

NSTP or National Service Training Program Essay

â€Å"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.† – Ralph Waldo Emerson. NSTP or National Service Training Program for me has become more than just a required two-semester course for me to graduate. It taught me life lessons that cannot be learned inside the four walls of our classroom. It taught how I can serve my country in my own little way. It taught me that in helping others, no matter how small we think it may be, could make a big difference and impact to other people. To be honest, I chose LTS or Literacy Training Service as my NSTP course just for the sake of choosing. As months passed by, I unexpectedly start to love LTS. I learned the basics in first-aid and disaster risk reduction management. We went to a school in Samal Bataan for two Saturdays for our fieldwork. There I met a lot of grade six students which I immediately became friends with. We prepared art work projects, science experiments, played charades for their enjoyment while at the same time making sure that they are learning from the activities. We were assigned to review them for the upcoming National Achievement Test. I was assigned to two students which I admit was pretty challenging at first because I am a shy person and I am not really patient when it comes to teaching others so having to teach two grade six students was really hard for me. It definitely made me step out of my comfort zone. I was pretty sad after our field work because I was already attached to my two students. So before we parted ways, we gave each other a little something so that we would not forget each other and promised to meet again someday. Over-all, LTS taught me three things: patience, deeper appreciation in life, and valuing education more. First, I learned how to be patient in terms of teaching my students. They have different personalities so I have to extend my patience and be more flexible when it comes to teaching them. Second is deeper appreciation in life. I realized that I am more than blessed because I get to study in a good university while others are struggling hard financially just to attend school every day. I also learned to value education more.

Racism: Communication and Robert B. Moore

Racism in the English Language Robert B. Moore 1) Explain why language is an integral part of any culture. Why is it important to study language? Language is necessary to culture because it shows an understanding that differentiates between other cultures. Language is vital for communication; we are able to express our thoughts, ideas and especially because it is one of the main ways we can communicate. 2) According to Moore, how do the symbolic meanings attached to whiteness and blackness affect beauty ideals in our society?Moore was emphasizing on the complete opposite meaning of black and white; white symbolizes such as purity and positivity, while black symbolizes negativity and wickedness. The racism between the within the language affects the beauty ideals in society by stressing on which is more â€Å"admirable†, blondes with blue eyes or â€Å"dusky. † 3) Explain how the statement â€Å"slaves were brought to America† is misleading and inaccurate?The stat ement is inaccurate because the European immigrants did not just bring them to America; they destroyed the culture of many African tribes, separated families, sold them across vast areas in the Americas as if they were merchandise. 4) In your own words, describe what a â€Å"loaded† word is. What are some examples? When a simple term is said and it is blown out of proportion to evoke emotion. For example, if one is Filipino and called chink. Chink is a loaded word because its negatively used. 5) Explain how the casual use of the words â€Å"gay† and â€Å"fag† can influence our perceptions of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community.The casual use of the words stated may influence our perception of the sexually varying community by instigating hate with in us for someone being different. Violent words can force someone to feel fear, which in turn can cause a sexually different person to be scared of admitting their difference. Using such words wi ll also influence our thoughts of such groups negatively as the usage of the words in today's culture is frowned upon due to it being offensive, even if one is not applicable to the term.

Competitive Advantage of Wal Mart Essay

Every company is trying to avoiding failure and the goal is to have a sustaining competitive advantage. But when do companies have a sustainable competitive advantage? It depends on three factors: the barriers to imitation, the capability of competitors and the dynamism of the industry development. In the 1970s Wal Mart lost their competitive advantage. Sears had a better positioning like Wal Mart. Therefore Wal Mart distinguished the situation and improved its distribution system. It created new trade channels to save costs and invest in new information technology to improve their situation. Wal Mart found a way to change their strategies and structures to change their competitive conditions. Over time, Wal Mart got strong partnerships with suppliers. This was a key element to improve their performance on the market and it`s not easy to imitate. Those partnerships work now since a long time and other competitors might lack the volume of purchases Wal Mart can offer. With some diversifications like Sam’s Club, a new way of supercenters or their plan for the international expansion Wal Mart was able to confine from their competitors. Wal-Mart was the first low price company and retailer which expanded around the world. The CEO of Wal Mart focused on small-town markets and ignored the national discounters. So, Wal Mart has huge distribution capabilities and this is very difficult to imitate from competitors. The most significant advantage of Wal Mart is their using of the satellite system. They are using this system to compress their costs and get a distinguished communication system with all employees to every time. The overall achieved employee satisfaction has the advantage of highly motivated employees. This is an overall management issue and when the employees are motivated, the customers are feeling good and well served. In future, Wal-Mart was committed to find new ways to have the competitive advantage of the market. They invest in different strategies like trendy fashions, offering organic food and remodeling stores to achieve a high satisfaction during the shopping by customers. So, they were able to use the economic crisis to win new customers. A lot of people search after low price shopping possibilities. So investors cheered at Wal-Mart and the company outperformed both rival target and the S&P 500 index. Wal Mart holds its quality due to the constant low priced policy. This EDLP is not easy to replicate unless you can offer consistently low prices. On account of the points Wal Mart is able to secure a sustaining competitive advantage at the moment. They are reacting directly and design their company with the time and respond on their employees and customers. Their competitors are able to imitate their policies but this can`t happen within the next year because Wal Marts` advantages are way to complex. As long as Wal Mart is always developing its competencies and keeping on track with the environmental changes, they do have a sustainable competitive advantage in the US.