Religion and people

Behavior Goals for Individual Education Plans

Behavior Goals for Individual Education Plans Behavioral Goals may be placed in an IEP when it is accompanied by a Functional Behavioral Analysis (FBA) and Behavior Improvement Plan (BIP). An IEP that has behavioral goals should also have a behavioral section in the present levels, indicating that behavior is an educational need. If the behavior is one that could be handled by changing the environment or by establishing procedures, you need to attempt other interventions before you alter an IEP. With RTI (Response to Intervention) entering the area of behavior, your school may have a procedure for being sure that you attempt interventions before you add a behavioral goal to an IEP. Why Avoid Behavioral Goals? Behavioral goals will automatically withdraw a student from the progressive discipline plan in place in your school, as you have identified behavior as a part of the students disability.An IEP that has a BIP attached often labels a student when he or she is moved to another teacher, either to a new classroom or to a new schedule in middle school or high school.A BIP must be followed across all educational environments and can create new challenges not only to the teacher of record but also for specials, general education classroom teachers. It will not make you popular. It is best to attempt behavioral interventions such as learning contracts  before you move to a full FBA, BIP and behavioral goals.​ What Makes a Good Behavioral Goal? In order for a behavioral goal to legally be an appropriate part of an IEP, it should: Be stated in a positive manner. Describe the behavior you want to see, not the behavior you dont want. i.e.: Dont write: John wont hit or terrorize his classmates. Do Write: John will keep hands and feet to himself. Be measurable. Avoid subjective phrases like will be responsible, will make appropriate choices during lunch and recess, will act in a cooperative manner. (These last two were in my predecessors article on behavioral goals. PLEEZZ!) You should describe the topography of the behavior (what does it look like?) Examples: Tom will remain in his seat during instruction 80 percent of observed 5 minute intervals. or James will stand in line during class transitions with hands at his side, 6 out of 8 daily transitions. Should define the environments where the behavior is to be seen: In the classroom, Across all school environments, In specials, such as art and gym. A behavior goal should be easy for any teacher to understand and support, by knowing exactly what the behavior should look like as well as the behavior it replaces. Proviso We do not expect everyone to be quiet all the time. Many teachers who have a rule No talking in class usually do not enforce it. What they actually mean is No talking during instruction or directions. We are often not clear about when that is happening. Cueing systems, are invaluable to help students know when they can talk quietly and when they must remain in their seats and be silent. Examples of Common Behavior Challenges and Goals to Meet Them. Aggression: When John is angry he will throw a table, scream at the teacher, or hit other students. A Behavior Improvement Plan would include teaching John to identify when he needs to go to the cool down spot, self- calming strategies and social rewards for using his words when he is frustrated instead of expressing it physically. In his general education classroom, John will use a time out ticket to remove himself to the in class cool down spot, reducing aggression (throwing furniture, shouting profanities, hitting peers) to two episodes a week as recorded by his teacher in a frequency chart. Out of Seat Behavior: Shauna has difficulty spending much time in her seat. During instruction she will crawl around her classmates legs, get up and go to the classroom sink for a drink, she will rock her chair until she falls over, and she will throw her pencil or scissors so she needs to leave her seat. Her behavior is not a reflection only of her ADHD but also functions to get her the teacher and her peers attention. Her behavior plan will include social rewards such as being line leader for earning stars during instruction. The environment will be structured with visual cues which will make it clear when an instruction is happening, and breaks will be built into the schedule so Shauna can sit on the pilates ball or take a message to the office. During instruction, Shauna will remain in her seat for 80 percent of five minute intervals during 3 of 4 consecutive 90 minute data collection periods.

Develop and implement a diversity policy at work place Essay

Develop and implement a diversity policy at work place - Essay Example The sales force and customer care representatives belonging to different cultures (Barak, 207) give the customer the feeling of oneness which generates favourable possibility in ensuring high sales. The benefits at group and departmental level are huge. The organisation has bigger platform to play with the help of complementary skills and dynamic capabilities. Many minds, each one with different thoughts and view can significantly increase the number of alternatives out of which few are to be chosen. The different thoughts can bring out many aspects of the problems leading to better solution. The creativity is multiplied (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 188) and the monotony is shattered. At individual level, the employees learn about various cultures and acquire new skills with the help of each other (Daft & Lane, 442). Diversity can be harmful to the organisations if and only if it is not recognised, accepted and well treated (Dubrin, 59). It is highly possible that difference of opinion causes conflicts which can hamper the productivity and performance. It is, therefore, crucial that organisations cater towards diversity and take effective measures to reap benefits out of it. To provide guidelines for effective management of a diverse workforce so that it can contribute to the well being for Jims Cleaning. It ensures that no employee is discriminated on the basis of his or her gender, race, sect, religion, age, disability, economic and family background and marital status. This policy is applicable to all the employees of Jims Cleaning, regardless of whether they are blue collar, white collar, part time, regular, permanent, or contractual. It is indifferent to their level and position in Jims Cleaning. It is based on celebrating the differences and valuing everybody. Diversity refers to the differences in the characteristics of people and objects. In this

Check the file i sent Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Check the file i sent - Assignment Example God is real, a truth and exists because he is conceivable to the human mind, he is conceivable to Descartes’ mind. Just as explained in Meditation1 all things that Descartes grew up to believe in was challenged and a new system of beliefs which had no doubt in them were established, here the existence of God is justified through doubtless belief. My thesis builds on Descartes’ primary logic that whatever the mind can conceive and facilitates the propagation of the belief exists. Therefore my understanding states that both God and Evil Demon exist as it can be conceived with distinct attributes and qualities. The Thesis states that God exists, because it is he who is putting these thoughts and it is he who is responsible for the author has come to be, i.e., his birth as a human being, his existence and his life. Similarly as stated in Meditation 1 â€Å"No, surely I must exist if it’s me who is convinced of something. But there is a deceiver supremely powerful ad cunning, whose aim is to see that I am always deceived†. (Descartes, 1641, p.137) This goes to show the authors belief that the Evil Demon exists. Would Descartes think that his having an idea of the Evil Demon proves that the Evil Demon exists?   Descartes states that the Evil Demon exists, as the deceiver, as a sublime thought in a human mind to constantly question the existence of one self, about the realism of one’s physical structure (i.e., eyes, hands, legs, head etc) and natural habitat like land, water, air, wind, earth etc. The Evil Demon exists as a force that tries to disprove that he exists. The author concludes by saying that, thus having fully weighed every consideration, I must finally conclude that the statement â€Å"I am. I exist† (Descartes, 1641, p.138) whenever I state or mentally consider it. Another perspective of Evil Demon’s existence is: based on the premise of Descartes’ system of thoughts and the fact that presentation al reality determines the strength of the case for the existence of an object of thought; the Evil Demon exists because of having a concrete idea with clear presentational reality of the Evil Demon. The fact that Descartes can have a clear idea of the Evil Demon together with all its attributes of evil, malice, loathness, craftiness etc leads to the fact that the Evil Demon exists. It is a thought that comes from within and is clear and distinct. Just like there is a supremely powerful and good power that we call God, who is the source of all truth, there is an evil demon, supremely powerful and cunning who works as hard as he possibly can to deceive the author (Descartes, Knowledge and Reality, Meditation 1, p. 138). Why did Descartes think that his having an idea of God proves God exists? Descartes’ primary approach is to withdraw his senses and empty his mind of thoughts of all physical things that he has seen so far in life like objects, people, things and articles. He ei ther empties his mind from it or writes them off as non-existent and not real. The fact that he can comprehend the concept of God clearly and distinctly is the basis for the argument that God exists. The idea of God is planted in his mind and this idea is clear, distinct and makes him certain. Therefore, according to Descartes, God exists. Descartes believes that whatever he thinks exists due to the connection of the outer reality and its logical conclusions with the inner reality of our imaginations. The very fact that the mind can comprehend God as a super power capable of making anything happen is

Integrating business perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Integrating business perspective - Essay Example Hence, the investor looks into certain factors with a keen eye before investing into something. First and foremost, it is important to know complete detail about the business that is about to start up, its complete assessment and the analysis of the risk involved in the business. Analysis of risk factor is very important thing to know when considering to invest in a small startup business since this risk is what actually defines how much money you will earn or how much money you will lose in the future. But in certain cases the loss is worthwhile since the profit gained after a certain time period is far from the losses. For this purpose it is important to look into the idea that the party is selling and whether it has potential to grow or not and whether it will go down the drain. Generally speaking those who want to invest in such type of business should have an open mind and should know that investing in such type of business always involves the factor of risk and the elimination of this factor is hardly ever possible. To be sure of the idea that the students are selling, w e should see the product sample being shown to us and various other factors which are all linked to ache other. Another important factor to look upon when investing in such small scale business is time. Time is one of the most important factors of such type of businesses because such startups may require more than average time to get a return i.e., there should be no expectations of getting any money out of this business for three to five years. In such a case, the investor can put in his money in the form of loan which can be returned to the investor within a specific time period but there will be no profit earned in such case. The team involved in the business should also be evaluated since they are the people who are going to run the business and these people will be responsible on giving you your money back in the form of profit or in case of losses. If the team is

Skilled Workers Shortage in China: Causes and Effects

Skilled Workers Shortage in China: Causes and Effects In this chapter the researcher will present the theoretical foundation for this dissertation. This review aims to investigate and examine extant literature on the following research questions: Research Question 1: How great is the shortage of skilled workers in China? Research Question 2: How do such shortages in skills affect the working of multinational corporations? Research Question 3: How do multinational corporations, with the use of talent management practices and tools, retain skilled workers, including managerial and executive staff, in China? Information for this literature review has been obtained from a range of secondary sources including books, journal and magazine articles and other media publications, both in online and physical form. Talent management is a comparatively new development in HR theory and practice and much of pertinent and associated literature on the subject exists in the form of publications in various periodicals. Shortage of skilled workers in China is presently attracting a significant amount of concern and material on the subject has been sourced from different articles authored by Chinese and Western experts. The various aspects of the studied subject matter have been taken up in sequence in the interest of coherence and continuity of thought and discussion. 2.1 Shortage of Skilled Workers in China The shortage of skilled workers, whilst of recent origin, is assuming grave dimensions. The Chinese economy has been growing at an astonishing pace for the last two decades (Barbosa 2010). Such phenomenal economic growth has propelled the country from the ranks of the poorest of the poor to the position of the second largest global economy (Barbosa 2010). Having crossed Japan in the GDP rankings in August 2010, the Chinese economy is now second in size to only that of the USA (Barbosa 2010). With it being widely accepted that access to cheap and skilled labour has played a predominant role in the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic performance, the emerging shortages in availability of skilled workers is becoming a serious matter of concern (Powell 2009). Experts feel that the problem, whilst manageable until now, is increasing in various dimensions and can become a serious challenge to the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic growth in the foreseeable future (Powell 2009). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Various domestic  media reports  put the labour supply gap at around a million people in Guangzhou and neighbouring cities such as Dongguan, legendary centres of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s export boom in the past three decades. Numerous assembly lines and construction sites are sitting idle while anxious employers have raised salaries by more than 30% but still canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t attract enough applicantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Hong, S. 2010) The current shortage of skilled workers in China is due to the emergence and interplay of a range of factors (Trading Economic 2010). It is in the first place indisputable that sharply accelerating economic growth in China has created enormous demand for skilled workers (Trading Economic 2010). The Chinese economy has grown in size from an annual GDP of 990 billion USD in 2000 to 4900 billion USD in 2010 (Trading Economic 2010). The last decade has seen the entry of numerous multinationals in the country and the establishment of thousands of local and foreign owned production units (Blanchard 2007). Such production units are now being established in different geographical areas making it easier for workers to obtain gainful employment near their houses (Blanchard 2007). The Chinese government has also in recent years embarked upon developing the economic and physical infrastructure of numerous inland and hitherto neglected provinces (AsiaNews.It. 2006). Airports, roads and housing in upcountry regions are receiving strong investments (AsiaNews.It 2006). Such investments are creating thousands of jobs across the country and reducing migration of workers to zones with strong manufacturing activities (AsiaNews.It 2006). Experts also feel that low wages in the manufacturing sector, along with long working hours and difficult working and living conditions are forcing many workers to give up their jobs in manufacturing units and return to work on their farms (Rein 2010). The Chinese governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decision to reduce taxes on agriculture has also helped in reinforcing such attitudes (Rein 2010). The Chinese government has constantly placed emphasis upon development of agriculture and providing of adequate food supplies for the rural population, who constitute 727 million people (Rein 2010). A continuous supply of positive policies, like the elimination of onerous taxes and powerful market intercession, have enhanced rural incomes and made farming rewarding in comparison to skilled jobs in some manufacturing organisations (Rein 2010). China implemented its one child policy in 1979. This has resulted in the development of an ageing population (Hong, S. 2010). The median age of the country, at 33 years, is closer to that of the USA, the UK and the countries of Western Europe, rather than to its southern neighbour India, which has a median age of 26 and whose economy is also growing rapidly and with a swiftness that is second only to that of China (Hong, S. 2010). The ageing population is leading to lesser numbers of people joining the workforce every year and consequentially to restrictions on the availability of skilled workers (Hong, S. 2010). The impact of an ageing population is being felt intensely in manufacturing centres like Shanghai, where people above 60 are expected to constitute practically 30 percent of the total population in another 10 years time (Hong, S. 2010). The numbers of people in the 15-19 age groups in the country have reduced by approximately 17 percent, from 124 million in 2005 to around 10 3 million today (Hong, S. 2010). Academic policies in China have in recent years paid greater attention to academic performance and have neglected imparting of high level vocational training and skills training to people (AsiaNews.It 2006). Many universities have failed to understand market demands and mechanisms in the designing of their courses (AsiaNews.It 2006). Only 200 of the 20,000 vocational schools in the country are aiming to produce skilled workers and technicians with good skills (AsiaNews.It 2006). Such circumstances have added to the reduced availability of skilled workers in the manufacturing sector (AsiaNews.It 2006). Rein (2010) states that the younger Chinese unwilling to work any longer in factories. They are much too buoyant about their work prospects and perceive no compulsion to work for comparatively low wages at long distances from their families (AsiaNews.It 2006). The increase in the number of college and university graduates from just about a million in 2000 to 6 million in 2010 has reduce d the pool for potential skilled workers (AsiaNews.It 2006). Even workers with low skills prefer to stay nearer home in interior provinces like Sichuan and Hunan, rather than relocating to manufacturing centres like Guangdong to work for remuneration that is being increasingly perceived to be insufficient (AsiaNews.It 2006). The shortage of skilled workers is being felt intensely in the export regions of the country like the Pearl River Delta as also the Yangtze River Delta. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It was officially reported that the city of Shenzhen, on the Hong Kong border, alone faced a labour shortage of about 300,000 workers this year. In Guangdong province, the government said factories were short more than 500,000 workers; and in Fujian province, there was a shortage of 300,000à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (AsiaNews.It 2006) Surveys, conducted a few years ago, revealed that technicians constituted only 4% of the total numbers of skilled workers, even as organisations needed at least 14% technicians in their labour force (Peoples Daily 2004). Personnel who are most in demand include skilled workers, technicians and marketing staff. Such shortages appear to be greater in case of enterprises where skilled workers were not trained adequately (Peoples Daily 2004). Business organisations are also finding it difficult to attract and retain employees in different administrative and managerial positions (Peoples Daily 2004). It is ironical that the country that is widely considered to be the largest reservoir of cheap and skilled workers is now actually hard pressed to find and retain skilled workers as well as supervisors and managers at different levels for its own needs (Peoples Daily 2004). 2.2 Impact of Shortage of Skilled Workers and Managerial Employees on the Working of MNCs in China. Shortage of skilled employees is affecting the working of all business firms, MNCs as well as locally owned establishments, across China (Roberts 2006). Such shortages are in the first case leading to progressively higher levels of attrition and employee turnover in business firms (Roberts 2006). The most important challenge in contemporary Chinese business enterprises concerns attracting, finding and retaining skilled workers (Roberts 2006). The Institute of Contemporary Observation, a research organisation based in Shenzhen, states that employee turnover in low technology industries is nearing an unprecedented 50% (Roberts 2006). There are 2.5 million jobs in the province of Guangdong that are yet to be filled, even as the provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are also facing considerable shortages of skilled labour (Roberts 2006). Such shortages are affecting the production of numerous organisations, adversely impacting expansion plans, and restricting organisational growth (Roberts 2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It was officially reported that the city of Shenzhen, on the Hong Kong border, alone faced a labour shortage of about 300,000 workers this year. In Guangdong province, the government said factories were short more than 500,000 workers; and in Fujian province, there was a shortage of 300,000.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (AsiaNews.It 2006) Numerous MNCs have increased their investments in Chinese production centres and built up large capacities (Lane Pollner 2008). The unavailability of the required numbers of skilled workers is leading to underutilisation of capacity, idle machinery, higher finance costs, and poor productivity and profitability (Lane Pollner 2008). Shortages in required numbers of skilled workers are also leading to significant increases in job hopping and in the movement of employees between organisations for the sake of achievement of small salary differentials (Roberts 2006). MNCs and local companies are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“stealingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? skilled workers from each other, by offering the target worker a lucrative opportunity such as a better compensation or better benefits. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“talentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? war has led to rapid wage inflation. . MNCs have been increasing salaries to keep existing employees (Downing, Rouleau, and Stuber 2008). Whilst labour intensive industries are facing increasingly severe problems, substantial increases in numbers of employee departures are affecting all low tech and high tech organisations (Roberts 2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Emerson General Manager David Warth says its all he can do to keep his 800 employees from jumping ship to Samsung, Siemens, Nokia, and other multinationals that are now operating in the tech manufacturing hubà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Roberts, 2006) Increases in employee turnovers and shortages in supply of skilled workers, as well as employees for higher level and managerial jobs, is leading to sharp increases in employee costs. AS Salop and Salop (1976) indicate that labour turnover is costly for all firms. In the event of a sudden employee departure, the firm suffers two types of cost: direct and indirect cost. Direct cost includes leaving costs, replacement costs such as advertising, interviewing and selection costs and transitions costs, and indirect costs refer to the loss of production, reduced performance levels, unnecessary overtime and low morale (Schlesinger and Heskett, 1991). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Companies across the board are feeling the squeeze. Last year turnover at multinationals in China averaged 14 percent, up from 11.3 percent in 2004 and 8.3 percent in 2001 (AsiaNews.It 2006). Salaries jumped by 8.4 percent, according to human resources consultant Hewitt Associates LLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (AsiaNews.It 2006) Minimum wages in China are going up steadily and are currently many times that of Bangladesh, a neighbouring low cost producer (AsiaNews.It 2006). Many organisations are perforce improving the working and living conditions of their employees and the quality of food served in their cafeterias, with result increases in total costs expended on labour (AsiaNews.It 2006 ). Such increases in labour cost have multiple implications (Roberts 2006). At one level companies are seriously thinking of putting up new establishments in interior regions where wages are lower, or even of shifting their operations to lower wage countries like Indonesia or Vietnam (Roberts 2006). Organisations that have already made substantial investments in regions that are now facing labour shortages are experiencing strong pressures on costs and margins (Roberts 2006). Such pressures are leading either to problems with organisational viability or are manifesting themselves in higher product prices and consequent pressure on competitiveness (Roberts 2006).The American Chamber of Commerce recently reported that increasing costs of labour have reduced the margins of practically 48 percent of US organisations that operate in China (Roberts 2006). Teresa Woodland, the author of the report states that China could well run the risk of using its cost advantage (Roberts 2006). The shortage in availability of skilled people goes beyond the workforce and extends too many other organisational areas (Roberts 2006). Mckinsey and company estimate that just about 10 percent of job candidates in areas like engineering, accounting and finance have skills that are necessarily required by foreign organisations (Roberts 2006). Whilst 75,000 jobs for managers are expected to arise in the country during the next five years, the country currently has lesser than 5,000 managers with the required skills (Roberts 2006). Observers believe that the impact of shortage of skilled people on the economic growth and performance of companies and the nation as a whole is likely to be far more powerful than other constraints like material or power. 2.3 Talent Management and its Application in China Multinational corporations in China can benefit in areas concerning employee turnover and improvement of employee retention through the application of contemporary talent management techniques and tools. Organisational managements have over the years constantly tried to develop and adapt in response to workplace changes, right from the days of the industrial revolution and the emergence of labour unions to the demands of automated production, globalisation and outsourcing (Schuler, et al, 2010). Contemporary years are witnessing a global HR movement for attracting and retaining talent (Schuler, et al, 2010). Whilst organisations have in many ways been trying to attract and retain skilled and productive employees for ages, formal talent management processes have emerged only recently (Schuler, et al, 2010). Whilst such practices are now being implemented rigorously by progressive business organisations in the developed economies, they have become extremely relevant in the Chinese envi ronment where an abundance of people is ironically accompanied by shortages in availability of skilled workers and other managerial personnel (Schuler, et al, 2010). 2.3.1 The importance of talent management Talent management represents the systematic use of appropriate HR strategies, policies and practices for management of the talent challenges faced by business organisations (Lane Pollner 2008). Such policies and practices in the Chinese context include attraction of the most appropriate talent, careful selection, training and development, fair and sympathetic evaluation and assessment, high quality training and development and alignment of personnel and business objectives (Lane Pollner 2008). The importance of adopting strong talent management practices for retaining talent assumes great importance in the existing and predicted scenario (Lane Pollner 2008). Research conducted by the Kenexa Research Institute, conducted in 2007 in six countries, including China reveals that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“policies such as career path programmes, goal development and monitoring, regular feedback sessions with managers, tracking progress have a demonstrable effect on employee execution and motivati onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Talent Management 2008). The report confirms that employees of organisations that focus on talent management are more engaged with their functions and more content with their jobs and organisations (Talent Management 2008) 2.3.2 Vroomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s VIE expectancy theory Vroomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s VIE (Valence, Instrumentality and Expectancy) theory of expectancy states that individuals tend to act in specific ways with the expectation that specific acts will lead to particular outcomes, and in line with the attractiveness of such outcomes (Citeman.com 2010). The theory, whilst appearing to be complex, is actually simple and necessitates the comprehension of three relationships, namely (a) the perceived probability by individuals that the making of specific efforts will lead to performance, (b) the extent to which individuals believe that performing at specific levels will result in achievement of specific outcomes and (c) the importance placed by individuals on possible rewards that can be obtained in job execution (Citeman.com 2010). The intensity of individual motivation to make efforts depends on the intensity with which individuals believe that they can achieve what they are attempting, whether they will be adequately rewarded by their organisations, and whether such rewards will meet their individual objectives (Pitt 2001). The application of the expectancy theory needs the careful consideration of four relevant steps (Pitt 2001). Organisations must firstly assess the perceived outcomes offered by specific jobs to employees (Pitt 2001). These may be (a) positive like income, benefits, stability and security, comradeship, congenial relationships trust, employee benefits, and opportunities to use skills, or (b) negative like weariness, monotony, annoyance, apprehension, inconsiderate management or danger of dismissal (Pitt 2001). Employee perceptions, regardless of actual reality become relevant in such scenarios (Pitt 2001). Organisations must try to assess the attraction to employees of such outcomes and whet her employees perceive outcomes with positivity or negativity (Pitt 2001). Individuals who find specific outcomes attractive and view them positively would like to achieve them (Pitt 2001). Managements also need to determine the type of behaviour required of employees to achieve positive outcomes and employees need to clearly and explicitly know what they must do to achieve them (Pitt 2001). It is finally also important to know how employees view their chances of satisfying what is asked of them (Pitt 2001). HR experts feel that appropriate applications of the expectancy theory through the linkage of efforts with performance and rewards can make employees developed a liking for their jobs and consequentially reduce employee attrition and employee turnover (Pitt 2001). Whilst the expectancy theory certainly has its logical strengths, talent management is a far broader area and retention of talent in skilled jobs in China poses specific challenges like (a) the need for skilled workers to work far away from their farms and homesteads, (b) difficult working and living conditions, (c) inadequate monetary benefits and (d) the emergence of various alternative areas of occupation and work with more attractive attributes with regard to location, remuneration and job content (Changing Minds.org 2010). 2.3.3 Impact on skilled workers The Kenexa (2007) report on organisations in countries including China states that organisations with progressive talent management cultures have workers with greater pride in their organisations who moreover recommend their organisations to others as good places to work for (Talent Management 2008). Employees with positive perceptions of the talent management practices of their organisations are likely to be confident of the prospects of their organisations (Talent Management 2008). The research revealed that employees who believed in the talent management policies of their firms tended to have more positive perceptions of their managements (Talent Management 2008). Such employees believed that their managers were capable of effectively managing workloads and that their senior managers felt that employees were critical to organisational success and growth (Talent Management 2008). Employees of such companies were likely to experience greater sense of job stability and security, be h appy with company training, feel that their performance is fairly assessed and harbour greater feelings of individual achievement (Talent Management 2008). MNCs in China are working towards retaining talent through the adoption of a range of initiatives (Roberts 2006). Many companies are locating their manufacturing units in interior regions in densely populated areas in order to tap larger workforce pools (Roberts 2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“General Motors, Honda, Motorola, and Intel, for instance, have all shifted some manufacturing or research to inland locations in recent years, both to tap lower costs and to open up new markets.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Roberts 2006) Salaries and rewards are being increased significantly across the line in order to retain talent and reduce job hopping (Roberts 2006). Many organisations are taking pains to ensure better living conditions, better cafeteria food and more attractive career paths for their employees (Roberts 2006). Foxconn, the maker of Apple iPhones in China is experiencing severe criticism for its treatment of its workforce (Rein 2010). It is evident that such organisations will have to make significa nt investments in HR policies and practices if they are to attract and retain skilled employees (Rein 2010). The Chinese government is also taking initiatives to improve the content of vocational and technical courses and build a stronger workforce base of skilled workers. It is however very evident that the Chinese economy and the various business organisations, both MNC and local, are facing significant challenges with regard to availability of skilled workers and competent managerial employees. Such trends are also expected to intensify in future. 2.4 Talent Retention tools Vaiman and Vance (2008) suggest that motivational force can be achieved by extrinsically through monetary incentives or intrinsically through non-monetary incentives. 2.4.1 Monetary rewards and non monetary rewards Monetary rewards include all types of compensation and benefits (CB) packages such as salary, performance related payment, deferred compensation plans, social and commercial benefits and etc (Tian 2007). Monetary rewards can satisfy employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ physiological needs and it is an effective tool to retaining talent (Vaiman and Vance 2008). Maslowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Hierarchy of Needs, suggests the physiological needs have to be satisfied before dealing with the higher order needs. This may be the reason why money is still the best reward for the majority of people. In contrast, non-monetary reward is another essential tool for retaining employees. It can be use to satisfy employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ higher other of needs such as the needs for achievement, affiliation and power (McMlelland 1987). Non-monetary rewards include: training and career development, employer branding, ect. (Tian 2007). The researcher will consider these retention tools in the Chinese environment below.. 2.4.2 Extrinsic motivation According to a recent survey conducted by Waston Wyatt in China, the number one reason for Chinese talented and skilled workers to leave their current job is to find a better-paid job (Leininger 2004). Therefore, it is extremely important for MNCs to offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, in order to retain the Chinese skilled worker. The following components are normally included in the packages that MNCs offer to local employees, and therefore they are discussed here in detail. 2.4.2.1 Salary Salary is the fixed amount of money pay to an employee for work performed and is the largest component in a CB package. Due to the weak social security in China, Chinese employees tend to place more value on money than Western employee (Jones 1997). Therefore, MNCs need to consider a number of factors when they design the salary level for Chinese employees. For example, the cost of living and level of economic development vary significantly from city to city, so the salary for equivalent positions may vary as well. Leininger (2004) points out that first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai enjoy the highest salary level, followed by second- and third-tier cities. Moreover, the salary level has been increasing at a dramatic rate in China. Since the rapid economic growth, the annual salary growth rate has been risen up to 8 percent in recent years, and the trend is expected to continue in future (Tian 2007). As a result, it is necessary for MNCs to have a general idea about local compensation level and salary growth rate before designing their own competitive packages. 2.4.2.2 Performance related payment Performance related payment (i.e. bonus) is the portion of a CB package that is related to performance. It is very popular and accepted by many MNCs in China. Many MNCs believe that performance related payment is an effective tool to given an incentive for compensation to meet certain goals such as completion of a specified sales target. In addition, it is able to encourage local employees to be more creative such as: propose a new idea to increase efficiency in the work place ,or improve the quality of the output, etc (Melvin 2001). To an extent, performance related payment helps to attract local employees and keep them help in the company. 2.4.2.3 Deferred compensation plans- Deferred compensation plans are also called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"golden handcuffsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. They are popular with MNCs in China, and are offered in the form of a contract-related gratuity. For example, If the Chinese employee stays with the company for a contractually specified length of time ( i.e. 2 years), at the end of his/her contract he or she would be given an extra years salary as a reward. Deferred compensation plans are useful in retaining Chinese employees because it provides a financial incentive for talented Chinese employees to remain in the company. Recently, MNCs have begun offering a new version of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"golden handcuffsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to young talented Chinese employees who would like to get a degree at an overseas university. They offer a full scholarship for these employees and in exchange, the employees have to work for the company for specified length of time after completing their degree (Tian 2007). 2.4.2.4 Social and commercial benefits. Social benefits are mandatory in China they refer to contributions to government-run social insurance schemes, which cover pensions, medical care, unemployment, work injury, child birth and housing, etc. The benefits are borne by both employer and employee. 30 and 40 percent of payroll is paid to the State, of which around 50% is paid by employers. In recent years, Chinese employees are increasingly aware of the importance of social benefits, due to rising costs of housing and medicare in China. , Some MNCs are even willing to pay benefits of more than regulated ratios to retain their employees. By contrast, commercial benefits refer to the benefits offered by an employer to an employee on a commercial basis. Many MNCs in China provide numerous commercial benefits for their employees such as offering loans at below-market interest rates, monetary assistance with single child family or even payment of wedding. Both social and commercial benefits are reported as useful to inducement to employees to remain in the company (Tian 2007). 2.4.3 Intrinsic motivation However, monetary rewards are not everything employee wants. Once compensation reaches a certain level, employees are likely to look for higher order of needs such as career development opportunities ( Maslow 1954; McClelland1987). According to the DDI survey in China 2007, the result shows that the top two reasons for Chinese employee turnover were lack of growth and development opportunities with the current company with 53% of the respondents agreed and better career opportunities elsewhere with 42% of the respondents agreed. The result reflects that Chinese employees have high expectations for rapid advancement (Howard, Liu, Wellins and Williams 2007). Therefore, it is necessary to consider these non-monetary factors that can motivate and retain employees. As Jones (1997) points out that it is very important to understand Chinese employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectations. For most Chinese employees, especially those top performers joining a MNC not only for a high CB package but also for the opportunity to receive advanced training and learn western business methods. Those top performers are clearly aware of the skill gap between them and their Western counterparts, so they are eager to improve their own knowledge and skills. Additionally, providing training and career opportunities to employees can improve employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ commitment to the company. As Leininger (2004) stated that the heart of retention is long term employee commitment. He divided employees into two different groups. They are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“satisfiedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“committedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? employees. The satisfiedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? employees can easily be retained by satisfying their monetary incentives while the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“committedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? employees tend to stay longer with companies even without monetary incentive. A global research conducted by Waston Wyatt shows that committed employees are more productive and efficient than those whose employees showed low commitment (Leininger 2004). Therefore, it is important that MNCs recognize the importance of training and development opportunities to their Chinese employees and demonstrate a commitment to training, development and career path development for them. Besides, organizational factors can also influence talent retention such as corporate culture, communication, leadership behavior are able to satisfy employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ needs for affiliation (Chew 2004). In the Chinese case, the leadership behavior is one of the most important motivation and retention drivers for Chinese employees. For many MNCs, the meaning of a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“good leaderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? for Chinese people can be far more complicated than what they have seen in their home countries. Leadership in China has specific connotations. According to the research conducted by Craig Pepples, to achieve success in Chinese environment, foreign leader need a strong leadership style to build a team. Chinese employees respect those leaders who have a strong leadership style. They expect leaders always able to give them instruction to follow. Moreover, Pepples also insists that to be an effective leader, foreigners need to create a culture of teamwork, showing their personal commitment to the employees and care for each individual (Jones 1997). Therefore, Chinese employees are most likely to want to stay and work for an organization if they have a good manager or boss, who recognized individual contribution, and had great company leaderships (Howard, Liu, Wellins and Williams 2007). These studies above are just a few examples of tools regarding talent retention in the Chinese context. When these retention tools are applied to Chinese employees, MNCs have to rank all the tools in order of importance, and then focus on several areas for motivation and retention talent (Vaiman and Vance, 2008). 2.5 Talent development in the Chinese cont Fear: Types, Causes and Effects Fear: Types, Causes and Effects Bradley Varney McLea How Fear Allows Us to Better Know Ourselves It is difficult to know how one would respond in a moment of fear or terror. People tend to give themselves the benefit of the doubt in situations like these. Fear is one of the most powerful emotions for all living creatures and the most extensively studied emotion (LeDoux, 2014). Autonomic responses are involuntary actions that take place inside our nervous system. Fear is an autonomic response that can only be triggered by outside stimuli. You cannot make yourself feel fear, but it is something that we more passively experience. In order to better understand ourselves and our basic nature, fear should be studied being one of our most primitive emotions. By looking at the origins of fear, the main categories of fear, the characteristics of fear, and the natural responses to fear I believe we can better understand the concept of fear what it means for us. Do We Know the Origin of Fear? To more fully understand fear it is important to understand its roots. Since the beginning of time, fear has been essential in the survival of the human race and the survival of many different species. Ãâ€"hman, Carlsson, Lundqvist, and Ingvar (2007) found the following, Fear denotes an emotion that has been primarily shaped in evolutionary arms races between predators and prey. Improved predator hunting skills have prompted more efficient defense manoeuvres by preys, which have put a pressure on further skill development in the predator, and so on. Thus, the function of fear is to motivate organisms to cope with threats that have jeopardized survival throughout evolution. This quotation explains just how the â€Å"game† is evolving; the prey is getting smarter and so the predator must do the same or starve. If the rabbits learn that a fox lurks around the woods at night, then the rabbits might start to only go into the woods during the day. The rabbits will start to learn the habits of the fox that way they can maneuver their way around and survive. This is how the game is evolving; the fox must now learn that the rabbits are getting smarter and so it must make changes if it wants to eat. The rabbits fear getting eaten and dying while the foxes fear starvation and dying, fear drives their motivation. Another example is of deer, when a deer is spotted in the woods, will it lift its head up and stare at strangers because it is friendly or because it is afraid? If a human approaches the deer too closely, it will turn and run. Will a fawn do the same, maybe not to the exact extent of a deer but yes. Some claim that many creatures, including humans, are born with an innate sense of fear. Is fear learned or is it part of our essence since birth? A toddler is not born afraid of fire; he will approach the flames without caution. Once the toddler touches the flame and is burned, he will cry and feel pain. Those flames will forever be associated with the pain he felt in that instant. According to McGuire et al. (2013), learning about and remembering fearful experiences are critical to survival. No one enjoys feeling pain and so they will avoid it, even a toddler knows to avoid and fear pain. It is not safe to say that fear is solely felt due to experience. Why will the baby cry in the arms of a stranger, but not in the arms of his mother? Does the baby feel afraid? I believe that the baby does feel fear in these instances, while the level of fear is not known. According to Trost, France, Vervoort, Lange, and Goubert (2014), people can be conditioned by observation alone. Due to priming, a sample group of people believed that they c ould get hurt doing day to day activities. This sample group highly associated fear with pain. These people were so afraid to experience the pain that they were seeing during the priming that they refused to participate in many normal day activities. Living creatures can also be conditioned to fear certain things. An example of this could be a dog that fears the sight of a spatula because he knows that spatula means getting spanked. When I was young my parents would make loud sounds with a belt in order to spark fear in myself and my siblings. We began to fear the belt, especially if the belt ever accompanied us getting spanked. These forms of conditioning are used to put fear into the heart of someone or something else. There is no one that is completely immune to fear, it is something that is inescapable. What Are the Two Main Categories of Fear? Fear is divided into two major categories; these two categories include irrational and rational fear. Irrational fears are not â€Å"ridiculous fears†, but they are fears that one has that do not pose an immediate danger to one’s life. Phobias are an example of irrational fears. Often people think that irrational fears would consist of fears that are extremely uncommon or strange, but in reality if one were asked what fears he has then almost all named would be considered irrational. According to Quandt et al. (2013), women with diabetes are terrified of leg amputation. Since they are so afraid of leg amputation, many of them will not walk around their house without their shoes on in case there is a nail poking upward. The likelihood of stepping on a nail inside your own house is slim to none, which means that the idea of wearing shoes to protect their feet is due to an irrational fear. Arachnophobia and claustrophobia are fairly common phobias, or irrational fears. Most people will say that they have some sort of phobia/something they are afraid of. Recently, a woman c laimed to be afraid of sharks. Yes, there are many sharks in the ocean, but the likelihood of a shark attack is very slim. In Hawaii, more people die from falling coconuts than from shark attacks. Irrational fears can be potentially dangerous, but are usually misjudged or magnified. A shark attack is very dangerous, but a lot of times the likelihood of occurrence is amped up significantly inside our minds. While watching horror films, people experience irrational fear since they are not actually in any form of danger. Rational fears are opposite of irrational fears and are composed of immediate threats. If a gun is brought to school one day by a fellow classmate, students will experience rational fear. If the crime rate is high, then a fear of crime can be a rational fear (Chadee Ying, 2013). Threats that can cause injury, death, and ruin reputation are rational fears and have a much higher probability of occurring than do irrational fears. If someone is afraid of heights and decides to go skydiving, that is also an irrational fear. While it may be dangerous to jump out of a plane, you are still strapped in and safely falling down with a skilled instructor. Do these fear categories ever overlap? Definitely, they do. This overlapping happens when the probability of danger increases. If Bob is afraid of heights, but decides to skydive, his irrational fear can become rational once one or two of his parachutes decide to not function correctly. The Characteristics of Fear Allow Us to Detect What does fear look like? Is it described by screaming or by â€Å"goose bumps†? Characteristics of fear will vary from person to person and also with each different situation. Some physical characteristics of fear involve a rapid heart rate, quick breathing, elevated adrenaline levels, perspiration, and the tensing of muscles. Depending on the severity of the degree of fear, one can also enter into a state of temporary paralysis which will prohibit the person from being able to scream, make sound, and sometimes even move. If a bunch of college kids decide to go into a cemetery late at night, the ones who are afraid are all experiencing similar or the same physical symptoms of fear. The physical characteristics of fear are generally the same for everyone, but the emotional characteristics will vary from individual to individual. Most people have negative feelings towards fear, but others enjoy it. â€Å"Adrenaline junkies† will search for opportunities to feel fear beca use they like the way it allows them to feel. To people like them, fear is desirable and that is its characteristic for them. Fear is not an emotion that can easily be masked or denied due to the obviousness of these characteristics. When people experience negative feelings due to fear, you will see it on their faces. The same works vice versa when positive feelings are felt. Without someone saying that they are afraid, it is stillvery possible to diagnose their symptoms without any words being exchanged. How We Respond to Fear Grants Understanding Fear is the strongest of all the autonomic emotional responses. Since fear is completely an autonomic response; it cannot be consciously triggered. It is so fascinating that our consciousness cannot decide nor tell our unconscious how to think or behave. Of course, there are many factors that help define the human being but how often does one get to tap into the unconscious and learn about our basic nature? To truly understand who we are, we must tap into the conscious and the unconscious parts of our own minds. The two categories of fear responses There are two different categories of fear responses: biochemical responses and emotional responses. Biochemical responses are quite possibly an evolutionary development, which allows us learn more about our nature. The major biochemical response is the fight-or-flight response. The fight-or-flight response is when the body will prepare itself to either stand its ground or run away. This response has been crucial to the survival of many species. When a threat is perceived, hormones are released throughout the body granting humans enhanced ability for survival. With these hormones circulating throughout our bodies, we become quicker, have increased strength, and can see more clearly through dilated pupils. Can we know if we would fight or if we would flee? The only way to truly know is to experience it. In non-human primates, the fight-or-flight response has been observed time and time again. Some researchers have concluded that the term should be reversed to flight-or-fight. The reas oning behind this reversal is that when a non-human primate first perceives a threat, then it enters into a â€Å"frozen† state followed by an attempt to run away. If the primate cannot flee and it feels it must fight, then it will fight (Bracha, Ralston, Matsukawa, Williams, Bracha, 2004). The second category of fear responses is the emotional response. This is generally a negative or a positive feeling. When negative feelings are associated with fear, then the individual will try to avoid the stimuli that are creating fear at all costs; this is how phobias are born. When positive feelings are received as a response to fear, â€Å"adrenaline junkies† are born, and these people will actively seek activities that invoke fear. These people are not without fear, but they embrace fear itself and turn it into a natural high. By attempting to understand the concept of fear we understand parts of our self. We are searching through the enigmas of the unconsciousness so that when we feel afraid, we can realize and better understand who we are. In the future, more research should be done on the emotional response of fear. Researchers should study the â€Å"adrenaline junkies† to find out what chemicals in their brains are different. How does one person react so differently to fear? Although, one will not have conscious control over oneself during moments of fear, the beauty lies within the idea that this is human survival instinct at its best. References Bracha, H. S., Ralston, T. C., Matsukawa, J. M., Williams, A. E., Bracha, A. S. (2004). Does â€Å"Fight or flight† need updating? Psychosomatics, 45(5), 448-449. doi:http://dx.doi.org.erl.lib.byu.edu/10.1176/appi.psy.45.5.448 Chadee, D., Ying, N. K. N. (2013). Predictors of fear of crime: General fear versus perceived risk. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(9), 1896-1904. LeDoux, J. E. (2014). Coming to terms with fear. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(8), 2871-2878. doi:10.1073/pnas.1400335111 McGuire, J. L., Bergstrom, H. C., Parker, C. C., Le, T., Morgan, M., Tang, H., . . . Johnson, L. R. (2013). Traits of fear resistance and susceptibility in an advanced intercross line. European Journal of Neuroscience, 38(9), 3314-3324. doi:10.1111/ejn.12337 Ãâ€"hman, A., Carlsson, K., Lundqvist, D., Ingvar, M. (2007). On the unconscious subcortical origin of human fear. Physiology Behavior, 92(1-2), 180-185. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.05.057 Quandt, S. A., Reynolds, T., Chapman, C., Bell, R. A., Grzywacz, J. G., Ip, E. H., . . . Arcury, T. A. (2013). Older adults’ fears about diabetes: Using common sense models of disease to understand fear origins and implications for self-management. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 32(7), 783-803. doi:10.1177/0733464811435506 Trost, Z., France, C. R., Vervoort, T., Lange, J. M., Goubert, L. (2014). Learning about pain through observation: The role of pain-related fear. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 37(2), 257-265. doi:10.1007/s10865-012-9483-4

Power of Choice Revealed in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken :: Road Not Taken essays

The Power of Choice Revealed in The Road Not Taken      Ã‚  Ã‚  Frost's flare for using nature to and man's interaction with it to relate powerful philosophical messages are expressed in his renownd poem, "The Road Not Taken". "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is a very powerful poem with one basic philosophical theme: individuality comes down to being able to choose between the popular choice or societal norms and a choice less explored. In other words, the central meaning of this poem is that one should not make a decision because it reflects popular opinion-one should make sound choices because of their benefits to the individual-because choosing unique alternative could make all the difference. What does Frost mean by the "road less traveled by (19)"? Much of the poem suggests that Frost's use of the word "road" is metaphorical and not literal. "Road" as used by Frost refers to a decision or a choice. However, by using the literal application of roads, Frost shows that deciding which road to take will determine the outcome of one's journey, much like a decision will determine the outcome of one's goals and aspirations. Frost chooses to the take the road that "was grassy and wanted wear" (8). Why? Clearly, like a unique idea, the less traveled road may lead to a different sense of realization where only few men have been. Thus, the "road less traveled by" clearly speaks of Frost's personal endeavor to be different or unique. He did not want to follow in the footsteps of conformity; this is why he takes the road less traveled by. Frost alludes to the fact that a traveler cannot take two roads at the same time-he/she must choose between the two. The main reason for making this assertion is to show that we cannot abide by two decisions about a particular goal in our life at the same time. Consequently, we must weigh our decisions carefully. Note Frost says "I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference" (19-20). What does this say about how we should make our decision? Clearly, this infers that we should not make our decisions based on popular opinions. In other words, we should not make a decision because it works for everyone else; we should make a decision because it is right for our circumstance -- because it could make all the difference.

Effects of Colonization on the New World

The effects of colonization on the New World have been a controversial topic for some time. Many historians have debated for centuries about how good or bad colonization was and there are many different aspects that you must look at. Even after all this time the question still stands, unanswered, what is the impact of colonization on the New World. The first thing that the colonists did that had an impact on the New World was trading goods with the Indians. The natives were so unaccustomed to all the new items important and fickle that they would â€Å"give valuable things for trifles† just because they didn’t know.More importantly, however, was the introduction tools and weapons. All the natives were lacking and unaccustomed to every type of iron and weapon that the explorers had brought. This had a large impact on the new world because with the new implementation of these new tools the inhabitants could now work more efficiently and protect themselves better. Tools an d weapons were not the only important items that the explorers introduced to the natives that had a great impact. When explorers arrived at some parts of the new world they realized â€Å" they have no fruit trees nor do they know of such.†When colonists them implemented fruit trees and plants it created a new, more convenient, way of producing and gathering food. Furthermore, the natives of the new world were unfamiliar with fishing. The introduction of this concept also created an easier and much more reliable food source to help the Americas grow and become more advanced. Not everybody agrees that colonization was a positive thing for the New World. The Spaniards in particular caused major damage to the New World.â€Å"Among these gentle sheep†¦ the Spaniards entered†¦ like wolves, tigers, and lions which had been starving for many days† not only did they enter and kill people to establish dominance but over 500,000 were killed from being transported to Hi spaniola. All over the country native populations were wiped by new explorers. Not all of the colonists were hostile towards the natives either. Chief Powhatan even composes a speech requesting a friendship of sorts with the natives. He implores that the colonists â€Å"sleep comfortably, live quietly with my women and children.†This shows that the Indians believe the colonists to be people of reason and good deeds if he is wishing to have an alliance with them. He even goes on to say that he wishes to be friends and trade copper and hatchets together. The disease and transportation also didn’t cause a decline in population across the board either. â€Å"Some Indian groups are more populous today than in 1492. † And more importantly we must look at what Columbus and the explorers did as a whole; they created â€Å"the single most important event in the emergence of our modern sense that we are all together living on one planet.†In other, more understandab le terms, they brought everybody together as a whole. Lastly, there is a major misconception that must be put straight. People believe that Indians were poor and un-evolved across the whole border. This however is not the case. The city of Tenochtitlan is a great example of this. For one, the city was so advanced they had a ruler who everybody worshiped religiously. He is so highly regarded that when he is addressed people do not look him in the eyes as a sign of respect. Secondly, the city of Tenochtitlan was highly decorated with precious metals and stones.â€Å"Every object†¦imitated in gold, silver, precious stones, and feathers. † In conclusion, the New World had many positive impacts as a result of colonization for the Old World. The colonists brought many useful tools and weapons along with new crops for farming and food gathering strategies like fishing. Along with that colonists made some alliances with natives and by doing so brought the whole world closer and more connected as a whole. Of course there are negative impacts but at the conclusion of it all the ends do justify the means. Effects of Colonization on the New World The effects of colonization on the New World have been a controversial topic for some time. Many historians have debated for centuries about how good or bad colonization was and there are many different aspects that you must look at. Even after all this time the question still stands, unanswered, what is the impact of colonization on the New World. The first thing that the colonists did that had an impact on the New World was trading goods with the Indians. The natives were so unaccustomed to all the new items important and fickle that they would â€Å"give valuable things for trifles† just because they didn’t know.More importantly, however, was the introduction tools and weapons. All the natives were lacking and unaccustomed to every type of iron and weapon that the explorers had brought. This had a large impact on the new world because with the new implementation of these new tools the inhabitants could now work more efficiently and protect themselves better. Tools an d weapons were not the only important items that the explorers introduced to the natives that had a great impact. When explorers arrived at some parts of the new world they realized â€Å" they have no fruit trees nor do they know of such.†When colonists them implemented fruit trees and plants it created a new, more convenient, way of producing and gathering food. Furthermore, the natives of the new world were unfamiliar with fishing. The introduction of this concept also created an easier and much more reliable food source to help the Americas grow and become more advanced. Not everybody agrees that colonization was a positive thing for the New World. The Spaniards in particular caused major damage to the New World.â€Å"Among these gentle sheep†¦ the Spaniards entered†¦ like wolves, tigers, and lions which had been starving for many days† not only did they enter and kill people to establish dominance but over 500,000 were killed from being transported to Hi spaniola. All over the country native populations were wiped by new explorers. Not all of the colonists were hostile towards the natives either. Chief Powhatan even composes a speech requesting a friendship of sorts with the natives. He implores that the colonists â€Å"sleep comfortably, live quietly with my women and children.†This shows that the Indians believe the colonists to be people of reason and good deeds if he is wishing to have an alliance with them. He even goes on to say that he wishes to be friends and trade copper and hatchets together. The disease and transportation also didn’t cause a decline in population across the board either. â€Å"Some Indian groups are more populous today than in 1492. † And more importantly we must look at what Columbus and the explorers did as a whole; they created â€Å"the single most important event in the emergence of our modern sense that we are all together living on one planet.†In other, more understandab le terms, they brought everybody together as a whole. Lastly, there is a major misconception that must be put straight. People believe that Indians were poor and un-evolved across the whole border. This however is not the case. The city of Tenochtitlan is a great example of this. For one, the city was so advanced they had a ruler who everybody worshiped religiously. He is so highly regarded that when he is addressed people do not look him in the eyes as a sign of respect. Secondly, the city of Tenochtitlan was highly decorated with precious metals and stones.â€Å"Every object†¦imitated in gold, silver, precious stones, and feathers. † In conclusion, the New World had many positive impacts as a result of colonization for the Old World. The colonists brought many useful tools and weapons along with new crops for farming and food gathering strategies like fishing. Along with that colonists made some alliances with natives and by doing so brought the whole world closer and more connected as a whole. Of course there are negative impacts but at the conclusion of it all the ends do justify the means.

Use Our Top Tips For Creating Your Best Exemplification Essay

Use Our Top Tips For Creating Your Best Exemplification Essay Exemplification Essay Writing Tips: Full Guide An exemplification essay is one of the favorite professors’ tasks and sometimes students are really terrified with that assignment. And the reason for that is that professors really enjoy testing your knowledge. In fact, that type of writing isn’t that complicated as it may seem, though one of the rarest and most specific. It’s fair to say that it is a more accurate argumentative essay. More About an Exemplification Essay The definition of an exemplification essay is pretty short and clear, while it requires you to prove your main argument or thesis, provide the reasons and support those arguments by examples. Some professors call it even an illustrative essay since the examples you provide illustrate your point of view. However, almost all argumentative essays are about examples to prove the thesis. So what’s the difference? When creating your classic argumentative essay, you use the evidence to support your main argument or thesis. For that purpose, you use real-life examples, various data or statistics to support your thesis. You can cite various professors or scientists, for example, when writing your argumentative essay and it will be enough. However, it is not enough for an exemplification essay, while such shreds of evidence affirm the thesis but do not support it as a real-life example. So, exemplification essays can be truly considered more precise variations of the argumentative essays. Their aim is to show why a certain opinion is correct through an understandable life example. It is a bit easier to write an exemplification essay than other types of essay, while you have to think of your reader first. Once you make a point, you should have evidence not supporting, but illustrating it. Good evidence for an essay telling about the social media dangers on the young girls’ self-image, for example, could be telling about the girls who rank lower on self-esteem evaluation. This evidence would be very helpful. If you note that social media sometimes is addictive, the example won’t be understandable enough to support your thesis, as well as showing that there are higher amounts of disorders after using social media for pretty long timeframes among girls. It would be better to provide research showing that younger girls are more focused on their appearance as they spend more time on social media networks, for example. Why is this example better? If someone is focused on his or her appearance, it is one of the signs of a damaged self-image. Also, it is possible to provide an example showing how competitive girls are with each other on social media, which also shows their low self-image. In your exemplification essay, you should support the validity of the tota l thesis. How to Create a Good Exemplification Essay: Step-By-Step Guide In order to write a good exemplification essay, you should have a strong plan and outline. Try to have all the points in your mind and work them out to create a tight essay. How to start: Choose a position/argument. Think of at least five reasons to prove the correctness of your position. Point out the strongest ones. Do some research and find evidence (example) for three of the reasons. Your evidence has to be very specific. Read the reasons and examples once again. Now use just once sentence to connect them to the bigger life picture. Format If you have written other types of essays previously, you won’t have any difficulties with your exemplification essay, while it has the same format as all other essays’ types. Introduction and conclusion are mandatory, as well as three body paragraphs. The only difference is about the content of the body paragraphs, while you will have to focus on the evidence and make each piece directly illustrating your point. Outline Introduction: Here you can discuss the social media appearance and some of its advantages. Then softly go to the discussion of its negative aspects. For example: Using social media influences the self-image of young females in a negative way. Young girls are taught to be more competitive by society and that sense of competition among young women is only increased by social media. For example: According to research, young females more actively participate in the â€Å"compare and despair† aspects that develop in social media. There are more accounts of girls having high followings rates in social media in the result of their beauty. For example: according to the studies, when using social media, young females are inundated with unrealistic beauty standards. They claim that it influences negatively their self-image. There are lots of promotions of make-up hacks, products, and tutorials for young ladies in social media. Females are all the time reminded that their appearance is crucial. For example: according to research, young females feel pressured to buy cosmetic products on social media. Conclusion: Social media brings a sense of comparison and competition all the time, it highlights unrealistic beauty standards, and thus, is being toxic for young females. Outline Pattern Introduction A â€Å"hook† sentence that catches attention. Three subject sentences. The thesis statement in the argument. Second paragraph The first reason to support the thesis. An example supporting the reason. Discussion of that example’s importance. Third paragraph The second reason to support the argument. An example supporting the reason. Discussion of that example’s importance. Fourth paragraph The third reason to support the argument. An example supporting the reason. Discussion of that example’s importance. Conclusion State your thesis once again. Summarize three main claims of yours. Connect the thesis to the bigger picture of the future, life, history, society, etc. Topics for Your Exemplification Essay Easy Topics Is it better for students to have rich parents who don’t participate much in his life? Is it better for students to have poor parents who can participate actively in the life of their child? Is it necessary to cancel the SAT exam? Do most people reflect their friends they spend most of their time with? Should smartphone usage be illegal for children under 18? Good topics Is college degree less important today than fifteen years ago? Should population control be enforced by the government to ensure some of the species and planet survival? Do modern technologies or social media cause more incidents of social anxiety? Should children with obesity get mandatory nutritional assistance from the government dieticians? Should smoking become illegal in all public places? Is the young generation damaged by celebrity culture? Topics for college students Should the US army be sent abroad for foreign nations? Should religious organizations pay taxes? Should junk and fast food items be taxed at a higher rate? Should political campaigns accept donations from big corporations? Should the drugs be legalized to make the economy more stable? Should immigration policies in the States be stricter? Topics for high school students Is it necessary to ban politicians from spending high amounts on their campaigns? Should farm animals have more legal protections? Is marriage institution becoming outdated? Should social and religious cults be more regulated by the government? Is spanking children acceptable as a punishment form? Exemplification Essay Example What is Friendship Once two people establish a bond between them, friendship occurs. A healthy friendship includes mutual respect. Both people should care for each other’s fate, as well as physical and emotional well-being. Friendship contains some acts of kindness, for example, which do not require anything in return. People should act in the best interest of the other person. As an example, I want to tell about a young man dumped by his girlfriend. They started relationships when they both were in school and in college already they started to live together. The friend of this man helped him to move out of the hours into a house of his family member, after he discovered his friend was moving out of the house he shared together with his girlfriend. He didn’t require anything in return. A young woman saw her friend’s boyfriend flirt with other women very often. This woman decided not to tell her friend anything just because she didn’t want to harm their relationship. Instead of it, she talked to one of the girls this guy flirted with and asked her to show his girlfriend the text messages he sent her. Thus, her friend found out everything about her boyfriend but this didn’t damage the relationship between two girls. Students in my college often are with their friends when they were ill or had times of grief and didn’t ask anything in return. They might never get the same support back (maybe because it was not necessary) but the friendship remained strong. There are so many real-life examples of friendship in which people do various things without getting rewards in return. The acts of kindness or looking out for the interests of another person happen just because of friendship. The friendship itself is a reward, otherwise caring and kindness of people would be caused only by their self-interest. Conclusion Now you know that exemplification essays can be considered a more precise type of argumentative essay. It is more understandable to the reader while it contains the real-life examples illustrating the thesis or argument so well. Its aim is to show why a certain viewpoint is correct or not. Even an average reader can perceive the information well. But in case you have problems with writing your exemplification essay, our top writers are always ready to help. Our experts can cope with any task, can write an essay from scratch, edit your own essay, or give you fruitful recommendations to improve it and get your best mark!

The Battle of the Alamo 1836 - Texas Revolution

The Battle of the Alamo 1836 - Texas Revolution Battle of the Alamo -  Conflict Dates: The siege of the Alamo took place from February 23 to March 6, 1836, during the Texas Revolution (1835-1836). Armies Commanders: Texans Colonel William Travis Jim BowieDavy Crockett180-250 men21 guns Mexicans General Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna 6,000 men20 guns Background: In the wake of the Battle of Gonzales which opened the Texas Revolution, a Texan force under Stephen F. Austin encircled the Mexican garrison in the town of San Antonio de Bà ©xar. On December 11, 1835, after an eight-week siege, Austins men were able to compel General Martà ­n Perfecto de Cos to surrender. Occupying the town, the defenders were paroled with the requirement that they forfeit the majority of their supplies and weapons as well as not fight against the Constitution of 1824. The fall of Cos command eliminated the last major Mexican force in Texas. Returning to friendly territory, Cos provided his superior, General Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna, with information about the uprising in Texas. Santa Anna Prepares: Seeking to take a hard line with the rebelling Texans and angered by perceived American interference in Texas, Santa Anna ordered a resolution passed stating that any foreigners found fighting in the province would be treated as pirates.   As such, they would be immediately executed. While these intentions were communicated to US President Andrew Jackson, it is unlikely that many of the American volunteers in Texas were aware of the Mexican intention to forego taking prisoners. Establishing his headquarters at San Luis Potosà ­, Santa Anna began assembling an army of 6,000 with the goal of marching north and putting down the revolt in Texas. In early 1836, after adding 20 guns to his command, he began marching north through Saltillo and Coahuila. Fortifying the Alamo: To the north in San Antonio, Texan forces were occupying the Misià ³n San Antonio de Valero, also known as the Alamo. Possessing a large enclosed courtyard, the Alamo had first been occupied by Cos men during siege of the town the previous fall. Under the command of Colonel James Neill, the future of the Alamo soon proved a matter of debate for the Texan leadership. Far from the majority of the provinces settlements, San Antonio was short on both supplies and men.   As such, General Sam Houston advised that the Alamo be demolished and directed Colonel Jim Bowie to take a force of volunteers to accomplish this task. Arriving on January 19, Bowie found that work to improve the missions defenses had been successful and he was persuaded by Neill that the post could be held as well as that it was an important barrier between Mexico and the Texas settlements. During this time Major Green B. Jameson had constructed platforms along the missions walls to allow the emplacement of captured Mexican artillery and to provide firing positions for infantry. Though useful, these platforms left the upper bodies of the defenders exposed. Initially manned by about 100 volunteers, the missions garrison grew as January passed. The Alamo was again reinforced on February 3, with the arrival of 29 men under Lieutenant Colonel William Travis. A few days later, Neill, departed to deal with an illness in his family and left Travis in charge. Travis ascent to command did not sit well with Jim Bowie. A renowned frontiersman, Bowie argued with Travis over who should lead until it was agreed that the former would command the volunteers and the latter the regulars. Another notable frontiersman arrived on February 8, when Davy Crockett rode into the Alamo with 12 men. The Mexicans Arrive: As preparations moved forward, the defenders, relying on faulty intelligence, came to believe that the Mexicans would not arrive until mid-March. To the surprise of the garrison, Santa Annas army arrived outside of San Antonio on February 23. Having marched through driving snow and foul weather, Santa Anna reached the town a month sooner than the Texans anticipated. Surrounding the mission, Santa Anna sent a courier requesting the Alamos surrender. To this Travis responded by firing one of the missions cannon. Seeing that the Texans planned to resist, Santa Anna laid siege to the mission. The next day, Bowie fell ill and full command passed to Travis. Badly outnumbered, Travis sent out riders asking for reinforcements. Under Siege: Traviss calls went largely unanswered as the Texans lacked the strength to fight Santa Annas larger army. As the days passed the Mexicans slowly worked their lines closer to the Alamo, with their artillery reducing the missions walls. At 1:00 AM, on March 1, 32 men from Gonzales were able to ride through the Mexican lines to join the defenders. With the situation grim, legend states that Travis drew a line in the sand and asked all those willing to stay and fight to step over it. All except one did. The Final Assault: At dawn on March 6, Santa Annas men launched their final attack on the Alamo. Flying a red flag and playing the El Degà ¼ello bugle call, Santa Anna signaled that no quarter would be given to the defenders. Sending 1,400-1,600 men forward in four columns they overwhelmed the Alamos tiny garrison. One column, led by General Cos, broke through the missions north wall and poured into the Alamo. It is believed that Travis was killed resisting this breach. As the Mexicans entered the Alamo, brutal hand-to-hand fighting ensued until almost the entire garrison had been killed. Records indicate that seven may have survived the fighting, but were summarily executed by Santa Anna. Battle of the Alamo -  Aftermath: The Battle of the Alamo cost the Texans the entire 180-250-man garrison. Mexican casualties are disputed but were approximately 600 killed and wounded. While Travis and Bowie were killed in the fighting, Crocketts death is a subject of controversy. While some sources state that he was killed during the battle, others indicate that he was one of the seven survivors executed on Santa Annas orders. Following his victory at the Alamo, Santa Anna moved quickly to destroy Houstons small Texas Army. Outnumbered, Houston began retreating towards the US border. Moving with a flying column of 1,400 men, Santa Anna encountered the Texans at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Charging the Mexican camp, and yelling Remember the Alamo, Houstons men routed Santa Annas troops. The next day, Santa Anna was captured effectively securing Texan independence. Selected Sources The AlamoBattle of the AlamoTexas State Library: Battle of the Alamo

The Chocolate War Assignment #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Chocolate War Assignment #2 - Essay Example Surprisingly, Jerry went against the norm of the school, by declining to accomplish the school assignment the way other students did. Those who refused to accomplish such assignments faced serious repercussions. Before Jerry joined the school, other students used to dance to the tunes of The Vigils, since they feared the violent consequences that would erupt. The students, as well as The Vigils and the administration are astonished the moment they realized that Jerry declined to accomplish the assignment. This triggered the long awaited dominant violent act to erupt. Jerry has undergone metamorphosis from being a hero to being an enemy. At first, his fellow students were amazed at his courage to go against The Vigils’ wishes. However, the moment the students realized that Jerry was going to face violent consequences; they abandoned him and went ahead and sold their chocolates. Furthermore, when Jerry was informed that he was to take part in the boxing face-off, his friend, Goober tried to stop him in vain â€Å"Sick. But I just heard about this and I had to come to stop you. For chrissake Jerry, don’t do it.† Jerry went ahead and answered â€Å"I think I can take him, Goob, I really do†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Robinette 95). The violence finally exploded at the tail end of the play and Jerry faces serious injury and is taken to

Stand up meetings in agile software development Dissertation

Stand up meetings in agile software development - Dissertation Example It involves adapting to changes continuously and delivering of software product (Strode et al., 2009). Agile software process is iterative and incremental with high communication level and customer involvement (Schwaber and Beedle, 2002). In an early paper that defined agile software methodology, it stated that the â€Å"... methodology involves modification and improving requirements through collaboration with cross functional teams to encourage organisation teams in the process of developing the software† Schwaber and Beedle, 2002). The proposition of Takeuchi and Nonaka (1986) concerning Agile Software Development involved encouraging the proximity of team members and verbal communication to create a robust quality framework. The proposition of Takeuchi and Nonaka in promoting Agile software development were based on: 1. Flexibility: A system where different software development processes can be modified to meet the new changes in the software development process. 2. Unity of Purpose: All the parties in the software development process had to be committed to a single vision and mission. And they had to get updates on a regular basis. 3. Coordination: All the different units had to work with each other to attain results at every point in the software development process. These are the main components and elements of Agile Software Development. ... Constant communication and constant interaction is a central feature of Agile Software Development approaches and systems (Fowler, 2012). Schwaber and Beedle (2002) argue that in order to maintain unity of purpose and enhance the holistic nature of the software development process requires the exchange of information and constant interaction between the team members Daily stand-up meetings are a major practice organisations used by agile teams to facilitate the regular exchange of information (Schwaber and Beedle, 2002). Stand-up meetings are daily meetings that are held to provide status updates to team members in Agile Software Development projects (Fowler, 2012). This involves quick updates and a summary of activities that were conducted in the previous day (Fowler, 2012). They are conducted on a daily basis and they last for between 5 and 15 minutes (Fowler, 2012). In agile software development, these stand up meetings are carried out to enable participants in the software develo pment process share views and information on: 1. What was accomplished the previous day. 2. What will be accomplished in the current day. 3. The obstacles faced and how the obstacles will affect the day's work (Fowler, 2012). It is a daily routine that is held at a specific time and same place. Stand-up meetings are therefore an essential part of agile software development and promote constant interaction and the holistic development of software (Stray et.al 2012). Although stand-up meetings are a commonly used practice in Agile Software development, it is not quite clear what their benefits and drawbacks are. Should teams accept the practice without knowing its actual importance and the limits of its effectiveness? This is a question that leads to the next stage of