Wednesday, December 25, 2019

John Updike And Walkers Short Stories Are Culturally...

Updike and Walker Updike and Walkers short stories are culturally different but universal in the understanding of an American family and their heritage. Updike’s â€Å"Separating† you see an upper class white family dealing with separation and potential divorce of a marriage from infidelity. The husband is struggling to make the choice to leave his marriage and family behind for another woman. The husband and wife are trying to figure out a way to break the news to their children. Whereas in Alice Walker’s short story, about a low income African American family that have separation among deep rooted heritage and culture. Between family members a conflict grows from an opinion on some old quilts. Symbolic metaphors are richly placed in both†¦show more content†¦Eventually John, the second-youngest at 15, asks his mother why his dad is crying. Joan then tells him the truth, and talk of the separation triggers various reactions from each child. John becomes more belligerent and expects answers of what went wrong and becomes frustrated. Margaret, the youngest of the children, is relieved to hear the news out loud to release her growing inner suspicion of her parents. After dinner Joan lectures Richard for crying at the table seemed to make it look like the divorce is her fault. The reader realizes that Richard has had an affair. Dickie who is 17, is out with friends at a concert, and is the last child to get the news. Richard struggles to tell him, and when Dickie who is stunned asks for a reason, that moment Richard seems to forget why he is really separating from his family in the first place. Throughout the short story, it becomes noticeable that Richard, the main character and narrator, is at odds with his emotions and become heavier. Not only does he find it difficult to tell the children about the separation, but as he is working on finishing tasks around the home before he departs such as; the lock on the screen porch seems to be struggling with. The locks are a symbol used to secure things and he was trying to secure everything; â€Å"a Houdini making things snug before his escape† (1427). By having Richard change the lock the author is symbolically representing that Richard and

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Ethical Issues in Management Essay - 1199 Words

Ethical Issues in Management Charles Hall Axia Student Diversity in the workplace refers to the stark contrast of individuals within the same work environment. Many moral and ethical issues are faced by managers every day concerning diversity. Social Issues and ethically responsible management practices relate to workplace diversity in simple but important ways. Ethically it is irresponsible for managers to manage diversity in the workplace by acting insensitively towards employees. There are many ways that managers can avoid ethical issues concerning diversity in the workplace, but first they must understand the moral and ethical issues that they are faced with. Fifty years ago it was not uncommon to see any workplace filled with†¦show more content†¦The main conflict that will arise within the workplace is when one employee becomes offended by another employees actions whether they are intentional or not. It is the managers moral and ethical obligation to resolve these conflicts when they arise quickly so that they do not wors en. It is difficult to maintain a productive workplace if employees are constantly being petty with one another. A savvy manager will instill moral confidence in his or her employees through positive and repetitive examples of leadership, not just thumping the ethics handbook a few times a year while doughnuts and coffee are consumed in mass quantities. These training sessions should still be held, but the manager is faced daily with ethical and moral dilemmas meaning that the manager should keep ethics and moral responsibility on the front of his or her brain on a daily basis. Many social issues can bleed into the work place affecting the current ethical issues or even creating new ones for the manager to deal with. Current events are always important for a manager to keep track of. Knowing what is going on in the world around them on a broad scale can help them relate to their employees interests. Being able to speak to the employee on more than just the â€Å"uh huh† leve l of what his or her interest are enables the manager to build a good rapport and a foundation of trust with the employee.Show MoreRelatedThe Ethical And Management Issues1466 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction This report will address the ethical and management issues presented in the case studies Seven Eleven, Are organisation’s exploiting ‘non-employees’ and New and challenging HRM issues in China and India. The main ethical issues raised by these case studies are cultural diversity issues, discrimination and employee working conditions. Along with these ethical issues there are also management issues outlined Corporate Greed and an issue Human resource. This resulted in loss of thousandsRead MoreThe Ethical And Management Issues1593 Words   |  7 Pagesbe casual workers. In China and India, new and challenging HRM issues are undergoing tremendous changes due to the improvement of workplace conditions, labour laws and wages all contributing to healthier, safer work environments. The purpose of this report is to Comment on the ethical and management issues raised by all three case studies (7-Eleven, ‘Are organisation’s exploiting ‘non-employees’’ and ‘New and challenging HRM issues in China and India’) and make recommendations for the future aroundRead MoreEthical Issues and Management1098 Words   |  5 PagesEthical Issues and Management Student’s name Date XMGT/216 Teacher’s name â€Å"Managers perform a crucial role in organizations because they interpret company policy, execute corporate directives, fulfill all of the people management needs in their particular area of responsibility, cascade senior management messages down the chain of command, and communicate employee feedback up the chain. They are probably the most important ingredient in an organization’s success and they are frequently theRead MoreEthical Issues in Procurement Management.1322 Words   |  6 PagesEthical Issues in Procurement Management When people or business deal with contracting as a means of Procurement for their company, there may be issues regarding who the company will deal with. Procurement Management conducted correctly can be a valuable tool when combating this problem. The United States Government is a larger institution that relies on contractors to take care of many of the logistics necessary to keep our government running smoothly. Our government does not have the manpowerRead MoreProject Management Ethical Issues3426 Words   |  14 PagesPROJECT MANAGEMENT ISSUES Melwin Fernandes 200083225 Ethics and Other Management Issues (CIS 485) Duncan Jeffries Project Management Issues What is Project Management? Project management  is the  discipline  of  planning,  organizing, and  managing  resources  to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is often closely related to program management (Wikipedia). A  project  is a temporary endeavour, undertaken to meet particular goals and objectivesRead MoreEthical Issues Of Human Resource Management1339 Words   |  6 Pagesorganization will have a healthy workforce. Ethical issues permeate Human Resource management because HR managers are in place to ensure that human talent (capital) is used effectively and efficiently in order to accomplish organizational goals. A human resource manager should always consider alternative solutions to the needs of the organization as well as the effects these decisions will have on the lives of employees. The four elements of ethical programs are as follows: a written code of ethicsRead MoreCase Management Ethical Issues Essay1006 Words   |  5 PagesThis paper will first discuss briefly what ethics are and provide the definition for an ethical issue. An ethical leadership issue is identified and explained for this author’s practice area. We will then identify and discuss key strategies f or leadership that are pertinent to the ethical issue. Next, empirical evidence which supports the strategies discussed will be analyzed. Then, the impact and importance of the strategies will be stated. The final step will be to provide a conclusion toRead MoreEthical Issues in Knowledge Management (Km)2717 Words   |  11 PagesINTRODUCTION Knowledge Management (KM) has never attained so much publicity as it has in recent years. It is a relatively new facet in organisations and also in educational institutions. Today, it is of utmost importance in the corporate world. The definition of KM has been defined and redefined by various experts through all these years. KM is defined as the tools, techniques and strategies which are essential to retain, analyse, organise improve and share business knowledge. (Groff Jones 2003:Read MoreEthical Issues Regarding The Human Resource Management947 Words   |  4 Pagesemployment relationship, some issues concerning ethics must be dealt with. The Human resource management section of any company is responsible for effectively and systematically managing people in the institution to achieve the desired goals. People must be managed productively. It’s also the responsibility of the HRM to ensure there is a healthy and safe workplace. This paper aims at identifying five ethical i ssues that exist in the field of HRM and then ranks the issues by the importance placed onRead MoreEthical Issues in Human Resource Management Strategies936 Words   |  4 PagesEthical issues in HRM strategy Introduction The plans for managing an organizations structure, culture, people, training and development are referred to as HRM strategies. These strategies are also used to determine how employees fit in the organizations growth in the future. In business practices, the level of honesty and transparency is referred to as ethics. HRM strategies should guide employees on their workplace behavior. These strategies show the organizations expectations of its employees

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Hedda Gabler Discussion Essay Example For Students

Hedda Gabler Discussion Essay Ibsen once said, Find out who you are and become that person, because, To realize yourself is the highest goal a person can attain. Self realization was Ibsens super-objective. To find self-realization was the main theme of his play Hedda Gabler. Hedda, Tesman, and Thea, all live their lives through others, therefore never reaching self-realization. Their deficiencies entail cowardice, lack of imagination and validation. They make up for it by manipulating, borrowing and dependency. Searching for themselves in each other. Hedda lives through others by manipulation. Hedda is a coward, she is afraid of taking charge of her life and making something of herself. Since she feels a lack of control over her life, she controls others. She is unhappy because she has no control and tries to make everyone else unhappy. In the opening scene Aunt Julie comes over and places her hat in the living room, Hedda then purposefully remarks on how rude it was for the maid to leave her hat around the house. Aunt Julies feelings are hurt deeply, since she bought the hat brand new. Hedda is also very condescending and sarcastic towards Tesman; he is completely unaware of it. She plays him like a deck of cards. When he asks her why she burned Lovborgs manuscript; she says she did it for you dear, since you envied it. He believes her not seeing her real motives, then he later exclaims, Oh, Im beginning to understand you, Hedda!Heddas feeling of being out of control also effects how she interacts with the other characters. This is why she is manipulative. She manipulates the people around her to do things that they normally wouldnt do. When Lovborg and Thea are with her, she offers Lovborg a drink, but he refuses because he quit drinking. Then she spills a bit of information about Lovborg that Thea had told her and Lovborg is outraged. In his anger, he accepts the drink. She makes both Thea and Lovborg angry but she got satisfaction from effecting their actions. Hedda is also pregnant but refuses to recognize it because again that would mean less control for her. Towards the end of the play Judge Brack tells her, he knows it was her gun that Lovborg shot himself with. He knows she afraid of the scandal. Hedda replies, So Im in your power, Judge. You have your hold over me from now on. Shortly after saying this and seeing Tesman and Thea working together, she buries herself in a room with her fathers picture and the piano. (Sentence about room and escape and how she fails when she kills herself)Then shoots herself. Tesman lives through others by borrowing ideas. He lacks any imagination, so he uses others ideas in place of his own. He lacks control over his work, because none of it is really his. It seems that anytime anyone mentions an idea he remarks, Imagine that, in a bewildered sort of way. He cant even carry on an interesting conversation because he has no ideas or original thoughts to share. Tesman wants to be recognized and respected for his work, but his work and research is nothing new, meaningless. Tesmans book would be filled with regurgitated facts. He spent his entire honeymoon in a library. (What does this show us about his character)He is very ambitious; almost everything he does is used to further his recognition. Even his marriage to Hedda; he married her because she is a trophy to him. (Why does he need a trophy)?Thea Elvsted is closest to self-realization but doesnt quite make it because of her dependence on men. She gets much farther than anyone else in play, because she i s taking herself to another level by writing the book with Lovborg and later Tesman. She leaves her husband to cling to Lovborg. One could argue that it isnt her fault to be dependent on men because there was no other way of having an income back then. Therefore, her dependence is not completely her fault but a pressure from society. Thea is Heddas opposite because she works for moral improvement but not only for her, for Lovborg and later Tesman. When Lovborg tells her

Sunday, December 1, 2019

The Purpose of Satire free essay sample

This seems to be Franklins specialty. His tongue of wit highlights and forces the reader to question the purpose of such policies. His satires aids him in conveying a message in a way that people are open to listen and more likely to re evaluate the norms. The beauty of humor is its ability to rely a message of importance in manner that is not reprimanding thus most audiences are more reciprocal to what is being said. In Franklins time slavery was in full swing even though society was slowly realizing It was wrong.Franklin instead of forming a protest and speaking out against anyone who owns slaves, Franklin wrote The Pennsylvania Abolition Society to the united States Congress and the piece Benjamin Franklin to the Federal Gazette to highlight the of slavery in both a forward way of all are equal and way. When reading such writing both give the reader a gentle push to consider whether they are in the wrong without reprimanding anyone. We will write a custom essay sample on The Purpose of Satire or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His technique helps him to argue for what is right without being seeming Of Franklins satirical pieces are one of his most humorous and valid pieces is the The Speech of Miss PolyBaker in which highlights the extremeness of punishing a lady with many bastard children when so many other problems in society. When Franklin highlights the ridiculousness of fining a woman who is raising children by herself for it takes away the money she can provide for her children, highlighting that the government Is actually forcing her to give away money she could use for her children. It Is quite humorous to consider and very much true. The fines leave her with less and the fines are because they believe she Is an unfit mother.Furthermore, she states that If a marriage proposal where to come her way she would gladly take the gentleman up on his offer, but sadly none have come and she cant force it even though she claims to have the skills need for an excellent wife. These ideas stray for the usually if she has many children from many suitors she is improper. Franklins wording and speech makes the reader wonder if they got it backwards. Granted his first pieces were not published and his other piece was not readily traced to Franklin these pieces were still out there giving society a reason and example to wonder about their concepts of certain norms.Franklins satires give way for people to look Into their thoughts without feeling punished, making people more willing to change their perceptions without being defensive about the pieces. BY In most of the Franklins biography Franklin utilizes the humor and creates sat ires in order to help the public review certain norms in their society. Franklin employs humor as tact to point out the flaws in the obvious of certain policies, ideas, and concepts. For Franklin, his spec writings often point out issues he sees in the norms realizing it was wrong.Franklin instead of forming a protest and speaking out against anyone who owns slaves, Franklin wrote The Pennsylvania Abolition Society to the United States Congress and the piece Benjamin Franklin to the Federal Gazette to highlight the of slavery in both a forward way of all are equal and satirical the money she can provide for her children, highlighting that the government is actually forcing her to give away money she could use for her children. It is quite are because they believe she is an unfit mother.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The 1960s essays

The 1960s essays The 1960s were a time of great change in American society characterized by ethnic consciousness and civil rights, womens rights and female liberalism, anti-war demonstrations, student protests, and the genesis of the counterculture. A noted speaker once said, The Cold War, conformity, and consumerism provided the background for the social protests movement of the 1960s. The cause of the protest movements were much more deeply rooted in U.S. institutions and history. Although the protest movements of the 1960s were deeply rooted in U.S. institutions and history of the 1950s, the Cold War, conformity, and consumerism provided much more than a background for these movements, in a way they were the reason behind them. In the 1950s politicians constantly used the Cold War as a threat to the lifestyle of the American people-a conformist lifestyle dominated by consumerism in which families for the first time in history had the purchasing power of credit. Families now had the power to own homes, which resulted in the construction of ethnic communities and they had the ability to afford luxuries, which they could never dream of before, these include cars, televisions, and other new appliances. This ideal lifestyle was championed on television sitcoms such as Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best and it included the above mentioned luxuries, furthermore it illustrated the breakdown of the family and how it was supposed to appear. The shows stressed the breadwinner and head of the family as the father, the mother as the ideal housewife, taking diligent care that all the housework be done before her husband arrives from work, and the children as well-mannered and respectful citizens upon whose problems the shows usually center. In essence the shows stressed the importance of family and family life, and what threatened the family-Communism, Cold War-the Communist that coul...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Prosody - Systematic Study of the Meter of Poetry

Prosody - Systematic Study of the Meter of Poetry Prosody is a technical term used in linguistics and poetry to describe the patterns, rhythms or meters of a language. Prosody can refer to the rules for the pronunciation of a language as well as its versification. The correct pronunciation of words includes:(1)enunciation,(2)proper accenting and(3)making sure each syllable has its required length. Syllable Length: Syllable length doesnt seem terribly important for pronunciation in English. Take a word like laboratory. It looks as though it should be divided syllabically into: la-bo-ra-to-ry So it appears to have 5 syllables, but when someone from the U.S. or U.K. pronounces it, there are only 4. Oddly, the 4 syllables arent the same. Americans heavily stress the first syllable. lab-ra-,to-ry In the U.K. you probably hear: la-bor-a-,try When we stress a syllable, we hold it an extra time. The Latin for time is tempus and the word for the duration of time, especially in linguistics, is mora. Two short syllables or morae count for one long syllable. Latin and Greek have rules about whether a given syllable is long or short. More than in English, length is very important. Why Do You Need to Know About Prosody?: Whenever you read ancient Greek or Latin poetry you are reading the writing of a man or woman who has replaced the mundane with the loftier speech of poetry. Part of the flavor of the poetry is conveyed by the tempo of the words. To read the poetry woodenly without trying to grasp the tempo would be like reading sheet music without playing it even mentally. If such an artistic rationale doesnt motivate you to try to learn about Greek and Roman meter, hows this? Understanding the meter will help you to translate. Foot: A foot is a unit of a meter in poetry. A foot will usually have 2, 3 or 4 syllables in Greek and Latin poetry. 2 Morae (Remember: one short syllable has one time or mora.) A foot composed of two short syllables is called pyrrhic. A pyrrhic foot would have two times or morae. 3 Morae A trochee is a long syllable followed by a short and an iam(b) is a short syllable followed by a long. Both of these have 3 morae. 4 Morae A foot with 2 long syllables is called a spondee. A spondee would have 4 morae. Uncommon feet, like the dispondee, can have 8 morae, and there are special, long patterned ones, like the Sapphic, named after the famous woman poet Sappho of Lesbos. Trisyllabic Feet: There are eight possible feet based on three syllables. The two most common are:(1)the dactyl, which is named visually for the finger, (long, short, short) and(2)the anapest (short, short, long). AnapestDactylic Hexameter Feet of four or more syllables are compound feet. Verse: A verse is a line of poetry using feet according to a specified pattern or meter. A meter can refer to a single foot in a verse. If you have a verse made up of dactyls, each dactyl is a meter. A meter is not always a single foot. For instance, in a line of iambic trimeter, each meter or metron (pl. metra or metrons) consists of two feet. Dactylic Hexameter: If the meter is dactyl, with 6 meters in the verse, you have a line of dactylic hexameter. If there are only five meters, it is pentameter. Dactylic hexameter is the meter that was used in epic poetry or heroic poetry. There is one additional important bit of confusing information: the meter used in dactylic hexameter can be either dactyl (long, short, short) or a spondee (long, long). Why? They have the same number of morae. Diaresis - Division in a Line of VerseCaesura - Division in a Line of Dactylic HexameterTrochaic TrimeterIambic Trimeter Meter for the AP Exam: For the AP Latin - Vergil Exam, students need to know dactylic hexameters and be able to determine the length of each syllable. - UU|- UU|- UU|- UU|- UU|- X. The last syllable may be taken to be long since the sixth foot is treated as a spondee. Except in the fifth syllable, a long syllable can replace the two shorts (UU).

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Education - Assignment Example This is because the child was able to name new objects as directed by the mother. Having watched the three videos, I have realized what Kamil (2011) argued as observation data aids in identification of a particular aspect within a certain setting. The collection of data in the Infant Video Clip was quite difficult because the child is at the early stages of development and does not realize what he or she needs. However, the child is able to stick to the caretaker’s movement and identify the flower being rotated above. The data collected here is that the child is able to identify the object and trace the movement without recognizing its name. Further, it is difficult to know whether the kid paid attention to the flower or not. On the other hand, the Toddler Video Clip was the easiest to collect data since the child was able to identify and recognize a new object and ask what it was. In addition, the child was able to recognize eatable objects like melon, and the communication was excellent between the child and the mother. Finally, the Preschool Video Clip was average in terms of data collection. This is because the kid had developed the recognizing ability, which made her identify what she needs. However, data collection was not easy because several kids were involved, which limited ability to pay attention to a specific

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Target Background Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Target Background Research Paper - Essay Example This helps them to communicate effectively and it makes the employees feel they are on the page. This approach generated loyalty and challenged the employees to make the business a success. Each employee should be offered stock options and given a portion of the profits as an incentive to keep working toward higher customer satisfaction. Motivation and communication are additional ways the CEO could create happy employees. Challenging employees allows him or her to be creative and generate new ideas or product lines that will increase sales and or customer satisfaction. Listening to employees opinions is vital to success. The people who work the frontline of any business will have ideas on how to better the processes. Some companies used an approach uncommon to most CEO's; walking around the store to meet and greet the associates and customers. This approach allowed the consumers the opportunity to tell him how well he or she liked the store and offer suggestions for change. The asso ciates liked this approach because it made him an approachable CEO who was willing to listen to employees and customers. In this report, it is apparent that the company should use strategic planning in order to deal with the issues since it determines the overall direction and goals of the organization. Consequently, strategic planning influences numerous aspects of the organization, including what, In strategic planning, a) Products and services will be provided by the business and how those products and services will be designed b) Organizational design and roles are needed by the organization. c) Performance goals are established for positions throughout the business. d) Board committees should be developed (in the case of corporations. e) Resources are needed to reach those goals, and consequently, how much money is needed to procure those resources -- ultimately, the goals determine the content of various budgets ("Develop strategic plan" 2007). Competition from similar products, changing technology and increasing costs all play their part in putting pressure on firms to keep rethinking and expan ding. Mergers are more and more frequent and many businesses have expanded to become global organizations. But if growth is sometimes the only option it is also very often a risky one. Expansion demands investment of time, money and people and has to be carefully managed to bring the desired returns. Though there is a way to increase the odds of success: simple and effective communication in all directions. For the fiscal February period, reported comparable store sales decreased 4.1%. Just over half of this sales performance was due to a decrease in average transaction size with the remainder due to a decrease in comparable store transactions. Comparable store sales in February 2008 increased 0.5%. The current month's sales release quotes Gregg Steinhafel, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Target Corporation, as saying, "February sales were in line with our planned range for the month as our sales results continue to reflect the significant economic challenges facing our guests (Target Corporation Pre-recorded February 2009 Sales Conference Call - Final 2009). At the heart of Target's growth is the unique culture that has been

Sunday, November 17, 2019

The Father Essay Essay Example for Free

The Father Essay Essay A man is shaped by the people in his environment. In The Father by Hugh Garner, John Purcell, the father, is not dysfunctional, the whole family is. He attempts to fit in but he is stopped, not only by his son, but by also the rest of his dysfunctional family. John attempts to be integrate into his family, but on several occasions is obstructed by his son. John attempts to start conversations with Johnny, but is ignored and soon stops these futile attempts. In addition, when he tries to watch his son play, his son bluntly ignores him. As well, John enthusiastically greets his son on the street only to have a wave in return. John even goes to a Boy Scout dinner in hopes of repairing the damage in the relationship between him and his son; nevertheless, his son continues to embarrass him. As you can see, the father is actually trying to become a handy member of his family, however, his family is actually hindering him from accomplishing his goal. The main person responsible for blocking John from becoming purposeful is his own son Johnny. Johnny doesnt talk with his dad, therefore, making him feel isolated from his son since he knows nothing about him. Whenever Johnnys dad tries to become functional with Johnny, Johnny makes his dad feel stupid for trying. Some more specific examples of this is when dad saw Johnny on the street, Johnny barely managed a wave. Also, when his dad went to see his son play games in the schoolyard, Johnny bluntly ignored his dad. Johnny is the main reason that John is not succeeding in becoming useful. However, the other members of the family also help Johnny in his evil deeds. Johnny is accountable for most of the blockage against his father; however, he also receives help from his family. To maintain as little as communication between Johnny and his father, Johnny gets his mom to talk the father for him. Johnny told his mother to give the dad the invitation to the Boy Scout dinner. Furthermore, the family reprimands John by telling him to be nice to Johnny, making it seem as if the distance between him and his son is his entire fault. As you can see, the whole family participates to forbid  John Purcell from becoming a functional member of the family. As you have just read, a man is shaped by the people in his environment. It is not John Purcells fault that he is dysfunctional; it is the familys fault that he is dysfunctional. John is trying to become a functional member, however, his dysfunctional family refuses to cooperate with him. With this evidence, you would come to the conclusion that it is not that John Purcell is dysfunctional; its the whole family that is dysfunctional.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Essay -- Drug Abuse, Substance Abuse

Alcohol and Drug Abuse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alcohol and drug abuse is one of biggest problems in United States today. It is not only a personal problem that dramatically affects individuals' lives, but is a major social problem that affects society as whole. "Drug and alcohol abuse", these phrases we hear daily on the radio, television or in discussions of social problem. But what do they mean or what do we think and understand by it? Most of us don't really view drug or alcohol use as a problem, if that includes your grandmother taking two aspirins when she has a headache or your friends having few beers or drinks on Saturday night. What we really mean is that some drugs or alcohol are being used by some people or in some situations constitute problem with which our society must deal. It becomes a real problem when using or I should say abusing drugs cause accidents, antisocial behavior, broken relationships, family instability, crime and violence, poverty, unsafe streets and highways, worker absenteeism a nd nonproductivity, and the most tragic one death. The situation in which the drug or alcohol uses accurse often makes all the difference. The clearest example is the drinking of alcohol, when individual begins to drink during the job, at school, or in the morning, we have evidence that indicates a potential drinking problem. If a person takes narcotic drug because he just wrecked his knee while his physician prescribed playing football and the drug, most of us would be not concerned. If, on the other hand, he took the same drug on his own just because he likes the way it makes him feel, then we should begin to worry about him developing dependence. Even use of illegal drugs are sometimes acceptable, but it also depends on situation, for example in some countries smoking marijuana is legal just like drinking alcohol in United States. Some subcultures even in United States that accept the use of illegal drugs may distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable situation, some college age groups might accept marijuana smoking at a party on weekends, but not just before going to a calculus class. Most of people would accept a fact that a bartender or a waiter who is working at a night club is having a beer or a drink on his break or that a landscape worker is having a cold beer with his lunch on a hot summer day. I'm not saying that it is "OK" but we wouldn't complain a... ... treatment for alcoholism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another tragic and very important issue ate the " Crack Babies". A crack baby is a child born to a mother who was smoking crack during her pregnancy and up until the time of birth. The infant is addicted at birth, suffers withdrawal agonies, and continues to suffer from developmental abnormalities. These tragedies occur at too high a rate no matter how many there are†¦ The 1991 Household Survey data estimated that about 280,000 women of all ages might have used crack at some time during the year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children are introduced to drugs and alcohol at a very young age. Many of them see alcohol and drugs in their homes, used by their parents on daily bases. Some of these children don't even realize that it is wrong, "not normal", and not accepted in other homes until they are old enough to understand that situation in their home is a problem and that it is wrong. Minors usually begin using alcohol at around age 13. Statistics show that by the time they are high school sinners, 81 percent of teens have used alcohol. Alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse are more widespread among young people than many adults realize. Drug abuse is also very high.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Leadership Styles Essay

Nursing Armon Copeland Chamberlain College of Nursing 351: Transitions to Professional Nursing Spring Term 2011 Introduction Leadership in the 21st century has been redefined. As leaders we provide the voucher and guidance to begin the journey, while the managers are the ones who drive the team to the destination. Leadership is something you know when you see it, but is very challenging to describe. Leadership development in the nursing profession is important because it directly impacts the care that is delivered to patients. It is critical that the entire senior leadership have the self-same vision or mental image of what the organization intends to aim for as structure, management and organization in terms of changes for a solid foundation. Leadership Leadership is a blend of personal characteristics, abilities, strategies, and circumstances that enable a leader to influence individuals and organizations to accomplish a goal. Although there is no single formula for becoming a successful leader, some common elements include self- confidence, courage, a clear vision of the goal and how to reach it, the ability to clearly communicate the goal as well as strong personal commitment, and the ability to inspire trust and respect among followers. Leadership differs from management in that leadership is a combination of personal qualities and abilities whereas management is a process. Leaders are more likely to be effective when they use the management process to achieve goals. Managers are more effective when their actions demonstrate leadership qualities; thereby earning the respect and trust of those they manage (Hamilton, 1996). Styles of Leadership Transformational and Transactional leadership styles are two very different methods of leadership in the nursing profession. This paper will compare and contrast these two leadership styles and support that transformational leadership style encourages quality care, job fulfillment and improved patient outcomes. The traditional authoritarian style of leadership the top-down directive approach has largely been replaced with a more democratic and/or participative style, which involves such collaborative behaviors as consulting, discussing, cooperating, or negotiating. No one style is effective for all situations, however, so flexibility is important. For example, an authoritarian approach may be the most effective in dealing with acute situations when decisions must be made and implemented quickly. Rapid technological growth, increased diversity in the workforce, and growing complexity within organizations has led to changes in the way effective leadership is defined. Leadership researchers and theorists define good leadership as â€Å"future-oriented rather than present-oriented and as fostering followers’ commitment and ability to contribute creatively to organizations† (Eagly, 2007). Political scientist James McGregor Burns (1978) described this type of leadership as transformational leadership. Transformational leaders establish themselves as role models by gaining followers’ trust and confidence. They establish the organization’s goals, plan how to achieve the goals, and innovate. As Eagly (2007) explains, â€Å"Transformational leaders mentor and empower their subordinates and encourage them to develop their potential and thus to contribute more effectively to their organization. † Researchers also describe a more conservative type of leadership as transactional leadership, in which leaders establish exchange relationships with their frontline employees. After clarifying objectives and subordinates’ responsibilities, transactional leaders reward those who meet objectives and correct them when they fail to meet objectives. The word politics is a loaded term, heavy with images of shady characters in smoke-filled rooms, wheeling, dealing, and often stealing. But politics is really a neutral term. According to Policy and Politics for Nurses, â€Å"Politics means influencing, specifically, influences the allocation of scarce resources. Politics is a process by which one influences the decisions of others and exerts control over situations and events. It is a means to an end† (Mason et al. , 2002). Becoming influential is something that can be learned, and it has as much to do with attitude as with behavior. Both aspects are necessary (Sullivan, 2004). Becoming influential includes such skills as understanding power and how to use it, communicating effectively, understanding the political process, and dealing with difficult people and situations. Conclusion â€Å"Work hard, play by the rules, be nice, be polite, hold yourself accountable and you will get ahead. Our mothers were right, up to a point. Taking that advice, you do get ahead and your hard work is rewarded until you hit the glass ceiling. Or, as one physician called it, the â€Å"gauze ceiling. † Being the best at what you do is not enough to break through the gauze ceiling into positions of leadership. It’s not enough to have clinical skills; you need political skills as well. Leaders make a difference in their world by influencing others to support the leader’s vision or cause. To make a difference, you need political skills. Everything is political in the work environment, professional organization, community, and government. References Hamilton PM. (1996). Realities of Contemporary Nursing, 2nd ed. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley. Eagley AH. (2007). Female leadership advantage and disadvantage: Resolving the contradictions. Psychology of Women Quarterly 31:1–12. Mason DJ, Leavitt JK, Chaffee MW. (2002). Policy and Politics in Nursing and Healthcare, 4th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier. Sullivan EJ. (2004). Becoming Influential: A Guide for Nurses. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Introduction To Ethics Essay

Ethics is the study of the nature of moral virtues and evaluates human actions. Ethics come from agreements between people, duty considerations and considerations of the consequences of various actions we involve ourselves into. Philosophical ethics is the study of morality through rational means guided in human well-being. The three subsections of philosophical ethics are; normative ethics-is the study of moral standards that makes us judge our actions as wring or wrong or good from bad. Meta-ethics – is concerned with the meaning of ethical judgments that is responsible for the truth and validity of our actions. Meta-ethics assists us determine whether an opinion can be applied to any situation at present or in future. It asks questions such as; what’s the meaning of ethical terms such as good and right, the motives for acting ethically, the nature of moral reason. Applied Ethics – is the application of moral philosophy to real-life situations that have been investigated in normative ethics and judged on the lessons of meta-ethics. According to Paul Newall article moral philosophy is divided into branches; meta-ethics and normative ethics. The two have some differences according to how they are applied in the day to day real–life situations. Normative ethics is concerned with ethical questions that guide us in all what we do on a daily such as â€Å"What has value? † and â€Å"What are our moral obligations? † such questions give us our character and personality. Meta-ethics on its side is concerned with philosophical questions about ethics such as â€Å"What is value? † and â€Å"What can make it the case that we ought to do something? †. A personal ethical situation I experienced involved my neighbor who was caught stealing neighbor at the market place. Since police officers were not around to arrest him the mob took the chance to bit and stone him in protest. Being a person I had known over a period of time, I felt ethically right to save his live from the swelling mob. At first, I had to stop the mob from biting and stoning him, through dialogue. But my greatest fear was that the mob may turn and direct their anger towards me because I was protecting to protect a criminal who has been terrorizing them, but this did not happen since the crowd listened and accepted my request. In my opinion, it was ethically wrong for my neighbor to steal what others had ethically through struggle and hard work. He thus deserved to be punished, but the way the mob chose to punish the offender was totally unethical since the federal laws and regulations that govern the state should be followed in such a case. Being a quite tricky situation, I requested the mob first to stop any further biting and stoning and took the chance to dialogue and discuss with them other possible ways of punishing the offender such as taking him to the law officers. The mob seemed not to reason ethically at first because the police had in many cases fallen short of providing adequate security and the residents had no trust in them anymore. When I finally won them, I narrowed further to the issue of acting contrary to the state laws and the implications of their actions and even explained to them that the offender has right to live. The reason for this approach was that the mob seemed to have no moral standards and obligations to judge between good and bad. In many occasion, the mob makes wrong decisions but evaluates their action after an ffence has been committed, in this case the death of my neighbor. In my opinion their action was bad and could not be justified ethically, philosophically the mob morality was not rational and was not grounded in the notion of human happiness for both the accused ad the accusers. According to Newall’s explanation of normative ethics, several ethical questions must be questioned by all the participants in the whole process. First, my neighbor should have analyzed whether his decision to steal had any moral obligation and any value. Such a personal question should have stopped him from making the decision to steal. His morals could have been provoked and changed of mind taking a decision to engage in a more productive activity rather than stealing. The mob as well should have questioned their morals before choosing their action. By stoning to kill it implies that their morals were all wrong because it is moral wrong to hurt anyone. The law is very clear and precise on what should be done in such a case, but because they never followed the law; their moral values are as well questionable. My action was guided by the value of life and that no one is supposed to take the law into their own hands by causing bodily harm to anybody. My moral obligation was to safe my neighbor because if I watched him stoned to death, my moral conscience and quit would haunt me because I should have acted to save him. In conclusion, all our actions and decisions should be guided by our morals values and that normative ethics must always prevail in any action. We are supposed to fully evaluate our actions and be ready to face the consequences of our actions.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Ophelias Love Betrayed essays

Ophelia's Love Betrayed essays I would have to strongly disagree with Nicole's interpretation of Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship. They were most certainly lovers. Halmlet did without question offer Ophelia "tenders" of his affection, and we know this because she must return them to Hamlet. In addition, we also have the letter read from Polonius to Claudius and Gertrude in which Hamnlet writes to Ophelia I did love thee once. So indeed, Hamlet did love Ophelia, and evidence is also in the play that she did love the prince. When Laertes tells Ophelia to beware of Hamlet's love, she does not deny her love for Hamlet but responds that yes she will be careful. As for the song, no part of any of Shakespeare's plays is ever thrown in simply because it was popular at the time. When Ophelia sings that sing in her mentally disturbed state she is revealing the nature of her relationship to Hamlet and his promises of love. The question now becomes, who is to blame for the relationship's demise. Many blame Hamlet for being too hard on Ophelia, but her treatment and the "Get thee to a nunnery" speech is, in a certain sense, justified. Hamlet's entire world is collapsing around him. His uncle has killed Hamlet's father. His mother may have been a co-conspirator in King Hamlet's death(though there is no definitive proof) and, at the very least, she has married her husband's murderer. Hamlet has been betrayed by his close friend's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Everyone special to Hamlet has betrayed him. Ophelia has broken off their relationship because her father Polonius, forced her to, and we can guess that Hamlet knows that may be the case because shortly before the "get thee to a nunnery speech" he refuses to take his "tenders" back. He still loves her. But when he asks "Where is your father" and Ophelia replies "At home" he knows that now, she too, has betrayed him. We do not feel bad when Hamlet exacts his revenge or chastises the other that be tray him, so why do we b...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

An Overview of Chinas One-Child Policy

An Overview of Chinas One-Child Policy Chinas one-child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to restrict communist Chinas population growth and limited couples to having only one child. Although designated a temporary measure, it remained in effect for more than 35 years. Fines, pressures to abort a pregnancy, and even forced sterilization of women accompanied second or subsequent pregnancies. The policy was not an all-encompassing rule because it was restricted to ethnic Han Chinese living in urban areas. Citizens living in rural areas and minorities living in China were not subject to the law.   Unintended Effects of the One-Child Law There have long been reports  that officials have forced women pregnant without permission to have abortions and have levied steep fines on families violating the law. In 2007 in the southwestern Guangxi Autonomous Region of China,  riots broke out as a result, and some people may have been killed, including population control officials. The Chinese have long had a preference for male heirs, so the one-child  rule  caused many problems for female infants:  abortion, out-of-country adoption, neglect, abandonment, and even infanticide were known to occur to females. Statistically, such Draconian family planning has resulted in the disparate (estimated) ratio of 115 males for every 100 females among babies born.  Normally, 105 males are naturally born for every 100 females. This  skewed ratio in China creates the problem of a generation of young men not having enough women to marry and have their own families, which has been speculated may cause future unrest in the country. These forever bachelors will not have a family to care for them in their old age either, which could put a strain on future government social services. The one-child rule has been estimated to have reduced population growth in the country of nearly 1.4 billion (estimated, 2017) by as much  as 300 million  people over its first 20 years. Whether the male-to-female ratio eases with the discontinuation of the one-child policy will come clear over  time. Chinese Now Allowed to Have Two Children Though the one-child policy may have had the goal of preventing the countrys population of spiraling out of control, after several decades, there were concerns over its cumulative demographic effect, namely the country having  a shrinking labor pool and smaller young population to take care of the number of elderly people in ensuing decades. So in 2013, the country eased the policy to allow some families to have two children. In late 2015, Chinese officials announced the scrapping the policy altogether, allowing all couples to have two children.   Future of Chinas Population Chinas  total fertility rate  (the number of births per  woman) is 1.6,  higher than slowly declining Germany at 1.45 but lower than the U.S. at 1.87 (2.1 births per woman is the replacement level of fertility, representing a stable population, exclusive of migration). The effect of the two-child rule hasnt made the population decline stabilize completely, but the law is young yet.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Dossier, Terrorism Intelligence report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dossier, Terrorism Intelligence report - Essay Example Both Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya are founded on universal Islamic precepts of jihad and brotherhood. Hence, the role of their leaders is secondary to their message. For instance, even when Al Qaeda’s leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was assassinated, there was no cessation in the local insurgency. Similarly, there is no conclusive evidence that Osama bin Laden is alive, yet the numbers of terror attacks targeted at western interests have seen an unprecedented rise since the events of September 11. Also, the Southeast Asian region is populated by numerous militant Islamist outfits, whose ideologies are nearly the same. The threat posed to Australian interests in Southeast Asia comes from small and marginalized groups who are spread all across the region. Alongside Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia; â€Å"we have the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia; and al-Maunah in Malaysia; the Abu Sayaff in the southern Philippines; Pattani United Liberation Organiza tion in southern Thailand; and Laskar Jihad, Majlis Mujahideen, and Islamic Defenders' Front in Indonesia.† Hence the security measures taken by the Australian government should not confine itself to a particular militant entity, but should focus on the broader phenomenon of global Jihad.The present wave of Islamic revivalism and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism across the world originated during the 1970s. The movement started as a reaction to the disillusionment and failure associated with modern neo-liberal economic policies.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Compensation and benifets Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Compensation and benifets - Research Paper Example The human resource system of the organization is decentralized and is trying to serve its employees as much as possible in a variety of locations. Service delivery ascribed to the human resource is highly dismantled, and is driven by a small team in charge of human resource operations. In spite of the hard work and effort put in by team members to afford the company support, they lack the requisite training, tools of human resource needed for success, as well as critical mass. The key challenge that the benefits and compensations program experiences is significant errors in data and inconsistencies in the responses of inquiries by employees. The decentralized human resource system used by the company allocates most of the human resource very little time to support their business associates. The high score of mistakes in data entry makes it difficult for the firm to provide accurate and timely information to key stakeholders. A Review of a Firm Experiencing a Similar Challenge Quite g ood example of a firm that faced a challenge similar to that of Boehringer Ingelheim is Hong Kong Polytechnic University, specifically its Department of Management. The university chose to implement information systems of managing the human resource with an aim of lowering the number of errors linked to data entry. Human Resource Information Systems refer to software applications that play the serve the specific purpose of aggregating and synthesizing information about employees. The information systems can serve purposes that range from populating breakdowns of payroll and benefits, to illustrating present positions held by employees, through the applications that run the system. The university discovered that the executives within the human resource were more comfortable carrying out the critical and creative projects because data about the employees were arranged neatly within the databases of human resource information systems. It was emergent that data automation minimized the probability of data entry errors. Moreover, more complex and integrated analyses were possible through the implementation of an extensive and unified pool of information about employees. In general, Hong Kong University together with many other manufacturing firms based in Hong Kong discovered the effectiveness of human resource information systems in improving the performance of business operations dovetailing a variety of human resource processes, and transforming thee management process of an organization with regard to compensations and benefits. Research and Analysis Contemporarily, human resource information systems connote fully automated systems that comprise of payroll processing, a system of human resource information and the management of recruitment (Pynes, 2008). Because there is a need to integrate data across the various departments of an organization, it is important to incorporate transparency and integrity in order to augment productivity and consequently meet the specific requirements of compensation and benefits legislation. Updating or entering of data win the human resource information system is conducted in within a single database. Consequently, all departments make use of these data. As such, this reduces errors, eliminating the presence of different records and saving both time and money. Errors in data

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The effect on Taiwanese youths caused by mobile and computer games Essay

The effect on Taiwanese youths caused by mobile and computer games - Essay Example t times will be more interested in Television than in their parents, some preferring the sitting to watch TV rather than interact with other family members. The institution of family dinner has been responsible for strengthening the family, and research has proven that youths who frequently sat through one are less likely to be inclined towards decadent behavior such as violence and drug abuse. Today, these times have been relegated in of importance and family diners are hurried affairs with members in a rush to go back to their digital world. The bonds uniting family have been considerably weekend since people seem to prefer to spend times online than with their families (Small). Technology poses a myriad of ill effects for children; the list is extensive from childhood obesity, computer addiction to stunted social skills. Many parents use the TV to baby sit young children, while others buy their teens, pre-teen children laptops, and smart phones, with virtually unlimited access to the worldwide web, failing to consider the risks. Spending too much time watching TV can and has turned many children into couch potatoes, as a result, they hardly leave the house to play ergo get no exercise. Inevitably, obesity and other complications and this may scar the child for life not to mention making them venerable to conditions like diabetes; this is in addition to poor academic performance (Jussof 152). Teens engage in social networking and some of them become fully addicted to their mobile phones, and laptops this is often detrimental to their social skill and ability to interact face to face. Having computers in their rooms allows them easy access to normally restricted material such as extreme violence or pornographic content, this motivates children to attempt what they... The effect on Taiwanese youths caused by mobile and computer games This essay if focused on the effects of technology on the human brain with the view of proving that too much dependence on technology denies the brain a the benefits it gets from a social interaction especially with family. Millions have been laid off to make room for machines, Social skills have deteriorated thanks to addiction to social network especially among the youths and parents cannot be sure their children are safe from cyber stalkers. New crimes have emerged, given way by technology, and old ones have improved as criminals use technology to commit them and avoid detention. This paper will contest that technology despite the many advantages poses a host of problems both overt and covert to an individual, society family and even children who are too young to manage its vast capabilities. There is no denying that technology through communication and mass media information can move around the world in real time, and one learns the news in a different country at the same time as the residents. Cooking has never been easier with microwaves and electric cookers and travelling never aster more effect or comfortable because of developments in the transport. The internet has revolutionized and enhanced nearly every aspect of communication, which is vital in shaping human destiny (McFarlane 2). In this article, the writer discusses the negative impacts of global warming from a retrospective and futuristic perspective. He also mentions the various action attempted by world leader to mitigate it.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

An evaluation of impact on financial and operations consequence

An evaluation of impact on financial and operations consequence INTRODUCTION Choosing the Topic After completion of all my fundamental papers in August 2010, I waited till the next session to decide to submit a research and analysis project for the Oxford Brooke University. The reason for such delay was the pressure to complete three professional papers in December session. This report is also important to me because I believe by having combination of both Profession qualification and a degree will uplift my career. To base my project on ACCA provided me with a list of 20 recommended topics to choose from. After reading through the list, the topic that immediately attracted my attention was topic 19 which was â€Å"The financial and operational consequences of a merger between two organisations or of the acquisition of one organisation by another†. What attracted me the most about this topic was that, it was all very relevant to my studies as I am thinking to pursue financial management after ACCA. I knew this topic will allow me to try out and learn the all important, analytical skills. Other reason to choose this topic was the much talked about acquisition of KRAFT and Cadbury therefore it encouraged me to choose this topic. Another reason was availability of the vast amount of information through the internet and press release because of recent release of Krafts recent fourth quarter in the month on February 2011. Choosing the organisation Once I chose my topic, I had to choose an organisation to base my research on.   I chose Kraft and Cadbury for my analysis; it was an obvious choice as this was the acquisition that impelled me to select this topic. This was one of the most controversial and largest takeovers in the year of 2010. I believed the takeover by the 2nd Largest Food Giants in its industry would accomplish the objective I had in mind for the project. Aims Objectives The main objective of this report is to evaluate the consequences of the acquisition on the finance and operations aspect of KRAFT FOODS. The financial statements by themselves only provide the quantitative data which need to be analysed by drawn graphs. The main focus of this report, therefore, is as follows: * To analyse the reasons for Kraft to make a strategic choice of acquiring Cadbury and whether it satisfy the strategic fit as claimed by the CEO of KRAFT FOODS in terms of financial and business operations. * The second part of the research aims to analyse whether Kraft is on the track to achieve its targets it promised its stakeholders at the time of acquisition. * Since financial information wasnt sufficient for my research, I need to review the strategic decisions made by Kraft for its subsidiary Cadbury after the acquisition along with the friction identified while integrating both business. The anticipated future of Cadbury under Kraft Group. In order to achieve the aims mentioned above, I have done qualitative analysis using SFE (Suitability, Feasibility Acceptability) and Ashridge model along with quantitative analysis using financial ratios and linking both to get an overall picture. THE ORGANISTAION Company Profile Kraft Kraft Foods is the worlds second largest food company headquartered in North Field, Illinois manufactures and market packaged food products, including biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, convenient meals and various packaged and grocery products.( KRAFT FOODS INC, 2009)The business was formed by James L. Kraft and his four brothers who began by wholesaling door to door cheese business in Chicago. Kraft then achieved growth by merging with other companies and increases the size of the business by expanding more product lines.( Wikimedia Foundation,2011) Being listed on NYSE, Kraft now has approximately 127,000 employees worldwide. Kraft sells products to consumer in approximately 170 countries. At 31 December 2010, Kraft had operations in more than 75 countries and made products at 223 manufacturing and processing facilities worldwide. Kraft portfolio included eleven brands with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion each: Oreo, Nabisco and LU biscuits; Milka and Cadbury chocolates; Trident gum; Jacobs and Maxwell House coffees; Philadelphia cream cheeses; Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; and Oscar Mayer meats. Kraft portfolio included approximately 70 brands which each generate annual revenues of more than $100 million. (KRAFT FOODS INC, 2010) Cadbury Cadbury was a leading global independent business in the exciting world of confectionery, a large, growing, brand-led industry. With an outstanding portfolio of chocolate, gum and candy brands, the largest emerging markets business and a focused and experienced team, Cadbury is committed to its long-term vision to be the worlds biggest and best confectionery company. Cadbury operated in more than 60 countries with a workforce of 46000. (Cadbury, 2008) Cadbury made its beginning by opening one single shop by John Cadbury. As time progressed John Cadbury moved into the manufacturing of drinking chocolate and cocoa. Cadbury grew bigger through some organic growth and some mergers. During the first world war Cadbury started to achieve great success, its products were regarded as necessities and Cadbury were at their peak. Cadbury kept investing in technology, new factories and in new products to remain ahead of competition. With factories all over the world and a host of well known brand names it has become a household name in many countries. (Birminghamuk, (n.d.)) INFORMATION GATHERING Sources of Data Data can be collected for any research by the following ways: * Primary Research: Under primary research new information is collected via interviews, survey or questionnaire etc; hence information is collected first hand. * Secondary Research: Also known as Desk Research is gathered from information which has already been provided but may not be for the same purpose. Such information are easy to access and are my cheaper than carrying out primary research. Such information gathered should be analysed and screened properly so that it fits for the purpose. Kraft and Cadbury both being listed companies although listed in different countries were required to issue annual accounts for its stakeholders by Sarbanes Oxley and Companies House respective. These companies especially Kraft issued Interim Reports as per the stock list requirement. Therefore much of the quantitative and qualitative date was readily available for analysis. Hence I chose to use secondary data over primary. The only complication I faced apart from time pressure was obtaining latest financial information for Cadbury (2009 accounts). Fortunately Kraft public relation team co-operated and emailed me 2008 and 2009 Cadbury annual accounts on my request. The following are the sources of secondary information I used for my project: Annual and Interim Financial Accounts and Reports This is the main source I used for financial aspect of my business and to draw graphs. I had to use interim reports even to demonstrate impact of Cadbury acquisition on Kraft at each and every quarter due to complexity of the business. Krafts annual accounts were available to view and download on Krafts Investors Website. However Cadbury financial statement isnt easily available. Internet This is the source of limitless information; hence it took me a lot of time to extract information which was relative to the point. Firstly it provided me the qualitative information which was missing or less in the financial statement of both entities. Secondly it also provided me information from a third party or neutral point of view. Letters and Reports Under this source, I analyzed the documents sent by Kraft to Cadbury management or reports addressed to Kraft shareholder explaining them the strategic fit of Cadbury acquisition. These documents were available over the internet. Library I used study text published by Kaplan for ACCA to brush my skills and be of aid when I got confused during an analysis phase. Apart from my course books I visited local library for reference books. As I mentioned earlier I didnt had an opportunity to visit British Library for the access of database such as Datamonitor and Mintel. However I was able to get access to Euromonitor through internet and used it as a tool to aid understanding of the application of analytical tools regarding acquisition and both the entities. Data Collection Methods Its easy to collect data, but skills are required to make sense of data and using it for the purpose. It was a fiddly job to collect reliable authentic information to base my reports on. Any negligence on my behalf may cause me a failure in achieving the report objectives. I was cautious and took my time to read through all the information once before starting with my project. As this acquisition was of the biggest acquisition in the year 2010, too much was written by the newspapers and media about it. Reading about the merger in 2011 gave me this idea to do a project on Kraft and Cadbury, as Kraft were about to issue its fourth quarter results. I started my data collection by reading articles from local newspapers as well as papers or journal published in other counties. I viewed them retrospectively. The most prominent newspaper I viewed was Financial Times, Guardian, Reuters, Wall Street Journal and Economists. After I got a general idea behind the acquisition and critics claiming the acquisition as a failure. I downloaded the fourth quarter as well as annual report. I need to know what did CEO responded on the acquisition as it had been a year. Then I looked at financial data provided to support any statement by the CEO. Internet provided me great deal of help in my project. I type in the keywords such as Cadbury Kraft in etc at www.google.com . Find the relevant articles and making notes as well as bookmarks of the WebPages if I needed to read it again for qualitative part of my research. I even visited many libraries in my local areas; the librarian helped me by giving me advice on referencing as I had no idea on references. Unfortunately I couldnt make a trip to British Library to access database which could help me in my project. But I was pretty content with the amount of information I already collected to carry out my analysis. Referencing I have used the HARVARD REFERENCING SYSTEM for the referencing in my research and to aid readability, I have cited the source below the paragraph if the whole paragraphs were written based on the same single source. Acquisition for Kraft PreAcquisition To systematic analyse the strategic choice by Kraft to acquire Cadbury, I will be using Johnson and Scholes framework (Suitability, Feasibility and Acceptability Model). (Wu, 2010) Suitability Kraft Foods Inc. being the second largest food company still looks for opportunities to grow and try to remain one of the market leaders in the industry and and to spread risk by a diversified portfolio. Kraft believes in rapid expansion by acquiring other businesses. Kraft adopted new strategy implemented by new CEO who believed low growth segment should be disposed of and adopt those strategies that will achieve rapid growth even by means of acquisition .Kraft will look for businesses that will build on its strengths and guide against its threats. Kraft has a successful track record of acquiring iconic brands and businesses and effectively using it for its expansion.   We will be using one of the criteria of Ashridge model under suitability. Under Ashridge model we will be examining two criteria; whether Kraft has sufficient skills, resources and understanding of the Cadbury business and whether there are opportunities for helping to achieve critical success factors. (Steiner, 20 09) * One key reason for Kraft to acquire Cadbury was to penetrate in those growing markets where Cadbury has good base such as China, India and Mexico. Brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk dominated such markets by a vast length compared to its rivals. Cadbury did receive 40% of its revenue from fast growing emerging market.   Cadburys acquisition of Adams played a vital role to increase their market share in Latin America.   Cadbury has experienced 12% growth in revenue in emerging market over five years (EUROMONITOR, 2008) this can be beneficial for Kraft as it intends to use Cadbury s distribution network to sell its brands. (Cadbury, 2008) (Cadbury, 2009a) Kraft being aware of Cadbury s heritage and its strong confectionery business ranking and its iconic brands makes Cadbury globally number one in chocolate, gum and candy. By attaining all these eponymous brands Kraft will become a global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery and quick meals with exceptional portfolio of leading brands in the world. Hence will be one step closer in achieving organic growth objective. Feasibility Under feasibility we would evaluate Krafts position before acquisition in terms of internal resources of the organization this can even be connected to Ashridge s model criteria of possessing sufficient resource by Predator Company. Kraft being second largest business in its industry has huge cash reserve which reflects in its Cash flow Statements of 2008 and 2009 ($1.24 billion and 2.10 billion respectively). Buts its worth mentioning   the disposal of Krafts North American Pizza to Nestle for total consideration of $3.7 billion contributed majorly to its high cash reserve. High cash reserve helps them to with acquisition cost and integration cost and any other abnormal cost. Apart from cash reserve Kraft does have reasonable current ratio of 1.04 reflecting its above average liquidity position then its peers. Although Cadbury has a strong hold on overall emerging markets Kraft have a greater position in some markets such as Brazil and Russia. As Kraft being a huge conglomerate bu siness it has vast amount of resources in terms of specialist staff, a highly invested research and development teams and finance etc to back up Cadbury to face competition from other rivals such as Hershey and Mars. Kraft can eve use its power over major supermarket chains such Wal-Mart to increase shelf value of Cadbury as majority of its sales come from small convenient store. Kraft is even able to promote Cadbury heritage brand more rigorously due to available of immense resources. It would be worth mentioning the fact that billion dollar Kraft empire has been experiencing an average growth of impressive 5 % over period of four years to 2008 (where it achieved 13% growth than previous year).(Daltorio, 2009) Acceptability To carry on with a strategic choice it also need to be acceptable by the stake holders. As shareholders are key stakeholders their consent is highly important. Although Kraft assured them the acquisition would result in increase in shareholders wealth as it fits in into its business culture, some shareholders have different opinion. One of the reasons for such conflict of interests is the fear of increase in companys gearing. By 2008 Kraft had a high gearing of 1.34 (ratio) compare to its rival Nestle of (0.36). They fear by acquiring Cadbury, Kraft would issue more long-term debt that may adversely affect the gearing ratio and hence increasing the financial risk of the business and affecting the capability of paying out dividends, hence damaging shareholders interest. The other reason for conflict of interest was the reaction from one of the biggest shareholders Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway who regarded the acquisition as â€Å"bad deal â€Å".He believed Kraft has overval ued Cadbury for purchase consideration and the disposal of pizza business to Nestle for $3.7 billion   was a mistake. He firmly believed Kraft is paying high premium for the acquisition. One shareholders view didnt affected Krafts strategic choice and Kraft went ahead with the acquisition despite got rejected first time. (Barr, 2010) Ballast Businesses *CADBURY* Heartland Businesses Alien Business Value trap Business According to my analysis I think Kraft values Cadbury as Heartland Business as Kraft has the skills to exploit opportunities from Cadbury. (UNDER ASHRIDGE MODEL) ACQUISITION for Kraft The long clashing 5 month battle between Cadbury and Kraft was finally over on 2nd February 2010 as Kraft clinches control over Cadbury by 72% holding. Kraft then took total control of Cadbury on June 2010. Cadbury shareholders had a deadline of 2nd February to accept Kraft offer of 500 pence in cash for each Cadbury share and 0.1874 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share which altogether values each Cadbury share at 840 pence including a special 10 pence dividend. This sums up the total valuation of Cadbury business to approximate of  £11.9 Billion ($19.4 Billion). Kraft offered this purchase price on 19th of January after a long negotiation with Cadbury management. Kraft tried to make hostile takeover on 7th September by a bid worth 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share (valuing it 745 pence a share). However Cadbury rejected the bid immediately and regarded it â€Å"derisory†. Kraft sweetened the bid by raising the original offer and increa sing the cash component from 40% to 60% to make it more appealing for Cadbury shareholders. (Cimlluca et al, 2010) I have extracted this graph from Thomson Reuters to illustrate the impact on the share price for both involved parties after the announcement of take-over. We notice an increase of almost 40% in the market value of Cadbury. The increase in Cadburys share price was triggered by the initial announcement by Kraft of its intention to take over Cadbury in early September of 2009. The announcement was received well by Cadbury Shareholders causing an increase in demand and thereby price of the stock. However we see a fall in the share price of Kraft food at the time announcement (graph below), some analysts believe this was due to Warren Buffet dissatisfaction of Kraft Acquisition. He regarded the acquisition as ‘bad deal, which caused chaos amongst other shareholder hence a price falls. This price fall deteriorated the purchase price offered by Kraft which was immediately rejected by Roger Carr, Chairmen of Cadbury. KEY POINTS FOR FINANCIAL ANALYSIS Kraft foods acquired Cadbury plc in February2 2010. Hence Cadbury results are restricted to 10 months rather than full 12 years and its subject to fluctuate with moving exchange rates. Cadbury data was adjusted from IFRS (previously applied by Independent Cadbury) to U.S GAAP followed by its new Parent Kraft Foods Inc. Cadbury previous years figures couldnt be compared with unless comparison is made in percentile due to the size difference of both businesses. Kraft even revised its Net Revenue retrospectively 2009 onwards. Post Acquisition Financial Perspective The above graph represents s the growth and decline in sales over a period of 4 years by means of percentage. The 2010 information contains data post acquisition, specifically contribution from Cadbury of $9143 that has been converted using the exchange rate of $1.595 per  £1.00 for the aid of analysis. It can clearly be noted the reason why Cadbury was so desirable by Kraft. Cadbury attained significant growth from 2007. In June 2007 Cadbury introduced their Vision into Action plan which insisted in strengthening their position in emerging market. This strategy was immediately effective and can be reflected in the graph. As stated earlier in this research report one of the key reasons for Kraft to acquire Cadbury was their better position in emerging market as compared to Kraft. Although Cadbury has just been acquired for 11 months under Kraft we see a marginal fall of 4% in Cadbury sales than its preceding years. This maybe because Kraft maybe getting acquainted to Cadburys opera tion and network hence not utilizing Cadburys full potential. (Cadbury, 2009a) This graph explains what did Krafts CEO meant by â€Å"GLOBAL POWER HOUSE†. If we examine the two graphs we see a change in the revenue from developing and North American markets. The main reason for Kraft to takeover Cadbury was to derive maximum benefit of Cadburys strong hold in emerging market. Although Kraft is one of the largest companies in food industry it drives more than 57% of its revenue from its Home Market US. As US market is experiencing economic recession Kraft needed to adopt an effective strategy to broaden its operations globally. Hence Cadbury looked more attractive from Krafts perspective. Its worth mentioning that Cadbury earns more than 40% from the fast emerging markets portraying its position being better than Kraft.. It should be taken into consideration that fact that Kraft hasnt launched any new aggressive marketing scheme or any strategic step via Cadbury in emerging markets. In 2010 Kraft has continued to run Cadbury operation without making any m ajor changes. Talking quantitatively Cadbury boosted Krafts net revenue in emerging markets by $3382 million which can be seen clearly in the graph at the bottom. Krafts strengths in Russia, Brazil and China along with Cadbury great position in United Kingdom, India and Mexico has spread its revenue source which has reduce the risk of a recession affecting Krafts sales .By acquiring Cadbury Kraft enhanced its distribution channel which became effective in the first year of acquisition and clearly be seen in the 2010 net revenue segments. In 2010 revenue from US market contributed less than 50% to Total Net Revenue minimizing the business risk driven by recession. (Farrell et al, 2010) The above illustrated graphs represent the change in Krafts revenue source after the acquisition of Cadbury. Krafts adopt a rational approach and pursue the strategy of selling off less profitable brands and achieving quick growth by acquisition. Kraft faced fierce competition from private label companies in the cheese and packaged meat market. Therefore Kraft acquired Cadbury to diverse its revenue source as there were dangers of fall in revenue from its main segments. There is an increase of 16% in the contribution made by confectionery segment. This segment is a high potential growth segment and Kraft would like diverse its business risk by investing more in promotion of this segment. (Trefis, 2011) The Gross margin shows the amount of gross profit generated by the company as a percentage of the sales revenue. Kraft Gross Profit Margin has been plotted against each quarter from 2009. It can be analyzed by the graph that Kraft tried to maintain its Gross Profit Margin in mid 30s percentile despite economic downturn in US market and increase in raw materials Kraft is able to maintain its objective, the main grounds for such level gross profit margin was the acquisition. By acquiring Cadbury Kraft has widen its distribution network as Cadburys main selling networks are convenient stores open on High Street therefore reach of every individual. Talking in respect on cost of sales (100 Gross Profit Margin) Kraft will benefit from economies of scale especially regarding purchases as Kraft will be bulk buying and using Cadbury suppliers rationally to minimise cost of sales as possible. (Szalai, 2011) Net Profit Margin is an indicator of profitability, calculated as net income or net profit divided by net revenue. As shown by the graph, we see a downward trend in the net profit margin against each quarter in 2010.Despite the fact that there has been a 27% increase in Net Revenue in 2010 as compared to its preceding year, we notice a fall of 23% in net profit especially in the fourth quarters of 2009 and 2010 ($711m and $547 respectively. However in aggregate there has been an increase in the net profit from 2009. The major reason for such deteriorates result for the fourth quarter was the cost associated with integration between Kraft and Cadbury. The pizza business of Kraft did contributed to the net profit in 2009 , by the sale of its pizza business to Nestle ,Kraft has deprived itself from the positive contribution of its disposal component.(BBC, 2011) The Prime objective of making investment in any business is to obtain satisfactory return on capital invested. Hence, the return on capital employed is used as a measure of success of a business in realizing this objective. Return on capital employed establishes the relationship between the profit and the capital employed. It is used to show the overall profitability and efficiency of the business. By analysing we see a fall in return on capital employed although the sales and net profit overall has increased however it hasnt increased by the proportion of investment made by KRAFT FOOD. As Mr. Warren Buffet feared that Kraft did overpay for the acquisition this can be reflected in diminish of return on capital employed. I have also included a graph showing fall in earning per share that illustrate the point of less return for the investors this maybe due to issue of new share to Cadbury shareholders. (Wilson , 2010) I have included this graph in my research report especially to breakdown the positive and negative contribution made by Cadbury to Kraft operating income in 2010 as compared to Kraft in 2009. As announced by CEO of Kraft Foods, Kraft is highly likely to expect $1 billion in incremental revenue synergies apart from $750 million in cost saving by 2013. In order to achieve the synergies Kraft has budgeted to spend $1.5 billion in the first three years following the acquisition to combine and integrate the two businesses and already incurred $657 million in 2010. As stated in Kraft Annual Account 2010, Kraft incurred and expensed transaction related fees of $218 millions in 2010 and $40 million in 2009.Kraft has recorded the mentioned costs under selling, general and administrative expenses in Profit and Loss Statement (Statement of Comprehensive income). However in the above graphs include figures which has been given in the Kraft 2010 annual accounts analysis of operating profit rather than actual incurred cost as some cost have been taken under finance cost which hasnt been included in arriving at operating profit for 2010. This seems a draw back in the acquisition object ive and maybe criticizes by its stakeholders as integration cost has reduced Krafts earning by 33%. (BBC, 2011) Liquidity ratio expresses a companys ability to repay short-term creditors out of its total cash. The liquidity ratio is the result of dividing the total cash by short-term borrowings. This Graph represents the two liquidity ratio one normal current ratio and another quick test ratio. Unlike Current ratio, quick ratio focus on the most liquid assets hence it exempt inventory from current asset while calculating ratio. Some of the key points that need to be addressed before analysis of the graph are the disposal of the pizza business and all the working capital relating to it. We should also account for the current assets and current liabilities acquired by Kraft such as Net Receivable of $ 1333 m and Accounts Payable of $ 1605 m etc. Another point to be mentioned is that while calculating Quick ratio I havent excluded the deferred tax asset, while some analyst exclude deferred tax asset as they dont regard it liquid. We see a significant difference between both ratios as inventory has occupied much of the working capital. Comparing it to the last year it is almost consistent with the growing sales. We notice a slight deterioration in both the ratio of 2010. The $3.7 billion cash raised by disposal of the pizza business was used to pay cash component of the acquisition. The rise in the actually figure is in line with the growing and diverse sales (Kraft Foods Inc, 2010) Gearing Ratio is a measure of financial leverage, demonstrating the degree to which a firms activities are funded by owners funds versus creditors funds (investopedia).The above   graph represents   how much company has borrowed compare to equity raised by KRAFT FOODS. Kraft had issued a long term debt of $9.379 billion (net proceeds) to support the cash component of Cadbury of acquisition along with proceeds from Pizza Business. Kraft even made a repayment $2.1 billion of long term debt during the year. This has increased the total debt of the business from $18990 million to $28724 Million. Kraft has also issued 262 million shares to existing Cadbury shareholder as part of purchase consideration. This has enlarged Krafts share capital affecting the gearing ratio. By taking into consideration the above mentioned circumstances, we see an increase in the gearing ratio of 7%. This may cause some concerns amongst shareholders and lenders of Kraft as the financial risk of the business has increased as more interest will be paid from the profits available to pay dividends to shareholders. (Tradition Financial Concept.). This may even damage the creditability of KRAFT FOOD in lenders market as it has borrowed 80% to Equity, hence it may be charged high interest rate by the lenders in future. (Kraft Foods Inc, 2010) (Hoskins, 2010) Interest cover is a measure of the adequacy of a companys profits relative to interest payments on its debt. This ratio will help to explain the previously mentioned financial due to increase in gearing. Due to the increase in leverage we see a fall of 0.94 in interest cover which means there would be less profit available for dividends.   This maybe is one of the reasons why Warren Buffet (one of the major shareholder in Kraft) reduced its stake from 9% to 6%. The ratio is over 2 which is considered strong by analyst and reflects Krafts strong position in borrowers market. However Fitch, one of reputed credit rating agency, has downgraded the default rating on both companies to BBB-. However its rivals havent downgraded the rating as yet but our reviewing if they should follow their peers. Flitch has downgraded the rating due to anticipated increase in financial leverage of the combined Kraft/Cadbury. (Peters   et al, 2010) Operational Changes Post Acquisition The significant changes in operations along with their impact on KRAFT FOOD GROUP as a whole: Closure of Somerdale factory Days after acquisition Kraft announced the closure of Cadbury factory in Bristol. During the acquisition struggle, Kraft pledged to retain Somerdale Factory. The announcements created a chaos amongst Cadbury workforce and British Unite trade union as 400 employees were being made redundant. It would be worth mentioning; Cadbury prior to its acquisition (in year 2007) had already announced the closure of its Somerdale factory as they had invested more than  £100million in the production plant

Friday, October 25, 2019

Emily Character Analysis of A Rose for Emily Essay -- A Rose For Emily,

Miss Emily Up Close In the short story of A Rose for Emily, the main character illustrates a disturbed individual that doesn't want to separate herself from a deceased loved one. Everyone knows what its like to loose a loved one, but the town of Jefferson had no idea how hard Emily had taken death until they unraveled her deep, dark secret. People knew what it must have been like to be Emily. They knew the type of life she had lived and felt bad for the way her father had kept her all cooped up and sheltered away from any man. They also knew her father had felt that no man was good enough for her. The people of Jefferson felt that the family thought they were better then everyone else and showed no sort of insanity. When her father died, people realized the toll it had taken on Emily. They were somewhat relieved to know he was gone, and she too would discover what it was like to be a ?pauper.? They also knew they could pity her and the woman even came to her house to console her. They found it interesting when they saw no sense of grief amongst her face, and that she acted like she had no idea of the death of her father. People of Jefferson still didn?t think she was crazy, they had just figured it was all she had to do. She wasn?t very tidy and she had left an African American to clean up her house and be her butler . They women knew that a man surely didn?t know how to clean a house so they knew he was the reason for the horrible smells. The scent of her house was gruesome, and left people nauseous. Unfortunately, no one had the guts to let her know that she had basically had an odor, which surrounded her property. So the townspeople had squeezed lemon juice around her yard to relieve the horrid smell. When Miss Emil... ...dering emotions which might have driven Emily to her insanity. Although it is hard, I have not even thought of the perverted things that she had done to Mr. Barron, nor have I thought that an individual was capable of telling themselves that someone isn?t dead and argue with people and say I wouldn?t give up their body. Emily did go through a lot in her lifetime. It is hard to loose someone close to you, and especially if that is all you truly have. I feel that all Emily wanted was to feel loved, and to have someone in her life that made her feel special and feel like she was somebody. She was lonely, and she needed someone to love her and someone for her to love. She sought attention which she rarely received as a child. She demonstrates a quite luminous type of psychosis that was affected and hindered from her father?s death and corrupt and shelter childhood.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Comparing the Major Theoretical Perspectives in Social Psychology Essay

Because human-beings are such complex, psychologists had been trying to discover, understand and explain human behavior throughout the years by using different perspectives. Each of these processes address these matters somewhat at a different level although sometimes can be put onto the same context and by using making careful scientific observations. Some of the major theoretical perspectives of psychology were developed and shaped during the course of history by some of the great psychologists known and can cited as followed: 1.Motivational or Psychodynamic perspective is one of the most popular of psychology approach that was developed by Sigmund Freud. According to this theory, human motivation is the result of conflicts between instinctual but mostly unconscious psychological forces that Freud called the â€Å"id, ego and superego.† This approach had contributed to the first developmental theory of human personality by tying to bring these conflicts to consciousness using intrapsychic structures. 2.Cognitive perspective on the other hand explained human behavior by using different approach saying that these behaviors are mostly thoughtful and are able to be controlled through a vast array of mental processes like memory and attention, belief systems, problem solving and reasoning, attitude and language. 3.Learning or Humanistic perspective is based on the idea that human being has the potential to self-actualized or in other words to self-develop and move forward in reaction of their social and environmental conditions. Psychologists like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow developed this form of psychological perspective to try to solve human problems and emphasized on their ability and potential to grow in a positive manner. 4.Sociocultural perspective is emphasizing on social interactions and cultural determinants of behavior to explain the mental process of human being. This perspective explains that mental processes are influenced by factors such as ethnic, occupation and socioeconomic context and cultural influences. 5.Evolutionary perspective explained human behavior based on the biological evolution of his species to survive through natural selection and adaptation. References Institute of Physics (2008, March 5). Stop-And-Go Traffic: An Accident? Construction work? No, Just Too Much Traffic. ScienceDaily Siri Carpenter, Karen Huffman, (2007-2008) .Visualizing Psychology, Second edition, Introduction and Research Methods, 1, 4-27.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Myths and Misconceptions about Viruses and Security Essay

Computer viruses, as they are commonly known today, are malicious malware design to destroy and distort the normal working of a computer. The first known origin of computer viruses is estimated to be in the 1960’s CITATION Nat14 l 1033 (Devotta, 2014). The virus was in form of a game called Core Wars, and would self-replicate every time it was run. The group of programmers who developed it also made the first known anti-virus called Reeper. It was not until 1983, that one of these programmers announced the existence of Core Wars CITATION Ant l 1033 (AntivirusWorld, n.d.). In the same era, an influx of personal computers flooded the market and games became very popular. As a result, malicious viruses like Trojan horse were developed and innocent consumers downloaded them thinking that they were nice games only to feel the repercussions later. Since then, many viruses have been developed and continue to cause havoc to our computer experience. A computer virus is a malicious code that is written with instructions to replicate itself in a host computer and attaches itself to files and programs in the machine CITATION All l 1033 (AllAboutCookies, n.d.). Often, this happens without the consent of the user, and once the machine is booted or the infected program is launched, the virus attacks and damages data. In the case where an infected file is saved on a storage device, transfer of that file to another computer repeats the cycle and the virus re-infects the new host computer CITATION Sym10 l 1033 (Symantec, 2010). Viruses are designed to be spread via several media, where they piggyback on emails, programs, or network systems. The same way myths and misconceptions arise after a deadly disease pandemic, the computer world is full of myths about viruses. Some of the most common unfounded myths include; Mac users are virus proof, firewalls block off viruses, formatting and re-installing the operating system of an infected computer and then backing up one’s data gets rid of viruses, using antivirus programs protects one fully from viruses, signs of error messages popping up on one’s computer indicate that the computer is infected, corrupted files and blue screen displays on computers indicate a virus attack CITATION Rak11 l 1033 (Tembhurne, 2011). While some of these misconception hold water, they are not absolutely true all the time. A common scenario for internet users is the appearance of irritating pop-up messages, especially when browsing. While some of these messages are strategies for internet marketing by companies, and are indeed inevitable, it is possible for one to block pop-up messages- without purchasing software. First and foremost, there are free downloadable pop-up blockers that are effective on general browser pop-up ads. Examples include, Google Toolbar, Yahoo Companion Toolbar, Pop-up Stopper, PopUp Blocker, WorldIQ Toolbar and CleanMyPC, just to name but a few CITATION Kio15 l 1033 (Kioskea, 2015). Peer-to-peer file sharing programs are another source of disturbing pop-ups, especially once you install a program downloaded from these sites. To get rid of search, uninstall any unfamiliar programs from the Control Panel. Most browsers today also come with in-built software that block pop-ups, and can be adjusted to block the ads under the Settings tab. A good example is Internet Explorer CITATION Uni04 l 1033 (Iowa, 2004). Using Windows XP Service Pack 2 is also another viable option since the latest version includes a built-in Pop-up blocker CITATION Ram07 l 1033 (Srinivasan, 2007). References AllAboutCookies. (n.d.). Retrieved from All About Cookies.org: http://www.allaboutcookies.org/security/computer-viruses.html AntivirusWorld. (n.d.). History of Computer Viruses. Retrieved from http://www.antivirusworld.com/articles/history.php Devotta, N. (2014, Septemner 4). A short History of Computer Viruses. Retrieved from COMODO Antivirus: https://antivirus.comodo.com/blog/computer-safety/short-history-computer-viruses/ Iowa, U. o. (2004, June). Pop-up blocking. Retrieved from Information Technology Services @ The University of Iowa: https://helpdesk.its.uiowa.edu/articles/june2004/popupblocking.htm Kioskea. (2015, March). How to get rid of Pop-Up ads. Retrieved from http://en.kioskea.net/faq/104-how-to-get-rid-of-pop-up-ads Srinivasan, R. (2007, October 27). How to block Pop-ups? Retrieved from Ramesh’s Site: http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Popups.htm Symantec. (2010). pc tools. Retrieved from http://www.pctools.com/security-news/what-do-computer-viruses-do/ Tembhurne, R. (2011, May 10). 15 Myths and Misconceptions about Viruses and Security Applications. Retrieved from http://rakesh.tembhurne.com/15-myths-and-misconceptions-about-viruses-and-security-applications/ Source document