Global Banking Operations and Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Banking Operations and Strategy - Essay Example The bank lost its resilience and resistance capabilities (The Telegraph, 2014). Credit was one of the failed segments of RBS. RBS consistently relied on credit trading, which due to high economic crises build up, brought more damage to RBS’s existence. The bank needed to sideline the credit segment, which had lesser opportunity and more market risk (Treanor & Bowers, 2011). The weakness lied in RBS operations, which consistently failed to manage the net returns of the bank. The leakage of cash due to poor banking operations, RBS was unable to stabilize its cash growth (Risk Business International, 2011). RBS always had low capitals in its financial cupboard. The bank due to small capital resource was never able to put hand on major market segments. This made bank rely on small segments such as credit trading or bonds investment, which had more risk and lesser income return (BBC News, 2013). RTT News, 2014. European Markets Decline, RBS Drops On Results. [Online] Viewed at: [Accessed 17 March 2014]. The Telegraph, 2014. RBS report: the main points. [Online] Viewed at: [Accessed 17 March 2014]. Treanor, J. & Bowers, S., 2011. RBS failure caused by multiple poor decisions. [Online] Viewed at: [Accessed 17 March

Chocolate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chocolate - Essay Example One could moreover trace the map of the world as close to what we know today by starting from that time when Ferdinand Columbus, the son of Christopher saw the canoe loaded with cacao beans in 1502 - the first sighting by a European - to that time when the Maya nobles presented chocolate as a gift to the Spanish crown in 1544 - the beginning of the popularization of chocolate, first among the nobility, until they the colonial powers spread the practice of eating and producing chocolate as a beloved food concoction. Location is evidently a starting point for chocolate. It must be noted that for example coffee and chocolate originated only in certain parts of the world, and not in any other location. The same can be said of wine and cheese. And while the seeds or technologies in making them may have been transported to other parts of the world, they're cultivation and production are still limited in certain parts of the world, where they are said to have their origins. Chocolate comes from the cacao tree which has been described as a "difficult tree to grow, uncooperative and moody" (Wolf 4).

History of Politics in Iraq and Iran

History of Politics in Iraq and Iran Iran – Iraq Comparative Political Essay Modern History of Iraq â€Å"The country of Iraq, officially named the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert. Iraq shares borders with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south, Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, and Iran to the east. With a 35-mile coastline on the Persian Gulf and two major rivers -the Tigris and the Euphrates- Iraq contains agriculturally proficient land. Iraqs history is long and rich, dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, identified by some historians as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing. Throughout its long history, Iraq has served as the capital of the Babylonian empire, and as a province of the Mongol, Ottoman empires and, finally, the British empire which effectively birthed the modern Republic of Iraq. The British are largely credited with the creation of the modern state of Iraq, and had a vested interest in the region as soon as oil was discovered there. Indeed, as the British Petroleum Company (PLC) began production on the Iranian side of the gulf, the British became encouraged by indications that oil was also nearby in what was soon to be Iraq. The British, whose political and economic interests in the Persian Gulf and the Tigris-Euphrates region had progressively grown since the late 18th century, ultimately brought an end to the Ottoman presence in Iraq following the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. The treaty, which followed the British army’s march on Baghdad, led to the replacement of the Ottoman provincial government in occupied Iraq by the British. As a result, Turkey, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, effectively gave up all claims to its former Arab provinces including Iraq. Subsequently, Great Britain succeeded in merging the three provinces of Mosul, Baghdad, an d Al-Barah into one political entity, forging a new nation out of the heterogeneous religious and ethnic entities there. However, anti-imperialist sentiment and Iraqi nationalism grew over the next decade, which, coupled with British frustrations at home, caused Iraq to finally emerge as an independent political entity in 1932. On October 3, 1932, Iraq was admitted to the League of Nations as an independent state. (Metz, 1998) Decades later in 1976, as Saddam Hussein was officially handed power after forcing al-Bakr to step down, he became eager to take advantage of Irans weakened military and what he saw as revolutionary chaos across the border. Specifically, Saddam’s goal was to occupy Irans adjacent oil-rich province of Khuzestan while undermining Iranian Islamic revolutionary attempts to incite the Shia majority of his country. (Algar, 2008) This led to the beginning of Saddam’s tyrannical rule. Shortly after his Ba’athist power grab, Saddam executed several top members of his party under claims of espionage in what would be a foreshadowing of his dominant, Machiavellian person al rule of Iraq for decades to come. Regime Transition in Iraq Ever since seizing power in 1979, Saddam Hussein presented himself as a secular modernizer, a social revolutionary who loosely followed the Egyptian model of Gamal Nasser, the second president of Egypt. To the alarm of Islamic fundamentalists (especially his Iranian counterparts) Hussein’s government conferred women with open freedoms, offering females high-level government and industry jobs. Saddam also created a Western-style legal system, making Iraq the only country in the Persian Gulf region that was not ruled according to Sharia law, even going as far as abolishing the Sharia courts within Iraq. His secularism, masked by a nominal commitment to Sunni Islam, allowed him to engage in bellicosity towards his Muslim neighbors without the encumbrance of religious commitment. This lack of religious loyalty was displayed in the summer of 1990, when Saddam led Iraq’s forces into the Muslim nation of Kuwait, a nation whose population itself is 70% Sunni (CIA, 2008). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was soon expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwaits liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to destroy all weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and long-range missiles while allowing open-ended UN verification inspections. Over the next 12 years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein continually encumbered the inspection process of the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Many on both sides of the partisan divide in the US took his obfuscation to be a clear sign of guilt, believing that Saddam had rebuilt, restored and advanced Iraq’s WMD arsenal over the decade since the first Gulf War. Hence, following the attacks of 9/11, which conferred the Bush Administration with the political ammunition to engage its Middle Eastern enemies, (Benedetto, 2001) the United States led a divided coalition into Iraq in March of 2003 against the wishes of the UN. The world now knows that the intelligence which sent the United States to war with the sovereign nation of Iraq was in the words of the official Presidential Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction ‘dead wrong.’(CNN, 2006) In one report, the intelligence warning read, ‘Intelligence indicates that the Iraqi military are able to deploy chemical or biological weapons within forty-five minutes of an order to do so.’ (The Independent, 2003) It is now known that this and other like intelligence was politicized and augmented, serving as the means to fulfill a seemingly necessary political end.9 The end, in the case of Iraq, was a full-scale US invasion in March of 2003 that led to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and was followed by mass chaos, violence and predation throughout the country. The use of force can be legal under international law if it is authorized by the United Nations Securit y Council (UNSC). Article 39 of the United Nation’s charter confirms that hard power may be used when the UNSC determines ‘the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression.’ However, Security Council Resolution 1441, passed in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, held that disarmament of Iraq should be done only through multilateral, international pressure via the work of United Nations inspectors, not by military force (Hartung Donnelley, 2003). Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov echoed the feelings of the United Nations when he insisted, ‘Iraq does not need democracy brought on the wings of Tomahawks [cruise missiles].’ (Weir, 2003) President Putin himself predicted that the U.S.-led war in Iraq threatened to destabilize the entire Middle East and spill into the territory of the former Soviet Union, asserting, ‘The war against Iraq is fraught with unpredictable consequences, including increased Muslim extremism.’ (IBID.) Unfortunately but undeniably, the prognostications of the Russian leaders turned out to be true, as the aftermath of the US invasion has appeared more Hobbesian than democratic. However, there have been politically salubrious (albeit evanescent) events in Iraq’s regime transition away from personal, authoritarian rule towards democracy. On January 30th, 2005 an estimated eight million people voted in elections for a Transitional National Assembly where the Shi’a United Iraqi Alliance won a majority of assembly seats with the Kurdish parties coming in second. The transition to a stable democracy did not immediately follow the historic elections however, as 114 people were killed by a massive car bomb in southern Baghdad less than a month later (the worst single incident since the US-led invasion.) as well as numerous other suicide bombings (AP, 2008). Later that year, voters approved a new constitution which aimed to create an Islamic federal democracy while also voting for the first full-term government and parliament since the US-led invasion. After years of violence and failure by the Iraqi government to secure political, social or ethnic stability, the Parliament passed legislation allowing former officials from SaddamAfter years of violence and failure by the Iraqi government to secure political, social or ethnic stability, the Parliament passed legislation allowing former officials from Saddam Iran Known as Persia until 1935, Iran (meaning ‘the land of the Aryans’) is a relatively large country enjoying a strategic position in the Persian Gulf. It is larger than Alaska and slightly smaller in size than France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom combined. Most of the terrain is a plateau consisting of mountains and desert, with a continental climate marked by scarce precipitation and extreme temperature differences between summer and winter. These factors have made much of the country inhospitable to agriculture and have resulted in a rather skewed demographic distribution. As in much of Asia, the maintenance and control of irrigation infrastructure have been politically important throughout the country’s history. The most important resources are petroleum, natural gas, and mineral deposits. Iran is the second largest oil exporter within OPEC and the fourth largest oil producer in the world. Its proven oil reserves (estimated to be over 94 billion barrels , or 10 percent of the world total) are concentrated along the southern coast (Persian Gulf) and in the Caspian Sea in the north, both of which are areas of geopolitical rivalry and instability. Iran also possesses 15 percent of the world’s proven natural gas reserves, which places it second in the world after Russia. Bordering eight different countries from Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and the Caucasus, it has ongoing territorial disputes with Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and neighbors in the Caspian basin. In 2003, Iran ranked 19 (out of 231 countries) in terms of its gross domestic product. Iran is a lower-middle-income country that has the world’s seventeenth largest population (over 67 million people). Close to 70 percent of the country’s population live in less than 30 percent of the land, concentrated in the north and northwest of the country and such major cities as Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, Karaj, Ahvaz, and Qom. Much of the country is rural and historically had an important nomadic pastoral component that came under state pressure to take up settled agriculture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The population is 89 percent Shiite Muslim, another 10 percent are Sunni Muslims, and the remainder (1 percent) are Christians, Baha’is, Jews, and Zoroastrians. Persian (or Farsi, as the Iranians refer to it) is the official and predominant language. There are more than a dozen different ethnic minorities in Iran, including Turkic-speaking Azeris in the north, Gilaki and Mazandaranis in the north, Kurds in the northw est (part of a transnational Kurdish zone that cuts across Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria and sustains an independence movement that all these states have tried to suppress), Balochis in the southeast, and Arabs along the southwest coast. In this patchwork of identities, it is important to note that the cleavages of ethnicity, language, and religion often cut across one another rather than overlap. Brief Political History Iran, a country with a history spanning over three millennia, has one of the richest artistic, literary, and scholarly lineages of the Middle East. This tradition is due to the accumulated contributions of Persia’s gifted craftsman, gnostic and hedonist poets, and learned men of philosophy, science, and religion. The country’s rather complex political culture and sense of self-identity is heavily influenced by (a) a pre-Islamic notion of Iranian identity centered on nationalism, (b) intellectual loans acquired in the course of encounter with Western modernity, and (c) attachment to the minority branch of Islam known as Shiism. Each of these currents has served as a breeding ground for the formation of different types of political sentiments ranging from anti-Arab Iranian nationalism to secular humanism and finally radical Shiism. The Shiite/Sunni split occurred soon after the advent of Islam, over the question of who was eligible to succeed Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) as the new caliph (loosely analogous to the Catholic papacy). Shiites (now some 15 percent of Muslims worldwide) believe that legitimate rulership of the entire Islamic community could descend only through the heirs of the Prophet Muhammad. They regard other early leaders, whom Sunnis revere, as usurpers. A resistance centered on the legitimate line of ‘imams’ lasted for several generations, until the last imam mysteriously disappeared in the year 874. Since then, Shiites have held on to a messianic belief that the ‘hidden imam’ will return at the end of time and restore a just order. Shiite political thinkers historically have held, based on these doctrines, that in the interim all secular authority is ultimately illegitimate. Compared to Sunni Islam, Shiism has thus remained more critical of monarchs and less fully reconciled with political order for its own sake. At best, the Shiite clergy extended a provisional legitimacy to rulers who let Islamic institutions flourish unmolested. The clergy itself came to stand in collectively for the hidden imam, in his absence. Over the centuries, they functioned as the conscience of the Shiite community and thus occupied a role similar to that of the Christian priesthood in premodern Europe, or the Confucian mandarins in premodern China. Certain distinct features of church-state relations bear noting, however. Compared to the Confucian mandarins, the Shiite clerics were far more hostile to power holders and enjoyed more independence. Their religious functions were separate from the state and usually unaffected by it. They also enjoyed a strong institutional base. They were self-organized, in informal hierarchies that rested only on the esteem in which religious scho lars held one another. They also had a secure income from the voluntary religious taxes paid by the believers as well as mosques and charitable endowments that were inviolable under Islamic law. Compared to the Christian priests, Shiite clerics often refused to make peace with secular authorities based on a dividing line between church and state. Islamic doctrine has held that religion and politics flow into one another, as aspects of a comprehensive Islamic society. Rulership by monarchs other than the hidden imam was always viewed, therefore, as an unnatural condition—even if inevitable for the time being. The Shiite clergy’s withdrawal from political life before modern times reflected a desire to be untainted by the prevailing injustice, not a sense that some spheres of life lay outside the scope of religion. Hence, the church-state relationship has always been problematic.† References (2015). Retrieved 3 May 2015, from (2015). Retrieved 3 May 2015, from http://cis.uchicago.edu/sites/cis.uchicago.edu/files/resources/CIS-081206-iraqiran_SimilaritiesandDifferencesIraqIranAnswerKey.pdf (2015). Retrieved 3 May 2015, from http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap05_comp_govpol_iran_42251.pdf Indexmundi.com,. (2015). Iran vs. Iraq Country Comparison. Retrieved 3 May 2015, from http://www.indexmundi.com/factbook/compare/iran.iraq

Quit Wasting Valuable Time and Resources Essay -- Argumentative Educat

Quit Wasting Valuable Time and Resources It is vital that present and future generations of school children in American public schools continue to be taught and understand Charles Darwin’s theories about evolution. Battles have been waged by Americans both in and out of the courtroom for generations so that educators may have the privilege to choose appropriate scientific curriculum for our students. If America is to continue to be a leader of scientific research, young minds must be educated, not stifled by attempts to bring religion into the schools. The very idea of using valuable time in our schools to muddy the educational process with ideas such as Creationism or Intelligent Design infringes upon American civil rights. To allow biblical interpretations to be taught as science in our schools is an affront to this nation’s constitutional protection to worship as one pleases. Because of our extremely technical world today, action needs to be taken so that every American child has the opportunity to und erstand science and continues to have the right to be taught about Darwin’s theory of evolution in the public schools. We must continue to help our future generation’s progress, using the scientific foundation we have struggled to establish in our schools. It is essential to dispel fears, reason with religious zealots and ensure that the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court are upheld. There is no reason to go back in time and argue moot issues, when there are so many other educational challenges in our schools that need our attention. Americans need to move on and help our children stay up with the modern world. The issue of evolution is certainly not new. As a matter of fact, it has been a source of interest and... ...ycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.† (Darwin, 460). Work Citied Brown, James H., â€Å"Evolution.† World Book of Encyclopedia. Vol. 22. 2003. Carl Zimmer, Evolution. New York: Harper Collins, 2001. Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species. New York: Avenel Books, 1976. Costa, James T. â€Å"Teaching Darwin to Darwin.† Bioscience 53 (2003): 1030. Cracraft, Joe. â€Å"The New Creationism and Its Threat to Science Literacy and Education.† Bioscience 54 (2003): 3. Graz, Steve. â€Å"Evolution ‘just a theory† in Nebraska.† Skeptic 7 (1999): 20. â€Å"Intelligent Design.† encyclopedia.com (2002) â€Å"School Criteria.† encyclopedia.com (2003) Tom McGowen, The Great Monkey Trial, Science vs. Fundamentalism in America. New York: Franklin Watts, 1990.

New Jersey corrections officer

Paul Leaders has been a New Jersey Department of Corrections Officer (NJDCO) for over ten years.   As a NJDCO, Paul’s role and responsibility is to â€Å"ensure the custody, safety and care of criminal offenders confined in state correctional facilities† (www.state.nj.us/corrections).  Ã‚   It is his duty to â€Å"ensure the safety and welfare of the staff and inmate population, assist in the rehabilitative efforts for those incarcerated individuals returning to the community and promote public support for the operation and objectives of the Department of Corrections† (www.state.nj.us/corrections). At the age of 25, Paul began his career with the Department of Corrections.   Before he became a full-fledge corrections office, he had to go through a screening process.   The pre-employment screening is a four phase process that includes filling out an application, taking a video test, completing a computer background assessment, a general and intensive background check, a drug test, a written psych exam, a medical exam and a psych interview.   If an interviewee gets through the screening successfully, next comes a 14 week training course at the academy and then an on the job test period (www.state.nj.us/corrections).   The pre-employment screening is vigorous to discourage those who are not serious about making the Department of Corrections their career of choice. Once Paul successfully completed his screening, his on the job test period began in a youth facility.   His eyes were opened to the harsh realities of his position when he was attacked by a 15 year-old inmate. Although, he was not seriously hurt, his perspective changed. Paul realized that to do his job to the best of his ability and to protect himself and his co-workers, he had to treat all inmates as dangerous, no matter what their age.   Throughout the years, the dangers associated with his career choice were clearly seen.   NJDOC’s are often put in a variety of sticky situations. The ratio of officers to inmates is 1 to 3 (www.njpp.org/rpt_moneyfornothing).   Since they are out-numbered, a NJDOC’s goal is to stop potentially harmful situations before they happen.   Paul learned many valuable techniques in his psychology classes during his 14-week training process. (www.state.nj.us/corrections).   It is so much easier to prevent situations from happening than to try to de-escalate a situation once it has started. Paul has found the most challenging aspect of being a NJDCO is the personal standard necessary.   An NJDCO must have a higher set of standards when the bars clang shut.   A daily part of the job includes being taunted, called out of your name, and possibly attacked.   Through all this, a NJDCO cannot retaliate.   It is not the correction officer’s place to get angry or respond in kind.   They must turn away when an inmate is purposely trying to rile them.   If an officer hurts an inmate or is caught abusing their authority, they will be fired.   The duty of a NJDCO is to uphold the laws of the penal code and treat inmates with respect. NJDCOs’ spend time at lease forty hours a week with inmates.   Officers get to know the inmates extremely well and see facets of the human psyche many people are unaware of.   â€Å"40% of NJDOC offenders were convicted of a violent offense such as homicide, sexual assault, aggravated or simple assault, robbery, kidnapping and other personal offenses (terrorist threats, coercion, larceny from a person, death by auto and negligent manslaughter)† (www.state.nj.us/corrections). Dealing with inmates intimately is no walk in the park.   Officer relationships with inmates have gone from one extreme to another.   Some officers have been charged with bringing inmates contraband and others have been charged with assault on an inmate.   The key to survival is finding the balance – living in the middle is an NJDCO officer’s way. The department of corrections has a code of ethics that must be adhered to if an officer is to last on the job.   It is necessary to hold in confidence all information gained on the job, no gifts or services can be accepted from inmates or family members and no personal or financial gain is to be made that is in conflict with duties or will impair objectivity or judgment (www.state.nj.us/corrections).   To sum it up, be honest and do your job.   Unfortunately, for some, that’s easier said than done. The Department of Corrections has a Hearing Appeals Section and an Administrative Law/Civil Employment Litigation Section that handles employee discipline/grievances and resolves cases against employees (www.state.nj.us/corrections).   Whenever a corrections officer is facing an ethical issue, representation is provided so that the officer’s rights are not violated. Of course, there are specific laws correction officers must obey and if they knowingly exceed the extent of their power then they can face a judge and possibly go to jail.   The added stress of the job decreases the correction officer’s life span to 59 years (www.jrank.org).   Therefore, it is necessary to have your guard up continuously if you want to make wise choices, get through the workday with your personal honor intact and live longer than what some researchers have predicted. The stress of the job has caused Paul to think thought about moving into a different area of law enforcement but this might require more training and schooling.   As a corrections officer, his high school diploma was all he needed, along with being a US citizen, having a valid New Jersey driver’s license, speaking English well and being able to handle the job physically and psychologically.   Although he took extra courses during training, he does not believe that will be enough for a transfer to a different department.   Paul has not investigated the move and after an especially hard day with the inmates, he promises himself that he will. Prolonged contact with inmates is the main difference between NJDCO positions and other law enforcement positions.   Policemen and detectives, for example, investigate crimes and track criminals.   They may have to face the individuals in court, but once they are locked up, their contact with the criminal is over.   A NJDCO’s contact with the criminal begins after the other law enforcement officers’ contact has ended and that contact lasts as long as the inmates’ sentence. For the first few years of his career, Paul found fulfillment on his job.   He is serving his state, providing a needed assistance, protecting the residents of New Jersey and helping his fellow officers.   Now, he can’t say that.   The stress of not knowing what will happen from day to day is extremely hard and the last few years have been a struggle.   The constant hassle of the job has become overwhelming and is causing a strain on his marriage of 2 years.   The fact that he cannot express why he dissatisfied and he does not want to talk about the job increases to the couple’s frustration. Add the fact that he cannot talk about confidential information and the situation gets dangerous.   Communication between Paul and his wife has gone from bad to worse.   Because they are planning to have children, Paul recently transferred from the youth facility to a minimum security prison.   They are hoping this change will decrease his stress and ease the strain in their relationship.   Paul believes the transfer will make a big difference in his attitude and stress level, increasing his job satisfaction. In New Jersey, the Department of Corrections is made up of minimum, medium and maximum-security prisons.   With 14 major institutions, including 8 male prisons, 3 youth facilities, 1 female prison, and one prison for sex offenders, there were plenty of facilities for Paul to choose from.   Moving to a maximum-security prison would have meant an increase in pay but for Paul, added money would have brought added stress.   This wasn’t the case when Paul’s career began but today, the salary for a corrections officer is $43,000.   The max amount for a senior corrections officer is $65,000, achieved in nine step increments (www.state.nj.us/corrections). There are over ten different promotions available to senior corrections officers, which include, Central Transportation, Correction Staff Training Academy, Critical Incident Negotiation Teams, Custody Recruitment Unit and SRP Boot Camp.   These are just some of the positions available to Senior Correction Officers (www.state.nj.us/corrections).   Although, all officers go through rigorous training that includes coursework, most officers who move into higher positions have additional schooling.   If things go well in his new position, Paul believes that one day, he may be ready to interview for one of the promotional positions. Paul believes the key to a successful career in the Department of Corrections is to walk on the job daily with a mindset of integrity and tactfulness mixed with firmness.   Inmates are people, just like you, no matter what they’ve done.   An officer cannot take their crimes lightly but an officer must, to the best of their ability, treat them with respect.   Then, do your job, have a life outside of work, leave your job at the door and choose to be happy.   That may be the key.   Paul hopes it will be the key to his future happiness and the future happiness of his family. References 2006.   Retrieved April 3, 2007 from http://www.jrank.org. Forsberg, Mary E.   Money for Nothing?   The Financial Cost of New Jersey’s Death Penalty.   November 2005.   Retrieved April 6, 2007 from http://www.njpp.org. New Jersey Department of Corrections.   1996.   Retrieved April 3, 2007 from http://www.state.nj.us/corrections.

Death in Prime Time

American Academy of Political and Social Science Death in Prime Time: Notes on the Symbolic Functions of Dying in the Mass Media Author(s): George Gerbner Reviewed work(s): Source: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 447, The Social Meaning of Death (Jan. , 1980), pp. 64-70 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of Political and Social Science Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/1042304 . Accessed: 02/01/2012 20:34 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . ttp://www. jstor. org/page/info/about/policies/terms. jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email  protect ed] org. Sage Publications, Inc. and American Academy of Political and Social Science are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. ttp://www. jstor. org ANNALS,AAPSS, 447, January 1980 Death in Prime Time: Notes on the Symbolic Functions of Dying in the Mass Media By GEORGEGERBNER ABSTRACT: The cultural (and media) significance of dying rests in the symbolic context in which representations of dying are embedded. An examination of that context of mostly violent suggests that portrayals of death and dying representations functions of social typing and control and tend, serve symbolic of on the whole, to conceal the reality and inevitability the event.George Gerbner is Professor of Communications and Dean of The Annenberg School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania. He is a principal investigator, along with Larry Gross and Nancy Signorielli, also of The Annenberg School, in the Cultura l Indicators research project studying television drama and viewer conceptions of social reality. He has been principal investigator on international and U. S. projectsfunded by the National Science Foundation, U. S.Office of Education, UNESCO, the International Sociological Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, The Surgeon General's Scientific advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, the American Medical Association, the HEW's Administration on Aging, and other agencies. He is editor of the Journal of Communication, and a volume on Mass Media Policies in Changing Cultures. 64 DEATH IN PRIME TIME 65 D YINGin the massmedia-both news and entertainment (a distinction increasingly hard to make) -has a symbolic function different from death in real life but investing life itself-with it-and particular meanings.We can begin to consider what these might be by reflecting on the nature of representation. A symbol system is an artifact par excellence. It is totall y invented to serve human purposes. It can serve these purposes only if those interpreting it know the code and can fit it into a symbolic context of their own. They must share the rules of the invention and the interpretative strategies by which it should be understood. Symbolic narrative, a story, has two basic elements of invention: fictive and selective. Selective invention is factual narrative such as news.Presumably true events (facts) are selected from an endless stream of events. A narrative is invented to convey some meaning about the selected facts as interpreted in a previously learned framework of knowledge. Fictive invention is fiction and drama; the â€Å"facts† are invented as well as the narrative. (Selection is of course involved in both. ) The function of fictive invention is to illuminate (literally to embody and dramatize) the invisible structure and dynamics of the significant connections of human life. It is to show how things work.Invention that can onl y select events but not create them must be more opaque; it can only show what things are but rarely why or how they work. The full development of the connections between events and human motivations and powers requires the freedom and legitimacy to invent the â€Å"facts† in a way that illuminates the otherwise hidden dynamics of existence. In this totally invented world of and fictivesymbols-selective without some purnothing happens pose and function (which need not be the same). Let us use as example the world of television which we have studied for some years. This discussion also applies to other media and cultural forms, with the difference that television is the generally non-selectively used universal storyteller of modern society. It is, therefore, more a symbolic environment than a traditional medium. People are not born into the world of television. They are selected or created for a purpose. The purpose is usefulness to the symbolic world (called news values or st ory values) that the producing institutions and their patrons find useful for their purposes.More numerous in both news and drama are those for whom that world has more uses-jobs, power, adventure, sex, youth, and all other opportunities in life. These values are distributed in the symbol system as most resources are distributed in the society whose dominant institutions produce most of the symbols: according to status and power. Dominant social groups tend to be overrepresented and overendowed not only absolutely but also in relation to their numbers in the real population. (For example, men outnumber women at least three to one in television and most media content. Minorities are defined by having 1. The long-range project was first described in my article on â€Å"Cultural Indicators: The Case of Violence in Television Drama† in the Annals, Vol. 388, March 1970. The most recent report, including a description of methodology, appears in George Gerbner, Larry Gross, Nancy Si gnorielli, Michael Morgan, and Marilyn Jackson-Beeck, â€Å"The Demonstration of Power: Violence Profile No. 10,† Journal of Communication, vol. 29 (Summer 1979). 66 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY less than their proportionate share of values and resources.In the world of television news and drama, this means lower underrepresentation numbers, less usefulness, fewer opportunities, more victimization (or â€Å"criminalization†), more restricted scope of action, more stereotyped roles, diminished life chances, and general undervaluation ranging from relative neglect to symbolic annihilation. DEATH IN NEWS AND DRAMA Death in such a context is just another invented characterization, a negative resource, a sign of fatal flaw or ineptitude, a punishment for sins or mark of tragedy.It is always a reminder of the risks of life, cultivating most anxiety and dependence for those who are depicted as most at risk. In other words, death is one feature of the more general functi ons of social typing and control. Obituaries are the Social Register of the middle class. Even a â€Å"nobody† of modest status and power (i. e. a person of no symbolic existence in the common culture) becomes a â€Å"somebody† if the flicker of his or her (and it's mostly his) life can leave its final symbolic mark of existence in the obituary column.Death in the news is a tightly scripted scenario of violence and terror. Murders, accidents, â€Å"body counts† and catastrophies scatter a surfeit of impersonal corpses in ghoulish symbolic overkill across the pages of our family newspapers and television screens. By the time we grow up, we are so addicted to this necromania of our culture (and we are not alone), that its constant daily cultivation seems to add to a morbid sense of normalcy. Yet it is all well (if unwittingly) calculated to cultivate a sense of insecurity, anxiety, fear of the â€Å"mean world† out there, and ependence on some strong protec tor. It is the modern equivalent of the bloody circuses in the Roman empire's â€Å"bread and circuses† that were supposed to keep the populace quiescent. At the center of the symbolic structure of death is the world of stories invented to show how things and drama. The most work-fiction massive and universal flow of stories in modern society (and history) is of course television drama, most of it produced according to the industrial formulas developed to assemble large audiences and sell them to advertisers at the least cost.That is a world in which practically no one ever dies a natural death. Assembly-line drama generally denies the inevitable reality of death and affirms its stigmatic character. Violent death, on the other hand, befalls 5 percent of all prime time dramatic characters every week, with about twice as many killers (many of whom also get killed) stalking the world of prime time. The symbolic function of death in the world of television is thus embedded in its structure of violence, which is essentially a show of force, the ritualistic demonstration of power. THE STRUCTURE OF VIOLENCEAND POWERDominated as it is by males and masculine values, much of the world of prime time revolves around questions of power. Who can get away with what against whom? How secure are different social types when confronted with conflict and danger? What hierarchies of risk and vulnerability define social relations? In other words, how power works in society. The simplest and cheapest dramatic DEATH IN PRIME TIME 67 demonstration of power is an overt expression of physical force compelling action against one's will on pain of being hurt or killed, or actually hurting or killing.That is the definition of violence used in our studies of television drama. Violence rules the symbolic world of television. It occurs at an average 10-year rate of 5 violent incidents per hour in prime time and 18 per hour in weekend daytime children's programming-a triple dose. Violen ce as a demonstration of power can be measured by relating the percent of violents to the percent of victims within each social group. That ratio shows the chances of men and women, blacks and whites, young and old, to come out on top instead of on the bottom.Conversely, it shows the risks of each group to end up as victims instead of victors. Table 1 is a summary of these â€Å"risk ratios† based on annual samples of prime time and weekend daytime (children's) programs major dramatic characters, a total of 3,949, from 1969 through 1978. It shows for each of several demographic and dramatic groups the ratio of violents over victims (including killing) and of only killers over killed (or the other way around) within each group. It also shows the percent of characters in each group involved in any violence as either violents or victims (or both).For example, of the 415 children and adolescent characters studied, 60. 5 percent (65. 0 percent males and 49. 1 percent females) were involved in violence. Of the males, victims outnumbered violents by 1. 69 but killers outnumbered killed by 3. 00. In other words, for every 10 child and adolescent violents there were about 17 victims, but for every 10 killed there were 30 killers in that group of characters. Overall, 63 percent of all characters were involved in some violence. For every 10 violents there were 12 victims, but for every 10 killed there were 19 killers.However, as we have just seen, involvement in violence and its outcome-as with values and resources-is not randomly distributed. Some features of the distribution of violence as a demonstration of power can be illustrated by selecting a few risk ratios from the Table, showing how these victimization rates define a hierarchy of risks within which the depiction of dying (and killing) is embedded. A hierarchy of risks Combining prime time and daytime characters, we find that victimization rates define a social hierarchy of risks and vulnerabilities.For e very 10 characters who commit violence within each of the following groups the average number of victims for white men is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. nonwhite men is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. lower class women is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ young women is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. nonwhite women is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. old women is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 13 17 18 18 33 If and when involved in violence, women and minorities, and especially young and old as well as minority women characters, are the most vulnerable. Now let us look at dying (and its dramatic counterpart, killing) in that context.We can compute a lethal pecking order by relating the number of killers to the number of killed within each group. Unlike violence in general, killing eliminates a character and must be used more sparingly, either as curtain-raiser or as the â€Å"final solution. † Therefore, in most role categories, there are more killers than killed. â€Å"Good† m en, the TABLE 1 RISK RATIOS': MAJOR CHARACTERS IN ALL PROGRAMS (1969-197 ALL CHARACTERS INVOLVED IN VIOLENCE VIOLENTVICTIM RATIO KILLERKILLED RATIO MALE CHARACTERS INVOLVED IN VIOLENCE VIOLENTVICTIM RATIO K N NAll Characters Social Age Children-Adolescents Young Adults Settled Adults Elderly Marital Status Not Married Married Class Clearly Upper Mixed Clearly Lower Race White Other Character Type â€Å"Good† Mixed â€Å"Bad† Nationality U. S. Other 3949 415 813 2212 106 1873 987 269 3549 131 3087 360 2304 1093 550 3100 264 63. 3 60. 5 64. 5 59. 8 47. 2 65. 6 45. 5 59. 5 63. 4 69. 5 60. 1 55. 0 58. 4 61. 4 88. 0 58. 1 73. 5 -1. 20 -1. 60 -1. 36 -1. 12 -1. 15 -1. 23 -1. 27 -1. 38 -1. 19 -1. 25 -1. 19 -1. 33 -1. 29 -1. 22 1. 00 -1. 20 -1. 31 +1. 90 +3. 00 +2. 00 +2. 07 -1. 75 +1. 90 +1. 67 +1. 50 +2. 07 -1. 11 +1. 97 +1. 69 +2. 93 +1. 3 +1. 84 +2. 06 +1. 31 2938 297 539 1698 80 1374 626 182 2650 106 2235 280 1659 807 471 2263 203 68. 4 65. 0 69. 6 65. 7 50. 0 69. 7 52. 9 67. 6 68. 3 73. 6 65. 1 61. 1 63. 7 65. 8 89. 4 63. 2 80. 8 -1. 18 -1. 69 -1. 23 -1. 12 +1. 07 -1. 18 -1. 27 -1. 26 -1. 17 -1. 20 -1. 16 -1. 27 -1. 24 -1. 21 -1. 01 -1. 16 -1. 29 + + + + + + + + – + + + + + + + 1Risk Ratios are obtained by dividing the more numerous of these two roles by the less numerous within eac violents or killersthan victims or killed and a minus sign indicates that there are more victims or killed than violent victimsor killersor violents or killed.A +0. 00 ratio means that there were some violents or killersbut no victims or k killed but no violents or killers. DEATH IN PRIME TIME 69 male heroes of prime time drama, are at the top of the killing order. For every 10 â€Å"good† men killed, there are 38 â€Å"good† men killers. Next are young men and American men; for every 10 young males killed, there are 22 young male and American male killers. The killed-killer ratio of all white males is only slightly lower: 21 killers for every 10 whi te males killed.In other words, if and when involved in some fatal violence on prime time television, â€Å"good,† young, American and white males are the most likely to be the killers instead of the killed. They kill in a good cause to begin with or are the most powerful, or both. Women do not fare so well. Their most favorable ratio is 20 killers for every 10 killed, and that goes to foreign women. The second highest female kill ratio goes to â€Å"bad† women: they kill 17 characters for every 10 â€Å"bad† women killed. Next are middleaged women who kill 16 for every 10 killed.Thus women who tend to kill, kill much less than men, have relatively more lethal power when they are foreign, evil, or past the romantic-lead age, than when they are â€Å"good,† American, young, and white, as is the case with men. Their killing is more likely to be shown as unjust, irrational, and â€Å"alien† than is killing by men. At the very bottom of the lethal peck ing order are old women who get involved in violence only to get killed and â€Å"good† women who get killed 16 times for every 10 killers. Old and â€Å"good† women get into violence mostly as sympathetic (or only pathetic) victims, rousing male heroes to righteous (if lethal) indignation.Next in line are lower class men, lower class women, and old men. For every ten killers in each group there are, respectively, 11, 10, and 10 killed. Unlike those of greater ability to survive conflict or catastrophy,older and lower class characters pay with their lives for every life they take. Provocation and retribution In general, then, as can be seen on the Table, the pecking order of both mayhem and killing is dominated by men-American white, middle class, and in the prime of life. At the top of the general order of victimizers are â€Å"bad† women, old men, and â€Å"bad† men, in that order.The presence of evil at the top of the power hierarchy suggests the drama tic role of villains provoking heroes to violent action. Heading the ranking of killers over killed are â€Å"good† and other majority-type males. We can begin to discern not only the provocative role of the â€Å"bad† but also the retributive function of the â€Å"good† and the strong. Lowest on the dramatic scale are women, lower class, and old people. Of the 20 most victimized groups (both total violence and killing), all but three are women. Old women are at the bottom of the heap of both the battered and the killed. Good†women are among the charactersmost likely to be both general and fatal victims of violence ratherthan the perpetrators. â€Å"Good† men have power as indicated by their heading up the killer-killed list; â€Å"good† women, on the other hand, end up near the bottom of the power hierarchy. When it comes to violence, â€Å"good† are the strong men and the weak women of the world of television. Dying on television is a violent retribution for weakness, sin, or other flaw in character or status. It is part of the social typing and control functions of centralized cultural production.Our research has found that heavy viewers (compared to light 70 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY viewers in the same social groups) derive from their television experience a heightened sense of danger, insecurity, and mistrust, or what we call the â€Å"mean world† syndrome. It can be conjectured that the symbolic functions of dying are part of that syndrome, contributing not only to a structure of power but also to the irrational dread of dying and thus to diminished vitality and self-direction in life.

Essay on Sophocles “Oedipus the King”Essay Writing Service

Essay on Sophocles â€Å"Oedipus the King†Essay Writing Service Essay on Sophocles â€Å"Oedipus the King† Essay on Sophocles â€Å"Oedipus the King†Among the Greek tragedies, there can probably be found something deeper and more elaborate, than â€Å"Oedipus the King† by Sophocles, but there is not a single one, in which the philosophical depth and tragic strength would be combined with such incomparable sophistication, noble grace and structural perfection. The image of a monstrous Sphinx with the face of a woman, wings, sharp claws, the body of a lion and mysteriously dangerous speech penetrates the whole tragedy as an incorporation of destiny and unknown future. The following research represents a critical analysis of the Sophocles’ tragedy, dealing with various issues raised in it. It gives a detailed analysis of different problems evoking throughout the tragedy on the basis of the existing research conducted by profound contemporary researchers.Human Conscience and DestinyThe problem of human Destiny that the humanity faced years ago had not been solved up to th ese days. The problem of the interrelation of human conscience and something mysterious and unknown is still under discussion. Different world religions tried to solve the problem of interrelation between the humanity and Destiny. The whole system of beliefs, rites and superstitions is simply a byproduct of the interaction between human conscience and the unknown (Martinez 15). According to the religious beliefs, the problem of unknown belongs to the sphere of human intuition, but cannot be solved as such. An attempt to explain irrational matters is an equation with multiple unknowns.In this regard, the destiny of Oedipus, a poor Cadmian king, is quite exemplary. His whole life is a continuous investigation of his own â€Å"crimes† and constant search of truth consisting of multisided local solvability. Various researchers define the destiny of Oedipus as an infernal machine that gradually adds more and more mechanisms of destruction of an innocent human being. This machine i s destiny that works despite the acts and wishes of a person. Destiny is first of all the inevitability that deprives a person of the right of choice. It is something like a zugzwang in the game of chess, when every compulsory move inevitably leads to failure (Segal 78)Oedipus, a newcomer from Corinth and a young hero immediately conquered Sphinx. He saved people from the deathly and truly intimidating allurement of the monster and solved its riddle. This is what he is like at the beginning of the tragedy. He is described as the savior of humanity from the dark forces of the Destiny, a hero of mind and will. The people believed that he would conquer the monster and he himself believed in his own strength. The people considered him a wise deity and he himself thinks so.However, Oedipus is a human being and nothing more. The victory of mind and will over Sphinx as a symbol of Destiny is temporary. Although, Sphinx ran away and left the people in peace, it pierced the heart of the hero and would soon once again give him unsolvable riddles. This is the core of the tragedy. Although Sphinx no longer exists, it is still inside the soul of its conqueror. It is more intimidating than any carnivorous animal as now he is elusive and bodiless just like a phantom. Sphinx is the mystery of life and every human conscience. The prophet Tiresias has a full right to mock the savior of people by saying that he should no save himself. Let him know who his mother and father are and what the meaning of life is. The meaning of life lies in the victory of his spirit over Destiny and victory of Destiny over spirit (Bloom 65). Let every human solve the riddle of their own origin. It would then seem that the meaning of life is a crime, horror and despair as will is nothing compared to the eternal law of necessity. The ancient and cruel monster won over its conqueror, outwitted the human mind and engaged him into the unlawful temptations.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Symbolism of the TragedyThe tragic image of the hero and savior of the people who fought against Sphinx as a riddle of its own origin and Destiny as a tempting spirit is an eternal image that is passed on from generation to generation. The hero and Destiny, will and necessity, mind and world mysteries all represent the true meaning of this religious, philosophic and in many ways symbolic tragedy. In fact, if it was not for symbolism, than what would be left? There would probably be left only a tragic contingency. From the contemporary point of view, Oedipus is not guilty as he was not aware that he was killing his father and would marry his own mother. Neither consciousness, nor will played any role in the murder of his father and incest. In fact, it was not a crime, but simply a tragedy and contamination of an innocent person diluted by the prophecy of deities.Oedipus was doomed to spiritual death not because he was guilty, but simply because he wanted to have more power than a hum an being can have and was too audacious to conquer the Destiny and ancient monster. The power of Oedipus turned into autocracy (Martinez 19). He placed himself over other people forgetting the essence of human nature. He mocked the prophecies of deities and wanted to become deity himself. Here, we can see no tragic contingency, but the very essence of life and the inevitability of the spiritual death of a hero, who believed in his own will, strength and â€Å"ego† when he faced the mystery of the world in the form of a womanlike monster with its eternal riddles.Artistic Mastery of the TragedyApart from the religious and philosophic meaning, the tragedy has a truly inexhaustible fiction attraction. It greatly differs from other Greek tragedies judging from the strength and mastery of the psychological analysis. It thus makes the tragedy resemble the European drama. The poet concentrates on a few horrible hours in the life of a hero without changing the setting and step by step shows all stages of the human existence starting from the highest point of beatitude and ending with the utmost tragedy. The hero becomes an outsider and a cursed criminal (Kallich 34). The king who has been a deity becomes a poor homeless stranger.The horror and attraction of this tragedy mainly lies in the inevitable and slow graduation, which leads to the solution of the mystery. Something as horrible as death gradually grows into a disaster that leads to the spiritual death of its victim. At the beginning of the tragedy, Oedipus has the utmost power and fame being worshipped by the people. Although the city faces the disastrous plague, nobody doubts that Oedipus would be able to win the hearts of the deities and that the conqueror of Sphinx would save the people from the new disaster. The first hint to suspicion is evident in the words of Tiresius. Oedipus is greatly irritated by the half-word of the prophet and this is when the conflict evokes. It is a dangerous knot that nobo dy can untangle.The last scene of Oedipus’ despair, his blindness, shame and cursedness is written with such strength and mercilessness of realism that horror and compassion experienced by the readers are mixed with aversion and disgust in our mind (Sophocles 128). However, the harmony is not ruined. The beauty overcomes horror and the last scenes of the tragedy are penetrated with the reconciling tenderness. Oedipus forgets himself, his pride and grief and thinks of his poor outcast children. Love gives makes the human will immortal and conquers the blind power of Destiny.Conclusionâ€Å"Oedipus the King† by Sophocles is so deep and complex that focusing on certain problem that penetrates the tragedy inevitably leads to other issues. The critical analysis of this work is like untangling of a sweater, when by pulling one fiber the other two are revealed. In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the destinies of the three main heroes of the tragedy are closely connect ed with the feeling of fear. One hero was afraid of death, while the other was afraid of truth, and still other was intimidated by power. As a result, every one of them got just what they feared. The above research represents a critical analysis of such issues as Destiny and human being as well as the importance of symbolism in the tragedy. The research is based on the existing investigations of this ancient piece of writing, still revealing the personal viewpoint of its author. â€Å"Oedipus the King† is a true masterpiece that evokes a mixture of feelings in its readers. It has long become a classic writing whose fame will hardly ever fade away.

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Renaissance Musical Instrument essays Renaissance means rebirth. This period saw a rebirth in knowledge. The Renaissance was turning from God to man. Science was becoming more important during this time. Columbus discovered America during the Renaissance in 1492 and Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel. Music was also changing. Melodies became richer. Harmony, known as homophony, began to appear (This means there is a clear difference between the melody and accompaniment). This was the golden age of the a cappella style. That means that choirs sang without instruments. Perhaps the greatest development for the expansion of ordinary music was the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1454. Now music could be reproduced quickly, before this it had had to be copied by hand. But this was also a growth in instrumental music. The Renaissance saw many new instruments as well as old ones remaining popular. The most popular instrument during the renaissance was the lute. The lute is the ancestor of the modern day guitar. It held the highest respect of all instruments during the Renaissance, both as an accompaniment and as a solo instrument. Although the greatest repertoire (compositions) for the lute is from England, the best makers were Germans who lived in Italy. Its belly is made of pine, only one-sixteenth inch thick, with a carved sound-hole in the middle. Wooden bars glued underneath the belly strengthen it and add to the resonance. The pear shaped back is constructed from several ribs, shaped and bent over a mold, and then glued together edge-to-edge. These ribs may be made of sycamore, cedar, yew, or cypress, and are no more than 1/32 of an inch in thickness. It is unknown when the first sackbut was created but by 1500 it is mentioned and illustrated regularly. The sackbut is simply a slide trumpet, or tromba da tirasi. The word sackbut literally means push-pull. There were four principle s ...

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Achilles Anophtheis (Achilles revisited) The director walked onto the stage, gingerly adjusting his radiation mask in order to fit the microphone beneath it. His nervous cough boomed through the hall. After shuffling the papers on the podium before him, he began. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen of the Pre-Apocalypse Archaeological Society. We have called this session to impart to you a matter of the utmost importance, a discovery of the highest order. As you are aware, our teams have only recently been able to sift through the debris of the razed cities of our belligerent predecessors, thanks to the efforts of our colleagues at the Physical Research Society who, with the aid of Allah, have made our task infinitely easier with the invention of a radiation suit which allows our field workers to work even in areas of the highest radiation concentration: the cities of what was formerly the United States of America. The discoveries are literally pouring in, and we have our hands full simply cataloguing the numerous finds. Our first find was a small rectangular object, containing a spool of thin ribbon, which one of our historians identified as what was known as a cassette. Simply put, it was a device on which sounds could be recorded. From its small size, our historian conjectured that it was of a type designed for recording the human voice rather than music. Armed with this belief, we managed to convince the Censor Society to allow us to reconstruct the primitive machine to play back the message we hoped it would contain. They agreed; on the condition that we did not do so until they had a chance to screen it for the negative influences that caused the downfall of the last corrupt civilization. They duly approved it and we are now ready for its first public presentation. "Before we begin, I would like to explain some of the terms used in the recording, for those of you who lack the benefit of an historical training. The tape is evidently the recording of a psychologist. You are all aware that the sacrilege which led to the destruction of the Nuclear Age was primarily caused by the decline in religious belief and values. A psychologist was the person who supplanted the role of the confessor in this blasphemous time. He labored under the delusion that the immortal soul was accessible on a scientific, human level; and, like most of the scientists of the day, impiously discounted Allah as an unnecessary complication. We found an infamous saying which pervaded much of the Pre- Apocalypse literature: 'Religion is the opiate of the people'. Well, psychology became the new 'opiate of the people.' The patient with whom the doctor is dealing with in the recording, has been identified as a prominent businessman of the day. He is what was called an arbitrageur. A man who specialized in dealings on their stock market, a term I am sure all of you are familiar with. In any case, an arbitrageur bought and sold companies for a profit. In the few pieces of literature we have been able to recover, it seems that such men were regarded as the heroes of their age. I refer of course to the numerous copies we have of the autobiographies of Donald Trump, Robert Campeau and the like. Evidently the culture considered these books to be of great importance, for we found huge amounts of them in large buildings. This was apparently for safekeeping since the storage facilities were located well away from the centres of attack in the event of a nuclear war. The periodicals of the day also reflect the reverence in which these men were held, as they are frequently mentioned. It is another mark of the degradation of the society that the primary estimate of a man's worth became the amount of money he earned. It is difficult in this holy age to conceive of such blasphemy, but it is necessary that we do so in order to avoid the same traps into which they fell. We have managed to reconstruct the scenario as far as was possible, but we endeavored to retain all of the original conversation in addition to our own narration. I don't think that there is anything further that you need to know about the recording, except perhaps that it appears to be incomplete. I would ask that you remain as silent as possible, because the tape is of very low quality and the accent is very difficult to understand. If you are having trouble,

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Critical discussion of Business Ethics and the Internet - Essay Example Moreover, it is widely accepted that the organisations often tends to improve their range of social responsiveness activities to reduce or to protect themselves from various external hindrances (McGraw-Hill Education n.d.). Emphasising upon the changing phase of the organisational policies associated with business ethics, the primary objective of this report is to briefly analyse the ethical performance of a Social Networking Site (SNS) named Facebook in the global social networking industry. The discussion of this paper will incorporate the core ethical practices that perform by Facebook along with different issues are likely to hinder its overall business performance. Additionally, the report will provide adequate suggestions intending to protect the organisation from encountering various ethical dilemmas. Facebook and its Ethical Performances Brief Overview of Facebook By providing exceptional experience of social media service to the millions of global users, Facebook has recogni sed itself as one of the leading and dominating organisations throughout the globe. It was established in the year 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg through his unique thoughts of connecting a range number of global users on a single platform. According to the present day context, Facebook has been able to acquire nearly 1.1 billion of Monthly Active Users (MAUs) across different parts of the globe. Moreover, the company is also renowned for its transformational growth since its commencement in the global social media network. The company basically earns its revenues from advertising amounted to US$1.46 billion which has surpassed the rate of 38% growth as compared to the year 2012 (Facebook, 2013). Ethical Performance of Facebook An effective practice of business ethics can significantly increase the performance of the organisations which ensures to enhance their credibility in the competitive business environment. In this regard, the practice of adequate code of ethics can assist the organi sations to deliver quality products or services to the customers enable them to attract as well as retain a huge group of loyal customers (Brimmer, 2011). Moreover, adequate quality assurance of the organisational offerings can also facilitate the organisations to meet the desired expectations of the customers. Moreover, practicing a well-built set of business ethics can also ensure to improve the organisational productivity that can be considered as one of the major beneficial factors for the present business environment. Additionally, an appropriate ethical performance of the organisations also brings different advantages and enables it to gain competitiveness in the growing global business environment (Dimitriades, 2007). In order to determine the ethical performance of Facebook, it has been viewed that it incorporates a wide practice of ethical conducts which ensures protecting from various ethics related concerns. In relation to the ethical practice of Facebook, the company bro adly adopts as well as executes well-built ethical guidelines with regard to its independent nature in the global social media services. An effective governance system enables the company to efficiently perform its business operations in different global nations. The code of business ethi

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English A1 HL IB - Essay Example This contrast is a direct placement of Iago as the villain of the story since biblical tradition accepts the representation of Satan as something he is not. The audience of the time would have clearly understood the idea that by presenting himself as something different Iago has plans in place to act as the villain of the story and will bring harm to other characters. Another contrast which is made evident in the first scene is the contrast between Iago and Cassio. Iago compares himself with the present lieutenant and shows that he is more battle ready while Cassio is nothing more than a womanizing mathematician who can not be expected to hold his own in any battle. Additionally, Iago says that he has proven himself to the chiefs of the city several times over while Cassio has done nothing which is worthy of praise. A particularly strange comparison is made by Iago concerning the features of Desdemona and Othello when he calls them a white ewe and an old black ram respectively. This comparison works on several levels since Iago is accusing both the lovers of bestiality, he is comparing Othello’s old age with Desdemona’s young age and finally, he is comparing their colors to show the difference races these individuals belong to. All three are negative comparisons and serve to only heighten the indignation Brabantio feels at the disappearance of his daughter. In scene 2, there is an interesting comparison between Othello and Iago. When Brabantio and his men are approaching Iago and Othello, Iago asks Othello to go into the shadow yet he refuses. This shows the character of Othello that he believes he has done nothing wrong in marrying the person he loves. On the other hand, the character of Iago prefers to remain in the shadows and casts doubts as well as creates schemes while being in the shadows. When Brabantio confronts Othello, he makes several comparisons between Othello and Desdemona

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Head On and Tylenol - Annotated Bibliography Example 2011. The book provides a one-kind-consumer guide that provides solutions to over 500 over-the-counter medications. It provides symptoms for common problems followed by over-the-counter prescriptions to alleviate the conditions. 3. Maryanne, H., & AARP (2006). The AARP guide to pills: Essential information on more than 1200 prescription and nonprescription medicines, available through Medical Databases Online, General Databases, accessed 20th Oct. 2011. The book addresses the problems of adults over the age of 50 years. The book also simplifies the effort to find information about certain drugs by presenting generic drugs in a logical A-to Z organization. It also provides a close reference to related brand new drugs. This information has been vetted by a board of con tent specialists from the finest institutions in United States. 4. King, L., & Mary, C. (2009). Pharmacology for Women’s Health, available through Medical Databases Online, Nursing Databases, accessed 19th Oct. 2011. The article includes an insight into the basic pharmacodynamics principles that allows health professionals to understand and know hoe to prescribe drugs. It includes chapters that describe pharmacology of various drugs that are used in wide variety of illnesses. The arctle provides fundamentals of nursing, Introduction to Nursing and Critical Thinking. It contains concrete examples which allow studentds to understand and apply the five steps of nursing process in the expanding world of healthcare. The book provides a user friendly step by step work-book like approach to the five steps of nursing process. It also offers good solutions to the most difficult part of nursing, diagnosis. It also contains exercises that allow the reader to practice what he has learnt. The book focuses on the choices which have to be made while designing a drug for newly

Critical discussion of Business Ethics and the Internet Essay

Critical discussion of Business Ethics and the Internet - Essay Example Moreover, it is widely accepted that the organisations often tends to improve their range of social responsiveness activities to reduce or to protect themselves from various external hindrances (McGraw-Hill Education n.d.). Emphasising upon the changing phase of the organisational policies associated with business ethics, the primary objective of this report is to briefly analyse the ethical performance of a Social Networking Site (SNS) named Facebook in the global social networking industry. The discussion of this paper will incorporate the core ethical practices that perform by Facebook along with different issues are likely to hinder its overall business performance. Additionally, the report will provide adequate suggestions intending to protect the organisation from encountering various ethical dilemmas. Facebook and its Ethical Performances Brief Overview of Facebook By providing exceptional experience of social media service to the millions of global users, Facebook has recogni sed itself as one of the leading and dominating organisations throughout the globe. It was established in the year 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg through his unique thoughts of connecting a range number of global users on a single platform. According to the present day context, Facebook has been able to acquire nearly 1.1 billion of Monthly Active Users (MAUs) across different parts of the globe. Moreover, the company is also renowned for its transformational growth since its commencement in the global social media network. The company basically earns its revenues from advertising amounted to US$1.46 billion which has surpassed the rate of 38% growth as compared to the year 2012 (Facebook, 2013). Ethical Performance of Facebook An effective practice of business ethics can significantly increase the performance of the organisations which ensures to enhance their credibility in the competitive business environment. In this regard, the practice of adequate code of ethics can assist the organi sations to deliver quality products or services to the customers enable them to attract as well as retain a huge group of loyal customers (Brimmer, 2011). Moreover, adequate quality assurance of the organisational offerings can also facilitate the organisations to meet the desired expectations of the customers. Moreover, practicing a well-built set of business ethics can also ensure to improve the organisational productivity that can be considered as one of the major beneficial factors for the present business environment. Additionally, an appropriate ethical performance of the organisations also brings different advantages and enables it to gain competitiveness in the growing global business environment (Dimitriades, 2007). In order to determine the ethical performance of Facebook, it has been viewed that it incorporates a wide practice of ethical conducts which ensures protecting from various ethics related concerns. In relation to the ethical practice of Facebook, the company bro adly adopts as well as executes well-built ethical guidelines with regard to its independent nature in the global social media services. An effective governance system enables the company to efficiently perform its business operations in different global nations. The code of business ethi

Head On and Tylenol Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Head On and Tylenol - Annotated Bibliography Example 2011. The book provides a one-kind-consumer guide that provides solutions to over 500 over-the-counter medications. It provides symptoms for common problems followed by over-the-counter prescriptions to alleviate the conditions. 3. Maryanne, H., & AARP (2006). The AARP guide to pills: Essential information on more than 1200 prescription and nonprescription medicines, available through Medical Databases Online, General Databases, accessed 20th Oct. 2011. The book addresses the problems of adults over the age of 50 years. The book also simplifies the effort to find information about certain drugs by presenting generic drugs in a logical A-to Z organization. It also provides a close reference to related brand new drugs. This information has been vetted by a board of con tent specialists from the finest institutions in United States. 4. King, L., & Mary, C. (2009). Pharmacology for Women’s Health, available through Medical Databases Online, Nursing Databases, accessed 19th Oct. 2011. The article includes an insight into the basic pharmacodynamics principles that allows health professionals to understand and know hoe to prescribe drugs. It includes chapters that describe pharmacology of various drugs that are used in wide variety of illnesses. The arctle provides fundamentals of nursing, Introduction to Nursing and Critical Thinking. It contains concrete examples which allow studentds to understand and apply the five steps of nursing process in the expanding world of healthcare. The book provides a user friendly step by step work-book like approach to the five steps of nursing process. It also offers good solutions to the most difficult part of nursing, diagnosis. It also contains exercises that allow the reader to practice what he has learnt. The book focuses on the choices which have to be made while designing a drug for newly

Busi 650-ILP Final Essay Example for Free

Busi 650-ILP Final Essay Table of Contents I. Abstract II. Organizational Setting III. Key Concepts a. Quality b. Total Quality Management c. Innovation d. Strategy Map e. Balanced Scorecard f. Six Sigma g. Bench Marking h. Inventory Management IV. Conclusion V. References Abstract The main purpose of the Integrative Learning Project (ILP) is to introduce an authentic or fabricated company/industry to research. The company’s organizational setting includes the mission statement of the company, who the internal/external customers are, what aspects can be contributed to achieve the organizations mission, and what role Christianity has with the organization. The research includes using eight different concepts learned throughout the course, explaining in detail how these concepts relate to the organization and the benefits the concepts offer to the organization, and what needs to be done to implement these concepts into the organization  successfully. This ILP will prove that a successful business can be run effectively and efficiently when implementing the key concepts. Organizational Setting Dover Saddlery, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer in the English-style horseback riding industry in the United States. The company offers a large selection of quality and premium equestrian products to care for, ride, train, and compete a horse. Founded in 1975 by Jim and David Powers, the company has grown to be the largest multi-channel marketer of premier equestrian products by selling through direct and retail sales. The company serves the English rider through Dover Saddlery and the western rider through Smith Brothers. The company sells their products using catalogs, the internet, and retail stores. The product line includes a variety of items such as tack, horse clothing, horse health, footwear, and specialized apparel. Dover Saddlery, Inc. is headquartered in Littleton, MA, including a warehouse and call center facility. The company has 18 retail locations in Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolin a, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia. The company’s third quarter 2013 total revenues were $63.6 million, a 6.4% increase from the $59.7 million achieved in the corresponding period. Dover Saddlery, Inc. stock trades on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol DOVR. The company’s mission is to grow the business by providing a broad variety of quality and most advanced equestrian apparel, equipment, stable, and horse care products to all equestrians, while operating efficiently and being profitable. The company carries 5,800 items comprising of approximately 28,000 different SKU’s. The company carries entry-level price points to the premium high-end price points to meet the wide range of customer needs and expectations. The company carries a distinctive and broad selection of need-based and high quality products at competitive prices with prompt order fulfillment ability. The company differentiates itself from competitors by their large inventory consisting of non-branded products, private label products, and premium brands. The current equestrian products market is  estimated by the American Horse Council at $7.6 billion with an estimated 9.2 millions horses in the United States. American Sports Data estimates that over 16.8 mill ion people ride horses. The equestrian industry has many indicators that the equestrian products industry will continue to grow. The company is known for their excellence in customer service and large comprehensive selection. The company promotes a culture of courteous, knowledgeable, and prompt customer service representatives. 90% of the sales and customer service representatives are horse enthusiast. The company offers customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The company has one of the largest detailed customer databases. The database consists of customers that have purchased items with the last 12 months and their demographic information. The use of the catalog, internet, and retail stores has enabled the company to capture customer information, cross-market products, and provide a convenient shopping experience for customers. The company’s customers are primarily females with a passion for the riding sport. The customers are affluent and luxury oriented who tend to choose to buy from the company for the high quality and premier products. The customer base shows high repurchase rates and has been ve ry loyal customers. The role Christianity has in this organization is customer service is essential and Matthew 10:31 states, â€Å"Fear not, therefore; you are more value than many sparrows† (ESV). In the service industry, customer satisfaction is key and the company has to recruit the right people and reward them for there expertise. Colossians 3:23-24 states, â€Å"23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving† (New International Version). Another verse that can be applied in this organization is 1 Peter 4:10, â€Å"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace†. The company uses the gifts God gives us and pass them on to consumers to benefit from. The role of Christianity plays a great role in this company. Key Concepts The first key concept that is applicable to Dover Saddlery is Quality. Quality has a huge impact on the quality of products and the success of the organization. According to Dinh, Igel, Laosirihongthong (2010), â€Å"quality, considered a key strategic factor in achieving business success, is more than ever required for competing successfully in today’s global marketplace and it has become the key slogan as organizations strive for a competitive advantage in markets characterized by liberalization, globalization, and knowledgeable customers† (p. 931). The design and performance of the product are two very important concepts of quality. Quality should start with the customer, the experience the customer has with the product or service will impact the customer’s satisfaction with the total experience. The management and control of the quality of the products and services is very important to the success of the organization. It is very important for organizations t o implement a quality assurance program (QAP) to ensure the quality of the products and services. According to Rouse (2007): In developing products and services, quality assurance is any systematic process of checking to see whether a product or service being developed is meeting specified requirements. Many companies have a separate department devoted to quality assurance. A quality assurance system is said to increase customer confidence and a companys credibility, to improve work processes and efficiency, and to enable a company to better compete with others. Quality assurance was initially introduced in World War II when munitions were inspected and tested for defects after they were made. Todays quality assurance systems emphasize catching defects before they get into the final product (Quality Assurance). There are many advantages for the company to have a QAP in place, include a competitive advantage, increase in sales and market share, increased customer satisfaction, better management control, clearly defined organizational tasks, structure, and responsibilities, more effective recalls, and price premium (Aramyan, Meuwissen, Oude Lansink, van der Vorst, van Kooten, van der Lans, 2009, p. 624). According to Yang (2006) â€Å"several studies on quality management have demonstrated that delivering superior service quality enhances productivity, reduces costs, increases customer loyalty, improves market share, and brings other general benefits to a service organization (p.1129). The QAP helps fulfill the needs  and expectations of the customers and improves the quality of the products and services. The second key concept that is applicable to the company is total quality management (TQM). According to Richards (2012), TQM can be defined as an integrative approach to management that supports the attainment of customer satisfaction through a wide variety of tools and techniques that the end result is higher quality of goods and services (p. 37). TQM is an organizational-wide concept of continuous improvement to ensure the products and services exceed their customers’ expectations. According to Richards (2012), â€Å"this kind of quality management requires the company to always check to make sure that product or service is at the standard that both the company and customer wants is maintained† (p. 37). Exceeding the internal and external customers satisfaction is a key focus of TQM. According to Talib, et al. (2011), TQM â€Å"has received a great attention due to its effectiveness in achieving sustainable competitive advantage and enhanced business performanceâ₠¬  (p. 1331). TQM is â€Å"a total look at the quality of the organization† (Richards, 2012, p. 41). â€Å"All service industries should seek to adopt and implement TQM so that proactive identification and response to needed changes can lead to continuous improvement† (Talib, et al. 2011). â€Å"Quality-conscious companies normally have a strong quality culture, which is helpful for achieving customer satisfaction† (Delgado-Hernandez Aspinwall, 2008, p.1016). The practice of TQM can grow a company to have a sustainable advantage in local and international markets (Richards, 2012, p. 36). The third key concept that is applicable to the company is innovation. â€Å"In the modern business world, innovation is just as important as quality, so they must go hand and hand and one complements each other† (Perodomo-Ortiz, et al. 2009, p.5088). Innovation is one if the driving forces of a successful business and allows an organization to introduce new and improve products in the market place. According to Bigliardi (2013), innovation is a complex phenomenon that involves the production, diffusion and translation of knowledge in new or modified products or services, or the development of new production processing techniques. Innovation is very important to the  success of an organization, it creates jobs and promotes the growth of organizations. The fourth key concept that is applicable to the company is the strategy map. As a strategic part of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), a strategy map provides an organization â€Å"with a tool that helps them better monitor important details about their strategic business processes, thereby enhancing their employees’ understanding of the strategy interactions, which in turn facilitates implementing the business strategy† (Meredith and Shafer, 2013, pg. 99). According to Kaplan and Norton (2004), â€Å"the strategy map provides the visual framework for integrating the organization’s objectives in the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard† (pg.45). According to Markiewicz (2013), a strategy map is a tool integrating the developed strategy with operating activities of various organizational units operating in an organization. A specific feature of strategy map is that it describes in a clear manner the process of creating values in organization by indicating a number of cause and effect relationships between four perspectives (learning and growth, intemal-business-processes, customer, financial) and goals adopted within these perspectives. (pg. 161-162) The four perspectives a strategy map addresses include the financial perspective, the customer perspective, the internal business process perspective, and the learning and growing perspective. According to Markiewicz (2013), a strategy map â€Å"enables illustration of cause-and-effect relationship between the processes in all four perspectives and performance indicators at the organizational level. Strategy map and performance indicators at the organizational level constitute the basis for different departments when preparing their individual effectiveness indicators† (pg. 160). The top of a strategy map is the goal that has been specified by management, the next step is how the goal be accomplished, and the remainder of the map shows the cause-and-effect relationships that manag ement has developed on how the goal can be accomplished. The strategy map is used very frequently by all organizations as a simple strategy development tool by management to report the progress of the strategy implemented in their organization to achieve its vision or mission.  The strategy map is a powerful technique that can be applied to any type of business from a public sector organization to a non-profit organization. It is very important to organizations because it encourages its managers to think logically about the elements of their strategy and how the strategic elements interact. This effective tool ensures the managers understand the role of the strategy and how the effective strategy embraces all of the organization’s activities. According to Umayal Karpagam and Suganthi (2012), the strategy map describes â€Å"how the four perspectives: financial, customer, internal process, learning and growth are linked and how they create a balance between the more tangible outcomes through intangible resources† (pg. 7). The fifth key concept that is applicable to the company is the balanced scorecard. Kaskey (2013) says the balanced scorecard â€Å"provides an organization with ways to develop and evaluate strategic objectives and goals† (pg. 22). The balanced scorecard uses financial and nonfinancial strategic information and is â€Å"an accounting report that includes the firm’s critical success factors in four areas: financial performance, customer satisfaction, internal processes, and learning and growth† (Blocher, Stout, Juras, Cokins, 2013, pg. 11). The benefits of the scorecard include ability to implement strategy, ability to track the process of the organization in their achievement of the strategic goals, the organization’s ability to determine manager’s compensation, achieving organizational change, and the ability to achieve the critical success factors. According to Werner and Fuyuan (2012), â€Å"when the score card is adopted, employees become awar e that their performance will be judged based on these measures and targets. Accordingly, employees will act to achieve the established performance targets† (pg. 92). The balanced scorecard is a critical tool for organizations in todays challenging and competitive business environment. It is very important for organizations to achieve its critical success factors to help the overall performance of the organization and to stay competitive. The sixth key concept that is applicable to the company is Six Sigma. This concept is a strategy to increase employee engagement that will then increase customer satisfaction. According to Meredith and Shafer (2013), six  sigma is a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining and maximizing business success. Six Sigma is uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing, improving, and reinventing business processes. (Page 129) This method is an inspiring factor for employees and employees have to be completely engaged in the program for it to be successful and impact employee satisfaction. Six Sigma has been embraced by many organizations, that drive’s improvements in processes, products, and services. When implementing the Six Sigma approach, first provide necessary leadership and resources, implement a reward system, provide ingoing training, select early p rojects, break up difficult projects, and avoid employee layoffs. â€Å"Six sigma’s popularity and success is catching fire throughout the service industry across the globe as no other process improvement (PI) movement before (Sunder, 2013, pg. 34). The seventh key concept that is applicable to the company is benchmarking. According to Cruceru (2013), benchmarking is â€Å"viewed as a continuous process of evaluation of products, services, processes and performance of competitors in order to obtain competitive advantage, benchmarking involves knowledge of all elements occurring when implementing in practice† (pg. 6). Benchmarking is a strategy where the desire to be competitive is a challenge for managers to become knowledgeable and analyze their competitors in the industry and implement competitive strategies to be successful. According to Meredith and Shafer (2013), benchmarking is used for a variety of purposes, including the following: Comparing an organization’s processes with the best organization’s processes. Comparing an organization’s product and services with those of other organizations. Identifying the best practices to emulate. Projecting trends in order to be able to respond proactively to future challenges and opportunities. (pg.133) Benchmarking involves three steps: the first step is concerned with preparing the study, the second step is collecting the data, and the third and final step is what was learned to improve the organization. This process has become one of the most valuable processes to identify performance improvement areas. Benchmarking allows an organization to analyze and improve performance, profitability, business  processes, and market share. There are many types of benchmarking including: process benchmarking-compares business processes and operations, product benchmarking-compares products and services, strategic benchmarking-compares organizational structures, internal benchmarking-internal comparison, competitive benchmarking-comparison of direct competitors, functional benchmarking- comparison of organizations in the same field, and generic benchmarking- comparison of the best com petitor in other fields. According to Cruceru (2013), â€Å"those competitors who will know to focus on benchmarking implementation in management and marketing activities of the organization will achieve increased performance and competitiveness in terms comparable to the best competitors of the time† (pg. 9). Appendix A In order to implement benchmarking in Dover Saddlery the following steps are needed: 1. Understand the company’s current process performance gaps. 2. Obtain support and approval from the executive leadership team 3. Document benchmarking objectives and scope; document the original process. 4. Agree on the primary metrics and put them in writing. 5. Agree on what to benchmark. 6. Develop a data collection plan. 7. Identify research sources and initiate data gathering. 8. Determine how to contact and screen companies. 9. Design a detailed survey to gather information. 10. Decide if gathered information meets original objectives. 11. Conduct a site visit. 12. Apply the learning to performance gaps. 13. Communicate to the executive leadership to ensure continued support. 14. Develop a recommended implementation plan with process owner. 15. Know when to update and recalibrate. The eighth key concept that is applicable to the company is inventory management. Inventory management is extremely important for the success of a organization and having the correct number of items in inventory that is necessary for operation is vital for inventory management. According to Chen (2011), â€Å"the inventory in an organization may contain a large amount of items. A logical inventory classification is necessary for managers to have efficient plan and control of the items† (pg. 1702). Inventory management can be a challenge for any business, but can be even more important for businesses with changing product life cycles or product needs. The development of information systems, has eased some challenges faced with inventory management. The introduction of advanced information system, which aim at better performance than manual product identification and inventory data-keeping procedures, hold much promise for the reduction of inventory inaccuracies. Inventories include work-in-process, raw materials, finished goods, component parts, and so on. By eliminating storage space to business is not only saving on space but also removing defective parts from being hidden until no one knows who had made them (Meredith Shafer, 2013, p. 176). Appendix B Inventory An additional way that we differentiate ourselves from our competition is through our breadth and depth of inventory. We believe our inventory is deeper than our competitors with $10.1 million in on-hand inventory as of December 31, 2005 and more than 5,800 items comprising approximately 28,000 different SKUs. With our extensive inventory position and rapid fulfillment capability, we have historically been able to fill approximately 95% of the items ordered within an average of 1.5 business days. Based on our inventory management systems, continuous monitoring of the products we carry and the fact that we carry very few fashion products, we have historically had very little obsolete inventory. Despite the high level of inventory we have historically maintained, we have turned inventory approximately four times per year and we historically have had no material inventory write-downs. All of the products that are presented in our catalogs are available online and customers can use our websites to enter orders, shop online and check order status and inventory availability. On average, our retail stores stock inventory items represent over 70% of the merchandise  sales we make available through our direct sales channel. All items are available to customers entering our stores by either direct shipment to a customer’s home or for in-store pickup. Conclusion Dover Saddlery is a company that prides on their success and always providing 100% customer service to their customers. Utilizing these eight key concepts, along with successful implementation into the company’s initiatives, they will produce overall success and a winning organization. References Aramyan, L. H., Meuwissen, M. M., Oude Lansink, A. M., van der Vorst, J. J., van Kooten, O., van der Lans, I. A. (2009). The perceived impacts of quality assurance systems on tomato supply chain performance. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 20(6), 633-653. Bigliardi, B. (2013). The effect of innovation on financial performance: A research study involving SMEs. Innovation: Management Policy Practice, 15(2): 245-256. Blocher, E. J., Stout, D. E., Juras, P. E., and Cokins, G. (2013) Cost Management: A Strategic Emphasis (6th Ed). McGraw Hill: New York, NY. Chen, J. (2012). Multiple criteria ABC inventory classification using two virtual items. International Journal Of Production Research, 50(6), 1702-1713. Cruceru, A. (2013). Benchmarking a method of improving organizational competitiveness. Romanian Journal Of Marketing, (1), 6-9. Delgado-Hernandez, D., Aspinwall, E. (2008). A framework for building quality into construction projects Part I. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 19(10), 1013-1028. Dinh Thai, H., Igel, B., Laosirihongthong, T. (2010). Total quality management (TQM) strategy and organizational characteristics: Evidence from a recent WTO member. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 21(9), 931-951. Inventory. (2011). Appendix B of Dover Saddlery, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.hotstocked.com/companies/d/dover-saddlery-inc-DOVR-description-52723.html Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (2004). How Strategy Maps Frame an Organizations Objectives. Financial Executive, 20(2), 40-45. Kaskey, V. L. (2013). The Balanced Scorecard: A Comparative Study of Accounting Education and Experience on Common Measure Bias. Advances In Management, 6(7), 22-25. Markiewicz, P. (2013). Methodical Aspects of Applying Strategy Map in an Organization. Business, Management Education / Verslas, Vadyba Ir Studijos, 11(1), 153-167. Meredith, J. R., Shafer , S. M. (2013). Operations management for MBAs (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons. Perdomo-Ortiz, J., Gonzalez-Benito, J., Galende, J. (2009). The intervening effect of business innovation capability on the relationship between Total Quality Management and technological innovation. International Journal Of Production Research, 47(18), 5087-5107. Richards, J. (2012). Total Quality Management. Business Management Strategy, 3(2), 36-42. Rouse, M. (2007, Feb). Quality Assurance (QA). Retrieved from http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/quality-assurance. Sunder, V. (2013). Six Sigma— A Strategy for Increasing Employee Engagement. Journal for Quality Participation, 36(2), 34-38. Talib, F., Rahman, Z., Qureshi, M. N. (2011). Prioritising the practices of total quality management: An analytic hierarchy process analysis for the service industries. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 22(12), 1331-1351. Umayal Karpagam, P. L., Suganthi, L. L. (2012). A Strategy Map of Balanced Scorecard in Academic Institutions for Performance Improvement. IUP Journal Of Business Strategy, 9(3), 7-16. Werner, M. L., Fuyuan, X. (2012). Executing Strategy with the Balanced Scorecard. International Journal Of Financial Research, 3(1), 88-94. Yang, C. (2006). Establishment of a Quality-Management System for Service Industries. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 17(9), 1129-1154.