Culture Shock Essays (1291 words) - Culture, Sociology Of Culture

Culture Shock The United States of America is a country in which many people from all over the world comes to live harmoniously with each other. Unlike Canada, which is a multicultural country, it is a melting pot since each person brings his peculiarity to enrich the culture of this country. But this melting process is not always without pain or hurt. I felt the life in Canada is more comfortable According to John J. Macionis, the author of Sociology, secondary Canadian edition. Culture shock is a state of bewilderment, anxiety, disorientation and distress as an individual suddenly exposed to a social or cultural environment radically different from his own. It happens frequently for the international students and immigrants. Culture conflicts appear not only when students come to school and learn new ways of living there, but also when they come back home and live with their own families or their own societies. The reason for that is the students are young and easy to change, but the adults are not ready to follow their example and adapt to the new situation. When I first come to live in the states, my system of values must change in order for me to survive. When I first came to the states, I was unprepared to live there, that's why I always suffer from stress because of culture shock. I feel that student-teacher relationships in North American are not the same as they were in Hong Kong. Hong Kong students often have high regard for their teachers. In Hong Kong, students never call their teacher by their first name, because it is not respectful to the teacher. Also, they hesitate to ask or to answer questions in class because they don't want to lose their face in showing their ignorance in front of the class, and sometimes because their English is not good enough to form a clear question. And if they give the wrong answer it not only humiliates them but also brings shame on their families. Hong Kong students were taught to be modest and not to display their knowledge freely until being specially called for. All these things can lead to misunderstanding since my teachers thought that I was too shy, or stupid, or abnormal. Sometimes when b eing directly asked for some questions, unlike American students, which are more creative and can always give a fast answer, I have to take a long time to think the question over, because I was afraid to give the incorrect answer. Teachers often feel uncomfortable with my silence and tend to interpret my silence as an indicator of my inability to answer a question. It's a normal thing that American teachers expect Asian students to ask them to explain something difficult. However, Hong Kong students don't do this as we have seen earlier. Moreover, their feedback sometimes leads to more misunderstanding. When teachers see their students listen to them in smiling or in head nodding, they imagine that these students understand the subject very well. In reality, some students mask their emotions and just act like that to be polite, since they think that if they would ask question, the teachers would be hurt for their teaching was not clear enough for the class. I was having low expectat ion from the teacher at that time and that affects my learning. I was stressed and felt disorientation all the time in school. Many teachers do not treat their minority learners as intelligent students, and perhaps as a result, their minority students fail in their classes (Scarcella, 139). In Hong Kong, students stay in the same classroom with a fixed seat everyday in a same year while their teachers come to their class to teach them. Therefore, students can have many friends who always do the same things with them. This helped to build a more close and stable relationship between students. Students are more interdependent. What are important is not me but we. In America, the people are more individualistic. People only pursue their own personal achievement and fulfillment. Relationships between people are often many but temporary or casual. I felt people only care about themselves and I felt that they are very selfish. At that time

Free Essays on Cultural

Cultural Relativism: Is truth defined by our culture or our culture by truth? In his article â€Å"Cultural relativism and cultural values†, Melville Herkovits defines the principle of cultural relativism as â€Å"judgments are based on experience, and experience is interpreted by each individual in terms of his own enculturation† (26). This is the basic premise of cultural relativism, that beliefs, values, and morals are all based on one’s culture. Therefore, since morality is based on society and different societies have different views of right and wrong, there can be no moral absolutes. Since there are no absolutes, under this view of cultural relativism all moral views determined by one’s culture are deemed true whether they conflict or not. Upon first glance, relativism seems like a very appropriate concept of morality in the world. It is clear to see that there are differences of what is acceptable and unacceptable in different societies across the world. Growing up in Western culture I have grown a fondness for meat, especially steak. It is a momentous occasion when I can go out or fix a nice, juicy steak for a meal, the bigger the better. This is not a problem in my culture, save those few health conscience people who say I will die by heart disease. However, if I were raised in an eastern, Hindu, culture these dietary practices would be considered wrong. My act of eating cow would be considered a moral atrocity. From examples like these and many others around the world we can see a good case for different cultures having different moral views, but is that really the case? I believe that at a surface level cultural relativism holds some merit, however if we look deeper into the issue we can find a flawed, and inaccurate theory for the way that the world should work. Some of the biggest arguments given in defense of cultural relativism are the many different practices of different cultures from around th... Free Essays on Cultural Free Essays on Cultural Cultural Relativism: Is truth defined by our culture or our culture by truth? In his article â€Å"Cultural relativism and cultural values†, Melville Herkovits defines the principle of cultural relativism as â€Å"judgments are based on experience, and experience is interpreted by each individual in terms of his own enculturation† (26). This is the basic premise of cultural relativism, that beliefs, values, and morals are all based on one’s culture. Therefore, since morality is based on society and different societies have different views of right and wrong, there can be no moral absolutes. Since there are no absolutes, under this view of cultural relativism all moral views determined by one’s culture are deemed true whether they conflict or not. Upon first glance, relativism seems like a very appropriate concept of morality in the world. It is clear to see that there are differences of what is acceptable and unacceptable in different societies across the world. Growing up in Western culture I have grown a fondness for meat, especially steak. It is a momentous occasion when I can go out or fix a nice, juicy steak for a meal, the bigger the better. This is not a problem in my culture, save those few health conscience people who say I will die by heart disease. However, if I were raised in an eastern, Hindu, culture these dietary practices would be considered wrong. My act of eating cow would be considered a moral atrocity. From examples like these and many others around the world we can see a good case for different cultures having different moral views, but is that really the case? I believe that at a surface level cultural relativism holds some merit, however if we look deeper into the issue we can find a flawed, and inaccurate theory for the way that the world should work. Some of the biggest arguments given in defense of cultural relativism are the many different practices of different cultures from around th...

How each film uses aesthetics to offer a truth about the world Essay

How each film uses aesthetics to offer a truth about the world - Essay Example There are some documentaries that unsettle you to the deepest core of your being, putting you right off your brunch. I'm looking at you, capturing the Friedman’s. There are others that remind you that though the world can be a place fraught with suffering, it is also replete with miracles. Searching for Sugar Man is definitely in the latter category. The 2012 film (and that year's Best Documentary Feature winner) chronicles the rise and fall and unexpected re-rise of a Mexican-American singer-songwriter with all of Bob Dylan's poetic lyricism and righteous anti-establishment rage and none of his success: Rodriguez. After a couple of years in the late 60s and early 70s playing gigs in places named thing like, unironically, The Sewer, Rodriguez returned to a job in construction and a brief flirtation with local politics, surrendering his hopes of a musical career. Haven't heard of him? You must be American. What neither he, nor his producers, nor (probably) his record label knew was that while he was demolishing buildings and doing whatever one does with drywall, his music was fueling the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa, and the artist himself had become a quasi-mythical figure around whom rumors of a spectacularly gruesome onstage suicide were as widely and ferociously traded as the bootleg copies of his two albums. Because of the nature of a dictatorship, South Africans had very little unsanctioned information about the world outside their borders. But even though his fans (which, it seems important to note, seem to be largely white) didn't know who or where Rodriguez was, they did know that his lyrics criticizing unjust economic and social practices (inspired by his native Detroit) gave them a vocabulary with which to resist and begin to dismantle the cruelties and perversions of human dignity they were witnessing. And when a couple of musicians and writers try to hunt down the true biography of their poet and prophet, a pretty magical reunion t akes place. One of the journalists interviewed by the filmmaker describes this unlikely series of events as sounding like "a bad PR campaign" because it was so unlike how he understands the world to work, and Searching for Sugar Man feels like a myth while watching. Rodriguez remains an elusive figure throughout, even after he is rediscovered. He slides through different names and identities as purposefully and smoothly as he walks through the largely abandoned streets of the working-class neighborhood where he still lives in Detroit, and is clearly uncomfortable talking about his remarkable story. But it's a story that makes poets of his fellow construction workers and family as they marvel at how their unassuming friend and father live a dual life as a South African rock star. Though not quite reaching the heights of exuberant aesthetic grace achieved by man wire, Searching for Sugar Man will make you believe in fairy tales. Bernie is a 2011 black comedy film directed by Richard L inklater, and written by Linklater andSkipHollandsworth. The making of the film, based on an article in Texas monthly magazine by Skip Holland worth, whom also co-wrote the comedic film with Linklater, divided citizens ofCartharage, Texas, the small town in East Texas where the Nugent murder occurred. In the film, Linklater includes interviews with several Carthage residents about

Aspects of Business Offers and Proposals Assignment - 2

Aspects of Business Offers and Proposals - Assignment Example According to English Contract Law, it has been recognized that the communication is done through post ultimately gives rise to various practical problems. The offer that is posted and the letter of acceptance which takes several days to arrive is one of the problems by communicating through the post. With reference to the case of â€Å"Household Fire Insurance v Grant† (1879), in order to overcome this difficulty, the courts established the rule of ‘postal acceptance’ which depicts that acceptance of the offer is complete when it is posted (University of London, 2012). According to Article 4, the communication through ‘Electronic Messages’ is regarded as the communication that the parties engaged in an agreement or an offer made by means of data messages. The conception of data messages includes information or data created, despatched, received or accumulated by visual, electronic or magnetic means (United Nations, 2007). As identified in the case of â€Å"Byrne v van Tienhoven† (1880), an offer can be rescinded in any situation or condition before accepting the offer but the revocation should be informed and corresponded to the offeree, though it is not obligatory on behalf of the offeror. It can be stated that a particular offer can be withdrawn in any condition or situation (United Nations, 2007). In this particular case study, the primary consideration would be that whether a contract has already been formed or not between Jones Ltd and Smith Plc. From the case study, it has been identified that Smith Plc is not obliged to go for any such agreement in order to perform services to all the photocopying machines of Jones Ltd because no such contract has been formed and that was just a proposal or an offer.

Interviewing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Interviewing - Coursework Example For behavioral interview, the candidate should prepare for questions like â€Å"how you behaved† rather than â€Å"how you will behave†. These interviews are trickier as they check the present mindedness and promptness of response of the candidates. Best way for preparing for a behavioral interview is predicting and brainstorming questions and suitable answers to them. Unless otherwise instructed, a parole officer needs to be dressed in collar shirt preferably with a tie and dress pant. Flip-flops, stocking hats, baseball hats, knit caps, and mini-skirts are not allowed. The formal dressing inculcates formality in the behavior which aids in the interview preparations. Proper dressing of the candidate serves as a symbol of his/her respect for the job, organization, and the interviewer. Although there is no proper dress code, yet it is preferable for the candidate to wear well pressed collar shirt with a dress pant. Men should preferably wear light shades of blue, white, and grey. For both types of interview, i.e. the traditional interview and the behavioral interview, the aforementioned dress code suffices.

Development of Recycling Company

Development of Recycling Company Executive Summary Recently, the growing utilization of plastics are specifically used domestic purpose and produced from industrial and consumer applications and need to combined with increased consumer awareness surrounding solid waste recycling, has led to an increased demand for recycled plastic resins and products for our general purposes. One of the quickest increasing types of collected plastic materials for recycling is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from post-consumer beverage and water bottles. Replay Plastics will capitalize on the opportunities in the recycled resin and packaging markets through two main divisions: a Recycling Division and a Packaging Division. The Company will create a PET cleaning and refining plant where located in the western United States (all 16 major North American PET recycling plants are currently located in the eastern United States or Canada). To be honest, Its initial capacity will be 46 million pounds, and it will utilize post-consumer bottle feed stock presently collected in California, Oregon and Washington States, which collect over 200 million pounds per year. The Company will be vertically integrated and utilize almost all of its recycled material in its Packaging Division and any surplus materials (clean flake) produced will be sold to outside companies. The extruded sheet may then be sold to manufacturers who will thermoform it into high-visibility packaging or use it in other high value added manufacturing operations. The strapping will be sold to companies who ship large packages or pallets, such as the lumber milling industry. The Company currently has commitments available from customers to purchase the entire product produced. MANAGEMENT Ben Braddock, President who has experienced since 30-years of history and related with encompassing all aspects of Polymer Raw Material, Plastic Conversion Methods, and Venture Development. Moreover, he has founded great ventures in the plastic converting industry, and assisted in the launch of five plastic converting manufacturing plants. In his personal life, Sam McGuire, Executive VP and COO, is a graduate Engineer with almost over 20 years experience in the post-consumer plastics recycling industry and is the inventor of the primary cleaning refining technology used in the process for this project. He has received a patent for his technology and has been directly involved in over twenty-five major post consumer plastics recycling projects. Carl R. Smith, CFO, has over 30 years investment and merchant banking and management experience. He has assisted in raising over $500 million and served as board member and/or officer in over 40 public and private companies. FINANCIAL SUMMARY Moreover, after a four month grow-up period to build the recycling and packaging facilities, buy equipment, and incorporate the business, Replay Plastics will begin a quick turnaround of product. Sales will begin in May, and with over $15 Million in sales the first year, we will see a first year net profit of $2.3 Million. The owners are investing $500,000 each, for a total of $1.5 Million, and are securing an $800K long-term loan. The Company is also looking an investment of $2,700,000 in order to begin operations. Then, these funds will be used for the purchase of one recycling line and one manufacturing line, for create of the plant facilities and for working capital. An outside investor providing this amount would receive 48% equity in Replay, and receive an IRR of 69% from simple dividends alone over the next 5 years. At the end of that period, we will consider a public offering of stock or a buy-out by a related business. Recent information on private sales of similar industry companies has indicated that transactions under $25 million have averaged 5.3 times EBITDA, while transactions in the range of $25-250 million have averaged over 7 times EBITDA. Further details can be found in the Financial Plan, below. 1.1 Objectives Sales passing $15 million in first year, $31 million in year 2, growing to $43 million. Gross margin of 35% or more in first year, 45% in second year then 50% or more. Net profit of 13% in year one, then exceeding 20% annually starting in year two. 1.2 Mission Replay Plastics is a generally manufacturing company dedicated to converting waste plastic materials into commercially viable products, utilizing environmentally friendly recycling and manufacturing methods. We intend to make enough profit to generate a significant return for our investors and to finance continued growth and continued development in quality products. We will also maintain a friendly, fair, and creative work environment, which respects diversity, new ideas and hard work. 1.3 Keys to Success The main keys to the success of the Company are: Secure Supply- Contract for supply of post-consumer bottles and post-industrial manufacturing waste for PET raw material feed stock. Marketing Contractual arrangements for the sale of virtually all initial production. Management Strong senior management with extensive, broad-based, industry-specific experience. 1.4 Potential Risks Unavailable or scarce raw material feed stock for production Replay is confident that it has secured good availability of low cost post-consumer PET bottles (feed stock) derived from post-consumer beverage bottles from California based recycling collectors, and has back up sources identified. Technology employed may be unreliable or unproven Replay will use a proven, patented technology that was developed by one of its principals for the cleaning and recycling phase. The extrusion division will employ commercially proven technology the industry is employing unique recycled PET technology which is used by prominent eastern U.S. manufacturers of PET extrusions. There may not be a market for the Companys products The Industry-wide experience of the Management Team has allowed them to identify markets for the Companys products. Their expertise and reputations have allowed them to obtain commitments for virtually all of the planned initial production. The location may not be near enough to markets The markets that have been identified are primarily in the western U.S., which will provide a distinct advantage to the Company because of freight costs and delivery timing. The Company may not be able to attract top management The Company has assembled a world class management team with proven ability and direct experience in the Companys market segments. Company may not meet environmental standards This environmentally-favorable venture provides for the development of technically feasible and economically viable solutions to PET plastic beverage bottle recycling, as well as environmentally aware in-house re-use practices which filter and return nearly all of the process water to the production lines. The Company may not be able to sell all of its production capability Through the Senior Managements industry-wide contacts, the Company has identified potential customers and received commitments for all of the production potential of the initial facility. Company Summary The Company will capitalize on the opportunities in the recycled resin and packaging markets through two main divisions: a Recycling Division and a Packaging Division. Recycling Division Using a patented process, the Company will create a PET cleaning and refining plant located in the western United States; we have chosen this region because all 16 major North American PET recycling plants are currently located in the eastern United States or Canada, despite western states favorable recycling attitudes among consumers. Its initial annual capacity will be 46 million pounds and it will utilize bottle feed stock from California, Oregon and Washington States, which collect over 200,000,000 pounds per year. The Company will become totally vertically integrated, and use all or almost all of its recycled material in its Packaging Division. Any surplus material produced will be sold to outside companies. Packaging Division We will create a plant (actual facilities to be shared with the Recycling Division) to manufacture extruded plastic roll stock sheet or high-strength strapping, employing state-of-the-art technology developed to utilize recycled PET resin. The extruded sheet will be primarily sold to thermoformers who will convert it into high visibility packaging, as well as laminators and fabricators. The strapping will be sold to commercial users for use as package or pallet strapping. The Company currently has commitments from customers to purchase all of the initial production capacity. Excess flake will be sold to outside customers. 2.1 Company Ownership Replay Plastics is owned by the initial founders, B. Braddock, S. McGuire and C. Smith, who are the proposed three executives of the operating entity. The plan was conceived and developed by these individuals, with the intent to apply their extensive experience and contacts in the industry to building a successful profitable corporation. 2.1.1 Potential Conflict Our COO, Mr. Sam McGuire, the inventor and patent holder of the recycling process to be used by the Company, is a principal in Company A of Chicago, IL. For many years, Company has designed, manufactured and assembled plastic recycling equipment, and has given us quotes on meeting our needs in this area. After a thorough investigation, Replay has found that Company A is able to source or supply the required equipment at considerably lower cost than any other company from which a quote was available. Mr. McGuire has disclosed that Company A has included a smaller than normal margin in their quote on goods they will manufacture, to cover overhead, contingency and profit which might result in a small benefit to him. They have agreed to source all of the equipment possible with no added margin. Replay has concluded that the savings available outweigh any other consideration and that we will purchase the cleaning and refining equipment from Company A. 2.2 Start-up Summary Our start-up expenses are budgeted at $210,000, which is mostly for on-site contractor services during facility preparation. $50,000 has been set aside for legal and accounting, $25,000 for special consulting that may be required during start up and $50,000 each for local engineering and lab equipment and supplies. $30,000 has been set aside as a contingency for the start up period. Our largest Start-up Requirement is the building of the recycling and extrusion facility. Its final value at completion is listed below as a long-term asset of $3,620,000 (excluding expensed items like consultants and engineering listed above). Aside from the building itself, we need $25,000 in machinery and fixtures, $500,000 of inventory (plastic bottle feed stock) and cash to cover us through the initial year. Start-up Funding Start-up Expenses to Fund $210,000 Start-up Assets to Fund $4,790,000 Total Funding Required $5,000,000 Assets Non-cash Assets from Start-up $4,145,000 Cash Requirements from Start-up $645,000 Additional Cash Raised $0 Cash Balance on Starting Date $645,000 Total Assets $4,790,000 Liabilities and Capital Liabilities Current Borrowing $0 Long-term Liabilities $800,000 Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills) $0 Other Current Liabilities (interest-free) $0 Total Liabilities $800,000 Capital Planned Investment Founders $1,500,000 Investor $2,700,000 Additional Investment Requirement $0 Total Planned Investment $4,200,000 Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses) ($210,000) Total Capital $3,990,000 Total Capital and Liabilities $4,790,000 Total Funding $5,000,000 Start-up Requirements Start-up Expenses Legal Accounting $50,000 Stationery etc. $5,000 Consultants $25,000 Lab Equipment $50,000 Local Engineering $50,000 Misc Start up $30,000 Other $0 Total Start-up Expenses $210,000 Start-up Assets Cash Required $645,000 Start-up Inventory $500,000 Other Current Assets $25,000 Long-term Assets $3,620,000 Total Assets $4,790,000 Total Requirements $5,000,000 Products Replay Plastics will utilize two processes in the same facility to produce: Cleaned and recycled plastic PET flake (RPET), recovered from post-consumer beverage bottles and manufacturing waste produced by its sheet customers Extruded roll stock sheet PET. Extruded PET high-strength strapping for securing large packages or pallet loads; each using 100% RPET produced in-house 3.1 Product Description Roll stock sheet will be sold to custom thermoformers primarily to be used to produce high-visibility packaging. It will also be sold to manufacturers of laminates and fabricated plastic products. High strength PET packaging strapping is used to secure packages or pallets in such industries as lumber milling and corrugated and other paper production. Both products will be extruded from post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. The recycling programs in California, Washington and Oregon collect in excess of 200,000,000 pounds of PET bottles per annum. Replay initial capacity will be 46,000,000 pounds. Using a patented process, Replay will clean and refine the PET material from the post-consumer bottle stock and post-industrial manufacturing waste. The PET flake resin produced will be extruded into roll stock sheet or high-strength strapping. Although the Company expects to convert all of its bottle feed stock into extruded products, any surplus flake will be sold to outside manufacturers. 3.2 Competitive Comparison While quality and delivery are important factors to our potential clients, price is most often the determining factor in a buying decision. Good-quality packaging products manufactured from recycled (less expensive) resins, as close as practical to the end customers operations, will be most competitive and achieve a significant market share. These factors have helped to determine the business parameters of Replay Plastics. 3.3 Sourcing In excess of 200,000,000 pounds of post-consumer PET beverage bottles are collected and available as feed stock for manufacturers who can re-process this material into commercial products. The Company has excellent relations with the firms and associations that collect and distribute these materials and has been assured that its requirements will be available for the foreseeable future. The Company has entered negotiations with a California based source of post-consumer bottles and is confident that sufficient volumes are available on a contract basis from this source to satisfy its requirements. In addition, the Company intends to purchase production waste from its sheet customers and blend it into its feed stock. Currently, the majority of the post-consumer PET bottles collected in California, Oregon and Washington are exported to China. The Chinese have absorbed the amounts surplus to the use in North America. Their interest has kept the industry in the position of being able to maintain a steady price range for this bottle stock. A significant percentage of all sales of such bottle stock are managed by Plastics Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC), an industry funded marketing agency which operates similarly to a co-operative. They accept bids from potential buyers on behalf of the firms which act as consolidators, which accumulate stocks from the smaller, individual bottle-recycling depots. Some amount of the available stocks are regularly bought by recyclers in eastern North America who focus on the carpet manufacturers who use RPET resin in their process, but the high cost of transport from the western U.S. makes eastern sources more desirable. Replay has a good relationship with Company B, one of the larger consolidators in California. Company B has indicated a desire to contract to supply Replay with all of its raw material needs. They prefer to deal with a local consumer such as Replay, rather than the uncertainty and extra preparation requirements of the export market. There are other sources of post-consumer feed stock known to Replay, and we are confident that we will have sufficient materials available for our production needs. 3.4 Technology Sam McGuire, a key member of our Management team, is one of the original innovators of cleaning and refining technology for post-consumer PET, and we will be utilizing his patented process in our recycling facility. Sam has worked in the establishment and operation of facilities employing similar technologies over the last several years. On the manufacturing side, Management has been an integral part of the advancement of industry practices over the last twenty years or so, and includes in their knowledge base most, if not all, of the state-of-the-art available equipment and manufacturing techniques. Market Analysis Summary Strong demand for recycled plastics is working in the industrys favor. Major users of plastic packaging, apparently responding to consumer desires, have begun incorporating at least some recycled plastic content in their products as part of the growing interest in recycling. Recycled resin demand is on the rise as prices for the two major recycled resins, PET and HDPE, continue to hold value or appreciate against their virgin counterparts. In volume, PET is currently the number one recycled resin. Supply of recycled PET is in excess of 800 million pounds per year. This figure is expected to grow, reaching over 1 billion pounds during the next few years. The plastics industry has developed new markets and applications for recycled resins from both post-consumer and post-industrial sources. PET leads the recycled recovered resins as the most visible and valuable, and its use is increasing. Of the total 3.7 billion pounds of PET consumed in 1997, just 16% was from recycled sources. Of the more than 90 billion pounds of plastics produced annually in the United States, less than 5% is from recycled sources. Plastics, after aluminium, represent the second highest value material in the waste stream and have the highest projected growth rate. Markets and uses for recycled plastics are rapidly expanding. Plastic containers are being collected at the curb for recycling in nearly 500 communities, representing more than 4 million households. U.S. demand for recycled plastic will continue to expand and new markets will develop as technologies permit the efficient segregation and reprocessing of high-purity resins. Improved quality of resins, environmental issues and higher prices for virgin resin will contribute to growth. Packaging is expected to be the largest market segment for recycled plastics, with sheet and lumber following. Surveys indicate that Americans are increasingly willing to collect and separate discarded packages, foregoing a degree of convenience to make products more disposable, and even paying a premium for a recycled item. Increasingly, communities are refusing to consider incineration until every effort is made first to recycle; public sentiment is strongly in favor of products that can be recycled or are made of recycled materials. In recent years, the household recycling rate of PET bottles has more than doubled to 30% of all PET soft drink bottles sold. In fact, PETs recycling rate is the fastest growing among all beverage containers. The future of PET recycling is even brighter than it has been in the past. PET intrinsic scrap value is second only to aluminium among container materials. The plastics industry has launched a research and development program aimed at increasing PET recycling. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plastic soft drink bottles account for approximately 2% of the solid waste discarded in America. The EPA has set a national goal to recycle 25% of the municipal solid waste stream and the industry is committed to achieving its share of that important g oal. The recycling industry intends to accelerate the rate of plastic recycling as part of its commitment to develop solutions to the solid waste problem. Industry analysts have projected that 50% of all PET containers will be recycled by the year 2007. More plastics will be recycled annually than any other recyclable material. Replay believes a significant answer to Americas waste problem lies in creating high value, recycled thermoformable sheet and other extruded products for the packaging market. Although more than 200 million pounds of PET post-consumer materials are collected in the western United States each year, there is presently no local cleaning and refining facility converting the bottles into resins suitable for re-manufacturing. Originally, recycled PET (RPET) was used primarily in the carpet fiber industry, which is located along the eastern seaboard. The early development of the RPET industry was therefore focused in the eastern USA, with eastern states adopting the first bottle deposit laws that resulted in collection of post-consumer bottles that can be recycled. Recently, California, Oregon and Washington have adopted bottle deposit programs, and accumulation of recyclable materials in those states has begun. With all of the cleaning and recycling plants and the majority of consumers traditionally located in the eastern part of the country, development of consumers of recycled flake and down-line products, such as film and sheet, has been slow to develop in th e West. A strong demand for post-consumer bottles from Asia has prevented the buildup of inventories and reduced the pressure for the collection industry to find or develop western markets. There is currently no independent extrusion plant of recycled polyterephthalate (PET) sheet in the western United States or Canada that services the roll stock requirements of major custom and proprietary formers. With the development of the recycling industry for PET starting in the eastern part of the country, and the preponderance of consumers of sheet there as well, development of independent extrusion facilities using RPET has been slow to develop. It appears that in order to attract such companies, local sources of RPET would have to available. While there are customers in the West for the products, contracting a supply and shipping it from the East makes the venture unattractive. Our founders recognize that an opportunity exists and propose a vertically integrated conversion facility that will employ state-of-the-art technologies to produce extruded sheet and high strength strapping from 100% recycled PET post-consumer bottle stock, cleaned and refined in our own facility. 4.1 Target Market Segment Strategy The Company has chosen its target markets because recycled PET (RPET) is in high demand as flake resin by converters, as roll stock sheet used to produce high visibility packaging and as high strength strapping for the lumber industry. Sales are price-sensitive, so that proximity to markets and feed stock source provide a competitive edge. Replay Plastics identified an opportunity to take advantage of both circumstances in the western United States.

Do Political Campaign Contributions Impact the Outcome of Elections? :: essays research papers

Do Political Campaign Contributions Impact the Outcome of Elections? In the process of searching for a research question that has the possibility of gaining positive results one must find a dependent variable in addition to several independent variables that might be a direct cause or a factor in the dependent variable. In observing major political elections throughout my life I have noticed a recurring trend. In many elections one candidate outspends their opponent in an attempt to gain victory. I intend to set up a research design to determine whether independent variables concerning campaign contributions have an effect on the outcome of elections.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As campaign finance reform remains a hot topic in congress with legislation such as the McCain-Feinghold Bill, it is important to determine if campaign spending affects the outcome of elections. If the results this question indicate a direct relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable then legislative restrictions might necessary. If campaign spending does not factor in on the outcome of elections, then maybe there is nothing wrong with a candidate outspending their opponent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Several articles and books have been written on this subject that I have found useful. According to Ruth S. Jones(1981) â€Å"These sentiments are often supplemented by a belief that the only way a minority party can win is by outspending opponents.† Throughout the article Jones focuses in on this trend. If this assumption is true it would indicate that outspending an incumbent is necessary to gain office.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Committee for Economic Development found similar results(1968), â€Å"Candidates with access to vast personal or family fortunes have a substantial advantage in the pursuit of high office.† This means that a wealthy candidate can in essence buy a victory in an election. This committee’s research has provided several facts toward my research plan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the contrary, in an article by Gary C. Jacobsen(1978),†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦spending by challengers has a substantial impact on election outcomes, whereas spending by incumbents has relatively little effect.† These findings add another Wrinkle in the process of framing my research design by forcing me to differentiate if spending by incumbents and challengers has a different impact. This article refers to a number of recent studies that found that there is a relationship between how much money is spent and how well a candidate does on election day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the twentieth century events have occurred that indicate that campaign spending in some instances factored in on the results of elections. Do Political Campaign Contributions Impact the Outcome of Elections? :: essays research papers Do Political Campaign Contributions Impact the Outcome of Elections? In the process of searching for a research question that has the possibility of gaining positive results one must find a dependent variable in addition to several independent variables that might be a direct cause or a factor in the dependent variable. In observing major political elections throughout my life I have noticed a recurring trend. In many elections one candidate outspends their opponent in an attempt to gain victory. I intend to set up a research design to determine whether independent variables concerning campaign contributions have an effect on the outcome of elections.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As campaign finance reform remains a hot topic in congress with legislation such as the McCain-Feinghold Bill, it is important to determine if campaign spending affects the outcome of elections. If the results this question indicate a direct relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable then legislative restrictions might necessary. If campaign spending does not factor in on the outcome of elections, then maybe there is nothing wrong with a candidate outspending their opponent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Several articles and books have been written on this subject that I have found useful. According to Ruth S. Jones(1981) â€Å"These sentiments are often supplemented by a belief that the only way a minority party can win is by outspending opponents.† Throughout the article Jones focuses in on this trend. If this assumption is true it would indicate that outspending an incumbent is necessary to gain office.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Committee for Economic Development found similar results(1968), â€Å"Candidates with access to vast personal or family fortunes have a substantial advantage in the pursuit of high office.† This means that a wealthy candidate can in essence buy a victory in an election. This committee’s research has provided several facts toward my research plan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the contrary, in an article by Gary C. Jacobsen(1978),†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦spending by challengers has a substantial impact on election outcomes, whereas spending by incumbents has relatively little effect.† These findings add another Wrinkle in the process of framing my research design by forcing me to differentiate if spending by incumbents and challengers has a different impact. This article refers to a number of recent studies that found that there is a relationship between how much money is spent and how well a candidate does on election day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the twentieth century events have occurred that indicate that campaign spending in some instances factored in on the results of elections.

Psychology of Religion

Religion has been around since the earliest days.   Its presence in the lives of ancient people has provided some of the greatest defining moments for them.   Not only were their lives have been dramatically changed by their worship of God but the history of the whole religious community in the world as well. Over time, man has evolved and transformed his form of worship into a higher, or in his terms, grander, level of adoration. The earliest and most transparent symbols of man's god are the nature around him, fire, sun, water, animals, trees, etc. They were a constant reminder of an eternal presence of a higher being that never fails to love and protect his people. This being, who has been given countless names, has served as mankind's greatest indescribable source of strength and inspiration. However, man, due to his insatiable quest and desire to worship more and to know God more, has in turn faced one of his most painful fates in terms of his religion.   He has pushed himself harder to be the one among a thousand many who intimately knows God best.   This struggle to rise above the so-called flocks of God provided a feeling that aims perfection at all costs. Perfection, in a strictest sense, does not tolerate mistakes, provides the harshest critiques, and requires the utmost attention and dedication.   There is no place for failure, or if there would be one, a genuine penance is needed, sometimes to the point of being physically painful. When man aims perfection in his religion and worship, he opens to attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and rituals that would make him appear higher and grander than anyone else.   This perception of a perfect act of worship becomes the central goal in life, diminishing all that stands in the way, including the most basic and essential aspects of human life – relationships. To what extent of faith, worship, and religion is considered extreme and unhealthy? What makes a certain behavior or belief unusual or sometimes, hurtful at all?   To give a clearer and more definite answers to the questions basically require an explanation of how an individual expresses his faith. Psychologists, psychotherapists, and those who cater professionally and medically to the treatment and study of the mental and emotional well-being have been witnesses to the importance of one's faith in his daily life.   Religion, as mentioned earlier, can provide inspiration and strength to move forward and to recover tremendously from life's greatest challenges and battles. It is not against psychology or any other branch of medical science to deprive an individual of an encouragement to grow on his faith.   But neither is it tolerant and kind towards harmful and unhealthy behaviors that resulted from that exact same faith.   Faith, religion, worship or any forma of service that gives inner peace for the heart and mind should be nothing but beneficial for a person. However, man has the inclination to go beyond what he is capable of. Religion has been turned into something that easily masks the harsh challenges of life. While it has been once a gentle source of inspiration, it has become a dark shadow that constantly haunts a person to be extremely loyal, devoted, and focused in his act of faith.   Psychology would tell us to face life equipped with mental and emotional knowledge and strength, not with dangerous behaviors and conduct. Therapists and researchers have provided us evidences and facts over the years that proved a person's addiction to perfect his form and style of worship.   Like any other forms of abuse – drugs, alcohol, sex, and food – religion harms the physical health, poisons the mind, and affects interpersonal relationships. When there is too much time and attention dedicated to something, a tendency to be bias in thinking and judgment would eventually occur. While a prayer is only supposed to be uttered in silence and solace, addiction to religion triggers intense arguments and becomes a rationalization to hide or cover inner personal issues, like anger, rage, lust, or guilt In the article written by   Ryan & VanVonderen (2000), religious addiction was defined by looking at the whole addiction process in general. Addiction, like substance use, for instance, can change our moods.   Alcohol and drugs can give us sensations during the onset of use. The sensations that we feel may be pleasant at all, but in order for our bodies to consistently feel that way, we need to be addicted to it, which requires or pushes us to use more.But that isn't always the case for some. For them, substance use, or the addiction, could stop them from feeling anything at all. Numbness is what they desire, probably to free themselves from experiencing emotional pain. Whatever the reasons for continuous use, this process of dependence to achieve a certain feeling is called tolerance. The hardest part in the whole addiction is the withdrawal. This happens when the substance is not always available or present; making its absence and the effects it brings to our body unbearably painful and hard. Like substance use, religious addiction can also be experienced through these three processes, the change of moods, tolerance and withdrawal.   Slobodzien, in his compilation of literature studies by various researchers, cited that there are two types of addiction.   Alcohol, drugs, and food fall under substance addiction, while relationship, sex, and religion fall under process addiction. Perhaps a more definite way to define religious addiction is the extreme or fanatical way one person dedicates himself to his religion.   There are certain specific rituals that he religiously practices, to the point of being compulsive. The practice then or the devotion becomes a pathological and physiological habit that makes him too dependent on the rituals or the religion, as a whole. Normally, a devout person balances things out in terms of his faith and his responsibilities.   He knows how to stand back and let his faith work out for the best, but at the same time he also knows how and when to take charge.   An individual may have intense faith and devotion to a god, but he doesn't make it a habit to be compulsively perfect and present in every practice and ritual. Religious addiction becomes bad or unhealthy when a person starts to develop this idea or imagination that religion, per se, can solve the problems in life. Addicts develop this false image of a stress-and-problem-free life that only happens when one is habitually practicing a certain ritual. Their strict mental attachment to their practices draws them away from the real picture of life, which is normally full of challenges and strife that we actually have to face and overcome. This imagination can turn into a hallucination, something they falsely and extremely believed in. And like substance addiction, a mood pattern gradually develops, and makes them experience both the processes and effects of tolerance and withdrawal. Shifting our focus away from extreme results of addiction to religion, that is, suicide, murder, and self-injury, we find ordinary behaviors and rituals that nonetheless bother and threaten our usual performance.   Prayers, church service, evangelization, meditation, and all other forms of rituals, can be detrimental to our inner being if the habits become the central focus of our lives. Ritualistic prayers, scripture reading, meditation, and even yoga, if done according to our objectives that they can indeed fix the mess in our lives,   could disturb the normal events and circumstances of our daily lives.   These habits could become a scripture, one that rigidly forces a person to be completely obedient to follow rules, standards, and even commandments from the Holy Books. This kind of behavior needs psychological treatment when the person is no longer attach to the surrounding around him, when he has completely forgotten and neglected the necessary things needed for his physical and emotional health. An extreme devotion to attain spiritual satisfaction provokes a person to defend his god, his religion, and his beliefs.   This is not kind or healthy at all for the social aspects of a person because he would feel extreme rage, anger, fear, and hatred towards somebody or something that does not agree with his beliefs. If he sees the world as somewhat different and far from his own point of view, he withdraws from social and physical contacts, to the point of depriving himself of the intimacy of love, friendship, and romance. This attitude requires psychological treatment when an individual possesses uncontrollable angry behaviors that are not logical at all. If untreated, this feeling of defensiveness could provoke him to engage not only in verbal attacks, but in physical ones as well. There is also the struggle for superiority, which is not at all unrelated to perfection. When one struggles to be superior and is obsessed with achieving it,   he develops this false image of himself as the chosen one, the messenger of God, or that someone who has been in close contact with God. Having this image is a selfish and self-righteous way to declare superiority because it sprang from an illusion, and not from reality. This attitude has reportedly been the cause of many religious scandals in the past, especially when a person has reaches the point where he denies and hates himself for being human. Psychologists consider it as a serious psychological disorder when this led a person to change something in himself, to the point of hurting his body physically or changing or removing his sexuality. When all these self-expressions of faith become a nasty habit that destroys the physical, emotional, and mental aspects, a call for immediate psychological treatment is necessary.   Addiction, after all, is a very hard habit to break and to forget, one that requires a lengthy process and full cooperation (Slobodzien, n. d.). There are existing religious groups, which some have been labeled as cults, that demand and oblige the followers to give up something or everything of themselves just to please the god of their worship (Emick, 2007). Some have been too controversial enough to be ignored by the press and the people.   Their once discreet way of handling the people have been exposed and have shown their twisted concept that human emotion, feelings, and sensations are not godly, divine, and sacred. Thus, punishing themselves physically for being human.   These groups, led by a leader who primarily pushes the followers to be strictly perfect in every sense of their faith, have received harsh critics and judgments both from the medical and non-medical world. Psychology knows best the treatment of one addicted to religion. It is not easy to remove the religious and negative habits of worship without looking at an individual's personal background. A person's roots are always the best way and place to start in treating his unusual habits. What are the person's family upbringing, his social environment, and even his spiritual and religious beliefs? These questions would surely point the painful truth and causes behind his addiction and bizarre forms of worship. A psychological treatment is necessary when a religious person has finally lost his ability to think and to reason rationally and objectively and when he has developed a certain obsession towards a ritual or a habit that he finds hard to control and stop. In some cases, religious addiction has reached the worst scenario when the health and normal behavioral habits, like eating and sleeping, have been badly affected.   Some experiences severe body pains or headaches that are the results of pushing themselves hard to perform certain rituals. Treating religious addiction, like any psychological disorder, must be completely understood in order to determine its origins or the factors that caused its development.   Counseling is primarily the first step. It is through talk therapy that the person starts or slowly opens up his own behaviors and the reasons he does them. Psychotherapy, or any other psychological therapy, would enable an individual to share his own views, feelings, and ideas without being contradicted or discriminated. Through regular therapy, many individuals achieve success in treating and understanding their unusual behaviors.   Hearing advice and counsel from psychologists or therapies is also a very effective way in overcoming the addiction. In cases when a patient has been declared mentally disturbed, physically unable to care for himself, or has the tendency to harm himself or other people due to his addiction, rehabilitation is the better treatment. Other alternative treatments that are considered helpful and effective are therapeutic activities that involve the use of mind and body to perform well. Self-help groups or group counseling are also beneficial. References Emick, J. (2007). New Religions in the twentieth century.   Alternative Religions. Retrieved Jan 17, 2006 from    http://altreligion.about.com/library/weekly/aa042702a.htm?terms=new+century Ryan, D. S. and VanVonderen, J. (2000). When Religion Goes Bad,   Part 2 Religious Addiction. Spiritual Abuse Recovery Resources. Retrieved Jan 17, 2006 from http://www.spiritualabuse.com/dox/gobad2.htm Slobodzien, J. (no date). Religious Fanaticism and Poly-behavioral Addiction. The   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cauldron: A Pagan Forum. Retrieved Jan 17, 2006 from http://www.ecauldron.com/articles/archives/2006/05/entry_51.php

Sicilian Proverbs, Sayings, and Expressions

Sicilian Proverbs, Sayings, and Expressions Sicilian is a Romance language mainly spoken in Sicily, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. The language is distinct from Italian, though the two languages have influenced each other and some people speak a dialect that combines elements of both. If you are ​traveling to Sicily or one of its nearby islands, you will want to familiarize yourself with some common Sicilian proverbs and expressions. Faith Like the rest of Italy, Sicily has been hugely influenced by the theology and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. The language is filled with expressions related to faith, sin, and divine justice. Ammuccia lu latinu gnuranza di parrinu.Latin hides the stupidity of the priest. Fidi sarva, no lignu di varca.Faith is salvation, not the wood of a ship. Jiri n celu ognunu và ²; larmu ccà ¨, li forzi no.Everyone wants to go to heaven; the desire is there but the fortitude is not. Lu pintimentu lava lu piccatu.Repentance washes away sin. Lu Signiuruzzu li cosi, li fici dritti, vinni lu diavulu e li sturcà ¬u.God made things straight, the devil came and twisted them. Zoccu à ¨ datu da Diu, nun pà ² mancari.What is given by God, cant be lacking. Money Many Sicilian proverbs, like those in English, are expressions of financial wisdom and advice that have been passed down through the ages, including recommendations about buying, selling, and living within ones means. Accatta caru e vinni mircatu.Buy good quality and sell at the market price. Accatta di quattru e vinni dottu.Buy at the cost of four and sell at the cost of eight. Cu accatta abbisogna di centocchi; cu vinni dun sulu.Buyer beware. Cui nun voli pagari, sassuggetta ad ogni pattu.Who doesnt intend to pay, signs any contract. La scarsizza fa lu prezzu.Scarcity sets the price. Omu dinarusu, omu pinsirusu.A wealthy man is a pensive man. Riccu si pà ² diri cui campa cu lu so aviri.One who lives within his means can be said to be rich. Sà ¬ggiri prestamenti, pagari tardamenti; cu sa qualchi accidenti, non si ni paga nenti.Collect promptly, pay slowly; who knows, in case of an accident, youll pay nothing. Unni ccà ¨ oru, ccà ¨ stolu.Gold attracts a crowd. Zicchi e dinari su forti a scippari.Ticks and money are difficult to pluck out. Food Drink Sicily is famous for its cuisine, and its no surprise that the language has several sayings about food and drink. These will surely come in handy when youre out dining with family and friends. Mancia cudu e vivi friddu.Eat warm and drink cold. Mancia di sanu e vivi di malatu.Eat with gusto but drink in moderation. Non cà ¨ megghiu sarsa di la fami.Hunger is the best sauce. Weather Seasons Like other Mediterranean destinations, Sicily is known for its mild climate. The only unpleasant time of year might be February- the worst month, according to one Sicilian saying. Aprili fa li ciuri e le biddizzi, lonuri lhavi lu misi di maju.April makes the flowers and the beauty, but May gets all the credit. Burrasca furiusa prestu passa.A furious storm passes quickly. Frivareddu à ¨ curtuliddu, ma nun cà ¨ cchià ¹ tintu diddu.February may be short but its the worst month. Giugnettu, lu frummentu sutta lu lettu.In July, store the grain under the bed. Misi di maju, mà ¨ttiti n casa ligna e furmaggiu.Use your time in May to stock up for winter. Pruvulazzu di jinnaru crrica lu sularu.A dry January means a filled hayloft. Si jinnaru un jinnarà ­a, frivaru malu pensa.If it isnt wintry in January then expect the worst in February. Una bedda jurnata nun fa stati.One beautiful day doesnt make a summer. Miscellaneous Some Sicilian expressions are common in English, too, such as  batti lu ferru mentri à ¨ cudu  (strike while the iron is hot). The sayings below can be used in a variety of situations. A paisi unni chi vai, comu vidi fari fai.When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Batti lu ferru mentri à ¨ cudu.Strike while the iron is hot. Cani abbaia e voi pasci.Dogs bark and oxen graze. Cu vigghia, la pigghia.The early bird catches the worm. Cui cerca, trova; cui sà ¨cuta, vinci.Who seeks, finds; who perseveres, wins. Cui multi cosi accumenza, nudda nni finisci.Who starts many things,  finishes nothing. Cui scerri cerca, scerri trova.Who looks for a quarrel, finds a quarrel. Di guerra, caccia e amuri, pri un gustu milli duluri.In war, hunting, and love you suffer a thousand pains for one pleasure. È gran pazzia lu cuntrastari cu du nun pà ´ vinciri nà © appattari.Its insane to oppose when you can neither win nor compromise. Li ricchi cchià ¹ chi nnhannu, cchià ¹ nni vonnu.The more you have, the more you want. Ntra greci e greci nun si vinni abbraciu.Theres honor among thieves. Nun mà ¨ttiri lu carru davanti li voi.Dont put the cart before the horse. Ogni mali nun veni pri nà ²ciri.Not every pain comes to harm you. Quannu amuri tuppulà ¬a, un lu lassari nmenzu la via.When love knocks, be sure to answer. Supra lu majuri si nsigna lu minuri.We learn by standing on the shoulders of the wise. Unni ccà ¨ focu, pri lu fumu pari.Where theres smoke, theres fire. Vali cchià ¹ un tistimonà ¬u di visu, chi centu doricchia.The testimony of one eyewitness is worth more than the hearsay of a hundred.

Money Saver Essays - Security Engineering, Computer Security

Money Saver Essays - Security Engineering, Computer Security Money Saver Create an application to manage budget on daily/weekly/monthly/yearly basis. The application only generates alerts and messages for the user by reading his accounts and does not have any kind of writing or editing access for the accounts. Basic Features: The user will first enter his own account on the application by entering his details like name, DOB, gender, phone number, email address, username and an password for the account. The user will enter the information of all the credit and debit cards he owns in the application and also the bank account detail s. The application will access the bank account and will get read-only values from the bank and display them. The user will enter his income for every day/week/month /year. The user will enter his savings for every day/week/month/year. The user will enter his budget for every day/week/month. The user will also enter a certain amount or percentage as a penalty/interest if he exceeds the budget. The user will get several alerts from the application as to when he reaches the half and when he is near to his complete budget. The user will also get a warning when he has used up all his budget. If user exceeds the budget, he will have to repay the amount he used on the next cycle with penalty/interest which is decided by him. If he fails to do so the interest amount will keep on increasing every cycle. All the expenses will be stored in the application which he will be able to access to check and keep track of them. Extra Features: If the user is going on a trip or vacation. The application will help him in setting a vacation budget. The user will have to enter the vacation details as to how long he is going , where he is going , cost of staying, traveling and if he is going with family or friends and where he is going. The application will also have an option for family vacation budget if he is going with family or individual (for himself) vacation budget if he is going with friends or something. He will get time to time alerts as he is using the budget. If he uses some extra money, he will have to return it during the next cycle with interest (decided by user). The interest amount will go on increasing if he fails to completely return the extra money. Security: Account Security: The user will have to create an account in order to use the application. The account password will be highly sensitive. The password should contain at least 8 characters with at least 1 upper-case character, 1 special character , 2 numbers, no spaces. The password will then be encrypted and stored in the database. Once the application is installed on the device, it will authorise the device. The application can be authorised to maximum of two devices only. The username will be remembered by the device but he user will have to enter the password every time he tries to login. The application will have two-way authentication. If the user tries to login from any other device, application will send a code via text message or email, the user will have to enter the code in order to login. Bank Details Security: As I don't possess much knowledge about security so it would be risky if I handle the security of the bank details instead, I can use third party applications to store them or ask an expert to build a secure system for me. As if the information is hacked. It will be disastrous and I would face a huge loss and won't be able to pay the debts. This can also be done for Account Security. As it would be easy for me as I would not have to deal with any kind of security and the issues related to it .

Measuring Public Sector Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Measuring Public Sector Performance - Essay Example Then, common models of performance measurement and how they were developed are investigated. Third, the public and private sectors are compared and contrasted to highlight similarities and differences in their functions, goals, and outputs. Fourth, key developments in private and public sector performance measures are reviewed and discussed to highlight the convergence in the efforts of each sector to address stakeholder expectations. The paper concludes with a set of observations that disprove the hypothesis by showing that performance measurement as a basis for financial accountability and management in both the private and public sectors has become more complex and difficult and provide challenges for everyone. Â  Any discussion of organizational performance begins with an understanding of the nature of human organizations and why they exist. Like the human beings who establish them, every organization exists for a purpose, a set of goals or objectives that has to be achieved. By custom and for analytical convenience, organizations are classified based on their main purpose; thus, there are private-sector, public-sector, not-for-profit, institutional, voluntary, and mixed organizations. Table 1 summarises each of these organizational types, their specific purposes, and some basic examples of each. Â  Regardless of the type, an organization can be said to be successful if it meets the purpose(s) for which it is established, and with success comes its continued growth and existence. Otherwise, it would be better for an organization that does not meet its purpose for existing to close down. This is where accounting as a management tool proves its usefulness because it helps provide public sector organizations with the means to measure performance (Jones et al., 2002).

Case Study 9&10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Case Study 9 - Essay Example In fact, â€Å"cultural sensitivity, cultural intelligence, and certain specific global leadership skills are essential for inspiring people from cultures other than ones own† (DuBrin, 2013, p. 451). In the given example, the way Calvin interpreted the remark given by his team-leader in Great Britain demonstrates the low level of his cultural sensitivity. Actually, he tried to find the reason of low sales in lack of cooperation within his international team not in his managerial skills. Hence, the most important issue is that he tries to fix international challenges in American way. In order to provide the solution, above all it is necessary to mention that commitment is an essential part of each team. Therefore, each member of the company should easily recognize the general aim in order to stay motivated at the workplace. In a given example, the very idea of creating disaster insurance is referring to the universal value of security. Nevertheless, the company did not appropriately notice the difference in specific causes of insecurity. For instance, USA suffers from hurricanes, Japan is facing constant earthquakes, and Great Britain is not that preoccupied with natural but artificial anomalies. Consequently, the final product must be different for these countries to increase commitment of the international team. The advantages of this approach are evident in world experience. In this context, McDonalds company is the best example of effective management in international teams. It gives enough freedom to the local representatives to sale the goods in favor to local tastes. However, the potential disadvantage is that team can become so independent that it will not need American managers to be successful on the local market. In other words, it can be too late to change the interpersonal relations within the company. Thus, there are several methods to increase the effectiveness of the international