Succubus Revealed Chapter 20

I thought about it for half a heartbeat, and even that was too long. There was no question what my decision could be. Seth and I were bound together. Even if it had been for Jerome's convenience, Seth had found my soul across the incredible reaches of the dream world. Seth and I had found each other, life after life, and continually fallen in love. Even if we didn't consciously remember each other, some inner part of ourselves had connected. I remembered Roman's words. Over and over, you find each other and lose each other, you bicker and fight, throw it all away on mistrust and lack of communication. Are you going to let that continue? No, the cycle was going to end. On my terms. These lives we'd lived . . . the pain we'd suffered . . . it wouldn't be for nothing. It didn't matter if Seth hated me and never wanted to see me again. I wouldn't abandon him – not now, not ever. â€Å"No deal,† I said to Roman. â€Å"Seth and I are doing this together, whether he knows it or not.† Roman didn't try to talk me out of it. He simply said, â€Å"You understand what's at stake?† â€Å"I do.† If we failed here, I wouldn't just lose my soul. I would also be looking forward to an eternity in Hell's service, with superiors none-too-pleased that I'd shaken up the status quo. I didn't doubt that there was some article or clause somewhere that said I couldn't be penalized for this, but as I'd noted before, Hell had plenty of ways of punishing people off the record. The Las Vegas position would probably no longer exist, forcing me to relocate to some truly terrible location. Hannibal called the court back to order, and Roman relayed my decision. Hannibal clicked his tongue disapprovingly. â€Å"Risking it all for the new car, eh? Well, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, it falls in your hands now. You've heard the evidence – and lack thereof. Do you believe there is enough ‘proof' to support the petitioner's case? Should both contracts – that these individuals willingly signed – be invalidated?† So much for justice being blind. The jury cast votes anonymously, which I found interesting. It was a small nod toward impartiality, theoretically providing protection to those who voted against their side's best interests. From what both Roman and Marcel had told me, I could see it happening among the angels. But did it ever happen with demons? Even if they knew the right or wrong of a situation, their ultimate goal was to accrue souls for Hell. Would any of them be moved by a case enough to go with their conscience? Was it possible that some spark of goodness could still endure in the darkness of this place? Judging from the quick way everyone scrawled their responses on the pieces of paper given, it didn't look like it. There was no hesitation. The demons wore cocky, self-assured expressions. Angels and demons came from the same stock, but I'd been told that once they spent enough time in Hell, that angelic nature was eroded away. These demons weren't going to lose any sleep about what became of my soul. The votes were collected by the bailiff. He sorted them into two suspiciously similarly sized piles and handed them to the judge. Hannibal did a quick count and nodded to himself before addressing us. A new stillness fell over the room. â€Å"Here we go,† murmured Roman. â€Å"The jury has spoken,† said Hannibal. â€Å"Six to six. We have a tie.† There was a collective exhalation in the room, and then the tension ramped back up as everyone waited for the next step. I shouldn't have been surprised by the tie, but some part of me had been hoping maybe, just maybe, a wayward demon would've voted in my favor. I had my answer. There was no spark of goodness here. It couldn't survive in Hell. â€Å"In accordance with article . . . fuck, I don't know . . . article something-or-other, we'll be going to a tiebreaker vote,† said Hannibal. The bailiff returned with an ornate vase, which he handed to the judge. Hannibal dumped out the contents, revealing a white marble and a black marble. â€Å"In this case, it really is as simple as black and white. If the black one's drawn, a demon casts the deciding vote. If it's white, an angel will.† He paused, looking bemused. â€Å"That's so cliched. I don't suppose we could switch the colors around? Just this once? No? Okay, let's get on with it.† He scanned the jury and pointed to an angel with curly red hair and long-lashed blue eyes. â€Å"You. You'll do the draw.† She nodded her acceptance and approached the bench gracefully. Again, another attempt at justice. If Hannibal had drawn the marbles, I would have been suspicious of the outcome. The fairness of the matter was future solidified when he made her swear to draw fairly, without using her powers to advantage. â€Å"I swear,† she said, placing the marbles in the vase. She shook them up and reached her hand in, casting a brief and – unless I was mistaken – sympathetic look at me. Her hand emerged, closed in a fist. When she opened it, no one could see the marble right away, but her face told the story. â€Å"Shit,† said Roman. The angel's palm revealed a black marble. She handed it to the judge who made no pretense at hiding his joy. He thanked her as she returned to her seat and then held the marble up for all the room to see. There was a murmur of excitement among the demons, delighted at having won the gamble he'd laid before us. I had a moment of regret, but only a small one. I could've walked away from here with my soul and life intact. I could've never brought this up and continued my life as a succubus undisturbed, living out the dream scenario in Las Vegas. Instead, I'd risked everything for the chance to free myself and Seth. And I'd lost for both of us. Had it been worth it? Yes. † ‘Fate' has spoken,† said Hannibal, still admiring the marble. â€Å"Per the rules, the decision now falls to a thirteenth juror, who will be randomly selected from a pool of Hell's illustrious servants. Doris?† Doris began clicking away at her laptop. After a few moments, she gave a nod toward the bailiff. He walked toward the back exit, presumably to escort in the thirteenth juror. My heart felt heavy and leaden, and I was startled when Roman again placed his hand on mine. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said in a low voice. â€Å"I should have fought harder. Or pushed you to take the deal – â€Å" I squeezed his hand back. â€Å"No. You were perfect. The only thing you shouldn't have done was get involved with this mess.† It was impossible to believe, but whatever fate awaited me after my suit was denied wouldn't be half as bad as his. He gave me a playful smile. â€Å"What, and miss the chance to laugh in the face of Heaven and Hell? Besides, there's no way I could leave you to – â€Å" The courtroom had given way to chatter when the bailiff left, and now silence resumed upon his return. Whatever sentiments Roman had been about to say were lost, as he joined me in looking back to see the demon who would cast the last condemning vote on me. When I did, I had to do a double take. It was Yasmine. I almost didn't recognize her. It had been a year since I'd seen her, a year since I'd watched her fall from grace, transforming from an angel to a demon. Yasmine had committed a number of grave sins as an angel, starting when she'd fallen in love. That alone was forbidden for her kind, but it had gone one step further – she'd fallen for a nephilim named Vincent. Vince was a great guy, but like Roman, the standard reaction from angels and demons alike had been prompt destruction. One angel had finally acted on that impulse, and Yasmine had rushed to defend Vince – killing the other angel in the process. And with that, she had been condemned to Hell. I had seen it. It had been terrible. One angel's death, another's fall. It had all gone down the night Nyx had been found and recaptured. Vince and I had been in the cross fire of it. I'd done what I could for him, but there was nothing I could do to stop Heaven's punishment. Before leaving town, Vince had told me that it didn't matter what I thought I knew about Yasmine. He'd said that once she had spent enough time in Hell and around other demons, she'd become like them. It was what happened to all of them, how someone like Carter could become someone like Jerome. I hadn't believed it at the time but could understand it better after being surrounded in the despair and wrongness of this place. And when I studied her now, I could see it had happened to her too. I remembered a smiling, laughing young woman with sparkling dark eyes and shining black hair. The hair and eyes were ostensibly the same, but there was no light or laughter in them. Her eyes seemed fathomless, dark and cold as she stared straight ahead and walked to the front of the courtroom. She was wearing a gauzy black dress, reminding me of some Goth courtesan, and her long, flowing hair blended into the silken fabric. Even if I'd never met her or known her history, I would have instantly identified her as a demon. Just like the others in the room, there was something in the way she looked and carried herself. I was about to be condemned by someone who had once been my friend. Yasmine reached the front of the courtroom and was gestured toward the witnesses' table. She sat down, gazing around the room with an unreadable expression. â€Å"You've been following the trial?† asked Judge Hannibal. â€Å"Yes,† she said, in a voice as expressionless as her face. How she'd been watching, I couldn't say. With Hell, it could've been closed-circuit TV or a magic mirror for all I knew. â€Å"And you understand your duty?† asked Hannibal. â€Å"Yes,† she replied. Hannibal was trying to maintain some semblance of formality and procedure, but the self-satisfied smirk on his face was kind of negating that. He was too goddamned pleased with himself and this turn of events. â€Å"Cast your vote then, based on the evidence and arguments you've witnessed. If you believe the two contracts are both sound and have not contradicted each other, then cast your vote against the petitioner.† When silence followed, Roman spoke up. â€Å"And if she thinks the two contracts aren't valid?† â€Å"Yes, yes.† Hannibal made a dismissive gesture, annoyed at this obvious waste of his time. â€Å"If you believe the contracts do contradict each other, then cast your vote for the petitioner.† Yasmine was given a piece of paper and pen, just like the other jurors. And just like the others, she wasted no time in writing her vote, her markings swift and certain. When she finished, she looked up serenely, no change in her expression, no sign that we'd ever once known each other. As terrible as I felt about my own fate, I couldn't help but feel nearly as bad for what Hell had done to someone as good and kind as her. No, I thought. Not just Hell. Really, Heaven was just as guilty. What kind of group could advocate goodness and not allow its members to love? Hannibal took the paper from her with a flourish and held it out before him to read. â€Å"In accordance with the laws of this court, and the infallible Kingdom of Hell, the jury finds – † There was a pause, and the next part came out as a question. â€Å"In favor of the petitioner?† A spark of goodness in the darkness. . . . For a moment, nothing happened. The courtroom was silent, frozen in time. Then, several things happened right on top of each other. From behind me, I heard Jerome say, â€Å"Shit.† Yasmine winked at me. Roman hugged me. Hannibal reread the slip of paper, looked at Yasmine, and then swallowed before speaking. â€Å"Both contracts are declared invalid, null and void.† Most of the room was on its feet, voices raised in fury. I had no time to process what they were saying, though, because I was disintegrating away. â€Å"No, not yet!† I exclaimed. I reached desperately for Roman, whose arms had been around me, but couldn't get ahold of him anymore. I was becoming nothing, a will-o'-the-wisp, unable to grasp anything of substance. I tried, though. I tried to grab him and take him with me because there was no way I could leave him here, not in the midst of a bunch of demons pissed off over having just lost two souls. I even tried to say his name, but it didn't work. I had no mouth, no voice anymore. I was leaving this place, and he was staying. The last thing I saw was his sea green eyes regarding me with both happiness and sorrow. I thought I heard him saying something about â€Å"a far, far greater thing,† and then I perceived nothing. I would have screamed in fury if I could have, but I was gone. I was nothing. Only darkness.

Why I Decided to Go Back to School

Why I decided to return to school The Purpose of my essay is to give my readers some high in sight on a few different challenges in my life that helped motivate me upon my return to school. I am a single 45 year old divorced woman with six children. I needed a good paying job and a college education to be able to continue supporting my family. I am also the youngest child of four and the light of my mother’s eyes. I was once married to my children’s father for 20 years. My ex-husband was always the bread winner for our family, so I had no worries. He worked for the park district in the city where we lived.I was going to school full time and taking care of the children. My two oldest children are boys and they are grown men now 25 years old and the youngest son is 22 years old. They both are out on their own and the oldest son has two children. A boy and a girl, their names are Ryan Jr. and my granddaughters name is Savannah. All of my children are the light of my life, as well as my grandchildren. I was 25 years old when I got married to my ex-husband. We had been together 5 years prior to getting married. He was the light of my life, the sun in the morning to me, so to speak.I was a full time student and my husband at the time was a foreman. I went to college after I had graduated from high school. However, I dropped out of college because I met my now ex-husband and we moved out of town to New Orleans, LA. We lived there for about a year and I got pregnant and I had my first son down in New Orleans. I was so excited about our first son. Everything seemed to be going just fine. Then three years later I became pregnant again and this time it was my second child (son). Again, we were very excited for the birth of our second son. As happy as we both were, things seemed to be changing before my very eyes.As time passed, I would say after about five years, we decided to get married. After marrying, we decided to move back to Illinois so we could be cl oser to our families. At the time that seemed perfect, since we were having children and we were starting to need sitters and just the support from our families. So, we packed up the kids and moved back to Illinois. Once there, we got settled in and we began looking for jobs. We bought our first house and then we both got great jobs. I was a teacher assistant and my husband got on as a foreman at the park district. My mother babysat for us and everything seemed to be oming together as we had planned. We had been home in Illinois about six months and everything that was good began to turn bad. My great life was turning for the worse all before my eyes. My husband was starting to abuse me physically and he had also started cheating on me. Well, he had promised to never do it again and I wanted to believe him, not to mention I wanted to keep my family intact. I was brought up that family was everything, and a family that prays together stays together. My parents had been married 45 yea rs and it was just unheard of where I come from.Time had passed on (7 years to be exact) and things had gotten better for us and we talked about expanding our family some more and that is what we did. I became pregnant in 1997 with our first daughter, Maurice. I named her after her dad. Crazy, I know but I did it with no remorse at all. Then, a year later I was pregnant with our fourth daughter, Mauriah. Everything was back in full swing again, I and Maurice were happy as ever and we had our four children that we were blessed with. I was working full time and so was Maurice, so we really didn’t have a care in the world, so I thought.As time passed, Maurice had got a raise and a higher position at his job. All had been going well, and then I found out again I was pregnant with another girl. I was a bit surprised because the other children had pretty much been planned, but now we were on our fifth child and the raise my husband had received was now starting to leave with all of our children. It didn’t matter because we had fought bigger storms than that and managed to make it through. I loved my husband and what he wanted pretty much made sure that I complied with it. Our family was expanding and I was happy and I felt great about it.Then sure enough, two years later I had my sixth child. It was another girl and that was my true blessing, because I wasn’t ready for her and I had considered having an abortion. I asked Maurice to take me to get an abortion in St. Louis because I was so far along I had to go out of state to where they could meet my needs. We arrived at the clinic and I just couldn’t do it. I had prayed about it and I just could not go through with the abortion. I’m glad that I didn’t, she is just amazing to me. However, things were starting to change all over again for my husband and myself.Maurice was back to his old tricks of physically abusing me and cheating. I was home with the kids one day and one of his mistresses had come by our house looking for him. I was livid and mentally crushed after the lady had told me she was sleeping with my husband. When Maurice came home I told him what had happened and of course he wormed his way out of it again. I knew he was lying but I also had six kids and was working full time. I would have to be a millionaire to try to keep up the way I was accustomed to living. Not to mention I wanted to keep my family together.I was mentally sickened with all of the mental and physical things that I was being put through by the man I trusted with my life. I depended on him to be the best husband and father that he could be. However, he let me down. He then apologized for the millionth time and he got me back by telling me that I could quit my job and go back to school. That was my Maurice’s way of making up to me since he had cheated and abused me when I had been nothing but good to him. In the mist of me getting emotionally tied into more of the li es and deceit, I turned in my two week notice.Things seemed to be okay at least I was getting the opportunity to get my degree like I had always wanted to do. Maurice tricked me back into his good graces and all was well between the two of us. About a year later history began to repeat itself. I was going to a junior college in my hometown and I started hearing rumors again about my husband and I was a full time student and full time mother. I had tons of homework to do on top of my normal duties as a wife and mother. I was literally mentally exhausted from the rumors, homework, kids, no good husband and my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.I had hit rock bottom, I really didn’t think I was going to make it mentally. I was trying to be strong because I didn’t want my children to know that their father was up to his old tricks again, but all along I was the only one in denial. I had later found out that they knew anyway, just because it was a small town. My mother and father were my support system and I didn’t have anyone else I could depend on. Then shortly after my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, my father took ill and we found out he had cancer as well.I was going crazy, because we were such a close knit family. My father was in the last stages of cancer and he took chemo but it didn’t help. It was too far gone and it spread very fast and in a matter of months we lost my father. I was devastated and my mother was in chemo still and my husband was not there for me. I prayed about my situation and filed for divorce. I didn’t know what I was going to do for money and I had just lost my father also. I felt doomed and so alone. Before the divorce was final my husband made one last attempt to get me back.However, I was done so I refused to even consider taking him back. I had to think about my children and what message I was sending them. Finally, I divorced my husband and I had nowhere to turn. I thought about my children first and my mother second and right then and there I knew if I wanted to keep up with the life style I had been accustomed to then and now, I needed an education. I decided to work full time and go back to school and get my education. I made a promise to my kids, mother and self that I would get my degree in education if that was the last thing that I did.I want to be able to give my children everything that they need and I would like to be able to financially take care of my mother. My mother has been my anchor from day one and she never once complained. The least I can do is please her along with myself and get my degree. I am the baby of four and everyone has their degree except me, and my mother told me that would be gift enough to see her baby graduate from college. Then I knew I had no other choice, so I prayed about my final decision and here I stand. God saw fit for me to continue my education in spite of and he made a way out of no way.I had to hit rock bottom men tally and physically for me to get myself together. It was all worth it in the end, because I have a piece of mind and I am at peace with myself. I heard about Ashford from a friend in another state and I am now a full time student at Ashford University. I just hope that my misery can be someone else’s ministry, and to let the world know that if GOD can bring me through the storm he can bring anyone through it. Look at GOD, isn’t he awesome! And these are the few different reasons why I chose to go back to school.

Strategic Marketing Analysis for Starbucks Essay

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Human Resources - Employing and maintaining staff Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Employing and maintaining staff Essay Human resources is a department which is a key component for any size business as it’s responsibilities affect the whole business The main responsibilities of the Human resources department can be split into 4 areas, Employing and maintaining staff, Training for new employees, Procedures, laws and legislation and Providing a safe working environment. The recruitment process is important: because it ensures that everyone in the business follows the same procedure . The best possible candidate is hired and reduces the risk of hiring a unsuitable candidate , saves further recruitment costs . Makes sure money and time are being used efficiently and effectively . The Recruitment process : the steps involved in finding and appointing new employees A vacancy arises Vacancies occur in a business because of maternity/paternity, death, retirement , dismissal , promotion , expansion . A job description is written or revised based on the job analysis . Job analysis – to see if it’s necessary or can be shared by other employees . it allows HR to become ware to any changes that many need to be made in the job description . They do this by reviewing the job . This is important because it makes sure the job description is correct and includes all the responsibilities/tasks , so you can get the best possible candidate . A person specification or job profile is written Person specification – skills/attributes of the person (eg communication, the ability to work as a team , hold a driving license ) / Educational and vocational qualifications , such as GCSES and NVQS . This is to eliminate people that wouldn’t be suitable for the job , this saves money and time . it is important because it makes sure you don’t get the wrong candidate , ensures you get the best possible candidate . Serves as a measure which the applicants can be judged against . It helps to design the advert , select in interviews and short list . A decision is made about whether to recruit internally or externally Internally in large business – notice boards , emails , website – intranet , memos , appraisals , meetings and newsletters . Externally – local and national newspapers , Job recruitment agency , radio advert , company website , trade journals – specialist magazines , job centres , social media –twitter and Facebook . You need to consider these factors when deciding whether to recruit externally or internally : cost , target audience and how quickly you need them . This is important as you need to know if the job can be completed within the business by being spread out over employees , even though you would have to pay them for the extra hours they are doing . It would save money as you do not have to pay for the advert , you could send around an email or put a notice on the notice board . You could do 1 on 1 interviews rather than panel interviews . In panel interviews there is more staff , that are not doing their job because they are interviewing so replacement have to paid for . Advertisements are drawn up and placed in appropriate media Design job advert – includes job title and hours , skills/qualifications required , key duties , where the job is , how to apply and where to send the application . All of this information is important because they may have a busy lifestyle and be unable to do flexible hours , lack certain skills and qualifications . When the candidates view the advert they can decide for themselves if the job is unsuitable for them , this lowers the recruitment costs and the business does not have to waste time and money interviewing and sorting though the candidates application . The key duties, location , how to apply and where to send application are stated because on the candidate needs to be able to do these duties , reach the location and apply . Application forms are issued and/or cvs and letters of application are requested . The applicants will need to complete an application form / letter of application and cv . They are sent out to the applicants and the applicants return to them to the correct business within the business . This helps with short listing . The job description and person specification are compared against to check for correct qualifications . The application form is the best to judge against , as they all have the same layout so this makes them quicker to judge against . There is also no discrimination as all candidates are given the same questions . Short listing takes place Short listing – selecting the candidates who best meet the qualities , qualifications and experiences requested on the job description . Primark and other large companies make applicants take an aptitude test and selection questions as this saves time and money . Interviews are held and assessment and testing takes place Factors to consider before the interview : Who will interview the candidates? Most likely the supervisor of the member / staff responsible for them/ store manager / HR manager . Is it going to be a One to one or panel interview . Panel interview is more fair as it is less biased . Where will you interview the candidates ? Make sure here is no interruptions , quiet and accessible for disabled candidates . What questions will be asked . All the candidates get asked the same questions , reduces discrimination . Judged on all the same questions , easy to compare . Need to cater to all , eg Deaf people . How to ensure fairness in the interview? What tests will you run , aptitude and psychometric tests? This is important because in the application form a candidate could lie and say they are confident as they are sitting in front of a computer screen . Many mistakes are made in the interview and it is easily to judge the candidate a nd tell when they are lying . Selection takes place and someone is appointed You should seek references from previous posts , to ensure that the candidates have been honest throughout , and not omitted to inform prospective employer of any issues that many effect his/her ability to do the job . This isn’t done at the beginning as the candidate may have a current job and wouldn’t want their employer knowing unless they have an interview . This is important as if the candidate is not chosen they can call up and ask why they were not chosen , to ensure there is no discrimination against the candidate and there a valid reason for the selection . Contract of employment – rates of employment , hours to be worked , holiday entitlement , sick pay procedures , duties Letter of appointment : offer , job title , pay , start date , where to report to and other relevant information. Maintaining staff Staff retention It is important for a business to keep it’s staff because this will minimise disruption to other employees , as other employees will have to pick up the duties of that job whilst the recruitment process is being done . The new employees will not be trained so this can cause the customers to get annoyed at the bad customer service . The trained employees will have to be constantly looking over the new employees this can decrease productivity . The recruitment process is costly and time consuming , on average it costs  £2000 to recruit per person. It is costly because of the training costs and other factors . The longer the employees are there , the more familiar they will become with the businesses policies and the better they will get with the customers . A business such as Primark can encourage staff retention by having monetary rewards which will include discounts or a pay rise linked to them achieving a target / an appraisal . They can have flexible working schemes which allow staff to start and finish work later/earlier. The business needs to make sure the business has a safe and suitable working environment that is not detrimental to physical or mental health . Staff should be praised upon and recognised , they can be valued within the employee of the month . All staff should receive a fair pay with opportunities for promotion . If the staff retention is bad the labour turnover is high so this may put off future candidates from applying because they can see the labour turnover so will wonder so many people are leaving . They will assume the business isn’t that good as there are many problems making the employees leave so the business will not get the best candidates for the job . The recruitment process is expensive and is done in the certain steps to ensure the best candidate is chosen , this would make this process a waste of time . If employees are covering roles there is less time to spend with customers so this will affect the customer service . Appraisals Appraisals can also be done , this is an examination of an employees performance over a period of time , this is carried out by the employees line manager . An appraisal report will include the strengths of an employees , the development needs of an employee , a report on the achievement of objectives set at the previous appraisal and an action plan using the weaknesses to identify training needs. Labour Turnover HR measure how successful they are retaining staff by looking at the labour turnover for each year . Labour turnover is the proportion of employees leaving a business over a period of time . HR will analyse the results and look at the trends to decide on what action they think will be appropriate . This is important as the business needs to know if their staff retention is good or bad , as this affects the money in the business . High levels of labour turnover will indicate a problem within the business , HR will look at the main issues and take steps to address them . Low levels of labour turnover will indicate that the business is keeping it’s employees satisfied or that unemployment is high so fewer people are leaving for other jobs . To identify issues HR will carry our exit interviews so they discuss with the employee why they have left the business , and if HR can do anything to make them stay or improve the business for the future so this does not reoccur . Grievance HR must design and set up this the grievance procedure , they must ensure the process allows complaints to be dealt with quickly and fairly . This must ensure all staff have access to this . This is important so both the employer and employee are satisfied . Ensuring employees are trained as necessary in accordance with job role and business procedures The importance of training It is important for a business to train all its staff so the employees know how to operate in house systems such as operating tills. Also to make sure the business is remaining competitive and keeping up with customer requirements such as learning how new styles and cross selling. The staff need to be aware of the companies polices affecting legalisation , and health and safety . This also motivates staff as they can now operate efficiently. They will also have the same training as the rest of staff so they won’t feel left out and unmotivated . If the employees are motivated , they will give better customer service . This makes the business more competitive as the customers would go to their business over a competitor with bad customer service . This would allow the business to make higher quality goods and sell for higher prices . The more training an employee gets the more productive and efficient the employee can be , therefore there are lower costs for the business and mor e profit being made . So they can charge lower prices and attract more customers . Induction training The main aim of induction training is to make sure the employee feels motivated as soon as they join the business , and become familiar with their position to increase productivity . In induction training there are many things that need to be covered including aims and objectives and the history of the business. They will need to met key staff so when they start actually working there they will know who everyone is and where to go if they have problems . This is important because the employee is less likely to remember all the rules and policies if they put in a room and made to listen to them for the first day . Employees that do not get induction training will be unable to integrate into the team easily . They will fail to perform to their highest , have low morale and reduced productivity . All the information is broken down into different sections , each should be delivered by a different member of staff . A brief introduction into the business’s history allows senior management to be introduced to the new employee . Future plans for the business could be explained here , the idea of working at a focused , determined and fast-moving business is very motivating . Shortly after administration will step in and go through the contract of employment , this will include disciplinary / grievance/ sick pay procedures , what to do if you are unable to attend work , hours of work , rates of employment ,holiday entitlement and duties. Staff handbooks are given out , pension schemes and uniform requirements are explained. On the job training This training is given whilst the employee is doing their regular duties . It is done on a normal working day in the normal work place . A demonstration can be done this is working alongside an experienced employee and showing them what to do and what standard the work needs to be done to. Job shadowing is similar , the employee will watch an experienced member of staff perform the duties . The employee will have to watch carefully so when they are their own they can perform the tasks to the same standard . Observation is where the employee will perform their tasks are usual whilst being watched and then they are given feedback at the end . Coaching is where the employee learns new skills and have the chance to practice the skills with a coach before actually doing them at the workplace . The coach will watch them perform the skills and give feedback till the employee can perform the skill to a high standard . Mentoring is another option , the employee will be paired with an experienced member of staff and they can discuss the employee’s progress and problems. . On the job training is important because training occurs whilst you are doing day to day duties so training is less disruptive to productivity . You can also do computer based training which is commonly used in health and safety training , it is training through a computerised program . This is relatively cheap and easy to organise . In-house training can be carried out by a member of staff, they will be given the task of training other employees , this could be linked to new legislation .This ensures everyone is aware of new policies . There are disadvantages to this method they include employees not taking the training as seriously because they are just doing normal duties . Another member of staff may teach the employee a bad habit which they will pick up and do . The member of staff may not have received training on how to train effectively so their training could be a waste of time and ineffective. As the training is being done within the workplace there are more distractions so this could make the learning environment very difficult . Off the job training This training is usually done away from the normal workplace , they will not being doing their usual duties so they can focus their full attention onto the training . An external training agency can be brought in or an employee can carry out the training . As the employee is away from their normal work environment it is easier to focus and harder to get distracted . The employee is given the opportunity to discuss ideas with employees from or outside the business , this allows them to bond better as a team. Although there are disadvantages which include the cost , the cost would be higher if you hired an external trainer , there is lost productivity . Even though the employee is being trained , they are not doing their usual duties . HR must be able to identify training needs , not all employees need the same amount of training as they may have previous experiences . This is important as it reduces costs as the business will not have to pay for unnecessary training . New training is needed when there are new systems , new company policies , after illness periods , maternity , promotions and changes in the law/ health and safety . Costs The cost of on the job training includes that the employee will be less productive during the training period , if the trainer is a fellow employee they will not be doing their job and the training may disrupt other employees and decrease productivity over the whole department. The cost of off the job training includes the cost of the course , travel expenses , loss of productivity whilst the employee is on the course , other members of staff may become resentful as they have not been sent on the course so there will be a decrease in efficiency. If the training is on going , the costs will keep getting higher . Ensuring the business follows procedures, laws and legislation HR is responsible for ensuring that the business is operating within the employment laws , this includes the equality act 2010 , employment rights act 1996 and the health and safety at work act 1974 . The employees must be trained on these policies and trained again when there are new changes in the law . HR needs to understand the implications of not following the law .This is important as the business can be prosecuted if they fail to do so and they can be involved in a tribunal . Also the business can get a bad reputation and limit the employees willing to join the business . Corporate social responsibility and ethics can lead to customers not thinking the business is ethical and there will be a loss in sales . The employment rights act of 1996 sets out an employees basic rights , and includes the right to a contract of employment , holiday and maternity provision . The equality act of 2010 , tells employers that they may not discriminate on the grounds of race , age , religion , sexual orientation , sex, or disability against employees when recruiting , paying or promoting . The health and safety at work act of 1974 , sets out the requirements for keeping people safe in the working environment , this includes keeping accident books and recording visitors to a business. HR needs to look at these acts when doing tasks . When creating grievance / disciplinary procedures , adverts , job description , person specifications and short listing , the equality act is needed to help . When doing interviews , short listing and adverts , the employment rights act should be looked at . The health and safety act helps when doing the interviews and risk assessments , such as Primark does , they use this to make sure younger / disabled employees are safe and not working over time. Providing a safe working environment It is important to provide a safe working environment so there are no injuries caused to anyone , this is Primark’s job . The employee needs to ensure it’s own safety by working and behaving safely in Primark . An unsafe working environment can lead to a bad reputation to customers , this will cause a sales loss . A bad reputation can also put off potential employees , the recruitment process is time consuming and expensive so it is necessary that Primark does not limit the candidates . There is an accident book, which must be completed every time an injury occurs whether is it a minor or major injury . Every time a visitor enters the business , they must log on a visitor book . In the case of an emergency such as a fire , everyone must be evacuated and the business needs to know if everyone is safely out the building . If a visitor did not log onto the book , the business would be completely unaware that there person was there. In a visitor book , there are a few sections to fill out , this can vary business to business . Most often your name , reason for being there and who you are there to see and proof of identification are required . This is important as it makes sure no one at the workplace is put into danger . Fire safety is important when trying to make your workplace as safe as possible , this includes carrying out a fire risk assessment of the premises and reviewing it regularly , as well as telling staff of any risks you may find . Appropriate fire measures must be put in place and maintained , this includes a plan for emergency . All staff must receive fire safety instructions and training . All staff must be trained on a certain type of equipment before they use it . This is important as this reduces injuries , and if they are taught how to use it correctly they can work faster compared having to figure it out by themselves.

Censorship is a form of protection Essay Example for Free

Censorship is a form of protection Essay Censorship applies to magazines, videos, films, radio, music, computer games and television. Censorship is a form of protection, instead of stopping you from being robbed like the police force, censorship protects you and your families from pornographic, violent, bloody, rude, vulgar and racist programming. It regulates the broadcasting time of programmes with adult content after the 9oclock-water shed so viewers of a younger age such as small children hopefully will not see the programme. It stops the extreme programmes such as hard core porn violent films where the gore is to extreme. Thats what censorship does now imagine television without censorship you could be flicking through the channels and neighbours could be on one the weakest link on two and f**k fest on three a nice hardcore porn film for the little ones to watch when they get home from school. Without censorship anything would go any time, So lets have a look at whats on without censorship, the Teletubbies could have great big battles with each other or go hunting and shoot the rabbits and on an educational note they could demonstrate how to skin and gut the rabbits for the kids at home. Later on in the day the Weakest Link could become the nude Weakest Link where Anne Robinson could prance about in a PVC catsuite and give a good old SM style spanking to the person voted the Weakest link, and I dont think any body wants to Anne Robinson in the Buff? Later on now comes the news which could broadcast news on a what happened in Afghanistan before the war, they could have show live battles between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance where men get limbs blown off, mutated bodies of captured prisoners and worse not something you would really want to watch real people really dying over tea or any other time for that matter. At about 7:30 say a do it yourself programme presented by Carol Smiley where you dab your hand at DIY torture with expert guidance from Laurence Llewelyn Bowen who shows you how to keep your victim alive for as long as possible while giving the maximum amount of pain, although having a room designed by him would be torture enough. Now at 8:00 we have time for a nice wholesome hardcore porn film before the kids go to bed. People like Osama Bin Ladin could give speeches on television saying how he was going to destroy America the Jews Britain and everyone whose not Muslim. Although this is extreme it what could happen without censorship. Censorship upholds the moral fabric of society. It stops extreme programming being aired on British television. The question is do you want young children being able to view programmes which are unsuitable for them which would scare them give them nightmares having them cry at the sight of a mutilated human body on tv watching porn and asking their parents what does f**k mean and whats a ****. Young childrens minds are impressionable and we should do what we can to protect them from certain things until they are old enough to understand it to be able to sleep well without thinking some psychos at their window waiting to burst in with a chain saw and massacre them. Do you want to watch porn? Then watch Television X or by a porn film, which stops children from watching these types of programmes. Without censorship anything would go and it would be absolutely legal. Without censorship we would allow the decay of our society. Censorship does not hide you from the real world but simply takes the edge off by not allowing certain things to be viewed in their full detail before 9 or on television where most people do not wish to see the extreme programmes such as hardcore porn. But allows the specialist things to be purchased on video where people buy the video knowing full well the type of material it contains.

Impact of Normans Conquest on Ireland

Impact of Normans Conquest on Ireland Daragh Mc Mullan    Use archaeological, historical and literary evidence to assess the impact of the Norman conquest on Irelands political, social, economic and cultural systems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_invasion_of_Ireland Introduction The Norman conquest of Ireland commenced in 1169, the immediate aftermath saw Ireland under a rotation of control by Anglo Norman lords and the King of England with challenge from the Irish.   Up to this point, Ireland had seen recurrent conflict between provincial kingdoms who strived for High King status and the arrival of the Normans would throw what structure the Irish had into disarray.   The invaders had a long history with conquering foreign lands but this time there were numerous distractions and troublesome conquests elsewhere to deal with.   These distractions would almost result in a loss of control in Ireland and defeat to the native Irish. (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1100.htm, n.d.) Political Impact In the mid-12th and early 13th century there was major political change for the Irish.   The King of England made Ireland a Lordship of his own empire and because of this the Irish went from securing title by defeat of local rivals to battling for possession of their own land from foreigners.   The formation of the Parliament of Ireland in 1297 allowed the Anglo-Norman Lords to exercise control and implement their politics.   At this time the island was politically divided into several overkingdoms, the main focal point was the Abbey.   The Irish legal system known as the Brehon Law continued outside the controlled area but prisons were established as per Henry IIs reforms. Overall the Norman political impact was substantial but it lacked structure and more importantly continuity, and the troublesome times during the early and mid-14th century resulted in a loss of control and Ireland was far from under complete control of the British for over the two centuries that followed. Social Cultural Impact The social and cultural landscape of Ireland experienced changes, some events were devastating namely the famine and the Black Death.   Some events, while chaotic, had good intention.   The invasion by Robert the Bruce brought fierce battle against the English lords, there was extensive destruction and eventually the Scot was defeated but during the clash Irish families regained control of lands lost to them in previous combat.   During the settlement period the Normans living outside Dublin and the area known as The Pale embraced the Irish language and their customs, they married into the clans, and coincidentally the native Irish also became like the Normans in many ways.   Even today we still have evidence of this in the provinces of Munster and Leinster with many Norman origin surnames, Power, Roche and Burke. Towns were perhaps the Normans greatest contribution to their new conquest.   The increase in population saw the nobles invest in the construction of walled towns, numerous castles and churches changed Ireland and a system of counties commenced in 1297.   The Church made a move to centre the congregation diocese . (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1300.htm, n.d.) Economic Impact The Norman invasion brought a lot of changes to the economic situation in Ireland.  Ã‚   The economy was mainly based on cows, sheep, pigs, goats and the products they produced.   Cattle was the main asset as it provided milk, butter, cheese and meat.   A herd of any type was considered a wealth and had the added benefit that it could be moved to safety in times of war.   The Normans began to import tenants to occupy and work their newly acquired lands, horticulture was practiced prior to the Norman settlement, the main crops being oats, wheat and barley, but this increased during this time.   This would boost the agricultural trade and was one of the many changes brought by the Norman invasion and occupation of Ireland.   They introduced feudalism to the existing native tribal-dynastic crop-sharing system.   Feudalism was intended to introduce cash payments into farming.   Money was rarely used in medieval Gaelic society, as payment was normally made in goods or serv ice. (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1400.htm, n.d.) Conclusion The transition from a nation to being part of the Tudor conquest was a turbulent road for the Irish.  Ã‚   In the end the continuous rebellion was not enough to free them from the grasp of the expanding British Crowned forces.   They co-existed to a certain extent with the placed nobles and later with the Hiberno Normans but the Monarchy expected a respect from the Gaelic Irish that just would not be given.   The decline of the Monastic Abbeys and then the pressure on Christianity by newly founded rival churches and the implication of surrender and regrant where the Irish had to abandon their land, culture and religion in exchange for an English earldom meant that the ordinary native Irish people stood little chance at retaining their identity against the Tudor expansion. (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1500.htm, n.d.) Barry, T. (1987). The Archaeology of Medieval Ireland. London: Routledge. Ellis, S. G. (1998). Ireland in the Age of the Tudors 1447-1603. London: Longman. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1100.htm. (n.d.). http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1200.htm. (n.d.). http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1300.htm. (n.d.). http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1400.htm. (n.d.). http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1500.htm. (n.d.). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ireland_(1169%E2%80%931536)#cite_note-2. (n.d.).

Communication Goal Statement :: essays research papers

Part I: I am currently working at the as a social worker assistant. Prior to working at the nursing home I was employed at a restaurant as a general manager. I have found that my current job to be very rewarding. The reason I am majoring in social work is because I have a strong desire to help people, make things better, and make a difference in people’s lives. My goal is to become a licensed social worker and work in the gerontology field. The communication skills I currently use in the field of social work are as follows: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Listening skills, such as listening to the client and understanding client needs and wants more carefully and responsively. Acknowledging the feelings they are expressing. Compassionately allowing them to express their feelings. Listening and reflecting back on what I hear allows me to identify client’s thoughts. Listening in the field of social work is crucial in understanding client’s situation. Listening responsibly lets the client know you care about them. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Explaining conversational intent and invite client consent. In order to help client cooperate and reduce any misunderstandings, invite client to join in the kind of conversation you want to have. Whether it may be long, complex, or short, explain intention and invite the consent o the client. This step has encouraged me to expand possible conversations and practice in a variety of conversations. It also allows client to trust and understand where conversation is heading. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Interviewing skills, which are used daily in the field of social work. Questioning clients is a very important part in assessing the client. Learning how to use open-ended as well as close-ended questions at the appropriate times is crucial when assessing the client. Asking questions is a powerful tool in focusing conversational attention and guiding interaction with others. There are many creative possibilities in using interviewing skills. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Expressing appreciation is important in building relationships with the people around me in the nursing home as well as the social work field. Expressing delight, affirmation, encouragement, and gratitude is an important part in appreciation technique. The nursing home continually requires social workers to attend to problems and it gets very easy to see what may need to be fixed. By giving appreciation makes the relationship with the client strong and easier to when working with client problems or disagreements. It also gives the client a sense of self- worth and a higher self-esteem.

The Horror of War Exposed in Slaughterhouse Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

The Horror of War Exposed in Slaughterhouse Five When one begins to analyze a military novel it is important to first look at the historical context in which the book was written. On the nights of February 13-14 in 1944 the city of Dresden, Germany was subjected to one of the worst air attacks in the history of man. By the end of the bombing 135,000 to 250,000 people had been killed by the combined forces of the United States and the United Kingdom. Dresden was different then Berlin or many of the other military targets which were attacked during World War II because it was never fortified or used for strategic purposes and, therefore, was not considered a military target. Because of it's apparent safety, thousands of refugees from all over Europe converged on Dresden for protection (Klinkowitz 2-3). Dresden's neutrality was broken and the resulting attacks laid waste, what Vonnegut called, "the Florence of the Elbe." Kurt Vonnegut was a witness to this event and because of fate, had been spared. He wrote Slaughterhouse Five to answer the questi on that resounded through his head long after the bombs could no longer be heard. "Why me?"- a frequent question asked by survivors of war. Vonnegut was tormented by this question and through Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist in Slaughterhouse Five, he attempts to reconcile the guilt which one feels when one is randomly saved from death, while one's friends and loved ones perish. Billy Pilgrim's own life was spared, but was never able to live with himself knowing that so many others had died. The feelings of guilt which emerged from his having survived the bombing of Dresden and from Billy's fortunate escape from death under the shelter of the fifth Slaughterhouse haunted Billy through much of his life. Billy Pilgrim did not consider his survival a blessing, but a curse. A curse to be forced to live on with the guilt of survival. Billy Pilgrim faced such tremendous guilt, that he spent his entire life after Dresden trying to alleviate himself of it. His guilt is in many ways comparable to the guilt felt by the survivors of the Holocaust. Many Holocaust survivors had to face their own "Why me?" question. However, many Holocaust survivors w ere

Education in Kazakhstan Essay

1.Before going to school, children attend kindergartens until they are six or seven. 2.Compulsory education begins in our country at the age of seven, when children go to primary school. 3.The secondary stage begins from the 5th form when children start studying a lot of new subjects, such as Literature, History, Natural Sci ¬ences and others. 4.Examinations are taken at the end of the 9-th and the 11-th forms. 5.Some children may leave school after the 9-th form and continue their education at vocational or technical schools or colleges. 6.Besides secondary schools there are other types of schools in Ka ¬zakhstan. There are specialized secondary schools with intensive study of a certain subject, for example Foreign Languages, Literature, Physics and others. 7.There are also specialized art, music, ballet and sport schools for gifted children and special schools for handicapped children. 8.Secondary education in our country is free of charge. Among secondary schools there are gymnasiums, colleges and lyceums most of them are private. 9.There are institutes, schools of higher education, universities and academies among higher educational institutions. 10.In 1992 Kazakhstan system of higher education adopted the western model – a 4 years course of studies with getting the Bachelor degree after graduation and a 2 years course of study with getting the Master’s degree after graduation. 11.In order to enter a higher educational institution young people have to take an entrance examination. Only those who successfully pass entrance testing are admitted free of charge. In other cases education is given on the commercial basis.

Customer Needs and Expectations

Here at Travel Weekly one of the representatives at Virgin Atlantic have honoured us by writing an article about ‘A day as a representative' Lets see what Kaye Goodwin from Virgin Atlantic has to say! In a day of a representative at Virgin Atlantic I have to look at how these needs are identified and I must cover: Customer requests in writing Customer requests to representatives of organisations verbally (face to face or telephone) Recognition of unstated needs Customer type one: FamiliesIf a family was too put in a request in writing, because they may have young children, they could possibly write their requests to me in an email because of convenience and time. For example: a mother and father of two young children will not have time to come into the travel agents to sit down and tell me what type of holiday they would like. Therefore by sending me an email with the requests they would like, it would save a lot of time, and I can look up all of the information for them and re spond back to them via email.Customer type two: Couples If a young couple would like to go on a short break or a holiday, they would come into the travel agent and sit down with me too tell me where they would like to go and what type of holiday they would like. For example: a young couple from Central London would like to book a holiday for early December. They come into the travel agent and sit down with me and tell me what type of holiday they would like. After looking up and discussing different holidays, they would make a decision and hopefully book the holiday.If they would like more time to think about it, I would give them a few broachers to take home with them while they thought about it. Customer type two: Elderly couple An elderly couple are most likely to come into the travel agents and sit down with me to discuss the holiday they would like to go on. After discussing a few holidays, I would recommend a holiday. E. g. I would say ‘there is a lovely villa in Spain t hat is on offer at the moment that is about half a mile away from the beach. If one of the couples were to say that they have been to Spain before and it was too hot, or that their partner was not able to walk very far, that would be known as a recognition of unstated needs, meaning that they would like to go to a destination that is at a cooler climate or they would like to stay in accommodation closer to the beach. Customer type four: Disabled People that have a disability can communicate with me in any way, i. e. face to face, via email or on the telephone.If a customer was to call me and ask for information on different holidays but said that they were disabled, I would realise that this would mean they would be a unstated need, and they would need special assistance. For example if a lady who wanted to book a holiday and was blind or visually impaired, I would know that they would need maps or signs to be put up in Brail and raised floors so they know when they are too close to a swimming pool. Task 2b – explain how travel and recognition of their needs.Tourism organisations meet and exceed customer expectations using examples from companies in the travel and tourism industry that you have researched. When our company (VA) recognise customer needs, the customers can be face for face with one of our representatives, have an online chat with one of our representatives or write their requests too us. We meet customer needs by making sure that all of the flights operate on time, airline staff are always available for assistance and always make sure that customers are kept up to date with important information such as flight times, flight delays and check in times.The way that we meet these needs are by keeping staff updated with information, regular announcements for customers at the airports and making sure that landings/take off are planned properly to avoid delays if possible. Task 2c – analyse how travel and tourism organisations meet and ex ceed the customer needs and expectations through the recognition of their needs. You should expand the links between needs, identification of needs and being able to meet and exceed customers expectations. Here at Virgin Atlantic, we identify and meet customer needs through customer survey questionnaires/ comment cards and customer forums/focus groups.When the survey questionnaires or comment cards have been read by a member for our staff, usually the customer service manager, they then analyse all of the comments to find areas of improvement in order to meet customer needs. For example, if a number of customers have complained about staff not knowing obvious information i. e. directions around the airport, prices of products or check in times, that would tell us that our staff are unequipped to help our customers. From this, we will then need to realise and work our a way to get more information into our staff in order to meet the needs of our customers more efficiently.This can be done in many ways, however the most ideal one for this situation would be to hold regular morning/afternoon meetings to keep staff updated with information. When we exceed customer expectations, we like to go that extra mile by giving out customers more in-depth information. An example of this would be when a customer asks simply the time of their flight, we like to make sure that our staff will fully inform our customers of their flight time, boarding time, gate number and if there will be any delays.At the Martime Museum (NMM) they meet and exceed customers expectations by making sure that the company works like clock work. All of the staff are given a two day induction and then on-going training pro grammes are offered to all staff. All staff are fully trained and new members of staff are teamed up with an experienced team member to meet all of the customers needs. At NMM there are customer comment cards, customer surveys and focus groups to ensure that the organization knows wh at their customers want and if there are any complaints being made.For an example if the museum had a number of complaints about staff not having enough product knowledge/information i. e. background history of the area they were working in, that would tell the managers/owners that their staff are unequipped to help their customers. From this information, they work their way to getting more knowledge into their staff. This can be done in so many ways but the most effective way would be to give the staff more training and hold meetings regularly o make sure that they have acceptable knowledge to be working with the customers.

Mandatory Arbitration: Discussion Assignment

Week 1 Discussion Assignment – 2 Parts Due 11:59pm Friday Part 1  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Choose one part of the assigned textbook question to answer Part 2  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Choose ONE of the options [pic] Part 1 – Choose one part of the assigned textbook question to answer An important concept this week is jurisdiction. As the text explains, a court must have subject matter jurisdiction to hear a case. Subject matter jurisdiction is rather straight forward – the court must have jurisdic tion to hear the particular type of dispute (see my video for further explanation of this concept).Now look at Question 2 (p. 71) and pick either b, c,  or  d to answer. Explain your answer using legal terms and concepts from this week's readings. (b) Paula, who lives in New York City, wants to sue Dizzy Movie Theatres, whose principal place of business is Dallas. She claims that while she was in Texas on holiday, she was injured by their negligent maintenance of a stairway. She claims damages of $30,000. The general trial court of Texas would have sole jurisdiction. There is no federal court diversity jurisdiction because the amount in dispute is less than $75,000. Top of FormPart 2  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ choose ONE of the options Choice #1 Mandatory Arbitration Read the Mandatory Arbitration section (p. 45) and the supplemental materials provided:  Ã‚  Link to Letter to Congress  and  Arbitration Fairness Act (Proposed), then consider the following hypothetical: Let's suppose you are the CEO and majority shareholder of FacTree, a small manufacturer of artificial trees and flowers. FacTree has about 100 workers who do the routine assembly work for pay ranging from $8 per hour to $15 per hour. They work in two shifts. There are about a dozen supervisors who versee their work. In the past few years there have been five employment lawsuits: three concerned sexual harassment and two concerned discrimination in promotion. All five settled before trial. For three of the suits the company's attorney fees were over $50,000 per suit. For one of the claims, the company paid $250,000 in damages to the employee. Consequently, you are considering mandatory arbitration for all employment disputes. Discuss whether you had ever considered that mandatory arbitration clauses were included in so many of your contracts.Do you agree with imposing theses clauses in so many types of contracts and without negotiation or discussion/notice? Does your opinion differ as the small business owner in the hypothetical above? Explain whether you would or would not impose mandatory arbitration and whether the proposed legislation impacts your decision. Minimum 2 paragraphs. Choice #1 Mandatory Arbitration I was not aware of this term prior to this assignment, now that I’m learning the meaning of the term â€Å"Mandatory Arbitration†, I’m not surprised at all that they are present in so many contracts.Business owners and corporations have the knowledge and know how to always keep the upper hand on consumers. Every contract or agreement that we come across contains sneaky little fine print. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS GENERALLY PROTECT ONLY AGAINST GOVERNMENTAL ACTS. We’re all guilty of not taking the time to read the fine print. To the point of this hypothetical scenario, although I don’t agree with the concept of Mandatory Arbitration as a private system of justice because it prevents people from exercising their legal right to take a company to court and have their dispute judged on all the available evidence.If I were this CEO, I would use a mandatory arbitration clause as protection for my business. I think the proposed legislation is a fair proposition under the bill, parties involved in a dispute would be allowed a choice between arbitration or a court action when pursuing a complaint. THE CONSTITUION IS A SERIES OF COMPROMISES ABOUT POWER. Choice #2   First Amendment: Free Speech On March 1, 2006, this story appeared in the me dia: Americans apparently know more about The Simpsons than they do about the First Amendment. Far more Americans can identify Lisa, Marge, Maggie, Homer, and Bart than the First Amendment freedoms.Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition for redress of grievances. )   But more than half can name at least two members of the cartoon family, according to a survey. [1] Considering this and the  Texas  v. Johnson  case (p. 110): General Question:  Ã‚  With whom do you agree? Explain. Questions for those who agree that the First Amendment protects flag burning: †¢ Isn't it very painful for veterans of foreign wars, some permanently disabled, to see someone burn the flag that they fought for? Did Johnson contribute any valuable ideas when he burned the flag? †¢ If he contributed nothing, why should a state be forced to permit his actions? †¢ If the majority of a state’s citizens want to outlaw flag burning, why shouldn't they be allowed to? Questions for those who argue that the First Amendment does not protect flag burning: †¢ If a state could outlaw flag burning, could it also outlaw burning a copy of the Constitution? A photograph of the flag? A cross? A photograph of the President? †¢ Even if some people regard the flag as special, why should their opinion be the law of the land? Doesn't the anger created by flag burning indicate that it is effective speech? Should we outlaw effective speech and permit only speech that offends no one? Minimum 2 paragraphs and incorporate 2 different terms/phrases from this week's constitutional reading (in all CAPS). [pic] [1]   â€Å"Study: More know ‘The Simpsons' than First Amendment rights,† The USA Today, Mar 1, 2006 http://www. usatoday. com/news/nation/2006-03-01-freedom-poll_x. htm; Simpsons ‘trump, First Amendment, BBC News, Mar 1, 2006 http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/americas/4761294. stm

History of Psychology and concepts of human nature Essay

Since the beginning of the human civilization, there have been continuous efforts to explore the various complexities confounded in the human nature by our various philosophers. They have tried to bring out the various notions like fusion, interactions, integration or systems in relation to their environment and society. The study of the human nature began with various theories formulated by our classical economists like Sophists, and their contemporaries Socrates and Plato and then Aristotle. But before that, Thabes of Miletus of Greek (600 BC) studied the nature of Universe to predict solar eclipse. It is ardently clear that before the philosophical disposition towards the study of human beings started, philosophers were more delving into the mysteries of nature. Sophists were the first to fully formulate the study of human nature. Between 430 to 420, Antiphone in his essay â€Å"On Truth†, said that all men belong to human race, they are all fixed and in nature, they are all same whether they are non Hellenes or Hellenes. Other Sophists too described human nature as a â€Å"static essence†. (Reinhold 2002) They developed their concept while explaining their self -interestedness as the main essence of their human nature. Hippias too stated that, â€Å"it is human nature for the stronger to rule the weaker and to lead, and for the weaker to submit and follow†. (Reinhold 2002) Plato disagreed with this and stated that this law did not take into consideration the law for creation of humans, which they called nomos. He also always criticized relativism of knowledge and skepticism of Sophists. For Sophists, nothing existed and if there was something then, it was impossible for us to know it and if we knew it, we could not explain it. Plato explaining Sophists believed that â€Å"Man is the measure of all things, of those that are in so far as they are, and those that are not in so far as they are†. (Dillon 2003) He also did not agree on their conception of self-interestedness. He said that by understanding the man as self interested, Sophists had undermined morality, which is as much part of the human endeavors. All knowledge is based on contingent facts based on specific situation. Plato saw man’s nature as rational and civilized society must follow rational principles. Plato and Socrates both said that irrational desire should not over power reason. Following on the steps of Plato and Socrates, Aristotle too believed human as possession of two souls: the philosophical/ theoretical and the rational. Aristotle further stated that human nature could be divided into two parts: firstly â€Å"drives† and secondly â€Å"capacities†. (Leahy 2000) Human Nature cannot be defined as a nature of one person but for all human races on this Earth. There are some elements in human behavior which are common to all human beings, and by closely observing the actions of the people, one can see the reflection of this combined element of human behavior. Many philosophers consider this human nature as consisting of element which they called ‘power’ and it is this power that makes the humans behave in a way they ought to behave. For e. g. All human beings eat and it is hunger that induces humans to eat therefore hunger is a power and is common behavior in all human beings. There are two types of Powers- basic and secondary, for instance aggressive power is a basic power in humans, which might lead to aggressive conduct in normal situations. All living things Aristotle said are imbibed with inbuilt potentialities and it is natural among human beings to develop that potentialities to the full and from here arises the another question: what, however, is the potentiality of human beings? And the obvious answer to this question is the capacity to reason and to always strive to develop their power of reason is the ultimate aim of humans. The ability to reason is the best capacity and the power given to humans by nature and they should use it to the full capacity to make their life better. This power of reasoning enables humans to grasp their world around and this reasoning power starts with the children at young age. From the young age, they see in their behavior both the stability and change. Stability in the sense that they adopt themselves according to their environment yet see themselves modifying the environment and their behavior on the basis of their reasoning power which allows them to grow morally and physically. As compared to it, Jean Piaget of Switzerland born in 1896 studied the cognitive development of children in his what is known as Piaget’s theory to come up with the conclusion that children are not less intelligent than elders are. Children establish around themselves cognitive structures like mental maps, schemes, or networked concepts to better understand and reciprocate to his physical surroundings. With their most established inherent abilities, they try to modify themselves with their environment. But centuries later Freud contradicted this theory into notion that development takes place in the individual in the same way as in the other species like psychosexual changes in biological terms. Thomas Hobbes had been adequately presumed as most intricate materialistic philosopher who disbelieved in the concept that children are adoptable naturally to their surroundings. He believed that human beings are not free and they have to follow the pattern of this materialistic world of today. In Levathian in 1651, he said that, â€Å"Man is not naturally good but naturally a selfish hedonist —of the voluntary acts of every man, the object is some good to himself. † (Fonseca Online) All human beings are inherently selfish. Rene Descartes was a French philosopher and a mathematician (1596 to 1650) who delivered his voice on human nature when Renaissance was at its peak. He was the father of modern philosophy and believed that the essence of human nature lies in thought process and all things that we see or perceive are ultimately true. He had an ardent belief that it is the human reason or the power of reasoning that induces humans to entertain the certain knowledge and truth. Thomas Hobbes discovered the human nature more from his philosophical eyes and through his study on child development whereas Rene Descartes adopted scientific approach. As compared to Thomas, Descartes believed that truth could only be discovered through the process called as radical skepticism and analytical reasoning. He further said that the â€Å"Essence of human nature lies in thought, and that all the things we conceive clearly and distinctly are true. † (Cottingham 1986) Centuries later Karl Marx conveyed the society having a concrete definite pattern with a social formation, but with an interdependent economic, political, legal and cultural levels with several parts of modes of production and it is the relationship between these different modes of production that runs the society. Both Thomas and Karl Marx believed the nature and human behavior surrounding the concept of materialist wealth. During the Renaissance period, the scientific and technological developments lured the intricate selfish nature of human beings with the abundance of materialistic wealth at their disposal. Human behavior is not fixed but fluctuating and since centuries human beings have been cultivating their behavior according to the changes in the society and in the global world. Man is a social animal and it is ultimately the interaction between the man and his economical, social and political position on which his behavior depends. All the theories and studies on the human nature since the Greek time had been adopted and materialized looking at the adaptive nature of man to its surroundings and in the society in which he or she is living. Whether it is Sophists visualization of man as static personalities or Plato’s concept of man as rational or civilized or Aristotle’s man with great inherent capabilities, or Thomas Hobbes’s conception of man as selfish hedonistic or Descartes rational man and Karl Marx’s man as inherently and inborn social animal interdependent on society, all philosophers were the mouth pieces of their contemporary societies. And the study of the human nature has always been the study of society at large in context to the study of their relationships with their surroundings.

Aim Of Molecular Gastronomy Media Essay

Aim Of Molecular Gastronomy Media Essay The art of cooking is as old as humanity and cooking is such an important part of our world which obviously needs scientific attention. Although science has contributed to food safety, hygiene and nutritional aspects, little has been done towards innovation and invention of new dishes. The ancient Greek words, gastro means stomach and nomos means law, collectively termed as gastronomy, which in contemporary hospitality industry means food and culture. It generally refers to the study of relationship between food and culture with interdisciplinary approaches. This literature attempts to explain molecular gastronomy, its origin and evolution, along with its relevance and contributions to the contemporary hospitality industry. Cooking and gastronomy Even though molecular gastronomy has attracted media attention for quite a while, still there is confusion about the true meaning of the term. To explain this, cooking and gastronomy has to be distinguished first. Cooking is the preparation of raw food into edible, whereas gastronomy is the knowledge of whatever concerns man’s nourishment. Gastronomy is about chemical and physical transformation behind the preparation of any food, for example, the reason behind egg white puffs up when whipped or mayonnaise becomes firm. (This, 2006). According to HerveThis, the science of food is not new but dates back to second century BC, when preparation of meat stock-the aqueous solution obtained by thermal processing of animal tissues in water-has been of great interest. Since then, scientists have been interested in food and cooking which gave way to molecular gastronomy. If culinary history is scrutinised, it will be clear that, initially food experts studied the culinary science to steer clear of blind assumptions and unscientific ways of cooking. But today, the science of food has reached its extreme in the form of molecular gastronomy, which chemically examines the food and cooking in its molecular level to give a new face for cooking and change the total concept of commercial cooking in near future. Molecular gastronomy The scientific discipline dedicated to culinary industry and to gastronomical phenomena in general has been called ‘molecular gastronomy’ the late Nicholas Kurti and HerveThis (This, 2005). Molecular gastronomy can also be defined as a field that attempts to improve the culinary techniques through understanding the composition and chemical transformations occurring in food during the process of cooking (Ankeny, Year Unknown). Gastronomy or molecular gastronomy is the science just like any other science in the world, which studies the cause and effect of anything that happens during cooking including the structural difference in same cooking ingredients of different quality, which have an effect on the final product. If we can answer the question, we can correct a mistake, use this knowledge to improve the cooking process or even invent new dishes or ways to prepare food. For example, if we know that when an egg is cooked, water evaporates, the proteins denature and polymerize to enclose water, we can even use substitute methods to cook it, like adding alcohol to it, which denature the egg proteins and gives the same result. Molecular gastronomy also deals with the study of human senses and perception of taste, aroma, texture and temperature, in short, the sensory science known as chemesthesis (berham et. al, 2010). It studies the perception of senses in molecular level in order to understand how different dishes are perceived as awful, average, good or delicious, when they are made of similar ingredients. Although chemesthesis of human beings are the same, people of different genre appreciates different types of food. For example westerner’s cooking style is entirely different from Asians, and while Asians appreciate spicy food, most westerners do not.

Civil Rights and Taxes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Civil Rights and Taxes - Research Paper Example This is where Civil Rights bridge the Constitution to make certain that those who were previously excluded from the Human Rights that existed, to guarantee they would not be overlooked any longer. The fight for those Civil Rights was a long and difficult road that still to this day remains a struggle because there are always new issues to replace the old. Civil Rights continue to deal with issues of race and religion, as well as, sexual preference and marriage and age discrimination. Overall the arena of Civil Rights is one of social concern it is rarely related directly to economical issues. So it may sound a bit unusual to discuss taxes in relation to the Civil Rights issues, but there is a certain amount of overlay. Taxes were designed as monies taken legally by the government from the citizens to participate in the funding of this country that we live in and enjoy. However, what happen when the taking of those taxes contradict the personal Civil Rights of individuals forcing citizens to financially participate in government endeavors that subverts their Civil Rights? It can happen and may continue to do so. That being said, it is entirely possible for taxes to violate the Civil Rights of the citizens of the United States. When this country was founded it was operated by wealthy, white male citizens. The rights they granted, primarily, benefited them, socially, politically, and economically. They were, by no means, malicious in their construct, but they were self-servingly inclusive. They excluded women. They excluded African Americans who were held in captivity and property for generations, as well as alienating other minority groups throughout time. P.B. Levy in his book â€Å"The Civil Rights Movement† gave a chronological list of all the incredible work done to gain Civil Rights for all the people who live in this country. From the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to the ratifying of the