How To Write A Good Book Critique: Steps And Suggestions Essay

A book critique is a description, critical analysis, and an evaluation on the quality, meaning, and significance of a book, not a book report, retelling, or a summary, It should (1) focus on the book’s purpose, content, and authority, (2) include the reviewer’s reaction on the strengths and weaknesses of the theories, concepts, and content presented, (3) evaluate how well (in the opinion of the reviewer) the author has succeeded, and (4) present evidence to support this evaluation. Step 1: The first, and most important, – Read the book. Suggestion 1: When you read a book (for its educational value), take notes about it and formulate your thoughts as you go along. (You should be able to write most of your critique without looking back at the book. If you continually are paging through the book as you write, the result is likely to be a string of paraphrases taken from the book, rather than your own evaluation.) Suggestion 2: While reading the book don’t be afraid to consult outside resources (dictionary, the book’s cited references, etc.) for confirmation and/or clarification. Include these findings in your notes. Suggestion 3: Keep in mind that your assignment is to write a 4-page (max) BOOK CRITIQUE, a summary and analysis (not a review) of a particular book’s (author or authors) perspective on a selected topic, not a 20-page paper on the topic. Step 2: To begin writing your critique, start with a centered title in 14 pt New Times Roman Bold, followed by your name in 12 pt New Times Roman standard (not Bold). As an example: Summary and Critique of (main title of the book you read) Submitted by (your name) Step 3: Using the following format, identify the book you read. Author & Author. (year of publication). Complete title of book in italics. City of publication: Publisher’s name. Number of pages. As an example: Marvin E. Lusts. (1997). How to Be Great: Getting Ahead in a Humble Way. New York: Deficient Press, 1997. xvii, 234 pp. Step 4: Write the introductory paragraph (or two). Without using a heading, provide a contextual background (such as for whom the book is intended; what we know about the author; the â€Å"school of thought† represented by this author or work), a statement of the purpose of the book (what the author or editor is trying to accomplish), and the scope of the book (how much ground the author is trying to cover) – you must judge what background information will be helpful and/or necessary for understanding the nature/uniqueness of the book. Step 5: Following a left-aligned, 12 pt Bold New Times Roman heading Overview, write your summary of the book. Your summary should consist of a short, succinct â€Å"overview† of the contents (as opposed to a play-by-play summary of the book), identification of the main thesis or theses, a recap of the supporting argument/logic/rationale, description of the author’s assumptions, and note-worthy statements/wordings/quotations from the book. Suggestion 4: Don’t plagiarize from the publisher’s, reviewer’s, or book seller’s reviews/summaries. They are trying to promote the book, you want to objectively describe the content. Suggestion 5: When you quote from the book that you are discussing, put the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. As an example: The author concludes that â€Å"size does matter, as all the truly great leaders were exceptionally short people† (p. 79). Step 6: Following a left-aligned, 12 pt Bold New Times Roman heading Analysis and Reaction, write your analysis and reaction. For your analysis, objectively evaluate the book for relevance and importance to the selected topic; accuracy, thoroughness, and usefulness, and the author’s objectivity (is the book based on research or personal opinion?) Show whether the author’s main arguments are logically rational (based on testable, factual evidence), logically irrational (based on un-testable espoused theory and rhetoric), or illogical (based on emotional opinion). Comment on parts of particular interest, and point out anything that seems to give the book literary merit. Additionally, relate the book to larger issues. Identify specific issues the book raises and the possibilities the book suggests to you? Suggestion 6: Be careful not to criticize an author just because he/she did not write the book that you would have wanted, or because their position is based on a belief that is diametrically opposed to your personal beliefs (for example, the author belongs to one political party and you belong to another). Only judge a book according to the author’s stated (or blatantly implied) intentions. For your reaction to the book, respond to the author’s arguments/opinions. What do you agree or disagree with, and why. What specific points are not convincing, and what has the author omitted or what problems were left unsolved. Support your argument for or against the author’s opinions with evidence (research findings or by bringing in other authors you agree with). Suggestion 7: When you quote or introduce supporting evidence from other books/authors identify the source by putting the author’s last name, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. As an example: However, the research has clearly shown that there is no correlation between genetics and leadership effectiveness (Sommebodi, 2001, p. 79). Step 7: Following a left-aligned, 12 pt Bold New Times Roman heading Summary write a summary paragraph (or two). Close with a comment on the overall significance of this work (is it a valuable piece, a useful piece with some minor problems, or a waste of the trees), briefly restate your main points, and comment on whether or not you would recommend this book to others, and why.

Fear of Crime

Introduction Fear of Crime in members of our society today has been widely researched. For the purpose of this essay, fear of crime is used in the context of an individual’s perceived risk of becoming a victim of crime. In this essay it is argued that the elderly and the youngest members of our society are the most fearful of crime and that, of these age groups the elderly have the lowest risk of becoming victims of crime. Firstly, research shows that fear of crime is wide spread and that certain age groups are more fearful of becoming victims than others. Secondly, that the Media’s portrayal of crimes contributes to society’s perceptions of safety and crime itself, increasing fear of crime in these age groups. Thirdly, that the Elderly fears of crime and perceived risk of victimisation is also contributed to by social and physiological factors, such as vulnerability that leads to altered lifestyle changes. Data confirms that levels of victimisation rates are low for the elderly but high for the young, which is in contrast to those in the elderly age group having heightened levels of fear. In conclusion, fear of crime is becoming a serious societal issue as our population ages being that the elderly are becoming the most fearful of crime whilst the youngest age group with the highest fear are most likely to become victims of crime. Discussion Firstly, we see that in modern society today that a growing fear of crime is widely recognised. It is acknowledged that the elderly aged 65 and over, and the youngest members aged 16 – 24 of our society have the highest fear of crime in comparison to other age groups(Johnson, 2005). Australia has an aging population (James, 1992 p. 1), for those 85 and over numbers has doubled and there are increased numbers of those aged 65 and over. The last twenty years spanning from 1990 to 2010 has seen the number of elderly people in our society increase by 170%; in comparison to around 30% for total population growth for Australia, where those age 15 are seen to be decreasing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010). This correlated to the findings from the 2004 International Crime Victimisation Survey (Johnson, 2005) showing that the age groups 15 – 24 and 65 and over were the most likely to answer the series of questions asked around feelings of safety when walking alone at night, utilising or waiting for public transportation at night and whether they believed they would be victims of burglary in the ext year as unsafe or very unsafe. Secondly, it is argued that the Media’s representations of criminal acts and events through sensationalised stories depicting crimes that are violent and those with a sexual nature; these have contributed to and influenced levels of fear and perceptions of risk for the age groups 15 – 24, and 65 years and over. The first edition of Violence Today (Chappell, 1989) links society’s perceptions of violent crime to media stories and publicity that is focussed on crimes of a violent nature that attributes to growing fears of crime posturing â€Å"Australia is succumbing to a torrent of crime beyond the control of traditional system of traditional law† (Chappell, 1989). The focus on violent and sexually explicit crimes by the media has left our society with the misconception that these sorts of crimes are an everyday occurrence. The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (Roberts & Indermaur, Australian Institute of Criminology 2007) recorded that over half of those aged 65 and over believed that crime had increased over a period of two years before the survey was completed, this is attributed to an individual’s media consumption – whether it be newspapers, internet or television – of factual or fictional medians (Kort-Butler & Sittner Hartshorn, 2011). The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes also collected data on the medians that individuals get their crime and criminal justice beliefs and views from, and observed â€Å"that the media remains the most important source in informing Australians’ views of crime†(Roberts & Indermaur, Australian Institute of Criminology 2007 p. 9). The importance given to certain crimes in the daily newspapers and other media sources shows us proof to the fact that crime is a topic that has the public’s interest and is a focus of their worries (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001). It goes on to discuss the fact that crime as reported on by the media increases the public’s levels of fears and that there is little or no correlation to actual levels of violent crime in our society today. Thirdly, crime victimisation data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008-2009, p. 17) reflects that those 65 and above are the least likely to be victims of crime with a victimisation rate much lower than all other age groups in the category of personal assault. This cannot be said or the younger age groups of 16 -24 who’s fear of crime can be linked to high numbers of victimisation in the same category. Carcach, Graycar & Muscat (2001) attribute social and communal activities that elderly people partake in to this anomaly between the elderly fear of crime and victimisation rates. The change in activities of the elderly over time may contribute to the lower victimisation rates reported where on the other hand the young tend to have many more communal social activities which serve to increase their chances of victimisation. The data collected from the Crime Victimisation Survey (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008-2009) although it showed very little difference between the fear levels for the youngest age group and that of the older age group of 65 and over the differences in social activities and community relationships and the fact that the elderly are far less likely to be out alone without a companion, or travelling on public transport or waiting for the same can be accounted for, by personal vulnerability. A key concept used to explain high levels of perceived risk of victimisation is that of vulnerability. Powell & Wahidin (2007, p. 94) assert â€Å"the fear of crime operates on a myriad of emotional and practical levels from feeling vulnerable and isolated, to affecting personal well – being†. Vulnerability has been attributed to contributing to fear of crime within the elderly age group (Carcach et al, 2001). It has been argued that ‘personal vulnerability’ (Franklin, Franklin & Fearn, 2008 p. 06), the inability for an individual to protect themselves due to lack of physical strength (James, 1992) and the feelings of â€Å"powerlessness to resist attack’ (Callanan & Teasdale, 2009 p. 362) and their worry of being able to heal from an act of victimisation (Johnson, 2005 p. 33) explains the disparity between higher levels of fear and that of actual victimisation. Cossman & Rader (2011, p. 143) add further to this that most elderly people are now livi ng alone, either having lost a lifetime partner through death, or hospitalisation due to frailty or illness also attributes to higher levels of fear of crime. A workshop held between several services and organisations in South Australia on Crime and the Elderly identified that elderly people thought themselves to be the most victimised by crime, that during the day break-ins caused them fear, however break-ins with the potential for personal assault caused the most fear after dark, these fears impacted on all aspects of their lives, which in turn has restricted and isolated them from their communities and the lifestyles they have been previously accustomed to living. Doherty, 1991, p. 1)(Johnson, 2005, p. 29) The elderly by far have the highest levels of fear that are based on misconceptions that they perceive about crime in our society today. The young 15– 24 years of age perceive their risk of victimisation to be high and statistics show that in 2005 this age group had the highest victimisation rate for crimes against the person ( Australian Institute of Criminology, 2006). Conclusion Fear of crime in our society has far reaching implications, Australia has an aging population that exhibits one of the highest levels of fear of crime that can be attributed to feelings of vulnerability, yet statistics have shown the elderly to be the least likely to be victims of crime. Their perceived fear of victimisation has lead to changes in their lifestyles in order to protect themselves, based on misconceived notions that they are the most victimised in society. The young aged 16-24 years of age also have a high level of perceived risk from crime but this is in proportion to the victimisation rates recorded for this age group. Perceptions of fear and perceived risk of crime are contributed to by the media’s portrayal of crimes that have a violent or sexual nature which further serves to contribute to a growing fear of crime. The fact that society tends to get its views and beliefs of crime and criminal justice from the media means that misconceptions about the perceived risk of victimisation tend to be over the top and misinformed. References Australian Institute of Criminology 2006, Australian Crime: facts and figures 2005, Crime Facts Info, no. 120, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001, ‘Measuring Wellbeing: Frameworks for Australian Social Statistics, 2001, cat. no. 4160. 0’ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘2008-2009, Crime Victimisation, Australia, cat. no 4530. 0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, ‘Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, cat. No. 3201. 0’, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, Australian Social Trends, cat no. 4102. 0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Callanan, V. J. , & Teasdale, B. (2009). ‘An exploration of gender differences in measurement of fear of crime’. Feminist Criminology, 4(4), 359-376. doi:10. 1177/1557085109345462  Ã‚  Ã‚   Carcach, C. Graycar, A. & Muscat, G. 2001 ‘The Victimisation of Older Australians’, Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, no. 212, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Chappell, D, 1989. Violence Today, no. 1 Violence, Crime and Australian Society’, National Committee on Violence, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Doherty, B. 1991, Home Assist – A new approach to House Security, Department of Employment and Further Education, Adelaide. Fearn, N. E. , Franklin, T. W. , & Franklin, C. A. (2008). ‘A multilevel analysis of the vulnerab ility, disorder, and social integration models of fear of crime’. Social Justice Research, 21(2), 204-227. doi:10. 1007/s11211-008-0069-9   Hartshorn, K. J. S. , & Kort? Butler, L. A. (2011). Watching the Detectives: Crime Programming, Fear of Crime, and Attitudes about the Criminal Justice System’, Sociological Quarterly, 52(1), 36-55. doi:10. 1111/j. 1533-8525. 2010. 01191. x   James, M. 1992, ‘The Elderly as Victims of Crime, Abuse and Neglect’, Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, no. 37, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Johnson, H. 2005, ‘Crime Victimisation in Australia: Key Results of the 2004 International Crime Victimisation Survey’, Research and Public Policy Series, no. 64, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Powell, J. & Wahidin. A. (2008). ‘Understanding old age and victimisation: A critical exploration’. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy,  28(3/4), 90-99. doi:10. 1108/01443330810862160 Rader, N. , & Cossman, J. (2011). ‘Fear of Crime and Personal Vulnerability: Examining Self-Reported Health’, Sociological Spectrum,  31(2), 141-162. doi:10. 1080/02732173. 2011. 541339 Roberts, L. & Indermaur, D. 2007, ‘What Australians think: about crime and justice: results from the 2007 Survey of Social Attitudes’, Research and Public Policy Series 101, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra.

Buddhist Temple Visit

Buddhism is religion that is based off of peace and spirituality taught by the teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gotama. Many who follow its teachings believe Buddhism to be more of a way of life or lifestyle choice rather a religion. Buddha is not a god, but one man that taught his followers a path of enlightenment from his experiences and values. Buddha’s main teachings were the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths were teachings about suffering, pain, disease, happiness, loneliness, and aging.It explained why we as humans can overcome certain obstacles in our lives by looking at the more spiritual side of things such as â€Å"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions. † (Dalai Lama). The Eightfold Path is the teachings of being moral, being aware of our actions and thoughts, developing compassion for others, and most importantly gaining wisdom from the understanding of The Four Noble Truths. I visited the Vietnamese Buddhist Center in Sugar Land this past Sunday and it was a sight to behold.The center was surrounded by a green metal fencing with some sort of crest or emblem that looked similar to an steering wheel on an old ship. Driving into the center, the main road was split then split into two smaller roads. The road to the left led to a parking lot, while the road to the right led to a smaller parking lot surrounded by small buildings that seem to be places of worship. The scenery that over hung the roads were statues of lion heads, beautiful trees and flowers in all sorts of colors.The main statue however was a huge tall Buddha in the middle of large pond filled with Koi Fish. There was a small tiled area that visitors could take pictures of the statue in its amazing and beautiful nature. The aura of the place was one of peace and tranquility. The small tiled visitor area was then extended by an overhanging wooden bridge leading to a large tiled courtyard with small trees that was around the perimeter. In the middle of the courtyard was two rows of small trees that were placed vertical to the steps of a large temple, which was the main place of worship.Behind the main temple was another small courtyard was two smaller buildings for worship to the left and the right of the courtyard. Another large building was to the back which looked fairly newly built. It seemed to be a place of serving food that contained no meat but some sort of meat substitute that was not artificially made from what the servers were telling me. Then to the right of that building was a small warehouse that looked to house desks and whiteboards for the weekly Vietnamese classes that are being held there.Outside of the warehouse was a basketball goal for the students that would come for Sunday school, and a small parking lot for more visitors. As I took off my shoes before entering the main temple before the first worship session began, I began to feel a sense of peace within myself as well those that were atten ding the worship session. Inside the main temple was a huge statue of Buddha surrounded with white silhouettes of the Lotus flower, which seems to be the symbol of peace. Tens of incense jars filled with sand litter the alter the room.The room smelled like incense, pleasant and peaceful. There were twenty rows of small cushions that were used for kneeling and sitting, and twenty rows of small raised shelves that were used for holding the prayers that were going to be recited during that session. People were filling the room really quickly, and seats were being taken fast. The elders were given their seats first, and if an elder came a tad late, someone would give them their spot and moved to the side of the room. Everyone was dressed somewhat casually. Most of the older occupants were wearing work clothes like the men wearing slacks and a nice fitted collared shirt, while the women would wear either a dress or slacks and nice top or blouse. The younger occupants, ones of my age or younger, would just be wearing casual school clothes like jeans and a tee shirt. In such a religious place, I have not yet witnessed a young female wearing short-shorts or any revealing outfit for that matter. The room was filled with a mild chatter of Vietnamese and English.Most conversations that I could comprehend were mostly of those catching up with each other and wondering how each other was doing and such. The younger occupants would be talking about the latest craze in music or movies. It suddenly got quiet as there was three loud bangs from striking of the gong to commence the prayers. The head monk for that prayer came out from one of the side doors in a traditional orange robe holding a microphone in his right hand, and prayer sheets in his left. He thanked us all for coming today and briefly explained he prayer we were going to be reciting. The prayer was for those that had lost a loved one, and for them not to be sad as their loved ones have found peace and tranquility as the moved on into the steps of enlightenment and eventually reincarnation. He then turned to the giant Buddha towards the front of the room and began reciting as everyone joined in and recited along. Everyone was on their knees having their hands together as they recited the prayer either from memory or from the pieces of paper that had three pages of prayers in Vietnamese.I could not read the prayers so I just silently glanced at them and tried to make sense of where we were in the prayers. Then one of the monks hit the small drum which everyone bowed for a few short seconds then returned to their original positions. Then a few moments later the drum was struck again, everyone bowed, but now stood up instead of returning to their knees. Then again, the small drum was struck, everyone bowed then returned to being on their knees. The prayer was now being recited faster as a drum was being struck with a beat in quick succession.This was repeated three times and when the prayers were being done recited, the head monk told those that have lost a loved one to follow him into the incense room. I followed about four families into that room. The room had pictures of everyone that had passed away that was a member of the temple. Families that were in that room had a special prayer and ceremony to honor their loved one. The monk said that one member of the family shall come up to the alter, drink a sacred tea and pour a small cup in honor of their loved one.A drum was struck as everyone started to recite a prayer. During the reciting, another monk came and tapped the four members that represented their families with some sort of sacred text. Then the prayer stopped as the four members went to the front, poured their tea, drank it, and poured it for their deceased loved one. Before everyone excited the room, every person was given three incense to pray and let their deceased loved ones know of their prayers today.They would bow three times, pause to pray, went up to the alter, placed their incense into the jar, returned to their spot, and lastly bow three times once more. That was my experience in a Buddhist Temple, the peace and tranquility of the people, and the monks was quite wholesome. Being a young adult, I never really understood the importance of religion and culture, but after visiting a place like this†¦ It really opened my eyes to how a religion can bring peace and everlasting faith within a person.

Scenario Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scenario Analysis - Research Paper Example Owing to their reduced vision and hearing troubles, most aged students should be seated in the front rows and youngsters should be made to sit in the rear of the class. Sociological models explain the process of development in adults from a social and cultural perspective. People’s tendency to learn is influenced by their cultural traits and social interactions. Some people are inspired by their ideals. In an attempt to follow them, they tend to seek education. Sociological models cover such factors as class, gender, race, and sexual interests of the adults and study their impact on their development tendency (Imel, 2001). Psychological theoretical model explains the sequence of development and the effect of life experiences and phases on an individual’s tendency to learn. Generally, young people are much more enthusiastic about learning and developing their career as compared to old people. They have a whole life in front of them and they are keen to learn as much as t hey can in order to do their best in their professions. On the other hand, old people tend to be more selective in their learning areas. A vast majority of old people would rather choose to learn about religion than economics. One’s choice and preferences alter with age and they have a direct impact on one’s tendency to learn.

Ikea Company and Its International Retailer Selling Case Study

Ikea Company and Its International Retailer Selling - Case Study Example From this paper, it is clear that the analysis of internal environment would include strengths and weaknesses of the company. The strength of the company lies in its expert marketing abilities and also its location. These are the two aspects which add to the value of the company’s products. It is also a strong global brand attracting key groups of consumers. The company’s scale and size of the company’s business could make it hard to impose quality standards and maintain quality issues. Moreover, some of the countries making IKEA products also do not implement proper working environment legislation. These could account for company’s weaknesses. Some of the key opportunities which IKEA tries to take advantage of being a consistently increasing in demand for greener products. Also, the demand for low priced products remains high. Also, the present financial conditions in the economy across the world predict a gradual decline in consumer’s preference f or expensive products. Also, there is high demand for low water usage and low carbon footprints. The company must design a business strategy which would be socially and economically conscious. Thus it would be based on the present market conditions. It is true that the present financial conditions are favorable towards the production of low priced products but soon the situation is likely to improve and this would consequently change people’s tastes and preferences as well. This means that the company must design a strategy which would be adaptive to the surrounding environment if it seeks to avoid losses due to change in tastes and fashion. Going by the existing opportunities and threats facing the company, IKEA strives to develop an environmental and sustainability plan which is central to its business strategy. The plan seeks to continue operations till 2015 and includes social, economic and environmental issues.

Evaluate the arguments for and against the decriminalising of cannabis Essay

Evaluate the arguments for and against the decriminalising of cannabis in the U.K - Essay Example Cannabis is a plant known to be available in most parts of the world and first originated from the Asian region (Emmett and Nice, 2009). Cannabis is known by many names including marijuana, Grass, weed, herb, blow, Ganja, dagga, hemp, pot and hay. It can be extracted in a simple way; the leaves of the plant are cut in small pieces and dried. Emmett and Nice (2009) explain that one has to consider the leaves of the cannabis plant which is almost maturing. From a study conducted by Johns (2001), it has been concluded that this drug has some side effects on the victim. Most of the users tend to consume the drug by smoking, which affects their lungs just the way cigarette smoking affects a person. Cannabis use has been debated much in most countries; this paper will review the need to decriminalize and also the impacts if the drug is decriminalized in the UK. From varied research, it is indicated that cannabis decriminalization should be considered based on the economic point of view; a lot of money is spent by the Government finding drug dealers and abusers. ... The decriminalization of cannabis use in the country would give the government more money to spend in other parts of the economy. In addition the government could generate revenue from the cannabis traders instead of spending taxes chasing after them. The health issue is also another case which has to be considered. Proponents of the legalization of cannabis have been arguing that the drug can help patients overcome the difficulties they are undergoing. For example, patients are usually advised by some doctors to take small amounts of cannabis by smoking to reduce the pain caused by the diseases they are undergoing (Grant et al, 2012). Furthermore, Grant et al (2012) show that the use of cannabis by patients who have undergone neurosurgery reduces the pain, hence increasing the patients’ hope of fast recovery. Cancer patients side effect could be reduced by advising them to smoke cannabis, which reduces side effects caused by cancer drugs, including nausea and vomiting. HIV/AI Ds Patient who on Anti-retroviral drugs could also benefit from the use of cannabis to curb the side effects such lack of appetite, which could help them prevent other issues which like weight loss. Patients can then prolong their life and eat just like any other people. From the research it was also found that short sighted people could benefit from the use of cannabis which reduces the side effects they have when they are on drugs to reduce the effects of short-sightedness. Hall et al (2001) also found that cannabis can be used to curb epilepsy, tetanus or rabies (Hall et al 2001). From this, the UK government should consider decriminalizing cannabis for the benefit of ailing

Best Practices in the Workplace Communication Essay

Best Practices in the Workplace Communication - Essay Example   The use of effective communication can also aid in causing one to be able to successfully communicate the more difficult or negative messages without tending to destroy the existing trust or create any form of conflict. Of note is that effective communication essentially combines a set of several skills seen to variously include attentive listening, the non-verbal communication accompanying a message, the innate ability for one to be able to successfully manage stress at the particular moment of receipt, sending or processing of the information and the general capacity for one to be able to effectively recognize and understand not only one’s own projected emotions, but also those that happen to be affecting or be projected by the person with whom one is communicating with. While all these skills are seen to be of great importance in aiding us in our ability to better understanding of a given situation or person, building up good levels of respect and trust and successfully create an enabling environment where the various generated creative ideas, affection, caring and problem solving can be able to flourish successfully, it is important to note that good listening skills can be perceived to perhaps be the greatest skill that one should ensure that they cultivate. According to West and Turner (2010), listening has variously been referred to as being a twenty-first century skill primarily due to the fact that listening is now perceived to have greater importance as compared to the degree of importance attributed to it in the past. Of note is that the various new technologies and modern changes in the manner in which business practices are conducted has served to greatly change the person.

Environmental Scan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environmental Scan - Assignment Example The program is solely responsible for health services and training opportunities, along with valuable educational programs. Regina Food Bank has been sustaining its operations from past many years. However external forces tend to affect operations of this charitable organization. There are four major forces in external environment as per PEST model such as political, economic, social and technological forces. This project has been incorporated in Regina located in Canada. Political power is in favor of Regina Food Bank. Its main aim is to eradicate any form of hunger issues from the country. The government had recently announced a lump sum amount to be donated to Regina Food Bank. This kind of investment would be done in terms of capacity building in community and voluntary sector. Political conditions at times are not stable due to frequent elections and this in turn proves to be a threat for charitable organizations. Economic factors mainly comprise of effect of recession on charitable organization. This encompasses various phenomenons like lower income of donor, increased service demand and stiff competition in context of declining funds of government. Job security is a vital issue for donors and this affects operations of charitable organizations. When disposable income is low then it negatively affects donation habits of individuals. Reduction in interest rates is good for businesses and home-owners but it has adversely affected charities. Market volatility reduced overall income from investments and reserves for many firms. The charities usually are dependent on investment factor. This kind of dependency will be influential since larger portfolio portion is held in shares. Market volatility also plays a major role for charities in context of pension funds. Pension funds are usually bounded within equities and hence declination in stock value creates large deficits. Financial instability and low interest

Case study ( Examining Students Learning Development )

( Examining Students Learning Development ) - Case Study Example This helps the instructor plan for the activities in the lesson and the form of assessment that he will use to gauge the student understanding (Vinson, 2015). The domain chosen here was the science domain in the broad academic domain. Different children have different qualities and abilities. The term exceptional or special, therefore, covers both of the two groups and is a huge factor in teaching planning (Heward, 2006). It is unavoidable that in the process of teaching every instructor has the chance of working with some exceptional or low ability students or students with special needs. There is a need to provide for a package designed for these diverse students. Different characteristics of students with extraordinary needs and characteristics that influenced my planning included a child with dyslexia, who had difficulty in acquiring the literacy skills and felt abused by the other students due to her inability to learn. The result was that she felt demoralized and unable to participate in class since she felt intimidated by the others. The other student who influenced my planning was a child with Downs syndrome. Children with Downs syndrome usually take longer to learn in class and introduction of new concepts need to be done in steps. This child with Downs syndrome had difficulties in expressing himself verbally, which was also a necessary aspect to look at in planning my class. In teaching my science lesson, I chose an afternoon where we could have a long session in the lab. The lab was a necessary resource. The main reason for choosing this reaching context is its relevance in teaching science. In this context, I divided my students into groups. The student with Downs syndrome and the student with dyslexia were also grouped. The other reason for my choice of teaching context was the ease of using charts and hands-on learning in the lab compared to the class environment. The lab also

Kubla Khan Essay Example for Free

Kubla Khan Essay Born in 1772 in Ottery. St., T.S.Coleridge lead a very disquiet life in his early childhood. After his fathers death he was sent to the Christs hospital school. There he had felt a great emotional vacuum, which was the beginning of his continuos ill health. Charles Lamb, his schoolmate, gave us an account of this period affirming that Coleridge was highly imaginative, who sought refuge in reading old romantic tales as well as Homer, Virgil, and Shakespeare. Perhaps the most influential period in Coleridges life was the period when he met Wordsworth in 1795, after he had left Cambridge. It seemed that in the company of Wordsworth, Coleridge found the mental peace, security, and environmental harmony. This had resulted in the sudden flowering of his genius, a sudden release of his creative impulses, and he wrote The Ancient Mariner, The Christable, and Kubla Khan. Much about the composition and subject matter of Kubla Khan can be detected from Coleridges Preface to that poem: This fragment with a good deal more, not recoverable, composed, in a sort of reverie brought on by two grains of opium taken to check a dysentery This fact raises the issue of the drugs effect on the poets creative imagination. Early critics assumed that there was a direct and immediate correlation between opium and imagination. In 1934 M.H. Abrams declared that the great gift of opium to men like Coleridge was to access to a new world as different from this one; and one which is ordinary mortal. According to Elizabeth Schneider, opium can only work on what is already there in a mans mind and memory and if he already has a creative imagination and a tendency to recall dreams and visions. Then opium may intensify and focus his perceptions. This last interpretation seems to be the most acceptable one, because this is what really happens to Coleridge. Before he began to dream he had been reading the following words of the same substance, in Purchass Pilgrimage: Here the Khan Kubla commanded a palace to be built, and a stately garden thereunto. And thus ten miles of fertile ground were inclosed within a wall. These words, it is quite apparent, formed the background upon which opium worked, encouraging Coleridges mind for imagination. The effect opium had on Coleridges mind manifests itself while examining the structure of the poem itself. It quite obvious that the third stanza is entirely different from the first two ones, as if was written by a human being whereas the other earlier stanzas seem to had been written by a demon or some divine hand. Coleridge himself confesses that he couldnt revive the interrupted composition of the first two stanzas that were written under the influence of opium, and that when he returned to his writing all the rest had passed away like images on the surface of a stream. Perhaps thats why we find it a fragmentary work, filled with strange, unusual imagery, and lacking a rational structure; its rhythms suggest a mind vacillating between conscious and unconscious modes of being. Matter of fact Kubla Khan is reliable to different levels of interpretation. First, the poem could be approached as a descriptive poem that shares the common beautiful characteristics and techniques of most romantic poets, especially when describing natural elements. Still Coleridge described the world of Kubla Khan in terms of the ancient Platonic idea of Dualism; where the world of material existence is described as the world of shadows, and the world of Ideals as the elevated one. Accordingly, Kubla Khan could be regarded as a beautiful expression of the poets longing for some ultimate beauty combining the work of man with those of nature and those of pure imagination; to resurrect lost archetypal worlds within the imagination. In this way the pleasure dome that has been established in fulfillment of the orders of the Tartar Prince can be regarded as an attempt to reach such an ideal world. Thats why the first stanza opens with a carefully constructed image of a walled garden containing incense bearing trees and forests enclosing sunny spots of greenery; a description that adds a paradisal spirit into the place Kubla has created. The ideal spirit and holiness of this world has been emphasized in a variety of expressions: in affirming that in this stately pleasure dome did Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea The sacredness of this world has been further affirmed by the fact that it is girdled round and protected from undesirable or unharmonious influences. This scene that has been described in the first stanza stands in contrast to the opening lines of the second stanza; where the poets But contrasts the planned classical artifact of Kubla with the romantic chasm; the birthplace of poetic genius and true creativity: But oh! That deep romantic chasm which slanted Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! Now the atmosphere is different: the rational order of the garden has been replaced by a scene outside the walls, which is savage, wholly, and enchanted. This natural scene is, indeed, a more perfect symbol of the reconciliation of oppositions in the world of imagination, thereby more eternal. In this stanza we are, also, introduced to the source of that sacred river- Alph- which is seen as symbolizing Platos theory of Dualism in terms of Mans journey through life in search for the Ideal world: it flows from a mysterious source- (Mans birth)- through a mazy course- (the complexities of life; poetically symbolized by the mighty fountain that burst small stones as if breathing)- to sink tumultuously into a lifeless ocean-(the sea of death). Between birth and death Man is overwhelmed by a dream of permanence- (the shadow cast by the dome of pleasure). This very last symbol has been developed in representing the dome in dream-like terms inaccessible to Man: It was miracle of rare devise, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice! Thats to say the dome itself- by possessing sunny weather and caves of ice- represent a reconciliation of opposites which is impossible to human life. With the beginning of the third stanza the poem seems to take a new tern of thought. Now it gives us a vivid picture of a poet caught in a spell of poetic inspiration, who, once in a vision, saw an abyssinian maid playing on her dulcimer and singing of the wild splendor of mount Abora. At this point the poem becomes reliable to another level of interpretation. It is a poem about poetic creation. With this consideration in mind Kubla Khan, who caused a pleasure-dome and elaborated gardens to be constructed in Xanadu, is a type of the artist whose glorious creation becomes a balanced reconciliation of the natural and artificial. Similarly the poet enters the poem- using first person pronoun- in an attempt to establish his own dome. If only, Coleridge laments, he could revive within him the maids lost symphony and song, if only he could recapture the whole original vision instead of just a portion of it, then he would be able to establish that dome in air so that his witnesses would declare him to be divinely inspired and form a circle of worship around him. Being filled with holy dread they would cry:

Foreign Direct Investment in Singapore

Foreign Direct Investment in Singapore Chapter 1: Introduction Singapore was a commercial trading centre in the early 19th century and today it has since attained a remarkable transformation into one of the most globally integrated economies in the world, achieving total mechanism and service trading performing triple or more its gross national product and inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock index among the developing market. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has an exceptional and emerging role internationally. It acquired the primary role in both theoretically and practically, which can be observed in different economic, social, cultural, political, finance, and technological dimensions of the world. Objective of Study The objective of this project is to study into the national strategies adopted by Singapore, so far, focusing on their nature and outcomes. A critical assessment will be made on the current challenges ahead, and appropriate strategic options identified. Singapore, to a large extend has relied on foreign MNCs to drive its own industrialization and growth. What is beyond doubt is that Singapores unique ability to attract and retain FDI has undoubtedly been a key ingredient of its economic success. Therefore, it is worthwhile to investigate the determinants of Singapores FDI inflows. Scope of Study In this paper, we examine the interrelations among the variables FDI, the entry modes, the benefits and costs, government policies and the liberalization of FDI. The study of the relationship addresses a few points: Mainly, how dependent is Singapore on FDI? How are the imports and exports of MNCs affecting Singapores FDI inflows? What are the factors being driven by the shift of FDI towards services? What is the main driving force of FDI? Is there a contribution and/or positive link between higher GDP and FDI? Does trade liberalization foster FDI in emerging countries/markets? The overall objective of the study is to determine the efforts that Singapore makes to attract inward FDI, the successful and unsuccessful outcomes and the future developments of FDI in Singapore. The remainder of the study is organized as follows: In Chapter 2, the trends, source, patterns and forms of FDI is being introduced. Chapter 3 explains the reasons why firms choose foreign direct investment instead of exporting, the trade barriers involved and the other forms of entry modes. In Chapter 4, the connection between Singapore and FDI is being analyzed. Chapter 5 presents the benefits and costs of FDI while Chapter 6 briefly discusses the economic growth in the different industrial sectors and how the culture of Singapore affects inwards FDI. In Chapter 7, it describes government intervention and its policies. Chapter 8 involves the discussion of the liberalization of FDI and MAI. And lastly, Chapter 9 comprehends the findings of the future developments of FDI in Singapore and Chapter 10 ends the study with conclusions. Methodology This project is based on secondary research. Data were extracted and researched from various sources from the internet, report findings, ebooks, ejournals, newspapers, textbooks, and databases from the National Library. The actual figures of the FDI are applied to the project to act as evidence. The research is mainly focused in Singapore to highlight the attractiveness of this country and why is it a popular FDI destination. Limitation of study With respect to the analysis and data, there were some limitations that might affect the accuracy of the study The limited data on the impact of liberalization on Singapore, examples of recent FDI in Singapore, statistical information about the forms and type of entry strategies that FDI or local companies adopted, made this research time consuming and challenging. Chapter 2: Theories of FDI Forms of FDI In recent years, the internationalisation of firms has assumed two new features. First, firms increasingly enter foreign markets by acquiring a local producer also known as merger acquisition. Secondly, opening a new subsidiary also known as greenfield investment. Researches suggest that the majority of cross border investments take place in the form of mergers and acquisitions rather than greenfield investments. It is estimated that about 40- 80% of all FDI inflows were in the form of MAs simply because many firms prefer to acquire existing assets which are quicker to execute than Greenfield investments as they are an establishment of a wholly new operation. Also, the outstanding fact that the modern business worlds market evolves rapidly hence firms opt for the easier and perhaps the less risky option- to acquire desired assets than to build them from scratch. Desired assets could include brand name, customer loyalty, trademarks/patents, distribution systems, etc. Typically, firms adopt this approach as means of making a quick entry into a market or establishing a market presence. For instance, in 2000, cement manufacturer, CEMEX acquire Southland to enter the into U.S growing construction market. Lastly, firms believe that through MAs it enables an increase in the efficiency of an acquired unit by transferring capital, technology, management skills, etc. like how CEMEX transferred its technological know how to Southland after the acquisition. The shift towards Services FDI is increasing shifting away from manufacturing and extractive industries and towards services. As service industries were largely national, are becoming transnational recently. The shift to services is being driven by: the general move in many developed countries towards service as the composition of FDI in services have changed, it is mainly concentrated on trade and financial services. In addition, the fact that many services need to be produced where they are consumed. There is also a liberalization of policies governing FDI in services. Lastly, the rise of internet based global telecommunications networks. For instance, Dells call answering centres are located in India. The services sector has been the bulwark of the economy, providing stability and contributing significantly to GDP growth. Figure 2.1 shows that the services sector accounted for about two-thirds of real GDP growth in the 1990s. Further studies also showed that the global FDI stock in the services sector had more than quadrupled during the period 1990-2002. As a result of more rapid growth in this sector than in the other sectors, services accounted for about 60% of the global stock of inward FDI in 2002, compared to less than 50% a decade earlier. Services now account for the largest share of the inward FDI stock in many countries, and Foreign-affiliate service providers play an important role in a growing number of services. Most service FDI has been domestic-market seeking, in such traditional services as finance, tourism and trading, or in industries that have only recently opened up to the private sector, such as electricity, water or telecommunications. Employment in services has also been much less vulnerable to cyclical economic fluctuations than employment in manufacturing. During periods of economic slowdown as shown in Figure 2.2, manufacturing employment fell by an average of 5% in contrast to the employment growth of 3% in the services sector. While in 1996, employment in manufacturing grew only 2% as compared to 5% in services. Realizing the importance, the government takes measures to ensure world-class standards of service excellence and leadership, such as introducing schemes, activities, programmes and even institutes aimed at enhancing service levels, capabilities, mindsets and leadership. Examples include the Singapore Service Star, the Excellent Service Award (EXSA), Go The Extra Mile for Service (GEMS), Public Service for the 21st Century movement (PS21), The Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES) and Certified Service Professional programme by WDA. Gradual development over time has garnered its interdependence involving the manufacturing sector. In the long run, manufacturing and services group will replicate each other and allow firms to share the development of new knowledge-based products. However, many countries have difficulty quantifying FDI flows in services sectors. Determining trade in services is complicated given that services are not traded at a distinct entry or exit points, but rather across four modes of supply. While quantifying investment in services presents further challenges due to the complex nature of FDI definitions. While FDI in services remains more restricted, both developed and developing countries have taken steps to open up their service industries. In fact, starting from a higher level of restrictiveness, developing countries tended to liberalize their service industries at an even more rapid pace than developed countries over the past decade. The competitive impact of FDI entry on service supply conditions depend considerably on initial conditions in a host country, especially the level of economic and service development, market structure of service and the regulatory framework. Entry strategy and strategic alliances Any firm contemplating foreign expansion must first struggle with the issue of which foreign market to enter, when (late or early entry) and on what scale to enter (large or small scale entry) and lastly, which entry mode to use. Basic entry decisions are ultimately based on the assessment of a nations long run growth and profit potential. It is noted that the attractiveness of a country as a political market for an international business depends on balancing the benefits, costs and risks. Benefits include the ability to leverage products and competencies- both technological and management know-how, realizing location economies, and experience effects. Costs include trade barriers, transportation costs, import quotas, tariffs, etc. While the risks involve are political and economic risks. All of these are associated with doing business in that country. Other factors like the size of the market, the present wealth of consumers (purchasing power) and the likely future wealth of consumers are dependent upon economic growth rates. For example, India which is relatively poor is growing rapidly. Economies which are well developed, with relatively low inflation rates and private sector debts have an advantage over those without. Taking Singapores education system as an example- It is a big part of Singapores economic development strategy which attracted and encouraged many international educational establishments. Alternatively, weak economic growth in Indonesia is evidently a far less attractive market. Once firms have decided to enter a foreign market, they have to choose the best mode of entry. Firms can use six different modes to enter foreign markets: Exporting, being a temporary strategy is like a stepping stone in the international expansion process for most firms. In the past, Seagate was a well know example which concentrated its manufacturing operations in one location enables it to move down the experience curve and achieve location economies. However, Singapore has recently taken this approach to a higher level as the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) collaborates with Hangzhou Xihu (Westlake) to export Singapores expertise in Hospitality and Tourism. Turnkey projects, are popular because firms can continue with normal business operations while the contractor handle the time consuming and resource intensive projects for a foreign client. Singapore shipyard is reputable for handling sophisticated turnkey projects regardless of is complex requirements and other considerations. This industry is well known in the economic development for the last 40 years and will continue to play the critical role in our economy in order to achieve the goal for Singapore to become a leading international maritime link. Another example would be Sitra Holdings (International) Limited, the international producer of integrated wood based products and turnkey services, secured several turnkey design and build contracts in November 2009. Amongst these contracts, the single largest contract is worth S$3.24 million at the Marina Bay precinct. Licensing, enables a firm to gain access into new markets otherwise inaccessible, hence to facilitate the growth of licensing activities in Singapore with additional focus on brand licensing, character licensing and know-how licensing, the Franchising and Licensing Association (FLA) aims to encourage the adoption of licensing as a growth strategy by producing a report to raise the awareness of how licensing can translate to income stream for companies. Franchising, in Singapore has grown tremendously and is a preferred strategy for SMEs, as it involves minimal investment and staff, thus reducing costs. Local entrepreneurs have successfully made their mark internationally through franchising like BreadTalk, Charles Keith, and OSIM. Larger companies can also make use of the networks of their established franchise partners to grow globally. Joint ventures enable firms to share the benefit of the work process from a local subsidiarys knowledge of the host country such as the competitors, culture, political and business systems and access to greater resources including staff specialized in technology, finance, and so on. In November 2009, QATARQatar Petroleum International (QPI) and Shell Eastern Petroleum Pte Ltd have sealed agreements in which QPI takes stakes in two Shell Chemicals joint ventures in Singapore. The deal, to be completed in December, Shell will sell its existing shareholdings in two companies to a new joint venture called QPI and Shell Petrochemicals (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Establishing new wholly owned subsidiaries would be best adopted by firms pursuing the global and transnational strategies, for instance, Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited invested approximately S$900 million in Fraser Neave Limited (FN) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Seletar Investments Pte Ltd1 in December 2006. The investment would represent approximately 15 per cent of the total shares outstanding of FN on a fully-diluted basis. This investment marks Temaseks most substantial investment in the food and beverage space in recent years. Chapter 3: Country Focus political economy and cultural factors of Singapore Political and economic systems of Singapore The Government of Singapore (GOS) is substantially consigned to maintaining an open economy and taking a leadership role strategize Singapores future economic development. The government do so by adopting a free enterprise, open door policy to attract foreign investors from all types of services sector involving finance, business, tourism, telecommunication and consultancy services. As such, Singapore has exports hitting 186% of 2008 GDP. While Singapores stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 23.4% from $370.5 billion in 2006 to $457.0 billion in 2007. United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Japan were the top sources of FDI in Singapore. Evidently, the high FDI index reflects Singapores role as a manufacturing base for foreign multinationals (MNCs) and as a financial, transportation, logistics, and trading hub. Also, with high real growth rate and low inflation played a great role in shaping the Singapore economy. Singapore is one of the most enterprising and dynamic economies in the world. In this section, we compare Singapores recent trade performance with its performance in past crises, namely the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis where many countries and industries were affected by the deep fall of exports during the recession and the 2001-2002 Dot-Com Bust where IT industries around the world were affected by the large scale cancellation of electronic orders due to the over-investments by IT firms. In 2008 till present, Singapore is experiencing a slow down in the economy due to the US subprime crisis. The main issue is that the US Subprime Market is generating an extension of recessions in some economies and accelerating global recession in a way. Thus, Singapores total output of the country has decreased and the export of electronics goods has reduced significantly. Differences in culture The difference between international and domestic business is that countries are different. In this section, we will explore how differences in culture across and within countries can affect international business. The culture of a nation is the values that are shared among a group of people living together. While it is possible for a nation/state to have a uniform culture, this is not always the case. Multiple cultures can exist, and cultures can also cut across national borders. Taking Singapore as an example, where it is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society with the residential population in Singapore 75% are ethnic Chinese, 17% ethnic Malays, 7% ethnic Indians and a small category of `Others. Therefore foreign direct investors and managers need an understanding of the culture or cultures prevail in the countries where they do business in or intend to. Culture, society, and the nation state International business is different from national business because countries and societies are different. Societies differ because their cultures vary. Their cultures vary because of profound differences in social structure, religion, language, education, economic and political philosophies. 2 important implications flow from these differences: The first is the need to develop cross- cultural literacy. There is a need not only to appreciate that cultural difference exist, but also to appreciate what such difference mean for international business. Therefore, one of the biggest dangers comforting a company is the danger of being ill-informed. Being ill-informed about the practices of another culture, any business is likely to fail. Doing business in different cultures requires adaption to embrace all aspects of an international firms operations in a foreign country. For instance, the way in which discussions are organized, the welfare of employees, the structure of a firm, the manner in which is the product is being promoted, the tenor of relations between the management and labour, and so on, are all sensitive to cultural differences. To overcome the danger of being ill-informed, the solution is for international business to consider employing local citizens to help them do business in a particular culture, while ensuring h ome-country executives work along side and understand the differences in culture and how it affects their business. With the incorporation of large western MNCs, the Singapore work culture is a unique interaction of Asian and Western cultural exchanges. Where large western MNCs often exhibit predominantly western-style work culture, a greater influence of traditional Asian culture exists. Local firms are mainly influenced by cultural characteristics: collectivism, high power distance and high-uncertainty avoidance. Additionally, among the differences between US and Singapores working culture, local jargon is only one of the many. There are several other differences that are mainly caused by different circumstances and cultural values of the two nations. The bottom line is what works in one culture may not work in another. A simple example illustrates how important cross cultural literacy can be. According to my lecturer, Mr. Rowland Sam, with his many years of experiences has shared with us how the Chinese in China who tend to be informal in nature, does not mix business and pleasure. The Chinese perceives their lunch/ tea breaks as an important factor in the lives as when it is lunch/ tea time, they would stop all work for that. Initially, Mr. Sam was taken aback as they have not finished their respective jobs or meet the deadline, but they would still go for their breaks. He then finally concluded that the breaks were the only time workers get to drink, eat and enjoy themselves after a long days work. A second implication centres on the connection between culture and national competitive advantage. Fundamentally, the value systems and norms of a country influence the costs of doing business in that country which in turn influences the ability of firms to establish a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. For instance, the choice of countries in which to locate production facilities and do business; It makes little sense to base production facilities that require skilled expertise to operate, in a country where education is so poor, the pool of skilled and educated workers are unavailable, the degree of stratification of class is high and there are more than 2 linguistic groups. But as important as culture is, it is probably less important than economic, political and legal systems in explaining differential economic growth between nations. Cultural differences are significant, but we should not overemphasize their importance in the economic sphere. Other implications Besides transferring of management and technological know-how, FDI also has the capabilities to bring environmental and social benefits to host countrys economies. However, there is a danger or probability that foreign owned enterprises would use FDI to export productions or equipments that are prohibited in their home countries due to their regulations and policies. Host countries that are keen on attracting FDI are especially prone to fall into this trap where the government would risk lowering or freezing regulatory standards. For example, MNEs moving equipments that considered to be environmentally unsuitable in their home country, to their subsidiaries in developing countries. The sort of environmental risk associated with FDI is being reflected. Additionally, some micro-oriented problems such as the distributional changes and the need for industrial restructuring in the host economy, increases costs and inconveniences to the people. Fortunately, these problems can be salvaged when appropriate practices are pursued towards flexibility, couple with macroeconomic stability and the implementation on adequate legal and regulatory frameworks. Not to mention that using FDI, the presence of financially strong foreign enterprises may not be sufficient to assist economic development when domestic legal, competition and environmental frameworks are weak or weakly enforced. Finally, like official development aid, FDI cannot be the foundation for solving poor countries development problems. With an average of 15% of capital formation in developing countries, FDI acts a complement to domestic fixed capital rather than a primary source of finance. Likewise, while FDI may contribute significantly to human capital formation, the transfer of state-of-the-art technologies, enterprise restructuring and increased competition, it is the host country authorities that must undertake basic efforts to raise education levels, invest in infrastructure and improve the health of domestic business sectors. The link between FDI inflows and accessibility of government information In this section, we will find out to what extend does government information contribute to investors decision making and how does it influence FDI decision making. Firstly, with governments information, the quality of investors knowledge of the performance, operations and functions of companies in the target market can be further enhanced for better understanding, which enforces rules of equity and resource utilization, and promotes competition. Secondly, by providing information, the government contributes data and perspectives on how investment projects can be best commenced and managed as foreign investors are able to obtain sufficient information from host governments in order to make informed decisions and meet obligations and commitments. Generally, it also helps build the countrys image. However, it is still possible for a country to receive lower FDI than its potential if it has a generally negative image, despite having a good resource base and strong economic fundamentals, taking Indonesia for instance. Apparently, a countrys image does affect investors perception and investment inflows. Hence it is a legitimate practice to use specialized and general forms of government information in order to build an affirmative image of a country. Also, reduces uncertainty about changes in policies and administrative practices in the business environment in the near future. Finally, the accessibility of government information increases transparency of transactions, however there may be some concerns. Both the host country and investors may want to have access to information concerning each other as part of its policy-making processes and for regulatory purposes. The main objective of transparency with relation to FDI is to limit circumvention, boost the predictability and stability of the investment relationship, monitor performance and evasion of obligations by covert or indirect means. Certain country characteristics are quote as attracting FDI, including substantial macroeconomic policy management, political freedom and stability, physical security, reliable legal frameworks, an open trading environment, competent institutions, and no or low corruption. Regulatory regimes based on transparency, predictability, and fairness is also important. But the potency of these conditions is dependent of the accessibility of information, especially government information, because foreign direct investors are affected by market failures due to their lack of adequate information due partly to geographical asymmetry of information accessibility (Portes and Rey, 2000). Chapter 4: FDI strategy Background to Singapores FDI strategy Singapores assertive efforts to attain FDI for more support of its economic strategy have enabled the country to develop into a basis for multinational corporations (MNCs). Singapores investment promotion agency, the Economic Development Board (EDB), focuses on obtaining major investments in highly valued services and/or manufacturing activities, deepening its industrial and export structure, using selective interventions to capture cross-industry externalities and move away from labour intensive to capital-skill and technology-intensive activities, by acquiring and upgrading the modern technologies in highly internalized forms. This strategy allowed the country to concentrate in specific phases in the production process, depriving from the flow of innovation and investing lesser in its own innovative effort. Singapores FDI policies were based on liberal entry and ownership conditions, easy access to expatriate skills and generous incentives for the activities that it was seeking to promote. The EDB was mainly set up to synchronize policy, offer incentives to lead foreign investors into targeted activities, acquire and construct industrial estates to attract MNCs. The public sector played an important role in launching and promoting activities selected by the government, acting as a catalyst to private investment or entering areas that were to risky for the private sector. Often it was the efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility of government response that gave Singapore the edge over competing host countries. The importance of inward FDI to Singapore FDI has played a crucial role through the years in accelerating the economic development in Singapore. Being a small country with no natural resources, Singapore had depended on leading international companies not only in bringing in capital funds to broaden her economic base, but also in upgrading the technology and skill content of her industries. Since FDI is one way that Singapore can tap foreign technology, therefore a substantial amount of capital is required to help generate GDP. Furthermore, exchange rate will also play a role in determining GDP. A slow appreciation of the currency will increase the confidence of those who are investing in Singapore and help to attract more investment. The Singapore dollar appreciation will also curb imported inflation. The importance of FDI in Singapore is reflected in the countrys ratio of inward FDI stock to GDP: at 72%, the ratio is the highest in the world. That importance is also reflected in the fact that 90% of value added in Singapores electronics industry (remarkable growth in exports and income) is accounted for by foreign investors, and that FDI accounts for fully two-thirds of equity capital in the countrys manufacturing sector. In addition, Singapores productivity increased fastest in those industries in which FDI was concentrated. The rank correlation coefficients between increases in value added per worker and increases in FDI share and FDI level were .62 and .45. Moreover, because foreign direct investors profits and outward remittances have tended to move in close tandem with the general performance of Singapores economy and the health of its balance of payments, while the economic risk taking function is also borne by those investors, time and again Singapores exceptional reliance on FDI has effectively cushioned its economy from the balance of payments and debt crises that have hurt many other developing economies. Host Country policies FDI is attracted to Singapore mainly due to Singapores favourable investment climate and strategic geographical location. Some other reasons include non-fiscal advantages, Singapores small domestic market combined with no tariffs on most imports and low corporate tax rates have made Singapore into a popular low-risk high-return FDI destination. In general, corporate taxes, or taxes imposed on corporate income, is an important determinant of MNCs location decisions, just as individual income tax rates is an important determinant of where a person decides to work and live. Theoretically, other things equal, MNCs would prefer countries with lower corporate tax rates over countries with higher rates. Furthermore, a wide range of new incentives have been added over the years to promote FDI inflows. Burdensome regulations and performance requirements for FDI can offset a generous package of tax incentives. However, in Singapores case, the restrictions and regulations governing both the entry and operation of foreign enterprises and personnel are minimal. Overall, foreign investors are subject to the same government regulations as local investors, and both have a lot of freedom in pursuing their profit objectives. In addition to the general absence of performance requirements, Singapore has also signed a large number of avoidance of double taxation agreements, which mutually protect countries for a specific time against war and non-commercial risks of expropriation and nationalization. The four areas of Singapores government regulations in different areas relevant to foreign investors are the foreign exchange regime, equity ownership, performance requirements and human resources. First, the foreign exchange regime is highly liberal and freely allows repatriation of capital and remittance of profits, dividends, interests, royalty payments and technical licensing fees, as well as the free importation of goods and services for consumption, investment and production purposes. Second, foreign participation is permitted in most sectors of the economy except for some limitations in the monetary sector, areas of trained and skilled personnel. However, 100% foreign equity ownership is readily permitted. Third, there are no perform

Pressure Relief Valves :: essays research papers

PRESSURE RELIEF VALVES Chemical Engineering Lab I Question: Discuss the importance of Relief Valves in the unit operations in detail, and give the design criteria/ parameters/ models available equations in the literature. Support your work by giving a typical example from the literature. INTRODUCTION Since the inception of pressurized systems to produce and transmit energy, it has been a constant goal to find safe, dependable means of relieving pressure. The simple, inexpensive, spring loaded relief valves has been manufactured for over a hundred and fifty years, performing its job with varying degrees of reliability over that time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Unites States alone, boiler explosions caused a significant loss of life reaching a peak with 400 such explosions in 1904. With the adoption of the ASME Pressure and Vessel Code in 1911, boiler explosions declined to where, after 1973 they are non-existent. Over the same period, operating pressures for most systems were increased, in the case of boiler pressures increases were from 200 to 3000 psi and above. Pressure relief valves are used to safely contain pressurized gases and liquids. Throughout the years there has been an increased demand for safety in industrial and other related operating practices. These valves are one of the many devices that have been created in conjunction with standardized design and operating practices, for the provision of this very protection. In the past, vessels that now would obviously require relief valves were heated often resulting in drastic increase in pressure within the vessel. This resulted in an extremely dangerous outcome physically for all the parties involved. Pressure valves may be classified into two main categories namely reclosing and non-reclosing. Reclosing devices are the more common of these two groups. They are designed in such a manner that they reclose securely once safe pressure levels have been restored. The second type, the non-reclosing pressure valve, does not reclose nor vent all the fluid built up, for example fusible plugs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pressure relief valves are relatively simple pieces of equipment. The operation of these devices involves a spring-loaded disk resting on a seat. When the pressure is low the force on the disk is less than the spring force on the disk and the valve remains closed. The pressure force increases causing a drop in the force that seals the disk on the seat. Once the valve is raised a larger disk area is available for the fluid to flow through providing a lifting force which is directly correlated.

The Two Willy Lomans in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman Essay

The Two Willy Lomans in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman    There are two Willy Lomans in The Death of a Salesman. There is the present broken, exhausted man in his sixties, soon to end his life. And there is the more confident, vigorous Willy of some fifteen years before, who appears in the flashbacks. One actor portrays both, readily shifting from one representation to the other. To some extent, of course, the personality remains constant. The younger Willy, although given to boastful blustering, does admit misgivings to Linda and loneliness to Biff. And the shattered older man, in turn, occasionally reverts to his former manner of jaunty optimism. Yet the changes are great and significant. The earlier Willy could never have been the idol of his teen-aged sons had he behaved in the perverse, distracted fashion of his older self. Willy's agitation during his last days stems from a twofold sense of failure. He has not been able to launch successfully in the world his beloved son Biff, and he no longer can meet the demands of his own selling job. Although not altogether ignoring Linda and Happy, he is primarily concerned about the once magnificent young football star who at thirty-four drifts from one temporary ranch job to the next. Willy cannot "walk away" from Biff'sproblem, as Bernard suggests, nor can he accept Linda's view that "life is a casting off." Being over sixty, Willy is doubtless tiring physically. The sample cases are heavy. The seven-hundred-mile drives are arduous. And many business contacts, developed over the years, are vanishing as the men of his era die or retire. Yet the worry over Biff has obviously accelerated his collapse. Actually, Willy's attitude toward Biff is complex. On the one hand, t... ...ledge. But Happy is still determined to "beat this racket"and come out "number one man." On the day of the big game, Charley ruefully asks Willy when he is going to grow up. In some ways Willy never does. His boyish enthusiasm is, of course, part of his appeal. But his persistent refusal to face facts squarely drives him at last to a violent death. Ironically, his suicide, to him the ultimate in magnificent gestures, merely leaves Linda woefully bereft and Biff more than ever sure that "he had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong." Works Cited Eisinger, Chester E. "Focus on Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman': The Wrong Dreams," in American Dreams, American Nightmares, (1970 rpt In clc. Detroit: Gale Research. 1976 vol. 6:331 Gordon, Lois "Death of a Salesman": An Appreciation, in the Forties: 1969) rpt in clc. Detroit: Gale Research. 1983 vol. 26:323   

Twelfth Night Essays -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

In Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night or What you Will, the characters are involved in a plot complete with trickery, disguise, and love. Each character is defined not by his or her gender or true identity, but by the role they are forced to take because of the complicated situation that arises. Unlike their gender, the speech the characters give an insight to their true personalities. In the Twelfth Night, the character Duke Orsino uses flowery and over-dramatic language, long poetic sentence structure, and melodramatic metaphors to display his overemotional romantic nature despite the different emotions in his various speeches. Duke Orsino’s repeated usage of poetical verse and poetic devices to describe his woes from love set him apart from other character. By using deep metaphorical language and flowing poetic structure, Shakespeare conveys Orsino’s melodramatic nature. In Orsino’s first speech, he takes a complicated and metaphorical approach to explain his love for Olivia instead of directly stating his desires. Instead of using prose, Orsino speaks in blank verse which is significantly fancier and floral in language. He says, â€Å"If music be the food of love, play on; /Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, /The appetite may sicken, and so die† (1.1 3-5) to compare his love for Olivia to his love of music. Orsino wants the â€Å"excess of it†, so that he can become bored of music and therefore his love for Olivia. This also shows that he is excessively wordy throughout his speech and often prolongs sentences with repetitive phrases such as â€Å"†¦,pla y on/Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting† (1.1.3-4) and â€Å"†¦may sicken, and so die† (1.1.5) that have the same meaning. His long-winded language illustrates the dramatic quality... ...ve./To spite a raven’s heart within a dove† (5.1.130-131), to finally summarize his long speech. Orsino uses metaphors to compare the lamb to Viola and the dove to Olivia. Viola is the gentle lamb that Orsino claims he will sacrifice in order to attain revenge against Olivia, a deceivingly beautiful dove with a dark heart. By using a metaphor to end his speech, Orsino exits with a more dramatic and profound flair than if he directly stated his plans to kill Viola. Despite the anger in the speech in Act 5, Orsino uses similar poetic techniques such as metaphors, repetition, and flowery language to convey his dramatic nature. These techniques often convolute the original meaning of Orsino’s words because of the metaphorical structure. It is however the same traits that put him aside other characters in the play and make Orsino memorable to the audience.

BrimmoThe Curious Incident Of The Dog I

l am going to prove that Im not stupid. Next month am going to take my A level In math's and IM going to get an A grade† / Hidden creates a character with huge contrasts to show the complexity of Aspires. â€Å"and now if I don't know what someone is saying I ask them what they mean or walk away† / Direct speech â€Å"l think it should be called a lie because a pig is not like a day† / direct speech to show the complications. What is a distinctive idea explored In The Curious Incident of the DogIn the Night Time by Mark Haddam? Explain how this Idea Is developed through the novel. The Curious Incident of the dog in the night time composed by Mark Haddam is an exceptional text that explores the ideas of how different perspectives show the different ways the world can be experienced. Hadrons text follows a young boy named Christopher Boone with the uniquely complex disease, speakers, â€Å"speakers† and as he does this he conveys the way someone seeing the wo rld differently can generate different life perspectives.Chris Is unable to understand human emotion ND figurative language and which Haddam cleverly uses this perspective with techniques like using contrast and voicing character's views with direct speech to allow the reader to access the syndrome that is common but rarely understood. Haddam creates a character with huge contrasts to show the complexities of his Speakers syndrome. Haddam uses characterization to portray the complexity of Christopher says â€Å"l am going to prove that I'm not stupid. â€Å"Next month I am going to take my A level In math's and I'm going to get an A grade†.Christopher has an amazing talent in math's and has an exceptional photographic memory. This helps the audience to understand the inner conflicts that Chris has because of the syndrome and understand the huge contrasts between someone that can't understand simple things that most people take for granted and a â€Å"A level in math's†. This contrast also allows the audience to see the complexities of Speakers through the eyes of Christopher and his experiences, developing the unique Idea that different an speakers perspectives show the wildly different ways the world can be experienced.Christopher Bone's syndrome makes him struggle to connect with human emotions as he doesn't understand them. This reveals his deferent views of the world to the audience. Chris has a lack of knowledge of facial expressions and human emotion creates problems in his life where he is left confused and frustrated. â€Å"And now If I don't know what someone Is saying I ask them what they mean or I walk away' The use of direct speech representing the character's thoughts puts the reader in the shoes of Christopher showing his perspective of life.The audience is shown owe his knowledge of emotions is very limited because he would just run away if he was confused about what someone was trying to tell him. Christopher lack of communicati on directly relates to the views him and others have of life because of these barriers. Haddam allows the audience to see the complexities of Speakers different perspectives show the different ways the world can be experienced. Haddam makes the audience appreciate the things we take for granted by exploring the many barriers people with aspires face.Because of Christopher obstacle of understanding figurative language and metaphors it limits his communication. â€Å"l think it should be called a lie because a pig is not like a day' the effective use of direct speech used in this quote, emphasis the complications that follow with Speakers Syndrome. The use of direct speech and persona also allows the audience to see life from his perspective, forcing the audience to understand his syndrome and its effects. This allows the audience to appreciate the things we take for granted developing the idea that different perspectives show the different ways the world can e experienced.The Curiou s Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is an impeccable text that shows the audience what it is like to have Espalier's Syndrome. Mark Haddam uses techniques like direct speech to illustrate how different perspectives show the different ways the world can be experienced. Christopher barriers of not being able to recognize human emotion or figurative language were great tools in broadcasting the theme of how different perspectives show the different ways the world can be experienced to the audience

Research Paper Outline Examples Essay

Once you’ve already decided what topic you will be writing about, the next thing you should pay attention to is the scope of your paper or what you will be including in your discussion. The broader your topic is, the more difficult it is to discuss your topic in full details. This is why you should establish before hand the scope and limitations of your paper and this will be the foundation of your research paper outline. Basically, your outline will constitute three main parts namely the Introduction, the Body and the Conclusion. But to make sure your paper is complete, consult your instructor for specific parts he/she wants to be included in your research paper. Sample outlines for research papers will be given later on. But first, let us discuss the main parts of your paper and what information each should cover. Introduction The Introduction should contain your thesis statement or the topic of your research as well as the purpose of your study. You may include here the reason why you chose the particular topic or simply the significance of your research paper’s topic. You may also state what type of approach it is that you’ll be using in your paper for the entire discussion of your topic. Generally, your Introduction should state briefly all the major points of your topic your readers will be reading about. Body The body of your paper is where you will be presenting all your arguments to support your thesis statement. Please be reminded of the â€Å"Rule of 3† where you should find 3 supporting arguments for each position you take. Start with a strong argument, followed by a stronger one, and end with the strongest argument as your final point.

Analyzing the Formation of Habits Using Behavioral and Social/Cognitive Approaches

The habit to be analyzed is cigarette smoking. Around the age of 13 is when I probably had my first cigarette. The habit developed from a learned behavior from the adults around me and peer pressure. I can remember many of the adult figures around me, more so the adult males, smoked cigarettes, and cigars. At the time when I was a girl there was not an age limit on buying cigarettes. My father, who ran his body and fender shop out the garage in the back yard would send me and my siblings to the corner drugstore to buy his KOOL cigarettes. The seventh grade is when the peer pressure began.I remember sneaking the KOOL cigarettes out of my father’s pack and smoking on the way to school with friends. Smoking did not become a habit then. I had older sisters and always wanted to follow them. So once I was in high school they let me hang out with them. I smoked to pretend I was as grown as they were. It still had not become a habit. After high school about the age of 19 is when it be came a habit. I moved away from home and wanted to do the things that grown-ups do. Because smoking has formed into a habit my body craved the nicotine and this is what fed the habit and caused it to continue.The habit continued until my 29th year when I became pregnant with my daughter. The smoking probably would have continued through pregnancy, but it made me sick. The smoking resumed after birth for the next 15 years. During the period after birth I tried to stop smoking once or twice unsuccessfully, convincing myself that I enjoyed smoking and was not ready to quit. It was the nicotine addiction talking to me. Most of my friends smoke and it was something we did together When comparing this habit to the behavioral personality theory, it makes complete sense.The behavioral personality theory only deals with externally observable things. This habit came about from watching and observing others. Trying to do as others to fit in or be someone different than who I was at the time, n ot knowing how addicting this habit could be. As a person gets older the body does not allow one to continue the habits that started in their younger years without consequences. The effects of aging start taking over. Because of operant conditioning this habit had to be change. The effect of smoking in people with diabetes cause a high cardiovascular risk, Diabeticnephropathy which causes kidney disease, high blood pressure, and genetic predisposition. Every visit to the doctor reminded me of the consequences of smoking. Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through these rewards and punishments, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior (Kendra Cherry, 2013). This conditioning caused me to quit this habit. First I had to make the conscience decision that this was going to be the end of smoking.The plan was to quit smoking cold tur key; I did not want to substitute one drug to give up another. I no longer allowed myself to buy cigarettes. If I had the urge to smoke a cigarette, I would get one from someone else, preferably non-menthol or not my brand so it would not be satisfying. All money that was to be spent on cigarettes went into a savings account. After six months I had a savings of $360. 00. This is where the operant conditions plays a part, that was a great reward. This was a hard habit to change but not as hard as I thought it would be.Like any habit or addiction I believe the person has to want to make the change. People who â€Å"relapse† make the conscience decision to continue the habit. Social cognitive theory (SCT) refers to a psychological model of behavior that started primarily from the work of Albert Bandura (1977; 1986). It was first developed with an emphasis on the cognitive process or acquiring knowledge of social behaviors, social cognitive theory continues to single out that lea rning happens in a social setting and that much of what is learned is acquired through watching others (The Gale Group, 2013).Cognitive-behavioral theory (CBT) refers to the basic principle that a person’s perceptions play a substantial and important role in the development and maintenance of emotional and behav ¬ioral responses to life situations. In CBT models, cognitive processes, in the form of meanings, judgments, appraisals, and assumptions associated with specific life events, are the primary determinants of one’s feelings and actions in response to life events and thus either enable or hold back the process of adaptation (A. Antonio Gonzalez-Prendes and Stella M.  Resko, 2013)After understanding both the social and behavioral cognitive theories, I believe the cognitive-behavioral theory has the most influence in the makeup of my personality. The cognitive behavioral theory comes into play when I am trying to reach self-actualization motives as described in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I tend to react on feelings in most situations, which will either enable or hold back the process of adaptation. In conclusion, I am finding that studying the different theories of behavior is giving me a better understanding of the way people act and think. This hase been a very informative class.

Emotional Intel Essay

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to present information regarding effects of globalization on the economy and the culture of the Norway, during the past few years. Five sets of research questions were used to form the bases of the paper. The intent is to illiterate the cultural dynamics and business culture of the Country. Knowledge of the influence of culture and business practices will assist one with understanding globalization as it pertains to Norway. Using the information in this paper, individuals like consultants and managers who interact with Norweigians can use this as a framework or perspective Summary of the case study â€Å"A Naà ¯ve Sahab In India† The case study â€Å"A Naà ¯ve Sahab in India† tells the story of Brian Moseley, an Aspen Automotive employee from the US who has just been relocated to India to become the new managing director for Bindi Brake Company that had been acquired by Aspen. Brian’s main goal at Bindi is to improve operations and to â€Å"make the Indians efficient†. During Brian’s visits to the plants he observed many employees socializing instead of working, and found out that performance review and pay for performance were unheard at Bindi and employees were rarely dismissed no matter how poorly they performed their jobs. Brian asked his managers, who were born and educated in India to come up with a strategy plan to improve operations. After many months of frustrating meetings, and episodes when Brian lost his temper with his managers, he announced to the managerial team his own strategic plan to take place immediately that included performance appraisal, personnel cuts, pay -for-performance increases and others. Bindi’s manager did not reinforce the changes and Brian became even more forceful of his ideas, increasing the tension between him and his managers. Briand was referred by his managers as the â€Å"sahab†, a term used to describe Brian’s â€Å"culturally imperialistic† style. Even with all the turmoil, Brain persisted and kept pushing his managers to apply the changes to their subordinates but instead of improving operations, Brian’s decisions pushed most of his managers to resign. All these obstacles made Brian wonder if changes and efficient operations would ever be a reality for the Bindi Brake Company. â€Å"A Naà ¯ve Sahab in India† clearly describes Deb Brian’s authoritarian managerial style and lack of  cultural knowledge of India hurt his goals to transform Bindi into an efficient operations plant for Aspen Automotive. Brian’s personal frame of reference made him judge his Indian’s managers based on his own American values and made his Indians co-workers to see him as an dictatorial man telling them what to do in a disrespectful away. By failing to understand the Indian’s culture in the workplace Brian created a hostile environment and conflicts between him and his managers. Many characters in the â€Å"A Naà ¯ve Sahab in India† can share the responsibility for the lack of change at the Bindi Brake Company. The first to be blamed is Aspen Automotive. Aspen should have better prepared Brian for his new position at Bindi. Aspen should also have directed Brian to attend multicultural training sessions where he could learn and better understand the Indian culture. Secondly, Brian should have taken the initiative to seek â€Å"cultural† assistance from Aspen human resources, from other expatriates or from Rajan in an attempt to find a more cultural sensitive way to approach his managers. Rajan, who had a better understanding of the Western culture due the fact that he was educated in a London University, felt attacked by Brian’s aggressive style but did little to help him. Rajan should have advised Brian that his aggressive managerial style would only bring conflicts to team instead of change in the company. The last one to be blamed is the Indian manager, who had Brian’s trust, and should have been the bridge between Brian and his managers, trying to advise both sides to be more receptive to changes and culturally sensitive. Before Brian can advance and apply his strategy at Bindi, he needs to learn how to be more culturally sensitive. He would benefit from cultural training sessions, which has been proved to be very effective to prepare professionals for intercultural work. By going through such training, Brian would learn how to better approach his managers without being too offensive. Brian will have to re-think his strategies before putting together a new manager team made up with old and newly hired managers, and only then carefully and slowly introduce the expected changes for the company. Male/Female Differences Disparities between males and females in society can be seen everywhere and the work place is no different. Women are expected to be vulnerable and sympathetic to others’ needs, while men are expected to be competitive, strong and rational. In business, these gender differences determine communication behaviors and interactions. A study published in the â€Å"Journal of Social and Development Sciences† confirms, â€Å"the gender of individuals engaged in negotiations will affect the communication style utilized by each individual† (Yu-Te Tu, 2012, p. 125). Women might rely more on non-verbal and indirect communication, which has been noted as a characteristic to those who have less power. Women are still pictured as the fragile gender by society, however many of the exclusive â€Å"female traits† are strengths that can make women more efficient managers than men. For example, women who are able to relate to others easily and possess the ability to empower will be successful mentors to those in their workplace. It has been noted that women also tend to avoid confrontations, as they prefer to seek solut ions to solve the problem. When it comes to emotional intelligence women, once more, they prove that they have an advantage over males. According to the study published by the â€Å"Journal of Business and Psychology†, it states that women scored higher than males on an emotional intelligence test which results imply â€Å"females might be better at managing their emotions and the emotions of others as compared to males† (Mandell & Pherwani, 2003, p.399). It is important to note that emotional intelligence is the key aptitude necessary for successful leadership, which should put women in a more advantageous position to assume managerial positions. Unfortunately the â€Å"glass ceiling† is not the only issue women have to worry about; sexual harassment in the workplace is another big concern for organizations and companies. The majority of victims of sexual harassment in the workplace are women. Studies have shown that more than half of women executives in the U.S. have been a victim of sexual harassment (Central Michigan University, 2008). Sexual harassment has many consequences, for instance, it can be financially costly to the company and cause severe emotional issues for the employee who suffered the harassment. To eliminate sexual harassment, companies are investing in training and have reinforced rules, policies and penalties regarding such inappropriate behavior. Women still have to go through many obstacles to prove themselves efficient as leaders, but big corporations are slowly realizing how much more women can do to improve their business. Differences in Self Disclosure Self-disclosure is the concept of divulging information about oneself with others, whether it is co-workers, family, or friends. According to S. A. Beebe, S. J. Beebe, Remond, Geerinck (2010), they define self-disclosure not only as a strategy of sharing basic information with others, but it is the sharing of information about oneself that may be out of the ordinary that would not necessarily be discoverable otherwise. There are different styles of self-disclosure that derive from the Johari Window, ranging from the turtle and interviewer to the bull-in-the-China shop and transparent. The differences between these styles are based on how much one discloses and depending on how much is disclosed, it will determine the kind and quality of relationship that is formed with another person. Those who are able to disclose much about his or herself are transparent, whereas those who keep to themselves are seen as â€Å"turtles,† which carry an imaginary bubble around them (Central Mic higan University, 2008). Interviewers are those who have no problem asking questions of others but are more likely to shut out to those who ask questions of them, whereas those who possess a â€Å"bull-in-the-China shop† style are those who have no problem giving feedback but shut out those who give them feedback (Central Michigan University, 2008). The information that Chapman (2003) presents on the Johari Window is very similar to the Central Michigan University’s (2008) information. They both discuss the breakdown of the Johari Window, including the discussion of the four panes, known area, hidden area, unknown area, and blind area, although Chapman (2003) does a better job as discussing what each pane means. In order to tie into emotional intelligence, Chapman (2003) give the relationship of the Johari Window to emotional intelligence, suggesting that the Johari Window has offered a new way to assess oneself and the relationships that are formed based on the openness level achieved. All readings offered the same conclusions about self-disclosure and the Johari Window, stating that being open with others offers risks and rewards, however in order to build strong relationships, one must be able to find a balance on the amount of disclosure one will allow. Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is the notion of understanding oneself and how one is  self-aware, how one self-manages, how one is socially aware and how one is able to mange their relationships. The common trend among all definitions of emotional intelligence is that it is the ability to understand and recognize not only one’s own emotions, but also other’s emotions and how they influence one’s relationships and behaviors (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). The level of emotional intelligence one possesses can greatly influence the interpersonal communication skills one develops. Many could argue that it is important to have a strong sense of emotional intelligence in order to bring cohesion to the workplace, as well as be more understanding of those who come from a different background. In â€Å"Emotional Intelligence and competitive advantage: Examining the relationship from resource-based view,† by Voola, Carlson, and West (2004), the reader learns about Mahatma Gandhi’s influence on the world and how he possessed the emotional intelligence that gave him a competitive advantage over other leaders. Gandhi had the philosophy to provide strategic change, by â€Å"being the change you want to see in the world,† which translates to a crucial part of having a strong emotional intelligence; one must to take the time to understand the other cultures, people, and environments by being socially aware. Gandhi has be viewed as one of the most emotionally intelligent leaders of all time, the vision he created had a positive impact on effective changes among the world. Two scholars, Bradberry and Greaves (2009) have broken down what emotional intelligence into four components, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management; whereas it has also been broken down into five components of self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, empathy, and social skill. These components comprise what skills need to be developed in order to achieve that high level of emotional intelligence. Once each of these components is understood, then the process of attaining emotional intelligence will become self-evident. Self-awareness is the ability to know oneself, inside and out; it is the ability to truly understand oneself as you really are (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). Many people have a difficult time with this component of emotional intelligence because it takes courage and honesty to dig down deep and get in touch with ones  emotions. The component of self-management/managing emotion builds on how well ones self-awareness is developed; a weak self-awareness will produce weak self-management and vise versa. Self-management is the ability to manage ones emotions and understand when and how one should react to a situation before exploding into anger. Motivating oneself is also important when it comes to self-management because this is how one keeps optimistic when things may get tough. Understanding how to recognize and manage ones emotions is the underlying trend when it comes to self-awareness and self-management. As far as social awareness, relationship management, empathy and social skills, these components are what provide the basis for interpersonal relationships. Social awareness is the ability to understand those around you, by being aware of others emotions. This component can be developed by taking the time to observe others and the kinds of emotions they are giving off, whether it is by facial expressions or spoken words; a lot can be learned about another if one takes the time to interpret social cues a person is sending you (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). Relationship management requires one to be able to demonstrate empathy and social skills, these two subcomponents are very important in building interpersonal relationships. The component of relationship management is built on the foundation of self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness. Each component naturally builds among each other and the stronger each is; the stronger the emotional intelligence one has will be (Bradber ry, Greaves, 2009). All of these components of emotional intelligence are crucial in terms of building strong and meaningful interpersonal relationships. A thorough understanding of emotional intelligence is needed for any workplace to achieve a high level of success. Emotional intelligence is an individual characteristic, however it is also up to that individual on how one will use their emotions to interact with others (Guillen, Florent-Treacy, 2011). As the reader has seen, emotional intelligence is a foundation on which one builds and develops their relationships; it is used to provide a deeper understanding of oneself and those around in and out of the workplace. A study done by Guillen and Florent-Treacy (2011) provided the basis that  emotional intelligence in the workplace is not directly correlated with how a leader is perceived, but is necessary for leaders’ collaborative capabilities, more so how they influence teamwork. Harms and Crede (2010) have also found this to be true in their studies, that emotional intelligence does not determine the outcome of a leaders leadership, but does have a positive impact on school and work performance. One could argue that emotional intelligence is a viable source of a workplaces success. Pearman (2011) presents a table with different situations and how those with a good grasp on emotional intelligence have an advantage in sorting the situation. For instance if one is working for any company that deals with customers, one may be presented with a situation where customers become unhappy. Those with a high emotional intelligence are able to help engage the individual who is unhappy by having a welcoming attitude, listening with an empathetic ear, and offering problem solving skills in order to help the satisfy the customer (Pearman, 2011). There are multiple examples about emotional intelligence in the workplace, whether it is in how one handles workplace relationships, interactions with customers, ineffective leaders and the list goes on an on. Emotional intelligence is a subject that is seeing an increase in studies as to how and if it correlates with job performance, leadership abilities, work relationships, etc. There have many studies that have proven one aspect or another as to how emotional intelligence ties into the workplace. It is importance to receive training on the topic of emotional intelligence because it is a growing subject that needs to be recognized as having a part in the successes of an organization or relationship. Pearman makes a great representation of how important teaching emotional intelligence is to leaders and employees alike. He states, â€Å"Emotional intelligence facilitates not just communication effectiveness (or other competing training topics) but also an increase in individual performance that affects all levels of the organization† (Pearman, 2011, p. 71). Emotional Intelligence Research This study is intended to assess whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication with respect to  developing managerial capabilities. The study was done by using the survey that provides data for each of the five areas of one’s emotional intelligence – self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, empathy, and social skills. Students in graduate school completed the survey. This study was a qualitative design as well as a quantitative design. What this researcher is looking for is a person’s emotional intelligence at work. Who participated in the Survey? The instrument that used was the typical Liker scale survey. This particular Likert scale survey is called what’s your emotional intelligence at work? (See Table 1). According to the developers of the instrument, the Liker scale has a high reliability and validity. The following focuses on a research project, consisting of three employees who shared their experiences about emotional intelligence in the workplace. Each person volunteered to describe their interpersonal relationships in the workplace by responding to a set of questions. Below is a summary of each person’s responses. Person A is a career Military Soldier and currently serves as a senior Logistics manager for the U.S. Army as a part of an organization consisting of over 300 personnel. The organization is a very interpersonal cohesive atmosphere. Person B has served in the information technology field for over twenty years. Currently, works as an organizational IT applications manager ensuring IT compliance pertaining to Disaster Recovery Programs globally. Person C currently works for the Air Force, commanding communication satellites as a satellite vehicle operator and works closely with a crew to achieve the mission. It is imperative that the crew works well together and that cohesion is visible, since they are dealing with a multibillion-satellite constellation that provides secure communication not only to those overseas, but also to the president. Person C’s job is crucial to the Air Force and military in order to properly maintain the health of the satellite. Understanding the Survey The first part of emotional intelligence is self-awareness, which means being in tuned to your feelings, being cognizant of your internal feelings. The second part is managing emotions that are aimed at leaders calibrating their  attitudes and moods so as to not negatively impact the workplace climate. The third part is the ability to inspire and instill optimism in the workplace regardless of challenges. The fourth part is the capability to empathize with other and identify how others are feeling without them telling you how they feel. The fifth part means to have the ability to make a personal connection with others and influence others is in a way that is personally engaging. This survey demonstrates a sign of one’s emotional intelligence. If one receives a total score of 100 or more, one can expect to have high emotional intelligence. A scoring of 50 to 100 highlights one’s level of emotional intelligence as good. There are five different components of emotional intelligence that consist of the following; self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, empathy, and social skills. If one reaches a score of 20 they are considered to have a high level and a score of 10 is low. Each student scored well for self awareness, 19 (Person A), 18 (Person B), and 19 (Person C). For this survey managing emotions scores were slightly different because Person B scored 22 while person C scored 18 and person A scored 19. Motivating oneself tends to instill ones confidence person A scored 20, while person B scored 19 and person C scored 18. In this survey when it comes, empathy organizations are looking for managers who possess caring attitudes -person A scored 22, while person B scored 21, and person C scored 20. As it pertains to social skills are always a critical attribute to have in the workplace and person B scored 24, person A scored 21 and person C scored 20. Overall person A scored 101, person B scored 104, and person C scored slightly lower than the other at 95. Table 1: Emotional Intelligence Survey Results Table 2: Emotional Intelligence Survey Results Conclusion Only recently, has attention been directed to understanding the role of emotional intelligence in the work place and how the process may play in the development of manager’s abilities to improve work environments. The case study in this paper discussed communication problems that might have been avoided had the expatriate experienced intercultural, professional development, before visiting India. Focusing on one’s emotional intelligence in the workplace has beneficial outcomes for increasing trust and improving  interpersonal relationships. Results of the emotional intelligence survey indicated three participants effectively used empathy and social skills and effectively managed their emotion while engaged in the work place. Reference Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., Remond, M. V., & Geerinck, T. M. (2010). Interpersonal communication relating to others: Self-disclosure. 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