Persuasive speech Essay

Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society? What about our communication skills? Well, there are many social networking sites out there. â€Å"35% of adults and 65% of teens in America who use the internet have profiles on social networking sites†. I feel because so how many have an account on these sites it is hurting our society. Additionally, people are not having face to face interaction, and these social networking sites are hurting peoples communication skills.Everyone has social networking these days. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are the leading forms of social media right now. I know all of us are guilty of it. I have problems with it just writing the outline. Social Networking can be very beneficial to us, but it is very harmful. By the end of my speech, I want the audience to know that there are many negatives to social networking. I am speaking on this topic, because social networking has many negative aspects. With it being so popular, people need to be aware of these dangers. Main Values: First value is Safety. Second value is Real life social skills. Now, let’s just take some precautions and look at the safety hazards. Safety. Safety is not being exposed to the risk or harm of danger. Social networking is not safe, because there is a lot of information on the internet that can travel fast. People share private information that can get into the hands of the wrong people. Online Scams or computer hacks can cause information to be stolen and your identity to be taken. People shouldn’t post personal information on social media sites. Always put a password on your accounts and put the private mode on your sites. This won’t completely protect it, but it helps. The misguided belief is that even though you have a password or security setting that your social media is safe. People post personal information on their sites like phone numbers, an address, or a class schedule. This should be avoided because you don’t know who is looking at it. Social Skills. Communication skills are used when talking to a person. You learn to be hospitable generous, patient, and kind hearted when talking to people face to face. You learn skills you need to use for the rest of your life. Social networking prevents people from face to face communication. Communicating with virtual friends can lead to people not having the time to  socialize with real people. Social media isn’t the right kind of social. Being on social media doesn’t mean that you are being social in the right way. According to interview with Dr. John Cacioppo, who is a professor in neuroscience at the University of Chicago, tells that â€Å"You can end up online so much that you end up sacrificing face-to-face contact. Having 4000 friends on Facebook might make you feel that you have lots of friends, but you have no face-to-face contact. In that case, loneliness increases.† It is not possible to make real relationship if people do not meet face to face. Being on too much social media causes depression and anxiety which actually makes you seem less outgoing. If you spend less time on social media, you can start improving real person relationships. Health conditions. Social media is responsible for revolutionizing traditional communication. However, research has shown that social networking sites can be very addictive. People who use social networking sites for their daily communication are hooked to a point that they neglect health responsibilities, especially their diet. The addictive nature of social media leads to eating disorders, obesity, heart problems, sleep disorders, and other pertinent health issues. Additionally, constant exposure to the internet because of social networking addiction prevents a child or teen from engaging in physical activities and socialization. They become so dependent on it that they start to think making contact with other people outside the social network is not necessary. As such, they become socially and physically stagnant. In conclusion, Social media isn’t always what we think it is. There are risks and downfalls to it. Cutting back on social networking is a sustainable thing because it has become, such a large part of our society. We want this world to be as comfortable as possible. You can do that by being safe, creating relationships, and continuing to grow as a person. We don’t have to stop social networking, we just need to be more aware about how safe we are being about it and how much we use it.

My Favourite Sportsman

My favourite sportsman Kimi Raikonnen is my favourite sportsman. He is a Finnish racing driver. When he joined the Sauber Formula 1 team he was only 21 and had raced in only 23 car races in his life. But he had won more than half of them. He won the Championship with Ferrari in 2007. Then he took a break from Formula 1 for a while and raced in rallies, but last year he returned back, driving for the Lotus team. Raikkonen is very calm, cool, and calculating in his race strategy and he is known for his absence of emotion which is why he is nicknamed ‘The Iceman'.Whether he wins a race or his car breaks down and robs him of certain victory, he stays cool and detached, showing little emotion of any kind. There is nothing that really makes him upset, angry or happy for more than for fifteen minutes or so. It was unbelievable how Kimi appeared already at the beginning. Before his first race – just half an hour before the start – his team was preparing the start, but Rai kkonen wasn’t there. They started to search for him and his engineer eventually found him, sleeping gently in a room at the back of the garage.He had to wake him up and he just said: â€Å"Jo, let me still sleep a bit. Give me 5 minutes. † Why do I like him so much? The answer is that he is a character and one who makes me laugh. Orszagod legnepszerubb sportja Although Hungary is a relatively small country, it has always been successful in several different sports.Football is one of the most popular sports in the country. Football is a sport played between two teams. The game is played on a football pitch. Each team has 11 players on the field. One of these players is the goalkeeper, and the other ten are known as â€Å"outfield players. The game is played by kicking a ball into the opponent's goal. A match has 90 minutes of play, with a break of 15 minutes in the middle. Players may not use their hands or arms, except the goalkeeper, who may use them within his own p enalty area.The most memorable game of Hungary was in 1953. The English team were unbeaten for 90 years at home, but in this year the Hungarian Golden Team defeated them with a final score of 6-3. Unfortunately Hungarian football is not the best nowadays. We had a very good team about forty years ago but since then we have had a bad period.Sometimes there are good times when we can beat strong teams but in general we lose. Every year we can see some individual talents but they go to foreign clubs to play. Sport event I’ve been to In 2005 I went to the Hungaroring to see the Formula 1 race. My father took me there with his car. He and my mother also came to see the race. The Hungaroring is beautiful. It is enourmous but it has a very good scenery because it was built upon a hill. Many people were there and waiting to get inside. We waited about half an hour at the gates to get in.After that, we took our places and watched the drivers’ preparation before the race. When t hey started their engines and got the green lamp to go, it was very loud. I was really enthusiastic, because my favourite driver was Kimi Raikkonen and I’d like to see him winning. I was very happy when in the half of the race he could overtake Schumacher and he lead until the end of the race. He and his team had a chance to win the world championship because of his first position, but unfortunately he couldn’t win it at the end of that year. All in all, I would say that it was a wonderful experience and I really enjoyed that day.

Alha Udal Essay Example for Free

Alha Udal Essay Essay Topic: Deva , Indra Choose cite format: APA MLA Harvard Chicago ASA IEEE AMA company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints Alha-Udal(from Bhavishya Purana-Part-2) 1 Sootjee said:-â€Å"In vaksara village there lived an abhiri girl named Vratapa. She was fond of doing nava durga vrata in every starting year. She worshipped Chandika Mata for a boon that she asked for herself .She said:-â€Å"Please devi please with my worship and give me a beautiful boon of great child like Valarama and Krishna. Only this I ask from you hey mata swetaishwari†.There lived Vasumaan named king.He saw the abhiri girl and got pleased with her beautifulness. He married her . He begat with her and produce two sons namely Deshraj and Vatsraj . Vatsraj was powerfull and so was Deshraj. Vatsraj’s power was equal to 100 elephants. They won Magadhdesam and they ruled there. There was a Mlechchha king named Satayatta and ruled in Vanaras. His son was strong like bhimasena and always follows his father’s words . He was tall like Taalvriksha(Paam Tree). Therefore his name is Talana.Under his command there is 100s of soldier. By wish Talana came to King Jaichandra for friendship.There came king Jaichandra to Talana but only brought three soldiers with him to test Talana. 2 Soot jee said:-â€Å"In Indraprastha there ruled king Anangapala. To have his own sons he started doing yagya to satisfy lord Shiva. Then lord Siva got pleased with him and king Anangapala got two daughters namely Chandrakanti and Keertimalini. Granddaughter Chandrakanti got married with king Devpala of Kanyakubja and smaller daughter Keertimalini got married with Ajmer king Someshwara.Jai Sharma is Anangapala’s brother who went to Himalayas to do tapasya by this juncture Anangapala gained concentration to rule his empire. Chandrakanti had two sons Jaichandra and Ratnabhanu. Jaichandra was handsome good warrior and with his brother Ratnabhanu won many battles and defeated many kings. Jaichandra ruled east side of Kanyakubja and Ratnabhanu ruled northside of kanyakubja.Jaichandra saw in gauda, banga and other states of maru, sins got expanded. There jaichandra went and punished those sinners of their weightage of sins. Agnivamsa’s lineage was king Gangasimha whose siste r is Biramati. Ratnabhanu got married with her and as prediction of Shiva they got a beautiful child named Lakshman. He was strong enough and  was well known for Khhanda yuddha(Strife war).After seven years Ratnabhanu went to swarga and got pitriloka. Kirtimalini got three sons elder was Dhundukar, middle was Krishna Kumar and small was Prithviraj(Mahiraj and also called some times Bhu raj or Bhupati and Mahipati (not the Mahipati of Mahismati )in the purana). Twelve years they pass their childhood days. When their childhood days were over, Anangapala gave his kingdom and went to Himalaya for tapasya. Dhundukara got Mathura kingdom and Krishnakumara got Ajmer kingdom. All kings obey their parents and always think about their state’s peoples. There were two Kshatriyas who were Chandravamsins namely Pradyota and Vidyota. Pradyota’s son was Parimala and under him was 1 lakh soldiers. Vidyota’s son was Bhishma Simha and he was the senani(captain) of elephantry.When Anangapala died Prithviraj got the kingdom of Indraprastha. He loved his kingdom very much. One day Devi Shakti appeared before him said:-â€Å"Donot conquer the abhiras and extent your kingdom beyond that which may create a big problem in your life and your control for kingdom†. Then Devi disappeared. Jaichandra received two great chandravamsin in his army. By them he made aksahini army. Pradyot, Vidyot and Parimala were mantris of Jaichaichandra and Bhishmashimha got chief of elephantry of King Jaichandra of Kanyakubja. There was a circular shaped kingdom named Mahoba. That kingdom’s king was Mahipati.King Mahipati has two sisters Agama and Malana. He was very upset that till now his sisters were unmarried.He went with marriage welcome to different kingdoms. At last he gave Agama to Prithviraja and Malana to king Parimala. He became happy . After the end of ceremony Prithviraj demanded a fort from king Mahipati. Mahipati then built a fort in Indraprastha. Beyond that fort four caste :Brahmana,Kshatriya,Sudras and Vaishyas living places were also built. That place come to be known as Deholi(Delhi).Prithviraj got control over the village named Deholi. Jaichandra to expand his kingdom took 60 lakh soldier to capture deholi. By that time Prithviraja worshipped Shiv-Shakti for winning and took soldiers for fight. Seeing great number of soldiers in front Prithviraj got afraid. He sent message to Mahipati. Getting the message king Mahipati took 20 lakh soldiers and came to the battle ground. Jaichandra heard the news and warned king Mahipati. Seeing that cleverish chandravamsin arranged extra 20 lakh soldiers and put 60 lakh soldiers in front.by order of kings the war began. By order of Chandravamsin the army  got divided into several parts and attacked deholi soldiers and by this many got injured. Many soldiers of deholi died of unnamed arrows. Seeing that King Mahipati stopped the war. The soldiers of Jaichandra said:-â€Å"Jaichandra is stronger and Prithviraj is fearfull and weaker†. Then Jaichandra said :-â€Å"From today Prithviraj’s state is under my control.† Prithviraja accepted that but in mind he took vow that he will destroy Agnivamsa dynasty.† 3 Sootjee said:-â€Å"One day Ratnabhanu served Prithviraja. By seeing the scene everybody was impressed. Ratnabhanu had a nice necklace which wears by his only wife, the beautiful one Viramati.Prithviraja got awestruck by seeing the necklace.They had son named Lakshana who is stronger.Gangashimha’s second daughter named Divyabibhabari got married with jaichandra. There was a woman slave named Surabha. She was a master of Kama. King Jaichandra was attracted to her. They begat themselves and got a daughter named Samyogini. After 20 years she became the eligible one for marriage. For sayamvara, king Jaichandra arranged everything. He welcomed Prithviraja in that Sabha. He made mind that he will give his daughter to lakshmana only. It for insulting he called Prithviraja.He arranged everything for Kanykubja prince Lakshmana.He called his Brahmin general Chandrabhatta and said:-â€Å"For kanyakubja you built a swarna murti(golden statue) for gift and it will be like Prithviraja.†By hearing this Chandrabhatta went to worship Maa Bhavani to start his work quickly.Jaichandra also invited many kings of different kingdoms.Then the sabha started and chandrabhatta had kept the statue in middle of the sabha.Samyogini saw the statue and got inspired the man and he made his mind that she will marry only the man who is like statue.But in the sabha everybody’s mouth was fulled with name of lakshana. Then Chandrabhatta said to Jaichandra:-â€Å" It was awesome scene outside in our place please sir do observe it†.Jaichandra observed as Chandrabhatta said. From Prithviraj there came 1 lakh elephantry and 7 lakh horse men. 1000 charioters and they are all trained arrow mens.1 lakh foot soldiers in them 1200 mens are with strength . 100s of footsoldiers protecting Prithviraja infront .Hundreds of hundred family member came from Prithviraja in which his wife also was present.King of Kanyakubja Ratnabhanu came there . Dhundukara came with his elephantry.There also came Krishnakumara.They were the doorkeeper seeing that if anybody will do mischief will be sent out of the place.In betwwen  200 km the strenghiest army is being placed.In between there was Jaichandra and Prithviraja who were surrounded by 1 lakh elephantry and 7 lakh foot-soldier. There was 8 lakh soldiers protecting the place.Those surrounding soldiers of Prithviraj were Suklavamsin. Everywhere there was standing soldiers for wars. In Ishana direction there were kurmahara who sat and building the vocal musical equipments.There also present Mahipati, Bhishma Shimha,Parimala and Chandravamsin warriors Pradyot and Vidyot.They were surrounded by foot-soldiers who were ready to do a continue war for five days.There were 10 thousand elephantry and horse were in lakhs. Also present there 5 lakh footsoldiers near them.There present 300 chariots. There present king Ratnabhanu who is protected by 100 elephantry , 3 lakh foot soldiers and 1 lakh horsemen. Thus that place creates an illusion of heaven(Swarga puree) . In one side Sanyogita(Sanyogini also called Samyogini) was thinking of getting Prithviraja as her husband.She heared of the name coming around the sabha was lakshana and she saw lakshana was not the person alike the statue.Therefore she became sad and again and again calling Mahadeva and Mahadeva in mind.MahaDeva got pleased with her and released Maya on Prithviraja. Prithviraja got deluded in the maya and looked over Sanyogita and got attracted to her beautifulness. He then arrived towards her and by seeing him she got fainted.He took up her body and arranged all soldiers of him which he brought into the sabha. He forcefully took the body of Sanyogita and fled to his country Deholi with all of his Deholi soldiers. When these news reached to ear of everyone present in the sabha , there started a chaos. Then king Jaichandra kept half of the soldiers in entrance of the state and his house. His soldier chieftain chandravamsin brothers Pradyot and Vidyot reorganize the rest half of the soldiers present in the state.They all declared war on Prithviraja and came to Kurukshetra region for the war.Suddenly the war began.Horsemen fought with Horsemen and elephantry fought their opponent’s elephantry.It started to build a fearful in shape. In the end of the day they lost their strong soldiers.They all feared and with King’s order they stopped the fight and took their respective places to spend the night. In morning with the order of Pradyot , they began the fight with chieftains of Deholi.Vallama(a pointed metal headed weapon) sounded with opponent’s Vallama. Dhundukara continuously shot arrow towards Pradyot. The well-known Varuna-astra when  struck to Pradyot he got senseless and fell down.There came Dhundukara and put pradyot to death.In that mament Krishnakumara was doing war with elephantry.By angry mood Krishnakumara shot Surya-ashtra. With that divine arrow many got dead.Vidyot also died from that arrow with his soldiers.Ratnabhanu then came to that pace and started the fight.Then Prithviraja arranging 1000 elepnahtry and went to do war with Lakshana.With Shiva’s boon King Prithviraja was strong and agry with Bishmasimha and Parimala he shot fearful Rudra-astra to Lakshana.To save Lakshana Ratnabhanu went there and took the arrow in his body and got fainted and fell down.The illusion of Rudra-ashtra had deluded Dhundukara which is seen by his brother Prithviraja. He then to cut off the illusion shot Vaishnava-astra.Therefore by maya-cutter vaishnava-ashtra Ratnabhanu also got his sense.He got up and fought with Krishnakumara violently.Both were dead under the paws of elepha nt.Others were died by naga-ashtra(snake creating arrow) and Kharga(rounded shaped big knife).Many paths opened in the fierce full war but the path of winning is still very far. After the end of the day the deadbodies of great warriors were carried off in their resting region region. The soldiers of Kanyakubja when saw teir king was dead they got feared.About five lakh died soldier’s wives were present there crying in grief ,falling and fainting by seeing their family membersare dead. Kings of both side got fear by the scene .Ratnabhanu and those who were dead were cremated by hidu dharma(were burnt in fire).The army of Jaichandra want to surrender themselves in the next morning to Prithviraja.When Suryadeva appeared in the morning and it’s rays fall every-where. Both-sided flags were raised again. Bhishmasimha, Parimala and Lakshmana were in sadness as their fathers were dead.They came out and laid friendship with Dhundukara.There army of Prithviraja sang Prithviraja won and king Jaichandra lost. Therefore Jaichandra and others laid friendship with Deholi king Prithviraj. Jaichandra of kanyakubj and Deholi king started a big ceremony with happiness in mind. 4 Sootjee said:-â€Å"In ganga dynasty the first worshipped god is Indra. Bhishmasimha also after birth ,started to worship Indra.(Shakra deva).Oneday he started to do strong tapasya of Indra by worshipping Surya deva.He prayed:-â€Å"Please god give me a divya (magical) boon and please with my  prayer god Indra!†.Indra got pleased and gave him a divne female deer(divya harini).Bhishmasimha was very happy with this and every day to satisfy Indradeva praised Indra with his stotra(prayer) and meditate on him.One day king Parimala was very sad because his father was dead.He praise the earth and stated to worship Shiva.Shiva to examine him gave him a strong disease named Sarparoga.After five months went the strength of the king Parimala broke down.† He knows that if he did pray lord Shiva in mind , many strong diseases will get vanished.Therefore he did not stop praying lord shiva in mind.With his fatal health,king took his own family to Kashi.Under the banyan tree they spend their night.King said in mind :-â€Å"Your name is always in my mind†.Hearing this beautiful words lord shiva took form of snake and went there.King to get well praising shiva again and again falling on the floor of kashi temple saying:-â€Å"If you lord did not remove the disease from my body,I will not drink water and take food†.Hearing this lord shiva immediately healed the disease.The happiness got filled in his mind and body.Expressing the happiness he said everybody present there what had happened to him and how did he got cured? . Then king Parimala tells to bring oil to bath Shiv linga.†Sootjee then said :-â€Å"Who will hear this story will get cured from sins attached to body.† Sootjee said:-â€Å"Painting a picture of snake bearing shiva in mind,king Parimala started bathing linga of Shiva situated in Kashi temple.The the king did Sashtanga pranayama- mudra to praise lord Shiva.His wife gave Bhoga(a hindu belief of giving food to god ,so that god may eat and touch the food and make it a divine one) to Lord Shiva. Then King sarted to praise shiva with this stotra:- â€Å"Thatho jaatam sayam lingam mam gushtavyam sanatanam. Jyoti rupam sarva laksha samanvitam. Nishi thhe tha maththadadha the dikshu suryatvam aagatham.† By this for one month of worship king pleased lord Shiva.He painted lord Shiva in mind to please Shiva.Having pleased with king lord Shiva appeared before him and told to ask a boon from him.By hearing this King Parimala said:-â€Å"if you god truly pleased with me then please stay in my house always.†Shiva blessed him with the boon and vanished in the linga.Every day king distribute gold to peoples.Having pleasing everybody king with happy mind went to mahavati-puree.Every-body was astonished to see the fully cured king.After the end of the year he went to the state of kanyakubja to meet king Jaichandra.Seeing king Parimala everybody got happy and  over-joyed.Every body is seeing the miraculous king who had cured the fatal disease.Seeing the cured king Raja jaich andra was also overjoyed.He said to Parimala:-â€Å"The peace will not stay for so long in the states and you caused happiness to every of my subjects also me ,hence I assure you of future help when you will be in need. †By hearing the pleasant assurance of help from King Jaichandra, King Parimala went to his kingdom.† Sootjee continued :-â€Å"To get boon Lakshmana everyday worship Lord Vishnu and every day pray by these words:-â€Å"I you were not there ,I may not be alive today.You are the real protector O Vishnu!.Please give me a divya (divine) vahana(carriage,in hindu, an animal who used to carry men from one place to another) by which every enemy can be destroyed easily.†Then Jagannath dev from his leg created a divine chariot carried by elephant named airavat sent it to lakshman through king.After that with everybody king Parimala went to Mahavati puree.There great Talana the son of king Venarasa was drinking a sweet intoxicating drink made of honey. Mahavatee puree’s king Mahipati was sitting in his own place.Then Talana went there and said to king :-â€Å" Hey rajan please kind with me and give me what I want.†At the end of the month the great Talana repeated the same word,then rajan realized of his want.To please him and to remove sadness from his mind he went to Venaras and gave the kingdom to Talana after consulting to Venras king Satayatta. Mahipati then came to his home and gave a fort to Deshraj and Vatsraj ,the abhiri kings .That fort was situated in between mountains and decorated with flowers ,creepers.The gentle winds blows there making the place lively. The two sons :- Vatsraj and Deshraj was like his parents strong and brave. Then Talana the mlechcha king of venaras having declared as Yuvaraj of his kingdom was very happy.He was fond of Rakshashas. Therefore he called the mlechchas of his kingdom to have a great ceremony in mahavati puree for worship of May danava(a famous danava created by Vishnu,does works like Vishwakarman in rakshasha kula and a famous character in Ramayana).To attained that ceremony there came Deshraj and Vatsraj after crossing mountains.Many kings came to attained the ceremony.There present 60,000 warriors surrounding Talana.There present ministers,brothers,and kings who are chandravamsins.Everyone praising the great Talana. 5 Sootjee said:-There was a king named Jambuka ruled in Mahismati who is  freared of Prithviraj .With prince Kaliya he lived in the place which is situated near Narmada river.He is the friend and general of Prithviraj.King Jambuka does worship of the earth and different dev devis(god and goddesses) .Then he started to do worship of lord Shiva.For want of boon King Jambuka everyday does worship of Lord Shiva. The king said:-â€Å"Hey Mahadev what boon you want you give it to me.†Then Lord Shiva appeared before him and said:-â€Å"Hey king you are the best worshipper of me.Let you and your soldiers be undefeated.†The lord Shiva disappeared.The Rajan to show his love towards Lord Shiva ,he went to Maheshwaram teerth with his prince Kaliya and took his soldiers there. Seeing the beauty of the place everybody got wonderstruck and they all praised that place. Rajan said:-â€Å"Everyday we must worship Pritri deva† and by saying this he went to ganga for tarpan(an hinduic tribute to pitri deva i.e forefathers) .King said :-â€Å"hey pitri dev please keep my body and soul purified†.By doing sradhdhic tarpan rajan praised Mata Ganga with vidhis the king went to his own house.Kaliya’s sister name is Vijayasini.Kaliya asked his sister :-â€Å"what should I give you that is beautiful and precious in your eyes†. Then his sister said:-â€Å"Give me necklace and precious jewels.†Kaliya then went with lakhs of horsemen and did bath in ganga.Then after doing bath in ganga implying all vidhis(rituals) he gave many danas(gifts) to brahmanas. Afterbathing, Kaliya looks for the necklace, first in Kanyakubja (Kanauj), but learns Kanauj is wealthless.He saw king is strong but the state is filled with dues and there is shortage of wealth. Then he then learns to attack Mahoba as he saw that Mahoba is filled of wealth and j ewels.Prince Kaliya then went with 1 lakh Horse men to Mahavatee puree to get necklace and jewels for his siter.There went general Mahisena with king and his soldiers and warned that to give all the wealth they has or fight with them. Mahipati got feared and called Lord Shiva again and again saying either you give welth or please protect me and my soldiers from wrath of king Jambuka.Then Lord Shiva appeared and said to king :-â€Å"Hey king please say the thousand names of Mata Chandika to protect you and your Soldiers.†Then king said the thousand names of Mata Chandika and protected him and his soldiers.Then kings send his generals for fight.He took help of Kanyakubj ruler Jaichandra. Another side for not getting their demand Mahisena and his soldiers get ready to fight.Then king Jaichandra came to fight with the soldiers.There came Deshraj with thousand Naga  warriors.There came Vatsraj with 16000 horsemen.At last came the soldiers of big Talana.There started a fierce full war between them.It goes on till night.Jaichandra was about to win the war. Suddenly there entered the friend of Prithviraja, Jambuka with soldiers of mahismati.The soldiers,Kaliya and king Jambuka went everywhere and started fighting .Jambuka went middle of the battlefield with half of the soldiers and put Mahadeva(Lord Shiva’s) Moha(illusive) arrow in his bow and shot it to the opponent soldiers. The arrow is full of Sidhdha mantra by which the opponent soldiers fell down to ground.Then with sword they started to kill the opponent soldiers. The soldiers of mahismati started to praise their king.Everywhere spread fear.There came Bhisma Shimha with soldiers.With Surya-datta(Surya-astra) arrow he cut of the maya i.e illusion. Then everybody of his friendly soldiers got up but getting their senses.Then taking sword they cut off the opponent’s soldier’s body. Many fall senseless,other got pressed under the paws of elephant and many got wounded by number of arrows.Then mahismati soldiers accumulated themselves and started fating with opponents.Sword tore and fell to the ground and many got killed and fell to the ground.There came big Talana and stared stomping over his opponent and tearing them apart with sword. He defeated his opponent Kaliya and his soldiers.Many got killed and King jambuka was injured and fall to the ground. With very strength he prayed to sankara(shiva).By that time both side’s half of his soldiers are dead.Shiva spread his maya.Then King Jambuka got up and gathered his half of his soldiers and went from the battlefield.Thus king Parimala defeated his opponents.Everybody sang of their win.Seeing they have won the battle Jaichandra was surprised. Talana organized their half of the army. Then Bhishma Shima went to his house. After five months all kings went to house Bhishmasimha. Because his wife ,the daughter of Gurjara(gujrat)king named Ravyadaalasaa gave birth to a divine child .Every king gave number of wealth to Bhisma-simha.By the order of lord shiva the portion of Sahadeva took birth in the house of Bhismashimha.The child’s name is Deva-simha, a well-known warrior and knowledge-able person of the future. Alha Udal. (2016, Apr 14).

Innovation and Strategic Management Annotated Bibliography - 1

Innovation and Strategic Management - Annotated Bibliography Example Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 6(2), 14-39. In this article, the researchers present their findings on how innovation is shaping general business management practices. They took an in-depth analysis of the impacts of embracing innovation and adapting it to business management practices. They also establish how governments, businesses and other development organizations incorporate innovation in their budget decisions and analyze the impact of innovation on long term performance of businesses and government departments. The authors argue that firm’s profitability and market competitiveness is dependent on how well they make use of innovation in their strategic planning and management. They propose a model that can be used to not only audit but also classify different types of strategic management practices that use innovation as the driving force. SÃ ¡nchez et al studied a relatively broad sample of firms in the electronics industry in Spain to arrive at empirical results. They established that those firms that embraced innovation in their strategic management generally witnessed significant growth in their revenues. On the contrary, firms that did not incorporate innovation in their management practices witnessed reduced revenues and made perpetual losses. SÃ ¡nchez et al proposed a comprehensive model that links companies’ performance to innovation-directed strategic management. In this model, businesses make management decisions that are informed by innovations that aim at cutting costs of production, improve resource competence and create new portfolios in the market. The innovation based strategic management in this model links environmental changes, strategic innovation and business results. In this article, the authors argue that the kind of innovation that has led to improved business performance is not necessarily that which is based on the technological changes. They

Creative process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Creative process - Essay Example tion to such an extent that the ideas can be expressed, selecting an idea or group of ideas from those generated and then producing a possible solution to these concepts. These are often labeled in more scientific fields with such terms as preparation, incubation, illumination and verification. The first two of these processes occur entirely within my mind, almost completely without outside assistance while the second two often include interaction with others as I work to communicate and refine my ideas sufficiently enough to communicate both the idea as well as my solution. Each phase presents its own challenges and approaches. For example, the initial phase is characterized by my interest in solving a problem that I see around me or answering a question I might have about the universe. It can even be something as simply profound as â€Å"why do the whorls in that knot of the tree take on that particular shape?† As I become more and more obsessed with the issue at hand, I begin to gather as much available information about the topic as possible, often allowing myself to freely associate ideas from a number of sources. â€Å"During the initial, intuitive phase, each thought activates, and potentially retrieves information from, a large region containing many memory locations† (Gabora, 2002). Thus, my ideas are generated from the things I see around me as well as my memories of things from the past and images I see as I continue to kick an idea around in my head. This is different from the second stage of my process because it is mostly conscious as I actively seek new ideas for new work. The t hinking taking place is done primarily in the conscious range as I attempt to find answers to any gaps in the ideas that are coming forward and to find ways of connecting them in a unique way. In the second phase of creation, and the one I allow myself the greatest emphasis, I allow the information that has been gathered to freely associate in the subconscious mind,

Paper 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper 2 - Coursework Example The Chinese distinguish the time through the use of animals (and one mythical creature), naming years and hours as these animals. The selection of these animals, and the arrangement thereof, came from an old legend from the Chinese dynasty, possibly around the Zhan Guo period. Legend tells of Buddha or the Jade Emperor calling for all animals to a race across a raging river. The rat, thinking smartly, overcame its disability to swim by hopping and free-riding on the strongest animal on the race: the buffalo. Just before the buffalo was to cross the finish line, the rat jumped off ahead of the buffalo and landed first. The tiger, being strong as it is, was the next to arrive. As the rabbit came near to the finish line, hoping his way from stone to stone, it slipped and landed on a floating log, which the rabbit used to float to the finish line. The dragon, which everybody thought would finish the first, came after the rabbit, giving the alibi that it had to help the townspeople and th e rabbit in crossing the finish line. The next to approach the finish line was the horse, but the snake, just like the rat, subtly hid itself on the horse’s hooves.

Reality Internet Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reality Internet Assignment - Essay Example First of all, reality television is famous for its unexpected twists (Saade & Borgenicht 14). Indeed, the producers argue that there is no script written for the characters and they are absolutely free in their actions. All this results in the fact that it is virtually impossible to predict what happens in an episode since reality television tries to capture life as it is. Secondly, it is obvious that reality television provides the viewers with the content that they really want to see (Slade 156). In other words, there has been a tendency that shows on television reinforce the conventional values in one way or another; so, people get easily fed up with it. They want to see something that is being condemned by the society, but exists in real life. Finally, it may be important to note that the concept of elitism has long been abandoned by the contemporary media (Wyatt & Bunton 1). In other words, the views do not want to see beautiful looking celebrities on the screen: they are willin g to see ordinary people who are engaged in ordinary activities. That is why reality television fully satisfies this desire and shows that people on the screen and in real life are much alike. It may be quite interesting to learn that reality television was able to influence non reality shows. For example, nowadays, when a talk show features a interview in one of the characters, it is conducted in a manner as if the latter confesses some of the most inner thoughts to the camera. This has a certain effect: the audience is touched by the genuine feelings that are expressed and watches the show with a greater interest. Speaking of an example of a recent popular reality show, one might note The Bachelor. There are several reasons why it has attracted so much attention of the people. To begin with, one might note that it reflects dreams of many people which is marrying a wealthy and successful spouse. That is why when

The Hunger Game Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Hunger Game - Essay Example This essay aims at exploring the bad implications on people because of the power that Capital had and also the good implications on people because of the power that Katnis Everdeen had. Several evidences in the story as shown by these characters have been pointed ou in this essay to prove this thesis. Though Capital is not a singular character it plays the role of a manifested format of power. Capital, the epicenter of power had made life miserable for the people of poverty struck District 12. Katnis Everdeen, the protagonist of the novel evolves into an unsentimental, rough girl as she realized that without her engaging in ace hunting, her family won’t survive. It must be noted here that hunting was crime as dictated by the Capital and would result in life sentence. So the power to survive by overpowering the evil evolved in Katnis as being a continuous victim of submission and decisive control. Though these two characters persist to be powerful in the story, the way in which they use power are entirely opposite in nature. While the Capital is portrayed as a body which urges to forcefully gain power from people and the social systems around it, power is an inherent trait in Katnis. The expressions of power by these two characters are also in entirely different dimensions. A vital element in the story which enjoys and exercises power is the Capital. This character controls the work and resources within different district. They come up with systems to demonstrate the authority they had over the resources. The story unfolds into more expressions of power through the annual game conducted by Capital. Interestingly, the game is organized to make all the districts aware about the mighty power of the ruler of the country. Thus from the side of the Capital, power is exercised through cruel unfair expressions of authority. They change the rules of the game even in between the game so to show their power. The brutal measures appropriated by the capital are typica l examples of how power operates to manipulate people and social systems so as to remain more powerful. The Hunger Game is about overpowering other people in the game and surviving till the end to emerge as the winner. The process extends to killing each other. As nobody would volunteer into a game of killing, the capital exercises their power here again to nominate two people from each district. They have complete power over the death and life of the nominees. There are consistent efforts from the Capital all through the game to manipulate is so that the power equation within the country persists. The author has succeeded in portraying the cruelty through which the Capital operates. Every gesture has power as its central theme and the brutality of its execution has been well expressed all through the story. Katnis Everdeen, on the other side uses power to protect her family. It is a matter of survival for her. She nurtures the inherent power and courage within her through her life experiences. She lost her father in a mine explosion at an early age. She at the age of sixteen is responsible to feed her family and takes up hunting which is illegal. In the selection process of the tributes for District 12, Katnis’ younger sister gets selected. The expression of power with Katnis is well expressed at this juncture as she opts to volunteer in place of her sister. A powerful expression of power is depicted by the author in the presentation ceremony of the Hunger Games. Katnis

Protech Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Protech Business Plan - Essay Example Please refer to annexure 4 for more details on the financial situation. Currently, Protech has 2 brands for different segments. The PC industry is at the stage where demand is expected to boom at an unprecedented rate. Market is very attractive because products are just being introduced. Furthermore, there are so many new technologies and the need for new PCs is always increasing. There are so many strengths that we need to leverage on, and so many opportunities that we can seize. At the same time weaknesses and threats are required also to be re-evaluated along with correction action plans. "Protech" Company was established in quarter 1 to introduce a new line of microcomputers into Asia, United States, Canada and Europe. Management team was established to perform different responsibilities. Please see annexure 1 for the vice presidents in charge of each function. The mission of Protech is to empower our clients to work effectively by innovation and building enhanced technologies tailored specifically to meet our customers' needs, with high realization gains to our shareholders and keeping in mind the community. Our target markets are smaller, high margin segment, i.e. Workhorse and Mercedes, in the largest and more expensive geographic markets. Its factory was built in the first quarter in Toronto and started with production capacity of 25 units per day. Two sales offices were established in the same quarter. One is an electronic web center and the other one was a brick-and-mortal sales office in New York. This city was chosen due to its relatively high potential demand compared with other cities based on our market research. Please see annexure 2 for 12 month potential demand in different cities. One of the most important decisions in 1st quarter was

Excel Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Excel - Assignment Example The airline is also socially responsible in ensuring that it relates well with the public. Good relationship with the public is a good move and this helped the airline to increase its profit margins. It can also be noted in the table 1 of sheet 2 that the revenues of the airline were increasing as the sales continued in different quarters. This can as well be seen with the increment in the net profit of the business. Success of a business is seen by increment in profits, reduction in expenses or even when the production gets reduced further while the passengers realize the full consumption of the commodity. In my position as the sales and marketing director, I use all the resources within my proximity in the attracting of passengers to use our airline and make them know and came to reality that the services we offer are of high quality and that they cannot regret the value of their money after the consumption of the transport service. A lot of factors need to be well addressed by the management on the operations of the airline effectively and efficiently. In this, it is worth considering that the airline is operating in different market and with the expansion, it is therefore important for the management to do proper supervision on the staff in the other markets as well as thorough auditing of the financial records that are prepared by the accountants in those markets. In this regard, what can been be very useful to prevent any losses that may rise due to in accuracy, omission and commissions. The management should also give discounts to the passengers who make online reservations as this will make most of them o book online whenever will want to travel. Online reservation is a good way to save the time for the various passengers as it also reduces the cost of spending say for the people living far away from the operating locations of the airline. It is also a safer way since

Stakeholder Analysis- Fracking Essay Example for Free

Stakeholder Analysis- Fracking Essay Pursuing hydraulic fracturing as a top manager of Chevron, I will describe the dilemmas that are associated with fracking. The first problem with this procedure is finding the appropriate land and leasing it from the landowners. With talk around the country, it can be difficult finding land because of landowners’ personal experience with the practice of hydraulic fracturing. In southwestern Pennsylvania there have been cases of animal birth defects, faucet erosion, stomach pains, and other health issues; in response, according to the New York Times, â€Å"Range Resources maintains that a D. E.P. study from 2010 indicates no air pollution of any kind† (Griswold, 2011). The country is torn in the middle of believing in natural gases and not believing. According to Huffington Post, â€Å"A report that the Congressional Research Service, which provides policy and legal analysis to the U.S. Congress, published in November also seems to support the industry’s sales pitch: ‘Given existing data, most indications point to the changes in the natural gas industry as positive to the overall U.S. economy’ (Peeples, 2013) but there are still skeptics. The issue that my company is facing in expanding the operations within this industry is, mainly, the uncertainty of the long term effects the fracking procedure is possibly contributing to. According to msnbc, â€Å"fracking is causing earthquakes. Federal scientists presented a new study this week to the American Geophysical Union that suggests natural gas drilling is the likely culprit behind a skyrocketing number of earthquakes in the Raton Basin in Colorado and New Mexico†¦ companies began injecting what’s called ‘wastewater fluid’ from natural gas drilling into the Earth† ( Gentile, 2012). Different publications are distributing articles of studies of health effects and environmental issues that hydraulic fracturing are causing. This in response is effecting the possible growth for Chevron. My team is conducting a stakeholder analysis and we have determined several stakeholders which include: the government, D.E.P., media, owners, shareholders, environmentalists, general public. Also established are the interests of each stakeholder. With the general public interests being in their health, voting is one power they could use to voice their concerns. Environmentalists and the D.E.P. are interested in the pollution fracking is causing and the D.E.P. could use their legal power to help regulate the pollution. The concerns of the shareholders are the profits of the company and voting is their power they could use to fix problems within the organization. With the power of economics, the owners are interested in the success of the company. The media is concerned with the public knowing both sides of the issue. Lastly, one main interest in the government is the reconstructing of the economy and what hydraulic fracturing could create in jobs. The stakeholders that are most likely to resonate with the public are the general public, media, and the environmentalists. With media producing stories of the public being affected by the pollution and the environmentalists undergoing studies on the environment, this could create a negative image on fracking companies. Considering all the stakeholders, the one stakeholder that holds the most urgency is the general public that is being affected. The general public is the most urgent because they are being victimized and their voices are being heard throughout the country which is causing confrontational issues. Different coalitions could be formed by the environmentalists and the government. Different politicians could lobby to get a bill pass and environmentalists could form to fight bills. My recommendation for the company’s consideration is to invest in more resource of the different affects fracking is causing and to fix the environmental issues that are caused. Ideally, Chevron should follow the triple bottom line perspective because all three elements (planet, profit, and people) are strongly involved. But with the uncertainty of the new procedures and all the different effects, the stakeholder approach is more realistic for Chevron. Chevron could prioritize their stakeholders and focus on each of their needs. This company holds ethical responsibility to the general public because of the health hazards that are surrounding the drill sites. The legal responsibility the company has is to follow the regulations that are formed by the D.E.P. Works Cited 1.) Grizwold, E. (2013). The Fracturing of Pennsylvania. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/magazine/fracking-amwell-township.html?pagewanted=all_r=1 2.) Gentile, S. (2012). Fracking is transforming our energy economy- but its also causing earthquakes. http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/12/08/fracking-transformed-our-energy-economy-but-its-also-causing-earthquakes/ 3.) Peeples, L. (2013). Fracking in Pennsylvania Sets Up Dilemma For Locals: Quick Money Or Long Term Health Concerns. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/fracking-pennsylvania-natural-gas-lease-landman_n_2546824.html?ir=greenutm_campaign=012513utm_medium=emailutm_source=Alert-greenutm_content=FullStory

Maximising profits and meeting objectives Essay Example for Free

Maximising profits and meeting objectives Essay J D Wetherspoon owns pubs right across the UK. It is now the UKs fastest growing company. They serve good quality food at knockdown prices. They also clear your plates away quickly afterwards and ask if the food was to your satisfaction. Wetherspoons employs approximately 11,200 staff who work either part or full-time. The company believe that there is a direct link between the high performance of their staff and their approach to staff recruitment, training, development, and motivation. Each pub operates with skilled management, who are fully supported by bar and kitchen staff. Their mission statement is to have by far the best CBSM (cleanliness, beer, service, maintenance) standards in the pub world; to be the best company to work for; and, by doing these things to be the most profitable. McDonalds McDonalds have over 1000 restaurants across the United Kingdom. Three quarters of these are run by managers on behalf of the company and the other quarter being run as franchises. McDonalds is the worlds largest franchising company, with seven out ten outlets being a franchise, and being owned and run by independent entrepreneurs. McDonalds sell burgers and chicken with a variety of different desserts and hot and cold drinks, served by friendly and helpful team members. One of McDonalds stated aims is to provide a friendly service in a relaxed, safe, and consistent restaurant environment. J D Wetherspoon J D Wetherspoon uses Maslows hierarchy of needs as the bases of their motivation techniques. Maslows hierarchy of needs gives the managers clear and useful insights into how best they should motivate their staff. J D Wetherspoon aims to provide each individual employee with the skills and knowledge, which will help them to gradually climb the ladder of hierarchy permanently. Maslows pyramid can help Wetherspoons with this. They believe in creating a work force, which is committed and motivated. This workforce should be made up of people who can achieve personal fulfilment via the freedom that they get through their work. Realising that they will not be able to keep all their employees for all of their working life, J D Wetherspoon wants them to grow a sense of loyalty to the company They promote their staff through the different levels of employment status in the business, from bar/kitchen associates, to pub managers, to general managers to help motivate them. They pay each of the employees more than their competitors are paying their staff, so that the all associates (employees) feel motivated and will stay with the company for as long as possible. They believe that once their employees know that they are being paid more than the minimum wage for their work, they will become more motivated. The company bases its pay on reviews of performance of each of the staff; the better the performance the better the pay. The company also provides a bonus scheme for its workers. Each member of staff receives a bonus depending upon the performance of the pub in which they work. To get each member of staff to work to their full potential, the business runs many incentive schemes. One example of this is a monthly draw for examples of excellent customer care. The winner will receive an all expenses paid holiday for two in New York. Along with this, the business offers a share option scheme to each of its employees, enabling them to buy shares in the company at an assured price. The company do this in the belief that it will make the staff have a sense of belonging in company and will want to see the company succeed. McDonalds McDonalds method of motivation involves using rewards, goals, and promotion prospects for their members of staff. Although the company motivates their staff via reward methods, goals and promotion prospects, they use F.W. Taylors Scientific Management motivation theory. McDonalds splits their staff into teams, so that there is a team of people in each of the areas of the restaurant. There are also team members who walk round the restaurant and clear tables of empty food boxes and drinks cartons. Julie Room, a General Manager from a McDonalds restaurant says that McDonalds are continually hiring new members of staff, as their staff members are always leaving. McDonalds have high promotion prospects for their staff, with all the managers who work for the company once being crewmembers, and 80% of the top managers were once crewmembers. The president of McDonalds Ltd, also worked as a crewmember in a restaurant. This gives the current members of staff aspirations for the future. To help each member of staff, the company trains them in the restaurant that they will work in. Each staff member is trained in all 16 areas of the business including grill, buns, dressings, filets, and pies, drive-thru, front counter, and back room. This is all on the job training. This means that the staff can experience job rotation within their work. This leads to job motivation for the staff. Therefore, the team members are more likely to stay with the company for longer. This is very similar to the motivation theory of Douglas McGregor. J D Wetherspoon J D Wetherspoons management is of a democratic style. The management encourages the staff to take part in decision-making through the multi-channel communication system, which the company has in place. Wetherspoons believe that many of the projects that they adopt stem from the ideas put forward by their associates. This is because they are on the front-line of the company. They can see where things need to be improved and changed. These things tend to obvious to the people who are in contact with customers on a day-to-day basis but are not quite so obvious to the managers, higher up in the business who are very rarely seen by the customers. The changes and improvements that the associates would like to see are communicated to their line manager, who refers them to the pub/restaurant manager. Within a few weeks, the good ideas are put into practice to make to the pub/restaurant appear better to the public and possibly to attract more customers. Every fortnight, they hold a big meeting where over 100 employees attend. This includes people like the company chairperson, company directors, and pub managers and some associates from many pubs/restaurants. Here, all the employees can voice their opinions on the companys over all performance and the ways in which they think it can be improved. Everyone who attends, gets to vote whether a certain route for a promotion of an offer the company is participating in, gets the go ahead or not. Many of the people who work for Wetherspoons carry a high level of commitment and many are proud to work for Wetherspoons. The company strongly believes that one of the key factors, which differentiates the company from its rivals, is the high quality of customer service/care that is achieved, from employing a number of committed employees. McDonalds McDonalds management style is more autocratic. This is because the members of staff are told which part of the restaurant they will be working in and they are told what they have to do. However, some of the approaches that McDonalds use can be seen in McGregors Theory Y. This is people centred and the managers are more democratic. The managers give the teams responsibility for each of the sections, awarding them appropriately, as they meet and exceed targets. They also believe that their staff want to work and are not lazy. However, the members of staff at McDonalds can also come under McGregors Theory X. This is because the teams have to be controlled and monitored. They have to be told what to do and are often watched to make sure that they are performing correctly. They are often seen to slack and to be lazy. Thus, they need some motivation to inspire them to work. It is only the managers that get a say in what the company does. The employees, which are seen everyday, unlike the managers, do not get any input into company and the decisions it makes what so ever. Therefore, the team members feel undervalued. This can then result in the management team lacking in motivation to motivate their staff. J D Wetherspoon Wetherspoons business culture is one orientated around their associates at the lower levels. This is because these people see the areas that can improved. The managers rely on these people to report any problems and successes. Wetherspoons encourages their staff to challenge existing ideas and practices to continually improve the company. The changes that are raised are adjusted little by little rather than in one big change. Many of these changes are suggested by the employees, who base them upon their experience whilst at work. However, these sorts of things can only occur in an open culture. Nothing is disclosed within Wetherspoons approach and is based upon the understanding and the belief in some of the key ideas of human motivation. Their approach to the way things are done resembles Charles Handys Role Culture. This is because of the structure that the company takes; this is much like a pyramid with the chairperson at the top and the associates at the bottom, very rarely speaking to one another (see below). McDonalds McDonalds business culture is orientated around the tasks that the staff have to carry out. This is because without these people the company could not function efficiently. These people also see the day-to-day running of the business, the taking of the money, serving of the food etc. The approach that the company takes resembles Charles Handys Task Culture. This is because of the company structure. The Task Culture is represented by a matrix, which looks like a grid (see right). The company splits its employees into project teams. Within these teams, they have to solve problems, which may arise. In addition, everyone can cross boundaries within the business. This means that they can work in other departments as well as the one they are employed in e.g. some one working on the front counter, could work in the kitchens. This culture also uses individual talents in each area i.e. people on the front counter need to use people skills, need to have good communication skills and confidence, whereas on the other hand, the people who cook the burgers need to be good at time keeping, cooking the burgers, and keeping up with the demands. J D Wetherspoon The company is committed to providing the highest standards of training and development to all employees. They aim to encourage, motivate, and support all the employees to achieve the companys mission statement and to fulfil the personal ambitions. There are different programmes, which the company use to train and develop. Generally, when people start working for the business they start as bar/kitchen associates. They start with the training for this job, as they progress in the business, they receive development training. This is for team leaders, shift managers, kitchen managers and pub managers. Each of the positions have their own set of training programmes. For example, for someone to train as a shift manager, they have to go through twelve types of training; induction, food hygiene, health and safety, kitchen training, customer management, personnel policies and procedures, people skills, interview skills, and stock management. They also have to do a National Licensees Certificate. Whereas to train as a bar/kitchen associate, they have to do food hygiene, health and safety, and kitchen training. J D Wetherspoons develop their staff. They do this because the staff that already work for the company know the way the business works. Also, training staff that already work for Wetherspoons, to higher positions in the company can mean that the costs of recruiting and training new staff will be reduced. It also helps to ensure staff loyalty and can reduce many future uncertainties in the company. This can then, in addition ensure that the company will not run out of skilled people; i.e. a bar/kitchen associate who has been promoted to a shift manager can always help out in the kitchen because they would have had the correct training to be able to work in the kitchens. Therefore, they have the skills and the company has not lost them. Training existing staff can help gain a competitive advantage. This means the company can gain more customers and more customer loyalty. In theory, and in many cases, in reality, this can help to motivate the managers, which in turn will help them to train their staff better, and can motivate them too. The companys training and development programme is a combination of on and off the job training courses. The companys training centres round career development. McDonalds McDonalds hire their staff on a three weeks probationary period. The company have the right to end employment of at any time during these three weeks. It is only after these three weeks, and if their performance has been acceptable, that the member of staff becomes part of the team. It is said that the company takes six months to train a full-timer and 11 months to train a part-timer. This is because of the sixteen areas in which everyone has to be trained on. These include the grill, buns, dressings, filets, and pies, drive-thru, front counter, and back room. They also have a buddy system. This is where a new employee to the company is paired with someone else who has been with the company for a while and have experience. This person will be one of the training squad and will look after the new team member for their probationary period. Eventually the trainer will decide whether or not the new team member is capable of carrying out the work in the area. When this has been decided the staff member would have received a gold star (this system existed in 1999, it no longer exists). The company thought that the teams found this system of rewarding good work, motivational. McDonalds, like J D Wetherspoons like to develop their staff. In the article by Susan Curtis, it says that there is a set hierarchy of jobs for crew members to work their way up: (1) Crew member (2) Five star crew member (3) Training squad member (4) Hourly-paid floor manager (5) Salaried floor manager (second assistant manager) (6) First assistant manager (7) Store manager (8) General manager (only in larger stores). They develop their staff for the same reasons that J D Wetherspoons do. They do it to save money and to give staff more opportunities within the business. J D Wetherspoon J D Wetherspoons encourage their staff to work in teams. This is because team working means that there is a more efficient and effective production team. It is also believed that working as a team, can satisfy the social needs of people. Many managers delegate power among the people who work underneath them. This is in the belief that delegation meets the employees ego and self-actualisation needs from the motivation theory of Maslow. In addition, working as part of a team means that people can job rotate, to give them a bit of variety. This means that they can be more motivated towards their job, knowing that there is a possibility of job rotation within their teams, even if it is cooking a different part of a meal. Wetherspoons encourages this because they want their staff to achieve as much as possible in their work. They also want their members of staff to have a sense of belongingness to the company. Wetherspoons recognise that the feeling of belongingness is an employee need and therefore they set out to meet it. McDonalds McDonalds also encourage their staff to work in teams. This is because they, like J D Wetherspoons, have a more efficient and effective work force this way. McDonalds staff are encouraged to work as teams so that all the work is covered and completed, whether it is morning at breakfast, mid-day at lunchtime or in the evening at tea time. This also helps to satisfy the staff at McDonalds and helps to maximise the involvement of the staff. The teams are usually functional. Also within the teams, the staff can swap jobs with someone else and change department that they work in. Team working means that the staff can become multi-skilled. This makes it easier to do someone elses job. They can also meet shared objectives, i.e. serve each customer within a minute. J D Wetherspoon J D Wetherspoons is a pub/restaurant. They sell both drinks and food. This means that they need enough stock to supply their customers. The company have to ensure that each of their pubs has enough beer barrels in their cellar and enough wines and spirits to last them at least a week. The company will have at least a delivery of beer every few days or so as the beer will go off very quickly once the barrel has been opened. The company always has just enough stock to cater for all their customers, whether they be eating or drinking. They bring many different types of beers to their customers throughout the year via beer festivals. Wetherspoons work along side Cask Marque (a quality standard for real beer) and CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale). This means that the company brings in new beers and rotates them throughout the year to offer their customers some variety. They also offer many spirits and wines as well. All these alcoholic beverages are kept in stock with strict quality standards, upheld inside the pub. This is to make sure that the customers can enjoy their drinks. This applies to the beers especially. The company offer fifty plus different meals per day, they therefore need to make sure that they have enough ingredients for these meals. They need to make sure that the stock they have does not go out of date to quickly either. They have many meals on their menu, which contain meat (beef, pork, chicken, and lamb) and fish. To keep this from going off they need to put the meats and fish in a chiller. They have to order enough of each ingredient for each of the meals on their menu, as if they are to sell many of the same meal. They do this for both the beverages and food so that they never run out of stock. If they were to run out of stock then there is a possibility of losing customers and future customers. The method of stock control that they use, in my opinion is Just in Case. This is because they can never be sure how much of each meal option they need to make and they never know how much of a particular beer or spirit they are going to sell, so they need enough stock just in case some one buys a meal or a drink. McDonalds McDonalds, on the other hand, operates in a different way. They stock up on all their burgers, salads, deserts, and fries although they use J.I.T. The restaurants are always very busy during the day. Therefore the company gets through many burgers, and fries each day. They have to rely upon their suppliers to deliver in time for rush hours i.e. lunch time as they know they will need more stock. They estimate their level of sales for each item on the menu using previous figures, doing this they can predict how much they need to order. To use J.I.T. McDonalds need to know exactly what they need. They need pretty good knowledge of their customers requirements. They also need to have excellent relationships with their suppliers, and need to have accurate understandings of production requirements. J D Wetherspoon J D Wetherspoon have to assure quality in both food and the drink. They ensure this by buying the highest quality ingredients for their meals from their suppliers. To guarantee this, they make sure that they build strong relationships with the suppliers. They also have a food guru, who works closely with the food team. Once a month he reviews the companys menu and the ingredients which they use, and he gives his personal seal of approval if he believes they are at the highest standard that people would expect from J D Wetherspoons. To ensure that the beer they sell is to the highest standards, they employ beer tasters. These people test the beers on four areas; appearance, aroma, taste and aftertaste. These are usually marked out of 10, so each beer can get a maximum of 40 marks. All of the beers which the company supply must meet their tasting standards, before any orders can be placed. Whilst in stock, there are strict quality standards in place which are maintained within the free house, to ensure that customers enjoy the beer at its best. This process also applies to the wines and spirits. As with the beers, the wines and spirits have to meet the companys high standards. The wines and spirits are also tested for appearance, aroma, taste and aftertaste and again if they dont meet Wetherspoons standards then they are not sold in any of the pubs/restaurants. They also train their staff to a high standard of work to ensure the quality of customer service. They do this by training their staff in customer management and in people skills. McDonalds Serving more than 2.5 million customers each day makes quality a consistent goal. They work with leading suppliers across the UK from potato farmers in Lincolnshire and Norfolk to dairies in the South and Midlands to bring customers the tasty products that customers expect from McDonalds. McDonalds attempt to certify quality from crop to counter. Therefore they require the highest standards and specifications, not just for product ingredients; every detail of production, transport, delivery, preparation and service is carefully monitored. A focus on quality pervades every aspect of the business. Their standards top the food industry, and they continue to work with government and health officials to investigate improvements to their foods. Both companies have their different approaches to maximising profits and to meet its objectives. The way in which each company goes about it is effective to them. Both companies are, although in the same area of trade, are completely different. They operate in different ways, have different kinds of people working for them and generally have different clientele. The people who work for McDonalds are generally those who can work in the conditions that are found in a McDonalds restaurant. They tend to be able to deal with pressure a little easier then those working at Wetherspoons and vice versa. These people have a different kind of objective to aim towards, that is appropriate to the different companies. Again the approach each company uses helps to achieve these very well and can sometimes help them to exceed them. The companies approaches, however, both lead to them maximising their profits. This is because of the efficiency and effectiveness of the staff in both companies.

Information Theory and Thermodynamics

Information Theory and Thermodynamics In order to develop better tools, machines and technology we have had to develop our understanding of the physical world. This has allowed us to construct machines that are more capable than those preceding it. The French scientist Carnot was studying machines and was trying to understand how to make them better and more efficient. As part of his studies he calculated the maximum efficiency of any machine and was able to relate this to temperature. Carnots idea was to simplify the machine to its simplest form (this generality that makes it universal) and analyse that Carnot knew that machines of the time (and of today) work as a result of a temperature difference across the machine. In his time it was obvious, fire produced steam which turned a turbine that did work; today is not too different, all of our machines still need a temperature difference to make them work, however the temperature difference driving the machines may be at some distance, for example a power station producing electricity. Even wind, and solar require temperature differences to work. Analysing these machines further lead to concepts that we, perhaps, take for granted: work, power and energy notable examples. Whilst working on these concepts Boltzmann came up ideas that grew into statistical thermodynamics. It was extended and correctly describes a whole range of phenomena. The idea of thermodynamics is to relate various physical properties of a substance to the bulk behaviour of the constituent parts within. Microstates and Macrostates: Boltzmann realised that by knowing the number of different states that a system could be in and the number of configurations that each state would enable him to work out the probability of a particular state occurring. And that on average when something is observed it is more likely to be found in one of its more probable states. Many systems have lots of moving components and this means that over time a system will have evolved into a more probable state. This may now seem obvious, but it hadnt been pointed out explicitly at the time. A Macrostate is the global state of a system. For example if we consider a box with red, blue and green balls a possible macrostate might be to find all of the red balls are in the bottom left corner, whilst all of the others are randomly distributed in the rest of the box. Another example of a macrostate might be that the total electrical charge of block could be Coulombs. A Microstate is one particular configuration of the system that produces a macrostate. In the balls example if the balls are identical apart from colour we can permute the balls with the same colour amongst themselves and end up with different microstates. An example with the charged block might be that we have 4 particles each with charge as one microstate, and another might be to have 1 particle with and another with Below is a figure that represents a hypothetical macrostate of three colours of balls three particular microstates that can be used to achieve it. In the leftmost diagram we have a macrostate with all of the red balls in the bottom left corner, the other diagrams show different permutations of the balls that also achieve the desired macrostate. In order to calculate the probability of this state we would need to know how many combinations of it there are. This is a simple counting argument: we have 1 way of putting the green ball in its spot, two ways of putting the blue balls in their position and ways of arranging (we can pick any of the 5 to go in the corner, then any of the remaining 4 to go next to that, then any of the remaining 3 etc). There are a total of 8 balls and so the In general if there are objects we have possible arrangements; if we also have different types and if of them are of type 1 (say red), are of type 2 and are of type then we can find the total number of permuted arrangements with: We can use these two facts to calculate the number of accessible microstates of type , this is called the weight of the microstate and is denoted by, : The weight of a microstate is proportional to the probability of the system being in it. So one way to calculate the probability of being in the state is via: where the summation is over the weights of all the other possible microstates. A handy way to view a microstate is with a pack of cards (Birks bath), in a pack of playing cards the statistical weight of a club is 13 since there are 13 of then the statistical weight of a queen is 4. The probability of selecting a club card is the chances of picking out a club are times greater than picking out a queen. The statistical weight of the queen of hearts is 1. There is one obvious constraint that can always be imposed and that is that the total number of particles is the sum of the number of particles in each state: We can impose other constraints on the system as they are required later. Because the particles of each type are identical it is natural to assign a probability that a randomly selected particle is of type, , as: We are also able to define an Expectation value for the system. If we were interested in the average occupancy of each of the types we would have: which would represent the average occupancy of each type. If we were interested in the charge (or energy (I shall use for either) we would similarly have: Let us take some examples and compute the statistical weights, average occupancy and average energy (represented by the value of the type index e.g. if , the energy would be two units). I shall consider that the atoms are all identical apart from the energy that they have and that a macrostate is the same for each. For the first case let us assume that we have 5 atoms and the macrostate corresponds to an energy of 5 units. The table below shows that (for example) the microstate 3 has a weight of 20, this means that there are 20 microstates with the occupancy levels given that correspond to the macrostate We can tabulate the various combinations as below: microstate number Occupancy of type i weight probability n0 n1 n2 n3 n4 n5 1 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 0.0397 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 20 0.1587 3 3 0 1 1 0 0 20 0.1587 4 2 2 0 1 0 0 30 0.2381 5 2 1 2 0 0 0 30 0.2381 6 1 3 1 0 0 0 20 0.1587 7 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 0.0079 totals 15 12 4 2 1 1 126 1 Average occupancy 2.222 1.389 0.794 0.397 0.159 0.040 Table 3.1: Table showing occupancy levels for a 5 atom system with a macrostate of 5. This table was generated by finding all of the numbers that sum (in this case) to 5 which is the macrostate. It shows the number of atoms with a particular energy in the columns headed , the statistical weight of each microstate is in the weight column, the probability column next to it shows the probability of randomly selecting this microstate from a given macrostate (in this case 5 atoms and a total energy of 5). The row titled average occupancy shows the expected occupancy of an energy level of type , calculated from the table. Looking at the table there are two equally most likely microstate arrangements. The first of these corresponds to and , both occurring with a probability of 0.238. Another possible macrostate is listed below, this time we have 7 atoms and an energy of 7 units. The headings of the table are the same as in the previous example. We can see that the weight of the most probable microstate is 420 and that we have a probability of 0.245 of randomly selecting one of them. The occupancy levels are: microstate occupancy of type i weight probability n0 n1 n2 n3 n4 n5 n6 n7 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0.004 2 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 42 0.024 3 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 42 0.024 4 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 42 0.024 5 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 105 0.061 6 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 210 0.122 7 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 105 0.061 8 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 105 0.061 9 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 140 0.082 10 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 420 0.245 11 3 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 140 0.082 12 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 105 0.061 13 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 210 0.122 14 1 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 42 0.024 15 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.001 totals 51 30 11 6 3 2 1 1 1716 1 Average occupancy 3.231 1.885 1.028 0.514 0.228 0.086 0.024 0.004 Table A3 2: a seven atom system with a total energy of seven A final example consists of a system of 10 atoms and a total energy of 9. As will be readily seen as the number of atoms and the energy increases the number of microstates corresponding to a given macrostate increases so does the size of the table. It was quite difficult to work out the number of combinations of energy that could occur and I wouldnt want to do it again for larger tables. In the next part we shall use the method of Lagrange multipliers to massively simplify the calculations for the probabilities and expectations. For the case of 10 atoms and an energy of 9 units. We see that the most probable microstates have the following occupancy levels: The most probable microstate has a probability of 0.1555, but there is another microstate that is only slightly less probable (a probability of 0.1300) and this has occupancy levels of: The two least likely microstates are the following: Both have a probability of 0.0002 which is very small indeed. Table 3 is below: d occupancy of each type i weight probability n0 n1 n2 n3 n4 n5 n6 n7 n8 n9 1 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10 0.000205677 2 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 90 0.00185109 3 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 90 0.00185109 4 8 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 90 0.00185109 5 8 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 90 0.00185109 6 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 360 0.00740436 7 7 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 720 0.014808721 8 7 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 720 0.014808721 9 7 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 360 0.00740436 10 7 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 360 0.00740436 11 7 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 720 0.014808721 12 7 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 120 0.00246812 13 6 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 840 0.017276841 14 6 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2520 0.051830522 15 6 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2520 0.051830522 16 6 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2520 0.051830522 17 6 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2520 0.051830522 18 6 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 840 0.017276841 19 5 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1260 0.025915261 20 5 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5040 0.103661045 21 5 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2520 0.051830522 22 5 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7560 0.155491567 23 5 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1260 0.025915261 24 4 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1260 0.025915261 25 4 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6300 0.129576306 26 4 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4200 0.086384204 27 3 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 840 0.017276841 28 3 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2520 0.051830522 29 2 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 360 0.00740436 30

Understanding Alcohol :: Drugs and Alcohol, Addiction, Intoxication

Alcohol is not only the reason why prohibition took place in the 1920s, but it is also the reason why many persons wake up not remembering their previous night’s endeavors. It has always been evident that alcohol has an effect on brain function, which in-turn impairs the behavior of a person. Alcohol can be separated into two separate groups: what is expected to happen, and what actually happens. Alcohol is expected to play social lubricant and aphrodisiac. When it comes to being social alcohol does seem to have a loosening effect on people, however, it is almost the opposite sexually. Alcohol actually acts as more of a suppressant when sex is brought into the picture. It has only be known to be a sort of aphrodisiac because that is the way it is perceived and that is the way in which people choose to perceive it. Given the choice between two women, one holding an alcoholic drink and the other not, a man will more often pick the women with the alcoholic drink due to the fact t hat alcohol is a precursor to the possibility of having intercourse. Introduction Alcohol can be traced back to ancient times when Egyptians used beer and wine for ritual and celebratory purposes (Hanson 1995). Osiris, the god of wine, was praised throughout the entire land of Egypt. The Egyptians believed that this important god also invented beer, a beverage that was considered a necessity of life and was brewed in the home. Both beer and wine were created for and sacrificed to the gods. Fast-forward 12,000 years and the variety of alcohol has become so numerous, people no longer need a reason to drink. However, most of the population is unaware of the chemical reaction that is occurring within their body every time they take a sip. It has always been evident that alcohol has an effect on brain function, which in-turn impairs the behavior of a person. Not only has alcohol been linked to multiple physical issues but also mental and emotional. When alcohol is consumed it can create acetaldehyde in the brain to allow a chemical reaction to take place with other ele ments already in the brain waiting to be activated. When acetaldehyde reacts with chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine then there is a strong chance that psychoactive alkaloids such as salsolinol will be produced (Sullivan et. al 2010). Acetaldehyde is present everywhere in the atmosphere and may be produced in the body due to the breakdown of ethanol.

Indigenous and Global Feminist Perspectives on the Women of Chiapas Ess

Indigenous and Global Feminist Perspectives on the Women of Chiapas Women's reproductive health is a debated and complex issue in today's society. Nowhere is its severity more prevalent than in areas of extreme poverty such as south and Central America. The resolution to these problems is far from simple. Yet, women are increasingly taking control of their lives and forming groups to combat many of the prejudices that hold them back. However highly debated some tactics for resolution may be it is hard to miss the shear urgency with which the issues of women's rights and health call us. The fight for gender equality cannot overlook the importance of equality in health care and control over one's own body. Women's health is an issue that passes along its concerns to another generation every time a child is born. Before being able to discuss women's issues in third world countries, it was important to find an area of study. For this, I chose Chiapas, Mexico. Chiapas is a place where the true effects of capitalism are felt on a daily basis. Upon the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the lives of the indigenous people living in Chiapas changed dramatically. Acorrding to Jeeni Criscenzo, author of Some Personal Observations on the Reasons Behind the Events in Chiapas, "(Mexican leaders) entered into trade agreements with foreign interests (NAFTA) that at US insistence, made changes to their constitution that effectively ended Indian communal land right making it possible for Foreign corporations to take Indian land and resources" (Criscenzo 2). But why did our government, and that of Mexico allow this to happen? Ms. Criscenzo answers that question with the following statement, "In the world of internati... .... (1999): 1-12 "Men's Involvement in Women's Reproductive Health Projects and Programmes in the Philippines: part 1 of 2." Reproductive Health Matters 7. 14. (1999): 1-9 Nazar-Beutelspacher. "Education and Nonuse of Contraceptives Among Poor Women in Chiapas Mexico (Part one)." International Family Planning Perspectives 25. 3. (1999): 1-7 Nazar-Beutelspacher. "Education and Nonuse of Contraceptives Among Poor Women in Chiapas Mexico (Part two)." International Family Planning Perspectives 25. 3. (1999):1-6 "Report from San Cristobal." (1998): 4-9. Online. Internet. 3/28/00 http://www/criscenzo.com/jaguar/report.html Shadows of Tender Fury. Bardacke and LÃ ³pez. New York: Montly Review Press, 1995. 161 "Some Personal Observations on the Reasons Behind the Events in Chiapas." (1998):5. Online. Internet. 3/28/00. http://www.criscenzo.com/jaguar/report.html

radio news :: essays research papers

Radio News Speech Good morning, Sioux City. This is Adam Lewis and you are tuned to KL&R on this delightful March 3rd for all your news so you’ll know what’s going on. This story coming right out of good old Sioux City†¦. Eleven businesses in a strip mall on Gordon Drive are all wet after a water main burst early Wednesday morning. Water and mud spewed from the break in the main and into businesses at Sioux City's Gordon plaza. "We walked in to open the store," said Beverly Gonzalez, Dollar etc. manager, "and there was mud and water all over." Water began leaking overnight from a fire water main beneath this utility building. "The first reaction was one of surprise, of course," said Roan Gruis, Little Chicago Deli Manager, "The owner got here at four o'clock and the water was running out the front and back doors." When the water drained, the stores were left with a quarter-inch of mud to cleanup. Half of the affected businesses reopened by mid-afternoon. There’s no word yet on what caused the water main to break. And now for your State news†¦.. An Urbandale man whose girlfriend called police after she recognized his face in a surveillance photograph was sentenced Friday to 20 years in federal prison for seven bank robberies. Richard Matzke, 58, was arrested in March 2002 as a suspect in more than 24 bank robberies in several states. He was convicted of seven Nebraska heists and was sentenced Friday in Omaha. Several robbery witnesses described a man who roughly fit Matzke's physical description, but none provided authorities with the license number of a getaway car. Matzke's arrest last year came after his fiancà ©e tipped off police. Kim Ford called police to say she recognized him in a surveillance photo published in The Des Moines Register from an Illinois robbery in February. Matzke's criminal history includes 11 drunken-driving convictions, a 1993 bank robbery conviction and a decades-old escape charge. We are going to take a short commercial break now, but when we return we will take a look at national news, and then your Sports and weather. Stay tuned. Play Commercial And†¦.we’re back to take a look at some more news†¦ And now this disturbing story coming out of Columbus, Ohio†¦. That's right, and they aren't just taking dogs off the streets or from the pounds, their henchmen are stilling pooches right from their own yards. "It's an alarming practice, but it makes good business sense," says one expert.

Action Learning Review

The Longwall department is responsible for the majority of coal production at the mine and hence, revenue for the business. The management group in this department consist of five staff members, with the Superintendent as the senior person reporting to the Mine Manager. As Technical Services Manager I am a member of the senior management team for the mine, and a peer to the Mine Manager. However, I have no direct authority over the Longwall department. Although it is suited to the approach, the Longwall department does not tend to operate effectively as a team.Whilst there is a clear annual performance target set by senior management, there will often be confusion amongst the group when they attend the mine’s planning meetings as to what the specific short term priorities for the department should be and the best way to achieve them. This confusion invariably leads to conflict in these meetings between group members, with individuals attempting to ensure that their specific ar ea of responsibility is not affected by the other’s individual priorities.There has been a high turnover of staff in the past year and the overall performance of the Longwall has been poor, with production results 40% below budget impacting significantly on the profitability of the business. Analysis The Longwall mining process is complex and to be successful requires reciprocal interdependence of tasks (Thompson, 1967). The engineers must work closely with the operations staff in the department through the planning and implementation stages to ensure safe and productive operations with minimal unplanned delays.This requirement of interdependence makes the Longwall process ideally suited to a team approach for management. Although it is a small group comprised of five staff with complementary skills, and a common production target for the year, the Longwall department does not currently satisfy the requirements of Katzenbach and Smith’s (1993) definition of a team. The y fail to define short term goals and work processes which would lead to achievement of the annual production target and, in addition, the group does not hold themselves mutually accountable for their performance.The lack of team approach towards these highly interdependent tasks leads to competing short term priorities within the group and results in poor overall performance. One of the key reasons that the Longwall department has failed to come together as a team is a lack of group cohesiveness (Shaw, 1981). The members of the group are heterogeneous (Managing People & Organisations, 2006), with different expertise and experience and as a result there is often competition and conflict (Raelin, 1985) with regards to the best approach to various tasks.This is potentially linked to the lack of specific short term goal setting completed within the group as they seek to avoid conflict because they lack the interpersonal skill of conflict resolution (Managing People & Organisations, 200 6). However, this conflict inevitably occurs when the group attends the mine’s planning meetings, as the individuals promote different priorities and ideas. If the group was more cohesive and co-operative, individuals would not feel threatened by other members and the heterogeneity of the group could be harnessed in a positive way through creative and flexible solutions to problems.For example one of the mining staff may have a different solution to an engineering problem which was not considered by the engineers. The lack of cohesiveness has led to a high turnover of staff over the past year. This means that Tuckman and Jensen’s (1977) life cycle of the group has had to return to the forming stage of the on a number of occasions and this in turn has hindered the development of group norms (norming stage) which would enhance co-operation within the group and is essential to achieve the required performance.This lack of progress through the group life cycle is also link ed to the level of competition between heterogeneous group members as they battle for power and influence in the group. The required short term goal setting and work approaches would be more easily achieved by a cohesive group. If the group was able to achieve the latter stages of the life cycle it is likely that group cohesiveness would be high and there would be significantly less staff turnover.The management processes at the mine currently manage individuals rather than teams (Hackman, 1990). This is linked to the Longwall department’s reluctance to embrace mutual accountability for performance and also the reluctance of the Superintendent to effectively lead the group as a team, as discussed below. Remuneration and bonuses are reviewed on the basis of individual performance, with little accountability for performance as part of a team. This leads individuals to â€Å"protect† themselves by making excuses and blaming others for poor performance.It also encourages i ndividuals to focus on the specific tasks and priorities that are linked to their individual performance rather than those best suited to the overall department’s performance, resulting in conflict and a lack of co-operation in the planning and implementation of tasks. On the basis of Thompson’s (2000) model, the Longwall department achieves two out of three essential conditions to be an effective team. The group has the requisite knowledge, skills and ability to complete the required tasks and their motivation to do so is evidenced by the long hours that each individual spends at work focussing on those tasks.However, as mentioned earlier, the group lacks co-ordination strategies such as short term goal setting and work method development which prevents them from developing into a real team. In addition, Thompson’s team effectiveness model also requires an appropriate environment in which the team can operate. As discussed earlier, the design of the team is app ropriate however the requisite organisational context and team culture are currently absent.As can be seen from the earlier analysis, the management of the Longwall mining process is well suited to a team approach, provided that the personnel are managed effectively as a team rather than as individuals in a group. On the basis of Katzenbach and Smith’s team performance curve (1992) the Longwall department is currently at the potential team stage. The individuals in the department have a clear annual production target and are all working hard to achieve it, however, they lack specific short term goals, a common working approach and an attitude of mutual accountability.To achieve the desired performance and meet the annual production targets, the team will need to move from the potential team stage to the real team stage. Improvement Planning From my analysis of the Longwall department I have identified three specific improvement opportunities that I would pursue if I was the M ine Manager to move the team from the potential team stage to the real team stage. Firstly I would look to improve the group’s specific competencies essential for effective teamwork through formal training and improve group cohesiveness through team building activities.Secondly I would implement a process to facilitate the setting of short term goals and work methods to achieve them. Finally I would modify the performance management system and remuneration packages for the individuals in the department to reflect a team based approach rather than individual management. However, prior to beginning the improvement processes I would begin calling the department the Longwall team so that they begin to identify themselves as a team rather than a workgroup or department.To improve the group’s task-related and interpersonal competencies, which are important for effective teamwork, I would organise for the group to go off site together for one week of formal training and team building exercises (Managing People & Organisations, 2006). This training may need to be ongoing. It is important that the group attends this training together so that they can begin to build mutual trust and respect and develop social capital (Lengnick-Hall and Lengnick-Hall, 2004).It is also essential that the training is held off site to ensure there are no distractions. One possible obstacle to carrying out this training is that taking the whole group offsite at the same time leaves the workforce with a lack of supervision or direction. To overcome this I would arrange the Superintendent of another area of the mine who has significant Longwall experience to cover the absence of Longwall Superintendent. I would also arrange for the mechanical and electrical engineers from the engineering department to provide coverage from an engineering perspective.The success of this training can be measured through an assessment process conducted by the training organisation at the end of the training program to examine the understanding and application of the concepts by the individuals in the group. A questionnaire completed by each member of the group would also be implemented to determine their perception of the applicability and success of the training. To facilitate the group’s setting of short term goals and work methods to achieve them, I would send them off site again for two days with an external facilitator.This forum would also include team building activities to break up the workshop and continue to promote team bonding. They would utilise the task-related competencies gained in the formal training process to develop and document short term goals based on achieving the annual production targets set by senior management. They would also be required to assess the potential obstacles and risks to achieving their short term goals and develop and document contingency plans to overcome those obstacles. It is essential that the team develops the goals togeth er so that they have ownership and commitment to achieving them.They need to ensure that the goals and work methods focus on performance not just togetherness (Katzenbach and Smith, 1992). Again, a potential obstacle to this process is taking the group offsite together leaving the workforce with a lack of supervision and direction. This would be addressed in the same manner as previously for the formal training. A second potential obstacle/risk to this process is the quality of the external facilitator. If this person does not have the appropriate skills to keep the workshop on track and the understanding of the desired outcomes, it is likely that the workshop will not be successful.To overcome this obstacle I would interview potential facilitators and seek references from others who have used them in the past. Once selected, I would ensure that the facilitator is very clear about the purpose of the workshop and the required documented outcomes. To measure the success of this worksh op I would review the documented short term goals to ensure that they will allow the team to meet the annual production target and I would also assess the adequacy and relevance of the contingency plans to overcome the identified obstacles and risks.A second measure will be whether or not the group achieves its self developed short term goals over the following weeks. To modify the performance management review system I would change it from an individual performance review by the Superintendent to a 360 degree review process. This review would be based on individual contribution to the team performance as viewed by other members of the team and will provide valuable feedback for individuals.I would also change the remuneration system for the individuals in the team to incorporate a bonus related to Longwall performance as a team measured on the basis of coal produced against targets (Gross 1995). This would encourage the team culture to develop with individuals supporting each other and keeping each other on track rather than pursuing individual priorities. One obstacle to this could be the feeling that some things which could impact Longwall production are out of the management team’s control, such as geological conditions.To overcome this I would document the potential influences on performance which are not controllable by the team and undertake to discount the production targets by a proportional amount to any performance impacts suffered to ensure that the bonus arrangement is not compromised. The measure of the success of this improvement strategy will be the achievement of production targets over the short and long term. References Gross, S. E. 1995, Compensation for teams: how to design and implement team-based reward programs, American Management Association, New York.Hackman, J. R. 1990, Groups that work (and those that don’t), Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Katzenbach, J. & Smith, D. K. 1993, The wisdom of teams: creating the high perform ance organization, McGraw-Hill, London. Katzenbach, J. & Smith, D. 1992, ‘Why teams matter’, extract from The wisdom of teams: creating the high performance organization, in The McKinsey Quarterly, no. 3 of 1992, pp. 3-27. Lengnick-Hall, M. L. & Lengnick-Hall, C. A. 2004, ‘HR’s role in building relationship networks’, Academy of Management Review, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 53-63.Managing People and Organisations, 2006, Unit 5, pp. 1-56, AGSM MBA (Executive) Program. Raelin, J. 1985, The clash of cultures, Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Shaw, M. E. 1981, Group dynamics: the social psychology of small group behaviour, McGraw-Hill, New York Thompson, J. D. 1967, Organizations in action, McGraw-Hill, New York. Thompson, L. 2000, Making the team: a guide for managers, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River. Tuckman, B. & Jensen, M. 1977, ‘Stages of small group development’ Group and organisational studies, vol. 2.