Assignment: Police Discretion

Assignment: Police Discretion To me discretion is something that we always use like in how we choose things like a movie to watch food to eat we always have to be very discrete in what we choose to do. There are a lot of people that would think that it would be better if discretion was taken away from the police. What most of the people do not realize is that discretion needs to be exercised. Discretion is not the problem; the abuse of discretion by some people is.In this world there is always that bad area that has the normal answer to different situations that may not apply. Having that right to exercise to discretion a police officer may be able to find the best solution always. In the scenario there was a couple of times were the police officer had to use discretion the first one was when the suspect fell to the ground she could of just left him there and not return to check up on him the next one was when the suspect started running away she could of just left and let it be.The officer could of just stopped at the struggle and had called for backup but she did not she decided to continue. These are the type of discretions that I spotted in this scenario. In my opinion I think that discretion was not very well implemented because if it was going to be a long pursuit and the suspect was going to hurt her she could of easily called for backup immediately, even though she did not know it was going to be hard to catch this suspect the best thing to do was to call for help that way this situation would have been easier and less painful for her.I think that discretion should not be controlled. I think a lot of police officers by using good judgment they might and they will let some things slide if they are able to. Not in every situation is good it has ups and its downs, police officers should be able to make a good judgment calls on the scene. Arresting someone is not always the best solution for a situation they need to analyze how they could fix the situation with discretion.

Strategy in Global Context

Strategy in Global Context January 29 2010 Submitted To: Mr. Nirmaalya B Biswas Submitted By: Jaskaran Singh Apoorva Veeksha Rai Robin Gupta ` ? Table of Contents Executive Summary3 Introduction4 External Environment5 Internal Assessment6 Organizational Purpose8 Strategy Analysis and Choice9 Current Strategy11 Conclusion11 Bibliography12 Annexure-113 EFE Matrix13 Annexure-214 Per capita income14 Annexure-315 IFE Matrix15 Annexure-416 The Internal – External (IE) Matrix16 Annexure-517 The Grand Strategy Matrix17 Annexure-618 QSPM18 ? Executive Summary McDonald’s is a signature restaurant chain serving 58 million customers each day all over the world through its 31000 restaurants in 119 countries. This report views the various internal and external factors affecting the McDonald’s prior to that the report gives a brief introduction about McDonald’s, its evolution and the way it entered the Indian market. Evaluation of the response McDonald’s is giving to the internal and external factors has been calculated through the Internal Factor Evaluation matrix and External Factor Evaluation matrix. We have used the I/E matrix and the Grand strategy matrix to formulate strategies. We formulated two possible strategies i. i. expansion in the market and product development. The strategies that we formulated using the above stated matrices have been evaluated by using the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix to know which strategy is more viable. Furthermore, the report provides an insight into the organizational purpose of the McDonald’s. Current strategies and recommendations include the analysis of the strategies that McDonald’s is using to hold and maintain its competitive advantage. Introduction McDonald’s is the largest burger fast food chain which has its operations in 119 countries. It serves around 58 million customers every day through its more than 31,000 restaurants (McDonald's, 2009). McDonald’s was started by two brothers Dick and Mac McDonald’s in the year 1940. Ray Kroc became the first franchisee as he opened a restaurant in Chicago. Restaurant became so popular among the masses that in just four years the number of McDonald’s restaurants reached 100. QSCV i. e. Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value became the motto of the company and the execution of the same is one of the primary reasons why McDonald’s is what it is today. In 1961, Ray Kroc payed $2. 7 million to Dick and Mac McDonald’s and acquired all the rights reserved of McDonald’s. McDonald’s was growing at such a fast speed that in 1963, 500th restaurant was opened. In 1965, McDonald’s went public and in 1967 first restaurant across the borders of USA was opened in Canada and since then McDonald’s has never looked back. Presently McDonald’s has its restaurants in 119 countries of the world (McDonald's History, 2009). McDonald’s got the approval to enter in the Indian market in the year 1991 itself but it took 5 years to study the market, needs of the people, adjust the menu according to the culture and to build a strong supply chain. McDonald’s finally entered India in 1996 as it opened its first restaurant in New Delhi. McDonald’s is a joint venture in India, which was signed in April 1995 and is managed and owned by Mr. Amit Jatia (MD of Hardcastle Restaurants private Ltd. who heads the operations in South and West India and by Connaught Plaza restaurants Private Ltd. which looks after the operations in North and East India. There are 158 restaurants in the whole country today (About McDonald's, 2009). McDonald’s has always believed in thinking global and acting local. Before entering into the Indian market McDonald’s made to changes in its menu as in Indi a beef and pork items cannot be offered because of the religious sentiments of the people so they had to be eliminated from the menu. Thus, making India the first country where McDonald’s does not serve beef and pork in its burgers. External Environment External factors are the factors which do not exist within the realm of business itself and on which business has no control at all. We have used the EFE Matrix to conduct an external strategic – management audit (Annexure-1 shows the EFE matrix). The total weighted score of McDonald’s is 3. 04 this shows that it is performing with regards to the external factors in a very good manner. According to Technopark report in 2009 the food industry in India stood at $13 billion and estimates say that by the end of 2011 the fast food industry alone will grow to $6. 3 billion (Economic Times, 2010). The Technopark report also says that within the organized food service which is growing at a furious pace of 20% per annum the quick service restaurants are the fastest growing. This forms a huge opportunity for McDonald’s and it is determined to grab that opportunity with both the hands as it is planning to open 180-190 more restaurants in the country by the year 2015 (Financial Express, 2009). McDonald’s is determined to expand its market share in the industry which is growing at a fast pace. The other reasons which are triggering this expansion are the high youth population in the country and rise in urbanization and per capita income. These reasons develop the new opportunities for McDonald’s. Population living in the urban areas has also increased to 28% in 2004 and is expected to be increase by another 12% by year 2025 (Indian Demographic Scenario,2025, 2009). In urban areas the number of dual income households is increasing. Thus females, like their husbands, spend time away from home which has marked the way the females use to mange family meals. People have started opting for food away from home. Per capita income in India is also increasing very rapidly and moreover according to the World Resource Institute report ‘Structure of poverty in India’ which was published in the 2004 around 53% of the household income in India is spent on food, beverages and around Rs. 35000 crores is spent on eating out annually (Annexure-2 shows the rise in per capita income). Thus, the fast food industry has good prospects ahead. Other key external factor that forms an opportunity for the fast food industry as a whole and also for McDonald’s is the fact that 30% of the population of the country is the youth which is in the age group of 10-24 years of age who are generally inclined towards the fast foods (Youth in India, 2009). Rising consciousness about the health forms one of the greatest threats for the fast food industry. The trend has been changing towards the organic foods and the quick service restaurants will have to adapt themselves to sustain their market share. McDonald’s has slowly started to adapt to this change by introducing salads. For the foreign fast food chains like McDonald’s, KFC etc. nationalism remains a constant threat for example when in 2005 USA denied a diplomatic visa to the Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, various protests were launched by the BJP party activists against the American MNC’s. Low barriers to entry in the fast food industry is also a potential threat for the players in the market because if the barriers are low and the growth opportunities of the industry are high, new players will be willing to enter into the market and thus increasing the competition. Internal Assessment Internal factors are the factors which exist within the realm of business itself and on which business exercise certain amount of control. We have used the IFE Matrix to conduct an internal strategic – management audit (Annexure-3 shows the IFE matrix). The total weighted score of McDonald’s is 3. 14, which means that it is performing with regards to these factors in an exceedingly well manner. McDonald’s is a well known and a recognized brand across the globe. This familiarity of the brand among the masses forms one of the biggest strengths for McDonald’s. Efficient supply chain is one of the other key strengths for McDonald’s. In India 50,000 crores of food produced gets destroyed because of lack of proper infrastructural facilities of transportation and storage. McDonald’s had set up an efficient supply chain by investing 450 crores in supply chain management even before opening its first restaurant in India to implement its Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value principle (About McDonald's, 2009). For any business, employees form the greatest asset and it is even truer in case of McDonald’s. The proficient work force that McDonald’s has is one of the key reasons why it is one of the key players in the market today. The ability to provide the order within one minute is one such manifestation of this proficiency. The efficiency of the employees is also increased because of the various training programmes they go through which help them in performing their tasks quickly and in a better way but also enhances their capabilities which help them rise in their careers. Around 40% of the employees in middle management of McDonald’s in India are the ones who had joined as crew members. Business environment is very dynamic no business can afford to remain static; it has to work continuously towards innovation. Nearly 80% of McDonald’s restaurants in India give certain percentage of their profits for research and development activities. This is another important strength for McDonald’s. McDonald’s has its operations in 119 countries; one of the key reasons for the McDonald’s is the ability to make itself a part of the community. In India also McDonald’s has been a part of various social welfare activities like – raising funds for charity on World’s Children Day, helping in setting up pulse polio to eliminate polio. McDonald’s strategy revolved around customization of the menu to suit the Indian palate. (About McDoanld's, 2009) One of the key weaknesses that McDonald’s has is that it faces a high attrition ratio as high as 83%, which means that company has to invest money for training of new employees again and again. (Business Standard, 2009) McDonald’s often faces protests from environmentalists for promoting practices harmful to the environment through the disposal of tons of packaging material and through the effects of cattle ranching. Another internal weakness for McDonald’s is that is yet to capitalize on the trend towards organic food. Even though it has reacted to the changing preferences of the consumers by introducing salads in the menu but it is still to make the most of the opportunity. Organizational Purpose Clearly defined organizational purpose is very important for an organization as it describes the basis for its existence. It works as a directing force on the basis of which every decision is taken. The organizational purpose can be known with the help of three elements which are: 1. Vision . Mission 3. Objective McDonald’s vision is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. ([email  protected]'s, 2010) Being the best means offering excellent quality, service, cleanliness and value, so that it makes each customer in every restaurant smile. It has been the execution of the motto of QSC and V i. e. Quality, Service, Value and Cleanliness that has made McDonaldâ₠¬â„¢s a success story. It strategizes to attain best value by providing top quality products at reasonable prices. McDonald's mission is to be its customers' favorite place and way to eat. To fulfill this McDonald’s has been using the concentration strategy where in it is trying for greater market penetration by attaining high level of efficiency in servicing its customers with a limited product line. Delivery of QSC and V on one hand keeps the customers satisfied and on the other hand also maintains the competitive edge over the competitors. The delivery of QSC and V is accomplished by taking care of every minute detail whether it is the unique cold chain network which makes sure that the customers get fresh products at low cost or the supply chain management which makes sure that customers are offered good quality products. About McDoanld's, 2009) Moreover to keep the customers satisfied McDonald’s continuously updates its menu. Strategy Analysis and Choice In the IFE matrix the total weighted score came out to be 3. 14 and in the EFE matrix the total weighted score was 3. 04. This means that McDonald’s is responding to the internal and external factors in a good way. We have used I/E matrix to come out with a strategy for McDonald’s on the basis of its score in the IFE and EFE matrix (Annexure-4 shows the I/E matrix). The basis f I/E matrix are the total weighted score of the IFE matrix which is represented on X axis and the weighted score of EFE matrix is represented on Y axis. The I/E matrix is divided in three regions which have strategy implication. Quadrants I, II and IV are the regions of grow and build. Firms which position in Quadrant III, V and VII can be managed with hold and maintain strategy where as the organizations positioned in Quadrant VI, VIII and IX can be managed with harvest and divest strategy. McDonald’s is placed in the I/E matrix it comes in the Quadrant-I because of its score in the IFE and EFE matrix which is 3. 4 and 3. 04 respectively. The business organizations which are positioned in Quadrant I can be best managed through grow and build strategy. The Grand Strategy Matrix is ano ther widely used tool for formulating strategies. A firm can be positioned in the four quadrants on the basis of market growth and competitive position that it holds in the market. When we placed McDonald’s in the Grand Strategy Matrix it was positioned in Quadrant I mainly because of its high market share of 18% in the highly fragmented quick service restaurant and also because of rapid growth of the quick service restaurant industry itself. Financial Express, 2009)Thus, McDonald’s is in a strong strategic position (Annexure-5 shows the Grand strategy matrix). For the firms in Quadrant I market penetration, market development and product development are appropriate strategies. By using the Grand strategy matrix and Internal/External matrix we have come up with two strategies which are expansion in the market i. e. opening more restaurants in the country and the other strategies is product development which is developing the new products and continuously updating the m enu in order to pull more customers. Need for product development arises specially because of the rising health consciousness among the people particularly in the educated class. To identify which strategy is more feasible we have used the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix popularly known as QSPM. QSPM is a strategic management tool to evaluate which of the possible strategies is better for the business organization. In QSPM weights and attractive scores are given to each factor according to the amount of effect it can have on each strategy and then the product of weight and attractive score is calculated. The product for whichever strategy is greater is selected. We used two strategies expansion in the market and product development, the total attractive score for expansion in the market is 3. 37 and for product development is 2. 60. Thus, opening more restaurants is a more viable strategy than product development. Currently McDonald’s has 157 restaurants all over India, majority of these are in the metropolitan cities or in larger cities like Chandigarh, Kanpur, Jaipur so it has very less or limited presence in smaller cities. So, McDonald’s should target these cities as they form a large potential market for it. With the per capita income on rise, high youth population in the country and increasing urbanization the smaller cities can prove promising markets for McDonald’s. If we look at the current plans of McDonald’s it becomes clear that they have spotted this opportunity as they are planning to open 180 restaurants by the year 2015 majority of these restaurants will be opened in smaller cities. Retail initiatives are being taken up by petroleum companies like Bharat Petroleum Corporation. Financial Express, 2009) McDonald’s can capitalize on this trend and can set up more outlets near the petrol stations on the highways and can thus increase its presence. Current Strategy McDonald’s is currently focusing on expanding its base in the Indian market. By the year 2015 McDonald’s is planning to start around 180 more restaurants, majority of which will be opened in T ier II cities where McDonald’s has very limited presence. (financialexpress, 2009) So, McDonald’s is trying to penetrate very deep into the Indian market. McDonald’s is also trying to come up with new products so as to satisfy its customers. Nearly 80% of McDonald’s restaurants in India give certain percentage of their profits for research and development activities which helps McDonald’s in coming up with new products and efficient service. When McDonald’s entered the Indian market it had to re-engineer its menu and since then it has included several products especially for the Indian customers as McDonald’s believes in thinking global but acting local. McDonald’s should continue with its strategy of expanding its base into the Indian market as still there are lot of untapped regional markets in the country especially in the Eastern India where it has less presence as compared to the other parts of the country. McDonald’s should also concentrate on the smaller cities as large amount of population (nearly 177 million people) lives in smaller cities. So there is a huge market potential for McDonald’s in Tier II and III cities. (Population in small cities, 2010) Conclusion The Indian Quick Service Restaurant industry is growing at a very fast pace. Per capita income, urbanization and youth population is also increasing in India. So India is a very potential and attractive market for the quick service restaurants. McDonald’s should make the most of the opportunity and should penetrate deep into the market by increasing the number of restaurants in India. It should concentrate on increasing its base in the smaller cities which can form potential markets for McDonald’s. References About McDonald's. (2009). Retrieved 2009, from mcdonaldsindia. com: http://www. mcdonaldsindia. com/aboutus. html Brief history of McDonald's. (2009). Retrieved December 22, 2009, from mcspotlight. org: http://www. mcspotlight. org/company/company_history. html Business Standard. (2009). Retrieved January 2010, from business-standard. com: http://www. business-standard. com/india/storypage. php? autono=290494. Economic Times. (2010). Retrieved January 2010, from economictimes. indiatimes. com: http://economictimes. indiatimes. com/News/articlelist/1715249553. cms Financial Express. (2009). Retrieved 2009, from financialexpress. com: http://www. financialexpress. com/news/mcdonalds-india-to-open-180190-more-restaurants-by-2015/466279/ Financial Express. 2009, June). Retrieved January 2010, from financialexpress. com: http://www. financialexpress. com/news/mcdonalds-to-invest-rs-400-cr-in-india/321481/ Financial Express. (2009). Retrieved January 2010, from financialexpress. com: http://www. financialexpress. com/news/bpcl-plans-to-grow-in-retail-initiative/101536/ financialexpress. (2009). Retrieved 2009, from financialexpress. com: 3. http://www. financialexpress. com/news/mcdonalds-india-to-open-180190-more-restaurants-by-2015/466279/ McDonald's. (2009). Retrieved January 2010, from aboutmcdonalds. com: http://aboutmcdonalds. om/mcd/our_company. html McDonald's History. (2009). Retrieved January 2010, from aboutmcdonalds. com: http://aboutmcdonalds. com/mcd/our_company/mcd_history. html Population in small cities. (2010). Retrieved January 2010, from infochangeindia. org: infochangeindia. org/†¦ India/Cityscapes/Slumdogs-and-small-towns. html [email  protected]'s. (2010). Retrieved 2010, from mcdonaldsindia. com: http://www. mcdonaldsindia. com/workat. html Youth in India. (2009). Retrieved 2010, from www. popcouncil. org: http://www. popcouncil. org/projects/TA_IndiaYouthSituationNeeds. html Annexure-1 EFE Matrix S. No. Key External FactorsWeightageRankWeighted Score 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3. Opportunities Increasing urbanization High youth population Rise in per capita income Indian quick service industry expected to be around $6. 3 billion High proportion of household income spent on food and beverages. Threats Rising health consciousness Anti American sentiments Low barriers for entry 0. 10 0. 15 0. 10 0. 15 0. 10 0. 10 0. 10 0. 20 1. 00 4 3 3 4 3 4 2 2 0. 40 0. 45 0. 30 0. 60 0. 30 0. 40 0. 20 0. 40 3. 04 Annexure-2 Per capita income Annexure-3 IFE Matrix S. No. Key Internal FactorsWeightageRankWeighted Score 1. . 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2. 3. 4. Strengths High brand awareness Efficient supply chain Community involvement Efficient workforce World class training programmes Investment in research and development Quality of food Customization of menu Weaknesses High employee turnover Less variety Environmental issues Yet to capitalize on trend towards organic food 0. 10 0. 10 0. 05 0. 10 0. 09 0. 10 0. 10 0. 08 0. 10 0. 08 0. 05 0. 05 1. 0 4 4 3 3 4 4 3 3 2 3 2 1 0. 40 0. 40 0. 15 0. 30 0. 36 0. 40 0. 30 0. 24 0. 20 0. 24 0. 10 0. 05 3. 14 Annexure-4 The Internal – External (IE) Matrix McDonald’s Strong(3. 0 – 4. ) Average (2. 0 – 2. 99)Weak (1. 0 – 1. 99) High (3. 0 – 4. 0) Medium (2. 0 – 2. 99) Low (1. 0 – 1. 99) Annexure-5 The Grand Strategy Matrix Annexure-6 QSPM Expansion in the marketProduct Development Key FactorsWeightAS TAS ASTAS Opportunities Increasing urbanization0. 1040. 4010. 10 High youth population0. 1540. 6010. 15 Rise in per capita income0. 10—- Indian quick service industry expected to be around $6. 3 billion by 20110. 1530. 4520. 30 High proportion of household income spent on food and beverages0. 1030. 3020. 20 Threats Rising health consciousness0. 1020. 2040. 40 Anti-American sentiments0. 0—- Low barriers to entry0. 20—- 1. 00 Strengths High brand awareness0. 1020. 2010. 10 Efficient supply chain0. 1030. 3020. 20 Community involvement0. 05—- Efficient workforce0. 1030. 3020. 20 World class training programmes0. 0920. 1810. 09 Investment in research and development0. 10—- Quality of food0. 1020. 2030. 30 Customization of menu0. 0820. 1640. 32 Weaknesses High employee turnover0. 10—- Less variety0. 0810. 0830. 24 Environmental issues0. 05—- Yet to capitalize on the trend towards organic food0. 05—- 1. 00 Total Attractive Score 3. 37 2. 60

4 Different Questions that need to be answered about 60-70 words per Assignment

4 Different Questions that need to be answered about 60-70 words per question - Assignment Example The mission of leadership initiative will be to educate, inspire, and empower the young student, and through mentoring, this mission will be accomplished. Thus, the students’ new student will be able to observe, interact, and learn from other students. The following steps were applied during the development of time management skill that serves a role model in the next class. I wrote somewhere the things that I was supposed to accomplish such as personal, and homework. Then I came up with deadlines for every task that I was to accomplish. I made sure; I did not multi-task. And then, I applied my downtime. Finally, I rewarded myself after finishing my activities. Particular approaches helped me to acquire decision-making skills. For instance, before making any decision, I could first weigh the pros and cons before making the best decision. After that, I narrow the options so as to stick to the best. I made sure, I evaluate the significance of the potential decision, and then final, I made sure I go for the well informed

English -Language Learner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English -Language Learner - Essay Example Through a primary language, thus, each learning individual is able to readily adapt to an educational setting where everything falls into the perspective based on the learner’s cultural background. This way, teaching impacts a learning atmosphere in which students are encouraged to express thoughts or ideas with confidence. Since they are free to use primary language, they can better interact with the teacher and among themselves during class discussions. On the other hand, though it is more conducive to learn with native language, an educator would find a great deal of effort and enthusiasm in conveying topics of certain fields as math or science which may include universal expressions that cannot be translated to primary language. In science literature, pertinent scientific data or information is typically available in nomenclatures and notations that are inevitably understood within the context of English as secondary language. With such disadvantage, there is then no way a round for students to maintain usage of primary language on areas where it may not entirely apply. Based on research conducted by Ellen Bialystok in Canada, the ability to manage between two languages improves attention control when performing certain tasks especially at times irrelevant information requires inhibition (Wilson). Â   As another benefit of preferring to carry out primary language as a medium of instruction, the teacher assumes the role of communicating knowledge while inspiring each student with the sense of nationalism by showing the value in preserving culture through extensive use of native language. In the future, the greater impact of this endeavor is felt when graduates become more conscious and respectful of a nation’s identity so that they realize having to prioritize service for the welfare of countrymen. Paying worth to putting native language in regular application signifies deeper attachment to culture which, in turn, implies strength of a national community whose rich thoughts and resources are shared by citizens who used to study under common adherence to primary language. Teaching students in the primary language, however, diminishes their capacity to adjust to a higher level of global communication due to the universality of English. As second language, the latter is essential for economic growth whenever a nation decides to open further possibilities of commerce abroad. As a consequence, a person who lacks adequate communication skills in English obtains limited employment opportunities in the later time. If a student is academically inclined in the field of math but has received education through approach with primary language, no matter how remarkable his mathematic abilities are, he might not find himself competitive on an international ground for not being taught to get accustomed in using English. Furthermore, on the basis of native language alone, teaching to enable learners to understand the cultures of other nati ons as well as their significance may most likely turn out to be ineffectual or incapable of stirring interest towards critical thinking and the relevant concern for other parts of the world. Evaluate whether English language learning instruction should replace native language instruction. Because trade and industry has since gone beyond civilization to expand avenues of economic, cultural, and political growth

FMLA and Its Impacts on Organization Term Paper

FMLA and Its Impacts on Organization - Term Paper Example The law does give the employee time off but the time given is not paid by his or her organization. The passing of the law has since covered the time which uses to be given to pregnant mothers before. Conversely, some employers have not been happy with the law since they see that they are losing some part of the working force in the company. Employers conclude that the law collides with other unforeseen happenings to employees which might need time off when they are sick. They have also realized that the law is not in line with working schedule of the firm, in addition the firm has had to increase the financial status of their companies so as to train or recruit the best human resource to deal with issues of FMLA (Bovee, 2001). Paid Sick Leave and its Impact on the Organization Paid sick leave is the compensation to an employee by an organization when they take time off to be with their family when either he or she is sick or one of the family members is sick. Paid sick leave is not p assed as a law like the FMLA, it has gained value since consideration by organization because it seen to be related to the economic growth of the country (Earle and Heymann, 2006). In addition, it is also a pillar to the human rights of an employee since the organization values the health of an employee. ... Impacts on the economy could be due to the health condition of the worker which could contribute to a smaller number of forces working in a firm or sick working force. For example, the workers in the USA had to work when they were sick, which made their health condition and the health of others worse due to a combination of the work force who were sick and the ones who were not sick; this increased the spread of the H1N1 virus among employees. The impact on the economy was that sick workers contributed to low productivity (Watkins, 2011). The impact of using the Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) The law has positive impacts on the organization if employers are informed early. The organization will have time to plan well on how it will do with the small number or without the number of some employees who have taken the FMLA leave. The advance notice has also seen to help the firms know the number of the employees who are to go for FMLA hence will give them time to balance the financial s tatus of the company due to the low productivity they would have to incur when the workers go for leave. The issues of the workers not giving enough information about the conditions would be solved. This is because, an individual who has to apply for FMLA has to present all the information to the firm about the need for FMLA leave, for example, the time of needed and the reason for taking leave, from there the organization will consider the case (Silverman, 2010). The impact of advance Notice of FMLA leave According to Hayes & Ninemeier (2009) the FMLA leave regulations binds the employer to give information to the employees 30 days before leave is granted and the workers are also warranted to give information about the day they would like

Is Spontaneous Order a Form of Social Justice for Hayek Essay

Is Spontaneous Order a Form of Social Justice for Hayek - Essay Example Is Spontaneous Order a Form of Social Justice for Hayek? Then from the literature review, the views of various authors related to theory of Hayek will be taken into account to link these terms up. Finally, after a thorough analysis the final conclusion will be presented to sum up the whole theory. The concept of â€Å"Spontaneous order† is an order that emerges with the volunteer actions of the individuals and not the one that is artificially created by the government. It is the key concept in free market tradition and classical liberal explained differently by different people. However, Hayek has explained the term as more creatively designed efficient market economies than any societal design could achieve (Petsoulas, 2001 – pp.2). This view is pointing towards the fact that market economies are emerged naturally from the business services and the individuals involved in the buying and selling of these goods and services to form and distribute them accordingly depending upon the individual decisions. Such economies cannot b e designed and created by any society manually. The idea of â€Å"Social justice† refers to the equal distribution of rights and duties among all individuals present within a given system. It is the key concept that is supportive of human rights and aims to achieve all aspects of a social system including the administrative law. A social system is said to be â€Å"just† only when all rules and regulations are abide equally by all the individuals present in it. Fair treatment should be attributed to all individuals and groups to promote the basic concept of merit. Distribution of costs and benefits should be equal among all without any favor. According to the Hayed, the social justice is nothing but a â€Å"Mirage† (Routledge and Paul, 1982). Hayek has referred to the social justice as the â€Å"worst use of word social† and it indicates a â€Å"semantic fraud†. Hayek has noticed that the term has "already distorted the thinking of a younger generat ion," citing David Miller's recent Oxford doctoral thesis, titled as "Social Justice.† (Routledge, 1988, pp.114-118) All the above evidences show that Hayek was not supportive of the idea of social justice because he viewed that the economic reward system is the result of unplanned market economies that arises from the individual actions and decisions. Such system occurs naturally as a result of spontaneous order rather than being created manually then there is no need to think about social justice or injustice as every individual has been assigned a particular place and position within the society and is working under the command of some central authority that directs them. Hayek was of the view that the spontaneous order comprises of individuals and organizations than there is no need of social justice (Hayek, 1993, pp.46). Spontaneous order aims to correct the errors that are residing within a given social system and help the individuals to struggle and meet their desired e xpectations. It plays a key role in building social relationships. Hayek has put forth the idea that a centralized legal system would not be able to enhance the effectiveness of social justice or well being as â€Å"only human conduct can be called as jus or unjust† (Miller, 1976, pp.17) (Macleod, 1983, pp.557). The economic systems are too complex to be regulated in any centralized legal direction (Hayek, 1973, 1976, 1979). Hayek has simply rejected the idea of the prevalence of social or distributive justice within the spontaneous o

Free topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Free topic - Essay Example Following the riotous exploits of Brain and Gretchen, Joe’s work of fiction on this book courageously pursues the truth in discovering what it means to develop each person’s own identity. Both are trying as much as they could to find their way through the numerous complex threats that characterize the high school experience for many kids. On this book, Joe Meno does make some interesting argument. He conveys his knowledge and love of punk-rock music. This is vital for any individual writing within the indie rock novel type which is widely revealed in the book. And between this and the narrator, Brian Oswald, a total freak who is a school dropout who cusses the way too much and litters every 3rd sentence with ‘I guess’ or ‘maybe’, you will discover the true nature of a misguided American adolescent. A misguided American adolescent is characterized with music, getting high, avoiding depressed parents and trying to get laid, who at age fifty find themselves just as desperately misguided about life as these adolescent? As quoted by Joe Meno. He explores Brian’s emotional ambiguity and his heartrending youthful search for meaning, both in his on-again and music, off-again situation with Gretchen; his gabby, genuine and completely realistic take on adolescence strikes a winning chord. In the book, the issue of teenage violence is dealt with- brain’s occasional bouts of anger and destruction seem very real as compared to Gretchen’s fights which are characterized by certain slapstick quality (Meno, 46). Brain’s character in the book is revealed as sympathetic narrator and a prime example of awkward adolescence, even if he does not have much of a plot built around him. This paper tries to analyze the concept of the book and try to explain how an educator can utilize the book in trying to help a needy (in terms of character) adolescent student. The book captures the meaning of adolescence and that all go es along with conceptions such as finding the identity, awkwardness, puberty, first crushes and the constant power struggle that ever exist between teens and parents. Music is a common theme throughout the novel that ties Brian’s identity all together. Brain’s choice for music is changed throughout the story. He starts by liking punk music, then proceeds to Rod’s Baker Albums and finally fall in love with Mike’s Pink Floyd tapes. Brian’s identity changes depending on the type of music he is listening to. His main worry if about fitting as opposed to having his own voice and accepting who he is. However, Brian grow and develop as the novel progress, his identity develop as well as his perception about life. By the end of the novel, he realizes that there is nothing good than being yourself. There are numerous lessons learned in high school that exceed the common knowledge about grammar, memorizing constitutional amendments, and how to standout withi n one’s clique. Meno reminds us of this honest brutal fact. The novel is fun, memorable, witty and at times delicately philosophical. It appeals to the younger crowd and especially high school teenagers. The book is a hodgepodge of so many different elements; it’s truly a hives and peripatetic as the mind of a teenager. Brian’s character in the book is a representation of a complacent aimlessness teenager (Meno, 89). The drastic change in

Legal Framework of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Legal Framework of Business - Essay Example rities and Futures, Commission (SFC), the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) and the Mandatory Provident Fund as the principal regulatory authorities and the legal bodies in Hong Kong to regulate banking, securities and futures, insurance and retirement schemes industries respectively and finally the Hong Kong's Prevention of Bribery Ordinance to check corruption in business transactions. There are, however, blames hurled on the legal systems not to prove adequate to support the image of Hong Kong to be the international center of commerce the major being the laws on labor that can't protect them from being exploited. Hong Kong is Asia's main trading hub and one of the world's most open economies.. There are simple legal framework, soft taxation, almost no customs duties and no non-tariff barriers. ... (Hong Kong Business) by Christine Genzberger - 1994 Legal Framework for e-commerce: Electronic Transactions Ordinance in 2000 was promulgated to provide legal framework to e-commerce in Hong Kong.1. This ordinance was aimed to promote the legal framework and trusted environment for the conduct of electronic transactions in the country.. (PP89 90AIC Research and Public Policy Series) Internet fraud is becoming a common problem today. Legal problem comes while tackling this issue because of multiplicity of rules present in various jurisdiction and also that these rules are complex contradictory and not clear to be interpreted easily. Hong Kong has its own criminal laws pertaining to misuse of computers under section 85 of the Crime Ordinance (cap.200).2 Offence of falsification of bank computer records carries a penalty of life imprisonment. 10 year sentence may be imposed for the offence committed for false accounting by falsifying computer records under section 19 of the Theft Ordinance (cap 210).3. There are other provisions of thes e laws to cover damage to computers and unlawful interference with computers ( Urbas 2001) PP89 90 AIC Research and Public Policy Series) Voluntary recognition system: Hong Kong is the only country in Asia to have voluntary recognition system applicable on all Certification Authorities (CAs). Only those who have achieved certain objective standards are recognized. Activities of CAs and their relationship with their clients are, however, governed by common law. The director of Information Technology services has power to revoke or suspend the recognition of a CA if it fails to operate in accordance with the 'certification practice statement' or fail to

Columbine High School Essay Example for Free

Columbine High School Essay You are a sociologist who is interested in studying school violence. Describe how you might approach the study of this phenomenon as a functionalist, a conflict theorist and a symbolic interaction’. â€Å"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.† Martin Luther King Jr. The problem we are facing today with violence in the schools is a major concern with communities everywhere. School violence has escalated from one-on-one weaponless fights for personal disagreements with said person; this is no longer the case. Due to the outward influences of media, video games, and society in general, this has escalated into all-out, deadly weapon assaults on innocent lives for reasons they themselves are usually unaware for example Columbine High School massacre and Montreal, Canada shooting. Sociologist; however have developed different approaches to evaluate the phenomenon through different perspective; functionalist, conflict theorist and symbolic integrationist, which would be aptly discussed in the proceeding paragraphs. Functionalist look at the implications of crime and control polices rather than directly trying to explain the causes of the behavior. According to Parson Model a social system consist of mutually dependant parts, parts contributing to functioning of system and moving equilibrium. However pertaining to the issue of school violence, I would, following the functionalist perspective look at school violence as way to return to stability within a society thus keeping proper balance . Therefore I would view it as a positive, because the disturbance (school violence) exists more dangerously it encourages the society to come up with better solutions to elevate the problem so it encourages progress. For examples the Columbine Massac with occurred lead to new ideas to combat school violence .A number of new programs were introduced, emphasis was placed on better parenting skills, keeping guns out of hands of kids ,better school security, more counseling programs and bett3er preventative measure, etc. When these methods were implemented no action to that extreme occurred within that society so their fore the youth violence was reduced and the society moved and the society in return became a better place and progress was made. Conflict perspective holds that stratification is dysfunctional and harmful in society, with inequality  perpetuated because it benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor. A struggle for dominance among competing social groups (classes, genders, races, religions, etc.). When conflict theorists look at society, they see the social domination of subordinate groups through the power, authority, and coercion of dominant groups. As it results to school violence using the conflict theorist approach, I would say the violence will only exist at level of exploitation and unworthy or treated unfairly compared to other children they felt a level of inequality and they reacted in a way to gain power over the people who inflicted pain upon them. For example let’s take the Columbine shooting, according to the conflict theorist perspective say that the shootings were inevitable as the exploited, bullied kids eventually had enough and rose up against the bourgeoisie, or the kids that did the bullying. Eric Harris one of the boys who participated the shooting opened his journal with the words I hate the fing world. Showing high levels of hatred to which he portrayed, he wanted to get back at every one who did him wrong. After analyzing the two individual’s journals it was clear cut that they both had problem with society and somehow they did them something which infiltrated this hate for them. So we can see the reason for them to perform these atrocious acts were to gain a sense of dominances in their mind over these people. When doing the act we see the boys smiling while people were being hurting showing a sign of relief in their face and sense of happiness to them that they revenge to the world for inflicting so much of pain upon them. Analyzing them for a conflict theorist point of view I would say the reason for the boys committing suicide after was to get away from everything they already accomplished the goal they wanted so they decided to end their life what more is there to live for when victory was served? Symbolic integrationist view relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction. Thus, society is thought to be socially constructed through human interpretation. Symbolic interaction view school violence as

Crucible- Abigail Williams Essay Example for Free

Crucible- Abigail Williams Essay Due to our nature, the human race will do astonishing things in the name of love and fear. Abigail Williams in â€Å"The Crucible† is a fantastic example of this. Not only are her actions absurd to try and gain John Proctor’s whole hearted affection, who was her lover, but also to gain submission of an ample portion of Salem due to fear. A large part of the submissiveness was gained by her ability to manipulate others, especially those she knows well. She starts the fire of hatred, for witches and the townspeople, within Salem. The fuel was already there; all that was needed was the last spark to get the flame going. Abigail was this spark, created by her insatiable lust for John Proctor. She instigated the witch trials, and used the produced hysteria in an attempt at personal gain, using a step by step plan. This plan developed through the play, feeding Abigail’s ambition and power. Step 1. Manipulate the town’s girls into doing witchcraft in the woods. Abigail convinced some of the teenage girls in Salem to join her in the woods. Being unmarried teenage women in this time period, they had little to do, minimal social status, and undoubtedly yearned for adventure. There were only two people lower than them in status, and that would be Abigail and Tituba because Abigail was an orphan, and Tituba a black slave. She convinced Tituba, to sing songs from Barbados about witchcraft. Abby then persuaded Ruth Putnam to believe that Tituba would be able to conjure up the spirits of her dead siblings. If it worked then she could bring to light the mystery behind all of her dead siblings. In getting others to do it with her, she will not be the only one to be punished, therefore spreading the blame across many, and if caught the blame could be transferred to the one with the least status, the slave- relieving Abby of punishment. Step 2. Drink a potion to acquire John. While in the woods Abigail drank a charm in an attempt to kill Mrs. Proctor, which in her eyes is the only person between her and John. â€Å"You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that!† (Betty, A.1, p.1244). This quote begins to give the reader an idea of what Abigail will do to gain Proctor. It would take quite a drive for someone to willingly drink blood, and in drinking it, wish death upon another person. This was a very Puritan society, and all of her actions would be looked down upon by the townspeople. First she entered the forest (the place of the Devil), then she danced (unacceptable for women of that age), then she drank a charm of blood (not accepted by society), and lastly in drinking that charm she is wishing ill upon her ‘neighbor’ which is going against one of the Commandments. The Bible was the law at the time, and going against its foundation was disgraceful. Step 3. When discovered, blame Tituba. When Abigail is being questioned by Parris, the day after being caught, about the girls’ doings in the woods, she gives away little. She reveals â€Å"We did dance, uncle, and when you leaped out of the bush so suddenly, Betty was frightened and then she fainted. And there’s the whole of it.†(Abigail, A.1, p.1238). This sentence shows an insight to Abby’s manipulative power over Parris. Fainting from fright from being caught by her father doing an illegal activity could be an explanation for Betty’s inactivity. Abigail admits to what he saw, but makes it hard for him to push the question further when she says the finalized statement ‘there’s the whole of it’. The affirmation also denies any other doings, saying the girls are innocent. Parris then grasps at another chance to question Abby, this time about possible rumors of her in the town. She skillfully maneuvers around the interrogation, and then is saved by the entrance of Mrs . Putnam. Goody Putnam reveals her and her daughter (Ruth)’s desires to figure out what caused her children to die in infancy. Step 4. Exploit Tituba’s weaknesses, while hiding behind lies. When questioned Abigail turns the accusation to Tituba saying she was alone in conjuring the spirits of Ruth’s siblings. This brings the pressure off of Abigail and onto two other people. She can then sink into the background, becoming invisible while Parris and Hale interrogate Tituba. Tituba is the unhappy slave, with witchery songs, low status, and desiring to be free and return home. Due to this, Parris and Hale break Tituba down till she admits to contracting with the devil. In a frenzy to bring pressure off herself and avoid hanging, Tituba then goes on to state names of women in the community. Sarah Good and Goody Osburn are first. Then Abigail stands up from the shadows seizing the chance of being able to accuse people and bring the attention to her in a positive way by saying â€Å"I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I dance for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!† (Abigail, A.1, p.1263). These exclamations go against what she has previously sworn, yet no one seems to notice anything besides her confession and the names she says. Abby repeated the names Tituba already said, along with another, therefore strengthening the accusations while playing on the slave’s incompetence of missing one of the people, which strengthens her own position. Step 5. Use newfound status to demolish those who oppose her. Since there are so many people being accused, the town gets an aura of being unsafe and corrupt by the Devil. This causes the accused to accuse others, from old rivalries and suddenly having a chance to comeback, or from being interrogated till they give up names, multiplying the numbers, while they also believe the accusations out of fear. Fear of being accused, of being witched, or of getting hung for disbelieving the court and the Bible. In Act II sixteen people had warrants sent out for their capture. Abigail continuously accuses people who confess, adding to her credibility. She also has fainting incidents, trances, and other public displays which she credits to others using demonic powers on her, sending the message that she is an innocent orphan being harmed by the Devil because she is standing against him. This helps her gain pity, and brings more citizens to her side. An example is when Mary Warren tries to testify against Abigail, Mercy, and Susanna. The girls exclaim that Mary has sent her spirit out in a wind to make them cold. This is proven by their exclamations. Mercy: â€Å"Mary, do you send this shadow on me?† Susanna: â€Å"I freeze, I freeze!† Abigail: â€Å"It is a wind, a wind!† Danforth: â€Å"Mary Warren, do you witch her? I say to you, do you send your spirit out?†(A.3, p.1307) Danforth’s question seems to state what the other girls were implying. This goes to show what some acting can bring upon a girl and a town. By faking a wind, the girls make Mary’s testament against them invalid, therefore increasing Abigail’s power within the court, and getting rid of another challenger. Step 6. Secure Goody Proctor as a witch using credibility established within the court. After accusing Elizabeth in Act 2 because of alleged use of poppets, Abigail has to make sure there is no way out for her. When this is done and she is hung she can finally have her love, John Proctor. The townspeople generally ignore evidence and support her claims of witchery, most likely out of fear of her power. John Proctor is one of the few willing to stand against her. After many attempts, all of which failed, John resorts to drastic measures. He admits to committing adultery. â€Å"I have made a bell of my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name- you will believe me, Mr. Danforth! My wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one!†(Proctor, A.3, p.1309) In this statement, Proctor not only admits to adultery, and tries to protect his wife; he also calls Abigail a harlot. Abigail is astounded by his reveal, and undoubtedly worked up by his language towards her. This is the point where Abby seems to realize that Proctor does not love her and that she won’t ever be with him, even if Elizabeth dies. Her plan has failed, and everything she has done was for nothing. Her astonishment turns to resentment, for she then makes no attempt to same John when he is sentenced to hang. Her only thoughts now seem to be of self preservation. She was the ring leader of the witch trials, and with them coming to the end, and no chance of being with John, her power will soon be gone. She steals her uncle’s savings then flees the city. She lost a love she never truly had, and in the process left behind a broken, manipulated town. Love and fear are two of the most influential emotions, and in â€Å"The Crucible† both are experienced firsthand through Abigail. The author, Arthur Miller, uses this to his advantage making the play and characters relatable to the audience. These universal themes are relevant at all times in history which is why the play is still shown to this day. Abigail is not only a great example of those traits, but also reflects a maniacal manipulator existing in many societies. This along with other traits makes her the most important character to the play, along with the witch trials which she helped instigate for personal gain. It’s amazing what a teenage girl in a small town can do with a few words and manipulation.

Different Perspectives Of Organisation Structure Commerce Essay

Different Perspectives Of Organisation Structure Commerce Essay There are many different perspectives on how an organisation should be structure but there is no particular way of structuring an organization. According to Contingency Theory so many factors such as size, Technology, Market etc, determine the structure of an organisation. Anon (2008). There is need for a design of an effective structure to reflect the objectives of the organisation and the context in which it operates (Fincham and Rhodes 1999: 355). This paper work considers the organisational structure of United Bank for Africa Plc and addresses the way in which the organisation is structure. Identify the organisational goals of United Bank for Africa Plc as expressed in the organisation mission and vision statement of the bank. Identify and examine the organizational contingencies of United Bank for Africa Plc. Assess the fit between the organisational structure of United Bank for Africa plc and its organisational goals. Suggest possible recommendation for improvement. OVERVIEW OF UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) is a full service financial institution operating in the banking industry. It is a product of the merger of Nigerias third (3rd) and fifth (5th) largest banks, namely the old UBA and the erstwhile Standard Trust Bank Plc (STB) respectively, and a subsequent acquisition of the erstwhile Continental Trust Bank Limited (CTB). (Anon 2010)) United Bank for Africa Plc is the biggest of all the 24 Banks operating in Nigeria. It has the highest number of branches of over 600 branches across the country and over 7 million customers. The Head office of the Bank is located at 57, Marina, Lagos Nigeria. UBAs history dates back to 1948 when the British and French Bank Limited (BFB) commenced business in Nigeria and the erstwhile STB and CTB both in 1990. Following Nigerias independence from Britain, UBA was incorporated in 1961 to take over the business of BFB.   Todays UBA emerged at a time of industry consolidation induced by regulation in year 2005. (Anon 2010) ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC Organizational structure according to Mintzberg (cited in Cole G: 184) is the sum total of the way in which it divides its labour into distinct task and then achieves coordination between them United Bank for Africa Plc operates a tall hierarchical flexible structure with some elements of Bureaucracy. United Bank for Africa Plc operating structure consists of six strategic business units: North Bank, South Bank, International Bank, Retail Financial Services, UBA Capital, Products and Segment Market and four strategic support unit: Finance, Risk Management, Operations and Internal Audit. At the very top of the firm is the Board of directors, reporting to them is the GMD/CEO. Reporting to him are the Heads of the strategic business and supporting units, who are Deputy Managing Director UBA Nigeria North, Deputy Managing Director UBA Nigeria South, CEO UBA Intl, CEO UBA Capital, Executive Director Product segment, Group Chief Finance Officer, Group Risk Officer, Group Chief Operating Officer and General Manager, Group Internal Audit. The largest of these business strategic units, is UBA Nigeria South bank which is broken down into Regional Banks and further broken down into branches. The branches are located in different areas of the country. The Regional banks are being managed by Regional Bank Heads, reporting to them are the Regional Directors, and next are the Business Manager, followed by Profit Centre Manager and beneath are the Relationship Managers and operatives. Due to the size of the Bank, Head office is the strategic centre and has overall control of strategic planning, major policy decision, special project, product development, capital Budgeting and financial control. While the Regional Bank Heads, through the Regional Directors and Business Managers run the day to day operations of the branches. Each branch is given a yearly financial target and the performance of the branch is judged based on profitability. It will be noted that this is a divisionalized structured based on location (Cole 2004:) There are two major departments in the branch these are; the marketing department and the operation department. Various units operate under each of the department; these are customer service unit, cash and teller unit, funder transfer unit, admin unit(operation department) Local business unit, small business unit and mass market unit (Marketing department). While other departments like, Treasury, Corporate services, Credit, Trade operations etc, are centralised in head office. Tasks are assigned to unit and individuals. This can be likened to the principle of There is division of labour ( Linstead, Fulop and Lilley 2004:129) Job specialisation is deemphasised. Although there is written Job descriptions, stating the task attached to jobs and the person to whom the job holder is accountable for performance but a staff can be move from one unit to the other if a need arise. For example if there are many customers to be service at the cash and teller unit, some staff in fund transfer unit or customer service unit can be move to urgently assist in cash and teller unit. There is also departmental control function checklist, to monitor task done. Span of control, there are many authority level and close supervision of task, although there is no specify number of positions that can be coordinated by one supervisor, but the minimum number of staff that report to a supervisor is three. The diagram below shows the level of supervision in a Regional Bank. GMD/CEO Deputy Managing Director Regional Bank Head Regional Director Business manager Profit centre Manger Relationship Managers Operatives There are four levels of staff in the bank, they are, Top Management staff, Middle Management staff, Senior staff and the Junior staff. Staffs receive order directly from their immediate supervisors. Directives flow down from senior management (GMD/CEO, DMD), through middle management (Regional Bank Head, Regional Director), to senior staff who are the first line managers (Business manager, Profit centre manager) and subordinates (junior staff), and reporting relationship flow upward through same channel. This can be likened to Henry Fayols principle of scalar chain or chain of command. Anon (2008) The marketing staff .performs task functions that are directed towards specific and definable end results while the Operation staff performs functions that are designed to drive the system to achieve the set goals (Robin and Rodes 1999:357) Authority is widely diffused throughout every managerial level to senior staff level of the Bank. Cole G. (2004). Authority is decentralised but strictly Control. For example a Head Teller as the authority to recommend a Teller that is not performing to be move to another unit. The major policy decisions are centralized while operational responsibility is delegated (decentralized). For example, Senior management make Strategic decisions such as; technology or software to be employed by the organization; a major market or product change, mergers and acquisitions, capital budget and investments. Such decisions do have very great and latent effect on the future of the Bank. Regional Bank Heads are empowered to make tactical decisions which are product and market related decisions and are usually being made to outweigh competition and win more market share for the bank. Business managers are empowered to make operational decisions that affect the day to day running of the branch. The decisions at this level are usually on short and intermediate basis and they are usually being influenced by the unfolding realities in the market place. Business managers as the responsibility to manage their branches, but within an approved budget outside which their powers are strictly limited (Robin and Rhodes: 368). For instance, the business manager handle the capital expenditure and operating expenditure of the branch but there is a maximum amount a business manager can approve for a single expense and total amount that can be spent on operating and capital expenditure in a period. Any amount of expenditure that is above the business manger limit must be approved by the next line supervisor. There are specified laid down operational procedures, policies and manuals that specify standard of performance. These are: operation policy and control manual, staff hand book, expense empowerment policy, operational risk management policy, code of professional conduct and ethics, email policy, whistle blower protection policy, etc. These policies are to guide and bring uniformity in processing. For instance the expense empowerment policy is the rule guiding expenditure. It specify amount of money that can the approve by specified authorised person. There is a performance monitoring system named INFO POOL, which is driven by the principles of the Balanced Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard Approach is a strategic planning and management system that uses financial and non financial metrics as a business planning and performance measurement mechanism. Performance measurement is viewed from four perspectives: Financial, Internal process, Customer Service, and Learning and Growth. In order to assess employees performances, financial and non-financial key performance indicators (KPIs) was developed along the Balanced Scorecard dimensions. To drive this new performance management system, management introduced performance incentive pay to boost employee morale and increase productivity. High performers are objectively identified and rewarded appropriately in line with predetermined percentages of their pay. ORGANIZATIONAL GOAL: The goals of United Bank for Arica plc are highlighted below: To be the reference point for service, quality and innovation in the financial services industry and to achieve significant difference between UBA and other banks on all key parameters. Anon(2010) It desires to occupy the foremost position amongst its peers in the industry along key metrics: market share, profitability, balance sheet size etc. Anon(2010) It desires to achieve a clear and significant lead over peers along all key measures and significantly influence financial services industry policy and direction. Anon(2010) It desires to provide a broad range of financial services products and services offerings to meet the needs of its chosen market segments. Anon(2010) It primary focus shall be on the African region where it intends to deploy its array of financial services products and service offerings. To also maintain a selective presence in key locations worldwide on an opportunistic basis. Anon(2010) Business decisions shall be driven by the desire to achieve significant value-added for all stakeholders. Anon(2010) Putting in place governance and strategic management practices that ensure that this organization will successfully anticipate and respond to environmental discontinuities and effectively manage leadership transitions at all levels. Anon(2010) ORGANIZATIONAL CONTINGENCIES United Bank for Africa Plc is faced with various numbers of organisational contingencies and these contingencies have equally affected the manner in which the organisation is structure. The organisational contingencies are; Size Technology Environment Government Regulator Risk and control environment Size United Bank for Africa Plc is a big bank broken down into Regional Banks with over 600 branches in Nigeria and over 13,000 employees. The branches are classified into four different categorises according to their location, operational size and environment. These are large branches, medium branches, basic branches and macro branches. The size of the bank has led to Standardisation of procedures, processing methods and employment practices, specialisation of function and role, and formalisation of documentation(Cole 2004:186) to enhance process uniformity across the Bank. This can be likened to Lawrence and Lorsch concepts of differentiation and integration Anon (2008:28). Differentiation approach because the bank is broken into Regional Banks and Branches and each of these branches operates in different locations and environments. This is also similar to Integration approach because there is standardize roles and regulation, operational policy manual guiding the operation of the branc hes and enhancing uniformity in processing and service method. It can also be argued that the structure has the six primary variable of structure as identified by the Aston Studies Anon (2008) Technology: Technology plays a vital role in the financial sector. In response to the demand for quick efficient and reliable services, The Bank as deployed technology- driven products and services as means of influencing and redefining customers behavioural pattern and life style. Well developed outsourcing support functions are increasingly used to provide services and manage cost. For example; ATM networks, cards processing, bill presentment and payment, software development, call centre operations and network management. According to Wood wards studies UBA PLC can be refer to as process industry authority and power are decentralized and responsibilities are delegated by line supervisors, employee receive order from one superior only Cole(2004: 86.) The span of control is high at the senior management level, for example ten strategic unit heads report directly to the group managing director and this decreases at the middle management. For example at the branch level the business manager is the managing director of the branch and reporting to whom is the branch operation manager and the three profit centre manger. Employees are knowledgeable of the banks products and processing methods. Employees are committed to organisation task as defined in their job descriptions. Environment: UBA Plc Operate in competitive and an uncertain environment where market keeps changing for example Customers are now becoming more knowledgeable and financially savvy. Their benchmark for service quality has also risen aided by the intense competition among financial services providers to attract new customers. Customers now set the agenda and influence decisions. Be slow or inflexible the business moves over to the competition. In order to achieve the banks aspiration or goals, it resolves to remain customer centric and bring decision making closer to the frontline. With this, the business units respond flexibly and promptly to the different requirements of the bank targeted customers. It this can be likened to organic structure which emphasize decentralization to achieve flexibility and adaptability Government Regulator The central Bank of Nigeria is the main regulator in the financial sector in Nigeria, they play a vital role in the structure of a bank and they also control and monitor the operation of the bank through various policies, rules and regulations, for example there must be a CBN approval and license for a bank to operate, CBN must approve the appointment of board of directors of the bank and the managing director of a bank. In year 2009 CBN came out with a policy that state an individual person can only spend maximum of ten years as the managing director of the bank and also do give approval for the opening and closing of banks branches. The bank has a both Compliance and Statutory Audit Committee Units. The Compliance unit is headed by the Chief Compliance Officer who then reports to the Group Chief Risk Officer. A major role of the unit is to ensure that the bank does not infract any regulatory rules and /or regulations. Similarly, the Statutory Audit committee whose primary function is to monitor the process design to ensure compliance by the group in all respect with regulatory requirements, including disclosure, controls and procedures (Anon: 2010). Risk and control environment Risk management is integral to the Banks strategy setting process, it is an essential tool for achieving the Banks objectives. This is achieved by keeping risk management at the centre of all executive agenda and building a culture in which risk management is embedded and integrated in all banking activities (Anon 2010). Towards this end, UBA Plc has in place robust risk management policies and mechanism to ensure identification of risk and effective control. The bank (UBA PLC) has defined and established appropriate governance arrangements with clear roles and reporting lines for risk management in the Bank. The Board of directors is the highest risk management policy approval body and has the ultimate responsibility for the Banks credit, market, operational, and other risk. The Bank has Risk management group these include Credit Risk management Group, Market Risk Management Group, Operational and IT Risk Management Group. Each Risk Management Group has direct responsibility for the development of its risk management frame work and they report directly to the Group chief Risk officer who in turn report to the General managing director, who also report to the Board of directors. FIT BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND GOALS: There is little fit between United Bank For Africa plc structure and its organisational goals. The structure supports some of the organisational goals. Delegation of decision making to the frontline where the work is performed is targeted towards the goal to occupy the foremost position amongst its peers in the industry along key metrics: market share, profitability, balance sheet size. Delegation of decision making has enable business unit to respond flexibly and promptly to different requirement of customer and has resulted in the achievement of some of its goals for example The Bank gross earnings increase by 45.6 % to N246.7 billion in the last financial year ended December 2009 as against N169 billion in year 2008. This was achieved as a result of the bank expansion to other African country, its lending activities and other activities in the African country. UBA current operation in 19 African countries, New York London and Paris this an evidence that the bank has set its foot p rints across Africa and other continent. The bank has a strict regulatory and compliance framework by ensuring that there a zero tolerance to fraud and other policy infractions. This culture is greatly supported by its compliance and audit check committee and strict internal control system which are entrenched across every strata and operational levels in the bank and targeted towards the goal of abiding by the utmost and ethical standard and It desires to achieve a clear and significant lead over peers along all key measures and significantly influence financial services industry policy and direction. The usage of outsourcing support functions to provide services such as; ATM networks, card processing, bill presentment and payment, software development, call centre operation and net work management etc, is targeted towards It desires to provide a broad range of financial services products and services offerings to meet the needs of its chosen market segments. The bank is currently providing various ranges of products and services to its customers. The bank has introduced a lot of technological driven product such as, mobile banking, automated teller machine (ATM), Udirect or internet banking, etc. With these product customers do not need to get to the bank to consummate their financial transaction. With internet banking and mobile banking customer can transfer fund from one account to the other, customer receive notification of consummated transaction on their account on their mobile phone, and customer can make cash withdrawal from the ATM. There are also different types of loan product a customer can access in the bank depending on the customer type of business, income level, place of work etc. For example the bank has loan facility structured strictly for customers that are under pay employment such loans are NO wahala loan, executive loan, assets finance loan etc. While customers that are not under pay employment can access Temporary overdraft and commercial loan. The structure at the same time is not supporting some goals of the organisation because of some element of bureaucracy in its structure. There are so many operational and procedural bottlenecks, unnecessary paper work that slow down transaction, time consuming procedure, and internal control of maker/checker/verifier. This defeats the organisational goal of being the reference point for service, quality and innovation, the bank is more control focused than being customer centric. For example, the newly introduced account reactivation procedures which is encumbered with a lot of rework and not cost and time effective in the sense that an address verification and Know Your Customer procedure would need to be carried out again before an existing customer of the bank can re- activate his/her account and this negates the banks service quality drive. There is also a mismatch in between the organisational structure and the organisational goal in the area of branch management. The branches are profit centres. The branch managers are expected to generate income and pay all operating bills including salaries. The business managers focus more on cost optimization in other to generate profit as against being customer centric. The business managers compromise a lot of things like availability of working resources and maintenance of office equipments. All these equipments frequently break down because they are not service as at when due and has also resulted in service failure and customer dissatisfaction. Customers spend more time in the banking hall because of the limited number of staff available to attend to their requests. Another major mismatch is the limitation and control of the empowerment policy. For instance, Business Managers cannot approve certain level of expenditure which are very vital to their daily operations. Such include the purchase of fuel, stationeries, amongst others. Conclusion: Having examined the various theoretical approaches to organisational structure design, it can be concluded that there is no best way of structuring an organisation; so many factors such as size, environment and technology contribute to the way in which an organisation is structured. The goal of an organization is also a factor to consider when structuring an organisation. Considering the structure of United Bank for Africa plc some elements of Bureaucracy in its structure is creating operational and procedural bottlenecks and will be required to be check. Although, the structure is flexible and respond quickly to environmental changes. Anon 2008). The following is recommended for improvement. Job holder should be empowered and be held fully accountable for job done. According to Cole G. (2004:200) Authority should be commensurate with responsibility That is job holder should have the authority to take decision on their job. The bank should adopt a lean structure which will help to reduce the number of levels and unnecessary administrative over head. Fincham and Rhodes(2003) Purchasing of office equipment, materials and maintenance of equipment should be centralized in order to take advantage of bulk purchase and manage cost effectively. The bank can also adopt a Radical Decentralization Anon (2008) structure by decentralizing corporate functions to operational division. This will strengthen the branches, improve communication, human cooperation, encourage team work and eradicate staff/line conflict. Linstead, Fulop and Lilley (2004)

Essay --

One third of the United States population complains of insomnia, with about one More than 40% of those suffering from insomnia self- medicate with over the counter drugs (OTC) or with other substances such as alcohol. 2 half of those are saying it’s serious.1 Insomnia is defined by inability to initiate or maintain sleep despite of adequate time and opportunity to sleep which results in daytime impairment.2 time it’s characterized as problems with either sleep onset, sleep maintenance, or non- restorative sleep. Impairments associated with insomnia can lead to: impaired cognitive functioning, increased incidence of bodily pain, increased future risk of psychiatric disorders, increased risk of accidents, and increased healthcare cost.3 also have negative health consequences on obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.4 There are four different types of insomnia.2,5 3 days in duration, most likely cause is acute situational or environmental stressors. Second is short term insomnia less than 3 weeks caused by personal stress of an ongoing nature. Third type is chronic primary insomnia with duration of more than 3 weeks not related to lifestyle may be due to medical causes. Finally the forth type is a chronic secondary insomnia with duration of more than 3 weeks related to lifestyle likely caused psychological illness, substance abuse, behavioral cause(poor sleep hygiene). Secondary chronic insomnia may be caused by comorbid diseases such as: heart failure, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, sleep apnea, medications, substance abuse, restless leg syndrome or circadian rhythm sleep disorders. As far as the medications are concerned possible medication classes that cause insomnia are antidepressant... ... choice for sleep onset insomnia. Appropriate drugs may include zaleplon, zolpidem IR, ramelteon and triazolam. However, rebound insomnia may be a problem with short acting benzodiazepines like triazolam. Moreover, sleep maintenance insomnia are most appropriately treated with drugs that have an intermediate duration and no active metabolites to minimize daytime effects such as : zolpidem, eszopiclone, temazepam, and estazolam may be appropriate choices. Also, zaleplon can be taken after awakening in the night if > 4 hr left for sleep. Attached are the tables with drug treatment options for insomnia, and questionnaires to assess the initial insomnia and post treatment. Nevertheless sedative-hypnotics should only be used in the lowest effective dose (to decrease the next day morning impairment) for a short duration of time in treatment of insomnia.

Wake Up Girls Essay -- Media Fashion Papers

Wake Up Girls Sometimes we lose sight of what is important in life and that is when it is necessary to take a step back to reconsider the direction in which we are going. Teenage girls today are becoming less and less original and more generic. Generic symbolizing how alike teenage girls look. It is disturbing for me as a teenage girl to hear and see what teenage girls believe to be imperative in order to be happy and successful. The media in America has everything to do with what is going wrong with the lifestyles of young women. This is when we, as the target group for media, need to reassess our values and the meaning we wish to fulfill in our lives. I believe the media recognizes the influence that they possess over teenage girls but because such good profits are coming in off of movies, clothing, magazines, and other materialistic products, they find no need to stop or redirect their motives. A petite young girl strutting out of Abercrombie & Fitch wearing a black sequenced mini-skirt with a matching black top that is skin-tight against her undeveloped chest walks by at our local mall and unfortunately this is not so rare. Young girls in elementary school wearing skinny strap tank tops and make-up is unnecessary and frightening. It is sad to think that young girls are already caring at that age how they look and what other people might think of them. When I was in elementary school, which was not too long ago, I did not have a care in the world of what I was wearing and most of the girls around me seemed to be oblivious to each-other’s clothing. I actually think my mother still dressed me. So I believe it is valid to say that the influence of the media is becoming greater and it has stimulated children si... ...d hear we need to be able to block it out. The media has influenced us enough in the wrong direction and I believe it is time we influence them in the other direction. Seventeen; â€Å"Young Woman Today Take a Stand and Leave Behind the Generic Route That the Media was Guiding Them Toward.† Now that would be an issue worth the five dollars.N Works Cited Cooper, Peter J, ed., and Allen Stein, ed. Monographs in Clinical Pediatrics: Feeding Problems and Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents.Vol 5. Philadelphia: Harwood Academic Publishers,1992. Russell, Gerald F.M. â€Å"Impact on Puberty of Anorexia.† Cooper 90. NationalEatingDisorders.org.22 Sep. 2003. Statistics; Eating Disorders and Their Precursers. 23 Sep. 2003

A Different Life: Comparison Analyze Essay

To start, I will be comparing the novel Night and the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. There are many characters that change in emotion and actions during these works. During the novel Night, Elie changed his faith from being a strong Jewish believer in his savior to not being religious and rebelling against his beliefs altogether. In the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Elsa changes from at the beginning being ok with the move of her family and her husbands actions as a high-ranked German solider to not supporting it at all and basically giving up there relationship because her husband is doing something so wrong. However, to compare these two works of literature, the characters both intended to help someone. Elie wanted to protect and be there for his Father through the whole struggle while Elsa also wanted to protect her son Bruno from growing up to be just like his father. See more: The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay Conflicts also occurred during this time. When Elie gave up on his faith, he gave up on his god that he served even though he knew that was the main person that kept him alive and helped him survive. Bruno’s father in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas causes a great conflict when he tries to hide all this from his family by calling the concentration camp a farm. The difference and similarity in these to is that in Night, Elie’s a Jew trying to conquer all these battles while in the film, Bruno’s father is the one causing this suffering upon the Jewish people. Now, you will view my reaction to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Reaction Many emotions went through my mind and body while watching this film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I felt anger. Anger arose in me when I saw that Bruno’s father was hiding the Jewish concentration camp from his family. Sadness also arose in me when Bruno was put to death by the gas chamber before his parents discovered where he was. I felt curiosity when Bruno was so interested to go on an â€Å"adventure† to discover the â€Å"farm†. I was curious to understand why he was so thrilled to go see the camp. I guess since he  was so young and did not understand. I will now explain how I felt about the actions of the characters. The characters acted many different ways during the film and thought different decisions and beliefs during the film. Personally, I disagreed with the main percentage of characters during the film. I didn’t agree with any of the soldiers’ decisions to hold the Jewish people in hostage because they are people just like everyone but express their beliefs differently. I agree with Bruno’s decision to become friends with Shmuel but, they could have at least had Shmuel escape the camp and enjoy life. All these people should just realize that the Jewish people are just like the German people, the only difference is they have different beliefs in their religious lives. If I could, I would tell them to treat others the way they want to be treated. Even thought this happened a time ago, I will compare this to the real world now. Reflection In the real world today, we experience many issues but racism and conviction to faith stuck out most. I have personally experienced racism in my life. For me being an African-American living in a predominately white town it’s easy to be selected out for my big difference. Not only myself, but my family experiences it too. On my dad’s job, his life was threatened by a white person with a gun. Going out to places with my family, being the only black people in the building, and seeing the looks we get from people can really hurt. I pray that African-American’s in present day do not get treated like the Jewish people during the Holocaust or slaves back in the day. In addition, being convicted for your faith is a problem in real life. For myself, I have experienced this but not as bad a Shmuel and his fellow people. Because I am a strong Christian believer in God I may get looked down upon, ridiculed, or talked about but I do not let that bring me down. I stick strong to what I have been taught and raised on my whole life. Nobody should be disrespected or looked down upon because they believe in something different then you. Everybody is a human being no matter what. Through this all, I have reflected on my feelings and learned so much that I will now share. During this piece, I felt many emotions. Like I said before, I felt great anger during this film. I also felt distraught during this. A mother losing her only son for something stupid her husband was doing against another race. I have learned one main theme in this story: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Personally, I wouldn’t have wanted to be treated in anyway like the Jewish people were taught during this time. Considering one of my friends, a teenage from Springhill just passed away. He was remembered for nothing but good things. I haven’t heard one bad thing about him! When I die, I want to be remembered as someone that made a difference, lived a great life, and treated others with respect. The Nazi soldiers in this film will have to live with the guilt of the thousands of Jews that they killed. I could never live with myself if I was one of those soldiers. If somebody in my family were to be dealing with killing the Jewish citizens, I would not associate with them anymore. Having someone, my age, which I actually knew pass away hurts a lot! He wasn’t afraid to express his beliefs or be convicted of his faith even if people acted like the Nazis in this film and ridiculed him. Life is to short now to want to kill, harm, or ridicule somebody for being different. Whether they look different, act different, or believe differently then you may. In my everyday life, I will not disrespect others for something they may do or be different then me. This novel and film actually brought a different way of seeing life in my eyes. I do not see what made the Jewish people so terrible that the Germans had to treat them this way! Every time I do something now, I think would I want this done to me or how do I want to be remembered when I’m gone. Bibliographic Entry: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Dr. Mark Herman. Miramax Film Corp., 2008. Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York: Bantam Books, 1986

Letter / Apollo Shoes

First I would like to thank the board of director of Apollo Shores for their recent inquiry about Phoenix & Company’s services. Since our firm is small, we offer a wide range of personalized services to clients at a reasonable cost. Phoenix & Company is a CPA firm with more the 25 years in the business of providing client tax services, accounting booking, management consulting, quality control consulting, risk assessment, capital transaction assistance, and information systems functionality. The firm’s approach has been very successful because of our ability to comprehend our clients’ organization paradigm including risk assessment, control issues, and diagnostic. The benefits to our auditing approach would help the management team efficiency identify areas within the organization’s that needs to be address. This process could improve the company’s efficiency identifying that controls are in place. Overall this gives the management team a better understanding of the organization working including their financial systems. The role of Phoenix & Company is to obtaining sufficient audit evaluation and evidence in order to test the organizational controls. At this time I would like to define auditing and give some benefits of an audit. â€Å"Auditing is the accumulation and evaluation of evidence about information to determine and report on the degree of correspondence between the information and established criteria† (Arens, Elder & Beasley, 2006). The benefits to auditing are the ability for a company to improve the understanding of the financial records from the management and users stand points. Another benefit is the ability to identify areas within the organization that needs improvement. A company could reinforce, risk assessments, and improve internal controls. In conclusion the firm of Phoenix & Company is an excellent resource to provide Apollo Shores with effective analysis, and relevant information to meet the needs of your organization. The approach is to improve the organization safeguards in order to protect the financial operations of the company.

Basic Lesson in Finance

The article â€Å"A Basic Lesson in Finance† discusses the consequences of stock market falling. The article contributes significantly financial and economic fields as it offers well-structured and logical study of the problem. The author describes the Black Monday stressing that it was really unexpected and financial sphere appeared not to be prepared for such situation. Actually, the US stock market has dramatically dropped, and it has been the largest crash since 1929.Nevertheless, equities benefited from such situation as inflation had fallen. The author underlines that the Black Monday passed harmlessly in contrast to credit crunch occurred in the country. I think the article is very analytic and informative as it offers detailed analysis of stock market falling stressing the causes, flowing and consequences. It is known that stocks are very attractive for investors and for common people who are willing to earn money. So, fluctuations at stock market cause worries among p eople.Nevertheless, economists argue that recession is inevitable and investors should pull back on consumption. In such a way the author cites economists and financial analytics to show the current situation at the stock market. For example, he cites John Kenneth Galbraith who argues that depression caused more serious damages than stock market falling. Further, the author suggests that stock market recovered from the crisis only since nine months, though he didn’t provide evidence to support his position.Moreover, he writes that stock market falling didn’t affect country’s economy, though I don’t agree with his point. I think that even the slightest fluctuations at the market do affect economic stability as small problems in not managed properly may become disastrous. The credit crunch is said to become easier, though the borrowers don’t see expected returns. Finally, it was interesting to find information about securitization because this proble m is relatively new and there is little available information how to manage the problem.

Philosophy and Critical Thinking Skills

What Is Your Philosophy Georgette Duropan PHL/215 April 11,2012 Ryan Shriver What Is Your Philosophy? According to â€Å"Merriam Webster† (2012), Epistemology is the study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge, especially with reference to its limits and validity. In my essay I will give you a description about the approaches to philosophical questions for each of the major philosophical areas of inquiry, and explanation of how philosophy and culture interact in the development of thought.I will also give an explanation of why the selected philosophy best describes my identification of cultural factors that influenced my choice of philosophy. The Divisions of Philosophy falls into four areas, such as Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics (moral philosophy, social philosophy, political philosophy, and aesthetics), and Logic. Metaphysics has more to do with being or existence. Epistemology is the theory of knowledge and wants to know the truth. Ethics covers four differ ent areas. Moral philosophy is the study of moral judgments.Social philosophy is the study of society and its institutions. Political philosophy focuses on the state and seeks to determine, proper organization. Aesthetics, study of art, and of value judgment. Making a statement to me will get me to use my critical thinking skills. I for one do one believe everything I am told until sold proof, facts, or reasoning have been proven. This falls into the same perspective on how philosophy and culture interact in the development of thought. How people choose to use their words when trying to explain something to me makes a big difference.Often times I can mistakenly misinterpret what the speaker is trying to say. In other words, something cannot be a true fact and a false fact in a sentence. I call this contradicting. However, two people coming from two different backgrounds or from two different cultures might say the same thing but mean the opposite. Using your critical thinking skills on how explanation of how philosophy and culture interact in the development of thought needs to be dug into and come out with solid proof, facts, or reasoning behind the statement.The major philosophical area of inquiry that best describes me is Epistemology. As I have mentioned above I am the kind of person where I need to have solid proof, facts, or reasoning before I believe something someone is trying to tell me. Because Epistemology is the theory of knowledge questions related to Epistemology are What is truth? and Is it possible to know anything with absolute certainty? The more you know, the more you are able to learn and grow.Knowledge is power. Epistemology has to do a lot on how one thinks. When I think I like to go deep into though, therefore; I rely on my own experiences as a reference. If I had none the only way to find out the truth is to experience it for my self. Some cultural factors that influenced my choice of philosophy specifically Epistemology is the Japanese cultural. For the New Year’s Japanese believes that consuming noodles will give you a long live because the noodles are longs.Although this is not a proven factor I do see a lot of older Japanese people consuming noodles. These people look healthy and strong therefore I just believed that noodles does give you along life. Another cultural factor that influenced my choice is the Filipino culture. My husband is pure Filipino and is originally from the Philippines. His mother, my mother in law told me that saving the first washing of the rice and use that first washing of the rice water to water the orchids will help sustain the life of the orchid plant.Because I am the kind of person that needs to have things proven to me I asked my mother in law to water one orchid with regular water and another orchid with the first washing of the rice water. Both orchids were of the same family of orchid types. After two months the orchid that was watered with the first washing of the rice produce two times as much more flowers then the regular watered orchid and the flowers from the first washing of the rice lasted about two times longer.Some may think that this is coincidence, however; after continuously watering the orchids with the first washing of the rice water versus regular results have spoken for itself. In conclusion, I discussed the definition of Epistemology, the approaches to philosophical questions for each of the major philosophical areas of inquiry, and explanation of how philosophy and culture interact in the development of thought.And I also gave an explanation of why the selected philosophy best describes my identification of cultural factors that influenced my choice of philosophy. Wanting to have solid proof, facts, or reasoning behind a question that is given is not a bad thing. This just shows that you obtaining answering behind a question will give you more knowledge. Knowledge is power! References Merriam webster. (2012). Retrieved from http:/ /www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/epistemology