How To Choose The Perfect Blog Categories

How To Choose The Perfect Blog Categories Perhaps you stumbled upon the long list of the top blog categories according to Google, and realized with horror that you were using all of them on your blog. You have too many categories. You ended up with a lot of blog categories because you didnt put much thought into them before you started, or you created them on the fly as you wrote. You ended up with category bloat, and your  niche blog  went off track. You  turned to tags  as a way to bring order to a runaway blog. Readers use categories to find more of your writing on the same topic. Plus, some WordPress themes use categories to determine the placement of posts and the layout of your blog. If youre going to use categories, you should use them well. Choosing And Naming Blog Categories How many blog categories should you have? The number of categories you ought to have varies, but the fewer the better both for you and the reader. I like to keep it under eight, and though that is merely a preference of mine, once you start heading past ten categories, your blog will get unwieldy for readers and writers. How do you choose categories for your blog? 1. Ask Questions About Your Blog The best way to understand your blog is to ask questions about it. What does your theme allow? Some themes, as we pointed out, use categories to organize your content visually. Some themes have limited space should you want to include a list of your categories. What will your theme allow? Do you have to choose a category to fit the rotating banner on the home page? Do you need a subset of what you talk about the most? Lets say your answer to that question is writing. If you have a writing blog, a category of writing is a terrible idea. Youd want to break it down into, maybe, blogging and fiction, subsets of writing. But if you have a blog about marketing techniques, perhaps writing isnt too broad in the scheme of things. Is your blog a niche blog? If so, you will have very specific categories, tightly clustered around your niche topic. If your niche blog is on shoes, you will not have a category called shoes. You might have a category of stilettos. The goal? Understand what your blog is about, in as few words as possible. In a way, your blog categories are like your blogs elevator speech. There is no time for excess.

Amritsar Massacre, 1919

Amritsar Massacre, 1919 The European imperial powers committed many atrocities during their period of world domination.  However, the 1919 Amritsar Massacre in northern India, also known as the Jallianwala Massacre, surely ranks as one of the most senseless and egregious.   Background For more than sixty years, British officials in the Raj had viewed the people of India with mistrust, having been caught off-guard by the Indian Revolt of 1857. During World War I (1914-18), the majority of Indians supported the British in their war effort against Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire.  Indeed, more than 1.3 million Indians served as soldiers or support staff during the war, and more than 43,000 died fighting for Britain. The British knew, however, that not all Indians were willing to support their colonial rulers.  In 1915, some of the most radical Indian nationalists took part in a plan called the Ghadar Mutiny, which called for soldiers in the British Indian Army to revolt in the midst of the Great War. The Ghadar Mutiny never happened, as the organization planning the revolt was infiltrated by British agents and the ring-leaders arrested. Nevertheless, it increased hostility and distrust among British officers toward the people of India. On March 10, 1919, the British passed a law called the Rowlatt Act, which only increased disaffection in India.  The Rowlatt Act authorized the government to imprison suspected revolutionaries for up to two years without a trial. People could be arrested without a warrant, had no right to confront their accusers or see the evidence against them, and lost the right to a jury trial.   It also placed strict controls on the press. The British immediately arrested two prominent political leaders in Amritsar who were affiliated with Mohandas Gandhi; the men disappeared into the prison system. Over the following month, violent street scuffles broke out between Europeans and Indians in the streets of Amritsar.  The local military commander, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, issued orders that Indian men had to crawl on hands and knees along the public street, and could be publicly lashed for approaching British police officers. On April 13, the British government banned gatherings of more than four people. Massacre at Jallianwala Bagh On the very afternoon that freedom of assembly was retracted, April 13, thousands of Indians gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh gardens in Amritsar.  Sources say that as many as 15,000 to 20,000 people packed into the small space. General Dyer, certain that the Indians were beginning an insurrection, led a group of sixty-five Gurkhas and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers from Iran through the narrow passages of the public garden. Fortunately, the two armored cars with machine guns mounted on top were too wide to fit through the passageway and remained outside. The soldiers blocked all of the exits.  Without issuing any warning, they opened fire, aiming for the most crowded parts of the throng. People screamed and ran for the exits, trampling one another in their terror, only to find each way blocked by soldiers. Dozens jumped into a deep well in the garden to escape the gunfire, and drowned or were crushed instead. The authorities imposed a curfew on the city, preventing families from aiding the wounded or finding their dead all night. As a result, many of the injured likely bled to death in the garden. The shooting went on for ten minutes; more than 1,600 shell casings were recovered.  Dyer only ordered a ceasefire when the troops ran out of ammunition. Officially, the British reported that 379 people were killed; its likely that the actual toll was closer to 1,000.   Reaction The colonial government tried to suppress news of the massacre both within India and in Britain.   Slowly, however, word of the horror got out.  Within India, ordinary people became politicized, and nationalists lost all hope that the British government would deal with them in good faith, despite Indias massive contribution to the recent war efforts.   In Britain, the general public and the House of Commons reacted with outrage and disgust to news of the massacre. General Dyer was called to give testimony about the incident.  He testified that he surrounded the protestors and did not give any warning before giving the order to fire because he did not seek to disperse the crowd, but to punish the people of India generally. He also stated that he would have used the machine guns to kill many more people, had he been able to get them into the garden.   Even Winston Churchill, no great fan of the Indian people, decried this monstrous event. He called it an extraordinary event, a monstrous event. General Dyer was relieved of his command on grounds of mistaking his duty, but he was never prosecuted for the murders.  The British government has yet to formally apologize for the incident.   Some historians, such as Alfred Draper, believe that the Amritsar Massacre was key in bringing down the British Raj in India.  Most believe that Indian independence was inevitable by that point, but that the callous brutality of the massacre made the struggle that much more bitter. Sources Collett, Nigel.   The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer, London: Continuum, 2006. Lloyd, Nick. The Amritsar Massacre: The Untold Story of One Fateful Day, London: I.B. Tauris, 2011. Sayer, Derek. British Reaction to the Amritsar Massacre 1919-1920, Past Present, No. 131 (May 1991), pp. 130-164.

La Maravilla Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

La Maravilla - Essay Example ...Remember, you are not white, and if someday you find yourself asking a white man's questions, the answer will not be there for you" [Vea, 217-218]. Adobe homes, shacks made up of tarpaper, Cadillacs adorned with rust, and of course, out of shape trailer trucks that were popularly known as "Buckeye". It was in the desert outside of the city of Phoenix wherein the wonders of various cultural myths, were brought to life. La Maravilla symbolizes being a part of two different worlds and of being pulled apart by love and fear of both. It depicts the blanket of marigolds - the flower of the dead - adorning the graves of Mexican cemeteries as well as the imaginary dog considered consecrated by the Aztecs; a dog that was believed to have returned from the lower-world to guide a person to the land of the dead known as Mictlan. The gaps were represented by the two different worlds which were not far from being reached by a person.

Business Data Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Business Data Analysis - Essay Example To achieve an inclined trend amid a competitive environment the management finds it appropriate to acquire the services of a Business Data Analyst/Statistician. Since there was enormous data recorded already it was hooped that the analysis of this data would more likely produce some beneficial results and recommendations. This report is aimed to conduct the data analysis for the company. This would be done in pursuance of the newly hired business data analyst. This analysis would contain the basic and advanced statistical practices including evaluation and analysis of different statistics. These include Mean, Median, Mode, Standard Deviation, Variance, Coefficient of Variance and Inter-quartile ranges. Since graphical representations play key role in trend analysis, the histograms, PIE charts and Bar charts would also be used. The sampling/grouping of data according to the recommended intervals would also be incorporated. This analysis would be conducted for different types of proble ms in the company to produce conclusions and recommendations for an overall betterment of the company. The main goal is to achieve optimization either through minimization of cost incurred or maximization of profit and to highlight the possible risks the company may encounter in future. INTRODUCTION The scenario involves the business strategies of an Industry named Handy Hydraulics Limited. This company was founded twenty years ago by the Douglas family. Ever since then the company has steadily grown. The first five years being stable, enabling the company to hold its grounds and establish its mark. The merchandise that Handy Hydraulics dealt with were related to Hydraulics as its name suggests. They were not the manufacturers of hydraulics but mainly were distributors and vendors that repaired spare parts. The most the company did was to pack the goods under their name in accordance with the customer’s orders. Their business prospered where large population of humans inhabit ed land. This was because more the inhabitants the more was the use of garbage trucks and other construction related machinery in the area. Thus, resulting in requirements of hydraulic parts whenever their need arose. The parts that the company dealt with included hydraulic seals, gauges, pump cylinders and all other related spare parts etc. Through the first few years absence or very little presence of marketing did not inhibit a teady growth of the company sales. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw the application of the Brute Force strategy for marketing. This resulting in an increase in demand of the company’s products but unfortunately the inexperienced family run business could not stand the increase in number of orders and their system collapsed. The headquarters in Florida was not the company’s only outlet. By the early decades two new outlets at Arizona and Ohio had also become operational. However, the lack of proper maintenance and handling of inventory in al l the outlets resulted in a havoc. It was decided that the company be sold to BMP Enterprises. METHODS Q1. (a) Construct histograms and relative frequency distributions of the company’s daily average order size (total sales divided by total orders) for quarters 1 and 2. For each chart, use interval widths of 20 and let the first interval run from 0 to 20. After the initial observation of data it is noted that there exists one entry of

Italian Renaissance 1350-1550 AD Essay Example for Free

Italian Renaissance 1350-1550 AD Essay Italian Renaissance Art remains the basis of all subsequent Western art despite the shattering innovations of the past hundred years. The formulas for imagemaking that were perfected in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, particularly in Italy, are those that painters still rely upon and, more significantly, that have conditioned the way most of us continue to see and even to photograph the world. Cities in Italy still like to celebrate their distant heroes. So the Galleria dArte in Ferrara and the Getty work up their shows with commitment and skill. Women in Italian Renaissance Art fill a void in the history of art. In distinct contrast to other eras, particularly the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Renaissance has until now been without a comprehensive examination of gender, representation, and identity. This work focuses on a single aspect of womens involvement in the Italian Renaissance Art. Since the time of Pythagoras, female/feminine and male/masculine have been defined in just such a comparative (or, more rightly, contradictive) relationship. As women continue to be integrated into all aspects of art history it is of critical importance that we do not lose sight of this strategy, for to do so would be to replace one skewed perspective with another. Women as a general category functions in western culture as the â€Å"absolute Other,† a necessary construction in contrast to which the male is able to define himself as rational, strong, productive, and authoritative. Womens historic problem in this male-oriented representation of the world is that there is no â€Å"Other of the Other†: woman has only male cultures projections of her identity on which to build her own subjectivity since the most forcefully organized category operating to define her is the category of the â€Å"not man† (Lacan 73). For early modern women this lack of a discourse defining them as anything but mans undesirable opposite bound together promiscuous and chaste women as different and yet the same in a sharing of essential gender limitations that did not impose itself in analogous ways on the male category. However, there is biblical argument, which draws chiefly on Romans and Galatians, the epistles in which St. Paul had wrestled with problems of religious status and hereditary privilege in the nascent Church. Agrippa uses Pauls discussion of Jews and Greeks to propose an analogous case for men and women, as the apostle himself suggests in Galatians 3:28. By this logic, the age of male dominance parallels the age of Jewish exclusiveness in salvation history; but when Christ established a new, more inclusive dispensation accepting Jews and Gentiles on equal terms, he meant at the same time to abolish gender privilege. The male priesthood, like Jewish Christians in the Pauline Church, is declared to have only a historical and by no means a spiritual priority. If male supremacy still prevails in spite of Christs intention, it is only because of the â€Å"hard-heartedness† of men, which women are entitled to judge and find wanting: Indeed, when men fall short and go astray, women have the power of judgment, to mens disgrace. Even the queen of Sheba is to judge the men of Jerusalem. Therefore all men who, being justified by faith, have become sons of Abraham, which is to say sons of the promise, are subjected to woman and bound by the command that God gave to Abraham, saying: â€Å"Whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her voice† (Chambers 152). Pieros women, spiritually and physically, are as robust as his architecture. In The Queen of Sheba, Piero della Francesca has created an ideal type, especially in his women, with long, thick necks, oval faces and strong chins. We can see Rossos eccentric humor in his drawing of a woman. The drawing is done in the manner of those exquisite female heads of Michelangelo. But whereas Michelangelos figures have an air of grace and dignity, Rossos woman peers bizarrely over her shoulder at the viewer. Rossos lady is suggestive of the frequent satire of women in Renaissance literature, as for example, in Machiavellis roughly contemporary novella, Belfagor. In this satirical tale by the brilliant author of the comedies La Mandragola and La Clizia, Machiavelli humorously indicates how even a devil cannot deal with woman, a situation also humorously illustrated by Bruegel in his Proverbs. The humor in Rossos drawing of a woman is expressed through the subtly playful treatment of physiognomy. This playful handling of facial expression is also evident in Rossos design for the Saturn and Philyra, which was engraved by Caraglio as part of the series of Loves of the Gods. If Raphael had already given a human quality to a horse in his St. George (Washington), Rosso now fully exploits this pathetic fallacy in his charmingly ridiculous image of a horse in love. The ambivalent humor in Bronzinos painting is especially apparent in the female figure, identified by Panofsky as Deceit, and by Levey, following Vasari, as Pleasure. She is a cunning invention: She offers a honeycomb with one hand while she hides a poisonous little animal in the other, and moreover the hand is attached to her right arm, that is the hand with the honeycomb is in reality a left hand, while the hand attached to her left arm is in reality a right one, so that the figure offers sweetness with what seems to be her â€Å"good† hand but is really her â€Å"evil† one, and hides poison in what seems to be her â€Å"evil† hand but is really her â€Å"good† one (Panofsky 226). This â€Å"perverted duplicity,† described perhaps not completely accurately but with mannered virtuosity by Panofsky, is related to the duplicity of Venus who steals the arrow from Cupid and to the perversion in the erotic embrace between mother and son. Michelangelos poem, which evokes the mocking tone of Lorenzo de Medicis Nencia da Barberino as well as the facetious poetry of Berni, would no doubt have been enjoyed by Shakespeare, who conceived of a similar, if more subtle, Petrarchan travesty, â€Å"My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun.† Michelangelos comic hag, with breasts like melons, also evokes the various hideous women in Renaissance art. She might be compared to the caricatured women in Leonardo da Vincis drawings and to the monstrous Ugly Woman of Quentin Metsys, who is closely related to the vain old women mocked by Erasmus in The Praise of Folly for wanting still â€Å"to play the goat.†

Stylistic Features in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay examples --

Stylistic Features in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚         Henry Seidel Canby in â€Å"A Skeptic Incompatible with His Time and His Past† states: â€Å"And indeed there is a lack of consistence between the scorn that our younger critics shower upon Hawthorne’s moral creations and their respect for his style. They admit a dignity in the expression that they will not allow to the thing expressed† (62). The style found in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† has not only a â€Å"dignity in the expression† as stated above, but also many other interesting aspects, discussed in the following essay.    Canby continues:    Hawthorne’style has a mellow beauty; it is sometimes dull, sometimes prim, but it is never for an instant cheap, never, like our later American styles, deficient in tone and unity. It is a style with a patina that may or may not accord with current tastes, yet, as with Browne, Addison, Lamb, Thoreau, is undoubtedly a style. Such styles spring only from rich ground, long cultivated, and such a soil was Hawthorne’s. . . . Holding back from the new life of America into which Whitman was to plunge with such exuberance, he kept his style, like himself, unsullied by the prosaic world of industrial revolution, and chose, for his reality, the workings of the moral will. You can scarcely praise his style and condemn his subjects. Even romantic themes that would have been absurd in lesser hands get dignity from his purpose. . . . As Shakespeare, the Renaissance man, gave feudalism its final lift into the imagination, so Hawthorne, the skeptic with a moral obsession, raised New En gland Puritanism – not the theory, but the practice and still more the results in mind and spirit – into art. This lies behind his style (63). .. ...: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Fuller, Edmund and B. Jo Kinnick in â€Å"Stories Derived from New England Living.† In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† 1835. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~daniel/amlit/goodman/goodmantext.html    James, Henry. Hawthorne. http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/nhhj1.html    Kaul, A.N. â€Å"Introduction.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Swisher, Clarice. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography.† In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.    Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.   

Challenges Faced by Managers in Practicing Organisational Behaviour

FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATION MEI / 2012 BBGO4103 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR MATRICULATION NO: 800201085406001 IDENTITY CARD NO. : 800201085406 TELEPHONE NO. : 0127252294 E-MAIL : [email  protected] com LEARNING CENTRE: BANGI LEARNING CENTRE Content Page 1. Introduction and Description of the Selected Organisation2 2. Description of Roles of Managers Based on Mintzberg’s (1973) Model5 3. Challenges Faced By Managers in Practicing Organisational Behaviour12 4. Recommendations On How Managers Can Better Handle The Identified Challenges. 16 5. Summary24 6. Reference 27 7. Bibliography30Introduction and Description of the Selected Organisation Manager, a term that is so ubiquitous that its definition is commonly assumed. But the need to seek a definition rises proportionally to the drive to increase the productivity and efficiency of business in an ever changing marketplace. Armed with the tools yielded by the science of organizational behaviour, a working definition of this common term can be rendered as well as an answer to, â€Å"What do managers do? † This paper will distinguish the managerial roles practice base on the work of Henry Mintzberg and analyses managerial challenges faced by managers.As a sample of case study I have chosen AirAsia Berhad as, one of the most leading airline companies in Malaysia. The company corporate data are as follows: Corporate Data Company Name:AirAsia Berhad Year Founded:1993 Year Incorporated:2001 Registered Office:AirAsia Berhad (Company No. 284669-W) 25-5, Block H, Jalan PJU 1/37 Dataran Prima, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Contact: (603) – 78809318 (T) / (603) – 78806318(F) Head office:LCC Terminal, Jalan KLIA S3 Southern Support Zone, KLIA 64000 Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, MalaysiaContact: (603) – 86604333 (T) / (603) – 87751100 (F) Website : www. airasia. com Stock Exchange Listing:Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (Listed since 22 November 2004) (Stock code: 5099) Type of business:Transportation > Airline/Aviation (Provision of air transportation services). Company Overview AirAsia needs no introduction in ASEAN, where it is the leading Malaysian-based low-cost airline. AirAsia is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia, connecting people and places across 132 routes, 40 of which are offered by no other airline.Its main hub is the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). In 2010, the Group, which includes affiliates AirAsia Thailand and AirAsia Indonesia, reinforced its leadership position with two remarkable milestones: flying its 100 millionth guest and breaking the RM1 billion profit barriers. Voted by over 18. 8 million airline passengers from 100 different nationalities, the World Airline Awardsâ„ ¢ are the most prestigious quality recognition of front-line product and service standards for the world airline industry.With 200 airlines featured, the awards measure customer satisfaction levels across 38 different items of airline front-line product and service, AirAsia won the Skytrax World's best low-cost airline award in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011. It has the world's lowest operating costs at USD 0. 035/seat-kilometre in 2010. It is also the first airline in the region to implement fully ticketless air travel. Company Vision To be the largest low cost airline in Asia and serving the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with poor connectivity and high fares. Company Mission To be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family * Create a globally recognized ASEAN brand * To attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia * Maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and enhance service levels Type of Employees and Size According to the latest annual report (2011), AirAsia employees have reached about 5,137 staff at the year-end of 2011. This employment includes various levels of position which are Board of Directors, Senior Management, Manager, Head, Executive, and Non-Executive.Exhibit 1: Supporting data for employee size retrieved from the Air Asia Annual Report 2011 Description of Roles of Managers Based on Mintzberg’s (1973) Model An appropriate starting point to explore the duties of a manager lies within the function of the management position. The origins of a functional description of management can be found in the works of Henry Fayol. Fayol, originally an engineer that turned to management in late-nineteenth century, he set the foundation for management theory by outlining five primary functions of the manager; planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling.To fully understand the activities of the manager, it is necessary to delve beyond function to determine how it is expressed. For this, the work of Henry Mintzberg can be applied to illuminate how a manager performs these functions. In The Nature of Managerial Work (1973), Mintzberg proposed that a manager will utilize a combination of ten different roles to achieve their objectives. These roles can be grouped into three broader categories – informational, interpersonal and decisional. Exhibit 2: Mintzberg Managerial Roles Model and Relations Towards Information Handling. Interpersonal rolesInterpersonal roles arise directly from a manager’s formal authority and status, and shape relationships with people within and beyond the organisation. The interpersonal group links together the other groups by establishing and maintaining a framework and environment, both externally and internally, that dictates where and how that information is conveyed and to which objectives is it meant to fulfil. There are three types of interpersonal roles – figurehead, leader and liaison. A manager usually maintains a network of relationships, both inside and outside the organisation.Dealing with people, formally and informally, up and down the hierarchy and sideways within it, is thus a major element of the manager’s role. A manager is often most visible when performing these interpersonal roles. In the figurehead role the managers are the symbol, representing the unit in legal and ceremonial duties such as greeting a visitor, sign legal documents, presenting retirement gifts or receiving a quality award. For example, the AirAsia Berhad Group Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Dr.Tony Fernandes responsible in signing the company legal documents such as statement by directors for auditing purposes, receives â€Å"Value Airline of the Year† awards from ATW Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards on behalf of AirAsia Berhad and spokesperson for press interviews by the Starbiz, The Star newspaper on Friday, June 15, 2012 with the headlines â€Å"Tony Fernandes speaks to StarBiz on AirAsia's future plans†. The evidence of these responsibilities is as follows: Exhibit 3: Signing Legal Documents – retrieved from Airasia Berhad Annual Report 2011Exhibit 4: The Group CEO on behalf of AirAsia receives Awards â€Å"Value Airline of the Year† The leader role defines the manager’s relationship with other people (not just subordinates), including motivating, communicating and developing their skills and confidence. As leaders, managers have to consider the needs of an organisation and those of the individuals they manage and work with. The leadership roles practice by the Group CEO meets the Mintzberg values as some commented: â€Å"(At AirAsia) there’s no such thing as a male of female pilot. Only good or great pilots. It’s thanks to people like Tan Sri Dr.Tony Fernandes who advocate equal rights. † Nadira Ramli, AirAsia Woman Pilot. â€Å"I ask him what is it that makes this company so different, so successful, and so passionate about everything it does, creati ng a culture that shows on the faces of every single person in the company. He says, â€Å"Our corporate culture is it. It’s what makes us. † So what is this corporate culture that changes lives and makes this company one of the most successful airlines in the world? It asks the question, â€Å"Hierarchy, what hierarchy? † Tony is a leader and a manager, but he is one of the team also.So his office is smack at the heart of the company, with no walls and no doors. Everyone sees him and he sees everyone. He is Tony to everyone and he is in his polo shirt and with his famous baseball cap. His only vice is that he gets a special parking slot right next to the door of his building, for his two-door white Peugeot. † Fadi Ghandour, Chairman of Wamda and Founder and CEO of Aramex. The liaison role focuses on contacts with people outside the immediate unit. Managers maintain a network in which they trade information and favours for mutual benefit with clients, gove rnment officials, customers and suppliers.For some managers, particularly chief executives and sales managers, the liaison role takes a high proportion of their time and energy. From my observations, this role also has been practice in this company. For example, its Commercial Public Relations Executive, Ms Linda Foo Yan Yan, one of her job responsibilities is as liaison and point of contact with respective airports organizations, tourism bureaus and internal departments in order to gain support in promotion and marketing activities. Informational rolesManagers must collect, disseminate and transmit information and these activities have three corresponding informational roles: monitor, disseminator and spokesperson. In monitoring what goes on in the organisation, a manager will seek and receive information about both internal and external events and transmit it to others. This process of transmission is the dissemination role, passing on information. A manager has to give informatio n concerning the organisation to staff and to outsiders, taking on the role of spokesperson to both the general public and those in positions of authority.Managers need not collect or disseminate every item themselves, but must retain authority and integrity by ensuring the information they handle is correct. In AirAsia Berhad, this responsibility is hold by Head of Communications, Ms Sherliza Zaharudin. The position is actually similar as company spokesperson and representative. The company image and presentation lies on her hands as she responsible in producing press releases, answering interviews and other corporate affairs. For example, one of her job is writing a press release.First, she must monitor and look up what is goes on in the company by obtaining the true source of the information or verified data from the immediate superior or resources. Then, before she disseminates the information, she needs to analyse and interprets and write up a report in the form of press releas e. Then, the press release will be submitted to media and press as an official document of announcement to be announced to the public. As a spokesperson, she also has to be alert at the company product and updates as she needs to promote and lobbying the entities. 4. 3. 3 Decisional rolesMintzberg argues that making decisions is the most crucial part of any managerial activity. He identifies four roles which are based on different types of decisions; namely, entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. As entrepreneurs, managers make decisions about changing what is happening in an organisation. They may have to initiate change and take an active part in deciding exactly what is done – they are proactive. The board of directors of AirAsia Berhad have made many decisions towards being a proactive such as initiate new projects, spot opportunities and identify areas of business development.For example, in October 31, 2003, AirAsia announces the setting u p of a new hub in Senai, Johor Bahru, with direct flights to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Langkawi and Penang. The full listing of their successful entrepreneurships decision making can be seen in the company annual report 2011, page 5 in the 10 years of achievement section. However, it is very different from their role as disturbance handlers, which requires them to make decisions arising from events that are beyond their control and which are unpredictable.The ability to react to events as well as to plan activities is an important aspect of management. Unfortunately, AirAsia Berhad has been tested in facing such disturbance. It was a first incident that happens to Malaysian aircraft that is most unbearable situation to handle and overcome. The incident was when an AirAsia Airbus A320-216 passenger jets, registered 9M-AHH, sustained substantial damage in a runway excursion accident at Kuching Airport (KCH), Malaysia. Exhibit 5: Cranes are used to remove the plane off the runway Tuesday The airplane operated on flight AK5218 from Kuala Lumpur Subang International Airport (KUL) to Kuching Airport (KCH). The flight landed on Kuching's runway 25 in heavy rain around but skidded to the right and went off the side of the runway. It came to rest in the grass with the nose gear dug in or collapsed. At the moment of the incident, there were 123 guests on board the flight. Four guests were sent for observation as a precautionary measure and were released shortly after. All other guests are safe and have been attended to accordingly.The resource allocation role of a manager is central to much organisational analysis. A manager has to make decisions about the allocation of money, equipment, people, time and other resources. In so doing a manager is actually scheduling time, programming work and authorising actions. This role without a doubt, have been comply by managers in AirAsia Berhad, especially by the Board of Directors as mentioned in the Statement on Corporate Governan ce, Annual Report 2011 under the Roles and Responsibilities of the Board.The negotiation role is important as a manager has to negotiate with others and in the process be able to make decisions about the commitment of organisational resources. Mintzberg found that managers don’t perform equally – or with equal frequency – all the roles he described. There may be a dominant role that will vary from job to job, and from time to time. It is important to note that many non-managers in organisations seem to have these sorts of interpersonal, informational and decisional roles. In contrast, the ituations managers deal with differ in the degree of routine, the size and scope and complexity of the activities in which they are involved, and the responsibilities associated with these activities. Challenges Faced By Managers in Practicing Organisational Behaviour The world is changing and as is the case with companies. Companies are no longer steadfast on the theory of rec ruiting workforce from the same geography for their work to be done. At the end of the day, the businesses especially the ones which have an unconventional business model believe in the work being done, it does not matter who does it.In such a scenario, recruitment of workforce has become a global activity with at least 25-30% of a company's workforce being made up of employees recruited offshore. It is quite natural for companies to boast of employees from a cross section of cultural backgrounds. With that comes the challenge of managing and practicing Organizational Behaviour in such companies Challenge of Globalisation One major challenge facing managers in the early 21st century arises from what many commentators have identified as an increasingly international or global business environment.The following factors are frequently cited as potential explanatory factors underlying this trend: i. Communication – improvements in international communication facilities leading to an increased consciousness of differences in workplace attitudes and behaviour in other societies; ii. International competitive pressure – for example, the emergence of newly industrialised and/or free-market nations (the Far East region and former communist bloc countries are often viewed as examples of this phenomenon); iii.The spread of production methods and other business processes across nations and regions; international business activity, for example: overseas franchising or licensing agreements; outsourcing of business units to other countries (call centres provide a topical example); direct foreign investment and the activities of multinational corporations which, by definition, operate outside national boundaries. In broad terms, globalisation refers to organisations integrating, operating and competing in a worldwide economy. The organisations’ activities are more independent across the world rather than confined nationally.Globalisation will also impact on the nature of social responsibilities and business ethics. With globalisation, strategy and structure are inextricably linked. As organisations, and especially large business organisations, adopt a more global perspective this will have a significant effect on the broader context of management and organisational behaviour. Challenge of Workforce Diversity Workplace diversity exists when companies hire employees from various backgrounds and experiences. Many companies see workplace diversity as an investment toward building a better business.Although workplace diversity provides many benefits, it also poses many challenges to employees and managers. To reap the benefits of workplace diversity, employees and managers must understand the challenges and know how to effectively deal with them. Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its challenges. Some of those challenges are: i. Communication – Perceptual, cultural and language barri ers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale. i. Resistance to change – There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The â€Å"we've always done it this way† mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress. iii. Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies – This can be the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. Armed with the results of employee assessments and research data, they must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their particular organization. v. Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace – Diversity training alone is not sufficient for the organization's diversity management plan. A strategy must be created and implemented to create a culture of diversity th at permeates every department and function of the organization. Challenge of Technology Change The major advances in technology that have emerged over the last several decades have had an impact on virtually every aspect of modern life, and the hospitality industry has also been affected by these changes.While keyboards and microchips are probably among the last things guests want to think about as they dip into a creme brulee or lounge in a penthouse suite, hospitality industry insiders know that modern technology plays a big part in keeping things on track behind the scenes, from the back-of-the-house order management systems that help chefs keep their plates straight to the reservation systems that ensure that a soft bed will be waiting for a weary traveller at the end of a long day on the road. Just like all types of technology, the technology that helps power the hospitality industry is constantly evolving.A brief stroll through the product exhibition hall at any industry confe rence will reveal just a slice of the hundreds of new styles of software, systems, gadgets, programs, and equipment that are released in the hospitality market each year. Sooner or later, it’s likely one organization will be faced with a challenge that can strike fear into the heart of even the most intrepid of managers: implementing new technology in the workplace. Whether it’s a POS program for the cafe or a reservation system for the bed and breakfast, the prospect of managing technology change can be daunting.Challenge of Downsizing/Layoff Many companies are under intense economic pressure. Reorganizations, takeovers, mergers and downsizing are increasingly common as today’s companies try to grow, compete and survive. Downsizing presents new challenges and demands for everyone in the organization, from the CEO to the telephone receptionist. For managers, the challenge is even greater. Not only do managers have to cope with their own fears and frustrations, t hey have to support others who are emotionally distraught, even while remaining positive and productive.There’s no doubt about it—it’s a tough time to be in business. Whether one owns the company, hold a position in senior management or work in human resources, there is a lot of pressure on him/her to ensure that the organization makes it through the recession with the fewest battle scars possible. Laying people off is easily one of the hardest roles that a manager faces, but it is almost inevitable that at some point in the career one will need to do it. Although it may sound odd, laying people off and retaining people actually go hand in hand.How to conduct layoffs and how to deal with those who remain will directly impact the bottom line. Mishandle either of those two things and will be facing productivity and morale problems. Challenge of Managerial Ethics Ethics is difficult to define in a precise way. In a general sense, ethics is the code of moral princip les and values that governs the behaviours of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong. Ethics sets standards as to what is good or bad in conduct and decision making. An ethical issue is present in a situation when the actions of a person or organization may harm or benefit others.Yet ethical issues can sometimes be exceedingly complex. People in organizations may hold widely divergent views about the most ethically appropriate or inappropriate actions related to a situation. Managers often face situations in which it is difficult to determine what is right. In addition, they might be torn between their misgivings and their sense of duty to their bosses and the organization. Sometimes, managers want to take a stand but don’t have the backbone to go against others, bring unfavourable attention to them, or risk their jobs.Recommendations On How Managers Can Better Handle The Identified Challenges. There are new leadership and management challenges for the 21st Century, to be met against the backdrop of financial uncertainty, technological change and global economic downturn. The world we live and work in is vastly different from that we inhabited just a few decades ago and our approach to leadership and management must adapt to it. Here are the recommendations on how managers can better handle the identified challenges previously discussed: Managing Globalisation i. A cross-cultural approach to managementOne rationale for taking a cross-cultural approach to management lies in the potential benefits to be gained in performance terms. In addition to practically based benefits in considering our own ‘home’ culture, there has been a long tradition of looking to other cultures for examples of ‘successful’ practice which could be transplanted into work organisations in different societies. Different models may be dominant at different times. ii. Managing people from different cultures a. Recognise the variations in wor kplace attitudes and behaviour between individuals and groups in different cultural contexts. b.In examining the centrally important topic of motivation managers must develop organizational systems that are flexible enough to take into account the meaning of work and the relative value of rewards within the range of cultures where they operate. iii. Managing Workforce Diversity Recommended steps in managing workforce diversity in organizations are: a. Assessment of diversity in the workplace – Top companies make assessing and evaluating their diversity process an integral part of their management system. A customizable employee satisfaction survey can accomplish this assessment for the company efficiently and conveniently.It can help the management team determine which challenges and obstacles to diversity are present in the workplace and which policies need to be added or eliminated. Reassessment can then determine the success of diversity in the workplace plan implementatio n. b. Development of diversity in the workplace plan – Choosing a survey provider that provides comprehensive reporting is a key decision. That report will be the beginning structure of the diversity in the workplace plan. The plan must be comprehensive, attainable and measurable. An organization must decide what changes need to be made and a timeline for that change to be attained. . Implementation of diversity in the workplace plan – The personal commitment of executive and managerial teams is a must. Leaders and managers within organizations must incorporate diversity policies into every aspect of the organization's function and purpose. Attitudes toward diversity originate at the top and filter downward. Management cooperation and participation is required to create a culture conducive to the success of the organization's plan. iv. Recommended diversity in the workplace solutions include: a. Ward off change resistance with inclusion. Involve every employee possible in formulating and executing diversity initiatives in the workplace. b. Foster an attitude of openness in the organization. – Encourage employees to express their ideas and opinions and attribute a sense of equal value to all. c. Promote diversity in leadership positions. – This practice provides visibility and realizes the benefits of diversity in the workplace. d. Utilize diversity training. – Use it as a tool to shape the diversity policy. e. Launch a customizable employee satisfaction survey that provides comprehensive reporting. Use the results to build and implement successful diversity in the workplace policies. Managing Technology Change Here are some recommendations on managing the technology change in an organisation: i. Provide as Much Advance Warning as Possible. Human beings are naturally resistant to change, but change that is sudden and unexpected is often most difficult to accept. As soon as one is certain that technology change is in his/her or ganization’s future, announce the news to the staff. This will give them more time to adapt mentally to the prospect of a future change.If possible, begin training sessions that introduce the basic concepts of the new technology well before the actual date of implementation. ii. Recruit A Group of Staff Facilitators. Call on a few ambitious, interested, or tech-savvy employees to act as project leaders for the technology change. They can sit in on the planning and implementation meetings and convey new developments to the other employees in their departments. Also, having a few key â€Å"cheerleaders† who are in favour of the project from the start can help bolster the staff’s morale during the challenge of implementation. iii.Begin System Training in a Low-Pressure Environment. The hospitality industry is famously fast-paced, so booting up a new POS system right before the dinner rush is probably not the best way to boost the team’s confidence in the new technology. If possible, set up the new equipment in a back room for several weeks of training before the full-scale implementation. Remind the staff of the old adage that the only â€Å"stupid† question is the one that remains unasked. iv. Have a Plan B†¦and Maybe Even a Plan C. Remind the self that a few snags and roadblocks are likely to arise during the first few weeks of using new technology.Make sure that one has developed one or more contingency plans that the team can rely on if the new system becomes inoperable. v. Training Shouldn’t Stop after the New Equipment is up and Running. Don’t disband the technology committee after the new system has been installed successfully. Instead, plan on meeting every month or every quarter to discuss issues, concerns, or suggestions for future upgrades. One can task one or more of the staff with the responsibility of keeping up with new products from the manufacturer and new developments in the field.With the ra pid pace of technological change that’s occurring within the hospitality industry today, it’s probably more helpful to think of technology implementation as an on-going process, rather than a one-time project that ends with installation. Although the prospect of change is always unsettling, one can significantly increase the chances that the organization’s shift to a new technology will go smoothly by sticking to these simple strategies. Managing Downsizing/Layoff Here are some suggestions on how one should handle downsizing/layoff: i. Plan layoffs carefully.If one find himself in a position where he need to let people go, don’t act indiscriminately. Take the time to ensure that the layoff plan and the business plan are in sync. Look at the current projects—particularly those that are critical to the business—and don’t forget to plan for the future. Make sure that one has a clear idea of the projects that will get underway once the cr isis is over. The last thing one want is to suddenly realize that a mission-critical project is in jeopardy because of letting the wrong people go and now don’t have the talent and resources to proceed. ii.Be prepared. One will make things easier both for oneself and the people he is laying off if one is well prepared. If one need to, write a script and practice it in front of a mirror until one can do it without sounding forced. Make a list of questions that might be asked and have answers ready. Be confident and get to the point—don’t make small talk. Keep in mind that much of what is said in a layoff meeting will not be retained, so have resources available for affected employees, such as information on benefits, separation terms, and important contacts and other written information.Also, make sure one have fully planned the necessary post-layoff logistics. Will employees be allowed to say goodbye to colleagues? Will they be permitted some time to gather thei r belongings? Will you offer to pack up their things and have the boxes delivered to their home address? iii. Know the law. One thing one really don’t need—in a recession or at any time—is a costly court battle, so make sure one know the responsibilities as an employer. The law stipulates that employees must get either some notice prior to dismissal or be compensated instead, although the particulars vary depending on the province or territory.There are also certain rules that apply when lying off groups of individuals, but again, the laws are different depending on the province. Speak to a lawyer or contact the provincial labour board to make sure that one are meeting the obligations in accordance with the law. iv. Treat people with dignity and respect. It is human nature to shy away from uncomfortable situations, but as a manager one don’t have that luxury. Distancing yourself because you feel bad won’t make anyone feel better. Remember, this is not one fault, and avoiding people will not minimize feelings of guilt or hurt. In fact, it will make them worse.Be kind and compassionate. Losing one job can be a humiliating experience, so give people the respect they need. However, the recession will end eventually, but what one should do between now and then could have a direct impact on whether your business thrives—or nosedives. When the recession is finally over and business starts to return to normal, make sure that one and one’s employees are ready. Managing Ethical Decision Making Most ethical dilemmas involve a conflict between the needs of the part and the whole – the individual versus the organization or the organization versus society as a whole.Sometimes ethical decisions entail a conflict between two groups. Managers faced with these kinds of tough ethical choices often benefit from a normative strategy—one based on norms and values—to guide their decision making. Normative ethics u ses several approaches to describe values for guiding ethical decision making. Four of these approaches that are relevant to managers are the utilitarian approach, individualism approach, moral-rights approach, and justice approach. i. Utilitarian approachUnder this approach, a decision maker is expected to consider the effect of each decision alternative on all parties and select the one that optimizes the benefits for the greatest number of people. In organizations, because actual computations can be complex, simplifying them is considered appropriate. ii. Individualism Approach The individualism approach contends that acts are moral when they promote the individual’s best long-term interests. Individual self-direction is paramount, and external forces that restrict self-direction should be severely limited.Individuals calculate the best long-term advantage to themselves as a measure of a decision’s goodness. The action that is intended to produce a greater ratio of good too bad for the individual compared with other alternatives is the right one to perform. Individualism is believed to lead to honesty and integrity because that works best in the long run. Lying and cheating for immediate self-interest just causes business associates to lie and cheat in return. Thus, individualism ultimately leads to behaviour toward others that fits standards of behaviour people want toward themselves. iii. Moral-Rights ApproachThe moral-rights approach asserts that human beings have fundamental rights and liberties that cannot be taken away by an individual’s decision. Thus, an ethically correct decision is one that best maintains the rights of those affected by it. iv. Justice Approach The justice approach holds that moral decisions must be based on standards of equity, fairness, and impartiality. Three types of justice are of concern to managers which are: a. Distributive justice requires that different treatment of people not be based on arbitrary c haracteristics. Individuals who are similar in ways relevant to a decision should be treated similarly.Thus, men and women should not receive different salaries if they are performing the same job. However, people who differ in a substantive way, such as job skills or job responsibility, can be treated differently in proportion to the differences in skills or responsibility among them. This difference should have a clear relationship to organizational goals and tasks. b. Procedural justice requires that rules be administered fairly. Rules should be clearly stated and consistently and impartially enforced. c. Compensatory justice argues that individuals should be compensated for the cost of their injuries by the party responsible.Moreover, individuals should not be held responsible for matters over which they have no control. Summary Henry Mintzberg concluded that managers perform 10 different roles or behaviours. He classified them into three sets. One set is concerned with interper sonal relationships (figurehead, leader, and liaison). The second set is related to the transfer of information (monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson). The third set deals with decision making (entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator). This chart summarizes a manager’s ten Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles: Category| Role| Activity|Informational| Monitor| Seek and acquire work-related information| | Disseminator| Communicate/ disseminate information to others within the organization| | Spokesperson| Communicate/transmit information to outsiders| Interpersonal| Figurehead| Perform social and legal duties, act as symbolic leader| | Leader| Direct and motivate subordinates, select and train employees| | Liaison| Establish and maintain contacts within and outside the organization| Decisional| Entrepreneur| Identify new ideas and initiate improvement projects| | Disturbance Handler| Deals with disputes or problems and takes corrective action| | R esource Allocator| Decide where to apply resources| | Negotiator| Defends business interests| Building an internationally competent workforce whose members know the business and are flexible and open-minded can take years. Multinational organizations can no longer rely on just a few managers with multicultural experience or a few experts on a particular country to succeed. In short, all employees must have some minimal level of international expertise and be able to recognize cultural differences that may affect daily business communications and working relationships.As a result of the increasingly global business environment, many companies are building teams that cross-national borders and/or include members from different countries of origin. Although many of these teams are designed to pool resources and increase operational efficiencies, the cultural diversity of team members may create a longer learning curve for establishing effective processes than culturally homogeneous gro ups. This chart summarizes a manager’s challenges and recommendations in managing the challenges: Challenges| Description| Recommendation| Challenge of Globalisation| Organisations integrating, operating and competing in a worldwide economy| i. A cross-cultural approach to management ii.Managing people from different cultures| Challenge of Workforce Diversity| Leading a diverse work force| i. Ward off change resistance with inclusion ii. Foster an attitude of openness in the organization iii. Promote diversity in leadership positions iv. Utilize diversity training v. Launch a customizable employee satisfaction survey that provides comprehensive reporting| Challenge of Technology Change| Advancing and implementing technological innovation in the workspace| i. Provide as Much Advance Warning as Possible. ii. Recruit A Group of Staff Facilitators. iii. Begin System Training in a Low-Pressure Environment. iv. Have a Plan B†¦and Maybe Even a Plan C. v.

Macy’s Store Essay

1. Macy’s and other department stores are faced with imminent problems where sales are declining each year. Due to high competition and many substitutions in the market, company must always analyze, investigate, and plan for decision making. Creating situational analysis is a great way to analyze both the internal and external environments in order to understand the company’s capabilities, business environment, and customers. In Macy’s case, some of the external factors are competition and economy. Since competitors such as discount stores and specialty stores are attracting many customers, Macy’s need to find a solution to differentiate themselves from others to deliver value. Some of the examples can be lowering prices to meet customer expectations, expand market by using online- shopping, or take a survey to gather which brands or items customers want in Macy’s department store. Economy is another crucial factor store has to consider. When the economy is healthy, stores tend to worry less, but when the economy is in recession, customers will spend less and find a cheaper substitute items to purchase. Although Macy’s positioned themselves as upper middle class, company can increase sales by also providing less expensive brands for customers to choose from. As for internal factors, training employees, contract with excellent suppliers, and positive recognized brand will strengthen Macy’s. For example, experienced management can teach and lead employees to perform day-to-day operations and to be professional in what they do. Brand awareness is also an important factor since customer’s judge product and service by its brand image. 2. To this date, Macy’s is struggling to find a sustainable competitive advantage in the retail industry. Clothing store such as ZARA and H&M have a definite advantage since they attract customers by displaying latest fashionable clothing with affordable price and Macy’s on the other hand, have not yet able to deliver right messages to buyers. Moreover, Macy’s consolidation and efforts to become national-wide brand are not unique because most major retailers in the states are now national brands. However, Macy’s strategy of positioning themselves as â€Å"mid-level† can become a unique competitive advantage in the future because people would believe its merchandise is neither cheap nor expensive. This way people won’t judge Macy’s as a â€Å"cheap store† but store which carries affordable items. Nevertheless, Macy’s still face a serious threat since fashion clothing retailers such as H&M and Urban outfitters are targeting teenagers with very low prices. One way to improve competitive advantage may be quality. Customers know H&M is a cheap, fashionable store and they also know clothing will wear out if washed couple times. By focusing on quality, people may recognize paying extra money to purchase Macy’s merchandise is saving money in long- term. 3. Overall, Macy’s consolidation and repositioning strategy have many advantages since the company converted 15 department stores to Macy’s brand; Remodelling stores promote a pleasant shopping experience to customers, displaying fashionable clothing to attract trend-followers, and developing private brands to increase profits. As mentioned above, the first strength to this change is the decision to consolidate. By using the same brand name, this will reduce advertising costs, customers will easily recognize the brand, and since all stores carry same products they may have bargaining power over suppliers. Next advantage is locations. Since Macy’s now have approximately 810 stores in 50 states, customers can visit any Macy’s stores without inconvenience. Moreover, because all stores carry same products, services, and designs, buyers can visit any stores to buy what they need. Last strength is Macy’s focus on affordable fashion. People nowadays value fashion so much that they simply won’t purchase clothing that is boring and bland. By recognizing these factors, Macy’s are working with top designers to attract and show buyers their brand is fashionable and also affordable. Despite of these advantages, Macy’s also have weakness to worry about. Customers are complaining that the price of merchandise increased and they would shop elsewhere. Macy’s would reduce these complaints by offering coupons or to perform customer relationship program to recognise those who are loyal to the store and give special incentives or discounts. 4. æ ­ ¤Ã§â€ ¨Ã¦Ë† ·Ã¥  Ã¥ · ²Ã¨ ¢ «Ã¦ ³ ¨Ã¥â€ Å',è ¯ ·Ã¥  ¦Ã¦  ¢Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¤ ¸ ªDepartment stores are faced with serious threat since industry is declining and competitions are growing rapidly. But Macy’s have found a bold strategy to compete in a tough market. Macy’s has a good chance of succeeding in 5 years since the store recognizes the trend and strives to meet customer’s needs. In order to extremely successful in the future however, Macy’s need to closely monitor competitors such as Nordstrom, ZARA, and H&M to gather competitor intelligence and to react to fast changing market. Brand awareness is also a crucial factor for success. Brand loyal customers tend to be less price sensitive because they have a strong belief that it is worth paying more money. If Macy’s can build brand royal customers, they would reduce advertising costs, and have positive brand image. Lastly, pricing its merchandise will be a key point for success in 5 years bec ause price is what makes customers to make a purchase or to find a substitute.

Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth

Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth Juan Ponce de Leà ³n (1474-1521) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He was one of the first settlers of Puerto Rico and was the first Spaniard to (officially) visit Florida. Hes best remembered, however, for his search for the legendary Fountain of Youth. Did he really search for it, and if so, did he find it? The Fountain of Youth and other Myths During the Age of Discovery, many men got caught up in the search for legendary places. Christopher Columbus was one: he claimed to have found the Garden of Eden on his Third Voyage. Other men spent years in the Amazon jungle searching for the lost city of El Dorado, the Golden Man. Still others searched for giants, the land of the Amazons and the fabled Kingdom of Prester John. These myths were very pervasive and in the excitement of the discovery and exploration of the New World it did not seem impossible to Ponce De Leons contemporaries to find such places. Juan Ponce de Leà ³n Juan Ponce de Leà ³n was born in Spain in 1474 but came to the New World no later than 1502. By 1504 he was well-known as a skilled soldier and had seen much action fighting the natives of Hispaniola. He was given some prime land and soon became a wealthy planter and rancher. Meanwhile, he was surreptitiously exploring the nearby island of Puerto Rico (then known as San Juan Bautista). He was granted rights to settle the island and he did so, but later lost the island to Diego Columbus (son of Christopher) following a legal ruling in Spain. Ponce de Leon and Florida Ponce de Leà ³n knew he had to start over, and followed rumors of a rich land to the northwest of Puerto Rico. He took his first trip to Florida in 1513. It was on that trip that the land was named Florida by Ponce himself, because of the flowers there and the fact that it was near Easter time when he and his shipmates first saw it. Ponce de Leà ³n was awarded the rights to settle Florida. He returned in 1521 with a group of settlers, but they were driven off by angry natives and Ponce de Leà ³n was wounded by a poisoned arrow. He died shortly thereafter. Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth Any records that Ponce de Leà ³n kept of his two voyages have been long since lost to history. The best information concerning his journeys comes to us from the writings of Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, who was appointed Chief Historian of the Indies in 1596, decades after Ponce de Leons journeys. Herreras information was likely third-hand at best. He mentions the Fountain of Youth in reference to Ponces first voyage to Florida in 1513. Heres what Herrera had to say about Ponce de Leà ³n and the Fountain of Youth: Juan Ponce overhauled his ships, and although it seemed to him that he had worked hard he decided to send out a ship to identify the Isla de Bimini even though he did not want to, for he wanted to do that himself. He had an account of the wealth of this island (Bimini) and especially that singular Fountain that the Indians spoke of, that turned men from old men into boys. He had not been able to find it because of the shoals and currents and contrary weather. He sent, then, Juan Pà ©rez de Ortubia as captain of the ship and Antà ³n de Alaminos as pilot. They took two Indians to guide them over the shoals†¦The other ship (that had been left to search for Bimini and the Fountain) arrived and reported that Bimini (most likely Andros Island) had been found, but not the Fountain.    Ponces Search for the Fountain of Youth If Herreras account is to be believed, then Ponce spared a handful of men to search for the island of Bimini and to look around for the fabled fountain while they were at it. Legends of a magical fountain that could restore youth had been around for centuries and Ponce de Leà ³n had no doubt heard them. Perhaps he heard rumors of such a place in Florida, which would not be surprising: there are dozens of thermal springs and hundreds of lakes and ponds there. But was he actually searching for it? Its unlikely. Ponce de Leà ³n was a hardworking, practical man who intended to find his fortune in Florida, but not by finding some magical spring. On no occasion did Ponce de Leon personally set off through the swamps and forests of Florida deliberately seeking the Fountain of Youth. Still, the notion of a Spanish explorer and conquistador seeking a legendary fountain captured the public imagination, and the name Ponce de Leon will forever be tied to the Fountain of Youth and Florida. To this day, Florida spas, hot springs and even plastic surgeons associate themselves with the Fountain of Youth. Source Fuson, Robert H. Juan Ponce de Leon and the Spanish Discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida Blacksburg: McDonald and Woodward, 2000.

Cute and Funny Baby Quotes for Every Occasion

Cute and Funny Baby Quotes for Every Occasion Like it or not, babies have a hold on your life like nothing else. They can send you into a tizzy with their incessant bawling, or they can tug at your heartstrings with their soft cooing. A baby can make you forget your worries, or add to them they so desire. However, you cant help falling in love with your baby, notwithstanding the smelly diapers. Here are some baby quotes to bring all those beautiful feelings flooding back. Funny Baby Quotes Henry RobinEvery baby needs a lap.Barbara Lazear AscherThe hot, moist smell of babies fresh from naps.Ruth Bell GrahamAs a mother, my job is to take care of what is possible and trust God with the impossible.Susan SarandonChildren reinvent your world for you.Charles DickensIt is a pleasant thing to reflect upon, and furnishes a complete answer to those who contend for the gradual degeneration of the human species, that every baby born into the world is a finer one than the last.Queen VictoriaAn ugly baby is a very nasty object, and the prettiest is frightful when undressed.Hal BoyleDoes Grandpa love to baby-sit his grandchildren? Are you kidding? By day, he is too busy taking hormone shots at the doctors or chip shots on the golf course. At night, he and Grandma are too busy doing the cha-cha.Mark TwainAdam and Eve had many advantages, but the principal one was that they escaped teething.Ed HoweFamilies with babies and families without babies are sorry for each other.John WilmotBefor e I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories. Martin H. FischerGods interest in the human race is nowhere better evinced than in obstetrics.Barbara Kingsolver, Animal DreamsIt kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didnt.P. J. ORourkeGetting down on all fours and imitating a rhinoceros stops babies from crying. (Put an empty cigarette pack on your nose for a horn and make loud snort noises.) I dont know why parents dont do this more often. Usually it makes the kid laugh. Sometimes it sends him into shock. Either way it quiets him down. If youre a parent, acting like a rhino has another advantage. Keep it up until the kid is a teenager and he definitely wont have his friends hanging around your house all the time.H. Jackson Brown, Jr.Always kiss your children goodnight- even if theyre already asleep.Loretta LynnI didnt know how babies were made until I was pregnant with my fourth child.

Final Project for a linguistic class called Introduction to Essay

Final Project for a linguistic class called Introduction to Linguistics - Essay Example In 1889 operators of central telephone exchange were called as hello girls. Hello can be used in a lot of senses; it can be used as a greeting, to answer a telephone, to attract attention, an exclamation of surprise or wonder (e.g., we went to see Eiffel Tower and hello! It was beautiful). We can even use hello as a noun when we say (e.g., it was a cry of hello), basically hello is an interjection expressing some informal greeting. It is also used when we’re questioning something with someone being addressed, (e.g. are you happy with what is going to happen here? Hello!). We can use hello as a noun as well (e.g. I went to meet Alex but he gave me a cold hello), as verb (e.g. I helloed very loudly before someone could take notice of my arrival). Tough the whole world now uses Hello but British people still use hullo. This word â€Å"Dude† is from American vocabulary, it was first used in the year 1883. Dude is used for a male and when using for a female. Two words dudine & dudess are used; however dudine is more popular than dudess. This word is pronounced as â€Å"dood† and it has quite a few meanings, initially it was used in America for those Easterners who move to west and start living there but that meaning is not accurate anymore. Dude in present day is used in quite some other meanings. Dude can be used as slang for friend, chap, mate or a fellow. Other than that dude is also referred to some guy who is very concerned about his dressing as per fashion, another meaning of dude is used for a some man who is staying on a farm but that is also an old meaning of Dude. We also say dude up as slang for dress up (e.g. look at him! All dude up to impress the girls at bar). Some people are of the opinion that dude is derived from another word dud which means a failure or a flop which is the opposite of Dude. This word has a very long history; it was first recorded in 1050 in England. It was first called godsibb which means godparent as in god-sib (sib as

Cost Accounting Assignment Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cost Accounting Project - Assignment Example At the end of year 2013, the net income of the company was $494,500 million. This is an increase of about 17%and 21% from 2012 and 2011respectively. The company brands the products and distribute to the market segments. Each market segment receives a unique brand as per their respective preference. Enables them to company manufactures thousand units of the product at some point in time. The method provides the manager with an answer of comparison of similar products from one period to another hence having a control over the manufacturing cost. The method allows the allocation of materials that part way the process. This enables in determining the value that processes material such as the labor cost. The company incurred several operating and management costs. The cost incurred includes factory insurance cost, plant depreciation $13,450, factory manager’s salary$90,000, laborers wages 450,000, supervisor’s salaries 250,000, power consumption $45,000 and warehouse maintenance cost 50,260. The direct cost was which composed of laborer’s wages $450,000, indirect costs was $398450 that is factory insurance $120,000, power consumption $45,000, factory manager salary $90,000, depreciation $13,450 and supervisor $250,000. The fixed cost includes the warehouse maintenance cost of $38, 000. From the financial perspective, the company has improved due to marketing of its products and services worldwide. From the annual report, the company garnered 26 billion as the total profit after tax. This is the growth of 1.45% and 3% from 2013 and 2012 years respectively. From the customer perspective, there is an increase in the customer loyalty. This is due to the manufacture of superior quality products that give them a competitive advantage. The products sell faster than the competitors because of efficiency supply of products to the markets for their loyal customers. From internal business