Consider Pip from Great Expectations and Ralph from Lord of the Flies Essay

Which character do you think gives the most realistic portrayal of childhood? Both of these novels contain depictions of childhood. An important fact to keep aware of is that in Dickens’ portrayal of childhood, there are adults present to mould Pip through his encounters with them, whereas Golding leaves his characters free from any guiding adult hand. Pip’s sister being on â€Å"the rampage† when she felt Joe or Pip had done the slightest thing wrong, is different to Ralph’s experience of childhood on the island as the closest thing he has to an adult guide is Piggy, who whilst undoubtedly more intelligent than the other boys, lacks the respect and authority an adult commands. Pip and Ralph are alike however in their longing for a lack of adults, â€Å"but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned at the reversed fat boy. ‘No grown ups!’ † Is what Golding tells us of Ralph, and similarly Dickens’s Pip calls them all â€Å"toadies and humbugs†. Although these views both seem to concur that a lack of adults is definitely a good thing, they do differ somewhat, I do not believe Ralph would go so far as to call all adults â€Å"toadies and humbugs† and this is certainly to do with their different backgrounds. Ralph is a Home Counties lad with a father high up in the navy who knows that the queen has â€Å"a drawer full of maps†, whereas Pip is the adopted son of a blacksmith and although Ralph’s lifestyle may not necessarily have been glamorous, it was much more homely and welcoming than the one Pip enjoys. The two novels are also set over a greatly differing time span. Lord of the Flies lasts perhaps several weeks at the most, whereas Pip’s childhood lasts several years in Great Expectations. Obviously this will play a part in how realistic their childhoods seem as we see no more than the blinking of an eye of Ralph’s, but have a much more in depth viewing of Pip’s. Adults mould Pip throughout his childhood, and the most important adults involved in this are Pumblechook, Mr Wopsle and Pip’s sister. All of these have a tendency to look down on Pip, and it is for that reason that Joe is not included in the list, as he and Pip treat each other like equals. Ralph on the other hand has no guiding force behind him throughout all the time the reader knows him. Whereas Ralph is a very expressive child, he stands on his head and laughs and looks â€Å"golden†, Pip is not, in the early stages of the book, free from the tyranny of his sister. So there is a crucial difference between the two novels in that Ralph and his companions are free to be children without adult ideals being laid upon them, whereas Pip is expected to be a child the way society expects him to be, â€Å"be grateful boy to them which bought you up by hand† being a good example of this. A key aspect of childhood is Fear, fear of the dark, fear of the unknown and fear of adults to name but a few. Both authors work this aspect of childhood into their novels somehow. Dickens does this with Magwitch’s young man â€Å"a boy may lock his door, may be warm in bed, may tuck himself up, may draw the clothes over his head, may think himself comfortable and safe, but that young man will softly creep and creep his way to him and tear him open.† All this to scare Pip into getting him some â€Å"wittles† and it works, from the language in that quote, it is obviously apparent that Dickens had a very good idea of childhood and it’s workings, on of the few things universal to children is that they do think bed to be the ultimate haven. Pip is scared by Magwitch into stealing from his sister, who he is already afraid of, and this is significant in that it shows Dickens had a very good grasp of what childhood was about, and is thus likely to have a very good portrait of childhood in his novel. Possibly even more significant than this is that Pip steals a file from Joe his trusted friend, and this also shows more understanding on Dickens’ part about children, they do not discriminate between close friends and others to the extent older people do. And so we see the counter part to this in Lord of the Flies, when alone and with no adults on the desert island the children feel the need for a fire and steal Piggy’s glasses to light it. Piggy is Ralph’s main ally on the island, and certainly Ralph is Piggy’s only friend, so the situation is much akin to the one in Great Expectations but we do not see the same level of remorse from Ralph. Instead of Pip’s fearful â€Å"I held tight to the leg of the table under the cloth, with both hands, and awaited my fate† in anticipation of any retribution that may be dealt out, all that Golding says of the boys remorse at leaving Piggy blind and helpless is for Ralph to hand them back when done with them, and it is here that it seems as though Golding has a better understanding of children, he appreciates that their consciences are not yet fully developed as they are unable to grasp the implications of what they have done. The fear that grows apparent on the island however is not the same kind of fear as Pip experiences. One of the little-uns complains of â€Å"a beastie†, nonsense is the response he gets from Ralph, and yet â€Å"The vivid horror of this, so possible and nakedly terrifying held them all silent†. And it is here where the crux of the argument begins to form for Dickens’ having the better portrayal of childhood. The Beastie is in fact symbolic of the horror humans will create on the island, and the rest of Golding’s novel is also mostly symbolic, whereas Great Expectations isn’t. The natural reaction for Ralph and company to have is to try and ward of the beastie somehow, and thus the fire begins to become more than simply a rescue beacon. The relationships between characters is also a major part in the views we are offered of childhood. Golding uses the views of others to reveal aspects of the main characters, and so influence how we feel about them, Piggy’s view of Ralph and the others â€Å"Like a crowd of kids -† is supposed to make the reader feel that Piggy is far more mature, and that in turn Ralph is excessively immature, and childlike. Dicken’s however uses Pip’s perspective throughout the novel, and the language he uses differs greatly at the start as compared to the finish for the purposes of showing the transition between child and adult. For example â€Å"I religiously entertained that they had been born on their backs with their hands in their trouser pockets† is clearly not the impression an adult would get from having dead brothers or sisters, and most likely not the way they would describe them. However at the end of the book the language use has progressed to statements such as â€Å"Oh, Joe, you break my heart! Look angry at me, Joe! Strike me, Joe! Tell me of my ingratitude. Don’t be so good to me.† This is a statement the younger Pip would have been incapable of making, ti shows the complex differences in language that Dickens appreciates children use as compared to adults. In Great Expectations Pip is not treated as an adult, he is treated as a particularly worthless child, and as such he forms negative opinions of the adult world he will have to grow into, â€Å"that ass Pumblechook† being just one example of the way Pip views this world, however Dickens also understands that children’s attitudes change very quickly, as does Golding, and so when Pip obtains â€Å"Great Expectations† and Pumblechook starts acting up to him, then he decides that maybe â€Å"Pumblechook was a practical, sensible, good hearted fellow†. This is also shown in Lord of the Flies because although by the end Ralph and Jack are literally at each others throats, when making the fire at the start Ralph finds a log that looks too heavy, but gets the reply of â€Å"Not for the two of us!† And so Golding shows the reader a glimmer of hope that the two may get along well, but they don’t, and this demonstrates the inconsistency of children. Ralph has responsibility for the other boys on the island, and this causes him in many aspects to grow up. Instead of being completely child like and swimming, diving and running about, he gets worked up because the shelters haven’t been made and the other are incapable of concentrating â€Å"And they keep running off. You remember the meeting? How everyone was going to work hard until the shelters were finished?† This is not a very childlike statement, children get frustrated because they don’t get their own way, Ralph is not saying â€Å"I’m the leader and they don’t obey me† but instead worrying that the community is beginning to tear apart, a concern more voiced on tabloid letter pages than children’s conversations. Pip however has no such responsibility, admittedly while he does some chores set him by his sister, or his lessons under Mr Wopsle’s great aunt â€Å"that preposterous female†, he is nowhere near as empowered as Ralph who has been voted to care for a few dozen boys. And so this also affects the childhood of the two we see, while Ralph had the easiest growing up previous to the novel (with his parents) as opposed to Pip’s dead parents and harsh sister, he is given a far more demanding role to play. And the way he deals with it is not very childlike; in fact it comes to eventually represent the way a tired adult may feel, worn down, beginning to despair and wondering why on earth he’s taken the responsibility at all. And this is another key point to consider, Golding’s children are literary metaphors for mankind, whereas Pip, although he teaches the reader about aspects of the human character, is not supposed to be representative of the whole human race, and so more likely to represent childhood better. Yet another fact to remember is that Golding and Dickens were writing in very different times. Dickens was writing in what was the height of Victorian England and was teaching about society in those days. Whereas Golding was writing after the World Wars and so was trying to tell a more global message. So his Ralph is, although a child, not necessarily entirely representative of one. Pip however is forced to be a child by the constraining presence of his sister, Pumblechook and eventually the bond apprenticing him to Joe, all things that represent Victorian society, and yet things that still apply today even if in a different form, such as parental control and discipline and mandatory education. Childhood on Golding’s island is also not really something enjoyed particularly by Ralph and his peers, instead it is the little’uns who are the children, Ralph and the other bigger boys find themselves in the positions of adults simply because they are the biggest ones on the island. Perhaps because they are not completely mature at the time this does not help them deal with the events that happen on the island. There is possibly a case for saying that Pip too, is no ordinary child and has to grow up very fast in his attempts to impress Estella and grows up even more rapidly once he has his expectations laid upon him. However this is most likely a part of his childhood akin to the beginning of school and as this has been a part of life for every child in the last hundred years and more, this is not something that can be argued as not being a part of childhood. And most certainly at the start of the novel Pip is a child plain and simple, with no more worries than his si sters â€Å"rampages. Another aspect of childhood to consider is trust and loyalty. Children are usually trusting unless something happens to make them otherwise. In Lord of the Flies, loyalty is shown by the twin’s and Piggy’s dedication to Ralph and their faith in him to get them through. Ralph however displays a special kind of loyalty, a loyalty to the good side of human nature and a deep trust in fair play. Pip’s trust however is in Joe and his own learning, but the trust is very temporary with Joe, it is more of a mutual agreement to be equals. And Pip is more than happy to trade his oldest friend for some money and a life in London. Here again we see that Dickens understands children are rarely consistent, whereas Golding is trying to use children as a metaphor for something much bigger. To conclude I believe that Pip is by far the better portrayal of childhood. Childhood does not generally involve the lack of adult presence to so huge an extent as it does in Lord of the Flies, however the battles of child against adult and adult society such as are seen in Great Expectations do occur almost universally. I think that some qualities the reader sees in Ralph, such as the headstands, do display the kind of innocent glee a child might express, but other than that Ralph and is peers are all examples of the human race and so representative of those who rule the world, adults, and not of children who merely inhabit it. Golding’s book is a political message of it’s time, whereas Dickens was writing a novel, but his was free from the idealism that contaminates Golding’s work. Dickens’ novel still had a point, but this point was made about the way in which his society worked and in particular his belief that money is a great corrupter. Therefore I believe that Dickens’ Pip is the most realistic portrayal of childhood as he behaves like a child, his expressions and attitudes are all those common to children. Dickens’ also displays a deep understanding of how children work, and this comes across in Pip’s actions. Golding’s children however are only just recognisable as children, they could easily be replaced with full grown adults and still the story would work just as well.

Quality Television Program Essay

As the channels available on America’s cable programs exceed a thousand and as television becomes more readily available through mobile electronic devices, the criteria for what makes for a quality television program has certainly become more intricate and competitive. There are many different genres of television programs that appeal to a certain type of audience. As a huge fan of drama movies and television, I will be evaluating the recently new spin-off television show 90210 which is currently aired on CW. The American teen drama series revolves around a series of characters attending a fictional high school in Beverly Hills. The program seems to attempt to capture many of the same audiences that enjoy shows such as Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries which are also popular TV programs on CW. To evaluate and determine the quality level of 90210 I will be looking at a set of criteria that includes the appeal that the characters bring to the show, how realistic the show is, and a look at the development of plots throughout the last few seasons. To shed some light on the television program I will introduce some of the main characters that have been present in the four seasons the show has been airing. Lori Loughlin and Rob Hestes play Harry and Debbie Wilson as mother and father of daughter Annie Wilson and adopted son, Dixon Wilson. After a move from Kansas, the family of four enters season one as a new family to Beverly Hills and with Harry as the principal of Annie and Dixon’s new high school. Jessica Stroup plays Erin ‘Silver’ Silver who has a bipolar disorder and tends to hang out with some of the less popular of those at Beverly Hills High. Annalynne McCord plays the infamous Naomi Clark who is the most popular, gorgeous, untouchable girl available at her school. Then there is Michael Steger who plays Navid Shirazi who in the first season plays as role as Dixon’s quirky sidekick and then slowly falls into a leading role as he gets involved in a relationship with Jessica Lowndes who plays Adrianna Tate-Duncan. And it certainly would not be a teen drama without the good looking guy, Matt Lanter playing Liam Court who soon gets together with Annie Wilson. As far as criteria is concerned for evaluating the show’s characters I want to look at how engaging the characters are for the audience, how unique and identifiable they are, and what the relationships between the characters are like. After watching all four seasons of the show, they did a great job of picking actors/actresses that fit their different roles. With that said, each of the characters definitely has their own unique characteristics and personalities.

Best Places In Spain To Visit This Summer

Best Places In Spain To Visit This Summer Madrid, Barcelona, Costa Brava, Seville, San Sebastian and Andalusia, Valencia, can stay during your stay in Marbella and Pamplona the best places and cities that can be visited in Spain insider guide. Madrid You can start your trip to any major city in Spain and you can customize your way to this starting point, but we will start our adventure in Madrid. Go to the Madrid Barajas airport and rent your car. Explore the city itself and then drive along the Douro River in the north of the city through Ribera del Duero, one of the most famous wine regions of the country. Wineries (vineyards) in this area can reach a little less than the vineyards of Napa or Loire and usually require dates for visits. You will be grateful for a thorough advance planning, since the services of Riberas visit are exceptional. It is small, with pleasant tasting rooms and private visits organized by vegetarians, wine tasting. The castle walls, the medieval castles and the ancient cities with wide ranges of wild flowers in the countryside. Basque Country From Madrid and Barcelona you can get to Bilbao. If you join another adventure, you can take a bus to Barcelona on your trip between Madrid and Bilbao! Runners will appreciate the beauty they will experience in the Basque Country and this can become a journey with legendary prizes. If you have rented a convertible, it is time to show it, as this area is full of beaches, cliffs and fishing ports where you can wonder about the winding roads. Once you have filled the Basque circuit while preparing for a partial day to get to Valencia, drive south to Victoria for a day of sightseeing or relaxation. Valencia Do not forget to wear protective clothing while traveling to Valencia. Eating controversy is king in this region, and if you are in a small town of Buà ±ol on Wednesday in August, when we passed, we tend to fall into the fire of hundreds of tomatoes. In this quiet town of La Tomatina, thousands of visitors came to the center of the city with the sincere expectation of joining the largest food war in the world. Do not miss the Haro Wine Festival if you are in the area. Just a few minutes away from Bonyola, hundreds of people were armed with tombs, buckets, warts full of water and main objectives of the participants. In addition exotic festival Valencia is a vibrant and friendly city with two wonderful art museums, a beautiful old town and one of the most beautiful places of Spanish nightlife. Cruz de Sierra Nevada From Valencia to Granada you can enjoy the perfect view of the natural mountain landscape. The trip to Granada is very extensive and includes the search of the south coast to Alicante, before continuing towards the Sierra Nevada peaks and finally towards Granada. During the investigation, this disc can be visible to the naked eye and without marks, but in reality it is quite calm and allows you to enjoy the best views of Spain, without heavy traffic load. When you arrive in Granada, you will find Alhamra, an old Moroccan village, one of the most famous tourist attractions in Spain. Be sure to reserve your ticket in advance, as the daily allowance is limited in the summer and tickets can be sold in a few weeks. Spend some time visiting most of the things that surround the complex, then stop the car and go to the old town to enjoy an excellent atmosphere in the city.

Genders at work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Genders at work - Essay Example t like the article of tools for resolving conflicts, Ury, offers simple and elegant ways of creating agreement in difficult situations from the conflicts of the family to worldwide wars (Goodwin & Griffith, 2007). The story of Ury guides us on how to resolve conflicts and wars. According to the article, sharing stories is regarded as an effective instrument for social justice and peace. This relates to a William piece of work where he negotiated peace in worldwide conflicts and choosing various stories that will make a difference globally. The article focusses on the negotiation psychology as a principled negotiation that is important in finding acceptable solutions by finding the needs that are fixed and flexible to negotiators. Just like in the Ury’s speech the tools effectively for conflict resolution include separating people from problems, focusing on interest not positions, working together in creating opinions that will satisfy the two parties, and negotiating successfully with those who are more powerful, refusing to play by the rules or resorting to dirty tricks (Goodwin & Griffith,

American Landscape Artwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Landscape Artwork - Essay Example In particular, nature and landscape were utterly synonymous. Cole’s painting evidently depicts a picturesque image seen in the Connecticut River in the time of the romantic artist. The masterpiece clearly shows trees, shrubs, waters, and other images visible in the natural landscape. Further, the landscape painting is portrayed like a picture-postcard perfect, a characteristic of American romanticism. Church’s â€Å"The Heart of Andes† also belongs to the 19th-century American romanticism. Similar to Cole’s painting; Church’s art work depicts the panoramic view of the wilderness. â€Å"The Heart of Andes† shows the exotic of nature. In contrast to cityscape, Church’s painting evokes the untamed and virgin element found in the vast green forest. American romanticism is basically defined in terms of landscape, seascape, and other natural wonders -- what Kaufman and Macpherson (2005) call sublime and beautiful. The landscape paintings prominent in the 19th-century America are considered as part and parcel of the American romanticism. Cole’s â€Å"The Oxbow† and Church’s â€Å"The Heart of Andes† are beautiful and sublime landscape art works characterized in a romantic movement. Both paintings exhibit nature in its grandeur and exotic

Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Human Resources - Essay Example The second option of becoming a hybrid organization also brings the difficulty of implementing change across the company considering that Sonoco is a highly diversified organization. The more optimal option is to create a third option whereby the advantages of both options are adapted while their shortcomings are addressed forming an incorporated approach. Some functions of the organization that directly affects the division will be handled by the division such as staffing and succession planning. The divisions are in a better position to know their staffing needs since they are the one directly involved in the operation of the business units. Succession planning that includes promotion, leadership and project of future staffing needs must also be delegated to the division. Operational functions which are unique to each business units such as coaching, feedback and personnel development are also delegated to the division making each division dynamic and could easily respond to the realities of their environment. This quick responsiveness to change also adds value to the organization. Other HR functions should be retained with the central organization such as compensation and benefits and personnel program. This will address the issue of competition that the decentralized structure of organization has wrought to the company by ensuring that the arbitrary determination of employee contribution to the company is removed. This will not only bring the cost down as the administrative expenses are cut down by scaling the system used for compensation, it also adds value to the organization in terms of savings and consistency and responsiveness of functions that were acquiesce to the divisions. Centralization of personnel program also ensures that company values are aligned with the organization. This is complemented by the centralization of performance management

Training at MRM Recruitment Consultants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Training at MRM Recruitment Consultants - Essay Example However, now what is required is finding new ways of filing and storing data, of processing it and making informed decisions based on it. Electronic data management largely facilitates all this. Â  Organizations that turn to EDM have to strategically plan for it, especially the training needs of the staff, as the systems may be efficient, but it’s the employees who’ll be operating them. It’s important to chart out the training needs, tools, and scope, while always keeping the organization culture1 in mind so that the staff is slowly inducted into the new technology. (Clarke, S. 2001). Â  Taking the case of a recruitment organization, The MRM Recruitment Consultants3, the scope of EDM can be studied, and a program for value-addition to the existing chain of processes identified. All this has to be complemented by using a strategic approach to the training of the employees so that when the firm is ready to switch over to the electronic mode, the personnel is well adjusted and enthusiastic. Â  This paper makes a case of the potential use of EDM in a small firm and tries to elaborate how electronic management of data can result in quicker and efficient operations, and hence will bring prosperity to the business even if some initial investments are to be made. Â  Since times immemorial, businesses have been striving to better manage their processes, to become more efficient, and to reach out more to their customers. The latter part of the last century saw a many-fold increase in the data and information generated during the course of business. Managing information sources, so as to make deliberate and rational decisions, is now a matter of competition. Today, only those businesses survive who are able to manage data on their products, markets, and customers, better than their competitors. Â  

Ethics og healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethics og healthcare - Assignment Example Therefore, in healthcare ethics ensures that the healthcare administrators behave in a moral way towards their patients. The lesson I have learned from this module is that, there are four ethical principles that guide the health care system (Morrison, 2011). They include autonomy, which is the freedom to make choices that are independent of any person’s control. In health care, this principle is guided in the practice of seeking informed consent, truth telling, maintaining confidentiality and fidelity. Secondly, there beneficence, which is act of doing good and acting with kindness towards others. Thirdly, there is non-maleficence, which makes it a duty to the health care providers to refrain from causing harm to the patients intentionally. Lastly, there is justice where it is the duty of the healthcare providers to ensure that there is equality in service delivery. I would apply this lesson in the workplace by ensuring that every individual has a clear understanding of the meaning of ethics, as well as, educating my colleagues on the four basic principles of ethics that are required in the healthcare

Fnancial Accounting Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Fnancial Accounting - Case Study Example Our opinions, based on our audits, are presented below. In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of income, of stockholders' equity and of cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Ford Motor Company and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2006 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstate ment. ... We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit of financial statements includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. Our audit was conducted for the purpose of forming an opinion on the basic financial statements taken as a whole. The accompanying sector balance sheets and the related sector statements of income and of cash flows is presented for purposes of additional analysis and is not a required part of the basic financial statements. Such information has been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the basic financial statements and, in our opinion, is fairly stated in all material respects in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole. As discussed in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for conditional asset retirement obligations in 2005. As discussed in Notes 23, 12, and 10, respectively, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans, the timing of its annual goodwill and other intangible assets impairment testing, and its amortization method for special tools in 2006.Internal control over

Education is a significant tool Essay Example for Free

Education is a significant tool Essay Rodriguez and Freire could share an agreement on the fact that education is a significant tool on the path leading to success. Freire would disagree with Rodriguez on the fact that there is no â€Å"end of education†. Richard Rodriguez and Paolo Freire write of education as the core factor in ones life. Two Million Minutes, the film makes the argument that U.S. students are performing at a mediocre level, at best, in math and science, and that this cannot stand, given the growing economic and educational might of nations like China and India. U.S. student’s aren’t being pushed hard enough and are just getting by through high school, with the help of The Banking Concept of Education and The Achievement of Desire we can make a change in the student’s education and attitudes towards wanting to be successful in life. Through Freire’s lens, Richard Rodriguez would be seen as a banking student, but could later be seen as a problem-posing student throughout the course of his life; in the eyes of Freire, Rodriguez was considered a receptacle which he did not understand the knowledge he absorbed. With this comparison, the reader can conclude that the banking education is a great part of a student’s life; as seen in the documentary, 2 Million Minutes, students use all their time they have in high school, studying, memorizing their school curriculum in order to get a great education at a high level university to become very successful in their lives. This all ties into how the political aspect of the classroom has an impact on the society as a whole and having this power can change generations to come. The types of relationships Rodriguez had with his teachers, family and in life was affected by specific styles of education and as he looked through Freire’s lens of the banking concept, he came to realized that that method of education had a detrimental effect on his life. Early on in Rodriguez’s essay he illustrates the characteristics of an automaton which confirmed Freire’s views regarding the banking concept. Despite his definition of a â€Å"scholarship boy†, Rodriguez lacked self-confidence which led him to be overpowered by his teachers and his books. Through Freire’s lens, Rodriguez would be considered a waste basket. He was filled not only with his  teacher’s knowledge, but also with information obtained from his â€Å"important† books. Rodriguez seems to be a classic student of Freire’s banking system. Rodriguez shows signs of fleeing away from the ways of the banking concept early on. He concedes by saying, â€Å"I became the prized student anxious and eager to learn. â€Å"Too eager, too anxious an imitative and unoriginal pupil.† At the time Rodriguez was simply just absorbing the narrated information that he obtained from his teachers and books. Even though he was able to narrate the information he received, he did not truly know or understand the knowledge he absorbed. Rodriguez and Freire both state that education is vital for success. Freire states that, Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry (Freire 3).Rodriguez did not question or analyze the information; he simply accepted and deposited the knowledge without any doubts. By learning to use his education wisely and make connections between different texts, he heightened his intelligence. In 2 Million Minutes the featured American students Neil and Brittany are certainly intelligent, but they seem more concerned with extracurricular activities and friends than with their studies. Indian students Rohit and Apoorva, however, and Chinese students Xiaoyuan and Ruizhang all plan careers in math or science, and their families and schools support these goals. The film incorporates these students’ descriptions of their high school experiences and future aspirations with the hopes of their parents, and filmmakers juxtapose scenes from the different homes and schools. As it states â€Å"knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing.†(pg.1) Freire is stating that the students do not know anything and that the job of the teacher is to fill the piggy bank of the students minds with coins of knowledge. If we just give the students what they want and don’t allow them to engage back then they aren’t really learning anything. They should both be able to state their opinions, have conversations in which both students and teachers participate, and the students should have the opportunity to lead discussions. This way students develop a relationship with their teachers, their peers, and the world. This will enable them to receive an education where the teachers do not oppress the students, and there is a dialectical relationship between the two;  showing that they care and really want to be informed and learn something new. Although Freire and Rodriguez have different opinions, they both agree that education is the dominating event in the shaping of an adult life. Paulo Freire and Richard Rodriguez opinions of education are almost completely opposed, but they come to a conclusion of agreement in that the primary educational goal is to form a relationship with oneself, and with the world. Rodriguez spent many years of education fulfilling the â€Å"banking† concept, and although he later recognizes the loss it entailed, he primarily believes that imitation plays an important role in the process of education for one must do this to succeed. Here, Freire would argue that the educational system is currently oppressive towards the students, and that there is a sense of necrophilia behind it all, that being the love of death. This love of death, he explains, is the technique of teaching based on memory. Rodriguez would contradict this explanation of education, relaying that â€Å"banking† plays a large role in the success of the student. Freire and Rodriguez have opposing views on the ideas of imitation, alienation, and power, Freire believing all of these concepts need to be removed or reformed and Rodriguez believing that they are important aspects for academic success. Freire’s view on Rodriguez is that he truly didn’t understand what he was being taught, and that’s where The Banking Concept of Education comes in which Rodriguez isn’t communicating with his teachers he’s just listening to what he’s being taught. Paulo Freire and Richard Rodriguez have contradictory views concerning education. Paulo Freire discusses the negativities of present education and explains how it should be reformed, whereas Rodriguez illustrates his own life in education, and how it led him to be the person he is today. Freire believes in â€Å"problem posing education† which consists of an alive, dynamic change in students, allowing them to become humanized with a relationship with the world. 2 Million Minutes it stated that U.S. students aren’t focused and determined to do well in school like those in other countries like India and china. In comparison between the United States with China and India, there is a definite difference between the difficulties of the curriculum within the educational system. Even though we would believe that the educational system in U.S. is the complete and the most perfect one in the world; the amount of the curriculum contents students learn are actually a lot less than students in China and  India. Freire would argue that if Rodriguez was educated under the method of problem-posing he would have embraced his home life and would have developed as an individual. In the end Rodriguez had balanced his life out and reconnected with his family. Education in the end helped Rodriguez realize that other elements of his life are important. Both Freire and Rodriguez believe that a person cannot be without education.

Human Resource Managements Function In Organisations

Human Resource Managements Function In Organisations Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers. Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training. Definition of HRM: William R. Tracey, in The Human Resources Glossary defines Human Resources as: The people that staff and operate an organization; as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an organization. Human Resources is also the organizational function that deals with the people and issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, and training. A Human Resource is a single person or employee within your organization. What Is the Human Resource Department? Answer: Departments are the entities organizations form to organize people, reporting relationships, and work in a way that best supports the accomplishment of the organizations goals. Departments are usually organized by functions such as human resources, marketing, administration, and sales. But, a department can be organized in any way that makes sense for the customer. Departments can also be organized by customer, by product, or by region of the world. Impact of HRM on Human Resource Function : HRM function contributes to organisational effectiveness in the following ways: Helping the organization reach its goals. Employing the abilities and skills of the workforce efficiently. Providing the organisation with well-trained and well-motivated employees. Increasing the fullest the employees job satisfaction and self actualisation. Developing and maintaining a quality of work life that makes employment in the organisation desirable. Communicating HRM policies to all employees. Helping to maintain ethical policies and socially responsible behaviour. Managing change to the mutual advantage of individuals, groups, the enterprise and the public. The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they cant yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have-and are aware of-personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have. Some people distinguish a difference between HRM (a major management activity) and HRD (Human Resource Development, a profession). Those people might include HRM in HRD, explaining that HRD includes the broader range of activities to develop personnel inside of organizations, including, e.g., career development, training, organization development, etc. There is a long-standing argument about where HR-related functions should be organized into large organizations, e.g., should HR be in the Organization Development department or the other way around? The HRM function and HRD profession have undergone major changes over the past 20-30 years. Many years ago, large organizations looked to the Personnel Department, mostly to manage the paperwork around hiring and paying people. More recently, organizations consider the HR Department as playing an important role in staffing, training and helping to manage people so that people and the organization are performing at maximum capability in a highly fulfilling manner. Models and Phases in HRM debate Task 1 b EVALUATE THE ROLE OF STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN RELATION TO THE ORGANISATIONS BROADER OBJECTIVES, EVALUATE HR PRACTICES IN BOTH PROFIT MAKING AND NOT FOR PROFIT PRGANISATIONS. Strategic Human Resource Management Definition of HYPERLINK http://www.strategic-human-resource.com/definition-of-strategy.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.strategic-human-resource.com/definition-of-strategy.htmlStrategyHYPERLINK http://www.strategic-human-resource.com/definition-of-strategy.html A strategy is a step-by-step plan of action prepared by an organization and by which it aims to achieve its plan or plans, thus, ensuring its success and survival. Strategic management may be understood as the process of formulating, implementing and evaluating business strategies to achieve organizational objectives. Analysis of the environment, formulation of strategies, implementation of strategies, and evaluation and control are the phases in the strategic management process. Strategic Human Resource Definition Strategic human resource defines employees as a resource, an asset, that provides competitive advantage to an organization, and on whom organizational success is leveraged. This is the new way adopted by many organizations in the treatment of their employees, making them the prime drivers or one of the prime movers of corporate success. People, not machines, not systems, not other assets, are in the special position in helping the organization attain its objectives. These other things, however, are also important. But people are needed to make use of them in productive ways. Some companies are now convinced that their people are the most important asset. And that without them, they cannot achieve much. In this way, they are implementing a strategic human resource management approach. Human Resource Strategy Definition This is the step-by-step plan of action by which an organization employs, utilizes or manages, develops, and deploys its human resources in order to attain its defined corporate mission and objectives. A human resource strategy is devised in respect of recruitment, employee deployment, motivation and engagement, and employee retention. By doing this, an organization puts itself in the position of being able to achieve its mission and objectives through its human resources. This follows from the way how strategic human resource is strategically defined. Strategic Human Resource Management This is the effective way of organizing the workforce by the adoption of a specific strategy, where employees performance can help to achieve the planned organizational targets, such as increasing revenue or improving the profit margin. Strategic human resource management is human resource management carried out in a strategic way. The human resource activities are linked to the achievement of the organizations overall objectives. This is the new way of managing human resources as compared to personnel management. Strategic HR Plan Strategic human resource plan refers to the strategic plan whereby employees energy, time, capabilities, competencies and knowledge are incorporated in a step-by-step plan of action so that their contribution can be monitored and measured over time. By doing this, human resource can become the prime drivers of corporate success. The human resource plan is aligned to the corporate plan. The primary goal of strategic human resource plan is to improve employee productivity thus helping to generate higher revenue for the organization. Why must your organization be concerned about strategic Human Resource Management? Organizations, particularly business entities, must succeed financially if they are to survive. This is the reason why business plans are prepared. This is one of the simple ways in understanding the important factors related to strategic human resource. Your organization, too, has its business plan. The only thing left to do is to make it a reality. When you adopt a strategic HR Management plan, there is a high probability that certain positive results will ensue. This can result in the following: Enhancement of your organizations economic performance Increase in employee and organizational productivity Increase in your survival rate as a corporate entity Lower labour turnover Increase in customer satisfaction Your HR function does not become redundant due to value-adding quality Pfeiffer lists seven dimensions of effective people management. Employment security Rigorous selection of employees Self-managed teams and decentralized decision making Comparatively high compensation linked to individual and organizational performance Extensive training Reduced status distinctions, and Extensive sharing of financial and performance information throughout the organization Formulate strategies to ensure that you can attain these objectives. In order to ensure that employees can play their respective role in the organization, you need an HR plan of action. You need to conduct HR strategic planning to this effect. Further to this, you need to train and develop your people in order that they have the knowledge and skills to perform their respective tasks. Human Resource Strategic Approach In strategic Human Resource management, you can choose to place emphasis on HYPERLINK http://www.strategic-human-resource.com/human-resources-performance-management.htmlperformance improvement and competitive advantage.HYPERLINK http://www.strategic-human-resource.com/human-resources-performance-management.html This has the potential of leading to industrial conflicts. You also have the choice of adopting the soft approach. This approach takes into consideration an employees superior know-how, commitment, motivation and job satisfaction. Some argue that this approach is manipulative. But there is more to the HRM approach than this. Implementation Process The process adopted by organizations may differ. Your HR Manager and HR professionals can assist as this is their role. Formulate your HR mission and objectives to provide the connecting link between all HR management activities. Clearly define and understand your HR strategic intent. R. Collins states: Improvement in the strategic management of people also requires a commitment to sustained long-term action. Understand the business carried out by your organization. This includes HR Managers and HR professionals. Choose the strategy you will adopt to migrate from people business to business business. This is making HR as Strategic Partner. Formulate your HR strategic plan, understand what it is intended to achieve, and how to link it to the overall business objectives. Implement the plan. This requires a strategic implementation plan to ensure the plan is understood and accepted by everyone in the organization. Obtain feedback on outcomes. Use these as inputs in future decision making. Review and amend plan accordingly, communicate and re-implement. Human Resource Management Strategy To ensure a high probability of success in the implementation of strategic human resource management, a number of things are necessary. Strategic recruitment where the right person is selected to fill the right job and according to organizational needs Using the right mix of incentives to motivate and engage employees who then can concentrate improving their performance Appointment of the right HR Head to provide the necessary leadership in making HR as a strategic partner An HR mission statement with well defined HR objectives drawn up in alignment with the overall organizational objectives Provision of the right set of training and development programs on an on-going basis to every level of employees Implementation of a performance management system to identify high-performing employees for the purpose of giving rewards befitting their performance, work quality and output Giving recognition and implementing a fair rewards system to retain quality employees The Human Resource Function Someone, somewhere within your organization must carry out the HR function. If not, your organization cannot fulfill its legal and contractual obligations towards employees. So, who are responsible for the HR function? Human Resource Managers are appointed for important purposes. HR professionals are there to help them. Your organization may have appointed an HR Manager or an HR Director or both. If your organization is very serious about implementing strategic human resource management, appointing an HR director goes a long way in ensuring that the HR plan is treated as important as the organizations business plan. He or she can provide the necessary leadership on all matters relating to HR. Whatever is the approach, it is crucial that you have a competent person looking after this important function. It is important to remember that HR leaders do face a lot of different problems. Capable professionals are what your organization needs to succeed in implementing strategic HR management. Note however, that a survey had shown that there are still a lot of organizations who do not place much importance to human resource. Surely, your organization doesnt want to follow suit. Some organizations may have even decentralized or outsourced the entire function. The Better Option Decentralizing the entire HR function goes against the new development and trends in HR management. However, you can decentralize certain human resource activities to line managers. When you do this, provide them with all the necessary support. Make your line managers responsible for the occupational health and safety issues in their own area of operations, the training of their subordinates, recruitment for their respective sections according to needs, and the performance appraisal of their subordinates. Integration of Strategic Human Resource Management into Planning and Decision Making Process It is now accepted that without people, achieving result is practically impossible. In managing your people, prepare a long-term plan to integrate your organizational goals with HR policies and actions. Strategies are implemented in identified key HR areas to improve employee motivation and productivity. You need to see whether your HR strategies are competitive enough as compared to industry standards. Benchmark them while exercising due care. Information must freely flow throughout the organization. You can ensure that this can by adopting an effective informantion system. Strategic Human Resource Management and Business Strategy Strategic Human Resource management helps to identify the business strategy that you can adopt. For example, you implement an effective training and performance improvement plan to improve customer service. More satisfactory customer service will bring in more revenue. You can use this superior performance to determine the rewards. This, in turn, motivates your employees to perform better. Learning forms a necessary part of improving human resource management both on the part of employees and management. The 7 S of HRM attempts to simplify the important characteristics of human resource management. Thereafter, conduct a more in-depth examination. So what are the 7S of HRM? Strategic-ally-linked to the organizations Mission and Objectives Standard-based, that is, people management is benchmarked against current best HR practices that serve as performance measures Systematic, that is, sound and clearly-defined HR policy, well-planned systems and procedures aimed at achieving strategic HR objectives while, at the same time, complying with the law Stretching people in the performance of their duties and responsibilities on a daily basis in order to achieve service excellence Strengthening the ability and competencies of employees and the capability and capacity of organizations to accomplish defined targets Stress-tested capability, ability and leadership skills of the management team, and Sustaining high employee and organizational productivity on a continuous basis based on TQM standards The Future of Strategic HR Management Proponents of strategic HR management generated tremendous interest on the subject. Some large organizations had implemented it. In contrast, some lament the ineffectual efforts by many organizations in implementing the system. Strategic human resource management is not going to disappear. This is so as long as people continue to run organizations of whatever size and for whatever purpose. If HRM Does Not Take The Lead, Who Will? If HRM does not start down the relationship management path, someone else will, and as old HRM continues to be outsourced, one must wonder what will be left for todays HR executives? Relationship management is an opportunity that can be seized by HR executives who are truly strategic and who understand what is needed succeed today and remain competitive as the business landscape continues to evolve and change. Evaluate HR practise in both profit making and not-for-profit making organisations Any organization, may it be profit oriented or not-for-profit, the most vital asset is its employees. And for these organizations to maximize their assets, they should manage the employees working condition with intelligence and efficiency. They must be allowed to be involved in making work-related decisions to further enhance the organizational structure . Furthermore, the structure of tasks among the employees strengthens the organizational performance. It is therefore necessary to understand the employees for the organization to be effective. The development, building, motivation, enhancement and enrichment of the employees of any organization largely depend on the leadership, mandate and vision of the organization . Traditionally, HRM is the helps the organizations in achieving the goals of the organization by hiring and maintaining efficient employees. According to (2002), the following are some of the responsibilities of HRM: Train the workforce to maintain competitiveness of the organization. Develop and communicate industrial policies and procedures in line with legislation. Involvement in grievance and disciplinary hearings. Lead negotiations. Implement termination and hiring procedures. Assessment and management of organizational climate and employees relations. Liaison with trade unions. Implementation of outcomes of collective bargaining and negotiation. Develop compensation strategies and polices in line with legislation and the organizations business strategy. Attach meaningful monetary values to posts in the organization ensuring that the organizations compensation is in line with market forces. Develop appropriate compensation systems for the organization. Manage overall labour costs. Provide current information regarding employees to be used in the decision-making process and measurement of HRMs contribution to the organization. For example: In this case, Tesco has 240,000 employees that contributed to the  £33.974 billion GBP in 2005. The apparent effective implementation of HR functions by the HR personnel of Tesco is a basis itself to prove that HR strategy is a tool for competitive advantage. Being governed by CEO , Tesco provided comprehensive execution of the HR function with respect to the employees welfare. Aside from the continuous strategic planning and innovation, customer relations and welfare management, as well as HRM and its strategies, Tesco gained its respected reputation and dominance in UK retailing sector. HR and Organizations Performance In the era of globalization, every organization like Tesco must keep itself along with all the other organizations on being globally competitive. Corporate or organizational competitive advantage does not only depend on the organizations financial resources but on the human resources too. That is, for the organization to achieve competitive advantage, the people involved in the organization must also be competitive. HR strategies or HRM in general, is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques. It is about understanding, researching, applying and revising all human resource activities in their internal and external contexts as they impact the process of managing human resources in enterprises throughout the global environment to enhance the experience of multiple stakeholders, including investors, customers, employees, partners, suppliers, environment and society. Task 1 C DISCUSS CONTRIBUTION MADE BY HRM IN CONTROLLING THE MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE The constant evaluation of the effectiveness of the organization results in the need for the HR professional to frequently champion change. Both knowledge about and the ability to execute successful change strategies make the HR professional exceptionally valued. Knowing how to link change to the strategic needs of the organization will minimize employee dissatisfaction and resistance to change. The HR professional contributes to the organization by constantly assessing the effectiveness of the HR function. He also sponsors change in other departments and in work practices. To promote the overall success of his organization, he champions the identification of the organizational mission, vision, values, goals and action plans. Finally, he helps determine the measures that will tell his organization how well it is succeeding in all of this. Increasingly, change management is seen as a permanent business function to improve efficiency and keep organizations adaptable to the competitive marketplace. Many organizations strategically use change to improve organizational effectiveness. But bringing about successful change in todays competitive environment requires thoughtful planning, effective communication and employee acceptance. As the function with primary responsibility for human capital management, HR needs to be involved from the beginning when major organizational change initiatives are being developed. The impact of major organizational changes on employee attitudes cannot be overstated. Change can create enormous tension in the workplace. Many people are uncomfortable with change, and are filled with uncertainty and apprehension over job security and the future, circumstances that can threaten the success of change initiatives. According to the Society for Human Resource Managements (SHRM) 2007 Change Management Survey Report, the top two obstacles encountered during major organizational change are communication breakdown and employee resistance. HR leaders can help get employee support for change initiatives by ensuring that communications about change are clear, constant and consistent. Communication largely determines how change initiatives are received and supported, and most HR professionals have highly developed communication skills. SHRMs survey found that when HR was involved in change management communications, employee understanding improved, communication between managerial and non-managerial employees improved, and potential risks were identified and mitigated. Communication that fails to engage employees and to inform them of the reasons, processes and expected benefits of major organizational changes can lead to lack of employee buy-in and, ultimately, failure of change initiatives. Research shows that HR is the critical link to successful organizational change. To ensure agreement of stake-holders at all levels of the organization, HR can foster effective change management by clearly communicating the organizations vision, carefully designing change initiatives, providing updates at all stages of the program, and engaging both top management and employees throughout the process. When it comes to organizations, HR has a pivotal role to play in ensuring that change is realized, hopes are met, and success is sustainable. And thats a recurring theme that is here to stay. Task 2 a DISCUSS THE NEED FOR LEARNING IN ORGANISATIONS TODAY AND EVALUATE THE ROLE OF BOTH THE ORGANISATIONS AND THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS TODAY Why do we want a Learning Organization? because it gives organizations the possibilities to discover who they are, where they want to go, and define the quality of life they wish to pursue. A Learning Organization is an organization that focuses on continually growing and changing through the acquisition of knowledge. Such an organization fosters an environment of knowledge sharing and encourages employees to gain new knowledge. Such knowledge increases the organizations profitability and customer satisfaction. In the Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge describes learning organizations as places where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together. It is widely recognized that innovation is driven by new knowledge, and there is clear relationship between learning and knowledge, but it is this balance between learning and knowledge that is so critical to successful knowledge management and innovation. To achieve a sustainable competitive advantage where new knowledge results in critical innovation it is necessary to develop both a superior knowledge capability balanced by a superior learning capability. Those organizations who are adept at knowledge capabilities but are also less adept at learning capabilities will likely see their competitive position eroded by those organizations with less knowledge but a greater capacity to learn and then catch-up. And for that reason it is critical for any learning organization to gain new knowledge from which learning can occur, and to learn from application of current knowledge and to use this learning as a driver to obtain new knowledge. The learning organization focuses on its systems as part of the bigger picture to identify opportunities to use knowledge and learning to increase knowledge and intellectual capacity and improve performance. The Need for the LEARNING ORGANIZATION The nature of the environment has changed dramatically due to significant economic, social and technological changes over the past decades. Organizations today are confronted with increasing environmental turbulence arising from global competition, the introduction of new technologies, shortened product lifecycles and political and social pressures. Organizations, today must be flexible and learn to anticipate changes and respond rapidly. Today, learning makes the critical difference among organizations. Learning can hardly be described as a new characteristic of organizations. Organizational learning is as old as organizations themselves. What is new, is an increased awareness of the connections between learning and competitive ability as well as better insight into the conditions for effective learning. In the long term it is said that learning will only provide competitive advantage to organizations that learn faster and better than their competitors. Changes in the business environment have significant implications for learning World-Class Organizations Any organization in business cannot afford to stand still. It must improve its ability to deliver higher quality goods and services at competitive prices or it will go out of existence. This trend has resulted in emergence of World Class Organizations (WCOs), in which enterprises can compete effectively on a global basis. This does not mean the organization has to do business in an international level. However, if a Multi National Enterprise (MNE) sets up operation locally, the WCO must be able to compete effectively or if it is a supplier, it must make a competitive bid to supply the MNE with the desired goods. Simply stated, enterprises now use their competitive advantage to invade international markets, and local companies should meet the challenge. Figure 1 illustrates as how to be more than just being a total quality or adaptive organization. It means learning how to anticipate and stay ahead at impending changes (qualities of learning organizations) and how to continuously improve to maintain a competitive advantage. What do organizations need to do to become WCOs? There are six pillars of WCOs and each represents a human relations challenge. They are depicted here: Table 1. Characteristics of a Learning Organization and Associated Best Practices Characteristic Definition Associated Best Practices Positive Byproducts Self mastery- individual The ability to honestly and openly see reality as it exists; to clarify ones personal vision 1.Positive reinforcement from role models/managers 2.Sharing experiences 3.More interaction time between supervisory levels 4.Emphasis on feedback 5.Balance work/non-work life Greater commitment to the organization and to work; less rationalization of negative events; ability to face limitations and areas for improvement; ability to deal with change Mental models individual The ability to compare reality or personal vision with perceptions; reconciling both into a coherent understanding 1.Time for learning 2.Reflective openness 3.Habit of inquiry 4.Forgiveness of oneself 5.Flexibility/adaptability Less use of defensive routines in work; less reflexivity that leads to dysfunctional patterns of behavior; less avoidance of difficult situations Shared vision group The ability of a group of individuals to hold a shared picture of a mutually desirable future 1.Participative openness 2.Trust 3.Empathy towards others 4.Habit of dissemination 5.Emphasis on cooperation 6.A common

Analysis of Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson Essay -- Papers Poetry Poe

Analysis of Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson In the poem "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the readers are shown a great king in the later years of his life. The reader finds Ulysses reflecting on the glorious days of his youth and planning that by some means he will obtain those glorious times again. He refuses to accept a future of growing old and ruling his kingdom. Ulysses will not let the rest of his life pass him by just sitting still on his throne, doing the mundane job of ruling a kingdom. Ulysses has reached the twilight years in his life and yet he refuses to give in to the fate that time has for all men. Ulysses states in the second stanza, "I cannot rest from travel; I will drink / Life to the lees."(line 9-10) With this statement from Ulysses the reader is shown that he has become very disillusioned about whatever life his throne could bring him if he were to stay at home and run the kingdom. The reader discovers what Ulysses thinks he has to do with the rest of his life when he states "I am become a name; / For always roaming with a hungry heart". (11-1...

Free Essays - Fatal Flaws in Hamlet -- Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Fatal Flaws in Hamlet          In the ending to Shakespeare's Hamlet, each of the main characters fatal flaws leads them inevitably to their destruction.   The process of the play could not lead one anywhere else but to their ultimate fate.   Claudius is basically an opportunist whose blind ambition erases his moral sense.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gertrude, through the eyes of Hamlet, is to eager to remarry her husbands brother.   Hamlet himself, driven both by his need for vengeance and his inability to act was perhaps as guilty as anyone else in the play because his behavior indirectly resulted in the deaths of Ophelia, Rosencratz and Goldenstein.   In each of these characters, the lack of the firm moral structure leads them in only one direction which is toward their death.   In the ending of the play, then, is both inevitable and fitting given the evidence that precede it.    In the case of Claudius, his actions betray a moral feeling from the start.   Having first murdered his brother in cold blood, he then proceeded ... Free Essays - Fatal Flaws in Hamlet -- Shakespeare Hamlet Essays Fatal Flaws in Hamlet          In the ending to Shakespeare's Hamlet, each of the main characters fatal flaws leads them inevitably to their destruction.   The process of the play could not lead one anywhere else but to their ultimate fate.   Claudius is basically an opportunist whose blind ambition erases his moral sense.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gertrude, through the eyes of Hamlet, is to eager to remarry her husbands brother.   Hamlet himself, driven both by his need for vengeance and his inability to act was perhaps as guilty as anyone else in the play because his behavior indirectly resulted in the deaths of Ophelia, Rosencratz and Goldenstein.   In each of these characters, the lack of the firm moral structure leads them in only one direction which is toward their death.   In the ending of the play, then, is both inevitable and fitting given the evidence that precede it.    In the case of Claudius, his actions betray a moral feeling from the start.   Having first murdered his brother in cold blood, he then proceeded ...

The Big Sleep - The Movie and The Book :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

The Big Sleep - The Movie and The Book One would think that it would be quite easy to adapt a novel to a screenplay; after all, what is there to do but turn the dialogue into lines and description into set design? However, common sense, aided by the horrifying number of absolutely awful adaptations, dictates that it simply is not that easy. When moviegoers have problems with a film adaptation of a book, their complaints tend to lie in the tendency of the creators of the film to change elements of the story: plot, character, and the like. It would seem, then, that the best way to make a successful adaptation of a novel would be to just stay as true as possible to every detail mentioned in the book. However, staying as true as possible to plot points, character type, and the like may be the best way to a horrendous adaptation. In moving from the printed page to the silver screen, moviemakers must be aware that they are not simply reproducing a narrative&emdash;they are changing the medium by which the narrative is presented. Oddly enough, cinema lends itself easily to some of the tenets of writing well: namely, the command of, "show, don't tell." In cinema, there is no option, really, of telling, "the details are not asserted as such by a narrator but simply presented." (Chatman 406). The use of a voiceover, of course, is an option, but even the voice of an omniscient narrator cannot stop the viewer from seeing the images and interpreting what he sees. In movies, the viewer does his own telling. The very nature of The Big Sleep, then, makes adaptation difficult. The entire narrative is described by a character within the story space: Marlowe tells us the entire story. Our view of the plot, then, is clouded by Marlowe's sight. Being a character within the story space, he has his own feelings and his own reactions to what happens to and around him, and he passes those reactions&emdash;albeit unconsciously&emdash;to the reader, who, also unconsciously, picks up on them. Marlowe does not act the role of mediator, though, in the film version of The Big Sleep. The Big Sleep - The Movie and The Book :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast The Big Sleep - The Movie and The Book One would think that it would be quite easy to adapt a novel to a screenplay; after all, what is there to do but turn the dialogue into lines and description into set design? However, common sense, aided by the horrifying number of absolutely awful adaptations, dictates that it simply is not that easy. When moviegoers have problems with a film adaptation of a book, their complaints tend to lie in the tendency of the creators of the film to change elements of the story: plot, character, and the like. It would seem, then, that the best way to make a successful adaptation of a novel would be to just stay as true as possible to every detail mentioned in the book. However, staying as true as possible to plot points, character type, and the like may be the best way to a horrendous adaptation. In moving from the printed page to the silver screen, moviemakers must be aware that they are not simply reproducing a narrative&emdash;they are changing the medium by which the narrative is presented. Oddly enough, cinema lends itself easily to some of the tenets of writing well: namely, the command of, "show, don't tell." In cinema, there is no option, really, of telling, "the details are not asserted as such by a narrator but simply presented." (Chatman 406). The use of a voiceover, of course, is an option, but even the voice of an omniscient narrator cannot stop the viewer from seeing the images and interpreting what he sees. In movies, the viewer does his own telling. The very nature of The Big Sleep, then, makes adaptation difficult. The entire narrative is described by a character within the story space: Marlowe tells us the entire story. Our view of the plot, then, is clouded by Marlowe's sight. Being a character within the story space, he has his own feelings and his own reactions to what happens to and around him, and he passes those reactions&emdash;albeit unconsciously&emdash;to the reader, who, also unconsciously, picks up on them. Marlowe does not act the role of mediator, though, in the film version of The Big Sleep.

My values

It has been reiterated from our class discussions that values are the things that really matter to us. (Lopper, 2006) And, as we further discussed this subject, we have discovered that it really has a big influence on our wants and needs. Our values guide us to make decision and even how to run our everyday lives. In assessing our wants and needs, we are unconsciously contributing betterment or demise to the world. So, it is important to channel in to our inner selves to know what really want and need so that in the end, we will find the things that we most cherish and cultivate it to add some goodness in the world. Our values can either be our belief, our principles and sometimes, even our family. Even voicing out your opinion is considered a value. Now, as I sit and write the values that I treasure most, I found out that aside from my family, I also deeply care about the environment and love. As clichà © as it may sound, we should take care of our environment because after all, we are all going to benefit from it and our future children as well. With the onset of technology and our desire to acquire what is the latest, it is heartbreaking to know that a lot of trees, tribes, etc. must be sacrificed just to have out wants. But, to compensate for our advancing technology, it is also glad to know that we are now beginning to take into considerations the environment—this can be best epitomized by the commercialization of the hybrid cars and the abundance of solar-generating houses in some parts of the world. Still, there are â€Å"quite† parts of the world wherein we continue to manipulate their resources so that we can have our personal satisfaction and gains. Now, from what I have learned from our discussions, all I can say is that, we should all make an effort, no matter how small it is, to make this world a little cleaner. For my part, I have started doing so through my small ways like throwing my trash in the trashcan (or if ever there is no trashcan, I make sure that I keep it in my pocket and dispose it in our house) and religiously segregating the biodegradables from the non-biodegradables. Also, I started to make a compost pit at our house so that I can grow organic vegetables in the future. Lastly, I tell smokers to quit the habit because it only adds up to air pollution. As for the other value that I treasure most, it is so overrated but if we analyze it thoroughly, it is surprising to know that we can only achieve the things that we want in this world (i.e. peace, justice, unity, etc.) if we love ourselves enough. I believe that if we love ourselves enough, it is the only time that we can share that love and consequently, build respect for others. And with respect, there comes understanding and then justice and peace. It is a very extraordinary concept but it just all boil into that. I also have to emphasize that this love that I deeply value is not filial in nature but for the greater good. And, as a first step in achieving this idealistic want (or need), I must admit that I do not have enough love with me to share with others but I am starting to gather love by knowing myself more and talking to my inner self more often and appreciating the value of everything that I see and treasure. The two values that I treasure most seem conventional but the way I see it, there is nothing too conventional if we want to have a better world. As said in our discussions, we should know our wants and needs because it leads to some make-or-brake decisions in our lives and in the course of the world as well. We all want and definitely need a better world and we can achieve this through the values that are instilled in us or our beliefs and principles that we genuinely cherish. After all, all our values should be for the improvement of ourselves and for others. And I believe that for us to have a better living environment, it must start from ourselves. In conclusion, for us to have a better world and a proper knowledge of ourselves, it is imperative to have a step-by-step procedure to achieve those desires and these can be done even in the most modest ways. And these steps will only begin from us if we only consider our wants and needs and integrate it to our values but we have to keep in mid that these values should be for the benefit of us. REFERENCES: Lopper, J. (2006). What are values? [Electronic Version]. Retrieved September 27, 2007 from http://personaldevelopment.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_are_values_.   

Unemployment

Donuts starting business in Argentina Till Penitence International Business Bachelor's Thesis Supervisor: Joan Aloofer School of Business Bachelor's Degree Program in International Business Nickel Campus Introduction Dunking' Donuts is an American global coffee chain based in Massachusetts, U. S. It's also known for its doughnuts. Dunking' Donuts has positioned itself as a high quality but still affordable fast-food outlet with full-day dining opportunities. Dunking' Donuts was founded by William Rosenberg in 1948, but its name was first Open Kettle.After one year name was changed to Kettle Donuts and in 1950 many adapted Dunking' Donuts as its name. Nowadays Dunking' Donuts is one of the leading coffee chain brands with over 11,000 restaurants all over the world. Dunking' Donuts was long time known mainly in America but in recent decades it has been opening cafe ©s all around the world, operating now in 33 different countries – it serves daily over 3 million customers. Dunk ing' Donuts have a great variety of different products, for instance 52 different donuts and over dozen different beverages. Dunking' Donuts.Dunking' Donuts got new owners in 2006 and those new owners outlined an extremely ambitious growth strategy, for example, they're trying to triple the size of Dunking' Donuts in next ten years. (M and S, 2009; http:// news. Dunderheads. Com, 2014) Argentina is one of the largest South American countries with population over 40 million. Its population is still growing, but fairly slowly because of the steadily declining birth rate. Argentina's border countries are Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Argentina has been a big country of immigration during its history – it has been attracting especially people from Italy and Spain. Wry. Counterparts. Org n. D. ) During its history Argentina has faced a lot of economical issues – Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but it has been facing several e conomical downsides. Though the country has since been recovering pretty well, the pace of growth is disappointing – Argentina is now lagging behind most other emerging economies. (http://economic. Blobs. Anytime. Com/ 2009; http:// atmosphere. Com/, n. D. ) In this paper I'll be discussing about Dunking' Donuts' motivations for entering Argentina.I'll be using the PESTLE framework, which includes political, economical, social, technological, legal and environmental aspects f the business context. Political one in 1976. Elections in 1989 meant that first time in 60 years, there was a civil president in the country. Nowadays there isn't a threat of military coups, but the democracy hasn't reach a stabile phase. (The Economist, 2014) (The Global Economy. Com, 2012) Christina Fernando De Kerchief has been a president in Argentina for nearly seven years. She represents the Statistics Party, which is one of the largest political parties in Argentina.Although there are two major pa rties in the congress of Argentina, there are all in all over 31 different political blocs. That makes having consensus extremely difficult. (www. Subcategories. Org/, n. D. ) Because of the big economical crisis in the beginning of 21st century, there was a period of civil unrest and rioting in Argentina. Reason for the uprising was president Fernando De la RÃ'Ëœa who failed to save Argentina from third year of recession – middle class started to upraise against him and his politics. There was a major social unrest growing because of the growing unemployment rates.The crisis peaked on November 29, 2001 , when Argentines outdraw millions of dollars and pesos from their bank accounts. Argentina actually had five presidents in Just two weeks in 2001. Www. En. Wisped. Org, n. D. ) Corruption is a major problem in politics too. All from the president to lower power players have been included in corruption crises, which is the reason why Argentina is ranked at 10th in Corruption I ndex behind countries like Mexico and Greece. (http://polycrystalline. Org, 2012) Political situation in Argentina isn't stabile or even near it.Corruption is a major problem and as Argentina is lacking of political consensus, starting business might be something to think once again. ECONOMIC 100 years ago Argentina actually had the fifth- largest economy in the world. But after overall bad policies and governments Argentina is far away from the largest economies nowadays. During the last few decades Argentinean have been facing many economical swings, all the way from financial crisis and hyperinflation to recession and boom periods. Last major downside was in the 2001-2002, when everything from unemployment rates to criminal peaked. (Wry. Domesticate. Mom, Only way to survive even somehow from the crisis in 2001 was to default and devalue. It has been said that it might have been the most responsible thing ever in Argentina's history. It did limit Argentina's growth because defaul ting cut it from the Actually Argentina has been recovering pretty well the past 13 years from one of its history hardest economical crises. Its GAP growth has been pretty high – especially before the international financial crises. (Wry. Marketing. Com, 2012) Even though Argentina has been recovering fairly well, its future doesn't seem to be as bright as it could be.High unemployment and inflation rates are likely to complicate future growth. And this summer 2014, Argentina defaulted once again. The situation isn't that bad as 2002 as there are still ongoing discussions with banks about shoring up the situation. Http://Americanizes. Saturdays. Com, 2014) Political and economical situation are walking hand in hand as we speak about Argentina. Both are pretty instable, with their ups and downs. At the moment entering to Argentina's markets might not be the best choice. Situation might be better after a few years as the international financial crisis is, or at least hopefully is getting better.SOCIAL Argentina is one of the most urbanize South American countries with several metropolitan areas. Greater Buenos Aries metropolitan area is one of the largest urban areas in the world – there are over 13 million people. Argentina's arbitration percent is over 90% and it has been growing by 1% each year, so it's actually the most urbanize country in Southern America. (HTTPS://www. CIA. Gob, 2014) As the birth rate has been declining, Argentina's growth of population hasn't been so rapid in recent years. Also because of that same reason, amount of inhabitants under 15 years has been shrinking.But fortunately population in ages 15-24 is nowadays largest in Argentina's history. Thanks to that, the working-age population is at the moment very high and will also stay like that pretty long. The amount of working-age population makes it possible for Argentina to have some kind of economic boost in future. (HTTPS://www. CIA. Gob, 2014) Total population by age gr oup and sex, 2010 and 2050 (http://superintendence. Org, 2014) Argentina's education system is mandatory from age 5 to 17, which is one reason why the total adult literacy rate is 97,9%.Nominally university studies are tuition – free and open for everyone, but hidden costs of education are often high, which causes that students need to have a full- time Job while they're studying. (http:// en. Wisped. Org, n. D. ) Argentina actually has one of the highest university drop- out eats. This might cause problems someday, because Argentina will lose motivated and energetic people Just because they can't finish their degrees in universities. (http://en. Wisped. Org, n. D. ) Food culture is very big in Argentina.Thanks to the immigrants from Europe, European food is popular in Argentina – especially Spanish and Italian cuisine. Argentinean consumes the second biggest amounts of beef in the world as it's considered to be the national food in Argentina. Also drink a drink called mate, which is a caffeine- infused drink, is very popular in Argentina. All in all the cafe © culture is gig in Argentina, people are meeting at cafe ©s for a cup of mate or an espresso. Cafe ©s are the heart and soul of urban culture in Argentina – those are places where people meet each other to discuss, watch soccer and socialize. (http://www. Vermiculite. Mom, n. D) Argentina used to have a very large middle class, but because of the recent downsides in the economics, a big part of the former middle- class people is now heading into poverty. Poverty in Argentina varies mostly according to region and provinces. Situations in the northern Argentina have been the worst. Nowadays the poverty rate is about 20% in average. Unemployment rate in Argentina has been extremely high – something near 20% – when the economical situation was in it's worst in the beginning of 21st century. In those times especially low-class people and indigenous people were sufferin g of unemployment.Nowadays unemployment rate stands between 7 – 8%. (http://www. Tragicomedies. Com, 2014; http:// en. Merciless. Com, 2014) All in all from a social aspect entering Argentina wouldn't be that bad decision. As the cafe © culture is strong, a coffee chain brand like Dunking' Donuts would probably be successful in Argentina. Cheap prices and cafe © culture would make it possible. Of course it would be important for Dunking' Donuts to think carefully to which regions to enter as economic situation in Northern parts has been challenging. Technological Argentina has a long history and tradition of technology and science.Also the public support for research and development (R&D) has been intensifying in the last decades. Argentina got loan for $24 in 2013 to fund scholarships for master's degrees and doctoral studies, and another loan for $200 to increase investments in innovation, research and development to improve competitiveness. There is actually a science and technology complex in Buenos Aries. Http://www. Dab. Org, 2011) development and expand its knowledge in science and technological development. Argentina is considered to have a great knowledge in biotechnology and that's actually one of the fields that Argentina is having cooperation with U.S. (http:// Argentina. Assembles. Gob, n. D) In the recent years there has been growth in the IT sector in Argentina, mainly thanks to U. S based companies that has been exploring the talent available in other countries such as Argentina, India and Israel. U. S companies have been extremely interested in Argentina's large number of well-trained engineers and advantages in outsourcing to Argentina. Technological and science situation in Argentina is highly positive. It is also expected to have a boost in near future because of the increasing amount of investments.Dunking' Donuts shouldn't have a problem with technological aspect in Argentina – highly educated people, investments and sta te support are positive things. (Wry. Marketing. Com, 2011) LEGAL Argentinean public confidence in Judiciary is fairly low because of the high level of corruption. The population in Argentina is pretty skeptical about the power of the judicial system to control crime, and they're seeing the police to be a part of the rime problems in Argentina. (http://www. Vermiculite. Com, n. D. ) Foreign investors have equal rights as the domestic investors to own business in Argentina.But because of the high rate of corruption among the high players, foreign companies prefer to include funds for private rather than deal with Argentina's courts. According to the World Bank and International Finance Corporation Enterprise Survey (2010), senior managers in Argentina have faced some problems and difficulties with the requirements of government regulations. Recently these kinds of regulations have been related to import and foreign exchange restrictions. Wry. Liberated. Com, 2011) As Dunking' Donuts rely mostly on franchising, Argentina's legal framework related to franchising is good for Dunking' Donuts.The parties can together reach agreements without any governmental intervention. The law doesn't specifically regulate these agreements – they're called UN-nominated agreements†. Franchising is an exception in Argentina among notary publics; usually there are always specific formalities or registration requirements. (HTTPS://www. Waynesboro. Com, n. D. ) The main problem in Argentina's legal situation is related to corruption and problems that it's causing. Courts aren't so trusted and police is considered to be one of the reasons for high crime rates.As the corruption has been increasing lately, Dunking' Environmental Environmental issues in Argentina are typical for developing countries: poor water and air quality, deforestation, and soil degradation. However there are many authorities that are trying to make things better. Also the government is trying to influe nce environmental issues; Argentina made a pledge with Paraguay to save one of the most threatened forests. Two governments agreed to work towards zero net deforestation in the Atlantic Forest. For instance Argentina will implement new land- use plans that are hoped to protect 1. 1 million hectares of the forest.There is also an environmental education program included in Argentina's primary and secondary education. The main reason for the environmental education program is to teach people some environmental awareness from the early ages. (http://WFM. Panda. Org/) (Wry. Marketing. Com, 2011 ; Poor water is probably one of the biggest problems in Argentina; there are several areas in Argentina that are lacking of non-polluted drinking water. There's still 11% of the population lacking without piped water. Buenos Aries has spent all of its aquifers and is now relying on the river ROI De La Plat to supply water needs.Unfortunately that river is threatened by significant pollution. Rece ntly people in Argentina have been putting pressure on the government because of the poor condition of the country's water supply. (http://www. Disheartening. Com, 2011; (http:// www. Observational. Org/) Dunking' Donuts states in its corporate social responsibility: We are dedicated to serving the basic needs of our local communities – from providing food for the hungry and support for children's health and wellness, to ensuring our spinsterhood are safe and secure† and † We recognize that everything we do has an impact on the environment.

Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement and Strategic Decision-Making

Table of content: Page number Executive Summary—————————————————- 2 Introduction —————————————————– 3 What is Cost Accounting? ——————————————- 5 Importance of data collection —————————————- 6 Accounting data for productivity measurement —————– 7 Accounting data for decision making ——————————- 9 Identifying profitable segment’s using accounting————— 11 Managerial Accounting changes———â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 13 Conclusion —————————————————————- 14 Reference —————————————————————- 15 Executive summary:The report titled ‘Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement and Strategic Decision-Making’ provides an analysis and evaluation of how accounting data is used by companies to promote their profitability and to improve their productivity. Most of the data and information has been collected from online journals. The journals collected were written by renowned professors and researchers from established universities. The journals dealt with not only the importance of data collection for promoting profitable segmen ts but also on the recent change in accounting practices around the world with primary focus on developing countries.Results of the report suggest that data mining is an essential activity for firms who are committed to advance their productivity. The findings also suggest that such information allows for firms to obey their budgets. The report finds that more and more firms have recognized the importance of data collection for their organization and are finding new ways to promote efficient accounting practices. The report also investigates certain limitations of the journals used. The journals are often much generalized rather than using information about a certain organization.Moreover the data provided in the journals ranges over long periods of time through many different firms in many nations. Thus the findings may not be applicable for all firms. Introduction What is managerial accounting? Managerial accounting  is concerned with the provisions and use of  accounting info rmation to managers within organizations, to provide them with the basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions. In contrast to  financial accountancy  information, management accounting information is: * primarily forward-looking, instead of historical model based with a degree of abstraction to support decision making generically, instead of case based * designed and intended for use by managers within the organization, instead of being intended for use by shareholders, creditors, and public regulators * usually confidential and used by management, instead of publicly reported * Computed by reference to the needs of managers, often using  management information systems, instead of by reference to general financial accounting standards.According to the  Institute of Management Accountants  (IMA)-Management accounting is a profession that involves partnering in management decision making, dev ising planning and performance management systems, and providing expertise in financial reporting and control to assist management in the formulation and implementation of an organization's strategy.Managerial accounting as practice extends to the following three areas: * Strategic management—advancing the role of the management accountant as a strategic partner in the organization. * Performance management—developing the practice of business decision-making and managing the performance of the organization. * Risk management—contributing to frameworks and practices for identifying, measuring, managing and reporting risks to the achievement of the objectives of the organization.The Institute of Certified Managerial Accountants (ICMA), states  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A managerial accountant applies his or her professional knowledge and skill in the preparation and presentation of financial and other decision oriented information in such a way as to assist management in the formu lation of policies and in the planning and control of the operation of the undertaking†. Managerial accountants therefore are seen as the value-creators amongst the accountants.They are much more interested in forward looking and taking decisions that will affect the future of the organization, than in the historical recording and compliance aspects of the profession. Managerial accounting knowledge and experience can therefore be obtained from varied fields and functions within an organization, such as information management, treasury, efficiency auditing, marketing, valuation, pricing, logistics, etc. (Managerial Accounting,2011, para:1-2) Importance of Managerial accounting for firms in generalManagerial accountants record financial information for their companies that is used by the organization’s management team to aid in the decision-making process. Managerial accountants develop budgets, perform asset and cost management, and create important reports used by the management team. Managers depend greatly on the information provided by managerial accountants to develop effective business strategies. Small business owners make most of the decisions within their company.The information presented by managerial accountants affects the owner’s ability to make sound business decisions. The two primary functions of managerial accounting in a firm are planning and controlling. Both of these help managers accomplish decision making. Managerial accountants have a dual reporting relationship. As a strategic partner and provider of decision based financial and operational information, managerial accountants are responsible for managing the business team and at the same time having to report relationships and responsibilities to the corporation's finance organization.The activities managerial accountants provide inclusive of forecasting and planning, performing variance analysis, reviewing and monitoring costs inherent in the business are ones that have dual accountability to both finance and the business team. Examples of tasks where accountability may be more meaningful to the business management team vs. the corporate finance department are the development of new product costing,  operations research, business driver metrics, sales management score carding, and client profitability analysis.Conversely, the preparation of certain financial reports, reconciliations of the financial data to source systems, risk and regulatory reporting will be more useful to the corporate finance team as they are charged with aggregating certain financial information from all segments of the corporation. In corporations that derive much of their profits from the information economy, such as banks, publishing houses, telecommunications companies and defense contractors, IT costs are a significant source of uncontrollable spending, which in size is often the greatest corporate cost after total compensation costs and property related costs.A fu nction of management accounting in such organizations is to work closely with the IT department to provide  IT cost transparency. Managerial accountants help drive the success of the business while strict financial accounting is more of a compliance and historical endeavor. The goal of managerial accounting in a firm is to provide information for internal decision making, primarily for planning and control purposes. The types of decisions made by managers rely substantially on accounting information.Because financial accounting information does not provide enough detail for internal decisions, it must be broken into more detail of the individual products or services provided by a company. Not only do managers need to know the cost of a product or service, they need the costs broken into smaller components so they are able to perform what-if analyses and forecasts for the future. Some types of decisions that managers often make include pricing products, dropping a product or produc t line, buying new equipment to replace old, evaluating the performance of managers or divisions of a company, or making rather than buying a part or product.What is Cost Accounting? Cost accounting  is a process of collecting, analyzing, summarizing and evaluating various alternative courses of action (Wikipedia, March 23, 2013, Revised Standard Version). It helps to find out the detailed information to the manager to control operation based on cost efficiency and capability. Managers made decisions for their own firm. So they need to manage the cost regarding productivity and strategic decision making. Cost accounting helps managers to control and manage resources.Strategic decisions based on cost reduction and rising costs are based on cost accounting. Basically the information is designed for managers as they take all the decisions for the organization. Important strategic decision making are made depending on the costs that the company can manage to pay for. Thus cost account ing is an important tool for the managers for productivity management and strategic decision making. Importance of data mining: Data mining is primarily used today by companies with a strong consumer focus.The application of data mining is ever-increasing in today’s business as in enables business to pull out hidden information from huge amount of data for better understanding of the consumers (Chopoorian et al. , 2001). The information is analyzed based on different perspective and summarize into useful data that can be used to increase revenue or cut costs. Although data mining is a relatively new term, but large companies are using it to find co-relation among huge amount of data in large database. The importance’s of data mining for modern business are given below: Data mining is used in restoration of hidden data which helps to extract the valuable information and construct practical analysis for decision making. * Data mining gives financial institutions informat ion about loan and credit reporting (â€Å"Zentut†, â€Å"n. d. †). * It also helps banks detect fraudulent credit card transactions to protect credit card’s owner (â€Å"Zentut†, â€Å"n. d. †). * It is being used ever more for understanding and forecasting consumer buying actions, buying tendency, customer profile and industry analysis (â€Å"Articlebase†, July 18, 2009). Data mining can be used as decision making tools in market research, industry research and competitor analysis which made it more beneficiary for the business industry. * It can manipulate large database swiftly and effectively accomplishes entire data analysis process. * Data mining helps government agency by excavating and scrutinizing records of financial transaction to build molds that can identify money laundering or criminal activities (â€Å"Wordpress†, December 5, 2006). * It can be used in every sector like science, business and others and it is cost effec tive.Limitation: Data mining has uncountable benefits and importance in today’s modern business but it has some limitations. Most of them are based on technological advancement, which is considered as the foremost advantage of data mining. Additional limitations are discussed below: * Security concern: One of the major limitations of data mining is the security issue. Most of the businesses accumulate their customers’ social security number, payroll etc. Hackers can easily go across their accounts and steal such sensitive data of the customers (â€Å"Zentut†, â€Å"n. . †). Thus customers do not feel safe to share information through data mining. To avoid the unwanted security concern, companies ought to take several crucial precautions so that the customers can trust them with no trouble. * Privacy concern: The misuse of internet has threatened the privacy concern among its users. People are afraid to share any of their personal information as it can be collected and used in unethical ways. Customers’ do not prefer to buy goods online in apprehension of getting any information revealed (â€Å"IT Law WIKI†, â€Å"n. . †). As business has to collect many of the information, they must take care about the privacy policy so that the information cannot easily disclose. * Inaccurate information: Unethical businesses or people might use information that is given in data mining for some other purposes or can inequity against some other people. Moreover the information or the assessment published in data mining is not absolutely accurate if the data has been entered wrong. Thus people cannot reliance completely on data mining. Possible benefits:Data mining is useful for modern business today as particular user will be looking for a pattern not for complete data in the database, it is better to read wanted data than unwanted data. There are some other benefits. They are: * Data mining technique is required pattern will be drawn from database with in short time * Data mining software is easy to use and does not require complicated statistical acquaintance and data preprocessing (Chen and Sakaguchi, 2000) * Data mining tools are programmed in such ways, it automatically present data analysis with visual charts and table to assist understandingImportance of Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement: According to Kaydos (1991), â€Å"Productivity and subsequently performance measurement has become more important and has been regarded as a prerequisite for continuous improvement† (as cited in Phusavat & Photaranon, 2006). Accounting data is important for measuring productivity to provide a systematic and comprehensive explanation of changes in profitability. Productivity measurement is one of the criterions for performance analysis of a firm.According to Sink (1985), â€Å"Productivity is simply the relationship between the outputs (goods and services) generated from a system and the inputs pro vided to create those outputs† (as cited in Phusavat & Photaranon, 2006). It is very important that accounting data collected should be correct and reliable otherwise productivity measurement would be inaccurate which will lead to incorrect forecast of cost and profitability data. Both technical and managerial aspects should be recognized in order to ensure successful and sustainable productivity measurement.For this purpose, strong database management is essential in order to ensure timely provision of accounting data for productivity measurement. It is essential to timely collect production-related data and report performance information by the database management to ensure better performance-analysis. According to Harper (1984), â€Å"It is vital for an organization to become continuously more productive in order to sustain its growth† (as cited in Phusavat & Photaranon, 2006). The productivity measurement based on accounting data divides production inputs into five categories such as capital, labour, energy, materials, and services.Productivity also includes unit cost, price, factor proportion, cost proportion, product mix, and input allocation (Phusavat & Photaranon, 2006). Accounting data consisting of integration between productivity, financial performance (i. e. profitability) at the operational level, and features such as opportunity gain/loss is used for productivity and performance measurement. Management report on opportunity gain/loss is useful for future monitoring and evaluation. Accounting data such as concepts of the opportunity gain/loss and the dynamic/static ratios in both single and partial formats are essential for performance measurement.Accounting information such as value-added labor productivity and ROA are also included in measurement technique. More comprehensive analysis of entity by measurements requires more accounting data to be aggregated (Phusavat & Photaranon, 2006). Importance of Accounting in Strategic Decision making: Accounting is essential in managing business performance and the accountants helps to improve decision making by offering strategic and practical advice, by managing risk, and by supporting key decisions at all stages of the decision making process for enhanced productivity and profitability measurements.An accountant can help significantly in the areas of budgeting, investigating, interpreting and communicating results for use by both internal and external decision makers. For example, at the problem recognition stage, they may be the first to detect an opportunity or approaching threat. At the ideas stage, they can help to provide creative solutions (â€Å"Improving strategic decision making†, n. d. ). Profitability is consequence of adopting a market orientation and plays important role in decision making (as cited in Inglis & Clift, 2008).Market orientations is composed of three behavioral components, such as customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter functional coordination, and two decision criteria, long-term focus and profitability (Narver and Slater, 1990). Customer orientation component of a market orientation and profitability acts as decision criterion (Inglis and Clift, 2008). There is an identified requirement for accounting information about the costs involved in providing a range of customer product-attributes which help businesses to choose most profitable market segment.According to Gray and Hooley (2002), within the market-orientation, customer value, customer product-attribute needs and accounting information are interrelated conceptually from a managerial and economic perspective (Gray and Hooley, 2002). McNaughton et al. (2002) stated that accounting function develops a sense of those attributes of greatest value to customers and in this way they may provide link between customers, value and profitability (as cited in Inglis and Clift, 2008). According to Inglis and Clift (2008), creating value for customer thr ough product attributes requires accounting information very much for decision making.Function cost analysis and interrelated techniques of value analysis are integral to target costing (TC) which seeks to reduce the life-cycle costs of products while ensuring all customer requirements are met (Shillito and De Marle, 1992; Kato, 1993). According to Inglis and Clift (2008), the accounting function may interact with customers in managing payment procedures and terms for a richer understanding of how to differentiate its business in the market place and assist in creating value for the customer (Inglis and Clift, 2008).Importance of using ABC Method to avoid the problems faced by firms providing financial services According to Hussain and Gunasekaran (2001), activity based costing (ABC) has become highly essential to overcome shortcomings faced by traditional accounting method, in terms of validity, accuracy, completeness, consistency, understanding and relevance. It helps management t o make internal decisions and formulate plans to provide new services, improve existing services and measure performances in order to achieve overall competitive strategies and advantages of organizations.The approach further provides a more factual basis for decisions by identifying truly profitable and truly unprofitable products, eliminating unnecessary costs, identifying and distinguishing between true value-add activities and non-value add activities, and pricing products so as to achieve acceptable margins. It is a powerful tool in achieving competitive advantages and in providing operational and discretionary project cost data (Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001).Activity based costing in service costs in bank demonstrated by Hussain and Kock (1994) showed unit time is a more complex calculation involving work measurement processes (as cited in Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001). Once information obtained the bank can calculate the profitability of various segments, retain highly prof itable segments and transform unprofitable segments into profitable ones through actions on pricing, product features, operating improvements and technology introduction (as cited in Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001).West and West (1997) demonstrated the need of activity-based costing implementation in services . . . for financial survival without which managers cannot make effective decisions involving long-term captivated contract profitability (as cited in Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001). Harr (1990) reports activity-based accounting approach for budgeting and financial performance reduces the costs without losing either the timeliness or the quality of its services.In spite of the advantages, however, ABC costing does not solve all the problems involved in decision making as management might overlook basic analysis needed for customer adaptation, flexibility and economies of scope (Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001). It is important to constantly focus upon customers' total perceived se rvice quality and to maintain relationships to profitable customers. ABCM can then be accepted as a real tool for management to make strategic decision, formulate plan and operate control (Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001)Using Target costing to identify profitable segments and maintaining productivity: In the journal ‘Target Costing’ (1995) the authors have stated that ‘product innovation is one of the keys to a company’s survival and competitiveness’ (p. 1). Thus Management accounting and cost accounting play an important role as they help in the creation of new products which attracts customers while maintaining low costs and ensuring profitability. As the effects of globalisation becomes more apparent companies are forced to reconsider their accounting practices, more specifically there management accounting practices.This is where target costing comes in. Target costing has been defined in the book Managerial Accounting (2012) ‘the process of determining the maximum allowable cost for a new product and then developing a prototype that can be profitably made for that maximum target cost figure’ (p. 763). In other words a desired profit margin is deducted from the selling price and a new target cost is determined for the new product. Implementing Target Costing: The different departments of the firm run a cost analysis to develop a target cost for the new product.If the manufacturing cost for the new product is equal or below the target cost then the product can be introduced in the market. Finally the target cost is deducted from the selling price. Thus target costing not only helps find a profitable segment in the market but also makes sure that product is being produce in its most productive capacity. The target profit process has been summarised in Figure 1 (see appendix). The journal further states that the companies that benefit the most from Target costing (p. 6) are: 1. Firms involved in assembly production style. 2.Firms involved in product diversification thus need target costing to determine a profitable market segment. 3. Firms whose product life cycle is relatively short (less than 3 years). 4. Firms wanting to reducing costs during the planning, design and development stages of a product’s life cycle. Managerial Accounting Changes: Research shows that Managerial Accounting has under gone changes in the last decade. According to the journal ‘Managerial Accounting Change in South Africa’ (Waweru, Jan 2004) this is especially true for developing nations. The case study considers four retail firms in South Africa.This helped them to find out the exact changes in Management Accounting Practices and the reasoning behind such changes. The journal reports that the main reason for such transformations can mainly be attributed to three main reasons. They are: 1. Increased Globalisation-This has made sure there is increased competition between the countries of the world . Thus necessitating for changes to take place in the managerial accounting world. 2. Huge variations in Information Technology-Technological advancements in the last decade has revolutionized the way world does business.The introduction of supercomputers has made sure that decision making process is faster and also made information more freely available. 3. Recent economic recession-The recession which has gripped the world since 2007 has made businesses reassess their managerial practices. Thus the journal has found that in order to deal with such challenges the businesses have evolved and so has their accounting practice. In developed nations more and more firms are now involved in Target Costing, Activity Based Costing (ABC), Product Life-cycle costing and finally Quality Costing.It should again be mentioned that these changes has only been noticed in developing nations and not so much in developed nations around the world. However the paper cautions regarding such changes by st ating that no one accounting system is universally appropriate for all firms. But rather that it varies from company to company. Thus the factors a firm should consider are (Waweru, 2004): 1. Size and type of the firm 2. Foreign competition 3. Economic restrictions 4. Technological advancements 5. Political and Social ConsiderationsHence we can conclude from this journal that Management practices evolves slowly in developing countries where it is greatly aided by government reforms/deregulations and globalisations and technological improvements. Conclusion: Thus we can say that accounting data has a strong effect on productivity and strategic decision making for firms. Since the data’s collected, both time series and cross sectional data, provides an insight into what has increased output for firms over the years and all the possible actions firms can make to engage in efficient production. Data’s are also used to make important decision.Time series accounting data giv es a good understanding of the profitable segments of the firms and the different sectors the firm can further expand into. Hence we can conclude by saying that accounting data are extremely vital for management accounting practices. Reference: 1. So,S and Smith,M. (2003). Managerial Auditing Journal. The impact of presentation format and individual differences on the communication of information for management decision making. 18 (1), p1-3. 2. Farag,M and Elias,R. (2012). Public Accounting Firms' mix of service revenue and average productivity. Evidence using revenue per person. 7 (8), p1-5. 3. Phusavat,K and Photaranon,W. (2006). Productivity/Performance measurement. Case application at the government pharmacuetical organisation. 106 (9), p1-16. 4. Waweru,N and Hoque,Z. (2004). Management Accounting Change in South Africa. Case studies from retail services. 17 (5), p1-30. 5. Inglis,R and Clift,R. (2008). 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