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No group of government genuinely has a really ideal picture in the U.S., however specifically is the congress. There are many hypotheses wit...

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

The Legalization Of Recreational Drugs - 1807 Words

In 2013 there was over a hundred thousand drug related crimes recorded in Canada. Some countries around the world, such as the Netherlands, have loosened their restrictions on recreational drug use in an attempt to lower crime rates in their nation. The current law in Canada strictly prohibits the use and distribution of all recreational drugs. Many people, however, question if this is the best way to regulate drugs. Some would argue that legalizing drugs would create an economic opportunity for the government, reduce crime, reduce drug illnesses and fatalities, and give citizens their justified rights. Thus, the government should legalize recreational drugs to be consumed and distributed in the same way as alcohol. Many people do not put enough thought into the idea of how the state should regulate drugs; they feel that since they do not use drugs, it does not affect them. However, the truth is the legalization of recreational drugs would be a huge change for Canada. It would change the lives of all citizens, whether they use drugs or not. How the state regulates drugs will force a change on even a non-users social life, taxes, morals, and much more. The first reason the state should legalize drugs is because if recreational drugs were sold in the free market, the state would be able to make large economic gains. Introducing drugs to the free market would allow the government to put a high tax on drugs just as they do with cigarettes or alcohol and make a hugeShow MoreRelatedThe Legalization Of Recreational Drugs1551 Words   |  7 PagesThe legalization of recreational drugs in the United States is a polarizing issue that affects every American, whether they are a drug user or not. Both sides present arguments that call for changes to federal drug policy. The pro-drug side says that the recreational use of drugs should be allowed and the law should change to legalize it. The anti-drug side says that the use of drugs should continue to be illegal and more should be done to control drug use. All side of this issue have a point theyRead MoreShould Legalization Of Recreational Drugs Be A Great Nation?977 Words   |  4 Pagesdecrease in prisons and prisoners, legalization and decriminalization of recreational drugs are some of the core issues the US needs to strengthen to become a great nation. There is an utmost need to legalize and decriminalize recreational drug use in the US, now more than ever. The government no longer needs to intervene upon the personal rights and freedoms of adults. One should have control over the choices of his/her own life. Rather than criminalizing drug addicts they should be given a choiceRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay1223 Words   |  5 Pageseconomies of the states which have legalized recreational marijuana use for consumers over the age of 21. Many predictions were made referring to the outcome of marijuana legalization, however, most predictions made did not foretell the actual outcome. The act of legalization in the state of Colorado has yielded many advantages in the field of marketing. With these advantages, however, come many disadvantages. This study will identify how marijuana legalization can affect the US market economy. This studyRead MoreWhy Not Legalize Marijuana? Essay1173 Words   |  5 PagesMarijuana should be legalized for both recreational and medicinal use because the US economy can reap significant benefits from legalization as well as create an influx of jobs and also to reduce street and gang disputes relating to marijuana. Also, marijuana should be legalized because it has been dealt an unfair hand by society and is justifiably safer than most know it to be. First, marijuana should be legalized in the US for both recreational and medicinal purposes because there is a very substantialRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?972 Words   |  4 PagesMarijuana Legalization For thousands of years, marijuana has been used for a myriad of purposes ranging from medical use to recreational use. Although small steps are being for marijuana legalization across the country, there is still a long way to go. Some folks argue that marijuana is a gateway drug and impairs judgement, causing people to act recklessly. However, extensive studies have been conducted on the effects, risks, and benefits of marijuana, and have proven marijuana to be safer thanRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1004 Words   |  5 Pagesmost people are not properly informed of the facts. Cannabis is the third most widely used recreational drug, after alcohol and tobacco (About Marijuana). Yet, it is the only contender out of those three that is not legal. While marijuana is very addictive, recreational marijuana should be legalized because of the benefits it could provide for our economy and society as a result of the loss of business for drug dealers, less arrests and freeing of space in prisons, and major tax revenue. â€Å"MarijuanaRead MoreThe Legalization Of Marijuana And Marijuana Essay1314 Words   |  6 Pagesof the bused drugs in America and the rest of the world. Interesting accumulating evidence show that the significant negative impact of this drug outweighs the positive effects. However, the medical benefits of the drug seem on the process of chemical compounds as compared to the drug itself. Medical debates show that chemical compound in marijuana are the problem as compared to the plant. The said chemical compound affects the mental and physical health of the persons abusing this drug. There haveRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1565 Words   |  7 PagesMarijuana Legalization From mandatory crop to illegal drug, cannabis has gone from revered to criminal in the course of United States history. Its fall from grace has been an education in mass hysteria, propaganda, market manipulation and greed. Fortunately, for those suffering debilitating medical conditions and those that wish to enjoy its euphoric effects alike, it appears that the pendulum is swinging in the opposite direction. The close of the 2015 legislative session revealed a potentialRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay1372 Words   |  6 PagesLegalization of Weed Growing up, everyone is told that, â€Å"Drugs are bad for you,† time and time again. Now as a kid you don’t really understand the reasoning behind it, but you listen to your authority figure regardless. I remember being told this my entire life and even to this very day. But as I got older I realized that people would still use drugs even though it’s illegal. I could never understand why someone would go against the law and jeopardize their life just to use drugs? The drug thatRead MoreThe Legalization Of Marijuana Legalization1282 Words   |  6 PagesMarijuana Legalization Initiative may be included on the ballot. The people of California will vote on whether to legalize the recreational use of cannabis for adults. The move targets at regulating the consumption of the drug and taxing it like other legalized drugs. California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996 (National Institute of Drug Abuse). The state prohibited any legal action s from being taken on patients and recognized caregivers arrested in possession of the drug. This

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Diabetes The Common Metabolic Disorder - 1298 Words

Diabetes Diabetes is defined as a serious disease in which the body cannot properly control the amount of sugar in your blood because it does not have enough insulin. (Merriam-Webster, 2016) It is the most common metabolic disorder out of various lifestyle diseases, and it is associated with many complications. The condition forms because of peculiarities in metabolism of carbohydrates and insulin integration. Diabetes is a chronic health disease, as it affects millions of Americans and increases risk for developing disease-related complications such as cardiovascular disease, blindness, neuropathy, stroke, renal failure, amputation, and more. There are two types of diabetes, type 1 diabetes, also called diabetes mellitus, and type 2†¦show more content†¦(Levy, 2013) Type 1 diabetes always requires insulin therapy, and will not respond to insulin-stimulating oral drugs. (Mandal, 2009) Diabetes type 2, formerly noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that is characterized by hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) in the context of insulin resistance and relative lack of insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the cells in your child’s body don’t respond to the insulin, and glucose builds up in the child’s bloodstream. This is called insulin resistance. (OMICS International, â€Å"Journal of Diabetes and Metabolism†, 2016) In type 2 diabetes, the body either produces inadequate amounts of insulin to meet the demands of the body or insulin resistance has developed. Insulin resistance refers to when cells of the body such as the muscle, liver and fat cells fail to respond to insulin, even when levels are high. In fat cells, triglycerides are instead broken down to produce free fatty acids for energy; muscle cells are deprived of an energy source and liver cells fail to build up glycogen stores. Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Etiology Autoimmune Peripheral insulin resistance Formerly known as IDDM NIDDM or â€Å"adult onset† diabetes Age of onset Younger Older Obesity Rare Common Family History Rare Common HLA association/Genetic association Yes No Ketosis Yes No Insulin resistance No Yes Presence of body’s own insulin No Yes Respond to Oral Agents No Yes This also leads to an overall rise in

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Strategy Analysis of KFC Company †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Strategy Analysis of KFC Company. Answer: Introduction: KFC (Kentuckys Fried Chicken) was founded in the year 1929 and was a restaurant that served fast foods to the customers (Hawkes et al., 2013). The company was founded in Louisville, Kentucky and positioned itself as the worlds common chicken restaurant chain that only focuses on its original recipe for preparing food for its consumers. The food offerings of the company includes Kentucky grilled chicken, extra chicken, original recipe strips, honey BBQ wings and home-style side dishes along with freshly prepared chicken sandwiches (Chhabra Kiran, 2015). In the recent years, more than 12 million consumers are served by KFC. Moreover, the restaurant has more than 5000 food chains in US and Singapore. The company also has more than 15000 business units all over the world. The secret blend having 11 spices and herbs made the original recipe of KFC fried chicken renowned all through the world. Consumers all through the world and in Singapore enjoy more than 300 food items from KFC (Dey, 2 016). Moreover, Singapore KFC is recognized from NCSSs disability campaign to be among the Singapores leading employers of people with disabilities. KFC Singapore has opened its 60th restaurant in Singapore. The company offers best ingredients from sustainable suppliers along with adopting strict along with maintaining stringent quality control measures (Hawkes et al., 2013). PESTEL Analysis of KFC Singapore KFC conducted PESTEL analysis which can alter their global business strategy. PESTEL analysis for the company is explained under: Political KFC Singapore offers an effective fast food service to its target consumers. In order to attain their business goals the company has prepared a political system which guides them or can be considered as guides service (Fung, 2014) The company makes a contract with their staff along with making a pension fee. The company also provides the alternative in purchasing KFC (Hawkes et al., 2013) The consumers feel better when KFC Company offers them superior services. KFC Cafeterias offers better food in comparison to its competitors. Economical Considering the economic factors, it can be stated that KFC has set low prices for all its products. The company offers food in packets and provides people with the opportunity to attain discounts that motivates the consumers to purchase from KFC. The company has the capability to success in Singapore market with lower price and highly satisfying service (Hawkes et al., 2013). Social KFC is positioned as one of the renowned global company that has initiated its business operations a long time ago and in the recent years has positioned itself among the largest companies in the world. The company has successfully developed its social connection all over the world along with Singapore with other companies (Heinz, 2013). KFC also supported several events and sponsored them for social causes along with providing donations to poor people Technological In an attempt of globalizing their business KFC focuses on using modern technology for advertising its products (Johnson et al., 2013). The company has developed its own website to make its consumers just find their desired products for ordering it online and can also attain all the relevant information on KFC through online medium (Hawkes et al., 2013). In Singapore the consumers can order their food through ordering over phone. Environmental Environmental factor analysis serves as most important evaluation that can be conducted by a company (Kang, 2015). Devoid of analyzing environment, KFC cannot successfully operate its business as this aspect includes consumers from where they can attain their profit through selling their food products. The restaurant uses highly sustainable products for preparing their food items and offers its to consumers through maintaining health and safety standards. Legal KFC is positioned all over the world as a legal company. The company has its business under Yum Brands For maintaining the law and order situation KFC operates its international business in compliance to local laws of the nation (Rijal, 2015). Porters Five Forces Analysis of KFC Singapore Porters five forces analysis id carried out for KFC for this is aimed at analyzing the competitive position of the company align with evaluating the most effective manner in which it can enhance its products and services for thriving within an increasing competitive international market (Ruiet al., 2016). The aspects of porters five forces for KFC is explained below: Threat of new entrants: Fast food market chain is observed to be difficult to penetrate because of several competitors. Products of KFC are observed to face tough competition from Radix fried chicken that is new restaurant. This restaurant has attained popularity as it offers fresh menu that is appealing for a huge consumer base (Shuailing Zhi, 2015). However, KFC has attained high advantages of being a renowned international fast food brand. Due to its increased international presence, it is easier for the consumers of the restaurant to go for KFC rather than other fast food chains unless new entrants offers any innovative menu in comparison to KFC (Hawkes et al., 2013). Threat of substitute products: There are several other fast food restaurants that provide identical products those are offered by KFC and this is offering them the advantages to operate its business successfully. For example, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has positioned itself as one of the major competitors of KFC (Sohn, 2015). This is for the reason that this restaurant offers innovative side dishes like Cajun Gravy, mashed potatoes and rice along with offering the customers with mild spicy chicken dishes. This has made this fast food restaurant popular enough. Considering the same, KFC has developed a strategy of offering Wi-Fi services along with offering morning services. Bargaining power of suppliers: KFC has attained great access to several suppliers of their major product that is fried chicken. This offers the restaurant with flexibility to work efficiently with its best suppliers (Trematerra, 2013). For examples over the past few years, the company has terminated the agreement with one of their chicken suppliers because of crude slaughtering of the chicken. Bargaining power of buyers: The purchasers of the KFC Company have attained increased access to identical products in outlets that includes Subway, McDonalds and Pizza Hut. This makes it highly complex for the KFC for increasing prices as there is increasing competition in comparison to its business rivals (Hawkes et al., 2013). Intensity of competitive rivalry: The fast food market is increasingly competitive. There is an increased competition that the KFC faces increased competition from fast food chains particularly the Mc Donalds (Xin, 2015). This has taken place because of the reason that KFC to develop certain mechanisms that makes sure it competes in the market in a better manner. Among the most effective methods that was used by KFC has used to retain all its consumers through introducing the smart card for the children that provides them with discounts in KFC along with other renowned outlets which includes Sunway Lagoon, MPH Bookstore and Zoo Melaka (Hawkes et al., 2013). Porters five forces analysis of KFC concluded the fact that the company is not well prepared for its strong competitors that was observed through evaluation of bargaining power of consumers and suppliers to that great extent (Wang, 2014). Rivalry among the competitors of KFC that is not impacting in any way and the company implements strategic leadership for such purpose and for fully understanding the strategy in consideration to the opportunity (Hawkes et al., 2013). Recommendations After conducting the PESTEL and Porters five forces analysis of KFC it is gathered that the company has dealt with several challenges that can be faced by the company in maintaining its strategic position. Such recommendations are explained under: Focusing on healthy food: In the recent years, the consumers are observed to be highly health conscious all over the world. For this reason, these consumers have stopped having the fast food items that includes KFC fried chicken that can result the company to lose their business. Considering the same, KFC must consider including healthier food items in their menu that will be made of vegetables. Expanding the business within all divisional cities: It is observed that products of KFC are in high demand in the large cities of Singapore and in Bangladesh. Considering the same, the company can make attempts in establishing business units in these divisional cities for expanding their business. Set highly convenient pricing menu: Considering the environment analysis, it is recommended that KFC Company must introduce a highly convenient pricing menu in order to attract all its new consumers specially the students. Improving employee motivation: KFC is recommended to develop and include their improved motivational strategy towards their employees that can further decrease the turnover rate of the company. Such strategy can facilitate the company in offering better services that can further boost the satisfaction rate of all its consumers all over the world. To deal with the problem of decreasing market share and business efficiency that has resulted from PepsiCo Companys centralization strategy that gradually decentralized the company to become semi-autonomy. The managers of KFC can spend more time on making effective corporate strategic decisions. Decentralization can facilitate KFC in attaining ease to deal with the diversity of local situations along with responding to market fluctuations. This strategy implementation can also motivate the employees of KFC along with increasing their efficiency, productivity and performance. Conclusion The objective of the paper was to conduct strategic analysis of KFC Company and analyze its competitive environment. Such analysis was conducted to provide the company will effective strategic recommendations that can facilitate the company in improving its position in the international market. From analysis conducted in the paper it was gathered that KFC Singapore offers an effective fast food service to its target consumers. In order to attain their business goals the company has prepared a political system which guides them or can be considered as guides service. In an attempt of globalizing their business KFC focuses on using modern technology for advertising its products. Environmental factor analysis serves as most important evaluation that can be conducted by a company. The paper also revealed that Products of KFC are observed to face tough competition from Radix fried chicken that is new restaurant. This restaurant has attained popularity as it offers fresh menu that is appea ling for a huge consumer base. However, KFC has attained high advantages of being a renowned international fast food brand. KFC is recommended to develop and include their improved motivational strategy towards their employees that can further decrease the turnover rate of the company. Such strategy can facilitate the company in offering better services that can further boost the satisfaction rate of all its consumers all over the world. References Chhabra, S., Kiran, R. (2015). An Empirical Analysis of Total Factor Productivity in Food and Beverage Sector.Productivity,56(2), 121. Dey, K. (2016). The fast food industry in the UK. Analysis of McDonalds with PESTEL, VRIN and Porter's Five Forces. Fung, A. (2014). International business strategies: a review and extension of theories.Chinese economy,47(5-6), 116-130. Harrington, R. J., Harrington, R. J., Ottenbacher, M. C., Ottenbacher, M. C., Fauser, S., Fauser, S. (2017). QSR brand value: Marketing mix dimensions among McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Subway and Starbucks.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,29(1), 551-570. Hawkes, C., Thow, A. M., Downs, S., Ling, A. L., Ghosh-Jerath, S., Snowdon, W., ... Jewell, J. (2013). Identifying effective food systems solutions for nutrition and noncommunicable diseases: creating policy coher-ence in the fats supply chain.SCN News, (40), 39-47. Heinz, H. J. (2013).Principles and practices for the safe processing of foods. Elsevier. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D., Regnr, P. (2013).Exploring strategy text cases(Vol. 10). Pearson. Kang, H. (2015). Toward Entrepreneurial Success: A Strategic Planning and Analysis Model.Business Journal for Entrepreneurs,2015(3). Rijal, R. (2015).Environmental determinants of multinational companies in Nepal: a case of KFC and Pizza Hut(Master's thesis, Universitetet i Nordland). Rothaermel, F. T. (2015).Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education. Rui, Y., Huang, H., Lu, M., Wang, B., Wang, J. (2016). A Comparative Analysis of the Distributions of KFC and McDonalds Outlets in China.ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information,5(3), 27. Shuailing, L. I., Zhi, Y. U. (2015). KFC development in Chinese marketbased on the social responsibility and ethics.International Business and Management,10(3), 142-146. Sohn, S. (2015). Analysis of the cultural diversity and intelligence strategy on e-business marketing performances.e-,16(2), 261-273. Trematerra, P. (2013). Aspects related to decision support tools and integrated pest management in food chains.Food Control,34(2), 733-742. Wang, H. L. (2014). Theories for competitive advantage. Xin, G. (2015). The Study of Brand Choice Decision of Top 3 Global Brand Quick Serviced Restaurant (KFC, McDonalds, Burger King) in Bangkok.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Personal Organizational Profile Essay Sample free essay sample

The work force of concern organisations stands as the major beginning of foundation of any concern group nowadays in the current market industry. Undeniably. the state of affairs is much harder to cover with as the people force becomes more diverse. However. this is an facet of human force that should be expected as a normal portion of the organisational growing processs. As a concern entity enlarges in footings of its operational graduated table. the possibility of managing multicultural and a extremely diversified population of workers in the company ( Loewenstein. 2001. 267 ) . With respects the being of diverseness. the emotional tempers of the workers is to be of high concern in footings of taking for organisational advancement for the hereafter ( Loewenstein. 2001. 269 ) . How much do the emotional tempers of the people affect the full concern operation of several organisations in the society? This is the chief point of consideration that shall be presented within the paper that follows. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Organizational Profile Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The stability of the effects of the facet of emotions on the operational proceedings of the organisations shall be good clarified in the accounts that follow through. ( Mellers. 2001. 211 ) It is undeniable that each person is affected by the legion temper swings of other people around them. This of course occurs because of the major connexion that persons have towards each other. The persons seeking to run into together in one terminal through the span of communicative connexions normally meet the troubles and benefits of interconnectedness between each other ( Mellers. 2001. 212 ) . Undeniably. the bing relationship between persons affects the manner that they are executing in their occupations. Most frequently than non. the state of affairs could besides be fixed through communicating itself. The behaviour of the people within their occupations is normally identified through the relationship that they are able to set up in with their colleagues. The thought is to implicate a more effectual plan to increase the capableness of the workers to organize chumminess in the work topographic point. These plans are to be implemented to help the full organisation in coming up with effectual processs of organizing all right working environment for the work force. ( Isen. 2001. 75 ) Through the execution of the normalizing plans. the success of the organisations based on the public presentation of the workers could be expected to go on in a gradual procedure. As the workers would recognize that their emotional and personal-self is being extremely taken attention of the disposal of their organisations. they would be extremely inspired in coming up with the necessary processs of bettering themselves as an reply to the privilege that the organisation gives them. ( Shavelson. 1999. 80 ) True. the satisfaction of the employees with the service commissariats that they are having from their administrational supervisors shall give them the right inspiration to make good in their occupations ( Witte. 1992. 341 ) . It could be noted that the emotional personality of the persons should non be neglected by the organisations whenever they are coming up with the necessary plans to help their employees in recognizing personal satisfaction form their occupations. Most frequently than non. the said plans are instead implied with high degree outlooks of consequences from the betterment of the public presentation of the workers within company operations. Mentions: ? Loewenstein. G. F. . Weber. E. U. . Hsee. C. K. . A ; Welch. E. 2001. Hazard as feelings. Psychological Bulletin. 127: 267–286 ? Mellers. B. . A ; McGraw. A. P. ( 2001 ) . Anticipated emotions as ushers to pick. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 10 ( 6 ) . 210–214. ? Isen. A. M. ( 2001 ) . An influence of positive affect on determination devising in complex state of affairss: Theoretical issues with practical deductions. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 11 ( 2 ) . 75–85 ? Shavelson. R. J. . A ; Stanton. G. C. ( 1999 ) . Construct proof: Methodology and application to three steps of cognitive construction. Journal of Educational Measurement. 12. 67-85. ? Witte. K. ( 1992 ) . Puting the fright back into fright entreaties: The drawn-out analogue procedure theoretical account. Communication Monographs. 59. 329-349.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Examples of Toponym or Place Name

Examples of Toponym or Place Name A toponym is a  place name or a word coined in association with the name of a place. Adjectives: toponymic and toponymous. The study of such place names is known as toponymics or toponymy- a branch of onomastics. Types of toponym include agronym (the name of a field or pasture), dromonym (the name of a transportation route), drymonym (the name of a forest or grove), econym (the name of a village or town), limnonym (the name of a lake or pond), and necronym (the name of a cemetery or burial ground). EtymologyFrom the Greek, place name Examples and Observations The name Chicago is first recorded in 1688 in a French document, where it appears as Chigagou, an Algonquian word meaning onion field.(The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000)An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast.(Hackers and Spending Sprees, Newsweek, Nov. 5, 2008)Hooterville was Xanadu with pickup trucks, an odd yet comfortable land with an irresistible charm.(Craig Tomashoff, When Life Was Simple. The New York Times, July 4, 1999)The Influence of the DanesWhen we find more than 600 places like Grimsby, Whitby, Derby, Rugby, and Thoresby, with names ending in -ly, nearly all of them in the district occupied by the Danes, we have striking evidence of the number of Danes who settled in England.(Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable, A History of the English Language. Routledge Kegan Paul, 1978)Dutch TermsEnglishmen have pretty much considered anyone theyve come into contact with as being lazy , poor, cowardly, untrustworthy, thieving, and of substandard morality, a mind-set of superiority reflected in a litany of set phrases in the language. . . .Surprisingly, those who got the worst of English abuse were the Dutch. Most expressions we now use concerning the people of Holland are harmless, such as Dutch door, double Dutch, and Dutch oven, but previously, terms containing Dutch were the idiomatic equivalent of a Polack joke. A bookie who loses money is a Dutch book; Dutch courage is inspired only by booze; if youre in Dutch, youre in prison, or pregnant; and a Dutch widow is a prostitute. Still in wide use is to go Dutch, which describes an actionnot paying for your datethat languages around the rest of the globe call to go American.(John B. Marciano, Toponymity: An Atlas of Words. Bloomsbury, 2010) Toponyms From American Indian WordsThousands of toponyms in the United States and Canada derive from American Indian words. One is Chanhassen, a Twin Cities suburb in Minnesota. In the Sioux language, this word refers to the sugar maple tree. The place name translates to the tree with sweet juice. Sometimes the reference is not so pleasant. Stinkingwater Peak, Wyoming, takes its unflattering name from a nearby river.(Gerald R. Pitzl,  Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Greenwood, 2004)The MississippiIn Algonquian, the forms linked together in a toponym are descriptive as in Mohican missi-tuk big river, and the toponym as a whole is used to identify a particular place [that is, Mississippi].(William C. McCormack and Stephen A. Wurm, Approaches to Language: Anthropological Issues. Mouton, 1978)Magenta, Duffel Bag, and PaisleyMagenta is a reddish-pink color, and it is a toponym. The rather upbeat color is named after a downbeat scenethe blood-soaked battlefield at the Battle of Magenta in Italy in 1859 (Freeman, 1997). Other toponyms include duffel bag (Duffel, Belgium), sardines (the island of Sardinia), and paisley (Paisley, Scotland).(Dale D. Johnson, Bonnie von Hoff Johnson, and Kathleen Schlichting, Logology: Word and Language Play. Vocabulary Instruction: Research to Practice, ed. by James F. Baumann and Edward J. Kameenui. Guilford, 2004) Tuxedo Park, Marathon, Bikini, and LyceumWords that you might not suspect were toponyms include tuxedo (Tuxedo Park, New York), marathon (from the battle of Marathon, Greece . . .), spartan (from Sparta in ancient Greece), bikini (an atoll in the Pacific where the atomic and hydrogen bombs were tested), [and] lyceum (a gymnasium near Athens where Aristotle taught) . . ..(Charles H. Elster, What in the Word? Harvest, 2005)The Lighter Side of Toponyms: Westward Ho!The village of Westward Ho! in Devon, England, is the only place name in England that ends in an exclamation point. The village borrowed its name from the title of Charles Kingsleys popular novel set in nearby BidefordWestward Ho! (1855). Pronunciation: TOP-eh-nim

Friday, November 22, 2019

What to Do if You Are Failing Chemistry

What to Do if You Are Failing Chemistry Are you failing chemistry? Dont panic. Heres a look at what you can do and how you can make the best of the situation and possibly turn it around. What Not to Do First, lets take a look at how not to handle the situation. You may view failing chemistry as the end of the world, but how you react could actually make a bad situation worse, so dont do these things: PanicCheatThreaten your instructor.Attempt to bribe your instructor.Give up.Do nothing. Steps to Take Talk to Your InstructorThis should be the very first thing you do because nearly all of the options for minimizing the damage involve your teacher. Discuss your options. Is there any way you can pass? The answer to this question is almost always yes since most chemistry classes end with comprehensive exams that are worth a ton of points. Most classes, especially at the middle school and high school level, are intended to allow for mistakes since the point of the class is to teach you the material and not to weed you out. Most general chemistry classes in college are the same way, though there may be less opportunity to make up for a bad beginning. Ask about extra work. Ask about extra credit. Ask if there is any chance to re-do past assignments. Teachers usually respect an honest effort, even if you made a late start of it. If you are willing to work for the passing grade, there is almost always something you can do.Keep Doing Your HomeworkOr start doing your homework, if that is par t of the problem. Digging yourself in deeper is not going to help you. Keep Attending Lectures and LabsOr start going, if you havent been attending. Showing up makes a difference.Take NotesWrite down whatever the instructor puts on the board. Try to write down what is said. If your teacher takes the time to write something out for you, it is because that information is important.Get Someone Elses NotesPart of your problem may have to do with your skill at taking notes. Studying your own notes strengthens the connection between what you experienced in class and what you are learning, but studying someone elses notes gives you a different perspective and may help you identify important concepts that you overlooked.Try a Different TextYour instructor should be able to recommend a different text that you can read in addition to the one you are using. Sometimes concepts click when they are explained differently. Many textbooks come with outlines that instructors use to prepare notes. Ask if those outlines are available for your text.Work ProblemsProblems and calculations are a big part of chemistry. The more problems you work, the more comfortable you will become with the concepts. Work examples from your book, examples from other books ... any problems you can find. How to Fail Gracefully Everyone fails. How you handle failure is important for several reasons, but with respect to chemistry it affects your academic future. Consider Withdrawing  -  If you either dont want to put forth the effort required to turn your grade around or else cant avert failure, see if you can withdraw from the class. In some cases, you may be able to drop the class without having any negative marks made on your academic record. No grade may be better than a bad grade since a bad grade will work into your grade point average.Consider Staying in Class -  If you cant avert the failure no matter what, you may be tempted to just walk away. That may be fine if you never have to see chemistry again, but if you need to pass the class at some point, you may want to stick it out for lectures and labs so that you will be better prepared the next time you face the material. You may not think you are learning anything, but chances are, some of what you read and hear will stick. If you are withdrawing from class, discuss remaining in class (not for a grade) with your instructor.Exit Gracefully -  Dont say or do anything you might regret later, no matter how tempting it may be at the time.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Strengths and Weaknesses of the World Bank as an Agent of Essay

The Strengths and Weaknesses of the World Bank as an Agent of Development - Essay Example The activities of the World Bank emphasize more on its role towards the developing nations, ones which are doing their best to catch on to the bandwagon of the developed nations. The fields that the World Bank focuses upon in these developed nations include human development which can take into concern the subjects related to education and health. The main purpose of World Bank’s creation was to facilitate the activities in the line of the postwar reconstruction. The earliest of loans were thus dedicated in all essence towards the causes of Japan and European nations. The tilt of the World Bank, in the beginning, was thus more on giving away it's funding to the nations which were in the middle of some turbulent times. This did not differentiate on the basis of country’s economic dependency and the respective amounts that it could deliver back to the World Bank in case of economic upheaval. Rather the weight was more on the aspects that were linked with the economic reso urces’ scarcity within the particular country. One of the issues that the World Bank has been persistently focusing its concentration upon is the fact related to the issues that come in line with the endangerment of a particular country’s livelihood. These include the different support programs with respect to HIV and AIDS to name a few. There is particular accent towards the matters related with the reduction of risks in line with the different projects by means of a better system of appraisal as well as different mechanisms are in place to supervise the projects in a better manner. Thus there is a multidimensional approach towards the overall development process. This overall development is in the form of different legal reforms, programs dedicated wholeheartedly towards education and the uplift through short-term activities in the same field, environmental safety programs and concerns including the awareness measures and events.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Vietnams Confucian Heritage and Its Impact on Governance Dissertation

Vietnams Confucian Heritage and Its Impact on Governance - Dissertation Example It is clear to anyone who has observed the evolution of the world over the years that communism is a failure that still blinds people in some places around the world and that all cronies of communism have not amounted to much anywhere in the world. In stark contrast to this, those governed by the Western Capitalists or those who have been defeated in war by the previously mentioned have fared much better. The stark contrasts between North and South Koreas, former East and West Germany and the future rise of Japan after the Second World War are a clear testimony to the fact that pure communism was an evil that needed checking and restraining. Although in the present post-Vietnam era the misguided Islamists around the world remain vocal and critical of the West, blaming it for all of their self – induced abject failures they have no answers to provide about why their own religious civilization has never amounted to anything anywhere around the world. Surely, a people who were th e followers of the last guidance from the Creator of the Universe should have been able to demonstrate something to the world instead of espousing loathing, revulsion and an utter backwardness. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and no people can dump the reason for their failures on to others. Thus, it is likely that something broke down in Vietnam for it to have become a playground for superpowers, just as something distinctly rotten is apparent in Islamic societies. Economics and the distribution of resources have always profoundly influenced human societies and the world. Clearly, despite all attempts to blame the West for the paucity of Vietnam, it is the people of Vietnam and its leaders who must assume responsibility for its destruction when Vietnamese leadership sought to side with communism or capitalism instead of working for the good of the nation.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

ABC Co. Marketing Strategy Case Essay Example for Free

ABC Co. Marketing Strategy Case Essay ABC Manufacturing Company is a manufacturer of fine furniture designed to resemble the furniture used in various historical periods. The companys furniture is sold by approximately fifty dealers throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. Dealers are carefully selected by ABC to be sure they maintain the high quality imagine that ABC has established in its 100-year history of making fine furniture. Most dealers sell only ABCs furniture, but a few also sell noncompeting lines of similar quality. Dealers who sell only ABCs furniture are franchised to do business under ABCs trade name and would appear to the public to be branch stores rather than independent business. ABCs factory is a three-story building of heavy timber (mill) construction located in a New England town of 2,500 population. The first floor is used for warehousing and office space, and the two upper floors house the production facilities. The building is 75 years old and has been occupied by ABC since its construction. The local fire department is above average for towns of this size, but its water supply system does not have adequate reserve capacity to maintain pressure for fighting a major fire over a period of several hours. See more:Â  First Poem for You Essay Adjacent to the factory building is a large frame structure used by ABC to store seasoned lumber for its furniture. Lumber is first air dried in the yard adjoining the shed, with the exact drying period depending on the kind of wood involved. The air-dried wood is then kiln dried in ABCs own kiln, after which it is stored in the frame storage building until needed. ABCs power plant is located in a brick building about 50 feet from the main plant. It furnishes heat and steam for all operations. Water for the stream boilers is drawn from a large river adjacent to the power plant. Electricity is purchased from a public utility. Due to the length of the seasoning period, ABC usually has on the premises a supply of lumber adequate for four months of operations. Much of the lumber is purchased within a 200-mile radius of the factory, but substantial amounts are purchased from more distant sections of the United States or from foreign countries. For example, mahogany lumber, which is used in almost half of ABCs products, is imported by ABC from Latin American and Africa. Most of the lumber arrives at ABCs yard by railroad and is shipped FOB point of origin. The imported lumber is shipped by water to the nearest port, approximately 100 miles from ABCs factory, and then by train to the factory. Some locally produced lumber is delivered to ABC by truck, FOB ABCs yard. Workers in ABCs factory use some small power tools, such as saws, planers, lathes, and similar equipment. However, the production process is primarily manual. Highly skilled craftsmen build the companys products, using many of the same techniques that were used two centuries ago. Furniture finishing is done by hand, and most of the stains, varnishes and other finishing materials are compounded by ABCs employees according to the companys proprietary formulas. ABCs labour force is very stable because each craftsman undergoes a lengthy apprenticeship in the plant and because ABC pays wages that are relatively high by the standards of the community. Management considers the high wages to be necessary because of the time and expense required to hire and train a replacement for a craftsman who leaves the firm. Some finished furniture is shipped by railroad, but most of it is shipped by contract carrier trucks. The contract with the trucker does not include any provision relative to liability for damage to goods in transit. Export shipments are transported by truck to the nearest port and by water to the country of destination. All shipments are made FOB purchasers warehouse. All sales, including export sales, are made on open account and only to ABCs established dealers. Export accounts usually are denominated in and payable in the currency of the importers country. Accounts receivable, on the average, are equal to about one-eighth of annual sales. Accounts receivable records are kept on ABCs computer in the office section of the first floor of the factory building. The computer is also used for inventory and production control, payroll management, and other accounting functions. The computer equipment is owned by ABC. The office is cut off from the warehouse section of the first floor by a wood partition. The office and computer room are air conditioned, but the remainder of the building is not. Duplicate computer tapes, updated weekly, are stored in a well-protected vault in another part of the city. A monthly fee is paid for the tape storage. ABC owns several small trucks that are used to move lumber about its own premises and for local pickup and delivery. The trucks are kept in the lumber storage shed when they are not in use. Several lift trucks are used for moving lumber and other heavy items in and around the factory and lumber storage area. A freight elevator moves materials, finished furniture, lift trucks, and other equipment between floors in the factory. Automatic grillwork gates have been installed to prevent workers from falling into the elevator shaft. There is no passenger elevator. Workers use either the freight elevator or the open stairwells when moving between floors. Steel fire escapes have been installed on the exterior of the building to facilitate evacuation of the upper floors in case of fire or other catastrophe. ABC Manufacturing Company is wholly owned by its president, Mr. Carpenter, who is the grandson of the companys founder. Mr. Carpenter is considered wealthy by local standards. However, his fortune consists almost entirely of the stock of ABC Manufacturing Company, and he is dependent on his salary and company dividends for his livelihood. Nearly all of ABCs operating profit has been paid in dividends in recent years. Consequently, the company has only a modest cushion of liquid assets in excess of its operating needs. Profits have been consistent, but they have been relatively low because of the inefficiency of the present factory facilities. Although the dollar amount of ABCs sales has increased steadily because of price increases, the physical volume of sales has remained almost constant over the past several years. The lack of growth has resulted primarily from two factors. First, the present plant cannot accommodate greater production because of space limitations, and there is no available land adjacent to the plant to permit expansion. Second, the long training period required for new employees prevents rapid expansion of production. Mr. Carpenter has considered building a new factory at another location in the same town. However, such a move is not financially feasible unless the present plant can be sold, and no prospective purchasers have been found. A move to any location outside its present hometown would not be practical because of the companys dependence on its well-trained craftsman. The sales manager estimates that both the dealer network and sales could be increased by 30% over the next 5 years if production facilities could be provided. The cost to rebuild the present factory building in its present form would be $2.5 million. However, Mr. Carpenter has indicated that he would not build a new mill-type building to replace the current structure because of the high cost of the thick brick walls and heavy timber interior construction. A new, one-story, noncombustible masonry and steel building of comparable floor area would cost approximately $2 million to build and would be more efficient for ABCs purpose. The actual cash value of the present factory building is estimated to be $1.5 million, and ABC has insured it for that amount against fire and the extended coverage perils. The lumber storage shed, power plant, table and lumber kiln are also insured for their actual cash values. The following table shows the actual cash value and replacement cost for each of the structures. Table 1: ABC Company Building Values ___________________________________________________________________________________ BuildingActual Cash ValueReplacement Cost Factory$1,500,000$2,500,000 Lumber shed 150,000 200,000 Power plant 230,000 300,000 Kiln 270,000 320,000 ___________________________________________________________________________________ ABCs annual premium for fire and extended coverage insurance is $136,000, including the coverage for contends of the buildings and for lumber stored in the yard. There have been no fire or extended coverage losses during the past five years and only minor losses prior to that time. The companys estimated annual workers compensation premium is $165,000. Loss experience has been fairly consistent from year to year. Based on past experience, with adjustments for inflation and current benefit levels, normal losses of $104,000 can be expected. The most frequent claims have been small and have resulted from such minor injuries as splinters in hands, several minor dermatitis cases, and sawdust or metal particles in eyes. The more serious injuries have included back strains and loss of fingers in power saws and other power tools. ABC now has 15 percent debit under workers compensation experience rating plan. (That is, they are paying a rate 15% greater than manual rates). Questions 1. Identify the following loss exposures faced by ABC Manufacturing Company: 1) Direct property loss exposures 2) Indirect property loss exposures 3) Liability exposures 2. Your suggestions in risk management for ABC Company Case 2: Bite-O-Burger Company (Risk Management and Insurance) Description of Operations The Bite-O-Burger Company is a publicly held corporation. It owns and operates 843 fast-food restaurants located in eleven states in the United States. The restaurants feature a limited menu consisting of hamburgers, French fried potatoes, fried chicken, chili, related food items, and nonalcoholic beverages. The restaurants vary in size, but each is located in a free-standing building and surrounded by customer parking areas. All of the buildings were built to Bite-O-Burgers plans and specifications and share enough architectural characteristics to make them easily recognized as units of the chain. All have forced air heat and are air conditioned. At current prices, the average replacement cost of the restaurants is estimated at $125,000 per unit for the building and $100,000 for the equipment. Because of differences in size, the replacement cost, including building and equipment, ranges from $175,000 for the smallest restaurants to $300,000 for the largest. The average actual cash value is $205,000 for building and equipment combined. The restaurants vary in age from a few days to approximately 20 years. All of them are owned by Bite-O-Burger, but the newer ones are subject to substantial mortgages. The home office of the company is located in leased space in a building in the business district of a midwestern city. Bite-O-Burger occupies the upper three floors of the thirty-story building. The companys data processing centre is located on the top floor. All of the computer equipment is leased from the manufacturer. Bite-O-Burger also occupies a leased warehouse near the home office. It is used for storage and distribution of supplies (paper cups, wrapping materials, etc.) and nonperishable food items. Perishable food items are purchased from local suppliers near the restaurants in which they will be used, and they are delivered directly to the restaurants by the suppliers. There is no refrigeration equipment at the warehouse, but each restaurant has a large, walk-in refrigerator. Items from the company warehouse are distributed to the individual restaurants by a fleet of 30 owned tractor-trailer units. The same units also transport goods from the suppliers to the central warehouse when truck-load quantities are purchased. Smaller lots are shipped by common carrier FOB point of shipment. The values of the contents at the warehouse and home office are $15,750,000 and $3,200,000, respectively. Values at both locations are relatively constant throughout the year. Bite-O-Burger advertises extensively in newspapers in the cities in which it has several restaurants. Many of its advertisements feature endorsements of its products by prominent athletes and theatre personalities. Some advertisements feature pictures of local people and their favourable comments on the companys food and service. The company also sponsors softball and bowling teams in some cities as a part of its public relations program. Bite-O-Burgers profit and loss statement and an abbreviated balance sheet for last year are shown in Tables 2-1 and 2-2. The companys operating results for last year were typical of past years, but sales and assets have been growing at a rate of approximately 20% per year. Bite-O-Burgers fire and extended coverage losses for the five years are shown in Table 2-3. The quotations shown in Table 2-4 have been obtained for fire and extended coverage protectionblanket on buildings and contents on an actual cash value basis. Bite-O-Burger is well aware of the fire exposures associated with restaurants. Extensive fire control equipment has been installed in the kitchens of all units, and especially in the range hoods and in the cooking areas.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Transcendental Philosophy :: Paideia Philosophy Kant Papers

Transcendental Philosophy One needs specific initiation into the classics of transcendental philosophy (Kant’s "Criticism," Descartes’s "Metaphysics," and Fichte’s "Doctrine of Science") because all say farewell to the common sense view of things. The three types of transcendental thinking converge in conceiving rational autonomy as the ultimate ground for justification. Correspondingly, the philosophical pedagogy of all three thinkers is focused on how to seize and make that very autonomy (or active self-determination) intellectually and existentially available. In the concrete way of proceeding, however, the three models diverge. Descartes expects one to become master of oneself and "the world" by methodologically suspending his judgement on what cannot qualify itself to be undoubtable. Kant leads us to the point where we can triangulate universal conditions of the possibility of knowledge through individually acquiring the competence to judge the legitimacy of encountered propositional claims. Finally, Fichte confronts us with the idea of the identity of self-consciousness and objectivity. (1) Transcending ordinary life and experience to a somewhat higher being is surely not the scope of transcendental philosophy. What the revolutionary achievements of Descartes, Kant, and Fichte have generically in common is to account for the legitimacy of our knowledge claims or, in other words, for the possibility of autonomy. The business of that kind of philosophy is to rationally reconstruct the rightness of judging. For that design the architecture of those authors' theorizing is necessarily opposed to normal experience. (First of all, the common notion of "things affecting us" has to be abandoned.) Transcendental arguments are therefore all but common sense. They are in no respect "realistic" or ontologically dependent. (2) Whoever wants to get familiar with transcendentalism — perhaps just in order to criticize one or several of its representatives — must overcome the threshold of open or covert realism and ordinary experience. One also has to avoid the common misun derstanding that transcendental reconstruction represents a form of idealism. So this kind of philosophy seems to be a fortiori charged to give a good deal of pedagogical help for its own sake. The respective philosophical educations (paideiai) have to fight against the realist as well as the idealist tendencies of interpretation. Positively it is not enough for them to represent what is essential to transcendentalism as a genus; they must particularly transmit what is specific to Kant's "Criticism", to Descartes' "Metaphysics" or to Fichte's "Doctrine of Science". I. Rene Descartes was the first one to fully realize that reliable orientation could never passively be found in "things" or "institutions".

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Allegory Criticism

Allegory Criticism: Essay #3 Da’Andrea Bell Allegory criticism is an extended metaphor in which a person, abstract idea or event stands for itself and for something else. Usually involves moral or spiritual concepts which are more significant than the actual narrative. In the fiction reading, â€Å"The man In the Black Suit† by Stephen King, the main character Gary a young boy at the age of nine has found himself coming face to face with someone he believes is the devil. While out for a day of fishing Gary is approached by a man mysterious looking man. In the reading the author describes this mysterious man, â€Å"His face was very long and pale.His black hair was combed tight against his skull and parted with rigorous care on the light side of his narrow head. He was very tall. He was wearing a black three-piece suit, and I knew right away that he was not a human being, because his eyes were the orangey red of flames in a woodstove. I don’t mean just the irises , because he had no irises, and no pupils, and certainly no whites. His eyes were completely orange-an orange that shifted and flickered. And it’s really too late not to say exactly what I mean, isn’t it? He was on fire inside, and his eyes were like the little isinglass portholes you sometime see in stove doors. Something that he has never witnessed just has always heard about in church and from what his parents always taught him when growing up. His innocent is threatened. Stephen King uses everyday events and objects to represent spiritual references, including the characters. The man in the black suit represents the devil and the young boy represents purity and innocents. The setting also sets the mood, where King sets majority of the reading in the woods, a place what is usually looked at as a place that kids are not allowed to go by themselves.The woods were usually looked at as the forbidden part of the yard. As Gary goes further in the woods is when Gary comes in contact with the man in the black suit which is referred to as the devil himself and also the bee; which Gary believes it is the same exact bee that killed his brother. Gary is forced with facing impure spiritual desires; such as the fear of possible death, embarrassment (when he peed on himself), shame and also the possibility of being deprived of the ones closets to him. When finally able o get himself together, Gary snaps into action and is able to run for his life and shake the devil off. Gary does not believe that he was dreaming, but that the evil he has encountered is reality and that they actually took place. Also when the father goes looking for Gary, the look on his face and actions shows that he too has also encountered it once before. Gary is just lucky that he has been able to live to tell the tale. Work Cited â€Å"The Man in the Black Suit. †Ã‚  Analysis. N. p. , n. d. Web. 03 Nov. 2012. . Mulverhill, Gisele. â€Å"Short Story Reviews: The Man in the Black Suit, by Steven King. â€Å"Helium. Helium, 19 Aug. 2010. Web. 03 Nov. 2012.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Global Smart Classroom Market Essay

Classrooms that are technology-enabled are known as smart classrooms. These classrooms are equipped with hardware and software that enhance learning and improve the dissemination of knowledge. Smart classrooms have transformed teaching from a traditional process to an advanced learning process by using an array of audio-visual tools that allow teachers to demonstrate and communicate easily. These technologies consist of software such as educational ERP and disruptive technologies such as LMSs, LCMSs, interactive whiteboards, and simulation-based learning hardware. Smart classrooms use interactive modules, videos, and presentations to improve the teaching process and to engage students in multi-media technologies. Covered in this Report The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the Global Smart Classroom market for the period 2015-2019. To calculate the market size, it considers the revenue generated by vendors through the following product segments: Kindergarten K-12 Higher Education View our full TOC here Key Regions EMEA APAC Americas Key Vendors Apple Inc. IBM Corp. Microsoft Corp. SMART Technologies Inc. Other Prominent Vendors Adobe AT&T Technologies Blackboard Cisco Systems Dell Desire2Learn Discovery Communication Dreambox Learning Echo360 Ellucian Fujitsu HP Jenzabar Knewton Lenovo Group N2N Services Panasonic Promethean World Saba Software Samsung Toshiba Udemy Key Market Driver Dynamic Interactive Learning Systems For a full, detailed list, view our report. Key Market Challenge Lack of Proper IT Infrastructure For a full, detailed list, view our report. Key Market Trend. Increased Usage of Smart Software For a full, detailed list, view our report. Key Questions Answered in this Report What will the market size be in 2018 and what will the growth rate be? What are the key market trends? What is driving this market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors? For more insights, view our Global Smart Classroom Market 2014-2018 report.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

minorities in the military essays

minorities in the military essays In the year 1965, the United States sent troops to Vietnam to aid the South Vietnamese against the communist Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese. As the fighting increased, the United States was in need of more troops in order to support its commitment to South Vietnam. Therefore, thousands of Selective Service registers were called and drafted. The United States also asked its closes ally the Philippines to help send troops to South Vietnam and in addition this, the United states requested for an increase of recruitment for the United States Navy in the region. Thus, the U.S. enlisted thousands of Philippine natives, including myself. My involvement started in July of 1968, when I was flown to the United States beginning my military training in San Diego. Recalling the eight weeks of hard, intensive training, I still considered myself fortunate to be enlisted in the United States Navy. Although, when I did graduate boot camp, I cherished the prize of rest and recreation for 72 hours. My short-lived vacation began with a group of my fellow Filipino recruits. We decided to catch a bus to downtown San Diego. As we boarded the bus, I stopped in confusion when I noticed a sign with Black written at the back section of the bus. Looking for the driver for direction, I was informed by the driver that was no longer enforced. Even with him saying this, I still sat in the middle row since my skin color fell in between black and white. As we arrived downtown, I experience culture shock. The town was colorful and filled with live entertainment. Although, I did want to spend more time exploring the place, my vac ation time was up and I had to go back to the base. As our company gathered for the last day, we waited for our next order of job training. I was wondering why Filipino recruits and few African American were separated. Having the same order to attend SD A school (Steward), we are not aware tha...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

College Freshman Survival Kit

College Freshman Survival Kit Going off to college is an exciting time. Youre looking forward to your freedom and beginning your life as an adult. However, inside, you may secretly be dreading this major change. And thats okay! Without parental guidance, youll have many hurdles to navigate on your own. Nobody wants to come home for winter break with several extra pounds, an unfortunate injury from a hazing prank gone wrong, or a report card full of Fs. Our tips will help keep you on track. Here’s what to pack in your college freshman survival kit. 1. Freshman 15 Fighters All-nighters, parties, and unlimited access to food can take their toll on your health - and your waistline. Dont go off to school with a tote full of candy and soda. Pack healthful, nonperishable snacks instead, such as pretzels, crackers, nuts, dried fruit, and protein bars. Have a refillable water bottle on hand, too. Take advantage of your dorm kitchen’s refrigerator, or purchase a mini version for your room. You will find more helpful tips in our ultimate guide - Â  How to Avoid Freshman 15. 2. Sleep Aids The likelihood of being woken up by someone in your room or hall (or a maintenance worker) is about 100 percent on a daily basis. If you want to maintain your own regular sleep schedule, youll no doubt want to pack some highly rated earplugs and a sleep mask. A fan will keep you comfortable and provide white noise for better sleep. A stuffed animal or favorite pillow will make bedtime more familiar and relaxing. 3. Doctor’s Bag Aside from good nutrition and sleep, basic health care should be a focus when packing for college. You’ll surely have access to a campus health center, but many ailments don’t warrant official medical treatment. Always pack a mini first aid kit: Pain Reliever Alka-Seltzer Cough Drops Tissues Bandages Hydrogen Peroxide or Rubbing Alcohol Cotton Swabs or Squares Tweezers You might consider taking a daily multivitamin if you don’t already. 4. Laundry Loot Good old Mom won’t be around to wash your clothes anymore, so be prepared. Of course, detergent is a must, as is fabric softener if you use it. The most fun college activities often lead to stains, so be sure to take a stain treatment of some type. You’ll also want a travel-size sewing kit to take care of missing buttons and other minor wardrobe malfunctions. And, of course, hangers and a laundry basket or bag. If you have room for it, a drying rack saves money and the environment. 5. Office Supplies In today’s digital world, it’s easy to forget good old-fashioned stationery supplies. Things go wrong, and devices fail. You’ll still want some notebooks or paper, pens and pencils, highlighters, sticky notes, and a stapler. Take a journal with you, too. Write in it whenever you’re stressed or homesick. A journal is a great portable and low-budget therapist. (Just be sure to keep it safe from your nosy roommate!) 6. Organizational Basics You’ll need a few basics to keep everything neat: a power strip or two, a shower tote, Command hooks, duct tape, and Super Glue. You should also pack a few basic cleaning supplies. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are awesome. Cut up an old T-shirt so you’ll have a few rags for dusting and wiping up spills. And you’ll certainly want some type of air freshener! Just be sure your roommate doesn’t have allergies or hate the scent. 7. Party Picks We know that partying is a part of the college experience. Therefore, you shouldnt leave home without a few fun extras. Playing cards, dice, Ping-Pong balls, a shot glass, Mad Libs, and other small items should be readily available whenever an impromptu party occurs. Surviving is only one side of life of the first-year student. To get tips on other aspects of student life, such as studying and networking, check out this awesome infographics with useful tips for freshmen students. If you missed anything or have limited room for transporting your personal belongings, you can always pick up what you need locally once you arrive at school. But taking care of as much as you can up front leaves you free to focus on more important things.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Sexual Harrassment within the workplace Research Paper

Sexual Harrassment within the workplace - Research Paper Example Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment is subjecting the victim to hostile conditions which directly target the victim’s sexuality, making the victim unable to work properly. Another point that this paper discusses is the legislation against sexual harassment. Sexual harassment claims have been given more attention after the high profile case of Anita Hill against her former employer, Clarence Thomas. Hill’s courage in exposing Thomas is one great example of a strategy to dissuade perpetrators of sexual harassment from carrying on with their malicious behaviour towards their co-workers. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: A Growing Controversy The workplace is one environment where people from different backgrounds come together for a common purpose which is to achieve the goals of the company through the various work tasks delegated to each employee. Various kinds of human interactions happen here. Although mostly professional, workers likewise engage in more perso nal interactions in order to create a healthy balance. However, for some workers, personal and professional interactions may be blurred either deliberately or not. In some cases, employees may be embroiled in interactions that are uncomfortable for them. These interactions may be sexual in nature, and point to issues of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is a growing controversial issue in the workplace that needs to be dealt with and eliminated in order to maintain a positive work environment where harmonious relationships and high productivity should prevail. Definition of Sexual Harassment According to the guidelines of sexual harassment from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it consists â€Å"unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours and other verbal or physical conducts of a sexual nature to another employee against his or her wishes†. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), adds that sexual harassment occurs "when submission to o r rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment." The term â€Å"unwelcome† in the definition of sexual harassment gives rise to a lot of confusion because it may be subjective. However, it is important to understand how the unwelcome behaviour makes the other person feel to determine if it is really sexual harassment. In other words, what may be considered a harassing behaviour to one person may be simple social interaction to another. The line between work and social interaction in the workplace can easily be blurred. And that makes monitoring harassment all the more difficult. Schultz (2003) commented that in the book of The Bureau of National Affairs, sexual harassment definition includes, but is not limited to, "sexual innuendoes, sexual propositions, jokes of a sexual nature, sexually suggestive cartoons , suggestive or insulting sounds, leers, sexually related whistles, and obscene gestures. In addition, pinching, brushing against another person's body, and subtle pressure for sexual favours is considered harassment." The discussion section notes that "different people have different ideas as to what constitutes sexual harassment" and warns that the following acts may be considered harass

Thursday, October 31, 2019

The Nurses Role in Tackling Coronary Heart Disease Essay

The Nurses Role in Tackling Coronary Heart Disease - Essay Example There are about 17 million who die from cardiovascular diseases on a yearly basis (WHO, 2011). Most of these deaths are attributed to coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases. Physical inactivity, unhealthy eating habits, and smoking are just some of the causes of these diseases. In 2009, about 5000 died from coronary heart disease in Wales with about 118,000 people having had a heart attack at some point and about 120,000 more suffering from angina. This disease also cost the NHS about 3.2 billion pounds with about 9 billion pounds cost to the entire UK economy (BHF, 2011, p. 2). The trends in the incidence of CHD are largely based on social patterns with mortality rates higher for the deprived areas, as compared to the least deprived areas. The rates of CHD in Wales are slightly higher as compared to the rest of England with male incidence rates higher than 10% as compared to the rest of England. Behaviours commonly attributed as causes for CHD include smoking, unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, and heavy intake of alcohol (BHF, 2011, p. 2). Obesity, increased cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes are considered risk factors for the development of coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease is said to affect about 14 million men and women in the US (Singh, 2010). It develops when fatty materials, calcium, and scar tissue accumulates in the arteries supplying the heart with blood. These arteries are arteries crucial to the efficient functioning of the heart with such heart muscles being supplied with oxygen and nutrients to enable heart functions (Singh, 2010). This plaque narrows the arteries and as a result, the heart does not get an adequate supply of oxygen-filled blood. With narrowed blood vessels, the blood flow to the heart becomes slower and causes chest pain or angina (Singh, 2010). With continued plaque formation, complete blockage of arteries may result, causing a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or disturbance in heart rhythms leading to sudden cardiac arrest. From years of its earliest development, the inner linings of the coronary arteries are very smooth and this allows the smooth and easy p assage of blood through the different systems of the body. As a person gets older, the cholesterol and calcium content in the arterial walls accumulate, making them thicker (Singh, 2010). The plaque formation on the arterial walls is primarily caused by unhealthy diets, including one which is high in fats and cholesterol. Smoking and limited activity or exercise can increase the plaque formation. This process is known as atherosclerosis or the hardening of the arteries (Singh, 2010). This plaque forms like a firm shell, but has a soft inner core where cholesterol is stored. When blood hits such plaque

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

UK Courts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

UK Courts - Essay Example Some arguments specifically identify the choice to eliminate trial by jury in the most complex fraud cases, suggesting that such cases can be more appropriately heard by a panel of judge or judge and magistrates. Attorney General Lord Goldsmith states â€Å"it is about justice...making sure serious fraudsters are brought to trial" (BBC News, 2005). Kevin Martin, president of the Law Society is against the new proposal, as he suggests That the problem does not lie with juries, but with poor management of court cases. There is concern that doing away with juries will erode public confidence in the legal system. This is a legitimate concern. Lack of confidence in the legal system may lead to lack of cooperation with police and others who serve to uphold the law. Interviews with UK citizens indicate that while the jury system can be flawed, it should be maintained in all cases. A poll of UK citizens by News Online provides as with insight into public opinion. One UK citizen believes tha t the jury system should be upheld at all costs, as failing to do so would allow the state to relinquish its authority to the victims, in deciding punishment. Another feels that trial by â€Å"jury of one’s peers† is still the most fair, claiming that judges are made up of social elite, â€Å"deciding the fate of us, the common folk† (News Online Poll, 2001), which would lead to injustice.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Employees Perception About Merger Management Essay

Employees Perception About Merger Management Essay The present economic scenario has witnessed a large number of merger and acquisitions in banking industry all over the world. One of the principal objectives behind the merger Acquisition in banking sector is to reap the benefit of economies of scale. The growing competition has compelled banks to expand their size and to penetrate in market place; it indicates the rule of the ocean that big fish will eat small fish. Consequently, one of the most widely used tools is mergers and acquisitions. However, the market situation is such that there is bombardment of many new and divers products from large pool of bankers. For survival, deliberate decisions are required to mitigate the diverse effects of market forces. At the time of taking decision of MAs, generally financial issues are taken care of and HR issues are ignored which is most important issue for success of any merger. Therefore, the aim of this research paper is to assess the level of satisfaction among employees of the merged bank i.e. the erstwhile bank of Rajasthan ltd. This study is based on a pilot survey; small sample of 30 employees, which is taken from the 14 selected branches from Udaipur city, and paired sample t-test, is applied to test the significant difference of the sample along with weighted average method. The results revealed that post merger satisfaction level is low and stress level is high among bank employees after merger. The implication of the study is for policy makers, strategist, bankers, future researchers, and scholars. Key Words: Merger, Acquisition, Bank, Employees, Perception 1. Introduction: In recreation of organizational growth, augmenting geographic networks, to accelerate market share, creating strategic fit and synergy; organizations are adopting strategic tools like Mergers and Acquisitions (MAs). It is evident from the pages of history that MAs is the most widely used inorganic strategic tool for growth. A merger is a combination strategy of two or more organization in which one acquires the assets and liabilities of the other in exchange for share or cash. At this point of time, it becomes imperative for strategist and policy makers to undertake the confidence of their employees, customer, shareholder and subsidiaries and to understand how they perceive any strategic move because this surely affects the image of the company. Kotler (1997, p. 185-86) has illustrated in his book that perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world. Since the world market is shrinking and consumers are becoming aware about various products and services offered by global players due to the emergence of ICT, it has become strategically important for banks to understand the perception of employees under the purview of MAs, this is so, because they deliver the services. Many researchers have proved that human factor is the key element in delivery of services. Thus, we can say that core reason for success and failure of mergers are human resources i.e. personnel and behavioral issues, blends of cultures and sets of policies practices. Therefore, Transferee Company must create an environment where the employees of Transferor Company can project merger as a steps towards growth. Consequently, employees will strive to work with integration of vision and mission of Transferee Company. Thus, this study can contribute in the field of strategic management as a view point of employees and human resource management. Strategist can consider this view as an input in strategy formulation. In this scenario, this study on employees perception may be a modest attempt to trace the hard realities regarding employees perception of ICICI Bank Ltd. It will be helpful for ICICI mangers, executives, and employees, government, banking industry, RBI, research scholar, strategic managers, HR managers and policy makers. 2. Review of Literature: Schneider and Bowen (1985) reported significant relationships between branch employees perceptions of organizational human resources practices and branch customers attitudes about services. Schweiger and Weber (1989) suggested that Mergers and acquisitions (MAs) are corporate events that have the potential to create severe personal trauma and stress which can result in psychological, behavioral, health, performance, and survival problems for both the individuals and companies involved. With the increasing size and number of MAs transacted and the number of employees affected, it is essential that executives and human resource professionals pay greater attention to understanding the sequence of actions and reactions associated with the process. Schweiger and Denisi (1991) conducted a longitudinal field experiment to evaluate the various effects of a communication program on employees of an organization; they called it a realistic merger preview. This study was intended to measure the effects of mergers and acquisitions on employees. Their results suggested that realistic communication during a merger process in the form of a realistic merger preview can help the employees to get through the process of merger. As illustrated by the significantly lower measures on global stress and perceived uncertainty and significantly higher on job satisfaction, commitment and self-reported performance for the experimental group, exposed to the communication program. Schneider and Dunbar (1992) suggest that media plays an important role in shaping the social context for mergers and acquisition. Weber (1996) assessed the role of corporate cultural fit, autonomy removal, and commitment of managers to the merger in predicting effective integration between merger partners in different industry sectors. He found that relationship was very complex; they varied across industries and had different relationships with different measures of performance. Further, he found that cultural differences at the top management level were most likely to influence the merging organizations ability to realize synergies. Literature shows that communication also plays vital role in the success of a merger. Nikandrou, Papalexandris and Bourantas (2000) explored a number of variables which bear an impact on managerial trustworthiness, for example frequent communication before and after acquisition, and already the existing qualities of employee relations seem to play the most important role. Therefore, a carefully planned, employee-centered communication programme, together with a good level of employee relations, seem to form the basis for a successful outcome as far as employee relations in the face of mergers and acquisitions is concerned. Therefore issues related to human resource management are also raised by researchers in articles. Appelbaum, Gandell, Yortis, Proper and Jobin (2000) conclude that communications throughout the MA process plays a crucial role in its eventual success. Providing clear, consistent, factual sympathetic and up-to-date information in various ways will increase the cooping abilities of employees, which will in turn increase their productivity. This increased productivity will positively impact on firms performance and create sustained competitive advantage by achieving the projected strategic fit and synergies. Communication and a transparent change process are important, as this will often determine not only how a leader will be regarded, but who will be regarded as a leader. Leaders need to be competent and trained in the process of transforming organizations to ensure that individuals within the organization accept the changes prompted by a merger. Hurtt, Kreuze and Langsam (2000) suggest that growth is the primary reason for MAs. Panchal and Cartwright (2001) investigated post-merger stress in a sample of field sales employees. A survey methodology was used to examine group differences, comparing those from the two pre-merger companies and those newly merged organization. Results revealed that group differences in both sources and effects of stress existed. Those from the dominant pre-merger company reported the highest stress levels and most negative work attitudes. Lynch and Lind (2002) also suggest that mergers and acquisitions is one of the major tools for organizational growth and on the other hand Dario, Fabio and Carmelo (2002) investigated using Italian data that mergers seek to improve income from services. Bryson, (2003) reviewed the literature around managing HRM risk in a merger. He found that poor merger results are often attributed to HRM and organizational problems, and that several factors related to maintaining workforce stability are identified as important in managing HRM risk. Schraeder and Self (2003) also found that organizational culture is one factor as a potential catalyst to MA success. DeLong (2003) studied sample of 54 bank mergers announced between 1991 and 1995, tests several facets of focus and diversification. The study found that upon announcement, the market rewards the merger of partners that focus their geography and activities and earning stream. Only of these facets, focusing earning streams enhances long-term performance. Shanmugam and Nair (2004) identified factors in their study on mergers and acquisitions of banks in Malaysia like globalization, liberalization and information technology developments have contributed to the need for a more competitive, resilient and robust financial systems. George and Hegde (2004) reported a case for the delicate aspect of employees attitudes, their satisfaction and motivation, which are posited as prerequisites for customer satisfaction, which is, again, sine qua non for the competitive sustenance of the organization. Chew and Sharma (2005) examined the effectiveness of human resource management (HRM) and organizational culture on financial performance of Singapore-based companies involved in mergers and acquisition activities. They used the method of content analysis to collect information on cultural values and HRM effectiveness, using Kabanoffs content analysis. Culture profiles were then assigned to organizations in the sample following the results from cluster analysis. Various financial ratios were used to measure organizational performance. Finally, regression analysis was performed to test various hypotheses. The key finding of the study suggests that organizations with elite and potential leader, when complemented by human resource effectiveness, had a better financial performance as compared to other organizations. At the end it was concluded that to achieve better financial results by undertaking merger and acquisition activities organizations need to have elite or leadership value prof ile. Seo and Hill (2005) identified six theories viz. anxiety theory, social identity theory, acculturation theory, role conflict theory, job characteristics theory, and organizational justice theory to explain problems in managing the merger and acquisition and organizational change process. These theories have implicitly or explicitly formed the basis for the past MA literature. The authors integrate these theories into one conceptual framework that clearly delineates unique sources of problems that can emerge in different stages of MA integration, their psychological and behavioral effects on employees, and prescriptions to address the problems. According to Mylonakis (2006a) an important parameter in the relationship between the number of branches and employment is branch size. He has used most well-known indicators for the evaluation of staff efficiency in banking sector i.e. operating revenue per employee, personnel expenses per employee and pre-tax profits to personnel expenses. He observed that operating revenue either fall or remains stable, administrative expenses per employee increase for every examined bank and pre-tax profits to personnel expenses indicator showed how many Euros are gained by the bank for every euro spent in staff payroll. Mylonakis (2006b) has examined in his article that how bank employees perceive bank MAs and how it is expected to affect their personal and professional career. The results showed that bank employees feel personally threatened by mergers and acquisitions, which are not considered to be justified and necessary entrepreneurial activities conducive to enhanced, quality banking services. Mergers and Acquisitions often have a negative impact on employee behavior resulting in counterproductive practices, absenteeism, low morale and job dissatisfaction. It appears that an important factor affecting the successful outcome of acquisitions is top managements ability to gain employee trust. Wickramasinghe and Chandana (2009) took views of 109 employees of two banks of Sri Lanka, which had undergone an extension merger and a collaborative merger and reported that employee perceptions are affected by the type of the merger and employees are less satisfied in the collaborative merger than in the extension merger. Further findings revealed that age, gender, and marital status influence the perceptions of the respondents and among those age is the most influential. DeYoung, Evanoff and Molyneux (2009) have found in their study that the changes in deregulation, allowed commercial banks and other financial services firms to expand through mergers and acquisition into geographic markets and product markets. Marmenout, K (2010) conducted experimental study to examine how employees make sense of a merger announcement and investigates the relationship between deal characteristics (culture clash potential, degree of integration, position in deal structure) and employee attitudes. As employees make sense of the merger, higher perceived uncertainty is associated with greater dysfunctional outcomes. Calipha, Tarba and Brock (2011, p. 1-24) have reviewed MA motives and success factors in their article such as entering a new market, gaining new scarce resources, achieving synergies and other managerial and organizational factors that are associated with MA i.e. relative size of MA partner, managerial involvement, culture and organizational structural issues etc. Goyal and Joshi (2012a) identified the general sentiments, challenges and opportunities for the Indian Banking Industry. They concluded challenges and opportunities like rural market, transparency, customer expectations, management of risks, growth in banking sector, human factor, global banking, environmental concern, social, ethical issues, employee and customer retentions. They further concluded that banks are striving to combat the competition and the competition from global banks and technological innovation has compelled the banks to rethink their policies and strategies. (2012b) studied the growth of ICICI Bank Ltd. through mergers, acquisitions, and amalgamation. The article concluded that a firm must devise a strategy in three phases i.e. Pre-merger phase, acquisition phase and post-merger phase. 3. Research Methodology 3.1 Objectives of the Study: To identify the factors responsible for employees satisfaction. To assess the satisfaction level of employees, after merger. To assess the stress level of employees (post merger). 3.2 Sampling Distribution 3.2.1 Universe Total 463 branches of BoR were operating across India before merger and out of this total 293 Branches were operating in Rajasthan. Out of these 293 branches, there were total 31 branches operating in Udaipur before merger and merely 14 branches were situated in Udaipur city. 3.2.2 Sample unit There were total 14 branches of erstwhile BoR, which are now functioning as ICICI Banks branches after merger, Employees of these branches are considered for sampling purpose. 3.2.3 Sample Size A small sample of 30 bank employees from erstwhile BoR is drawn by using stratified purposive sampling. 3.2.4 Data Type Primary and Secondary data will be used to achieve the objectives. 3.2.5 Research Instrument Schedules (structured) and personal interviews methods are used for primary data collection. Publications from company, books, journals, magazines and various websites are referred for secondary data collection. 3.2.6 Research Tools Paired sample t-test and is used to test the hypothesis and process the data. Data processing is done by SPSS 13 software (student version) and weighted average method is used. Where; d = x -y 3.2.7 Limitation of the Study The limitation of the study is that it is based on small sample size with geographical constraint and time. The respondents were contacted at the respective bank and appointments were taken. Then, they were contacted as per their convenience and ease. The budget was a major constraint for this study. 3.2.8 Hypotheses H01: There is no significant difference between employees satisfaction level (pre-merger and post merger). H02: There is no significant difference in stress level of employees between pre-merger and post-merger. 4. Conceptual Framework: Mergers and acquisitions is a phenomena which has been used as a tool for growth and a tool for survival of sick units in banking industry. There are certain provision in the Banking Regulation Act 1949, which helps us to understand the basic concept of mergers and acquisition. 44A of Banking Regulation Act 1949 clearly defines procedure for amalgamation of banking companies. According to it a draft of amalgamation scheme should be produced before shareholders of each banking company. If the scheme of amalgamation is approved by the requisite majority of shareholders in accordance with the provisions of this section, the sub-section (4) states that it shall be submitted to the Reserve Bank for sanction and shall, if sanctioned by the Reserve Bank by an order in writing passed in this behalf, be binding on the banking companies concerned and also on all the shareholders thereof. Section 45 of the act defines the power of Reserve Bank to apply to Central Government for suspension of business by a banking company and to prepare scheme of reconstitution of amalgamation in certain condition like public interest, depositors interest, for the interest of banking system and reconstruction of the banking company. 5. Conceptual Analysis of Merger of the Erstwhile Bank of Rajasthan Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. 5.1 Historical Background: The Bank of Rajasthan Ltd. (BoR) was incorporated on May 7, 1943 as a Company defined under the Companies Act, 1956 and has its Registered Office at Udaipur, Rajasthan. The Bank of Rajasthan had a network of 463 branches March 31, 2009. The primary object of the Transferor Bank was banking business as set out in its Memorandum of Association. For over 67 years, the Bank of Rajasthan had served the 24 states with 463 branches as a profitable and well-capitalized Bank in India. It had a strong presence in Rajasthan with branch network of 294 which is 63 percent of the total branches of BoR in India. The men power strength of BoR was more than 4300 employees across India. The balance sheet of the Bank shows that it had total assets of Rs. 173 billion, deposits of Rs. 150.62 billion and advances of Rs. 83.29 billion as on March 2010. The profit and loss account of the bank shows the net profit as Rs. -1.02 billion as on March 2010, which shows that bank, was not in good financial condition. On the other hand The ICICI Bank Ltd. was incorporated on January 5, 1994 under the Companies Act, 1956 and has its Registered Office at Landmark, Race Course Circle, Vadodara, Gujarat. The Transferee Bank, as on May 21, 2010, has a network of 2,000 branches and extension counters and has over 5,300 automated teller machines (ATMs). At present the bank has 79,978 employees with strong financial position like total assets of Rs. 3634 billion, total deposits of Rs. 2020.16 billion, advances of Rs. 1812.06 billion and net profit of Rs. 42.25 billion as on March 2010. 5.2 Scheme of Amalgamation: According to the scheme of amalgamation of the Transferor Bank with the Transferee Bank, it is clearly stated that the Scheme was formulated as per the Section 44A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, as per the guidelines of Reserve Bank of India for merger/amalgamation of private sector banks and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, and the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Transferor Bank and the Transferee Bank and other applicable provisions of laws. 5.3 Strategic Intent: The objectives and benefits of this merger are clearly mentioned in the scheme of this merger by ICICI Bank that its customer centric strategy which places branches as the focal points of relationship management, sales and service in geographical micro markets. As it is evident that the BoR had deep penetration with huge brand value in the State of Rajasthan where it had 294 branches with a market share of 9.3% in total deposits of scheduled commercial banks. It was presumed that the merger of BoR in ICICI Bank will place the Transferee Bank among the top three banks in Rajasthan in terms of total deposits and significantly augment the Transferee Banks presence and customer base in Rajasthan and it would significantly add 463 branches in branch network of ICICI Bank along with increase in retail deposit base. Consequently, ICICI Bank would get sustainable competitive advantage over its competitors in Indian Banking. 5.4 Issues Emerged: When the information about this merger was communicated to the employees, they did not accept this merger. All the employees were against this merger as it was evident from the strike and agitation by all the three major employee unions i.e. All India Bank of Rajasthan Employees Federation, All India Bank of Rajasthan Officers Association and Akhil Bhartiya Bank of Rajasthan Karmchari Sangh, subsequently demanding the immediate termination of the ICICI-BoR merger proposal. It is a very strong phenomenon from the behavioral aspects of employees in the growth strategy like mergers and acquisitions. It is quite possible that this human aspect may hamper the whole strategic challenges of the bank or any other organization adopting the strategic tool. 5.5 Future Implication: The issue of employees perception towards mergers needs special attention from researchers and thinkers in order to convert mergers as synergy. At this juncture, the prevalent challenge for ICICI Bank Ltd. was to encounter the agitation from the 4300 BoR employees. Now, since the merger has taken place the critical issue for discussion is the management of Human Resources in the course of Mergers and Amalgamation. The mist of human aspect in the process of MAs can be removed by the turning the pages of available literature for better vision in strategy formulation. 6. Data Analysis and Interpretation: Demographics Table 1: Age * Gender Cross tabulation Gender Total Male Female Age 20-30 1 2 3 31-40 2 7 9 41-50 3 5 8 51-60 8 2 10 Total 14 16 30 Table 2: Designation of the Employees * Gender Cross tabulation Gender Total Male Female Male Designation of the Employees Branch Manager 10 0 10 Senior Manager 2 1 3 Manager 2 3 5 Senior Executive 3 4 7 Executive 2 3 5 Total 19 11 30 In analysis, following scale (Table 3) will be used to interpret the mean values of ranks. Results Interpretation 1.00-1.80 Very poor 1.81-2.60 Poor 2.61-3.40 Moderate 3.41-4.20 Good 4.21-5.00 Very good Table 4: Pre-Merger Rank Analysis S. No. Factors Weight Total Weighted Total Weighted Mean Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Very Poor Poor Moderate Good Very Good 1 Satisfaction Pre-Merger 0 8 12 9 1 30 93 6.20 9 2 Work Culture Pre-Merger 0 7 16 6 1 30 91 6.07 12 3 Quality of Management Pre-Merger 0 7 18 5 0 30 88 5.87 17 4 Infrastructure Pre-Merger 0 7 9 12 2 30 99 6.60 2 5 Salary Pre-Merger 0 7 17 6 0 30 89 5.93 16 6 Time Schedule Pre-Merger 0 7 19 4 0 30 87 5.80 18 7 Communication with Senior Pre-Merger 0 4 21 4 1 30 92 6.13 11 8 Authority Provided by the Bank Pre-Merger 0 7 17 5 1 30 90 6.00 13 9 Responsibility Level Pre-Merger 0 9 18 3 0 30 84 5.60 21 10 Designation Provided by the Bank Pre-Merger 0 10 15 5 0 30 85 5.67 20 11 Benefit Provided Pre-Merger 0 7 16 7 0 30 90 6.00 14 12 Involvement In Decision Making Pre-Merger 0 6 22 2 0 30 86 5.73 19 13 Job Security Provided Pre-Merger 0 7 16 7 0 30 90 6.00 15 14 Opportunity for Advancement Pre-Merger 0 3 21 6 0 30 93 6.20 10 15 Working pattern Pre-merger 0 3 18 6 3 30 99 6.60 3 16 Stress Level Pre-Merger 0 4 19 6 1 30 94 6.27 5 17 Ambience Pre-Merger 0 4 20 4 2 30 94 6.27 6 18 Training Development Pre-Merger 0 4 17 8 1 30 96 6.40 4 19 Compatibility Pre-Merger 0 4 19 6 1 30 94 6.27 7 20 Perks Responsibility Pre-Merger 0 4 20 4 2 30 94 6.27 8 21 Redressal Pre-Merger 0 3 14 12 1 30 101 6.73 1 Table 4 reveals the ranks of the variables used in the study and derived by weighted average method. The responses were taken from bank employees on five-point Likert scale and as per the above table it can be observed that the most ranked variables are redressal, infrastructure, working pattern, training and development, stress level, and ambience and so on. Thus, we can say that employees were on the verge of merger and they were in ambiguous situation what to do. On the contrary, in table 5, the employees rated one of the most important factor is Benefit Provided Post-Merger, infrastructure, compatibility, working pattern, stress level, perks and responsibility and so on. Thus, it can be said that financial benefits provided by the transferee banks like salary hike has affected employees. Some more variables rated by employees like working pattern which has also affected the employees. BoR employees were not exposed to high end technologies in banking sector. Stress management in the course of mergers and acquisition is one of the most debatable issue as MAs brings new working culture, new technology, infrastructure, colleagues and peers and it takes time to make adjustments with these. Table 5: Post-Merger Rank Analysis S. No. Factors Weight Total Weighted Total Weighted Mean Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Very Poor Poor Moderate Good Very Good 1 Satisfaction Post-Merger 0 2 8 16 4 30 112 7.47 12 2 Work Culture Post-Merger 0 2 7 14 7 30 116 7.73 8 3 Quality of Management Post-Merger 1 2 11 11 5 30 107 7.13 19 4 Infrastructure Post-Merger 1 1 3 19 6 30 118 7.87 2 5 Salary Post-Merger 1 3 8 14 4 30 107 7.13 20 6 Time Schedule Post-Merger 0 3 8 14 5 30 111 7.40 13 7 Communication with Senior Post-Merger 0 2 11 13 4 30 109 7.27 16 8 Authority Provided by the Bank Post-Merger 0 6 6 6 12 30 114 7.60 10 9 Responsibility Level Post-Merger 0 4 9 12 5 30 108 7.20 18 10 De