Groups and High-Performance Teams

Abstract Today’s leaders face many challenges in the creation of a high-performing team. Effective leaders are able to assemble a high-performance team with good hierarchical balance, measurable and attainable goals, and appropriate communication expectations across the team. They promptly address conflict resolutions and break down all physical barriers in managing multi-city offices and dispersed employees. By paying close attention to team demographics and diversity, good leaders will establish a solid group foundation which will result in a high-performance team.Groups and High-Performance Teams There are many factors that affect a team’s behavior and overall performance. Group demographics and diversity can ultimately play a key role in the success or failure of any team. This paper will identify some of the challenges that today’s leaders face in turning a group into a high-performance team, and the impact of demographic characteristics and cultural diversi ty on group behavior. Groups vs. Teams As defined by Schermerhorn (2005), â€Å"A group is a collection of two or more people who work with one another regularly to achieve common goals.An effective group is one that achieves high levels of task performance, member satisfaction, and team viability. † Teams on the other hand, are usually time-limited groups that get together to achieve a common purpose. â€Å"An essential criterion of a true team is that the members feel ‘collectively accountable’ for what they accomplish. † (Schermerhorn, 2005). The manager or team leader must remember the importance of the team members’ ability to associate themselves with a group identity and begin to form an attachment to their teammates. The fact is that it takes a lot more work to build a well-functioning team than simply assigning members to the same group and then expecting them to do a great job. † (Shcermerhorn, 2005). Team Identity Setting a teamâ₠¬â„¢s identity is one of the first steps a manager must take in forming a high-performing team. As we often witness in the sports world, a team’s identity can help to rally team members and build camaraderie amongst its members. The same approach holds true in a business setting. Computer Weekly (2004) reports, â€Å"The project start process can also be used to build team identity and build psychological attachment between members. (p. 24). This psychological attachment will serve as the foundation upon which the team is built and will affect the team’s overall performance. According to Turk (2005), â€Å"As the project manager you need to build a staff that can get the job done. You need the right mix of expertise, creativity, flexibility, enthusiasm, and experience. † ( p. 30). These key attributes will work to motivate other team members and assist the manager in establishing the appropriate balance to the team. Team Diversity When forming effective teams, managers must consider team synergy an important goal, and diversity plays a major role.Managers should strive to create the appropriate balance between workers and their personality types. As Martinette (2005) points out, â€Å"Work groups and teams that have too many people of one type or another soon find themselves out of balance. † (p. 117). â€Å"For good problem solving and decision making, you need a diversity of personality types. † (Hill, 2005, p. 37). Striking the proper team balance is important and balance does not mean people with a background and disposition just like the boss. Many types of diversity are to be expected on any team, and can be the source of many differences of opinion.Age, gender, ethnicity, and personality differences can affect the team’s cohesiveness, or non-cohesiveness as may be. Obviously, with a diverse group the possibilities of conflict increase, but so do the possibilities of a greater outcome. Hill (2005) gives us an ex ample, â€Å"Meetings are more raucous and consensus is harder to achieve. But these arguments often spark new ideas. As a result, the company is constantly spawning and sculpting new innovations in a way the old team never did. † (p. 38). Differences in world view can create dynamic conversations and results, if the team can learn how to effectively deal with conflict.According to D Andrea-O Brien and Buono (1996), â€Å"True team learning is the ability of members to†¦ build on their knowledge so that their collective knowledge enables them to continually improve team†¦ performance as well as to discover, develop and implement completely new ways of doing business (p. 1). Demographics Managing remote employees is a growing challenge for many of today’s leaders. It is not just about managing employees at satellite offices; it is also managing telecommuters who work a certain number of days from their home offices.A manager needs to understand the complexiti es of managing a virtual team and communicating across the boundaries of time zones, organizations and cultures. Good communication practices as well as building personal relationships are both key to working with remote employees. As Pauleen (2003) states, â€Å"Effective communications is a key to successful virtual teams, and one of the keys to effective communications is how well team members are able to build and maintain their personal relationships. † (p. 229).Video conferencing works well and provides a company’s employees with a visual link that serves to backfill for the lack of face-to-face communications that employees would have if they were collocated. Trust and Motivation An important goal for managers, in addressing and monitoring a team’s behavior, is to develop the trust of his or her team members. Employees that trust one another will often be motivated to go the extra mile in meeting and exceeding team objectives. Team motivation is extremely important because it makes the team more effective.Stephen Covey (1989) states: â€Å"Unclear expectations in the area of goals also undermine communication and trust. † (p. 194). If goals seem unachievable, it could affect the teams buy-in to the whole process. Giving, receiving and being responsive to feedback should be a fundamental part of the team process. Conflict According to DeJanasz, Dewd and Schneider (2001), â€Å"Conflict is any situation in which there are incompatible goals, cognitions, or emotions within or between individuals or groups that lead to opposition or antagonistic interaction. † (p. 243).Conflict among team members is inevitable and desirable, because â€Å"conflict in itself is not the problem. It is, rather, our reactions to it that determine the impact, and causes us to characterize it as a negative experience. † (Porter, 2005, p. 1). It should be anticipated that the team will disagree, and therefore, conflict should be considered a part of the process. â€Å"In fact, if we define conflicts as simply differences of opinion, this is exactly what we want to happen. In bringing together a diverse group of experts, we expect and want these differences to surface because, in the end, we expect a better outcome or result. (The Team, p. 171). If everyone agreed, there would be no reason to team up to resolve a situation, or to come up with new ideas. Teams are developed for a specific purpose, and diverse opinions, ideas, and perspectives will make the team most effective. Conclusion Team diversity and demographics play a key role in determining the success or failure of any team. An appropriate understanding and acceptance of a diverse group will benefit the organization through innovative and diverse ideas. â€Å"Of course, that doesn’t mean you should go out of your way to hire people you don’t like.While a certain measure of conflict is healthy, too much conflict can be destructive. † (Hil l, 2005, p. 39). Paying close attention to team identity, trust, diversity, motivation and conflict resolution will go a long way in paving the road for a successful team outcome. Employees will appreciate that their leadership cares about these issues and will reward the team with their best efforts in meeting goals, which results in a high-performance team. References Computer Weekly. (2004, June). Plan your web project milestones. Computer Weekly. 4-54. Retrieved October 8, 2005 from Business Source Premier database. Covey, Stephen R. (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York: Fireside. D Andrea-O Brien, Charlene & Buono, Anthony F. (1999, Summer). Building effective learning teams: Lessons from the field. S. A. M. Advanced Management Journal, 61(3), 1-6. Retrieved September 23, 2005, from ProQuest database. DeJanasz, Dewd & Schneider. (2001). Conflict: Sources and solutions. Interpersonal Skills in Organizations. Universit y of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved October 3, 2005, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, GEN 300 – Skill for Professional Development Course Web site: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/resource/resource. asp. Hill, Dee. (2005, November). Dealing with diversity. Inc. , 27(11), 37-40. Retrieved January 13, 2006, from Academic Search Premier Database. Martinette, Jr. ,C. V. (2005, April). Leadership and Balance. Fire Engineering, 158, 117-126. Retrieved October 8, 2005 from Academic Search Premier database.Pauleen, David J. (2003, Winter). An Inductively Derived Model of Leader-Initiated Relationship Building with Virtual Team Members. Journal of Management Information Systems, 20, 227-256. Retrieved October 7, 2005 from Business Source Premier database. Porter, Sheila, J. D. Managing Conflict in Learning Teams. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Retrieved September 28, 2005, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, GEN 300  œ Skills for Professional Development Course Web site: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/resource/resource. asp.Schermerhorn, Jr. J. R. , Hunt, J. G. , and Osborn, R. N. (2005). Organizational Behavior (9th ed. ) Wiley. Hoboken, NJ. The Team Working Together. Chapter 12. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Retrieved September 26, 2005, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, GEN 300 – Skills for Professional Development Course Web site: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/resource/resource. asp. Turk, Wayne. (2005, May/June). Quality Management – A Primer. Defense & AT-L, 34, 30-33. Retrieved October 7, 2005 from Business Source Premier database.

Countermeasures to Automobile-Exhaust Pollution Essay

The world motor vehicle population exceeds 1 billion units at the moment. These vehicles are used for transportation of people and products across various places around the world. As a result, they emit many pollutants. This is attributable to the action of their engines burning fuel to release energy, which is an inefficient process. Firstly, they release particulate matter consisting of both organic and inorganic substances into the atmosphere, through exhaust emissions. Secondly, they release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which have carcinogenic effects. Pollution from vehicles is a universally acknowledged problem. However, it varies depending on the nation and its population. For example, pollution from cars contributes to between 50 to 90 percent of the total in urban areas. This may not be the same for rural areas. However, motor vehicles still present a disadvantage to the environment and human life. It is, therefore, prudent to develop countermeasures to automobile-exhaust pollution. Most of the world’s vehicles are operated on conventional hydrocarbons such as diesel and gasoline. By switching to fuel that maintains less pollution, the environmental impact of vehicles can be minimized. An alternative fuel technology that has the potential to meet this challenge is fuel cells. In this technology, hydrogen has maintained the best promise as a candidate to replace petroleum-based fuels. This technology utilizes hydrogen gas to create electricity. This electrical energy is converted to mechanical energy through an electric motor, which makes the wheels of an automobile to rotate. In this process, the emissions developed are pure water, Carbon (IV) Oxide and various oxides of nitrogen. This emissions are attributable to difficulties in storage and commercial production. Despite the release of oxides of carbon and nitrogen into the air, hydrogen fuel cells have a smaller footprint on the environment, when compared to conventional gasoline engines. However, such inefficiencies can be eliminated through use of concrete, as researched by a study at the University of Eindhoven (Yirka npp). The easiest method for manufacturing hydrogen gas at the moment requires mining fossil fuels, which has an environmental impact in its own right. However, new production techniques such as bacteria and biomass waste are expected to become conventional in the coming years. This will reduce the environmental impact of fuel cells, since the technology will lower oxides released into the air (Katsuhiko 3371). A hydrogen fuel cell works by the introduction of hydrogen at the cathode and oxygen at the anode. In the process, water is released out. Anions and cations from the cell are harnessed at the respective terminals, and energy is released. Hydrogen has a high energy content of around 150MJ/Kg or 61,100 BTUs per pound. This exceeds gasoline and its 20,900 BTUs of energy per pound. High energy content implies that less fuel is required to maintain the same amount of power in engines, or to travel the same distances. Similarly, it has a higher efficiency when used in combustion engines. Advanced hybrid engines such as that of the Prius maintain an efficiency of about 40% (Potera 38). However, hydrogen has an efficiency of about 75% when used as the lone source of fuel. This efficiency means that greater distances can be covered with less consumption of energy. However, introduction of additional hydrogen fuel cell cars has been hampered by infrastructural issues. There are limited facilities that allow fuelling to conventional commuters within their localities (Katsuhiko 3369). There are many electric cars (EVs) on modern roads. Examples may be seen from Tesla’s roadster and the Nissan Leaf car. These vehicles release virtually no emissions to the environment, therefore are a solution to automobile-exhaust problems. This is attributable to their engines, which do not burn fossil fuels in order to release energy. Electric cars use sets of linked batteries as their primary source of energy. These energy sources comprise materials such as lithium, lead and nickel-metal hydrides. These batteries typically consist of thousands of cells such as the lithium-ion type. They store energy that has been harnessed from electrical outlets at home, or the recharging stations that are found in some major cities. In the example of the Model S, the vehicle is charged through a ‘high power wall charger’. This device is replenishes the batteries around twice as fast as conventional power outlet would manage. Electric batteries are used to operate everything in the vehicle. They are used to run a controller which serves to run an electric motor. This motor is what rotates the wheels in EVs. Through recent breakthroughs in manufacturing, EV batteries can be mass-produced. There are now lower costs of ownership and maintenance to the consumer, when compared to the past. Batteries have a very high energy density, when compared to fuel cells. As a result, they offer higher mileage than traditional fuels. The Tesla Model S provides a good example of mileage. It can manage about 300 miles of travel at a speed of 55 miles per hour, out of its lithium ion batteries. Even conventional lead-acid batteries allow a range of 80 miles. EVs are characterized by high torque and low speeds. They are, therefore, very useful for usage within cities, where many vehicles are located in smaller vicinities than rural areas. They will help in reducing urban pollution since they do not release exhaust into the environment. The production of EVs often has higher environmental pollution than conventional cars (Lave and Hendrickson et al. 993–995). Improvements in production are needed for the solution of such issues. However, the usage of such vehicles is limited by infrastructural issues, just as the hydrogen fuel cells. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has highlighted that only 4,000 EVs are currently running on American roads. This contrasts to gasoline-based vehicles which are in the millions. New breakthroughs in charging and fuel range are required for such EVs to gain critical mass of commuters. The larger the distance a vehicle is driven, the more pollutants it releases to the environment. According to the EPA, over one third of smog emissions are attributable to vehicle use in urban areas. However, more people have taken to the roads since the 1970s. Similarly, they have driven for longer miles hence attenuated the pollution problem. This has only served to attenuate the problem at hand. People usually drive for many reasons. Firstly, it may be as a means for arriving at work. Secondly, they do it to access leisure areas such as parks. Thirdly, they drive to shopping centers to do their groceries. There are ways that people can drive fewer miles while accomplishing all these needs. Firstly, they can involve themselves in carpools. This refers to the sharing of cars on journeys, between different people, such that several people drive in one car simultaneously. This is useful in that lower miles are collectively driven, hence reduced environmental pollution from exhausts. Through carpooling, people can get to work or leisurely places without inconveniences such as fuel costs, long drives and pollution. Carpooling is possible through websites, apps and pickup points. Use of public transport vehicles also achieves the same effect. People should use buses and other public transport means, whenever possible. Secondly, people can reduce the environmental footprint of their cars by combining errands into a single trip. This is especially useful in the case of families that own multiple cars. Instead of sending different people to pick up items needed by the family, one vehicle may be used to collect all these items. Shopping often requires the use of vehicles, since the luggage may be overbearing. In that respect, pollution can be reduced through use of the efficient e-commerce platforms such as Amazon. Individuals are able to meet their shopping needs while reducing their environmental footprint. The use of trucks for shipping goods is also useful since it allows collectively leaner environmental emissions when compared to many cars operated by shoppers. The internet has allowed various individuals to work at home. Similarly, it has enabled people to telecommute. It would, therefore, be environmentally beneficial if people used these tools instead of driving to work on each applicable day. These measures also reduce congestion in traffic. There will be fewer vehicles on the road, thus fewer delays that accumulate into environmental pollution through release of exhausts. In the modern world, settlement has been defined by work and educational opportunities. For example, people try to live as close to work as is comfortably possible. This has been attributable to efforts in reducing travel times, as well as associated fuel costs. According to the United States Census Bureau (npp), over 10 million Americans travel an hour each way to work. This has provided a challenge to the country’s urban planners and engineers. There has been a trend in altering commuting patterns through development of areas that provide ‘walkable communities’. This concept implies areas that require less motorized movements in order to get around (Fullerton & Gan 303). Through walkable communities, commuters would be able to reduce their environmental footprints as they get around. Residential, leisure, business and industries are developed in a common area such that people get to each point devoid of cars. Alongside reduction of pollution, the quality of life is also improved for people residing in such locations, since they are able to exercise. Through use of alternative fuels, environmental emissions can be reduced. However, arguably the best approach to reducing such wastes would be an alteration of driving habits. In that respect, an effective method for reducing both fuel consumption and environmental emission would be a reduction in vehicle idle time. When people sit in their cars while their engine runs, they release exhaust just as they were driving. This happens during conditions such as traffic among others. In that respect, it would be prudent if people learn to switch of their engines in such circumstances. Manufacturers should also implement the start-stop systems across a wider range of cars. This will allow engines to switch off, when the cars are stationary. By stepping on the gas pedal, vehicles are able to start their engines immediately. This reduces the annoyances associated by drivers to starting their engines again. Cars of the past featured inefficient engines. They released more particulate wastes into the environment, while consuming more fuel than contemporary variants. However, some of these cars are still in service today. Despite good maintenance, older vehicles become less efficient than their original state. . Drivers should be encouraged to drive newer vehicles. For example, modern cars such as the Prius offer nearly triple the efficiency of older cars, in terms of fuel consumption and environmental consumption. Newer cars also adhere to modern emission controls that are set by the EPA and other responsible bodies (Dennis-Parks 799). In the United States, public transportation policy has been left to local authorities in cities and towns. As a result, the country lacks a homogenized transportation system. Schedules for buses and trains have difficulties in being followed. These systems are also characterized by slow speeds of movement. This has created frustration among users, who view cars as efficient modes of transportation. Similarly, American culture has often painted a tainted picture on public transport systems. The car has been portrayed as a symbol of achievement. The converse has been applied for transport systems such as buses. The American Public Transport Association states that usage of public transportation results into savings of over 35 million metric tons of Carbon (IV) Oxide on an annual basis. By switching to public transport for the average American round trip of 20, miles daily, an individual is able to reduce their annual emissions by over 4,000 pounds (Fullerton & Gan 303, 304). Going to work is one of the key reasons behind owning a car in the United States. In that respect, companies can make a significant contribution to the efforts against environmental pollution. Firstly, they can provide shuttle bus services to their employees. In that respect, they can purchase or hire buses that will pick up and drop off employees at designated points, on each work day. This will assist in reducing vehicle emissions due to ride sharing. This can be seen through Google, which operates shuttle services for its employees. Secondly, companies can post ride-share boards in their premises. This will allow employee who live close to each other to commute on a single vehicle, thus saving fuel and the environment. Some companies have also assisted employees through creation of car cooperatives. These are services that allow employees to rent cars from a set location. In return, the employees pay small fees for their use of the cars. Such systems are very useful for people working in inner city districts, who need cars only on a rare occasion. This encourages them to use public and shared transport, as opposed to personal vehicles. It is estimated that the global urban population will almost double by the mid-21st century. As a result, alternate means of transportation need to be crafted for the urban populations. The use of motorized vehicles will only result into further environmental pollution in such areas. Urban dwellers will consequently be exposed to poor health and effects such as smog. In that respect, local authorities need to establish policies that encourage non-motorized commuting. Bike sharing programs are similar to car cooperatives, only that they are not characterized by polluting effects (Fullerton & Gan 301). Different cities have made attempts at bike sharing programs. However, they are not meant to eliminate the use of motorized transport completely. Public transport and cars is used for commuting to centralized locations, where bicycles can then be accessed for movement within urban areas. Errands that exist within a radius of one mile are practical by foot. Similarly, bikes are useful for errands within five miles, which characterizes the inner city. Various cities around the world have embraced such measures. For example, the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai have bike sharing programs that have operated very well. Cities may also embrace some measures, which may be rather draconian. For example, cars whose registration ends with odd numbers may be allowed access to roads on particular days of the week. This measure will allow a curtailment of excessive vehicles on roads. Similarly, it will encourage ride sharing programs. Cars have an impact on environmental pollution, especially in the urban context. In that respect, several measures can be observed, in the efforts of reducing exhaust emissions. New technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and EVs will be useful in reducing emissions such as the oxides of carbon and nitrogen. However, of greater use is the adoption of efficient driving habits by commuters. Car manufacturers also have a role in the reduction of emissions. By rolling out start-stop technology to all cars, high environmental savings can be recorded. Driving to work is an important part of many American lives. Companies can assist in environmental efforts by providing their workers with ride sharing and shuttle facilities. Companies such as Google and Apple present a good example of how this can be implemented. Similarly, local authorities and urban planners have an important role in designing cities that will require little use of motorized vehicles. Through implementation of such measures, massive savings on environmental pollutants can be recorded. Works Cited Dennis-Parks, Reda M. â€Å"Instructing the EPA How to Regulate Vehicle Emmissions.† Ecology LQ, 30. (2003): 799. Print. Fullerton, Don and Li Gan. â€Å"Cost-effective policies to reduce vehicle emissions. † American Economic Review, 95. 2 (2005): 300–304. Print. Hirose, Katsuhiko. â€Å"Materials towards carbon-free, emission-free and oil-free mobility: hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles—now and in the future. † Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 368. 1923 (2010): 3365–3377. Print. Lave, Lester B, Chris T Hendrickson and Francis Clay Mcmichael. â€Å"Environmental implications of electric cars.†Science(Washington), 268. 5213 (1995): 993–995. Print. Potera, Carol. â€Å"Beyond batteries: portable hydrogen fuel cells. † Environmental Health Perspectives, 115. 1 (2007): 38. Print. United States Census Bureau. â€Å"Megacommuters: 600,000 in U. S. Travel 90 Minutes and 50 Miles to Work, and 10. 8 Million Travel an Hour Each Way, Census Bureau Reports – American Community Survey (ACS) – Newsroom – U. S. Census Bureau. † Census. gov, 2013. Web. 2 Dec 2013. . Yirka, Bob. â€Å"Researchers find treating pavement with titanium oxide reduces air pollution. † Phys. org, 2013. Web. 2 Dec 2013. .

Handwriting Analysis Essay

As the World’s Economy drops down, the need for jobs has rapidly increased over the years, but how do employers tell a hardworking potential from a lazy couch potato? In resumes anyone can write anything, so how do people tell the truth from a lie? In the world of businesses, the secret lies in the hands of the employees. Some employers decide to trust the resume as it is, while others choose another notion. A number of bosses have chosen to â€Å"read† their potential employees’ handwriting to understand their personality. The applicants perform a simple test. Then, people who are known as graphologists study the handwriting to uncover information about that certain person. Graphologists do not always just study a person’s handwriting. They study it and develop ways so that it is possible to uncover more information about the brain and its mysteries. Handwriting, is sometimes seen as a â€Å"blueprint to the brain† because it has been discovered to show one’s values and personality, which gives hope to the scientists around the world that the seclusive mass in the skull’s secrets can be unlocked and, maybe, be shared with the public. Handwriting analysis is an art that is used to figure out a person’s traits and characteristics. Nowadays, anyone can click on a website that shows all the rules and guidelines to become a handwriting analyzer. They then claimed that â€Å"anyone can understand their personality,† but analyzing does not mean understanding, it means discovering. So how can one understand their personality? There is always a beginning to start an end. In the history of handwriting analysis, it first started with the Emperor Nero. As everyone knows, he was paranoid and a tyrant. He had said that every letter sent to him had to be studied by an expert to see if the sender was an enemy or not. Thus graphology took it’s first flight. However, the first book about graphology was created by a scientist, Alderius Prosper about 1619. Later, in 1622, a medicine professor named Camillo Baldi created a composition about handwriting analysis. It was called â€Å"How to Know the Habits and the Character of a Person From His Letters†. Later, in 1871, another scientist named Jean Hippolyte Michan officially called the study â€Å"graphology† and created the system and rules that now help graphologists in their work around the world. Before this time, there was not much progress that helped  graphology and handwriting analysis. In 1880 – 1883 there were three German psychi atrists, Dr. George Meyer, Dr. Wilhelm Preyer, and Dr. Ludwig Klages. They all examined graphology and pointed it to a psychological turn. Around 1897 – 1927, the Germans and the Americans were having a race to see which country could establish a theory about graphology first. It ended in 1908, when the Germans scientists created the German Graphological Society. Finally in 1927, Louise Rice created the American Graphology Society. Until the time Louise Rice came along, no one in America had known what graphology or handwriting analysis was. In 1952, Klara Roman experimented with muscle tension by making a machine that could measure the pressure of the hand as it drags a writing utensil around the paper. After creating the machine device, she used it to experiment on little children’s handwritings. Then in 1955, Klara Roman and George Staemphli invented a chart that is now called the Graphological Psychogram. It puts different variables in order for an experiment which then they plotted them on the chart. For example, they would add more sleep or bring in moody people. Later, a New Yorker with the name Daniel Anthony refined the psychogram to be more accurate. When people look closely at their own handwriting, they can see that all handwriting is different and that they have their own styles. However, what most people do not realize is that they are not all unique. Instead, each handwriting has adopted a different aspect of a style. Say, there is a face. Each piece, or feature, of the face can change, but it is still the same feature. The only other difference that feature shows to other feature is their appearance. Such as it is with handwriting, each â€Å"feature† may look different, however, it is still the same. It is inevitable and can never be changed. According to dailymail.co.uk, no matter what method, formula, or any idea used to teach calligraphy, it does not affect the pupil’s handwriting. There are many â€Å"features† to handwriting that makes a handwriting unique. Such as, the handwriting’s size, spacing, signatures, shape, and etcetera. The size of one’s handwriting can be varied at times, but there is always a specific size that your hand would write into. Some people naturally have large handwriting, which can be greater than seven millimeters. A medium sized script can tend to be four to six millimeters long while a small sized font can be less than three millimeters. Also, the  spacing of one’s calligraphy can be managed as well, however, many people have never cared enough to keep their spacing even. Spacing can be determined by how far their words are from each other. Sometimes, the spacing of the words can be as far as a finger widths apart or one to two millimeters apart. The spacing can affect many parts of your handwriting. Such as it is with the signatures. The signature can be extremely hard to write or one of the most simple tasks. Whichever way it is, there is only one simple difference between them: if it is legible or illegible. That is the only difference for the signatures of one’s writing. The shape of one’s manuscript is one of the biggest differences between handwritings. They could be circular shaped, jagged points, curled, or looped. The possibilities of the different aspects can be endless. These are the different styles of one’s personal handwritings. Just like handwriting, there are many different types of personalities. However, most personalities are made up of character traits that are joined together to create one identity. Personalities are how we act or react to our daily lives. It is what links our actions and our thoughts together in what we call an attitude. There are many different types of personalities that contrast each other, but on the contrary, some tend to be alike. There are generally placed into four groups. These groups can be summarized as four characters from the Hundred Acre Woods in the Disney cartoon â€Å"Winnie the Pooh.† The Tigger, the Rabbit, the Eeyore, and the Pooh bear. The Tiggers tend to be enthusiastic, nice, the happy-go-lucky open, and more approachable. Meanwhile there is the Eeyore personality. These Eeyore people tend to be sullen, and often in a corner ignoring everybody. They are not lonely or sad, but it is that they like being alone and that it is just their nature to be alone. Even though they are solitary, they are also observant. Eeyores take in their surroundings and let everything unravel as they sit and do nothing. The Rabbit people, however, are very mismatched from the Tiggers and the Eeyores. The Rabbit people are the born leaders and they take responsibility when their is no one to take charge. They are ambitious and persevere to complete a task. They can sometimes become very bossy at times and Lastly, there is the Pooh bears. They are the most caring and friendliest of the groups. Pooh bears tend to be a people pleaser  even if they have to suffer for it. However, they enjoy to be uncomfortable if everyone is comfortable too. They tend to be the very nice people and sometimes gullible. Now these are only groups that personalitees can fall into. Though, there can be a mix of two or more groups to create a different identity. Handwriting used to be seen as an innocent tool to communicate with a pen and paper. Now, scientists have uncovered that not only does handwriting tell you moods and values, it can tell about your personalities. There is a key or a system, created by Jean Hippolyte Michan that can tell about different attributes. Meaning, with each â€Å"feature† of handwriting, there is a personality trait that matches up with that feature. A large sized handwriting symbolizes an outgoing trait in that person. A wide space between the words mean that the person prefers being alone rather that being with other people. However, there is a variable that can change. When you have a mood change, you can write differently than usual. For example, if you are happy you write contrasting how your handwriting would look when you are sad. So it can change depending on your mood. It can grow bigger, tilt more to the left or right, or become more messy. Another aspect that can affect your calligraphy is y our self-esteem. Your self-esteem is what your perspective is of yourself and what kind of person you think you are. It can constantly change it can only do so if a person thinks of themselves as a higher or lower being. For instance, a person with a higher self-esteem would look different if that same person had a lower self-esteem. Mainly though, one’s handwriting would differ the most depending on if the writer is conscious of his or her piece or not. Consciously writing would mean that the writer is writing and paying attention as he/she drags the writing utensil across the paper. Unconsciously means that the person knows that he is writing, but does not pay attention to how it looks. Such is the case when it comes to handwriting analysis, the main difference between unconsciously writing and consciously writing is that when you do not pay attention to how you write, the font tends to be messier, bigger, and less accurate than how it would be if you were consciously writing. There is a great significance to handwriting to handwriting analysis.  Handwriting Analysis is an art that is occasionally practiced by the police and used to see a what kind of person someone by trying to uncover your personality. It can also tell what mood a person is whether your happy or sad. A happy person tends to have bigger handwriting. It can also determine what a person’s values are. They can see your morals or beliefs depending on what they are looking at. There are many styles of handwriting, and it is possible that it would lead to a personality trait that would describe you. This is the importance of handwriting analysis. Handwriting analysis took a slow and long journey to be able to be what it is now. From the year 54 AD to the twenty-first century, it had progressed into a flourishing study that is researched by young and old. The style of a handwriting is the heartbeat of the whole study. With many different attributes that constructs themselves into different fonts, they all look very different. Like handwriting styles, there are different character traits that makes up one gigantic personality. However, with each â€Å"feature† of a certain handwriting, there is always a personality trait that is matched up with that â€Å"feature.† As said before, one can know their personality, but many can not understand it, so how can one be able to understand his/her personality? As many struggle to become one with themselves they begin to have doubts growing in them and soon they are confused. However, there is conviction that a person can understand their personality. Works Cited Page Lowe, Sheila. â€Å"What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?† Primer Magazine. Andrew, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. Sheikh, F.D. â€Å"What Lies in Your Handwriting.† Web log post. In the Name of the Human†¦ F.D. Sheikh, 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. Woollaston, Victoria. â€Å"What Does Your Handwriting Say about You?† Mail Online(2013): n. pag. Mail Online. 29 July 2013. Web. 14 Sept. 2013.

Planning for Project Implementation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Case study on HIV Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

On HIV - Case Study Example Since the patient has recurrent pneumonia, it is also advisable to know whether or not the patient has been receiving IVDU or blood transfusion including possible drug addiction and vaccination history since HIV virus can be transmitted through the use of needle via blood contact. Other information should include asking whether or not the patient has been diagnosed with hepatitis B or C, neoplasms, night sweats, adenopathy, pharyngitis, mouth and anal pain, depression, and significant changes in sleeping patterns. All these factors increases the chances that the patient will have low immune system making her easily infected with HIV virus. It concerns me that the patient has a history of recurring pneumonia, had a smoking history, fatigue, 7-lbs unintentional weight loss during the past six months, and has a long history of an abnormal vaginal yeast infection. Since the patient has recurring pneumonia and has 5-day history of fever, dyspnea, and right-sided pleuretic chest pain, I would like to ask whether or not the patient is experiencing shortness of breath and cough since these symptoms together with the patient’s health complaints are associated with opportunistic infections like Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) – the most common type of respiratory infection, and Myocobacterium avium complex (MAC) / Mycobacterium avium intracellular (MAI) which is the common bacterial infection among the patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) / HIV infection (Johnson, 2004, p. 2). With regards to fatigue and 7-lbs unintentional weight loss during the past six months, I would like to ask whether the patient is experiencing loss of appetite, nausea, oral and esophageal candidiasis which is often characterized by painful white patches when swallowing food, oral lesions, or retrosternal pain (Johnson, 2004, p. 2). All these additional questions are necessary

Samsung's Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Samsung's Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is corporate governance as a set of guidelines, rules, regulations and procedures which help an organization to run smoothly and take care of the stakeholders. These stakeholders include customers, employees, society, government, members, promoters, investors as well as all other members who are directly and indirectly associated with the organization. As a result of the increasing awareness among consumers and society regarding environment, health and safety, organizations have also started considering investing back into the society. Thus, the concept and application of corporate social responsibility have evolved. The general objective of Samsung’s CSR is to improve the conditions across the globe with the help of its various social programs contributing to the environment as well as people. Corporate sustainability includes environmental, economic as well as social performance of the organization. At present, the company is involved in va rious CSR activities such as, maintaining harmony among the society, people and environment, green management, social contributions, partner collaborations, integrity management and also, environmentally sustainable services and products. Samsung has been focusing on developing the lives of numerous children as a part of its philanthropic umbrella across the globe. The program has supported STEM educational campaigns which are critical for the workforce needs of Samsung. The various products which are utilized from the portfolio of the organization are also a relevant example of the numerous ways by which the needs which are expressed by the educator are met. (Samsung, 2013d). b) Partnerships: In order to contribute to the communities, Samsung has partnered with various government organizations such as, NEEF (National Environment Education Foundation) and PTA (National PTA). Through the involvement with these government agencies, the brand was assured that real needs of these commun ities are met with and it is able to impact the social lives in a practical manner (Samsung, 2013c). It also helps the company to better understand the sensitivities of parents and teachers and execute these programs in an enhanced manner. Also, the

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Evaluate a case study using behaviourists approach - Essay Example Moreover, cognitive theory works on the assumption that answers are always resulting from deliberate patterning. the theory is best used for learning and teaching purposes as it assumes that perceptions is a change happening in the mind and is caused by mental depiction and relationship stirred by the experiences of an individual (BECK, 2011: 62). This paper uses a different theory from behaviorist theory and related to behavior and provides an intervention strategy. In addition, the paper analyses the pros and cons of using cognitive theory to a behaviorist approach. Cognitive theory is a psychology learning theory which tries to explain how individuals act. It reasons that the acts are from choices which are made from humans who are considered logical beings. The known aspect of this theory is social cognitive theory that lays emphasis in understanding and changing how other individuals behave. It is mostly witnessed in advertising and peer pressure groups. Moreover, the theory forms a basis of treating psychological horrors which are related to the response of an individual. The main focus of the theory is to establish the different cognitive processes in learning. The main process involved in this theory includes scrutinizing, classifying and making theories based on the available information. In my opinion, learning in cognitive theory is based on activities happening within the minds: are not created with other stimuli originating outside the mind. Abstract instructions can be used to assess students because of the similar mental models which are contextual. In using the mental models, students can either be assessed using mind maps, taxonomies or networks to determine their understanding of a learning session or experience. Also they can be asses seducing a social, individualized approach which composes of the use of groups. This involves attaching little values to the instructions to the learning experience as popularly believed all work

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A critical evaluation of one aspect of contemporary hospitality management - Essay Example nstances, ordering, deliverance, imbursement, and stocking are commenced and completed by information which is captured by examining equipment with little involvement of human resources. Some hotel chains used to sell their ownership to the foreign investors though still keeping control. This provides them with the capital which was required for further growth. The classifications of regular American Hotel are: commercial hotels, conference centres, airport hotels, economy hotels, residential hotels, suite hotels, casino hotels, and resort hotels (Irs, 2014). The hotel industry varies from privately owned businesses to major global groups with more than six lakh room (Irs, 2014). The international hospitality industry involves the organizations or companies which provide accommodation and food to the individuals. It covers broad range of locations, jobs, activities, as well as economic brackets. The hospitality industry involves four sectors which are beverage and food, recreation, l odging, and tourism and travel. The travel industry moves people to different places while tourism industry offers with services which promote vacations and travel (Teare and Olsen, 1992). The Gaviota Tourism Group (Group de Turismo Gaviota) is founded in 1988 having situated in Cuba. It is the company with the dynamic expansion in the monarchy of the tourism industry in Cuba; present in major travel destinations and is also working progressively for the growth of the country. As of today, the Gaviota Tourism Group runs total 52 facilities amongst villas and hotels, with 19,214 rooms in function, with more than 650 million of yearly sales and also an average annually development of the hotel portfolio of 12.4%. The growth rate of this hotel industry will stay at a point of 20.3% yearly, ending with more than 4,000 rooms every year, therefore doubling the figure of guestrooms which is estimated to reach 46,000 by 2017 (Gaviota, 2014). For more than 26 years of the hotel excellence as

Light pollution and diurnal motion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Light pollution and diurnal motion - Essay Example The spectral lines between them showed two separable stars. The third part a very distinctive star that I saw was the contact binaries star. This kind of stars appear when two stars are close in separation that it is possible for tidal forces to come into play as described by Schneider & Arny in ``Binary stars`` (Pg. 4). Stars are not solid bodies, but rather they are made of gases, such stars are very hard to count but I could count about 10 different tiny types of stars around this kind of star. Due to curiosity of learning I moved some distance away from civilization and identified the same three stars. I realized that from a different view the visual binary number reduced to 35 stars around it and the spectroscopic star became more visible that I could see the two different stars clearly with around 8 small stars surrounding them. The contact binary was still the same. There was no clear visualising to count more stars than before. I carried out different test in tracking the location of the stars from the North Star in different times of the day. I realised that the main source of star movement is light waves and like any waves when they are emitted they move out in all directions with its centre is maintained at the centre. When the star moves away from the North Star it is seen as the absorption of or emission lines in spectrum (Schneider & Arny, 2013). The shifts in these cases depend with a lot of factors but the major one from my perspective is the atmospheric chang e and the stars formation. The spectroscopic star shifted further from the North Star than all the other stars followed by the contact

Careers in health care industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Careers in health care industry - Essay Example Health Information and Medical Records TechnicianThey are concerned with keeping patients health information records. The Department of labor in the US estimates 20% growth in this career before 2018. To be in this field, a degree in an associate’s degree is required (Parker 1).Medical AssistantThey work directly with patients. They work on the patient’s medical history and also take their vital signs. An Associate’s degree or a certificate program are the requirements.Pharmacy TechnicianThey provide customer service and also prescribe medication to patients. Only an Associate’s degree or certificate are needed.Environmental health directorTraining environmental regulations as well as offering education concerning the government in public operations and also in private. Degree in Bachelor’s and also Master’s is needed.Offers quality of services agrees with government regulations, and they are also consulted by them, medical professionals.Dire ctor of EpidemiologyHave the responsibility to determine the cause of a disease as well as health problems providing protection against further recurrence.Industrial waste directorThey focus on keeping the society clean to public health is safe. They ensure that the public employees do their work of collecting the garbage to keep the community cleanRadiation safety specialistThey offer facilities related to public health in dealing with environmental laws. This individual ensures that hazardous materials are kept safe to prevent accidents (Tommy 1).

Hathaway and Scottish Power Essay Example for Free

Hathaway and Scottish Power Essay 1.What is the possible meaning of the changes in stock price for Berkshire Hathaway and Scottish Power plc on the day of the acquisition announcement? Specifically, what does the $2.55 billion gain in Berkshire’s market value of equity imply about the intrinsic value of PacifiCorp? 2.Based on the multiples for comparable regulated utilities, what is the range of possible values for PacifiCorp? What questions might you have about this range? 3.Assess the bid for PacifiCorp. How does it compare with the firm’s intrinsic value? As an alternative, the instructor could suggest that students perform a simple discounted cash-flow (DCF) analysis. 4.How well has Berkshire Hathaway performed? How well has it performed in the aggregate? What about its investment in MidAmerican Energy Holdings? 5.What is your assessment of Berkshire’s investments in Buffett’s Big Four: American Express, Coca-Cola, Gillette, and Wells Fargo? 6.From Warren Buffett’s perspective, what is the intrinsic value? Why is it accorded such importance? How is it estimated? What are the alternatives to intrinsic value? Why does Buffett reject them? 7.Critically assess Buffett’s investment philosophy. Be prepared to identify points where you agree and disagree with him. 8.Should Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders endorse the acquisition of PacifiCorp? 1.What does the stock market seem to be saying about the acquisition of PacifiCorp by Berkshire Hathaway? 2.Based on your own analysis, what do you think PacifiCorp was worth on its own before its acquisition by Berkshire? 3.Do you think Buffett is overpaying? 4.Here are the major elements of Buffett’s philosophy. What do those elements mean? Do you agree with them? 5.Let’s return to the basic issue. Is the PacifiCorp acquisition a good or bad deal? Why?

The Tell - Tale heart by Edgar Allen Poe Essay Example for Free

The Tell Tale heart by Edgar Allen Poe Essay The Tell Tale heart by Edgar Allen Poe is set in a house belonging to an old man. Poe writes the story from the perspective of the murderer. This adds to the horror of the story. By continuously stressing that he is not mad the, Poe creates a situation where the tension and nervousness of the narrator is felt by the reader. This short story has lots of symbolism. To the narrator, the eye symbolizes evil; to the audience, the beating heart symbolizes a guilty conscience, and the man may even sybolise the dark side of the human race often connected with Gothic literature. The style and theme of the story is identical to that of Gothic Literature. The theme is based on a dark side of human nature found in everyone. This side is mostly hidden, but it can emerge when a person is pushed over the edge. Fear pushes them over the edge and towards the dark side. The narrator tells the story from his point of view but also speaks to the reader. Now at this point you fancy me mad. Though when reading the story it soon becomes clear that the reader is talking more to himself than t the reader, trying to first persuade himself that he is not mad. He tells of how he killed the old man because of his vulture eye. He cut him up and then put him under the floorboards of the house. This kind of writing about murder and death is a feature of Gothic literature, which was very poplar at the time. The vulture eye represents the mans fear. His dilemma between appearance and reality is also a theme of Gothic literature. For the man, the eye also symbolized evil. The line whenever it fell on me; my blood ran cold, infers that the man is gripped by irrational fear. He is not just afraid of the old mans eye, but more what it symbolised: Evil. This pushed him over the edge. I think the eye vexed him more because eyes are sometime seen as a window into the soul of the person. Poe uses retorical questions at the beginning to persuade the reader that he is not mad. How, then am I mad? This makes the reader wonder what the person has done that is so bad. Similarly, the pauses at the beginning not only build tension, but they also communicate the fact that it is very hard for him to relay these events. True! nervous very dreadfully nervous the narrator realises that what he did was wrong and therefore, finds it hard to talk about. He is probably admitting it to himself for the first time also. You can feel the tension in him voice and almost feel sorry for him. The narrator does not believe that his disease is madness; he believes that his senses have been sharpened. The narrator thought that killing the man was a just thing to do; the eye was evil and therefore, must be destroyed. He wanted to get rid of the vulture eyes power over him; he expected to bury the dark side. Thus rid myself of the eye forever. This suggests that he was not only driven by irrational fear but also hope that the eye along with the irrational fear might disappear. This illusion is also a convention of Gothic Literature. When you finish the story you are left to think about the possible meanings. One poses the ultimate burning retorical question of whether the man is mad or not, Madness being a theme of Gothic literature. The way he insists he is not suggests that he is hiding the truth, but if he were really mad then he would not suspect it. Maybe he is being truthful; he cant see why so many people think he is mad. The sound of the heart that no one else hears definitely infers that he is mad. Though the beating heart also sybolises his guilty conscience. It troubles him while the police are there. He starts to realise that what he did was wrong. But surely if he was mad he would have no conscience. He has become tangled up in the evil he hoped to get rid of. So the answer to the question is left up to you. Do you believe that every human has a dark side and that that this evil dark side is only revealed when the individual is pushed over the edge?

Red Bull International Marketing Plan Business Essay

Red Bull International Marketing Plan Business Essay Red bull with no doubt has been transformed to multinational company by the product which invigorates peoples mind and body .Red bull is multinational is company offering only two products invigorating peoples mind and body. Its international success has become subject of interest for many researchers in field of international marketing. The current report addresses international marketing strategies of the Redbull company as major international player in energy drink and beverage industry. Customer loyalty and relative production cost are main advantages of the company. But company is threatened by major players of international market in its penetrated territories. Still company is enjoying growth in its international energy drink markets. Internal analysis of Red bull strategies has reviled use of conventional and unconventional markets to expand its international markets. The sophisticated HR strategies of the Redbull is another propellers of the company in international markets. Redbull follows focus differentiation strategy in beverage industry. So Red bull has become selected choice of massive young population, which sales 1 million can of energy drink every year. SWOT analysis of the company depicted some strengths and weaknesses. The analysis showed proper adoption of generic marketing strategy, right international segmentation, right targeting, right positioning and good sales record. The marketing strategy of red bull can be easily applied to different cultures around the world that have sizeable youth population. History Background History Being dressed in special way is not enough to be good seller in beverage industry. In an industry which its products are found every where like hypermarket, supermarket, grocery and even in clubs selling is not easy. Red bull was first introduced by Dietrich Mateschitz Austrian business man who teamed up with Thai person to bring production of traditional Thai drink to international level. The product was canned in silver shiny can and named Red Bull because it showed head to head bull fight. (Red Bull Founder Rides Wave of Success) In 1987, the product was then taken to Austria where it had its first groundbreaking success in no time. In started going international in 1992, when they entered Hungary. Red Bull is currently active in over 100 countries, energizing the population and creating competition as they go along. One source mentioned that there are over 150 energy drink brands, however, all inferior to the mighty Red Bull (A REFRESHED CREW IS AN EFFICIENT CREW). With over 1 billion cans sold each year, Red Bull controls 70% of the worlds market share of energy drinks. Background Red Bull became strong when they created a high quality drink that is only made in Austria. Furthermore, all of its ingredients are synthetically made in pharmaceutical companies to grantee high quality and safety. Moreover, due to the ingredients of the product, it is said that Red bull (Red Bull FAQ): Improves performance Improves concentration and reaction speed Improves vigilance Improves emotional status Stimulates metabolism However, the main reason for the success of Red Bull is in its advertising style. Red Bull tends to spend very little on conventional or traditional marketing tools, like TV and Print ads. Their marketing strategy is usually out of the box and creative. Red Bull tends to be more active in sponsoring extreme spots and giving away samples in local events. Due to the fact that Mateschitz has been involved in Formula One racing for more than a decade, he used the events to draw attention to his brand. In addition, he sponsored the World Stunt Awards, an annual fund-raiser to help injured stunt workers (Red Bull Founder Rides Wave of Success). Moreover, some observers say that Red Bull uses the anti-branding method of advertising, where they broke the usual method of marketing and branding. Actually what they did was use the buzz marketing strategy or better known as word of mouth. With this strategy, they associated their brand with the youth culture and extreme and adventure-related spo rts, such as motor sports, mountain biking, snowboarding and dance music. Thus they targeted their brand directly to people from Generation Y, the so-called millennials: people born after 1981 who were believed to be cynical of traditional marketing strategies (A Look at a Key Feature of Red Bulls Business). The Buzz over Red Bull among the youth and their underground attitude has created Red Bulls reputation as the drink within that community. That is why Red Bull continues to use Viral marketing internationally, where the company would rather restrict the supply of Red Bull and not advertise it, expecting that growing numbers of target consumers to catch the bug and its reputation would spreads. Through this strategy, Red Bull has successfully captured 70% of the à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤1.6 billion market (A Look at a Key Feature of Red Bulls Business). External Analysis Porter Five Force Analysis External analysis is very important, the analyst taking this step should be aware of how competitive strategy has to be formulated. The analyst must bring all relevant social and economic factors in both micro and macro environment to consideration. The people in charge of formulating competitive strategy of the companies should know all strategic options available to the company. They should know all forces inside and outside industry affecting the company. Michael porter has unique framework for industry analysis and formulation of the strategy. Rivalry among existing competitors, buyers, suppliers, potential entrants into the business and Threat of substitute products are those five forces which can have positive or negative effects on industry structure by making the industry more or less competitive. Potential Entrants Redbull can produce bubble less energy drinks among other soft drink producers. If the barriers of entry are high, it is difficult for potential competitors to enter the market. Three main sources of barriers to new entry: brand loyalty of red bull customers, absolute cost advantages in Redbull s production line, and economies of scale enjoyed b RedBull. Brand loyalty Customers of RedBull have become loyal to the brand. The attend special events sponsored by the Redbull, respond to professional advertisement put by the company and name is known for its quality among its customers. Brand loyalty is a barrier for any new entrant to enter the energy drink industry. Cost advantage According to the Michael Porter, normally cost disadvantage is a big barrier for companies to enter an industry as new entrants because it can be cost advantage for existing companies in that industry. Also, companies with the help of cost advantages can compete and beat their competitors very easily because usually it is difficult for new entrants to match their companies with the lower cost structure. Therefore, Red Bull because of Red Bulls superior production and operation processes, and their experience in the energy drink industry, and control of its inputs according to their experience in producing red bull drinks, benefit the cost advantages with keeping its quality in the high level. Although there are many energy drinks existing in the industry with the lower price rather than Red Bull, as quality aspect they have not cost advantages both in quality and price, so Red Bull is steps ahead from its competitors in this case. Customer switching cost In food and beverage industry there is no switching cost for costumers with considering the level of quality, therefore it can be considered as threat for existing companies in this industry. In this case, Red Bull is not exceptional, so they need to keep their quality at the same level to not loosing their market share by coming new entrants because it is real threat for them. Government regulations One of big issues and always concerns for companies which like to go internationally is government regulation, also, in this case some Europe countries have problem with selling Red Bull and have tried to ban it. They claim that Red Bull was the cause of death of people in those countries. France, Belgium, and Sweden ban using the mixture of Red Bull and alcohol. So, it can be a threat for them in taking the market share and having a bad image for their brand. . (French Ban on Red Bull (drink) Upheld By European Court) Intensity of Rivalry Rivalry in some industries is characterized by such phrases as warlike, bitter, or cutthroat, whereas in other industries it is termed polite or gentlemanly. Energy drink industry has an intense rivalry because of a number of interacting structural factors: Industry competitive structure Due to the competition in the energy drink market, Red Bull focuses on non-price competitive weapon like offering exhilarating events, high quality products and sponsorship. In contrast with other competitors Red Bull attract more costumers to its company by growing in 45%marketshare. Accordingly Red Bull has a major influence on its competitors performance in the industry because Red Bull is one of the pioneers in energy drink industry and many companies try to obey and consider Red Bull as benchmark. Industry demand In the energy drink industry, because of the various proper advertisements to encourage people to use and drink energy drinks (giving the image that people can fly) the demand for drinks is increasing. Thus, this is a good point for the company because there are lots of opportunities for every company to fill the current demand and rivalry tend to reduce in the industry, also there is space for everyone to jump in enter the industry (growing stage), and the profit of the company is going to increase which is a goal that every company is seeking it. Buyers Having strong and stable costumers are suppliers and producers concerns, producers like to have costumers with large quantity level of ordering and stable financial status basically in energy drink industry especially Red Bull costumers (buyers) are wholesalers and big retailers. These buyers buy the energy drinks through the company or its representatives, and resell them to supermarket, bars, restaurants and end users. Red Bull faces buyers with high level of bargaining power, and it is real risk for Red Bull. Main reasons for this high bargaining power of buyers in this case are; the switching costs in the energy drink industry are very low. So, Red Bull buyers can switch from Red Bull to other energy drink companies which produce it with lower prices without any difficulty. Also, in most cases energy drink buyers (retailers and wholesalers) purchase products in large quantities, and it is obvious that the more buying in quantity, the more bargaining power the buyer has. So they c an use their power to reduce the cost of energy drinks. Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is the same story like bargaining power of buyers but from other side. Red Bull company has both kind of suppliers as bargaining power, some very strong and others weak, so they can balance between them. For instance, the supplier of Glucuronolactone is Glaxo Smithkline Company. Red Bull energy drink buys their Glucurnopolacton inputs from this company. So the bargaining power of this supplier is very high on Red Bull. But the other ingredients are assembled from several small suppliers, and Red Bull has the bargaining power on them. Also, Red Bull has many channels and substitutes suppliers for its normal raw materials, so they can switch from any supplier to cheaper and more flexible one. Substitutes All producers always carry the concern of substitute products for their products and always looking for ways to protect and survive themselves from this phenomenon. Energy drink industry isnt an exception, so players in this industry always try to keep level of quality high, convenience price and other thing which may make costumers more satisfy. Coffee industry can be a threat for energy drinks because of the existing caffeine in coffee and it can be a powerful potential product substitute for energy drink. Therefore, Red bull must take care of its pricing strategy and product quality to keep its costumers and satisfy them more day by day which they were successful due to reports not only Red Bull could protect its products against other substitutes but also, they have increased in their market share in US market by 45% . Industry Analysis and Peer Review Industry Characteristics Beverage industry is divided into many categories such as alcoholic vs. non alcoholic, (hard vs. soft drinks) and within soft drinks still there is other segmentation such as carbonated soft drink (CSD) and non carbonated soft drink. Carbonated Energy Drinks account for less than half of the total volume. This figure is heavily skewed however by the popularity of still brands in Asia (Canadean Press release) According to Beverage Digest, in 2004 the U.S. non-alcoholic refreshment market totaled 14 billion cases (192-oz). Carbonated soft drinks made up 73.1% of the total with non-carbonated products comprising 13.7% and packaged bottled water accounting for 13.2%. Americans spent roughly $92.9 billion annually on refreshment beverages. Energy drink is a relatively new product introduced in 80s and has been growing noticeably with the market more than doubling in size since 1998 (Canadean Press release). The following chart is evidence of this inevitable growth and the attraction of this growth for drink manufacturer. The industry has been experiencing a significant growth and still growing at the speed that draws the big players in soft like Coca Cola drink to enter to this high margin business. Food and beverage market are critical enough that out of 100 new product development 90 NPD fails. The failure results from a poor interpretation of consumers trend and translation of those to opportunities. Austrian company, Red Bull, as a pioneer trend settler has made its fortune from their unique strategies in advertising, marketing and other products characteristics such as Packaging, Flavor, color and Product claim. Global consumption According to Beverage digest report, Asia is the largest leading market in consumption of energy drinks followed by Western Europe and North America as the second and third markets. Asia has been loosing some of 20% of its market share is past 6 years. However, this decline has been offset by the second and third market mainly due to the steady growth in market of carbonated E.D in North America. North American market is now almost 40 times greater than it was in 1998 Peer Review In North America today more than 200 energy drinks existed in US. According to bevNET.com, after a rigorous marketing research the best energy drinks are AMP by Pepsi Cola, KMX Red by Coca-Cola Company Red Bull by Red Bull North America. Red Bulls market dominance seems assured. No other competitors have either the distribution channels or, more importantly, the posture of rebellious infamy to be considered real threats. Year 2001, in UK energy drinks market 21 new drinks have been introduced that would have force the red bull into a competition. However, red bull can still enjoy being a market leader. In the following table there are representations of top 14 non- alcoholic markets where some of them are in the specific market of the energy drinks. Coca-Cola(Juice, Soft Drinks, Water) ($21bn) Suntory(Water, Soft Drinks) ($4.4bn) Nestle(Coffee, Soft Drinks, Water) ($19bn) Starbucks(Coffee) ($4.0bn) PepsiCo(Juice, Soft Drinks, Water) ($10bn) Sara Lee(Coffee) ($2.7bn) Kraft Foods(Coffee, Powdered Drinks) ($4.6bn) Tchibo(Coffee) ($2.7bn) Unilever(Tea ) ($4.5bn) Red Bull(Energy Drinks) ($1.6bn) Cadbury Schweppes(Soft Drinks) ($4.5bn) Cott Corp(Juice, Soft Drinks) ($1.4bn) Danone(Soft Drinks, Water) ($4.5bn) Ocean Spray Source: http://www.mind-advertising.com/sectors/sector_softdrinks.htm Industry Life Cycle Energy drinks were originally pioneered by Asian companies, but they became popular in Europe the late 80s with the arrival of Red Bull. There are more than 200 energy drinks existed in US market only and this figure is increasing due to the high margin of this business. In 2004, carbonated soft drinks posted the growth of 1% which is unlike its usual trend, case of growing 2% to 4%. Noticeably, this inevitable growth was driven by Diet and Energy drinks. While other carbonated drinks posted volume change of one Digit, brands like Red Bull and Hansen Natural reported the 45% and 56% of positive volume change in 2004. The market, now estimated to be worth $10 million, has been predicted to grow to $300 million or even as much as $2 billion in the next few years. Double digit growth in the market is the main factor contributing to Energy drinks life cycle in its embryonic phase (growth). Since the market is not old enough, the number of players are increasing and even the Coca Cola and Pepsi are the new entrant which add to the well-built assumption of embryonic phase. Brand loyalty and high expectations are still questionable in this stage and its because the consumers are still exposing to new products and new claims. Thus, players are fighting for product feature extension such as low-carbs and sugar free plus new products claims such as improve concentration, reaction time and endurance. After introduction of Red Bull in late 80s, industry went to an introduction phase. By 1998, the size of the industry doubled and still growing with a fast pace following highlighted area in the graph is an approximate stage of the life cycle at the moment. Internal Analysis Value Chain Primary Activity: Inbound outbound logistics Logistical issues at Red Bull in of high importance. Due to the fact that all ingredients in the Red Bull drink is synthetically made by pharmaceutical companies, they make sure that their products are carefully handled to maintain the quality and avoid unnecessary costs. Red Bull always makes sure that they align with premium logistics provider to achieve their strategic goals. Red Bull aims to have web-based visibility on their supply chain, thus they base their logistical activities or selection on: Flexible warehouse network Transportation management capabilities Strong information technology offering With 1,600 employees working for Red Bull world wide (Gulf News, Red Bull plans to set up Dubai plant), Red Bull required those standards as they are experiencing year-after-year of high growth, which make the inventory forecasting and management challenging. That is why logistical issues have become increasingly important, and that is why they choose to outsource the logistics to companies that can comply with their network of multi-client warehouses needs (Red Bull OH Logistics). Interestingly, Red Bull uses small distributors in small regional markets, if those small distributors dont perform up to Red Bulls standards they establish a warehouse and push young people to stuff their vans with Red Bulls product and distribute it every where. This way, the small distributors generally break even within three months and are profitable within six (A Bulls Market The marketing of Red Bull Energy Drink). Primary Activity: Operations There is little information about the operations process of Red Bull. However we will enlighten you with the contents and brief information about the packaging company that Red Bull deals with. The great product which is provided by Red Bull one of its main elements of success. Known for improving performance, improving concentration and reaction speed, improving vigilance, improving emotional status and stimulating metabolism, Red Bulls secret is in its ingredients. The ingredients in each Red Bull drink (250ml) consist of: Taurine (1000mg) Glucuronolacton (600mg) Caffeine (80mg) Niacin (20mg) Vitamin B6 (5mg) Pantothenic Acid (5mg) Vitamin B12 (0.005mg) According to Red Bull, It is a combination of all the ingredients together, which result in Red Bulls benefits (Red Bull, Ingredients).. The packaging process of Red Bull is fully done in Austria. And the supplier of Red Bulls cans is Rexam, and they are considered to be the worlds largest provider of beverage cans. Rexam manufactures different types of cans for different industries, however almost half of their revenues come from Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola. Moreover, industry estimates present that Rexam gained about $22 million from the sales of Red Bull cans (How Does Red Bull Package Its Product?). Primary Activity: Marketing and Sales: With the control of 70% of the à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤1.6 billion market (about à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤1.12 billion), Red Bull has achieved all of this through intensive unconventional marketing strategies. Targeting young people, mainly the Y-generation, Red Bull has utilized eccentric marketing tools that has extremely effective on the target market. The strategy of sponsoring local activities like the Red Bull music academy in the USA, parachuting in South Africa, Go-Karts in Kuwait, and many more in different countries has achieved its target of attracting its target market which gets excited when viewing such sports. Some of the strategies used for marketing Red Bull include: Using pick-up trucks as mobile displays, painted blue and silver with a giant can of the drink mounted on top of the vehicle. Designed to be eye-catching, these devices were aimed at promoting the red bull brand as youthful and slightly off-the-wall. Cans of the drink were also given out free to people on the street who had been identified as being in need of energy. Red Bull was given to club DJs, empty cans would also be left on tables in hot spots such as trendy bars, clubs and pubs. Secondary Activity: Technology The information about the technology that Red Bull uses was quite scares. However we could safely say that Red Bull little activity done on their RD side because Red Bull does enjoy any sort of economies of scale. Red Bull has only one main product, which is the Red Bull energy drink and recently they introduced the new Red Bull energy drink sugar-free. Hence, the main difference between the original Red Bull drink and the sugar-free drink is that it has 0g of sucrose and 0g of glucose, where the original product has 21.5g of sucrose and 5.25g of glucose. Moreover, each sugar-free drink has only 8 calories (EU)/ 10 calories (USA), yet it does not loose any of its energetic effects (Red Bull, Ingredients). Secondary Activity: Human Recourse Red Bull is famous for practicing what they preach, especially when it comes to recruitment. Due to the fact that Red Bull promotes their product as a Hip and young product, they make sure to recruit staffs that are young, in touch with youth culture, dynamic and innovative. For example, they achieve that by recruiting university students as student brand managers to promote its product among young student groups (What Sort of People Work For Red Bull?). However their recruiting does not happen by Red Bull themselves, but they makes sure that it is implemented by all of the outsourced activities. However, it is known that most of Red Bulls 1,600 employees are marketing experts and are the real movers of the Red Bull drink (Marketing Eye, Red Bull Car). Group Customers and Market Segmentation As it is known any successful company should have a certain customer group. The customers that were targeted by Red Bull were the ones that were looking for excitement, alertness, and concentration depending on the age, status, and lifestyle. Four consumer categories were Red Bulls target under the age of 16-30: students, club people, sport people, and employees. College students were the main target of Red Bull. Since college students look for something that would enhance their concentration on doing their assignments and projects, and staying overnight for studying for exams then Red Bull is the best solution for them. It would improve their concentration in their studying Moreover; Red Bull has used this group to enhance their promotion. According to Biz/ed, throw parties those students were emboldened to market the product in the campuses of the universities as what they call them student brand managers. Those students collect the information and make a report of a market data research to the company. Depending on that strategy and the youth generation (high school and colleges students), Red Bull was able to spread the reputation and the popularity of the drink and concentrating on supplying the product rather than applying the traditional marketing ways of promotion (A Look at a Key Feature of Red Bulls Business). The second category of Red Bull customers are the night club people, since the drink has some substances that would increase the persons emotional status. Moreover, Red Bull is offered in the nightclubs depending on the cultural background. For example, nightclubs in Dubai offer Red Bull for the people who do not drink alcohol like the Muslims, which made it a major substitute for alcohol to that group. However, Red Bull is still individually mixed with alcohol to create both the Red Bull highness and the alcohol sensation. Furthermore, Red Bull has also made music events for those groups of customers like the Red Bull Music Academy in 2005 in Seattle, Washington in the United States. (Red Bull Music Academy 2005) For the physical exertion that the drink offers, Red Bull has also promoted the product for the sport people. Among those people, there are the athletes, the racing drivers, the airborne-sport people, water-sport people, the bikers, the skateboarders, and the skiers. Red Bull highly endorsed this group with many sport festivals, and one of the famous one among those is the Red Bull Dolomite Man that took place in Austria in 2005. (Red Bull Dolomite Man) Red Bulls minor groups are the white-collar and the blue-collar workers. Red Bull can support white-collar workers to concentrate more on the job to improve their performance, and it would also help them stay overnight if he or she needed. The drink would also allow the blue-collar workers to work extra hours with out the feeling of exhaustions for the physical exertion that the drink provides. However, Red Bull did not concentrate on this group, so there were no special efforts directed towards them. Within the four groups, there a considerable amount of customers who look for diet product. For that category, Red Bull produced the sugar-free Red Bull to combine the diet customers with rest of the customers that are within the four groups. Business Level and Generic Strategy In the generic strategy Red Bull there are two views, there is a generic strategy from energy drink market perspective, and there is a generic strategy from soft drink market perspective. From the energy drink market perspective, since Red Bull has few economies of scope, the strategy adopted by Red Bull to follow is differentiation. The price of the drink is about 5Dhs in the UAE, which shows the clear differentiation of the product, especially in a market where every body is competing on the same customer segment. According to Biz/ed, Red Bull was able to build a strong brand image through: using Red Bull cars that had big cans on them, giving free cans to people, and providing Red Bull cans to club DJs (A Look at a Key Feature of Red Bulls Business). This strategy made Red Bull to be the market leader of 70% market in the energy drink market. From the soft drink market industry wide perspective Red Bull applies the Focused-differentiation generic strategy. Red Bull has a very good brand image in terms of soft drinks industry. The drink can only maintain this image through focus-differentiating the product by separating their customers according to the demography (age, lifestyle, culture) and the geography, since the industry has many aggressive competitors with a powerful brand image like Coca Cola and Pepsi. SWOT Strengths Industry leadership Throughout the world, Red bull is the leader in the energy drinks market with annual sales of billion dollars. According to the statistics, in year 2003 red bull achieved 80% brand share of the energy drinks market in the UK. Also in the Europe, they produce two-thirds of overall volume in the region. Moreover, Red bull is competing in 13 West European countries and is the main leader in 12 of these and other top 20 brands are having only 17% of share. Since year 2000 (compare to 1990s), it has been a clear shakeout, and fewer new brands are launching new products to the market. Furthermore many products offered by leading drink manufacturers could not compete with Red bull in the market, such as Coca-Colas Burn. (Red Bull SWOT Analysis) Marketing capabilities The successful marketing strategies and consumer awareness of Red bull introduced stimulation drinks to the western market and has resulted functional drinks growth throughout these years. Red bull is increasing its consumer brand awareness by employing targeted marketing campaigns that focuses on 18-25 age groups. Also the company has been differentiating its product by sponsoring dangerous sports such as Formula 1 driving; free skiing; BMX biking etc. Furthermore, Red bull strongly promotes itself by using its slogan: Red bull gives you wings. (Red Bull SWOT Analysis) Alliance with major distributors Red bull has expanded its brands marketing distribution by establishing an association with Cadbury Schweppes in Australia. This association allows consumers to have access to Red bull across the nation. As a result of this partnership, sales of Red bull are 40% higher compared to last year and expecting to rise significantly year-by-year. Furthermore, this partnership can reduce competitive threats from Red bulls rivals and broaden its sales opportunities due to the fact that Cadbury Schweppes can help it to reach channels such as vending machines, food courts, colleges, sports a travel facilities, hospitals etc. Another partnership that Red Bull North America did was with Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, where Red Bull saw its supply chain get boosted last year. OH Logistics, Red Bulls single national provider, handled more than 16,000 shipments of the drink during 2004 and opened five locations in five states in the first 90 days of operation. (Red Bull OH Logistics) (Red Bull SWOT Analy sis) Weaknesses Lack of innovation In year 2004 some new energy drinks have been entered into the market. One of them is called Raw Energy Fuel Cell, which is Canadian vitamin and glucose drink and is certified by World Wrestling Entertainment. This product has quiet the same effects that Red bull has except that it does not contain Taurine and has less caffeine compared to other energy drinks. Furthermore it comes in 330ml PET bottles, which makes it look different compared to Red bull (250ml cans) and other competitors. However Red bull only made little changes to its product format throughout th

Stereotypes of Native Americans in Modern Films Essay -- Movie Film Es

Stereotypes of Native Americans in Modern Films There are many stereotypes about Native Americans which are promoted in today's films. Since the beginnings of the westward settlement people have been saying things about the Native Americans that are not necessarily true. They were depicted as savages and thieves. Like all peoples this is true about some, but not for all. In fact, it was the Native Americans which helped the pilgrims settle in this country in the first place. This never stopped whites from stereotyping the way we have. Early films and TV shows gave Native Americans a bad image. Old western films are a good example of this. In these the cowboys were always the good guys and the Native Americans were the bad guys. More recent films and TV shows give a different picture of the Native American. Since the start of television the Americans view of the culture of the Native American has slowly changed from being a ruthless savage to an honored race of people. Stereotypes of Native Americans were first taught to us by our parents. Almost all of us can remember playing cowboys and Indians when we were little kids. The cowboy would always be the good guy and he would chase the Indian and shoot him with his gun. When we are taught this as little children it is hard to give this idea up as adults. People still commonly call Native Americans Indians which is wrong since that name was given to them by Columbus when he thought he was in India. It also makes for exciting action in films to have the cowboy chasing the Native American around and shooting him. This could be a major reason why so many cowboy and Indian movies were made. Television also promotes many stereotypes about Native Americans. Television has such ... ... good guys. In the film Kostner begins with the picture that all Native Americans are bad and they would eventually attack him. But as the film goes on he learn that they are not bad people and adopts their ways. Then the white people are made out as the bad guys in the end of the film when they capture Kostner and treat him bad. Why is it that many films have taken on the drastic change of making the Native Americans go from bad guys to good guys? Probably one of the biggest reasons is that people are better educated about the history of Native Americans now then they were before. People are now realizing that we treated Native Americans poorly. This gives people a sense of guilt about how their ancestors treated Native Americans. Works Cited AAP Commitee on Communications. "Television Issues." http://www.cybergate.com/~simonian/tv.html (23 April. 1997).

In Opposition of an Amendment to Ban Flag Desecration :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

In Opposition of an Amendment to Ban Flag Desecration In 1876 a Constitutional amendment was proposed that would eliminate the Senate. In 1893, there was an amendment proposed that would get rid of the Army and the Navy, and another one that would rename the country the United States of the Earth. They all share one common dominator: they would do absolutely nothing to benefit the United States or its citizens. To this list another proposed amendment can be added: the amendment banning desecration of the American flag. There have been less then 200 reported flag burnings in the more then 200 that America has existed. Congress is trying to protect the flag from something that’s not even threatening it. In actuality, Congress’s bill would threaten the flag more than any match ever would. The American flag stands for freedom, and in this Land of the Free, what could be more important then the right to express ones opinions? America is the only country in the world where citizens are guaranteed the right to protest the government! If this protest happens to involve the desecration of the flag, then celebrate the fact that we live in such a country where we can do this without fear instead of condemning the action! Not only would this bill undermine everything the constitution stands for, it would also destroy America’s Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights has survived for more than 200 years without being altered in any way. Making flag burning illegal would be the first change ever to the first ten amendments, and would open the gateway to more changes in the future. Supporters of the bill have

Analysis of Hume’s Critique of Causation Essay -- Philosophy Philosoph

Analysis of Hume’s Critique of Causation Sometimes it is hard to be sure what conclusion to draw from a Humean analysis, and he is easy to misrepresent. This is partly because one argument he is engaged in may raise a number of related issues that he has dealt with elsewhere, and some of his points seem contradictory. My wish is to consider some of the possible readings of David Hume’s critique of causation, as it appears in Section VII of the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, â€Å"On Necessary Connexion†, and their relation to the propositions of Section II, â€Å"Of the Origin of Ideas†, and Section X, â€Å"On Miracles†. I will offer criticisms and alternatives to Hume’s account(s) and conclude by picking which interpretation of Section VII best works for Hume, given certain arguments elsewhere in the Enquiry. The following is a summary of the aspects of the problem of induction as presented in the Enquiry which concern my discussion. Our assurance that certain sets of conditions are sufficient to produce certain effects is based on past experience that like has been conjoined with like. The belief in necessary connection entails (Hume will conclude that it amounts to) a belief that events similar to those experienced in the past will be accompanied by similar conjuncts. Such a belief may only be arrived at inductively, and induction does not discover necessity.1[1] This argument is against the supposed necessity of connection. â€Å"Necessity† here may refer to logical necessity, or it may not distinguish between this and physical necessity. To be physically necessary is to be sufficiently caused, but contingent upon the conditions of the event and the properties of all objects involved. Physical... ... but one about reason, that it is not this, but habit, which forms the basis of our beliefs. While it may be the case that denying an empirical fact may not result in a contradiction, Hume seems to be suggesting that it would still be irrational to do so. That abstracting from events to laws is a rational, though inductive, act seems hard to deny. Thus, at best, Hume can only show that it is experience which first provides the matter for reason. Sources Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1977) 1[1] David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1977), p.46 2[2] p.51 3[3] p.49 4[4] I think both Descartes and Kant had perfectly good a priori demonstrations of the existence of the self, which is all one needs to reach the concept of existence. 5[5] p.42

The Need for Performance Appraisal in the Uae Transport and Travel Industry

Student Name: Instructor’s Name: Title: PROPOSAL: The Need for Performance Appraisal in the UAE Transport and Travel Industry Course: Institution: Table of Contents An evaluation of performance appraisal in UAE travel department3 Introduction3 Statement of the problem3 Research Objectives and Aims3 Background and Significance4 Significance of the Study4 LITERATURE REVIEW5 How has the UAE transport industry failed in embrace performance appraisal? 5 Emirisation policy (Nationalism)5 Employee wage rates and prohibition of workers tribunal6 National Culture and traditions7Organization Culture8 Research methods and design9 Research design9 Research deliverables/potential values/expected outcomes10 Limitations of the research10 Ethical Implications10 Bibliography12 The need for performance appraisal in the UAE transport and travel industry An evaluation of performance appraisal in UAE travel department Introduction Human resource management is the main determinant of employee perfo rmance in any organization (Wright et. al 2003). For effective management of employees, performance appraisal and management is a critical aspect in the human resource department.With the increasing competition, the advancement of technology and the current global economic decline, government departments and organizations are changing their employee practices to save resources and at the same time increase productivity (Armstrong 2009). They are working towards improving employee productivity. Resources in organizations are currently moving from capital and asset holding to skills employees possess, their brand and intellectual capability. Thus, the research will aim at critically examining how performance appraisal will improve employee productivity and reduce disputes in the UAE transport travel industry.Statement of the problem Increased poor performance and low employee productivity in the government sectors is affecting the general economy of the United Arab Emirates government s. Increased employee within the transport industry calls for a critical evaluation and implementation of performance appraisal. Research Objectives and Aims The research will basically base on ways of improving UAE employees’ productivity through performance appraisal. It restricts its scope to government sector and issues affecting employees within their departments and in the general organization.The research will also involve the government sector in the UAE. Specific Objectives ? To determine what is causing reduced productivity among employees ? To identify areas of weakness within the government organization ? To identify specific appraisal measures that the organizations are lacking ? To suggest appropriate measures of realizing improved performance Background and Significance The United Arab Emirates is a federal association comprising of seven different countries in the Southeast of the Arabian Pensula. The Emirates has conserved customs, laws and business practices governed by the Islamic beliefs.It is known for well developed infrastructure and its transport and travel industry that extends to international levels and serves a wide range of nationals. This is because it adopts technologies of other foreign states and is improves its transport industry by expanding it internationally (Alrawi & Sabry, 2009. However, currently, employee disputes and strikes experienced in most of the emirate countries is rampant. This is common in the biggest and most famous Emirates such a Dubai and Sharjah. Significance of the StudyThe study will look at employee productivity as a factor of performance appraisal in the UAE government departments with emphasis on the travel and transport industry of the UAE. The study will have significance both theoretically and practically. It improves the understanding of how performance appraisal of employees will increase their productivity and improve relations among employees and with their seniors in the UAE. It will a lso enable the government department to know which strategies they should put in place in order to attain employee job satisfaction, commitment and increased retention rates.The problem of employee productivity is an area of limited research. The study will develop a theoretical framework for employee performance appraisal and productivity in relation to UAE policies. LITERATURE REVIEW Employee performance and levels of productivity determines profits of any firm. According to Heathfield (2008), organizations are aiming at seeking advantages, and for this reason she says, evaluation of workers performance is becoming the immediate area of target. She says that the management of employee performance is of advantage for both the employee and the employer.She further states that, however the approach to the concept of performance appraisal may differ from one organization to another, the concept and its meaning still focuses on human capital as the most important asset in the organizat ion. How the UAE transport industry has failed in embrace performance appraisal Emirisation policy (Nationalism) Emirisation policy aims at developing more workforce among the nationals of UAE through education systems, training and career development so as to reduce the number of non-nationals in the countries and encourage employment of the nationals (Rees Et. l, 2007). This in turn may affect performance of the non-national employees and may lead to unfair judgment of employee performance by the managers. Many organizations are embracing the policies, and in turn changing the managerial approaches of the firms (Mansour, 2008). Human resource practices such as recruiting procedures (Randeree, 2009) and employment strategies are affected as a result of the emirisation policy. For example the banking sector where employment of the nationals increased to 30% from 28% in the year 2005. Employee wage rates and prohibition of workers tribunalLow wage rates and poor working conditions as a result of prohibit trade unions in the UAE, is a matter of concern and making headlines (Francis, 2008 ). This however involves discrimination of non-national workers from india, Plilistienes and Pakistan. The result of ignoring the human resopurse factor leads to disputes, strikes low employee production and damages the image of the organization. She states that the government intervenes to have more control on the employees; however, arresting workers who are fighting for their rights is uncouth.Performance appraisal aims at looking into the affairs of workers which also involves changing policies as the economy also improves. Francis (2008) further states that employee strike also resulted from policies established in the past two decades that organizations were still using in determining the rates of payment entitled to workers. He says that in Dubai, striking was illegal and therefore, for workers to engage in it, having in mind the consequences, it means that they are respo nding to the industrial working conditions that would result to utter poverty.The government in this case denies the workers certain rights and worsens it by detaining the demonstrators when they have no tribunals that they could rather have gone to and negotiated with the government. Dubai is known for its advanced air services, transport and tourism. However, labour issues as a result of employee wage rates are also a rising issue of concern. Shaibany (2011) writes an article on employee strike as a result of less pay. In is report he says that two hundred employees of Oman air went on strike following their demand for increase in pay. This is just after another incident in the North of jobs and wages.He say says that however, the flight staff did not strike, that the ground staff. Although this had no effect on flights for that day, the issue of employee performance is still an issue of concern. The issue of remuneration is also affected by gender inequality. In some cases in the UAE, female employees have been legally considered to earn less income than their male counterparts irrespective of their abilities and commitment (Tanmia, 2005). This has a direct effect to their performance. National Culture and traditions Arab traditions do not for provide elections in the political system of the UAE.The culture is based on previous generations, National and regional culture, gender and social organizational cultures that in turn have an effect on work values (Abubakr, 2006). Regional influence is more diverse than the rest. Religion, language and historical factors affect organization retention and employee satisfactions which are among the goals that performance appraisal aim at. Pawan et al. (2006) argue that the economic and political importance in the middle East are the areas of interests and therefore, this over shadows the development of human resource management literature.This, he says, affects performance in the business sectors which largely contribu te to the general economy. That poor economic growth as a result of assuming the human resource capital of the organization is affecting the standard of living of people in the region. Goel (2008) explains how a performance appraisal interview puts the employee in a better position to communicate their views and opinions, to identify their weaknesses and knows areas which require improvement and adjustments. He states that this improves communication within the organization and motivates workers to improve themselves.Goel notes that different organizations conduct the appraisal exercise at different times, others yearly or twice a year. However, he suggests that unscheduled and informal exercises are better and more useful. The United Arab Emirates is experiencing a commendable growth in the economic sector and is embracing technology from foreigners at a high rate. According to (OECD 2010), the government aims at capacity building. The government is now moving form the traditional system of personnel management that has less professionalism and is routine oriented to a human resource management system which focuses on performance.OECD states that human resource management focuses more on employees as recourse to the organization and not a tool. This therefore means that, their performance is a priority to the organization as well as their well being, which the organization ensures by providing them with favorable working conditions while balancing its advantage. Organization Culture Recognition is one of the factors that ensures employee satisfaction and enables them to stay in a given job for a longer period (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999).Many organizations in the United Arab Emirates transport industry, especially in Dubai and Sharjah, perceive manager as the best and expect employees to simply follow instructions and work. Practices within organizations in relation to economic policies and strategies are also an issue. Beer and Ruh in Vroom (1990) managing p eople state the use of Management by Objective (MBO) system as an important in instilling accountability on the part of workers other than just improving their personal qualities.Beer and Ruh further explain that many managers and top executives dislike judging their subordinates on how they work as a way of ensuring that everyone is working towards the goals of the organization. However, he says, this is the most Important role of the managers within the organization to ensure that all efforts are directed towards achieving a common goal of the organization. Some managers fear giving negative results o employee analyses when they need to so as to enable the employee improve on the areas of weaknesses. Likely, some are ignorant of employee reactions and interpersonal situations as they focus on results alone.Such managers, he says, do not care about the employee and at times will communicate the results in a manner to frustrate them, which is not ethical. Research methods and design The research will use secondary data from available literature that is books and internet sources. The research will also use survey methods in collection of data by use of survey questionnaires to employees and employers at different job posts. Semi-structured interviews will also be involved. The research will include qualitative technique to gather analysis and concepts and quantitative technique to gather numerical data (Punch 2005) Research designThe purpose of the research is to investigate the need for performance appraisal in the transport and travel industry in Dubai. The study will based on employees and employers responses regarding the objective of the need for performance appraisal in the industry. The researcher will adopt an exploratory study design. An explanatory approach will also be used in explaining the relationship between variables. Research deliverables/potential values/expected outcomes The research will provide managerial information for managing human res ource that will enable organizations in the transport industry to increase employee productivity.This is of value to both employers and the workers. The research expects that the outcome will give relevant areas of weakness that management require applying employee performance appraisal and effectiveness of this procedure to the general organization. Limitations of the research Dubai is an Arab speaking country which only embraced English for business and commerce purposes. The researcher therefore is likely to face the problem of language barrier among the nationals. Not all nationals are used to English and if so, not fluent English. This will be a limiting factor in the case of interviews.Being a Muslim country, religious barriers are likely. Cultures like restricted closeness with respondents of the opposite sex and way of dressing as restricted by the respondents’ religion might be a limitation during the research. Collection of information from respondents of a differen t gender will pose a challenge to the researcher. Nationality and race of the researcher might be a possible limitation in the research. Respondents may fear to respond to questions or get close to the researcher because of racial barrier and different nationality. Organization policy in the foreign country will limit research and collection of information.Organization management might refuse to cooperate by restricting employees from participating in the data collection. Ethical Implications The research will observe quality in information and findings, encouraging no faulty or defrauding information from the participants of the research. It will also ensure safety of the participants is taken into consideration with equal assurance to them of confidentiality and non disclosure of their information details. The researcher will present confidential forms to this effect which he will sign and the respondent will sign too.Quality of information will be ensured by collecting informatio n from direct victims of performance appraisal (employees). Bibliography Abubakr, M. (2006). Managing human resource in the Middle East: Human resource management in the United Arab Emirates. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd. Alrawi, K. , & Sabry, K. (2009). E-commerce evolution: A Gulf region review. International Journal of Business Information Systems, 4(5), 509 – 526 Armstrong, M. (2009). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practices (11th ed. ). London: Kogan Page Limited. Buckingham, M. , ; Coffman, C. (1999).First, break all the rules: What the world’s greatest managers do differently. New York: Simon ; Shuster. Francis. V, (2008). Dubai Labor Fighting Back Vs. Indentured Globalization. Retrieved on November 5, 2012 from GOEL, D. (2008). Performance appraisal and compensation management. New Dehli, Prentice-Hall of India. Heathfield, S. M, (2008). Why organizations employ performance evaluation. Retrieved on November 5, 2012 from Organisation for Econo mic Co-Operation and Development. (2010). Progress in public management in the Middle East and North Africa: case studies on policy reform. Paris, OECD Pawan S. B, ;Mellahi,K. (2006).Managing Human Resources in the Middle East. Routledge Punch, F. (2005). Introduction to social research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. London: Saga Publications Randeree, K. (2009). Strategy, policy and practice in the nationalisation of human capital: Project Emiratisation. Research ; Practice in Human Resource Management 17(1), 71-79. Rees, C. , Mamman, A. , ; Bin Braik, A. (2007). Emiratization asa strategic HRM change initiative: Case study evidence from a UAE petroleum company. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(1), 33-53. Shaibany, S. (2011). Oman Air employees strike for higher wages.Tanmia, 2004. Emiratisation in the Banking Sector: Factors Influencing Success and Failure: The National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority: Centre for Labour Market R esearch and Information. Human Resource development and employment Authority. Dubai: United Arab. Emirates Vroom, V. H (1990). Manage people, not personnel: motivation and performance appraisal. Boston, MA, HBS Press. Wright, P. , ; Kehoe, R. (2008). Human resource practices and organizational commitment: A deeper examination. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 46(1), 6-20. Appendices Appendix 1: Timeline and work plan Task |Duration | |Review of literature |1day | |Investigations of surveys done |1day | |Preparation of questionnaires |1day | |Actual survey |2weeks | |Data analysis |4days | |Report writing and compilation |1 week | Appendix 2: Budget Expected task |Expected cost ($) | |Information from the library |170 | |Testing of questionnaires |150 | |Actual survey |300 | |Miscellaneous costs |150 | |Total |770 |