Coursework Draft-Sci-fi Narrative Essay

I’m fed up of my life. Everyday it’s the same routine. I sat in front of my loyal and reliable pc and opened my notorious chat room. It was quarter to ten and I’ve waited for valuable information to electronically crop up. Out of the blue a bizarre message appeared. â€Å"Do you crave for paypal account details?† I read out. This message quenched my desire for priceless details. Quickly I typed and replied hell yeah. A list of words emerged on the colossal liquid crystal display screen. I examined the passage. It was an instruction for a paypal account with à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 250,000 deposited in. The particular participant had written this under the pseudonym Omega. Before starting my money-hungry pursuit I printed the information in a sleek laminated sheet, wore my personalised arsenal top, baggy tracksuit bottoms and my flamboyant air max ltd plus I grabbed a handy USB. As I strolled across Faraday Avenue, I pulled out the information and read it aloud. â€Å"Go to the laboratory in Faraday Avenue.† I scan the industrialised scenery and found the laboratory that fitted in the description. The old decrepit lab seems to contrast with the spanking new surroundings. I entered as silent as a scared, stealthy mouse and switched on the lights. Rats and other rodents scurried away and the room smells like horse manure. I could feel the moisture gradually building up on my light beige-like caramel skin because of the humidity. I read the next instruction clearly and said â€Å"stand in front of the main computer.† I stood patiently and waited for the next instruction. Suddenly the computer displayed countless binary digits scrolling down rapidly as if it was initiating a complex program phase. As fast as the speed of light a bright light materialized and I was teleported. â€Å"Wahhhh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I uttered, startled. I felt as if I was falling for a few moments, but then I felt stable. Unaware of closing my eyes, I opened them, blinking. â€Å"Hello, I’m Omega.† said a voice. Stood before me was a man dressed in a funny fashion. â€Å"Welcome to cyberspace utopia.† â€Å"Hey!† I shouted. â€Å"Where are the money packed accounts you promised me.† â€Å"You must facilitate me first.† â€Å"What’s the catch chum?† Omega took a deep breath before explaining. â€Å"Delete the master program by using your infamous virus called exterminator V2.90025.† â€Å"Why should I?† I reprimanded. â€Å"This is the program which controls the national grid. The master program or MP was upgraded to version 3.95 and gained artificial intelligence. He will annihilate the national grid and wipe out Great Britain as we know it.† â€Å"Okay,† I said in a sarcastic manner. â€Å"Where do I start?† â€Å"Head towards the control panel, there you will upload the super virus.† he responded. I scrutinized the strange environment to find the control panel. The vibrant and colourful place looked more developed in terms of technology than Earth. Circuit boards are the floor, USB ports and chips are situated everywhere and the shrilling sound of booting could be heard. I soon found a neon sign saying control panel 2 terabytes ahead. Omega threw a miniature capsule at the floor and a gleaming electro-cycle appears out of nowhere. â€Å"Hop in,† he hollered. I approached to touch the glossy exterior before jumping in. Omega started the engine and told me to brace myself. Before I knew it the cycle soars into the distance and stopped in front of a majestic tower. â€Å"Here, take this e-katana and help me delete MP’s minions.† whispered Omega. It was an electric blade with a light handle. Rapidly he stuck a cap on his head and cocked his twin pistols. Swiftly a group of similar people attacked us. I felt an uplifting sensation running through my feeble bones and with just a mighty heave, the swarm of minions were obliterated. Soon after, the next wave chased after us as we dashed towards the MP’s lair. Omega blasted them as if it was a game of space invaders whilst I was plunging my e-katana through several chests. The minions were â€Å"deleted† and we headed cautiously towards a giant door. There was a small console next to the door and I soon began to do what I do best – hacking. The door was soon opened and we continued. It was a dull room with three giant computers. â€Å"Quickly upload the virus.† he said in a drastic tone. While I was uploading the virus on the third computer through my USB a mysterious figure appeared in the room. He was a tall dark man with a ferret like moustache. Omega leaped towards him and cries out hurry. Omega tried his best to stall but he was beheaded by his deadly claws. The virus was uploaded and he screamed in horror. I soon realised who he was†¦

Virtual Reality In Theatre Spaces

This dissertation will explore the effects of virtual reality in theatre spaces and how it effects people's perception and experience about space and how the technology has advanced in past years.With the advancements in technology,the experience in theatre spaces has become hyper real thereby allowing people to perceive spaces in a different way. The concept of virtual reality can be introduced in film festivals by assessing the possible effects and influences that the VR might have on people and movie experiences.This dissertation will also focus on how the movie experience changes by immersing yourself in the movie cutting you off from the people and surrounding,there by understanding the problems and challenges faced by people using surveys and questionnaires.INTRODUCTIONVirtual Reality is the computer-generated simulation of a three dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors.The technological advancements today have led to various explorations in different fields. The various VR systems available today areOculus RiftHTC'S VR system with controllersSamsung gear VRGoogle cardboardTreadmill and haptic glovesVR movie watching is a 360 degree immersive experience where the viewer is at the center of action.As a scene unfolds,viewer has the choice to look in whichever direction he wants and become absorbed in whatever part of the action they choose.In VR cinemas, talking part is designed to be more about the technology and experience rather than the movie.When we watch movies,the action/reaction happens only within the narrative,but VR systems are considered to be linking human intelligence with artificial intelligence thereby engaging the audience.RESEARCH PROBLEMHow does introducing virtual reality in theatre spaces change the perception of movie experience and affect the psychology of people and what are the outcomes? AIM : The aim of this research is to study the incorporation of virtual reality spaces in theatre complex and to study the impact on people's behaviour and how they experience the space. The main idea is also to study on different VR technologies and the application of it in theatre spaces and to understand how virtual reality helps in improving the movie experiences by making it hyper real. OBJECTIVES:The main objective of this research is to understand how people perceive such environments and how people cope up with the change in the viewing atmosphere of a movie theatre.To study how the implementation of Virtual Reality technology in theater spaces will have its own reflections on theater design.To understand how the technological advancements have helped in improving the cinematic experience.SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS:This research will be limited to :Exploration of different virtual reality systems and the scope of it in future.Exploration of proposals of virtual realityUnderstanding the limitations and challenges of using VR in moviesUnderstanding the psychological impact of VR on people .The study will not be focusing on :Design guidelinesPrimary CasestudiesDATA COLLECTION : HISTORY AND EVOLUTION: Pictures have been used as a medium of communication for thousand years.But the canvas and techniques for drawing them have changed radically. Modern computer graphics have provided for many years,the newest and potentially most expressive media for pictoral communication . Improvements in the power and accessibility of interactive 3D graphic system have recently added a new dimension. By sensing the position and orientation of the human head and coupling the resulting data into a high performance computer graphics system,it is possible to generate a computer synthesized view of a virtual world wherever the user is looking.This is known as VR. CHALLENGES :Virtual Reality is a new concept in cinematic field. While the whole concept of the film festival is to bring people together for screening the movies,introducing virtual reality in the theatre could be a challenging aspect as different people might have different opinion on the concept of virtual reality. The only way to watch a VR film is to put on a headset—imagine a padded scuba-diving mask and a pair of headphones—which cuts you off from everyone and everything around you. In some ways, VR films are the opposite of what film festivals stand for.  The dissertation will focus on exploring more about the possibilities of improving the movie experiences with and without VR technology. It could be argued that in the future the participation might lower to individual contribution rather than a group involvement. Early VR headsets made some users feel nauseous. â€Å"The stereotype of virtul reality is an isolated person sitting alone in a room,their head sealed with a helme.Tribeca immersive programming at the tribeca film festival tries to make VR more tangible and social experience † PROPOSALS FOR VR :The global VR market ,which was valued at about $2 billion last year is expected to reach approximately $27 billion by 2022. Virtual reality isn't just for gaming anymore. VR movies are becoming mainstream with several Hollywood A-list directors jumping on board with a new approach to storytelling. Virtual Reality cities – Hypatia by Timefire media Virtual reality social networking – Vtime by Starship group. Virtual Reality tours by Chernobyl vrVirtual Reality research by Visualization laboratory. Architecture by Iris Vr. † A prominent project – Hero allows users to move around freely in a simulated syrian neighbourhood.† RESEARCH PAPER AUTHOR SUMMARYFusion of reality and virtual reality Narin SappakitThe research paper mainly focuses on how digital technology can be implemented between film and architecture.As walls and skin of the building can now become screens, changing the way the building relates and interacts to its context and the way people experience space.How does virtual reality influence cinema ? Exploring a possible future of cinematic environment by Benan DemirThe paper focuses on the new technology of virtual reality on the cinema and how the two may collaborate and converge. It also explores on the existing virtual cinema products and argue how they might converge in futureVirtual Reality in Theatre spaces Sherouk Mohamed Shehab El Din Saad Bad The paper focuses on two aspects.Traditional theatre spaces and virtual reality and its impact in theatre spaces.The study is based on creating virtual reality spaces with unlimited design creativity for entertainment and education by using dif ferent VR systems.Also by adding new architecture approaches to form spaces that can highly implement Virtual Reality TechnologyWhy virtual reality will change the design forever? Article by Mark Wilson Discusses about the various reasons and the positive sides of vr technologyTribeca film festivalHow virtual reality is changing the way we experience stage shows?Virtual Reality Movies: VR revolution Article Gabriel ElizondoArticle by The Conversation blog.The wall street journal Talks about how Tribeca Film Festival for the first time, showcases a theatre constructed for cinema-goers to fully experience films in 360 degrees. Discusses about the development f VR in recent years. When virtual reality is used interactively it opens up whole new worlds to be explored. The traditional relationship between space-actor-spectator becomes a space-spectator relationship. The audience is no longer in a passive role. Dramatic action is substituted by a real action, and how it plays out is shaped by the spectators. Talks about how Hollywood is Changing with Vr technology. Viewing VR is starkly different than watching a traditional film: With conventional movies, the director dictates your focus of attention. An aerial view cuts to a medium shot cuts to a close up—giving you no say in what you see. But virtual reality puts you in charge. The headset allows you to observe any aspect of a setting and, in some cases, even affect the way the story unfolds depending on where you look. Advancement of VR in marketing and investment – a digital survey report: â€Å"With investment in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) on the rise, the results of a new survey by global law firm Perkins Coie LLP depict a growing industry that is moving to a greater focus on more practical applications, while facing concerns reflective of an expanding customer base. The survey of startup founders, technology company executives, investors and consultants, released in March 2018, follows the firm's inaugural AR/VR Surveyreleased in September 2016. † Biggest obstacle for mass adoption of VR technology Literature survey anaysis :Industry insights to the future of VR Gaming was considered as the sector they expected to attract the most investment for the Coming year but wasn't strong in 2018.with military,movies,among the areas making gains. Most of the respondents said that user experience was the top obstacle for VR because of Heavy headgears cost being the second biggest obstacle . The drop for movies and television could stem from a belief that shorter experiences work better VR. But the drop for live events and the annuncements including the October 2017 announcement that Facebook would use Oculus technology to allow its users to watch live concerts and sports with friends from around the world. â€Å"Overall, the survey shows that those in the industry have strong confidence in the potential of AR and VR. One respondent called this era a formative and experimental phase—one that will create significant rewards for both developers and players in the not-too-distant future.† SURVEY REPORT – QUESTIONNAIRE In a survey conducted among 20 people around 10 people have experienced VR more than 4 times. As the technology is advancing VR people are getting more Familiar with the devices used hence contributing to the Growth of VR industry. According to the survey, only 5% of 20 people haven't come across the devices used.

Project Management - Project Report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project Management - Project Report - Coursework Example This entailed gathering of the necessary information needed to begin the project as well as the features that it would have to meet the needs of the stakeholders. For this reason, the team established a proper communication system that aided in collecting relevant information. The scope of the project geared towards addressing the structural, technological and environmental challenges. In terms of schedule management, the work on the project was under strict timeframe with every activity having a deadline. This ensured listing of the activities, milestones and deliverables of the project with the intended commencement and completion dates. Cost management ensured that the completion of the project happened within the budget. Thus, the project underwent regular budgetary reviews that enabled better planning and allocation of funds (Airport-technology.com, 2015). Risk management was necessary to ensure that there were intervention plans in case of any need. The project considered the asbestos and electric risks. During the entire project, there were some energy saving measures that came into consideration. The management provided that a competitive and open tender process occurred so that the ideal people received contracts (‘Project Management Institute’, n.d). The planning and project execution team carried out their responsibilities with a high level of professionalism and effectiveness. Some budgetary changes happened to ensure that everything went as planned. The entire project team was able to handle all the challenges correctly, and all issues of contentment received consideration. The delivery of the project happened within the scheduled timeframe and to the standards that applied for the entire project. This ensured that the project was a

Physical Geography Of South And East Asia Essay

Physical Geography Of South And East Asia - Essay Example The people who occupy India have mainly embraced Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Jainism who are also spread in other parts of India (James & Merchant, 2013). Central Asia is composed of countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, West China and Xinjiang. The people of Central Asia are mainly Muslims and Buddhists. The people who have greatly influenced the way of life in Central Asia are the Persians, Mongols, Tatars, Afghans, Sarmatians and the Russians who conquered most parts of the region. Other people who live in Central Asia are the Chinese, Arabians, Mongolians and the Turkish (Ooi, 2004). East Asia is made up of countries such as China, Macao, Taiwan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Japan, North Korea and South Korea. Some of the ethnic groups in the region include Korean, Yamato, Han, Tibetan, Kazakh, Uyghur, Mongol and Manchu, Evenks, Yakuts and the Buryats. Major language groups in the region include Korean language, Tungusic, Mon-Khmer, Sinitic, Tibeto-Burman, Ainu languages, Turkic and the Miao-Yao. The Chinese language has greatly influenced other languages in the region including that of the Japanese and Korea. The Northern part of Asia is mainly occupied by Russia. Most of the ethnic groups in North Asia speak Uralic, Turkic, Mongolic and the Tungusic languages. East Slavs, as well as the Paleo-Siberian, also form part of the population. The geographic region of Siberia is mainly composed of the Turkic, Tatars and the Siberia Khanate.

Supply Chain Case Problem Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Supply Chain Problem - Case Study Example method, the assumption is that the trend that has been occuring in the past will continue even in the other years to come, that is, the demand patterns that have previously occurred over time will continue to do so (Operations Management: Creating Value along the Supply Chain, 2012). The main focus in this method is Time. Time series methods consist of moving average, linear trend line and exponential smoothing. In this case problem the time series method that would be used for bookstore management is moving average (Operations Management: Creating Value along the Supply Chain, 2012). Therefore, using the historical data provided, the forecast from the excel auto forecast is 592.3186813 units. The moving average method is easy to use and understand though one cannot use it to forecast automatically using excel. The accuracy of moving average is distinct therefore it can be relied upon by organizations for their various operational planning processes . Since there are various forecasting methods, incase one type of the method doesn’t provide precise information, then it is advisable that one tries various forecasting methods until the accurate forecast is obtained . There are other forecast methods that can be used with the historical data for the bookstore management. For instance, linear trend lines and exponential smoothing can also be used since they are popular for short range, somewhat easy to employ and comprehend . It should be noted that when forecasting methods are first initiated to individuals, the lack of forecast preciseness comes as a surprise or disappointment to the individuals (Operations Management: Creating Value along the Supply Chain, 2012). Therefore, with more learning and experience, one is able to know that forecasting is not simple and does not provide precise information though with the increase in knowledge and skill, companies that are able to have more defined forecasts have an added advantage agaist their competitors

Network Infrastructure and Design Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Network Infrastructure and Design - Term Paper Example Thus, the choice has been made for the purpose of eliminating future challenges during the upgrading (Kurose & Ross, 2005). Devices in the internet arrangement will be assigned unique numbers so that they can communicate with the rest of the devices with effectiveness. Devices in the arrangement include mobile gadgets as well as computers. Since this organization is expected to have new devices all the time, the implementation of IPv4 was found to be inappropriate since IPv6 can only accommodate a limited number of devices. The IPv6 will be using addresses of 128-bits, and this will facilitate 2128 addresses, and this number is already exceeding the IPv4 with over 7.9*1028times. This is because the IPv4 utilizes a 32-address bit arrangement which, therefore, provides for just 4,294,967,296 addresses all over the world (Kurose & Ross, 2008). There has been an accelerating deployment of IPv6 since its global launch took place in June 2012. As it has been aforementioned, its main advant age is the enlarged address space. Its addresses are indicated in eight groups that consist of 4-hexadecimal digits. The digits are separated via colons. Since not every network support the dual-stack, the idea behind tunneling will be applied in situations where IPv6 need to communicate with IPv4. This is because of the fact that cable network operators go for tunneling until the foundational equipment is able to support the native dual-stack (Kurose & Ross, 2008). Since not every network has the capacity to support dual-stack, the idea tunneling will be employed if it will be necessary for the IPv4 to communicate with IPv6 and vice versa. The implementation will be accomplished with the realization that most of the current users of the internet infrastructure lack the IPv6 support for dual-stack. This means that it cannot reach the sites using the IPv6 directly. Since the IPv4 infrastructure has to be used to carry the IPv6 packets, tunneling technique must be employed. This techn ique encapsulates the IPv6 packets in a manner that allows for their transformation via the IPv4 infrastructure. Using that infrastructure will, therefore, necessitate the use of IPv4 as it acts as the link layer that connects to IPv6 (Kurose & Ross, 2008). The IP protocol 41 that indicates that IPv4 packets encapsulate the IPv6 data grams, there will be the need to avoid using routers and other network transmission devices that could block the protocol 41. In situations where the IPv6 data grams have to pass through the inhibiting structures, there will be an implementation of the UDP packets for the purpose of encapsulating them. Other encapsulation strategies, such as Generic Routing Encapsulation and AYIYA will also be employed. The IPv4’s compatibility with the IPv6 is usually a firmware or software issue. In that case, there could be a necessity to replace the older hardware/software since they may not be upgraded. Another reason for opting to implement the IPv6 is the suggestion by the American Registry for the Internet Numbers that every server be ready to serve those clients with IPv6. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Options The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol as a network protocol will be utilized in configuring the network devices in a manner that enables them to communicate on the IP network. The Dynamic Host

Martin luther in germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Martin luther in germany - Essay Example But he was not confined to lecturing at the University and was invited to preach in the Parish Church, where his preaching became highly influential. His disillusionment with the Pope followed his short visit to Rome in 1510 (Broome, 5) which became reflected in his preachings. In 1512 Luther was made a Doctor of Divinity at Wittenberg University, and in 1516, he was asked to preach the Gospel as was the truth to him, in a large number of monasteries in the Thuringian area. Luther condemned the Catholic Church’s collection of Papal Indulgences in 1517, (Bainton, 35) and his works against Papal ideology, including his 95 Theses, resulted in his excommunication from the Church in 1521. Following his appearance before the Diet of Worms, and the ban on placed on Luther’s works, Luther was hidden behind the secure walls of Wartburg Castle. At Wartburg, Luther continued his prolific writing and continued to influence the reformation occurring in the Church in Wittenberg retur ning to Wittenberg in March 1522. On 25th June 1525, Luther married a former nun, Katherina Von Bara and together they had 6 children. The Luther household was in the Augustinian monastery in Wittenberg and also included Luther’s sister’s 6 children. From there, Lucas continued his reformation against the Papal doctrines through his preaching and writing. Martin Luther died on 18th February 1546 in his home-town of Eisleben during a visit accompanied by his 3 sons

Gideon's Trumpet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gideon's Trumpet - Essay Example It includes an evaluation of the appeal of the work to me, whether that appeal was on a logical or an emotional level. The paper weighs in on whether this work to me is worth recommending to others or not, what I would tell them prior to and after reading the work (Lewis; Sessions). II. Summary In ‘Gideon’s Trumpet’ we have the story of Clarence Earl Gideon, who in the account of Lewis launched a campaign through the letters to the Supreme Court for the right to have counsel for his case. On the one hand this is the key thread of the book, although a parallel thread looks at the general process for appeals in the Supreme Court. At the heart of the story, meanwhile is Gideon’s letter to the Supreme Court asking the court to essentially have his larceny conviction overturned on the basis of his not having been assigned a lawyer during his trial. Gideon was then in his fifties at that time. Prior to his larceny conviction, for which he wrote the Supreme Court asking for justice, Gideon had been sent to prison four other times, for various felonies. As a man Gideon’s problem was related to his being unable to hold down work for any given time, so that he drifted, and supported himself by occasionally engaging in petty thievery, as well as gambling. The impression that people who got to know him personally though, including the authorities, was that he was a harmless man, who had been marginalized by society (Lewis; Sessions). At the heart of the argument of Gideon, it is said, is the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, and whether or not the amendment clause relating to due process translated to a right to counsel for those accused of felony crimes. This has been deemed a federal concern and thus a candidate for hearing by the Supreme Court, Gideon having complied with the filing requirements for very poor petitioners such as himself. With the Supreme Court having determined that it is in their jurisdiction to hear Gideonâ₠¬â„¢s case, they then proceed to assign a lawyer to act as counsel to Gideon before the Supreme Court, in the person of a top lawyer named Abe Fortas. Betts v Brady was deemed as an important precedent case to be considered in deciding on Gideon’s petition and the right to counsel doctrine under the Fourteenth Amendment. There is a chapter that further explores the Supreme Court judges’ individual stands on following precedent or interpreting the literal meaning of the Constitution and striking down laws and precedents that contradicted the letter of the Constitutional law. This is a prelude to Fortas crafting a strategy for Gideon’s defense, and looks at the nuances of judges arriving at their decisions at the level of the Supreme Court. On the other hand, looking at Gideon’s case in greater detail, the reader is introduced to certain facts, including that he had been charged with breaking and entering as well as larceny in connection with the Poolroom a t Bay Harbor facility in June 1961, in the community where he lived at the time, the Bay Harbor Community. Gideon’s own assessment of his fate with the justice system in Florida is that of a system that essentially was prejudicial in its application of the process against those who are marginalized. This assessment is given by Lewis together with the narration that Gideon had been exemplary in his behavior in prison, often being of aid to those who had problems with dealing with the legal aspects of their crimes (Lewis; Sessions).

Animal Testing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Animal Testing - Essay Example On the other hand, those who oppose also comprise individuals, organizations, and non-government organizations. Their arguments are equally sound and authentic. Scientific institutions have used mice, guinea pigs, horses, and other animals to develop medicines. Apart from the issue of using these animals, there is also the matter of the way these animals are treated. Their condition before, during and after the experiments are conducted need looking into. Animals are living beings. They have a life cycle. It is the responsibility of the institutions that conduct experiments on them to also see that these animals lead their lives in the normal process after the experiments with them are done. Take for instance the condition of horses after they are used for the purpose of developing medicines for snake bites treatment. The process is long and painful. These horses lose their original vigor and become very thin. The life span of the horses also decreases as a result of this process. Similarly, there are other animals which go through the same fate and ultimately face death. It is not possible to do away with tests on animals for conducting research on medications. Much as we may argue on behalf of animals, it is quite clear that someone has to "bite the bullet." It is not possible to make medicines without first checking them up on animals.

Drug use laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Drug use laws - Essay Example At the same time, the above-mentioned initiative does not touch upon workplace as well as the issue of drug testing, which means employers have an absolute freedom to test their employees, and they choose to use this right (Turner, 2014). Many of the employers decide to test their employees for marijuana and other drugs use for it is what is stated in their legally adopted policies. The main reason why they should do it is that such drug tests guarantee that employees are able to do their work properly and are not impaired while being at their work place. In addition to this, they should continue testing to identify those who abuse drugs, are not able to perform established tasks properly and, consequently, threaten the quality of work of the entire company. What is more, as employers and business groups state, testing for marijuana and other drugs can help create a safer workplace for in many cases safety at a workplace depends on people who are present there (Healy, 2014). In case an emergency situation takes place, there is no guarantee that one who abuses drugs can handle it. Finally, employers should continue to test for marijuana, despite it being legal in order not only to save employees but to be on the safe side when it comes to their businesses. In accordance with Raabe of the Denver Post (2014), â€Å"there seems to be a movement toward more testing. A lot of people are freaked out about the prospects of employees’ legal marijuana use†. In this regards, it is worth mentioning that the number.

The thought Police Essay Example for Free

The thought Police Essay For centrys writers in literature have written about about their ideal world their utopia. This ideal world is a place were every thing is as your heart desires it to be. This is somethig all human beings can relate to , every person has their own vision of how the world should. But what if this eutopia turned into a living nightmare, world full fear,misery,depression and doubt. This would become the criteria of a dystpian worlld. A place far from the fantasys of utopia. In the oxford dictionary of litercy terms Dystopia is defined as an imaginary place or condition in which everything is as bad possible. The opposite of utopia. This exactly the case in the novel nineteen eighty four by George Orwell and the handmaids ale by Margaret Attwood. In both these novels the autos have created worlds which are dark, suppressed and painful for the characters involved. They have created these worlds to such a great effect that the reader is left thinking about how it would be to live in these dystopia. The critic Bernard Richards once said dystopias are useful; they warn us about what might happen. This is one of the many strengths about working with the dystopian genre. Though the novels are depressing which may not be what a reader wants initially from a book, the dystopian genre is extremely thought provoking. It allows the reader to reflect and appreciate the world we have at present. The novels dismal tones make the reader realise that maybe their lives arent so bad when in comparison to character involved in these dystpoipian nightmares. Another more positive side to the dystopian genre is that there is generally an important message behind the darkness whether it is political religious etc Both authors have a similar messages within their books, and these message aer mainly religeous and political ones. Atwood and orwell looked at the world and societys of their times and wrote novels warnings of the dire consequences of fundemental ideal and dictatorship can lead to. In the the handmaids tale a grooup of fundamentalist christians establishes the state of gilead in new england. Imeadiatly all womens rights, such as votin, owwing propewry or making any type of descisions are revoked. The constant civil war in the background of the book has left a majority of women infertile. Inspired by the biblical tale of rachel and billah, gileiad decres that all fertile women are to act as handmaids. Surrogate mothers who will bear the children of the infertile couples. Atwood weaeves many elements into her book:hatred of feminism, religious bigotry, rascism, enviromental destrution and of course atwood explores the consequences ofa reversal of womens rights. in this totaliterarian society, womens bodys serve purly serve as political tool. Atwoods novel is clearly inspired by the ideals of christian fundametalism and her visit to afganistan in 1978. A country with a distorted view of islam and led by fundamentalist muslims. This is very much present in the red dress of the handmaid which is very simililar to the chador worn by afgan women. In george orwells 1984, he has constructed a dystopian world in which every individual can be monitoed. There thoughts and actions can be controled by the government. 1984 is said to be one of orwells best crafted novels as it gives an incredibly powerful warning against the dangers of a toterian society. In spain germany, germany and the soviet union orwell had witnessed the danger of absolute political authority in an age of advanced technology. He illistrated this in 1984 harshly. He portrays the perfect totliterian society, the most extrem realisatioin imaginable of a modern day government with absolute power. Both orwell and atwood have main character by which the story is told to the reader. These two characters have many similartys and differences. In the handmaids tale tale the entire story is told directly from the point of view of ofred . she is narrator and prtagnist of the novel. In 1984 the entre novel is narrated in the third person, through the main character winston. Both characters are rebels within theier socity and completely against the ideals of their leaders. Winston is very thoughtful in nature and his main attributes are his rebeliousnes and fatalism. Winston hates the party pationatlyand wants to test the limits of its power, he comits a numerous amount amounts of crimethroughout the novel ranging from writing DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER in his diary to his illegal love affair with julia( another character within the book) to secretly getting himself into the anti party brotherhood. The effert winston puts into his atempt at feedom ultimatly underscores the the partys devstating power. And By the end of the novel winsto is a loyal servent to big brother. The main reason for winstons rebelion and eventual down fall is his imense sense of fatalism. He is intensly paranoid about the party and his belief that the party will eventualy capture him and punish him. whether he went on with the diary, or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference. The thought police would get him all the same. As soon as he writes into his diary he is positive that the thought police are coming for him. Winston is so sur of his doom that this causes him to take unnessary risks, such as trusting o birian , renting a room above the shop and continuing to rebel because of his belief that he will be caught any way. In handmaid tale ofred like winston is a rebel, but unlike winston who rebel externaly, she rebels internaly. Ofred is by no means the heroin of the novel, she resist giliads concepts and ideal but does not act in a physyicaky open way on them. On the outside she submitts to gileads rules and her role as a handmaid once her attempt at escape fails. She is hardly a feminist champion; she always felt uncomfortable with her mothers activism, and her pre-Gilead relationship with Luke began when she became his mistress. Although she is friends with Ofglen, who is a member of the resistance, she never makes the move to join up herself. After she begins her affair with Nick, she seems to lose sight of escape and begins to feels that life in Gilead is almost bearable. If she does finally escape, it is because of Nick, not because of anything she has phisicaly done herself. Offred is a mostly passive character, good-hearted but complacent. Like her peers, she took for granted the freedoms feminism won and now pays the price. Like most of the women in Gilead, she is an ordinary woman placed in an extraordinary situation Another subject or theme which both these dystopian novels share is th esubject of gender. The reprsenttation of male and females especialy in 1984 is very stricking. In 1984 orwell has given women in the novel a very negative light. Winston who can be said to reflect the voice of orwell has extreamly sexist views towards women. The only women in the novel that can be said to have a more positive oulook is winstons mother. He sees her pure safricial women and constantly reminises about her in the novel. 19984 is a very male dominated novel, there are few females character in it. Julia is the main female charater in the novel, and winstons attidude to her at times is extremly negative he would flog her to death with a rubber truncheon. he would tie to a stake and shoot her full of arrows. he would ravish her and cut her throat at the moment of climax winston applys this vulgar attidude not just to julia but to other female with in the novel her thick arms reaching up fo the line , her powerful mare like buttocks protruded this qote is where winston observes a prole women hanging out her washing and basicaly comparing her to a horse. Julias purpose in the novel is to serve as the male fantasy, she has sex with winston and is very promiscuous in that she has slept with may party men,she brings him forbidden food, she dresses up for him. The critic and feminist beatrix campbell sees the portralel of women in 1984 as very negative- women are akin to the proletarian man in orwells work, they are rendered natural rather than skillful, almost infantile in their unconsciousness rather then alert and organised. I agree with her views, women are cleary given a dismal outlook, and julias character also a very unrealsistic one. The handmaids tale can be said to be a feminist update of 984, this could also be because of the fact that the author is female. The whole tone to the novel is completely different to the cold, dreary, masculine tones of 1984.

Human resource Planning and Leadership roles

Human resource Planning and Leadership roles Human Resource Planning is the process by which an organization ensures that it has the right number and kind of people, at the right places, at the right time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization achieve its overall objectives (Decenzo and Robbins 2000). Vetter (1967) defined human resource planning as the process by which management determines how the organization should move from its current manpower position to its desired position. Through planning, management strives to have the right number and the right kinds of people, at the right places, at the right time, doing things which result in both the organization and the individual receiving maximum long-run benefits. Human resources planning should be a key component of nearly every  corporations strategic business planning. To ensure their  competitive advantage  in the marketplace, organizations must implement innovative strategies that are designed to enhance their employee retention rate and recruit fresh talent into their companies. In todays corporate environment, it is viewed as a valuable component for adding value to an organization. Both employees and the company will often realize many benefits of planning over the long-run. Contemporary human resource planning occurs within the broad context of organizational and strategic business planning. It involves forecasting the organizations future human resource needs and planning for how those needs will be met. It includes establishing objectives and then developing and implementing programs (staffing, appraising, compensating, and training) to ensure that people are available with the appropriate characteristics and skills when and where the organization needs them. It may also involve developing and implementing programs to improve employee performance or to increase employee satisfaction and involvement in order to boost organizational productivity, quality, or innovation (Mills, 1 985b). Finally, human resource planning includes gathering data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing programs and inform planners when revisions in their forecasts and programs are needed. Strategic collaboration between small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the large businesses they partner can take many forms, such as locating a SMEs facility in close proximity to a buyers facility to enable just-in-time delivery of raw material, inputs and components; collaborating on research and development and product design to build organizational competencies and capabilities; collaborating on supply chain activities to manage costs and promote operational efficiency; or delivering outsourced human resource management activities (Doz and Hamel 1998). For large businesses, forming strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships can be critical to their ability to seize technological opportunities, to build critical resource strengths and competitive capabilities, to improve supply chain efficiencies and deliver value to their customers (Kaplan and Hurd 2002). Often these partners are small and medium sized enterprises, that are expected to perform as full partners (Ij ose, Olumide). However, there has been little to no attention paid to the role the strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices of SMEs play in their ability to be valued and trusted strategic partners in the value chain of big businesses. Like any other organization, the sophistication of their human resource management practices can lead to operational inefficiencies that can affect their ability to meet their obligations to corporate buyers (reference and relate sentence to big businesses where this has been proven). Factors that enable operating excellence include having a strong management team, recruiting and retaining talented employees, viewing training as a strategic activity, structuring the work effort in ways that promotes successful strategy execution, deploying an organizational structure that facilitates the proficient performance of strategy critical activities, instituting policies and procedures that facilitate good strategy execution, instilling a strategy supportive cult ure and tying rewards and incentives to individual and team performance outcomes that are strategically relevant (Higgins 2005). Human resource planning involves plans for future needs of personnel, their required skills, recruitment of employees, and development of personnel (Miller, Burack, Albrecht, 1980).   Human resource forecasting and human resource audit are the two most important components of this type of planning. Human resource forecasting refers to predicting an organizations future demand for number, type, and quality of various categories of employees. The assessment of future needs has to be based on analysis of present and future policies and growth trends. The techniques of forecasting include the formal expert survey, Delphi technique, statistical analysis, budget and planning analysis, and computer models. The human resource audit gives an account of the skills, abilities, and performance of all the employees of an organization (Werther Davis, 1982). Recruitment  refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a  job  at an  organization  or firm. For some components of the recruitment process, mid- and large-size organizations often retain  professional recruiters  or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies. Types of recruitment are: 1. External Recruitment Methods Develop  relationships  with guidance and career counselors at colleges and universities and ask for help in recruiting for open positions. Reach out to professional organizations that are in line with the organizations mission, and ask to them to list open positions in their newsletters and emails to members. Organizations with financial resources should consider working with a recruitment firm, especially if the position is at a higher level or requires a specific skill or type of experience. 2. Internal Recruitment Methods Be clear about the skills and experience an applicant must possess. Post an open position internally first to assess whether there are qualified candidates within the organization. Consider interns, volunteers, temporary workers or consultants who may have been working in a similar capacity to the open position( managementstudyguide  [online]). A typical selection process consists of the following steps: completed job application, initial screening, testing, indepth selection interview, physical examination, and job offer (French, 1982). In general, extension organizations use a simple knowledge test and a brief interview to select extension personnel. An interview  is the most common form of selection as it is relatively cheap to undertake and is the chance for an employer to meet the applicant face to face and so obtain much more information on what the person is like and how suitable they are for the job. Examples of information that can only be learnt from interview and not on paper from a CV or application form are: Conversational ability-  often known as people skills Natural enthusiasm or manner of the applicant See how applicant reacts under pressure Queries on comments or details missing from CV or application form There are though other forms of selection tests that can be used in addition to an interview to help select the best applicant. The basic interview can be unreliable as applicants can perform well at interview but not have the qualities or skills needed for the job. Other selection tests can increase the chances of choosing the best applicant and so minimise the high costs of recruiting the wrong people. Examples of these tests are aptitude tests, intelligence tests and psychometric tests. Once the best candidate has been selected and agreed to take up the post, the new employee must be given an  employment contract. The training of personnel contributes directly to the development of human resources within organizations. Training programmes are directed towards maintaining and improving current job performance, while development programmes seek to develop skills for future jobs (Stoner Freeman, 1992, p. 388).   Training based on actual field experience should be emphasized.  Methods such as coaching, job rotation, training sessions, classroom instruction, and educational institute-sponsored development programmes are used to train managers. An important aspect of human resource management which needs special attention in organizations is the development of a reward system which will attract, retain, and motivate extension personnel, as well as provide training and promotional opportunities. Skinners reinforcement theory, Vrooms expectancy theory, Maslows need-hierarchy theory, Adams equity theory and Herzbergs two- factor theory are the five main approaches that have created the understanding of motivation. In 1943, Maslow gave a list of five types of needs of employees i.e.: ego, safety, physiological, self- actualizing and social. Maslow said that all type of needs of employees should be fulfilled in some priority levels, as the fulfillment of their needs would bring a great deal of motivation in the employees. Motivators and hygiene were the two categories in which Herzberg divided motivation in 1959. Job satisfaction is provided by recognition and achievements of employees which contribute to intrinsic factors and motivation. Job dissatisfaction is developed as a result of low pays and insecurity of jobs that contribute towards extrinsic factors or hygiene. Performance was the major area of relevance which contribute towards rewards and further increased performance according to Vroom in 1964. There may be positive or negative categories of rewards. The motivation of an employee depends upon the rewards as positive rewards motivate the employees and negative rewards demotivate them. According to Adams equity among workers plays a major role in motivating employees. Equity is achieved when the ratio of employee outcomes over inputs is equal to other employee outcomes over inputs (Adams, 1965). In 1953, Skinner mentioned that the positive behavior of the employees should be motivated to be repeated and negative behavior should be strictly dealt so that it shouldnt be repeated. Behavior of employees should be observed strictly by managers. Managers should be made liable to enforce the positive behavior of employees that lead to positive results and demotivate the negative behavior of employees that leads to negative outcomes. The importance of certain factors in motivating employees was studied by James R. Lindner in 1998, who was Research Associate at Ohio State University. Ten motivating factors were revealed by the study as following: (a) interesting work, (b) ) tactful discipline, (c) good wages, (d)job security, (e) feeling of being in on things, (f) sympathetic help with personal problems, (g) personal loyalty to employees, (h) full appreciation of work done (i) good working conditions, and (j) promotions and growth in the organization Some interesting factors into employee motivation were revealed by comparison of above results to Maslows need-hierarchy theory. Interesting work is a self-motivating factor which is considered rank one motivation factor. Good wages is a physiological motivation factor which is ranked two. High appreciation of work done is another major esteem factor which is ranked at number three. Job security known as the safety factor is another major motivation facto ranked at number four. In 1943, Maslow declared that interesting work, safety, esteem, physiological and social factors are the most important motivation factors that must be satisfied first. Good pay and increase in pays will be second most important factors that should be addressed by managers. Range of motivational factors suggested by Maslows study is challenged by the following study. This study doesnt confirm that Maslows conclusion of ascending order of motivational factors to be satisfied. Ken Shah and Prof. Param J. Shah re vealed the properties that a manager should have as following: Evaluate yourself-  In order to motivate, encourage and control your staffs behaviour, it is essential to understand, encourage and control your own behaviour as a manager. Be familiar with your staff-  The more and the better he knows his staff, the simpler it is to get them involved in the job as well as in achieving the team and organizational goals.   Provide the employees certain benefits-  Give them bonuses, pay them for overtime, and give them health and family insurance benefits. Make sure they get breaks from work.   Participate in new employees induction programme- Induction proceeds with recruitment advertising. At this point of time, the potential entrants start creating their own impressions and desires about the job and the organization. The manner in which the selection is conducted and the consequent recruitment process will either build or damage the impression about the job and organization. Provide feedback to the staff constantly Acknowledge your staff on their achievements Ensure effective time management Have stress management techniques in your organization Give the employees learning opportunities Listen effectively Develop and encourage creativity Adopt job enrichment-  Job enrichment implies giving room for a better quality of working life. It means facilitating people to achieve self-development, fame and success through a more challenging and interesting job which provides more promotional and advancement opportunities. Respect your team Set realistic goals : Set moderate goals. Setting too high a task creates a feeling of non-achievement, right from the beginning itself.   Think like a winner : A manager has to handle two situations, The Winning and The loosing. The crux is to think like a winner even when all the odds seem against you. It is necessary to equip yourself with all the tools of a winner. An executive must have the right leadership traits to influence motivation. Both an employee as well as manager must possess leadership and motivational traits. An effective leader must have a thorough knowledge of motivational factors for others. He must understand the basic needs of employees, peers and his superiors. Leadership is used as a means of motivating others. According to Keith Davis, Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. It is the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards goals.( managementstudyguide  [online]) Characteristics of Leadership It is a inter-personal process in which a manager is into influencing and guiding workers towards attainment of goals. It denotes a few qualities to be present in a person which includes intelligence, maturity and personality. It is a group process. It involves two or more people interacting with each other. A leader is involved in shaping and moulding the behaviour of the group towards accomplishment of organizational goals. Leadership is situation bound. There is no best style of leadership. It all depends upon tackling with the situations. Leadership and management are the terms that are often considered synonymous. It is essential to understand that leadership is an essential part of effective management. As a crucial component of management, remarkable leadership behaviour stresses upon building an environment in which each and every employee develops and excels. A manager must have traits of a leader, i.e., he must possess leadership qualities. Leaders develop and begin strategies that build and sustain competitive advantage. Organizations require robust leadership and robust management for optimal organizational efficiency. (managementstudyguide  [online]) Differences between Leadership and Management Leadership differs from management in a sense that: While managers lay down the structure and delegates authority and responsibility, leaders provides direction by developing the organizational vision and communicating it to the employees and inspiring them to achieve it. While management includes focus on planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling; leadership is mainly a part of directing function of management. Leaders focus on listening, building relationships, teamwork, inspiring, motivating and persuading the followers. While a leader gets his authority from his followers, a manager gets his authority by virtue of his position in the organization. While managers follow the organizations policies and procedure, the leaders follow their own instinct. Management is more of science as the managers are exact, planned, standard, logical and more of mind. Leadership, on the other hand, is an art. In an organization, if the managers are required, then leaders are a must/essential. While management deals with the technical dimension in an organization or the job content; leadership deals with the people aspect in an organization. While management measures/evaluates people by their name, past records, present performance; leadership sees and evaluates individuals as having potential for things that cant be measured, i.e., it deals with future and the performance of people if their potential is fully extracted. If management is reactive, leadership is proactive. Management is based more on written communication, while leadership is based more on verbal communication.   The leadership style varies with the kind of people the leader interacts and deals with. A perfect/standard leadership style is one which assists a leader in getting the best out of the people who follow him. There are three main categories of leadership styles:  autocratic, paternalistic and democratic (tutor2u[online]) Autocratic  (or authoritarian) managers like to make all the important decisions and closely supervise and control workers. Managers do not trust workers and simply give orders (one-way communication) that they expect to be obeyed. This approach has limitations but it can be effective in certain situations. For example: When quick decisions are needed in a company (e.g. in a time of crises). Paternalistic  managers give more attention to the social needs and views of their workers. Managers are interested in how happy workers feel and in many ways they act as a father figure. They consult employees over issues and listen to their feedback or opinions. The manager will however make the actual decisions (in the best interests of the workers)   A  democratic  style of management will put trust in employees and encourage them to make decisions. They will delegate to them the authority to do this (empowerment) and listen to their advice. This requires good two-way communication and often involves democratic discussion groups, which can offer useful suggestions and ideas. Managers must be willing to encourage leadership skills in subordinates. Because the purpose of human resource planning is to ensure that the right people are in the right place at the right time, it must be linked with the plans of the total organization. Traditionally, there has been a weak one way linkage between business planning and human resource planning. Business plans, where they exist, have defined human resource needs, thereby making human resource planning a reactive exercise. Thus a final challenge in human resource planning is balancing current needs-of organizations and their employees-with those of the future. The criterion against which this balancing act is measured is whether employees are currently at the right place doing the right things but yet are ready to adapt appropriately to different activities. To ensure this, a harmonious relationship between employer and employee, and effective leadership style is essential.

Additional Staff To Handle The Increased Workload Management Essay

Additional Staff To Handle The Increased Workload Management Essay Given the importance of a skilful and knowledgeable workforce in a business organisation, hiring additional staff to handle the increased workload is not the only solution. It would be better if staff is more productive and efficient. This is because in this competitive world, training is becoming a major issue for most organisations. Thus, training enables the worker to produce better results by continuously increasing productivity and efficiency. The importance of training has long been recognized but the significance of training need analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness of the training programmes. Without an evaluation, business activities will go on but no value will be added in the level of performance. In most business enterprise, evaluation after training often falls on the low end of the priority list. Due to the increasing level of competition of service business and high demand of the customers, high quality is crucial to measure the level of satisfaction of the customers dealing with the State Bank of Mauritius. The objective of the study are to determine the area where there is need to increase the quality of service being offered in the organisation so as to increase customer satisfaction as well as competitivity on the market. This will be done by enhancing the training needs assessment in the organisation. And the study will attempt to make recommendations wherever possible to increase the training programmes so as the service offered would be more customer oriented. To undertake the survey an overview of the organisation is made. A background study is established with the review of the literature on the training, the training needs assessment and the customer service. The review is based on the literature found in books and internet sources. The questionnaire of this study was design to target 100 customers to be selected randomly, to get their views on the level of quality of service being offered the State Bank of Mauritius. The data will be collected from the questionnaires will be analysed in depth will support of relevant graphs. Ultimately, recommendations and suggestions will be provided to improve the findings on the field of study. Abstract 1 Table of content 2 Introduction 3 Management Problem 4 Background of study 5 Literature Review 6-11 Aims of the study 12 Objectives 12 Research Questions 12 Definition of terms 13-14 Nature of the study Research Design 15 Sample 16 Data Collection 17-18 Data Analysis 19 Validity Reliability 20 Ethical Considerations 20 Significance of the study 21 Conclusion 22 Bibliography 23-24 Appendices1: Draft Covering Letter 25 Appendices2: Draft Questionnaire 26-28 Table of Content Introduction Training has long been an issue for organizations. Time and expense are the main issues that consistently surface in training needs assessment. Specially, there is a great desire for banking organisation to obtain training to be able to give higher and better level of service to the consumer in this industry. A pivotal aspect of this desire was the goal of stronger communication, cooperation and collaboration between the communities, the business enterprise. Training was identified as an immediate problem to be addressed. Due to the local and global competition, training is becoming vital for organisation for delivering quality customer service. Therefore, training is said to be crucial both for the employer and the employee. Increase in knowledge and skills make the staff more productive in his workplace and thus will be considered as a valuable asset for the organisation. However, despite its importance, the evaluation phase is usually inconsistent or totally absent in many cases. This may be due to factors internal to the organisation or perhaps the main reason behind this is that the tasks of evaluation of the training needs are too complex. The training needs assessment is a critical activity for the training and development function. Whether you are a human resource generalist or a specialist, you should be adapting at performing a training needs assessment. It is important to have an overview of the training and development function and how the needs assessment fits into this process, followed by an in-depth look at the core concepts and steps involved in conducting a training needs assessment. The Training Needs Assessment that resulted is the subject of this research paper. Management Problem In spite that the fact that the labor force is highly qualified and that they receive a certain level of training, it has been noted that the training needs assessment still need to be improved at the State Bank of Mauritius. No concrete evaluation has been conducted after delivering the training to assess its real needs and effectiveness. It was recognised that the employees responsible to cater for the customer care were unable to provide high quality service to immediate and external customers even after some level of training has been delivered The decline in the number if customers are also due to several management issues which result in that fall in number of clients. The main reasons are the rise of other competitive banking organisations which are coming up with efficient marketing strategies which are making their strengths. These competitive banks are bringing innovation in the way they deal with their clients and the various facilities they give them. Even though, not all performance problems can be addressed by training and in some cases, non-training interventions are necessary. By identifying performance problems that can be improved by training, the assessment will allow the agencies to focus on the real training needs within their organizations. Henceforth, I feel that analysis of the outcome of the training is important that is training needs assessment need to be carried on to know whether the training is having a positive impact on the quality of service being delivered. This study attempted to assess the training needs of a State Bank of Mauritius. It is a banking organisation in Mauritius which I assumed to be facing a fall in the amount of clients as there is a failure in the efficiency of delivering customer service. Background of the study Training is concerned of all concerned of all categories of the workforce as well as the management, irrespective of their grades, gender and status in an enterprise. This is because there is a rise in globalisation, the level of competition is more intense and thus training is becoming an essential tool for the organisation in order to deliver quality customer service. Training is a useful means to increase the knowledge and skills of the labor force. An effective training session will increase the workers productivity in the organisation and make them become a valuable asset. Training has long been an issue for organizations that exist in the banking sector. Time and expense are the main issues that consistently surface in any training needs. And time and expense impact smaller agencies to a much greater degree than larger banks. A pivotal aspect of this desire was the goal of stronger communication, cooperation and collaboration between the community, and the State Bank of Mauritius. These could provide training and other opportunities for the enterprise. Training is identified as an immediate problem to be addressed in the banking system on the organisation as it has much to do in order to compete with the other banking firms. A more skilled and motivate workforce will help to tackle this problem and solve many other issues relating to low quality customer service. The Training Needs Assessment that resulted is the subject of this research paper. I feel that the analysis of the outcomes of the training will be essential indicator in the improvement being achieved. It is believed that training deficiencies exist with resultant employee performance problems within the state banks mainly among the customer service officer who need to deal with the customers directly, the impact they make on the organisation as a whole is significant. The problem is to determine if training deficiencies do exist and, if so, to identify the common training needs will improve the customer satisfaction as the customer service agents, the cashier and other members of the management will cater for their needs and wants. I believe that if the study deals with this problem it may help the organisation to find innovative and competitive solutions as the work force will be trained and they may work in coordination with the management to improve the current condition of the State Bank of Mauritius. Literature Review There has been considerable research and attention directed towards evaluating training needs, understanding the importance of training to reduce cost and be more profitable. However, limited research has been made towards the evaluation phase. The literature reviews will examine the research and the literature relating to the awareness of the current state of knowledge in training and to show the thesis relates to others work and findings. This will be performed in order to develop a good understanding and insight into relevant previous research, a review of the definitions of training, quality service, customer service, customer service training, training needs, and training needs assessment from various authors. At this stage, I will present a critical summary on training needs assessment definition and other key terms that I will be using in the research project. The information was collected in books, magazines and web sites. The explanation of these terms will help to make the research proposal to be more clear and specific. The Importance of Training The significance and value of training has long been recognized. Given todays business climate and the exponential growth in technology with its effect on the economy and society at large, the need for training is more pronounced than ever. Training, in the most simplistic definition, is an activity that changes peoples behaviour. Increased productivity is often said to be the most important reason for training. But it is only one of the benefits. Training is essential not only to increase productivity but also to motivate and inspire workers by letting them know how important their jobs are and giving them all the information they need to perform those jobs (Anonymous, 1998). McNamara (n.d.) lists the following as general benefits from employee training: increased job satisfaction and morale increased motivation increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods increased innovation in strategies and products reduced employee turnover This is only a partial listing of the many benefits that result from training. Training that is appropriate to the needs of an organization can add great value. Training is not always the answer to performance problems. Brandt Sakakeeny, training industry analyst for Solomon Smith Barney believes that training can be a great investment and training can be a waste of money (Rosner, 1999). Training is indeed a waste of money when the desired behaviour does not occur. Gupta acknowledges that not all performance problems can be addressed by training. In many cases, non-training interventions are necessary (Gupta 1999). The key is to identify what problems can be attributed to training deficiencies and, once that is accomplished, to insure that the right training is implemented. Bartram and Gibson, in their Training Needs Analysis Toolkit agree. Without the right training, employees can be the organizations biggest liability. Trained effectively, however, they can become your biggest asset (Bartram and Gibson, 2000). Rosner (1999) adds another ingredient for success support after training. He states, The most effective programs train workers in new behaviours and then train managers to support employees as they apply learning daily (Rosner, 1999, p.43). Support and endorsement from management can greatly enhance training results. One can conclude that training is not always the answer, and when it is the answer, it has to be the right training. Training is big business. In 1998, American companies spent $60 billion on training (Rosner, 1999). So, how does an organization train effectively so that the investment results in growth and success? To make training count, it must be matched directly to the needs of the organization and people in it. One tool that is used to accomplish this is the Training Needs Assessment. Training in Banking Sector Banking organisation is one of the fastest growing segments of our emerging bold new economy (Glasrud, 1999). The sector now employs more than eleven million employees in the private and public sector nations total workforce (Salamon, 1999). This growth is likely to continue as the demand for services provided by the sector continues to rise and the role of government in meeting individual needs continues to diminish (Boris and Steuerle, 1999). To be able to grow and serve the community, bank executives must realign their thinking about the economies of service deliveries and who shall deliver those services. In combination, the increasing presence of the banking sector and the shedding of the direct provision of services by government have served to create a growing demand for professionally trained banking administrators (Dolan, 2002). To summarize, quite simply our nations banks face continued growth to meet increased demand with lessening resources and increased needs for training. As anyone in the corporate training field knows, training often falls on the low end of the priority list. Thats especially true in the banking world. Another barrier to training is that some agencies have considerable turnover. They arent eager to spend their scarce resources training employees who may later leave (Frye, 2000). Technology has impacted everyone, but it has become an especially pressing issue for banks. According to Gordon (1998), the technology revolution has yet to make significant inroads in the banking sector. The banking sector is growing and all indicators suggest continued growth. Human and financial resources are being stretched to extreme limits. Training for the banking sector is problematic, especially in the area of technology training. The rapid rate of change in the technology field has some business enterprise behind. The gap will only increase if effective training programs are not implemented. Why a Training Needs Assessment? Some organizational and individual training needs are not as clearly defined as others. Even when training needs appear to be obvious, it is still necessary to choose appropriate methods that will meet them. Many training needs are not so obvious. A training needs assessment is one of the most basic and common forms of assessment used by HRD professionals in the workplace (Gupta, 1999). Needs assessments help determine when training is the answer and when it is not. Assessment insures that training programs have relevance to the people being trained. Gupta, in his book A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, gives the following overview of the training needs assessment: A needs assessment provides the information that is usually necessary for designing training programs. The basic purpose of a training needs assessment is twofold: To identify the knowledge and skills that people must possess in order to perform effectively on the job, and To prescribe appropriate interventions that can close these gaps. There are two main reasons to conduct a training needs assessment: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It ensures that training programs are developed based on identified needs; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It is relatively easy to implement (Gupta, 1999). Some performance problems can be addressed by training. Some problems training cant fix. Training isnt the answer to a problem when its used to cover up the symptoms (Rosner, 1999). A needs assessment avoids misdiagnosing a non-training problem as a training problem. A Review of Methods Commonly Used to Assess Training Needs Data gathering is the cornerstone of any needs-assessment project (Gupta, 1999). The fundamental premise of needs assessment is that in order to make effective decisions about current or future training needs, data must first be gathered (Gupta, 1999). There are many ways to collect data. Commonly used methods are interviews, focus groups, surveys and questionnaires, and observation. Other methods include the nominal group technique, action research, and Dacum (developing a curriculum). Most needs assessments employ one or several data-gathering techniques (Gupta, 1999). Interviews are one of the easiest tools for gathering information. Interviews can be conducted face-to-face or over the phone. The biggest benefit of one-to-one interviews is the human interaction that occurs (Gupta, 1999). Phone interviews are more effective when small pieces of information must be gathered. One-to-one and phone interviews can be conducted in either a structured or unstructured manner. Another advantage is that the interviewer can clarify answers when necessary and ask whether interviewees have additional questions at the end. Vicki S. Kaman (Allen, 1990) agrees. She lists the advantages of interviews as: (1) Employees can be encouraged to share their ideas; (2) Interviews provide process, as well as content information, and (3) Interviews provide two-way communication. Interviews also work quite well when the target group is small in number. Focus groups implement a group-interview method. People with similar experiences are brought together and asked their opinions and/or ideas about a specific subject. To be effective, focus groups require good facilitators (Gupta, 1999). Preparing and implementing surveys and questionnaires require several stages including preparing, designing, developing questions, writing instructions, writing cover letters and pilot testing, (Gupta, 1999). Observation is also a method that can be used to collect data during needs assessments. A problem that occurs when using observation is that people often alter their behaviour when someone is watching. To overcome this, techniques that are not obtrusive must be used. According to Gupta (1999), the main drawback to the training needs assessment approach is that it lacks the rigor of a strategic needs assessment, competency assessment, or job and task analysis. Results of Other Training Needs Assessments A review of the literature identified three recent assessments of the training needs of specific banking organizations. Highlights of (1) A banks needs survey; (2) Surveys of bank directors; and (3) An Educational Program Assessment. Conclusions A review of the literature has resulted in the following conclusions which are deemed the most important to consider as the research methodology is designed. Training is not always the answer to performance problems. Non-training interventions may also provide solutions to problems. A training need assessment will help determine when training is the answer. Time and is the most significant barriers to training for the workers. The banking sector will continue to grow. The problems of time will not disappear. Agencies must look to innovative ways to close the gap. Programs that require short amounts of time (half-day, one-day seminars, etc.) are the preference. (5) Face-to-face interviews are easy, yet effective in assessing training needs. They are time consuming, but the interaction that occurs can be extremely beneficial. The needs assessment is part of a university effort to reach out to the community. Face-to-face interviews should be carefully considered when determining the methodology of the research. Aims of the study The aim of the study is to know the importance of training needs assessment in an organisation and if it contributes to higher level of performance in all the aspect of the enterprise main in the quality of service being offered. Objective of the study Training it vital but to evaluate its impact on the organisation and the results in brings on the level of productivity is even more important. So, the main objective of this study is to: See if any training programme is being given. If these programmes are effective- what is the performance of the employees of the relevance training To know how the employees of State Bank view training. To assess the contribution of training of skills, knowledge, job performance and quality of service. To provide recommendation in areas where training need to be improved Research Questions The methods and procedure to be used for the collection of data to carry this study will include questionnaires, interviews and observation on the workplace. For the questionnaire I will need to consider its content, the question format, the order it will be placed, the types of question I will ask and the validity and reliability of the question in the study. It must be done in such a way that the respondents understand what is being asked. Then I will need to carry a pilot study with the front office manager so as to examine the first draft and to see if it contains any misunderstanding over the terms and questions. Example of the research questions: Is training important in State Bank of Mauritius? How training can help to improve public relations? How can training improve the quality of service in the bank? Are the Human Resource Manager committees to training of staff? What effect can training have in the organizational performance? Definition of Terms What is training? Training can be defined as the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving ones capability, capacity, and performance. According to Dale Yoder: Training is a means of preparing rank and file workers for promotion to supervisory position and for improving their competence and capability while they hold such leadership assignments. Human Resource at all levels needs frequent refresher training. According to Dale S. Beach: Training is the organized procedures by which people learn knowledge and skills for definite purpose.(Rao, 2003, 152) What is Quality? It is defined as A comprehensive customer-focused system that will improve the quality of products and services. It is a way of managing the organisation at all levels from the top management to the front line, to achieve customer satisfaction be involving all employees and continuously improving the work processes of the organisation.(Lewis, 1991) Quality is said to be the degree or standard of excellence. It is the whole of the attributes of products or service that meets requirements of the buyer, owner or the end user. What is customer service? According to Turban et al (2002), Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of satisfaction, that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the needs and wants of the customer which will make them be loyal to the organisation. Available on Wikipedia.org (Accessed 11 Sept 2012). Customer service is the provision of service at all the level of purchase and even after. It plays a vital role in the organisation ability to generate income and revenue. What is customer service training? Customer service training refers to teaching employees the knowledge, skills, and competencies require increasing customer satisfaction. Employees who are properly trained and who demonstrate professional customer service skills will be able to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. This will lead to customer retention, increase in profitability and reduce overheads. Investing in employees through training makes employees feel valued and improves their level of motivation. Consequently, when employees treat customers well by using proper customer service skills which consist of a good listening skills, and good questioning techniques can lead to higher level of productivity in the organisation. (http//en.wikipedia.org, 19 Sept 2012). What is Training Needs Assessment? Training Needs Assessment is the evaluation of the value and reliability of the importance of giving training to employees and to assess the effectiveness of the training programmes. It would be important to point out that there are three levels of needs assessment: organizational analysis, task analysis and individual analysis. Organizational analysis looks at the effectiveness of the organization and determines where training is needed and under what conditions it will be conducted. Task analysis provides data about a job or a group of jobs and the knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities needed to achieve optimum performance. (Pickard 1992) Nature of the Study Research Design For this study, the research will be both of quantitative and qualitative in nature. The point of view of the respondent on the field of study will be taken into consideration with the subjective components of the research. This data will be obtained from in depth interview to obtain comments of the respondent on the importance and effectiveness of training and training needs assessment. This can be done by pulling the views of a huge population together with the help of postal questionnaires or web based surveys containing many opened questions. The research can also be of quantitative nature as it will help to gain a deeper understanding through the study of the numerical data collected on whether training is accredited much importance in the organisation and the effectiveness it has on the quality service being offered to the customers. The survey research to be carried on to obtain quantitative data need to be structured questions and self completion questions that is close ended questions with can be easily be converted into tabular or graphical illustrations. This type of survey is said to be efficient as it allows collecting accurate data on the large number customers and their level of satisfactions. Sample With any survey, it is necessary to clearly define the target population, which Collis Hussey (2003:157), define as follows: A population is any precisely defined set of people or collection of items which is under consideration. The participants of this study will consist of 100 customers which will be the sample from the whole population, who deal with the State Bank of Mauritius on different intervals. The selected respondents will be chosen by randomly sampling method. The target population will be specifically chosen for the above in order to validate the practicality of the concepts as presented in the project. The risk of bias, which cannot statistically be eliminated and will be included in the interpretation of the data collected. Data Collection Collecting data is the crucial part of the research process in developing the research proposal. Data gathering is essential to a needs assessment. The data of the present study will be collected by questionnaires documentary analysis. Instrumentation The method chosen is to collect data for the assessment is the survey method, specifically, a questionnaire to be administered to the customer trading with the State Bank of Mauritius. The study is to be descriptive in nature, specifically, training needs assessment. The design of the study will include population, instrumentation and analysis of results. The Questionnaires (Appendix 2) Identical questionnaires will be used to assess the training needs of the staff. The open-ended questions required respondents to answer in their own words. This elicited in-depth responses, as opposed to limited responses. Questions were framed so that they could be answered easily. The number of questions was limited so that it could be completed in twenty minutes or so. Participation needs to be anonymous and voluntary. The time limit for returning the questionnaires was on the same day the customer receive it. Completed questionnaires need to be individually returned. The questionnaire will include a cover letter providing instructions for completing and returning the form and a Protection of Human Subjects Consent Form with no signature requirement. The fact that the questionnaire will be collected on the same day may represent a compromise on the distribution of the questionnaires and may be disappointing, without a doubt, impact the validity of this portion of the needs assessment as the respondent may be biased in their answer due to lack of time. It is to be noted that the will consist of about twenty questions, and answer is to be provided for suggestions to be made for the open ended questions(unstructured questions) And for the close ended questions (structured questions) three or five options will be provided and the responded has just to tick one of them. A variety of questions were asked, but the majority revolved around job duties, education, learning and performance concerning the staff in relation with the customers level of satisfaction. After getting the permission from the management to perform the study a pilot study will have to be undertaken so as to ensure that the questions matches the objective of the study and to ensure that the exact question s and right method are used to obtain the required information. The pilot study will be pre tested on a sample of 5 respondents to identify any problems, design errors, misunderstanding of terms used and flaws. Then, the necessary corrections will be made and clarification will be made to cater for the changes before the final questionnaire is completed. Question Design The question instrument will consist of 5 parts as follows; The first part will contain general background which will include gender, age, occupation, purpose of visits, and frequency of visits. The training information related to performance and satisfaction. To ask for customers suggestions about quality service and where training should be enhanced. Data Analysis After questionnaires will be collected, there will be the need to process the data and explore the how will training needs assessment contribute to the improvement of quality of customer care service at the State Bank of Mauritius. The frequencies and percentages will be used for calculating and analyzing

Essay on Character Movement in James Joyces Dubliners -- Dubliners Es

Character Movement in Dubliners  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   In a letter to his publisher, Grant Richards, concerning his collection of stories called Dubliners, James Joyce wrote: My intention was to write a chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene because that city seemed to me the centre of paralysis. I have tried to present it to the indifferent public under four of its aspects: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life. The stories are arranged in this order. I have written it for the most part in a style of scrupulous meanness and with the conviction that he is a very bold man who dares to alter in the resentment, still more to deform, whatever he has seen and heard (Peake 2). Joyce's passion for Dublin presents itself in the copious detail he uses in Dubliners. No street name, tower, pub, or church is left unspecified. Joyce often boasted to his brother Stanislaus that if Dublin were to disappear off the face of the earth, it would not be difficult to reconstruct it, simply based on Joyce's work (Walzl 169). Though all but three of the Dubliners stories were written while Joyce was in self-imposed exile form Ireland, he describes strolls his characters took throughout Dublin, carefully noting every turn of every street corner. The movements Joyce notes are not arbitrary, but symbolic. Joyce intended for his audience to give special attention to the direction of the characters' movements. In most of the stories, the East symbolizes willful exile and escape. Movements westward indicate acceptance of corruption and eternal paralysis. In Dubliners, Joyce uses symbolic physical movement to trace the different stages of paralysis in his characters. In the three childhood stories, "Sist... ...ements of his book" (60). The movements of Joyce's characters in his work Dubliners offer a telling picture of where Joyce predicted the city of Dublin was headed. Works Cited Bidwell, Bruce and Linda Heffer. The Joycean Way: A Topographic Guide to Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Johns Hopkins: Baltimore, 1981. Gifford, Don. Joyce Annotated: Notes for Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. University of California: Berkeley, 1982. Joyce, James. Dubliners. Penguin Books: New York, 1975. Peake, C.H. James Joyce: The Citizen and the Artist. Stanford University: Stanford, 1977. Tindall, William York. A Reader's Guide to James Joyce. Noonday Press: New York, 1959. Walzl, Florence L. "Dubliners." A Companion Study to James Joyce. Ed. Zack Bowen and James F. Carens. Greenwood Press: London, 1984.   

17th century english writers Essays -- essays research papers

The Pen Is Mightier Than The King The 17th century saw a king’s head roll and an English Caesar sit the throne, in the midst of all of this a new class was rising. England in the 17th century was rife with change, there was much work to be done before the industrial revolution could fully grip the nation. For hundreds of years the monarch had dominated the political landscape, now that was changing radically. Although their remained a Monarch in power for most of this period they had seen their powers limited to the point of reducing them to the status of figurehead. As farming techniques and technology had improved, the population in England had increased steadily and the use of this new technology created a new class in society.(1) This merchant class was on the rise due in large part to the captured markets in North America and the West Indies which had made many a merchant richer than their aristocratic brethren. The British Parliament had seen its power expand over the last hundred years and would continue that trend in the 17th century finding itself with the power to behead even the king.(1) As Parliament flexed their new found muscle the king was forced to find the funding for his political intrigues among the new merchant class. In addition to this new found monetary prowess the middle classes had been exposed to a rich variety of philosophers who espoused the right of the people to rule themselves.(1) Revolution in the New World and in parts of Europe increasingly made the lower classes aware of their right to self-governance. The parliament a representative of the people showed its power in the 17th century by enacting the â€Å"Glorious Revolution† and crippling the English monarchy for the rest of time.(1) Indeed in the next century the French Revolution would show that not only a government body had the power to remove royalty, the common people could also spill royal blood. As a result of this change in the class structure Monarchs and parliament where forced to recognize the power of the common people and they would from then on need to seek the peoples favor. The danger of an uprising was quite real and could not be controled by marshal means, as there was no standing police force or army.(1) In addition leaders of the time where selected by birth and not by political prowess and as such many of them lacked the eloquence to persuade the pe... ... lost their power and the war ended soon after this publication.(1) Each of these men has come to be associated with literary greatness and deservedly so, however at the time of their death they may not have felt the sense of accomplishment that they had earned. With the possible exception of Milton the early 17th century authors were limited both in the ideas that they could legally express and in the career opportunities that they could pursue, these men Dryden, Locke and Milton paved the way for the later authors and the freedoms that they enjoyed. In all of their cases they came from modest middle class backgrounds and were educated with money earned by their merchant class parents. The leaders of their time sought them out for this very reason as it allowed them to more effectively communicate their point of view to the increasingly powerful middle class. Although the rulers who sought to use them for their skill in communication may have gained some temporary benefit from their services, it is all subsequent English speaking authors who have be nefited the most from their labors in that they do not have to chain themselves to the prevailing sentiment in society to be heard.

Use of Pathos in an Ad Commercial :: Pathos Advertisment Essays

Use of Pathos in an Ad Commercial The images which are used for advertisements, newspapers, or magazines usually include the significant purposes and ideas. Then, in many cases, they are described by ethos, pathos, and logos which are used frequently to catch viewers’ attentions. Even if the ads do not have concrete strategies and clear opinions, those ads may not be able to persuade the viewers. In other words, the excellent ads could use one of three persuasions. The following advertisement is the good example of embedded pathos in the advertisement. The advertisement of the Office of National Drug Control Policy strongly persuades the reader not to dabble with marijuana. In the image, the close-up of a crooked bicycle wheel sits on an asphalt road. At first glance, maybe the reader does not recognize what the image explains the reader and what is about. However, the viewer figures that there is a sad story in the ad. The viewer reads the story of this wheel on the upper right hand corner of the picture. Then the viewer understands that this advertisement is about marijuana. In this advertisement, Pathos, which is used for emotional appeal, is embedded efficiently. Also, it is the best choice for this anti-drug ad and more suitable than ethos or logos because appealing to person’s character or logic do not work so much for the marijuana addicts. That is why this image successfully persuades people who disregard the risks of marijuana. First, the ad tells the story of an accident which was caused by a person who smoked weed. It says, â€Å"You smoked weed. You got behind the wheel. And you hit a six-year-old girl on her bike. Weed can make you do stupid things like that.† Like this, the sentences help us to understand and to imagine about this picture. In this quotation, marijuana is described as informal word â€Å"weed.† Sometimes, to use a casual word is more persuasive than a formal word. The affinity for â€Å"weed† expresses that everyone could be involved in the accidents because of marijuana addicts. As a result, the readers keep away from marijuana. This story and the close-up wheel appeal to the reader’s emotion how about terrible marijuana is. In these sentences, not only pathos but also ethos which appeals to a person’s character or personality is embedded. By using second person discourse, the ad persuades especially current smokers to quit right away and at the same time discourages readers from smoking weed and reads directly toward each viewer.