Understand the implications of finance as a resource within a business Assignment

Understand the implications of finance as a resource within a business - Assignment Example The estimation of cash requirements of a company and the various decisions related to the ways of generating cash is also sometimes referred to as the financial plan. Financial planning is thus important and helpful in determining the ways through which the companies can generate cash to make the various investment decisions possible for them. Cash budgeting, which is a part of financial planning, helps assess the ways in which available cash should be utilized y the company to achieve its financial objectives. Failure to arrange for adequate finance could lead to problems for the company, and it will not be able to carry on its business activities because of limited funds required for the purpose of implementing its various investment objectives. All these facts suggest that financial plan is critical to any business organization for its future growth and sustainability. Financial information of a company is generally presented through the financial statements prepared by its accountants. The users of financial information of an organisation can either be its external users or the internal users. The internal users or the users within the organisation are mainly the management accountants of the company, who use the financial information present in the financial statements of the company to make various business decisions (Sinha, 2009, p. 21). The managers of the company are also the internal users who are engaged in the activities related to planning and controlling the daily business operations of the organisation (Nikolai, Bazley and Jones, 2009, p. 7). The financial information is utilised by them to make decisions regarding internal operations to be conducted within the organisation. For example, the managers decide on the purchase of new equipment based on the financial information provided to them by the management accountants through the fin ancial

Lord of the Flies Essay Example for Free

Lord of the Flies Essay Deep inside each individual is a psychological choice to be made between good and evil. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, this choice and its subsequent results are represented by Ralph and Jack. With no rules and no adults on the island to guide them, Jack gives into his evil desires. Whereas Ralph struggles to maintain a sense of humanity and constantly tries to strive to do good. Both started off as English schoolboys, but when left alone on the island human nature tends to make the choices. When the boys first land on the island they still have their childish innocence. They still remember their English upbringing. They work together to build a civilized community like back in the adult world they have suddenly been separated from. Even though Ralph was chosen leader, Jack agrees there is a need for rules, â€Å" I agree with Ralph. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We are English, and English are best at everything. So, we’ve got to do the right things. † (38). But slowly his actions started to change. He realized there were no repercussions for his actions. He was free from punishment. He chose to give in to his evil desires. And when he painted a mask on his face, he lost all sense of humanity, his transformation into a savage was complete. â€Å"He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. He capered towards Bill, and the mask was a thing on it’s own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness. † (58). Jack used the mask to let out his evil desires and hide from shame. He was masking his the identity of what was a chapter chorist and head boy into a maniacal and manipulative savage. But, the mask can’t hide the fact that we are capable of evil. Evidently the only thing separating us is our choices. Whereas Jack chose to be evil, Ralph overcome his inner desires to do evil. Ralph was chosen by the other boys to be the leader of the group. Instead of using his new power for his own selfish needs, Ralph used it for the greater good of the group. Ralph solely survived to be rescued and made sure a signal fire was built. â€Å"Your only hope is a signal fire going as long as there’s light to see. Then maybe a ship’ll notice the smoke and come and rescue us and take us home. † (164). Ralph believe that a signal was their nly hope of being rescued which was true because that is all the boys had to draw any attention to the island. Ralph was not just thinking about himself when he was trying to get rescued because not only would he get rescued so would have everybody else, including Jack. While Jack did not care about getting rescued he worried more about how much bigger and more powerful his group was, and they also had become more evil. Ralph chose to align himself with Piggy to help him stay righteous. Ralph was voicing Piggy’s ideas while he was chief. Ralph used Piggy’s intellect to help him stay civilized and on the good side. Near the end of the novel, corruption and evil started to take over almost all the boys and Piggy dies. His death emphasizes the end of intellectuality and what is good in society. Ralph is left alone and he slowly starts to turn to savagery, in the last chapter. He is being hunted down like an animal by other boys and he has to act like an animal to survive. Before Ralph could fully turn into a savage, he and the rest of the boys are rescued by a British officer. Back in some semblance of society, Ralph realizes all of the boys in their own way gave into some type of savagery. â€Å"And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. † (186). In recognition of what Ralph thought was civilized, and in reality what actually was, Ralph wept because he also knew that Piggy was their only link keeping them somewhat civilized. When piggy died even Ralph started to turn to savagery, but fortunately for Ralph the fire that could have killed him, saved him. Clearly without help we cannot fully overcome the evil deeply hidden inside of us. Finally, we are all capable of good and evil, it’s a matter of choice. Our choices can lead to our corruption and they can lead to our salvation. Only with assistance are we humans able to over power the opposing forces not willing for us to do good. Humans possess the intelligence to distinguish between right and wrong, they must have discernment to choose for themselves what their morals are.

Diary of A Teenage Girl. Becoming Me :: essays research papers

Diary of A Teenage Girl. Becoming Me Title Page: On the cover of Diary of a Teenage Girl, Becoming Me there is a girl with long silky brown hair. I get the impression that she is sad or lost because she is twirling her hair in between her fingers. Her head could possibly be tilted down in a depressed motion. I think her hands are the only thing visible because the author is trying to set of the mood of th young girl, and I think this is shown by the twirling of the hair between the fingers. Publication Data: Carlson, Melody. Diary of a Teenage Girl, Becoming Me. (United States of America, Multonomach Publishers, 2000) Setting: The setting is the time and place of a narratives actions. The setting in this novel is New Jersey. Three specific details of this setting are: a.) Caitlin and her family live in a small, narrow duplex with 3 bedrooms and one bathroom; b.) their house is central New Jersey and located next to a large park; c.) the house is a light brown with cream coloured shutters and has two large doors in the front. Caitlin and her family live in the duplex with one other family although the duplex has three floors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Living central allows Caitlin and her family easy access to school, church and work. She is able to attend track and field after school and hang out with her friends at the local diner. Caitlin learns more about herself by adventuring out into New Jersey and going to youth group as much as possible, learning more about God. Plot: Plot is a series of incidents which provide a solid framework for the development of a narratives conflict. Conflict is a struggle between two opposing forces. The main conflict in this novel is man vs himself. Caitlin struggles to find her true self and learn more about her religion. She makes many choices through out he novel that will impact her life forever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The conflict begins when Caitlin starts being more adventurous and starts going to parties and hanging out with the wrong crowd that she thinks are the cool kids. She meets new people that aren’t her true friends and aren’t good people. These people try and get her to do thing’s that she really doesn’t want to do and she makes the right choice in saying â€Å"No.† She immediately goes into a room where she can’t be pressured and decides not to hang out with those people anymore.

Capitec Strategy to success Essay

Introduction History shows that the South African banking sector has predominately focused on middle to upper class income groups in the market, whilst neglecting the needs and demands of low income groups (Manson, 2012). Capitec Bank on the other hand, focused on the needs of these low income groups, creating a business model that was specifically tailored to their needs. Capitec was introduced in the banking industry during a time of crisis, Saambou Bank, which focused in micro lending had collapsed (McNulty, 2009). However Capitec has managed to endure this predicament and since its inception, has emerged as a force to be reckoned with, in a relatively short period of time. The bank has managed to penetrate the South African banking sector with progression in a matter of a few years due to its implementation of the inventive Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) strategy aimed at targeting the lower end consumers (van Themaat et al, 2013). It is therefore essential to evaluate the BoP strategy, along wi th all of its aspects. For this reason, this essay will examine the history of Capitec Bank and in particular outline the successful adaption of the BoP strategy as well as its growth and current position in the banking sector. However, the main objective that will be discussed in detail will be on the aspects of Capitec’s strategy crucial for leverage in its position in the South African banking sector. History Capitec Bank was founded on the 1st of March 2001 and built back on its micro credit business, keeping in mind its intention to establish a proper bank in the microfinancing platform (Manson, 2012). Microfinance is a term used to describe the provision of financial services in addition to microcredit to small businesses and the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) population (van Themaat et al, 2013). Initially, Capitec started as a 300-branch micro-loan business with the sole product being 30 day loans with a 30% monthly interest. Imperatively, this business of micro-loans supported the strategic aim and complementary cost of building out an underlying foundation  necessary for a transactional bank (Ashton, 2012). Based on statistics it is found that BoP is more than two thirds of the population that survive on bare minimum income (van Themaat et al, 2013). Furthermore Finscope 2003 estimated that 35 percent of the total population in SA have never banked or used any financial service to m anage their finances. With relation to the above, it is recognized that other financial institutions overlook serving the BoP as they are perceived as non-profitable (Coetzee, 2003). However on the other hand, Capitec recognised this market as a window of opportunity as the majority of this population remained unbanked due to the many constraints that prevented them from obtaining financial services (van Themaat et al, 2013, Robin et al, 2005). The bank implemented its profit-driven strategy by customising its services and products to the needs of the BoP to achieve the following: Acceptability, Availability, Affordability and Awareness, thereby overcoming the constraints that existed. (Coetzee, 2003, van Themaat et al, 2013, Robin et al, 2005) This approach deemed successful which has resulted in an increase of market share with 51.23 percent compound interest over the last five years which is in line with its goal of being a profit-driven microfinancing institution (van Themaat et al, 2013). These aspects used by Capitec Bank to penetrate the banking sector will be discussed in this paper. Acceptability As mentioned previously in the history, Capitec overcame many constraints that had previously left the BoP sector unbanked. The founders of Capitec critically evaluated the BoP and found that many are embarrassed by their lack of education, skills, literacy, are unable to afford basic financial services and that their perceptions of banking is that it is complicated, expensive, difficult and time consuming (van Themaat et al, 2013). Capitec offers a simplistic and acceptable approach to banking which has changed these perceptions taking into consideration that the Bop are first time users. Capitec Bank (2014) displays Capitec’s product offering which is a Global One account that incorporates a savings, deposits and a credit facility which makes for simpler banking offering exceptional utility and value. Capitec’s interaction with clients are face-to-face, paper-less, cash-less and card-based (Haladjian, 2006). Overcoming the lack of confidence and literacy skills in first time BoP clients was achieved by the paperless IT and management information system (van Themaat et al, 2013). This also incorporated biometric identification using fingerprint technology and cameras to identify their clients which creates ease of use and quicker response time (van Themaat et al, 2013). Overcoming the language barrier was achieved by employing staff from the local communities. (Robin et al, 2005). Capitec’s investment into human resource training has made for efficient interaction with clients strengthening customer-to-bank relations and by eliminating a bulletproof glass barricade, clients receive a personal service and are treated importantly, which makes transacting a more approachable service. (Coetzee, 2003) By treating their customers with respect, this increases the emotional a ppeal to the BoP population. As compared to service in a big four branch, the Bop customer is treated as inferior and unvalued, therefore Capitec defines it focus by customer and not by income (van Themaat et al, 2013). The customer interface systems at ATM’s have been adjusted to the needs and preferences of the BoP catering for illiterate clients. (Coetzee, 2003) The management IT system is centrally controlled, increases simplicity and customer value by reducing administration costs, paper work, prevents fraud and keeps track of transactions using fingerprint biometrics. (Coetzee, 2003, van Themaat et al, 2013) It also creates a safer environment as cash is not kept at branches and withdrawals are available at ATM’s and selected retail stores considering that many unbanked sectors exist in areas experiencing high crime and this positively contributes to driving down financial service costs (Coetzee, 2003, Haladjian, 2006). Opening an account takes ten minutes. After credit evaluation and approval, the loan application process is as follows: scan ID document and verify using barcode, scan payslip, take a photo of the client, capture other data, open account, print loan agreement, all ow client to sign, then scan and return the original, create an ATM card and give card to the client (Coetzee, 2003). Coetzee 2003 highlights that this previously unbanked population deemed as  undesirable and unprofitable are being served by Capitec Bank in large volumes since its inception. This further proves that the strategy of simplifying its service implemented by Capitec appeals to the Bop population allowing Capitec to penetrate the banking sector. Availability Capitec makes their services more available to customers by having longer business hours, increasing the number of branches, allowing withdrawals at retail outlets, using ATM’s, internet banking and applying for credit online. According to Planting (2006) Capitec Bank has extended their business banking hours. On weekdays branches are open from 8am to 5pm (Manson, 2012). Most of the branches of the big four banks: Absa, Nedbank, FNB and Standard bank close at about 3:30pm or 4pm. Capitec considers that most customers are working and can only access branches after working hours which is around 4pm. In some cases branches are open till later where it suits customers and branches are also capable of going to the workplace of customers to offer their services (Coetzee, 2003). On Saturdays branches are open between 8am to 1pm and on Sundays branches in large shopping centres are open between 10am to 2pm (Manson, 2012). Most of the big four banks branches close on Saturday at about 11am and on Sunday most branches are not open. These times considers that customers may not be able to do their banking during the week because of long and tiring working hours. They understand the needs of customers by offering longer business banking hours. Capitec knows that their customers need to reach their branches easily. This is done by reducing the size of branches and increasing the quantity of branches (Manson, 2012). They would rather have more branches in one area than have one big branch. Many people do not save because they do not have access to banking services (Finscope, 2003). Increasing the number of branches increases accessibility and savings will be encouraged. Using this approach makes their services accessible and convenient for customers. Initially Capitec’s main target focus was the BoP. Branches are located at taxi ranks, train stations and townships where their services are easily available to the low income group. They have expanded over the years, making their services available to the other income groups by locating branches near rural areas and in shopping malls. Capitec uses existing  infrastructure to improve banking service accessibility. They have partnered with retail outlets such as Checkers, Pick ‘n Pay, Shoprite and Pep. Customers can withdraw cash at these retail outlets. Most of the retailers allow cash to be withdrawn when purchasing items at the stor es except at Pick ‘n Pay no purchase is required to make a withdrawal. They have increased their network location by allowing withdrawals at retailers without having to invest in any large infrastructure (Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). This allows easy access to money and convenience for customers. Capitec ATM’s are located across SA making them easily accessible. If customers cannot access an ATM to withdraw cash, they can always go to retail outlets making their services more accessible and unique compared to the major banks. The ATM’s can be used to check balances, withdraw cash and multi-loan, transfer money to savings plans and change a pin. The availability of services offered by Capitec is improved by partnering with MasterCard. Cards are developed to allow customers usage even in remote places (Lee, 2010). Mobile banking is also used by Capitec; customers can use their cell phone to access multi-loan, savings plans and savings account. It can be used to purchase airtime and electricity, check account balances and previous electricity tokens purchased, withdraw multi-loan and make payments to clients who bank with Capitec, transfer money between your accounts and register for SMS update for security purposes. Capitec offers internet banking that is simple, safe and saves the customer money. Money can be managed whenever it suits the customer. Internet banking allows customers to transfer money between their accounts, create stop orders, check their statements, tax interest certificate, payment history and register for SMS update system. Customers first need to access their nearest branch to register for mobile or internet banking and to find out how it works. After registration customers can easily access their services when it suits them. They also allow customers to apply for credit online which increases availability of their services. A credit application must be completed online and they will contact the customer to discuss it with them, making credit application easily accessible. The use of EMP technology and cards linked to maestro allows customers use of their cards offline, offering services in areas of limited access such as rural communities (Haladjian, 2006). Using these strategies  Capitec has made their services more available and convenient for custome rs, thus improving the banking sector. These strategies used have increased their client base and resulted in the growth of bank. Businesstech (2014) reveals that Capitec has overtaken Nedbank and is now the fourth largest bank with approximately 10.8 per cent market share. Affordability A substantial component behind Capitec Bank’s successful business model was its development of a strategy aimed at understanding the needs of its customers which were the â€Å"bottom of the pyramid† population (van Themaat et al, 2013). This prompted the bank to offer affordable banking products and services that were specifically designed in accordance to its customers’ needs. Capitec centred on having simple banking products and services and sought out to have the lowest fees, hence arguably making it the most affordable bank to bank with amongst many of its competitors in the banking sector (Manson, 2012). In order to understand this strategy, it is imperative to highlight the banking products and services Capitec offered which allowed it to penetrate the banking sector in South Africa as well as making a comparative analysis with the products and services of some of the major banks in South Africa. The fundamental factor of Capitec’s success is its Capitec’s Global One account which comprises of three distinct features: it allows an individual to have the ability to transact, save and access credit, all with one account (Capitec Bank, 2014). The efficiency of this account ensures that customers do not have to open three separate accounts which cuts down on administrative costs. The monthly administration cost for the Global One account inclusive of all its aspects as of 01 March 2014 amounts to R5.00 (Capitec Bank, 2014). Furthermore there is free access to card, mobile as well as internet banking and in so doing makes it more appealing to Capitec’s target market (Manson, 2012). Comparing Capitec’s Global One account with that of its counterparts from the big four banks in the table below, it can be seen that this account is more superior in terms of its features and much more cost efficient than the rival accounts of other banks. Bank Transactional Account Savings Account Access Credit Capitec- â€Å"Global One Account† YES YES YES FNB- â€Å"Easy Account† YES YES NO Absa- â€Å"Flexi Account† YES YES NO Nedbank- â€Å"Ke Yona Account† YES NO NO Standard Bank- â€Å"PlusPlan Account† YES YES NO The Global One transaction feature allows you to transfer, deposit or withdraw money as well as to make purchases and payments (Capitec Bank, 2014). The fees that Capitec charges relating to the transaction aspect on this account is by far the cheapest in comparison to the transaction accounts of the big four banks. Fees relating to all card purchases are free whether you purchase at card machines, shop online, order by telephone or through mail. Money transfers to own accounts are also free and to other accounts is charged at a fee of R1.05. Balance enquiries through all channels are also free. (Capitec Bank, 2014) The savings component on the Global One account allows an individual to have four different savings plan which has the ability to earn interest ranging from 4.40 to 9% depending on  their plans. These plans can also be flexible or fixed according to one’s preference. With flexible savings, people can earn from 4.40% interest on their daily balances as well as cho ose the amount they want to deposit and the frequency of their deposits (Capitec, 2014). Another advantage to these plans is that there is no monthly admin fee that has to be paid to each account as well as no minimum balance required in order to start saving. Fixed-term savings gives one the ability to choose from two deposit options. The first is a â€Å"single deposit† which can run from a period of 6 to 60 months with a minimum balance of R10 000 and a maximum investment of R5 million (Capitec Bank, 2014). The second option is â€Å"multiple deposits† which can run from a period of 6 to 24 months with a maximum investment amount of R1 million. The interest rate is fixed for the full term and interest gained from this option can either be reinvested or transferred to back to one’s transaction or savings account (Capitec Bank, 2014). Having a look at the competing accounts of the other major banks which can be seen in the table below, most offer interest rates that are less than 1%. Capitec on the other hand offers highly competitive interest rates which make it more lucrative for people to bank with them as they are able to earn more on their savings. Bank Capitec- â€Å"Global One Account FNB- â€Å"Easy Account Absa- â€Å"Flexi Account Nedbank- â€Å"Ke Yona Account Standard Bank- â€Å"PlusPlan Account† Interest Rates 4.40 to 9% 0%

Benefits of a cashless society Essay

It cannot be denied that there is a wide variety of benefits to be gained by a society from a cashless system. In a society where time is as important as money, going cashless can be a big help since the main benefit that a society can get from a cashless system is convenience. A cashless system can be convenient when doing transactions in banks, restaurants, hospitals, airlines, shopping malls, supermarkets, and even in vending machines. Who would have thought that a small piece of plastic card can do wonders for men? Instead of having a hard time finding the exact amount of coins or cash in one’s pocket to pay for a cup of coffee or a can of soda in a vending machine, a person can just insert this piece of plastic card through the slot. Instantly, the exact amount of his purchase is deducted accurately from the amount on the card. Can one imagine how dirty money is? The money that keeps on passing from hand to hand is dirty. Numerous hands will handle this money until it becomes worn out and be recalled and replaced by the government. The handling of money from one individual to another provides an easy way for bacteria to spread quickly. Cashless transactions in restaurants will provide for proper hygiene since the staff will no longer have to handle cash and at the same time handle the food being served. Instead of falling in line and paying for food that has gone cold due to having waited so long to be served, an employee can now enjoy his break from office, and will therefore be encouraged to go back and patronize the restaurant. Likewise, a person will no longer suffer the inconvenience of falling in line in supermarkets, shopping malls and hospitals to pay their bills at the cashier. Since there will no longer be cash to steal, bank and store robberies will cease to occur. There will also be a decrease in attacks on cashiers, storekeepers, taxi drivers, and shoppers. There will be a decrease in crime rates, and so society will no longer have to pay huge amount of tax dollars to go after the criminals. There is no more reason for society to worry about these crimes. The change from cash to electronic money payment will also help the government in their collection of unpaid taxes. The taxes can be automatically deducted from a person’s account. The government will no longer have to spend much money in tracking down tax evaders. Income tax rates can be lowered as a result and the national debt will be greatly reduced. Drug trafficking will also cease to occur since anomalous transactions will be detected electronically. It will also be difficult for some people to launder money since a cashless system will be able to tell how much money was debited or credited in a particular bank account. Not having to print money will prove to be advantageous to the government since it will mean security and cost savings. Counterfeiting of paper currency will now be a thing of the past. In a cashless society, printing of paper money will no longer be necessary. When previously a person will have to buy stamps and envelopes to mail checks as payments, a person can now easily complete cashless transactions. Even on days when the banks are closed, a person can make transactions provided he has internet connection. A person can also make purchases without the use of cash. He can buy products through the internet when he is at home or with the use of credit cards when he in a shopping mall. In a cashless society, instead of paying with cash, employers can have the amount credited to their employees account. This is being done with the use of the Automated Teller Machine (ATM). The employer is then spared from the expense, added time, and inconvenience of going to the bank to withdraw the salaries. It has been said that cashless transactions have been around since the 1960’s. But it has been more prevalent in today’s society. Today, people benefit from cashless transactions through the use of ATMs, debit and credit cards, prepayment cards, the smart cards, or the mobile cash. A handful of people who are against a cashless society have brought up a number of disadvantages such as security and privacy being lost. With proper analysis and study, these drawbacks can be solved. Despite their concerns, it seems obvious that the advantages to be gained from it far outweigh the disadvantages. For in a society that prefers convenience and cost savings, having a cashless society will prove to be more beneficial. REFERENCE Our cashless Future†¦ (27 June 2007). TadpoleNet. Tadpole Technews News and Politics. . . Accessed 29March 2008.

United States Court Systems

United States Court Systems Free Online Research Papers The United States Court Systems CJA/500 Survey of Justice and Security In the United States you will find two major court systems. They are the â€Å"State Court System† and the â€Å"Federal Court System.† The Federal Court System acts as an older brother to the state court system as federal law trumps state law. However, generally speaking it’s pretty easy to establish which system a case will proceed through. If the charges are bases on state laws, then the case proceeds through the State Court System. If the charges are based on federal laws, then the case proceeds through the Federal Court System. Even using this common sense interpretation, debate still occurs on jurisdiction. The systems parallel in many ways, but individually still maintain unique roles in America. State Court System The State Court System usually reflects a three tier model (Adler, Mueller, and Laufer, 2009). Starting at the bottom level of the model you have the courts of limited jurisdiction. Next are the courts of general jurisdiction, and finally at the top level you have the courts of last resort. Limited jurisdiction refers to the courts that have specific jurisdiction over specific types of misdemeanor cases such as traffic law violations, health law violations, civil suits, and minor criminal cases (Adler, Mueller, and Laufer, 2009). These courts include Magistrate Courts, Municipal Courts, Police Courts, Justice Courts, District Courts, Juvenile Courts, City Courts, and Small Claims Courts. The second level of courts in the State Court System are the trial courts of general jurisdiction. General jurisdiction courts are not limited to specific types of cases, but on the contrary have jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases in the region or district they are given (Adler, Mueller, and Laufer, 2009). These courts include Superior Courts, District Courts, Circuit Courts, Court of General Sessions, and Court of Common Pleas – most popular are the Superior Courts. These courts also use juries on many accounts, and they also handle some limited jurisdiction appeal cases. An interesting model possibly to be used in other states eventually is the new system California now uses. In 1998, California began what eventually was accepted by all counties in the state, to unify their limited and general jurisdiction courts into one system of Superior Courts with general jurisdiction over all cases (California Courts, 2009). The third and final level of the courts in the State Court System are the courts of last resort. These courts include Court of Appeals, Supreme Court, and Supreme Judicial Court. Most states use a model that includes a single intermediate appellate court, and then a supreme court as the last resort (Adler, Mueller, and Laufer, 2009). This helps to filter the cases. Another way is their ability to choose which cases. These cases are known as discretionary cases. Other cases that are debated on an error of law are mandatory to be taken by the appellate and supreme state courts. They are call mandatory appeals. Ruling over all the cases in a state supreme court are five to nine justices. Federal Court System The federal court system is also made up of three levels which are the U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and finally the United States Supreme Court. First are the U.S. District Courts who act as the main guardians and gatekeepers of the federal law (U.S. Courts: Federal, 2009). They have jurisdiction over almost every category of federal cases primarily civil and criminal subject matter (U.S. Courts: District, 2009). The two main exceptions to this jurisdiction are The Court of International Trade and The United States Court of Federal Claims. These two courts have jurisdiction on all cases mainly pertaining to international trade, customs issues, money claims regarding the United States, and property claims regarding the United States (U.S. Courts: District, 2009). U.S. District courts are found in 94 U.S. districts including the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and many other places of the continent (U.S. Courts: District, 2009). U.S. District Courts even handle bankruptcy cases in their broad spectrum of jurisdiction. Whatever the case though, in order for the case to be taken into federal court and heard it must meet the subject matter jurisdiction. The three options of meeting this requirement include diversity jurisdiction, federal question jurisdiction, and supplemental jurisdiction. After deciding subject matter jurisdiction, the venue or appropriate district is then decided and a case becomes a federal case in a federal district court. The U.S. Courts of Appeals make up the second level of the Federal Court System. There are 12 regional circuits over the 94 federal districts. The federal appellate courts handle all federal appeals that go past the district courts within their regions (U.S. Courts: Appeals, 2009). The U.S. Supreme Court makes up the highest court level in the entire United States of America. It is made up of eight associate judges led by the Chief Justice of the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court takes on a certain amount of cases each year. If a case meets guideline requirements set by congress, once it leaves federal and state courts the Supreme Court can choose to hear it (U.S. Courts: Supreme, 2009). They usually choose the cases that involve very important controversies over the Federal Law, and most importantly the U.S. Constitution. Referencesa U.S. Courts. (2009). United States Supreme Court. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from uscourts.gov/supremecourt.html U.S. Courts. (2009). About U.S. Federal Courts. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from uscourts.gov/about.html U.S. Courts. (2009). United States District Courts. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from uscourts.gov/districtcourts.html U.S. Courts. (2009). United States Courts of Appeals. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from uscourts.gov/courtsofappeals.html California Courts. (2009). Courts. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/trial/about.htm Adler, Freda., Mueller, Gerhard O.W., Laufer, William S. (2009). Criminal Justice. An Introduction (5th ed.): Mcgraw-Hill. Research Papers on United States Court SystemsPETSTEL analysis of IndiaCapital PunishmentThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationQuebec and CanadaThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UsePersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Incorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in Capital

Affective Foreshadowing

Affective Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is a literary device used in both Of Mice and Men and The Pearl. Foreshadowing is when a part or event in a story suggests something before it happens.In The Pearl the songs of evil foreshadow the events that would soon happen.After hearing the songs in his head, something dangerous or bad would happen to Kino. For example on page thirty-six it reads, "He smelled the breeze and he listened for any foreign sound of secrecy or creeping, and his eye searched the darkness, for the music of evil was sounding in his head and he was fierce and afraid."  Soon after Kino got in a fight with someone who was trying to steal the pearl. Kino ended up stabbing this person. Foreshadowing was also used when the appraisers told Kino that the pearl was worthless. Kino counted on these men to be honest, after they lied it showed how they rest of the town would probably act.Of Mice and Men (1939 film)

How Many Recommendation Letters For College Do I Need

How Many Recommendation Letters For College Do I Need SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Colleges ask for all different numbers of recommendation letters. Each college sets its own policy, so it's always a good idea to double check each school on your list to make sure you understand exactly what it wants. Typically, colleges want you to send a recommendation letter from your counselor. Additionally, they may ask for one, two, or, in rare cases, three letters from your teachers. This guide will go over the different guidelinesso you know how many recommendationsto collectwhen applying to colleges. First, let’s go overthe different options. How Many Recommendation Letters Do Schools Require? You might need anywhere from zero to four letters of recommendations. As mentioned above, the majority of colleges want to see at least an evaluation from your school counselor. On top of this, many colleges, especially those selecting on the basis of academic merit, seek one or two teacher recommendations. Few colleges want to see three; usually, you’ll only need three recs if you’re applying to military school. To find information on your specific colleges of interest, you can look on their admissions websites. If you’re using the Common Application, then your app should also be customized to each school and its expectations. While this guide doesn’t cover every single college in the US (there are thousands!), it will go over some popular schools and their recommendation letter requirements. Let’s start with schools that have minimum requirements and work our way up to the schools with the most. You're off the hook for recommendation letters at these schools. Popular Schools with No Recommendation Requirement There are some schools, including competitive ones, that don’t require any recommendation letters at all. Some of these may have a general â€Å"no rec letter† policy, but still advise you to check with your particular department or program. Others may ask you to send a recommendation letter later in the year. Some of you reading this might breathe a sigh of relief, while others may want to send a rec letter and be disappointed. If you fall into the latter group, should you send your letter(s) anyway? Again, it’s always a good idea to check your school’s website for information or call its admissions office directly for its advice. Some schools will read your letters if you want to send them, while others arerather adamant about not sending any. Here are a few schools that, generally speaking, don’t require recommendation letters: Penn State University (unless specified by a program) University of California schools University of Minnesota University of Texas University of Washington Now for the schools that require one letter of recommendation - but only from your counselor. If you're applying to any of the schools below, then a trip to your guidance department is in order. Popular Schools that Require One Counselor Recommendationand No TeacherRecommendations These schools just want to see an evaluationfrom your school counselor. As you can see, most of these schools are open to you sending a teacher evaluation if you think it will be helpful to your application. College of William and Mary (teacher recommendationis optional) Georgia Institute of Technology (teacher evaluation is recommended, but not required) James Madison University (teacher recommendation is optional) University of Richmond If you do decide to send a teacher rec when it’s not required, make sure it’s a strong, substantial letter that you feel will truly help your candidacy. A common requirement of many four year colleges is one counselor recommendation and one teacher recommendation. These next schools want you to send two letters of recommendation, as indicated by the diesmbodied floating hand. Popular Schools that Require One Counselor and One Teacher Recommendation These schools want to seeoneletter each from your school counselor and a teacher. University of Delaware (one required, suggests that most applicants submit more than one letter) Georgia Tech Mills College NYU University of Maryland University of Massachusetts University of Virginia Wake Forest University More selectivecolleges tend to require a counselor letter of rec and two teacher letters of recommendation. Check out of some popular schools with this requirement below. If you're applying to any of the schools below, hopefully you have three smiling educators ready to write amazing things about you! Popular Schools that Require One Counselor and Two Teacher Recommendations Since these schools are particularly selective for academic ability, it makes sense that they want to hear about you and your work as a student from two different teachers. Amherst College Duke University Sarah Lawrence College Barnard College Emory University Scripps College Bates College Harvard University Skidmore College Boston College Harvey Mudd College Smith College Bowdoin College Haverford College Stanford University Brown University Johns Hopkins University Swarthmore College Bryn Mawr College Juilliard School Syracuse University California Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology Trinity College Case Western Reserve University Middlebury College United State Coast Guard Academy Colby College Mount Holyoke College University of Chicago Colgate University New England Conservatory of Music University of Pennsylvania Colorado College Oberlin College Vanderbilt University Columbia University Occidental College Washington and Lee University Connecticut College Pitzer College Wellesley College Cornell University Pomona College Wheaton College** Dartmouth College* Princeton University Williams College Davidson College* Reed College Yale University *Dartmouth and Davidson additionally require a peer recommendation with the two teacher recommendations.**Wheaton requires one teacher rec and one pastoral rec Up until this point, you either had no choice in your recommender (as with your counselor) or could just choose one teacher. But as for the schools that require two letters, do they have any requirements about who exactly you ask to recommend you? Guidelines for Your TwoTeacher Recommendations In terms of who you ask, colleges typically ask you to provide a range of perspectives, like one letter from a science or math teacher and one from a humanities or social studies teacher (this includes technical schools like MIT and CalTech). The other common policy is that the school leaves the choice up to you. In pretty much any case, you should ask two teachers from core courses. If you’re applying to an art or performance school, like Juilliard or the New England Conservatory of Music, then one of your letters should be an artistic recommendation from a private studio teacher, conductor, coach, or artistic mentor. As you saw above, a select few schools, like Dartmouth, Davidson, and Wheaton, get specific about additional peer or pastoral recommendations, but these are definitely exceptions. Now that you have a sense of the colleges that want two teacher recommendations, take a look at the few that want three (FYI,they’re all military schools). Military Schools that Require One Counselor and Three Teacher Recommendations These schools also require a nomination from a Congressperson, which essentially counts as another recommendation, bringing the number required up to five! US Air Force Academy US Navy Academy (math, English teachers and Blue Gold officer) US Merchant Marine Academy US Military Academy (West Point) Above, we briefly touched on whether or not you should send a letter even if your school doesn’t require it. On a similar note, should you ever send an extra letter? Extra! Extra! Read all about me! Can You Send Extra Recommendation Letters? Logistically, you should be able to send an extra recommendation letter via mail or assigning an additional recommender on your school application or Common Application. Many schools allow this option, but you should be cautious and make sure you understand your school's opinion about sending extra material. Each school has its own stance on supplemental letters. If your school allows it, you want to make sure an extra letter adds something substantial to your application and comes from an authoritative source, like a community supervisoror spiritual leader with whom you've worked closely. Another circumstance in which an extra letter could be a good idea is if you attend a huge high school and haven't gotten to know your teachers or counselor very well. Again, make sure to learn about your school's policy. You don't want to play into the old admissions saying, "The thicker the file, the thicker the kid." Admissions officers usually don't look fondly on too much extra material. Rather than helping your application, excessive supplemental could just end up raising red flags about the strength of your candidacy. While researching your colleges' requirements is a critical first step in planning your recommendation letters, there are several other factors that require your attention. Read on for more on gathering recommendation letters, along withthe resources that canhelp you through the process. Tell me more. What Else Do You Need to Know About Recommendation Letters? Before you invite your recommenders to submit their letters online, you should be thoughtful about who you ask and howyou make your requests. Make sure to ask teachers of core subjects who know you well and give them all the necessary information at least a month in advance, if not in the spring of junior year. To get your best letter, part of this information should be a detailed resume and "brag sheet." Plus you can make appointments with your teachers and counselor to talk about your goals and what you'd like them to include in your letter. Finally, make sure you understand your rights surrounding your rec letters and how to approach the FERPA question on your application. Then you can invite your recommenders and know that you did everything you could to get the best letters for your college application. The rest is up to them, except for that final step in the process - sending thank you cards for all their help! What's Next? Now that you have access to guides on everything you need to know about rec letters, check out this complete guide that takes you through the steps of applying to college. This guide includes everything you need to know about the appplication process. If you're just starting to research colleges, check out this article on how to choose a college and all the questions to ask yourself when planning for your future! Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Market Research Proposal, With questionnaire (NO PRIMARY DATA Essay

Market Research Proposal, With questionnaire (NO PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION REQUIRED) - Essay Example A survey by Ernst and Young conducted amongst 23 matured and emerging market that were negatively affected by the credit crunch suggested that the customers of UK are seen to have low level of confidence on the banking system. About 63% has reported that their trust on the UK banks has completely fallen, whereas about 36% were completely dissatisfied (Flower, 2012). As all the banks generally deal with similar, undifferentiated category of products, so quality of the service becomes a primary weapon for winning the competition. The banks that display an excellent service quality are supposed to have a distinct marketing edge in terms of improved cross-selling rates, elevated revenues, better customer retention capabilities (Bennett and Higgins, 1988) and prolonged market share (Brown and Hedges, 1993). As defined by Ghobadian, Speller and Jones (1994) quality signifies how well the organizations cater to the requirement of the customers. The definition given by Deming (1986), Ishikaw a (1985), Feigenbaum (1986), and Juran et al. (1974) also fall under the same category. This approach suggests that the organization should first understand and determine the requirements of the customers and then meet unto them. The service quality can only be judged either during or after the consumption is made (Audhesh et al., 2005). The performance of the service provider is the primary source of value creation for the service that is signified as the service quality. It may be very trivial service performance by the service provider but is likely to create a huge impact on the perception of the customers about the service quality of the provider. Barclays Plc, one of the major banks of United Kingdom (UK) has been involved in the scandal of mis-selling of PPI due to which they had to pay huge compensation to the customers (PPI Claim Company, n.d.; BBC News, 2011). Lloyds Banking Group has also suffered problems with the Faster Payments System that is responsible for transferri ng of funds in and out of the accounts of the customers. This problem has given rise to a knock-on effect on the customers of the bank (BBC News, 2013a; Winch, 2013). Earlier in the year 2012 due to system failure the customer of Lloyds using TSB debit cards, online banking and ATM have also faced problem (BBC news, 2012b; Salmon, 2012). Same is the case with NatWest whose customers have also faced problems with online banking, cash withdrawal etc (BBC News, 2013b; Bachelor, 2013; Farrow, 2012). HSBC of UK has also reported the same problems in the year 2011 and 2012 (BBC News, 2012a; Rojas, 2012; Osborne and Bachelor, 2011). This situation has given rise to a growing concern for all these four banks that are eager to know what the expectations of their customers are. Thus the current study tries to find an answer to this question. Objectives The main objective of the research is to understand the perception of the customers towards banks as well as gaining knowledge about the wants of the customers. In this context the closely done study on the current status of the banking organizations suggests that the financial crisis as well as the recent

Adam Smith's Theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Adam Smith's Theory - Research Paper Example Born in 1723 and died in 1790, Smith left a legacy in his model Wealth of Nations that has been an influential contribution in economics. In brief, the theory identifies the basic principles that nation acquire wealth and function effectively when individuals use capital and proficiency at their own diplomacy. His model revealed the nature of country’s prosperity as many learn the principles of economics. Up-to-date, his arguments are used and cited in debates as many learn from his great insights. Nevertheless, some people disagree with his assumption as many view him as an activist of callous individualism. Regardless of the way he is viewed, his theory is paramount in the economics field. How the economy does stem from his theory and importantly economists assume that the theory is accurate in how the world’s economy operates. At this point, this paper seeks to analyze the theory and lay a discussion of its pros and cons. Wealth of Nations In his theory wealth of nat ion, Smith noted that wages and prices might reach optimal level when freedom of using capital and skills as per wish is imposed (Smith, In Cannan & Lerner, 1937). He taught by examples of new products, which he argued that, when invented prices are usually high until when others discover the profit potential, and join the field then prices go down. Indeed this can be outlined in today’s electronics where such scenarios take place. ... According to O'Rourke and Smith (2007), the theory explored that there cannot be consumption if there is no production. To explain further, Smith’s theory affirmed cars do not just exist there is a process through which they are put together in production to manufacture cars. Similarly, capitalism works in this way in the sense that when a car is manufactured, those in need of a car search for it in the car factory and purchase as per their choice of the car. In the 21st Century, people do not just walk in the car factory and request to purchase the car but they are purchased by a dealership and later sold to clients. The main point that Smith wanted to highlight is that, one can break capitalism in two parts consumption and production. In this case, there cannot be consumption without production and vice versa. Applicability This law is applicable in today’s society in that one cannot purchase products at the market without being manufactured and supplied by a differen t party. Still, one cannot eat without preparing or acquiring food and cannot be in a house that has not been constructed. From his theory, Smith assumed that the market force ensured there is right invention of goods and services. The theorist based his idea on the aspect of free market economy whereby consumers have the free will to choose what they need. Smith perceived capitalism as the main aspect, which drives, and motivate the economy. He believed that it motivates companies and individuals to gain and accumulate profits. To support his argument, Smith developed two theories through a research on production in Europe during industrial revolution. The two theories are moral sentiments and wealth of nations, which

Electronic government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Electronic government - Essay Example The commencement of the new system of e-government can be simply linked to its purpose (Kostopoulos, 2003). The development in technology has gbrought new challenges in governments facilitating its emergence. The purpose of electronic government is to build the complete digital age and work as the best intermediary for the information through whole the state. Choudrie et al (2004) refer the purpose of e-government, to the emerging need to improve the external and internal relationship with the stakeholder and share the knowledge with them. Meanwhile, Bwoma and Huang (2003) highlight another purpose of e-government, which is to cut cost. It should be noted that there is an increase of government expenditure in building more offices and agencies around the country to provide the government services to the citizen and mismanagement and poor organization which will affect the whole public expenditure. E-government cut cost by making operations constrained online. Information technologies has been widely used in institutions either public or private sector. So, the governments are eagerly looking toward an information technology to improve their services and relationships. Gong further; it is useful identify the meaning of e-government. Kostopoulos (2003) has mentioned that the use of web technologies will force improving the interaction and the communication between the government and its users. Moreover, the internet will be the best solution for government to establish an agencies opened for 24/365 to serve there customers. Similar to this definition, Zhenyu and Peterson (2003) note that e-government are those technologies which help the government to establish a new line of services to deliver to the citizen and help the citizen to interact with those services and access information. Provision of such services will reduce the need to directly contact the

Patton (1970) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Patton (1970) - Essay Example The movie opens with Patton (played convincingly by George C. Scott) addressing his troops with a screen-sized American flag as the backdrop. The film was released in 1970 during the height of the protest movement of the Vietnam War. It reminded the public of a time when Americans were proud of their involvement in military actions. The central message concerned the larger than life character of Patton and the pride in which he and his troops took in freeing the world from tyranny and oppression, a viewpoint lost in the turbulent times of the Vietnam era when the military was largely vilified. The film was essentially accurate in its depiction of historical events but a couple of aspects stood out as inaccurate such as Patton’s speech to his troops in which he apologized for the slapping incident. If you don’t care for war movies at all, it’s still a decent history lesson but you may want to cover your eyes in a couple of scenes. The overall feeling one takes away after viewing the film is a deeper appreciation of those that served and died for the greater good and for a man who was the right person, at the right time in history. Without his strong leadership, it seems that the war would have been prolonged at the very least with the cost of many more lives.

TEXTBOOK CJ2012 FAGIN-Explain a motion for discovery and for Essay

TEXTBOOK CJ2012 FAGIN-Explain a motion for discovery and for suppression - Essay Example Thus, any evidence, which the police gather in violation of the provisions of these amendments, becomes invalid in a court of law to secure a conviction. The defendant in a criminal case has to right to request to the court to instruct the prosecution to provide him or her all the materials that they have gathered as evidence in the alleged offence. This will help the defendant to understand the nature of the evidences that the prosecution will use to argue their case. Thus, an examination of these evidences will enable the defendant to prepare for the trial and prove his or her innocence. The courts in the US function with a view to ensure a free and fair trial to all citizens. Therefore, it is in the interest of justice that the defendant be given all opportunities to examine the evidences that the prosecution has collected against him. During the trial, the prosecution, who is already in possession of the evidence, will use these materials to argue their case to prove that the defendant has committed a particular offence. Hence, in the interest of natural justice, the defendant also must receive the opportunity to examine the evid ence so that he or she can prepare the defense accordingly during the trial. It is on this premise, to ensure fair trial, that the defendant is provided the right to the motion for discovery. The motion to suppress is another significant right offered to the defendants under the provisions of the law, to ensure a free and fair trial, through the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution. This provision confers on defendants the right for a motion, requesting the court to direct the prosecution to suppress certain evidences that have been obtained through illegal means. The main issue at stake in Suppression Motions is whether police officers â€Å"obtained evidence in violation of a constitutional or statutory right† (Jorgensen 7). Thus, if the

Patton (1970) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Patton (1970) - Essay Example The movie opens with Patton (played convincingly by George C. Scott) addressing his troops with a screen-sized American flag as the backdrop. The film was released in 1970 during the height of the protest movement of the Vietnam War. It reminded the public of a time when Americans were proud of their involvement in military actions. The central message concerned the larger than life character of Patton and the pride in which he and his troops took in freeing the world from tyranny and oppression, a viewpoint lost in the turbulent times of the Vietnam era when the military was largely vilified. The film was essentially accurate in its depiction of historical events but a couple of aspects stood out as inaccurate such as Patton’s speech to his troops in which he apologized for the slapping incident. If you don’t care for war movies at all, it’s still a decent history lesson but you may want to cover your eyes in a couple of scenes. The overall feeling one takes away after viewing the film is a deeper appreciation of those that served and died for the greater good and for a man who was the right person, at the right time in history. Without his strong leadership, it seems that the war would have been prolonged at the very least with the cost of many more lives.

Current macroeconomic situation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current macroeconomic situation - Essay Example economic productivity in the US depicted in the numerous productions and purchases in terms of goods and services, the rates of national unemployment have remained steadily high. This implies that increment in the overall productivity of both goods and services is not playing any noteworthy role in the generation of fresh jobs for the general populace. It further implies that employers are not offering job opportunities to fresh workers in order to develop the required growth rates. In the most recent probe into the macroeconomic situation, Consumer Price Index with regard to urban consumers stood constant during the month of December similar to the month of November. The index for all goods except for food and energy rose significantly by 0.1% in December after it augmented to 0.2 in November (BLS, 2012). This has been presented as the inflation levels for US for the fiscal months of December and November. According to reports on employment and unemployment, a rise in the nonfarm payroll job offering augmented by 200, 000 in December 2011, while the unemployment rate continued to drop at 8.5% (Haskell, 2011). Job opportunities emerged in the conveyance, warehousing, retail vending, industrialized, medical and mining sector of the economy. According to the presented report, real GDP, which is the production of goods and services that US generated in labor and property augmented to a yearly rate of 1.8% as per the third quarter of last year (Haskell, 2011). Previously, the second quarter of last year saw an augment of the real GDP by 1.3%. Currently, the expansionary fiscal tools such as the purchases made by the government on taxes are not working within the current situation. The working group has been amassing less experience concerning jobs than expected, which consequently leads to augment in inflation and unemployment (Bullard, 2011). Although inflation is triggered by supply side dilemmas, inflation and unemployment augment in a similar manner making the

Mesolithic Religions Essay Example for Free

Mesolithic Religions Essay Prior to this time in human existence people did not practice an organized form of religion. Everything was considered sacred and and there were no gods being worshiped. All this began to change in the Mesolithic time period. A shift in culture is evidenced by the building of the Stone Temple at Urfa. Up until this point in time, humans lived a mostly hunter gather lifestyle. People would have followed the herds of animals and lived off the land as they came to it, moving on once the resources were all used up. With the advent of the Stone Temple signaled a new way of life. With people needing to eat while the temple was being built and later when they came to worship, humans began practicing farming, herding, and hunting. With these new roles humans had a shift in thought from just passing through living on the land to masters of the land with the ability to own it and change it as needed. This new thought led to a shift in religious practices. Mesolithic people now began to see the world from the perspective that mankind had control over prosperity through religious practices. Herders could sacrifice some of the herd to a god to ensure the herd continued to grow. A farmer needing to have a good crop would have sacrificed people, fasted, or engaged in ritualistic sex. Much of this is evidenced by the artifacts that have been uncovered and the stories that have survived from the Mesolithic time. At the site of Urfa wild forms of the first domesticated plants and animals have been found. Inside the ruins animal bones were uncovered suggesting animal sacrifice may have taken place in there. The giant stone pillars have carvings in them one being a woman in a sexual pose that may suggest a room for ritualistic sex. The story of the first family illustrates some of the mentality of the time period. In the story two of the sons, representing farming and herding, gather to sacrifice. The herder sacrifices an animal while the farmer sacrifices some plants. The plants are rejected. Leaving the farmer to find another way to sacrifice which in the story is illustrated by him killing his brother. The third type of person, the hunter, is absent during all this suggesting the hunter still clung to the old ways and may have disapproved of the new religious thought. The hunter may have been the one telling the story, which is why the story has a negative tone.

Areas of Learning in Childcare Environment

Areas of Learning in Childcare Environment Q.1. Identify each of the three prime areas and four specific areas of learning? The Early year’s foundation Stage areas of learning and development have been produced by the government and early year’s professionals for use by all early years’ providers including child minders. It is important for practitioners to become familiar with how the areas of learning and development are arranged in the framework. We need to use the areas of learning and development when we are observing, assessing and planning for your child’s individual needs. These areas make sure that we are constantly challenging the child and helping them to develop and succeed. There are seven areas of learning and they are split into 2 parts: The 3 prime areas, which are for all children and will always, be the main focus of the planning and activities for babies and children under 3. The 4 specific areas, they are for all the older children (over 3s) but are also relevant for younger children. These are the 3 prime areas: Personal, social and emotional development (PSED) PSED involves supporting children in developing and sustaining important relationships. It supports children in expressing and managing their feeling and behaviour and encourages them to develop a sense of self-esteem and confidence. It also covers how children make friends and shared and takes turns. Physical development: Physical development involves encouraging children to be active in their play and learning. This area is about how children move and uses gross motor skills, develop fine motor skills, learn about healthy living and manage self-care independently. Communication and Language: This area involves children developing the skills required to become an effective speaker and listener. It involves children to listen and pay attention, understand what is being said and communication with others. Accurate identification of the 3 prime areas of learning and a good overview of what each area involves. These are the four specific areas: Literacy: This area of learning and development is about how children enjoy reading book, likes to make marks, learn to write and stars to explore phonics and letter sounds. Mathematics: This area involves how children learn about numbers and counting, recognising the passing of time and explores measures, capacity, space, shapes, opposites etc. during play. Understanding the world: This area learning and development is about how children find out about nature and the world around them, talk about people and their local community and learns about similarities and differences and learns to confidently use ICT equipment. Art and design: This area of learning and development is about how children enjoy being creative, sings and dances and makes music, plays imaginatively and uses express themselves. Sources: www.optimuseducation.com www.bridgewater.herts.sch.uk (NEW EYFS Summary 2012.pdf) Good. Q.2. Explain how planning can be devised to promote the individual needs of children? All children develop at their own rate and in their own time this should be remembered when planning activities. Children develop quickly in early years and as early years practitioners we need to do all that we can do to help children have the best possible start in life. Children are born ready, able and eager to learn. They actively reach out to interact with other people and in the world around them. Development is not and automatic process, however it depends on each unique child having opportunities to interact in positive relationships and enabling environments. Early years’ experience should build on what children already know and can do, no child should be excluded or disadvantage because of ethnicity, culture or religion home language, family background, special education needs disability or ability. To be effective an early year’s curriculum should be carefully structured. In that structure there should be three strands. Provision for the different starting points from which children develop their learning, building on what they can already do. Relevant and appropriate content that matches the different level of young children needs. Planned and purposeful activity that provides opportunities of teaching and learning, both indoors and outdoors. There should be opportunities for children to engage, in activities which are planned by adults and also those that they plan or initiate themselves. Good point. As a practitioner we must be able to observe and respond appropriately to children, in found by knowledge of how children develop and learn a clear understanding of possible next steps in their development and learning. Activities need to be planned properly; it should engage children in the learning process and help them make progress in their learning. Children to have rich and simulating experience, the learning environment should be well planned and well organised. It provides the structure for teaching within which children explore experiment, plan and make decisions for them thus enabling them to learn, develop and make good progress. As practitioner we need to understand and observe each child’s development and learning progress. For example in response of a child’s experience of breaking an arm and bringing in her x-ray, and children showing interest in the child’s plaster cast. Practitioners can set up a hospital in the nursery setting. They can add reception area with telephone, children can take a role of receptionist answering calls and making appointments. Children can dress up as doctors, nurses and patients. Practitioners can show children how to use bandages. Although children join and leave the play, many sustain their attention for a long time. Some play a number of roles and perform many actions, while some repeat and practise the experiences important to them. A good example. The practitioners should make sure that the children spend their time in worthwhile and challenging activities. Throughout the session there is a supportive routine with a mix of group and individual activities together with opportunities for children to make choices about activities. This provides the security which promotes confidence and the challenge which promotes learning. Source: www.foundationyears.org.uk http://osclinks.com/618 Q.3. Describe how practitioner can support children’s learning and development in each area of learning? Prime areas There are three prim areas of learning. 1. Physical Development 2. Communication and language development 3.Personal, social and emotional development. These prime areas begin to develop from a base of secure, loving relationship and positive. The area of physical development is divided into two aspects. Moving and handling: Moving and handling looks at children’s development of gross and fine motor skills. Children can show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. They handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencil for writing. From birth, babies begin their development and will first learn to turn their heads towards sounds or bright lights. Development is rapid in the early years and babies will learn to hold their head up, move their arms and legs, roll over and gain control of their bodies to sit up. Major developmental milestones are achieved within this aspect, such as crawling, walking, running, jumping and climbing. Health and self-care: In health and self-care development children needs to know the importance for good health of physical exercise, and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe. Babies express discomfort when they are hungry or thirsty through crying to ensure their needs are met. Babies will often show excitement in anticipation for their feed. As babies are weaned onto solid food, they will begin to open their mouth for a spoon and as they become older will show an interest in feeding themselves using a spoon and their fingers. Children will be willing to try new and different food textures and tastes, but will begin to form likes and dislikes with their food. Children need to manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently. The area of communication and language is divided into three aspects: Listening and attention This looks at children’s development of listening skills. Children listen attentively in range of situations. From birth, children will begin to tune in to the sounds around them, turning to look for where the sound has come from and recognising their main carer’s voice. These skills of listening develop and refine as a child becomes older − they will be able to differentiate between voices and will begin to understand the meaning of words. As children come to the end of early years their listening and attention skills will be more mature. They listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. Children give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity. Understanding: In this area we look at how children learn to understand the principles of language and communication. Children follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events. They continue their development by gaining understanding of the meanings of single words such as ‘mummy’, ‘daddy’, ‘no’. The complexity of the words and sentences a child understands and can respond to increases as a child grows older. Speaking: Speaking looks at how children actually use language. It includes childrens verbal and non-verbal communication. Children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events. The area of personal, social, emotional development is divided in three aspects: Making relationship: This looks at the way in which babies and young people develop relationships. Children play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity.They show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adultsand other children. Self confidance and self awarancess Children are confident to try new activities, and say why they like some activities more than others. They are confident to speak in a familiar group, will talk about their ideas, and will choose the resources they need for their chosen activities. They say when they do or don’t need help. Children will develop confidence to express their feelings and opinions and will be able to select their own activities that interest them. Managing feelings and behaviour: Children talk about how they and others show feelings, talk about their own and others’ behaviour, and its consequences, and know that some behaviour is unacceptable.They work as part of a group or class, and understand and follow the rules.They adjust their behaviour to different situations, and take changes of routine in their stride. The four specific areas: 1. Literacy 2. Maths 3. Understanding the world 4. Expressive arts and design The area of literacy is divided into two aspects: Reading: Children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read. Writing: Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible. Mathmathics: The area of maths is divided into two aspects: Numeracy: Children count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, they add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing. Shape, space and measures: Children use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. They recognise, create and describe patterns. They explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them. Expressive art and design: The area of art and design is divided into two aspects: Exploring and using media and materials: Children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. Being Imagantive: Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories. Understanding the world: This area has three areas of aspects: People and communities: Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions. The world: Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes. Technology: Children recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes. Source: www.silkysteps.com/2012-eyfs-early-learning-goals.html Q. 4. Evaluate how the effective characteristics of learning can promote children’s learning and development. The Unique Child reaches out to relate to people and things through the Characteristics of Effective Learning, which move through all areas of learning. -playing and exploring (Finding out and exploring) (Playing with what they know) (Being willing to have a go) -active learning (Being involved and concentrating) (Keeping on trying) (Enjoying achieving what they set out to do) -creating and thinking critically (Having their own ideas) (Making links) (Choosing ways to do things and finding new ways) Playing and exploring Play and exploration are key ways that children to learn. As Vygotsky, the famous Russian psychologist whose work has been so important to our understanding of child development, stated: in play the child operates at their highest level ‘beyond his average age, above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself’ (Vygotsky, 1978: 102). Finding out and exploring: Exploratory play is important to all of us. It is how babies begin to understand their surroundings and the relationships between themselves and others, using all their senses and every part of the body. Gopnik e al. (1999) describe babies and toddlers as young scientists, testing out and often repeating the same actions time and again to establish an idea about the object in question and what their own actions can do. Their explorations continue as they grow and develop. Playing with what they know: From the beginning as they play and explore, babies and young children build a repertoire of knowledge, skills and understanding, using memory, and they are also able to imagine possibilities. Being willing to have a go: Through play, children will develop their self-confidence and will enjoy challenge and risk. They will have a positive attitude and will be more likely to try out new experiences and activities without fear of failure. ‘There is no activity children are better prepared for than fantasy play. Nothing is more dependable and risk-free, and the dangers are only pretend’ (Paley, 2004: 8). Active learning: The second characteristic of learning is not about being physically active, which of course is important in children’s learning and development, but refers to being mentally active and alert. Being involved and concentrating: When a child is deeply involved she/he cannot easily be distracted. The importance of play and exploration cannot be underestimated as it is when children make their own choices, follow their natural curiosity and own train of thought that deep involvement is most likely to happen. Keeping on trying: Through trying out new experiences and activities, children will experience and disappointment. This aspect looks at how children persist in challenging activities and tries out alternative methods when difficulties occur. This process promotes problem-solving skills in children and will support the development of self-confidence. ‘As soon as children become able to evaluate themselves, some of them are afraid of challenges. They become afraid of not being smart’ (Dweck, 2008: 16) Enjoying achieving what they set out to do: Succeeding at their activities and achieving new skills will give children a feeling of satisfaction and pride in their own abilities. Children will be proud of the process they have followed in order to achieve the task and will be more likely to try out further activities to achieve that same sense of satisfaction. Creating and thinking critically: When children have opportunities to play with ideas in different situations and with a variety of resources, they discover connections and come to new and better under-standings and ways of doing things. Adult support in this process enhances their ability to think critically and ask questions. (EYFS card 4.3, 2008) Having their own ideas: Enabling children to think critically and creatively means encouraging them to play and investigate, providing a rich environment with interesting things to discover, explore and wonder about and, crucially, time to do so. Making links: Once a child has discovered their own ideas and methods, they will be excited to try them out. Practitioners can support this through engaging in sustained shared thinking with the child to help them to further explore their ideas. Choosing ways to do things: This aspect of the Characteristics of Learning involves the child in making choices as to how to go about something and is not about following instructions. When children are involved in their own self-chosen activities they are more likely to want to find the right strategy to achieve their goal. Source: mcgraw-hill.co.uk/openup/chapters/9780335247530.pdf http://osclinks.com/618

History of Costa Rica :: Culture Cultural History Essays

History of Costa Rica Human habitation can be traced back more than 10,000 years but it appears Costa Rica was sparsely populated and a relative backwater in the pre-Columbian era. There is little sign of major communities and none of the impressive stone architecture that characterized the more advanced civilizations of Mesoamerica to the north and the Andes to the south. When Columbus arrived near Lim ¢Ã‚ ¢n on September 18, 1502 on his third and last voyage to the Americas, there were probably no more than 20,000 indigenous inhabitants They lived in several autonomous tribes, all with distinct cultures and customs. Costa Rica's only major archaeological site is at Guayabo, 30 miles east of San Jos‚‚, where an ancient city, dating back to 1000 B.C. and though to have contained 10,000 people at its peak, is currently being excavated. Many interesting gold, jade and pottery artefacts have been found throughout the region and are on display in several museums in San Jose. The Indians gave Columbus gold and he returned to Europe with reports of a plentiful supply of the yellow metal. But the adventurers who arrived to cash in found only hostile Indians, swamps and disease for their trouble. Several early attempts to colonize the Atlantic coast failed for the same reasons and for almost half a century Costa Rica was passed over while colonization gathered pace in countries to the north and south. In 1562, the Spanish main's administrative center in Guatemala sent Juan Vasquez de Coronado to Costa Rica as governor and Cartago was established as the capital the following year. With no Indian slaves to work the land, the colonists were forced to work the land themselves, scratching out a meagre subsistence by tilling small plots. The impoverished colony grew slowly and was virtually ignored by the Spanish rulers in Guatemala. By the late 18th century, the settlements that would buela had been founded and exports of wheat and tobacco were making economic conditions somewhat better. Central America gained independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. The news reached Costa Rica a month after the event. The question of whether Costa Rica should join newly independent Mexico or join a new confederation of Central American states resulted in a bitter quarrel between the leaders of San Jose and their counterparts in Cartago and Heredia. A brief civil war in 1823 was won by San Jose and Costa Rica joined the confederation.

Comparison Within Clarissa Dalloway

Virginia Woolf creates interesting contrast within the character of Clarissa Dalloway using stream of consciousness narration in her novel Mrs. Dalloway. Clarissas inner thoughts reveal a contrast between her lack of attraction to her husband due to her lesbian feelings and her fear of loosing him as a social stepping stone. These contrasts and many others can be seen throughout the novel using the literary device of stream of consciousness narration. Clarissas character reveals to us early in the book her lack of attraction to her usband. This revelation can be seen in the passage that states: †¦through some contraction of this cold spirit, she had failed him†¦she could see what she lacked†¦it was something central which permeated†¦. The cold spirit that she talks of is her sexuality, in being attracted to women, and her lack of understanding why she is this way. This is the main reason for her lack of attraction. She feels that she has let him down because she cannot complete her duties as his wife. Clarissa had lost both a sexual relationship and exual attraction with her husband since the birth of her teenage daughter Elizabeth: †¦she could not dispel a virginity preserved through childbirth which clung to her like a sheet. Clarissa tells us of her true sexuality as she remembers her girlhood friend Sally Seton. Sally is the only person that Clarissa has ever had any real passionate feelings for. But this question of love, this falling in love with women. Take Sally Seton; her relation in the old days with Sally Seton. Had not that, after all, been love Although Sally held er heart, her homosexual feelings were not socially acceptable. Clarissa is therefore obliged to enter into a marriage to Richard Dalloway for social purposes. A contrast to Clarissas lack of attraction to her husband is seen in her fear of loosing him. Richard provides for her a stepping stone for her to be the socialite that she strives to be. When Richard is invited to a lunch with Lady Bruton, a twinge of fear is evident in Clarissa that she is loosing her husband: Fear no more the heat o the sun; for he shock of Lady Bruton asking Richard to lunch without her made the moment which she had stood shiver†¦. Without him, she would be nothing in society, so Clarissa is scared of loosing him even though she has no attraction towards him. A contrast in the deeper self of Clarissa Dalloway can be seen in the stream of consciousness narration in Mrs. Dalloway. She reveals her lack of attraction for her husband and her fear of loosing him through her inner thoughts. This provides for us the ability to see the weaknesses of Clarissa and many of the other characters.

Operation management Essay

a) Introduction The company that our group chose to study is City of Dreams Macau (COD), which is located in Macau Cotai coherent highway. COD is a diversified entertainment resort, which contains a rich set of entertainment, grand hotel accommodation, international cuisine, internationally renowned brands as well as casino. Luckily, we found a manager in entertainment and progress department of this company to help us conduct an interview. The information of this manager are as follows: Manager name: Huà ¡ dà ¬ Telephone number: 66884314 Position: Theatre Director Main responsibilities: All ticketing and frontline day-to-day operation of Atrium, Dancing Water, Hard Rock pool party, The Junyue MMA boxing matches, CUBIC ticketing and TABOO. COD’s corporate goal, as stated by Lawrence Ho, is to become the tourist resort that makes Asian and even the global tourists to have multi-day stay, and to consolidate Macau as Asia’s leading leisure and tourism center. COD locate in one of the most competitive area in Taipa, Macau. There are several entertainment resort hotels, such as Venetian, Sands Cotai Central, Galaxy Macau these competitors. COD has to keep its competitiveness to fight with them. So COD provides with some entertainments (like the house of Dancing Water, Dragon treasure, etc.) to attract the customers to come to COD to achieve corporate goal. In order to improve staff quality, entertainment and progress department also cooperate with HR department to offer training program to staff. Staffs can go for training as long as they are available. In corporate positioning, COD believes that it takes the advantage of providing something different than other competitors by implementing the differentiation strategy, for example, offering Dancing Water, Atrium to customers. COD also has high requirement on the  entertainment activities they offered. In the past, COD once thought of opening a cinema. However, COD thinks cinema is not very high-end and it will low the elegance of COD, so COD rejects the consideration at last. b) Current Operations The current operation is to provide above entertainments to customers and make sure that the entertainment activities go smoothly. The manager has to measure ticketing and frontline workings keep running. In the ticketing, the manager said COD provide 60~70%‘s ticket for internet sell, and the rest of the ticket will provide to the agent like travel agencies, these agencies will sell the tickets to the group customers. The manager said COD won’t overbook the ticket to get the maximum profit, because their shows are unique, and they care more about the quality rather than the quantity. They have to take-care some special needs person, providing convenience to them. COD tries to get a balance between making profit and remaining service quality. Show cancellation & Compensation COD sometimes face problems of show cancellation of Dancing Water and receive complaints from customers. Also, there may have some mistakes on the daily operation, so the customers will not satisfy the services and have complaint with COD. For the compensation part, COD build a compensation standard to deal with customer complains. The general approach is to take the customer complaint at first place, for example, ticket refund. However, if the compensation exceeds the company’s standard, then COD will take company’s benefit at the first place (e.g. some customers will ask for airplane tickets refund and it will be transferred to higher level manager to determine the compensation level). Also, COD’s management group will have meeting every week to discuss complaint affairs and try to analyze whether it is due to guests vexatious or they have some shortcomings. If they think that they are not doing well, then they will think of ways and make improvement. Decentralization Instead of centralization, COD tends to have decentralization because they believe that this is more effective. COD depend on staffs to help monitor  the operations of entertainment activities, so manager do not need to deliberately spend efforts on ensuring the operation of activity is smooth and they can focus on the overall operations. Staffs can directly go to their supervisor when they encounter problems. Also, manager will assign some employees who are in higher position to help monitor the lower level employees’ performance, as well as daily operation of activity. Supervisors directly ask the higher level staffs about the problems on work(e.g. do small circle of people exist and is there any employee they find that is difficult to get along with others ) in order to get a respectively good understanding about what’s going on of daily operation. Reward system There is no reward system implementing now for the staff performance. According to the interview, there was a reward system before, employee who performs well will get free coupons of restaurants in COD, concert tickets, shopping tickets, or dancing water tickets, etc. as a bonus. However, it was cancelled due to the inefficiency. In the past, company let employees to vote for the best employee, and it causes problem that employees will vote to their friends, instead of having an evaluation about who is the best employee. COD think that it cannot reflect the truth and is meaningless. Therefore, COD now cancel the reward system and use the money to hold department activities, e.g. BBQ or order take-away for all employees in the department. Training COD use decentralization to let employees help maintain the current operations. Employees have to handle problems met by them. Therefore, training is an important way to ensure staffs’ quality and performance. The manager said the COD do very well in staff training, COD provides many training courses to the staffs to improve their work quality and skills. In usual time, they will post a form that includes all the training courses available along with corresponding time schedule, staffs can decide which training course to participate in accordance with their working time. COD will try to accommodate staffs’ working time to provide training courses. If it is not possible to arrange the suitable time for the staffs, regular work should be taken in the first place. Staffs can join the training course  after finishing the work. In most of the time, COD won’t enforce the staffs to participate training courses, staffs participate these training course voluntary. But there are some training courses that are compulsory to every staff according to COD’s requirement. For example, in the future, COD will open a new show in CUBIC, and COD will arrange each employee to watch the â€Å"CUBIC† show at least once. So the staffs will know about the show and what is the process of the show. c) Opportunity of improvement Decentralization Although it is a good idea to let all employees help monitor the daily operations of activities, so manager can focus more on the overall operations, there also some drawbacks caused by decentralization. According to the current operations, employees report to manager directly if they find problems on daily operations. It raises possible problems like: (1) The quality of work may be poor because there is no clear responsibility assigned to specific employee. The monitoring work conducted by employees may not be efficient. If there are problems that employees failed to recognize, manager may not know, because employees’ reporting is the only way for manager to get detail daily operating information from employees, it affects the operation activity in the short run if the problem is not negligible. (2) No regular meeting is required for manager and employees to exchange information. Regular meeting is an important way for reporting, if there is no such a meeting, employees are not encouraged to raise problems they found. They may first try to solve the problem when they find it, instead of reporting to their manager. Therefore, some problems may be hided and it causes bigger problems if the problem is crucial to the organization. Moreover, employees may not have a very good understanding of the company’s strategy and may make inappropriate decisions without fully understanding the big picture. Reward system No reward system is implemented in current operations due to the former unsuccessful reward system. Employees’ individual performance is not linked with reward. Employees may be less motivated. Show cancellation In the interview, we asked the COD manager â€Å"What the most difficult problem that you had faced.† The COD manager answered us is the show cancellation, which is a big problem for an entertainment resort. We can find some news about COD canceled the show. According to the news, COD suddenly cancel three shows of the â€Å"house of Dancing Water†. There are a lot of audiences already booked the tickets in a few days ago, they received message from COD about the show cancel after they arrived Macau. This thing disturbs their plan. COD claim they need to cancel the shows because of the technical problems, and they will return the ticket fees, but they won’t compensate the other loss, so audiences feel angry and disappointed with COD. This thing will hurt the image and reputation of COD, it can decrease customers that want to come to COD to watch the show, and decrease the profit. d) Solution Decentralization 1) Manager should provide training to staffs in order to strengthen their awareness of responsibility. Manager may also provide some guideline to staffs about what they should do if they encounter problems. Moreover, instead of fully depending on staff reporting, manager may take time to supervise daily operation if needed. 2) Hold regular meetings for information exchange. With regular meetings, employees will have formal way to express their opinions or problems they found, so problems can be improved or solved in a more efficient way. Reward system According to the interview, the former reward system is based on the vote of employees among each other, and this would easily cause about inequity. We recommend that COD may develop a reward system for a trial using different voting method. Instead of basing on the vote among employees, the department should create a criterion chart for all the employees to be monitored by the supervisor. Once the employee performs great in some area, she/he will get a point in that part. The final score is the cumulative score of every part. At the end of one period, the entire criterion chart should present the  degree of performance of the employees, which could be the grounds to decide which employee to get the rewards. See whether employees’ performance have improved under implementing the new reward system by making evaluation from period to period. If the result is good, then company should consider implementing a reward system in order to encourage employees for better performance in the long-run. This kind of solution will eliminate some bias of the evaluation. Not basing on the evaluation among employees, monitored by supervisor will be more just to use the reward system. Show cancellation We think out some suggestions for the COD to solve this problem. (1) Develop a contingency plans. The staffs of COD must make advance notice about the show cancellation message to the customers, and then arrange the customers to return the tickets, getting back the fees. This can mitigate the dissatisfaction of customers and reduce other unnecessary loss. However, sometimes we cannot expect accidents, which are some aspects we cannot control, and it is hard to tell the customers early. (2) Second, open the other facilities of the hotel. Customers come to COD to enjoy the service and entertainment, and if I was one of them, I don’t want just go back home because of the cancellation of the shows I want to watch. So COD can open some facilities to these customers to ensure they still have an awesome experience in COD. For instance, Venetian has the In the other hand, COD can give these customers equivalent coupons, and they can spend some time in COD, and use these coupons to buy anything in the hotel. Of course, this method needs the cooperation among many involved departments. (3) And the last is to prepare a backup show. If a show has to be cancelled, customers can choose to watch the backup show. But not every customer wants to watch another show because they come for shows that they want to watch, and the cost of backup show is not cheap. Therefore, customers can also ask for refund and buy the ticket next time with a discount. e) Implementation After communicating the suggestions we made for the manager, he said that implementing our solution to the company right now was not practical. Their  decisions need to be made based on some professional analysis. However, he listened to our solution and gave his own comments about the effect of those solutions: For the decentralization part, he thinks holding regular meetings is one of the possible way for staffs to raise problems they found, but managers always need to manage so many things and may not have enough time to do that. For the reward system part, we suggested that to build a new reward system using different voting method. However, according to the manager, biases also exist if using this method. However, there will be two potential problems: 1 There is a grey area between just and unjust, and once the supervisor decides the reward, it’s complicated to say the manager will be definitely just to everyone. The bias might exist still; 2 The supervisor has many things to deal with; there might be some overlook in employees’ performance, which will be hard to monitor all the aspects. For the show cancellation part, sometimes advance announcement is not possible because of the suddenly occurred error. In other way, COD should consider the cost problem if they want to satisfy customers by providing them equivalent coupons. The cost problem also exists in the back-up show suggestion. Conclusion After the interview, we can get some information about the operations of the entertainment fields in the COD. In the daily operations, it depends on the staffs to maintain the operations and solve the problems. COD also provides some training courses for staffs to participate, but these training courses are optional, which means not every staff has enough skills to handle the difficult level operation problems. One of the COD’s selling points is its wonderful shows, these shows attract a lot of people to come. But sometimes, because of some reasons, COD have to cancel the show, which means they need some good back up plans to appease the angry of customers, and try to decrease the loss. COD is a big entertainment resort hotel in Macau. From the interview, we can find out that COD actually do a good job in its operation.