Critical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Critical Analysis - Essay Example 3) and where characters encounter varied challenges due to power play and control. Likewise, there were presence of discreet or imposed relational partners that added drama and provided appropriate applications to interpersonal needs theory of inclusion, control, and intimacy. The mini-series was presented in the form of eight parts and was actually noted to be a sequel to another of Ken Follet’s novel, entitled â€Å"The Pillars of the Earth† (Lloyd, 2012). Due to the length and intricacies of relationships as portrayed by numerous characters, the current discourse would focus on relationships and interpersonal communication applications one of the main characters, Caris. As a wool merchant’s daughter, Caris went through exciting and challenging experiences ranging from witnessing the untimely demise of her mother, who unknowingly was secretly murdered by her aunt, Petranilla. Her interest in treating the sick was enhanced when she became the apprentice of a wom an, Mattie, who practiced alternative medicine. However, since Mattie’s talent apparently jeopardizes the town’s official healer and priest, she was charged with the crime of witchcraft and was sentenced to be hanged in public. Later, Caris suffered the same fate from the hands of her cousin, Godwyn, then Prior; and was just saved in due time by the town’s Prioress who testified that since she was to become a nun, she could not be subjected to the fate of hanging. Therefore, Caris had to sacrifice her love for Merthin until such time that her duty as a nun, eventual Prioress, and healer were all completed. In the process, she became a good healer, and was even assumed the role of a prioress in times when sickness and plague besieged their town. The applications of the interpersonal communication theory or social theory were exhibited in various situations in the series. As noted â€Å"as humans we have a range of social needs that we satisfy by communicating wi th others. The Social Needs theory points out that there are 3 basic social needs: (1) affection - to express and receive love; (2) inclusion - to be social, to be in the company of others; (3) control -to have influence† (Bergstrom, 2005, par. 1). The social need of inclusion was manifested through Caris’ being accepted in the convent as a nun, to save her from death. Likewise, this inclusion was also exemplified through the acceptance of the king, who disguised himself as a monk and was allegedly accepted warmly in the monastery and in the Kingsbridge community. Concurrently, the social need of control was clearly exemplified in the mini-series through the power that was vested upon the monarchy. It was apparent that if the ruler, in this situation, an evil queen, was most concerned of her selfish interests rather than the good of the people, the townsfolk suffered immensely through justice not being served equitably or fairly. It was during this time that it was exhi bited that autocratic power and authoritarian leadership through the order of the king, the queen, or their authorized cohorts could subject people to hanging and death without the need for a just trial. There was evidently much control through the power that was centralized on the monarchy and also from the priory, where the prior was vested with the authority to decide things on himself. For instance, the prior could charge people suspected of witchcraft and immediately, these haplessly

Anything related to radioactivity or the nucleus Essay

Anything related to radioactivity or the nucleus - Essay Example An apprehension also exists that the debris from the tsunami, which may be contaminated with radiation, is likely to spread towards the east of Japan and probably may reach the US west coast in about two to three years time. The main threat derives from the fact that radiation can be carried to other parts of the world through air as well as water. Evidence points to the possibility that marine organisms, migrating out of Japan Sea, may be exposed to radiation and these â€Å"might subsequently be harvested by US fishermen† (Buck & Upton p.2). Therefore, scientists suggest that the US authorities should keep monitoring the radiation levels in the seafood so harvested, or being imported from Japan. However, they find solace on the premise that any possible radiation in the sea water will get diluted quickly and will not be â€Å"a problem beyond the coast of Japan† (Buck & Upton p.2). Environmental pollution or contamination is a serious hazard and there is a rising need for creating awareness of this problem among the masses. This article deals with a current issue of highly significant nature and, therefore, is very relevant in the present day. The authors have clearly brought out the problem and its specific impacts on the environment and, therefore, information contained in this article is useful not only for scientists and environmentalists but also for the general public. The article further emphasizes the need for continued monitoring of radiation levels as a response measure to combat contamination. Thus, this article is a significant contribution to the field of environmental studies and can create awareness in the public about the problems radiation can cause to the environment. Buck, H, Eugene & Upton, F, Harold. Effects of Radiation from Fukushima Dai- ichi on the U.S. Marine Environment. Congressional Research Service. 2012. Web. 15 August 2012.

Alliance Design analysis of alternatives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Alliance Design analysis of alternatives - Essay Example The industry Alliance Design Concepts is involved in is quite lucrative, and the company seems to be doing well, but it can do better. The challenges faced by the company are not new. In fact, they are common in all companies that conduct any form of purchases and that deal in different currencies as part of their operations. The crux of the matter lies in the strategy used to manage these issues, and not the fact that they exist. From the information provided, it is clear that the company is struggling to stay abreast of fluctuations in exchange rates and avoid the risk created by fluctuations in exchange rates. Looking at the processes and mechanisms the company uses in price quotation, equipment acquisition, and exchange rate management is not as effective as it should be. If they were effective, the company would not be experiencing the challenges it currently faces. It is safe to say that poor management is at the heart of Alliance Design Concept’s struggles. Better financial and management, together with efficient and effective operations management, is sufficient to get the company out of the rut. The company’s profit margins are good enough to give it a clean bill of health financially, but this will not be sustained for long if it keeps losing money through exchange rate fluctuations. In fact, since it has been stated that the company’s profit margins are affected by monies lost to the unpredictability of exchange rates, the profit margins may start reducing gradually until they reach worryingly low levels. Effective management, in any business, involves blocking all avenues through which funds are lost, and reducing expenditure as much as possible. Alliance Design Concepts’ failure to apply this fundamental business principle has significantly contributed towards the dwindling of its fortunes. The best way for Alliance Design Concepts to manage its issues is to streamline its processes and reduce any

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 11

Strategic Management - Essay Example On the other hand there are also those approaches that are conceptual in nature such as policy, stakeholder, issue management, and adaptive approaches. The process of strategy implementation can be divided into various phases: understand history, explore the situation, uncover issues, identify strategy, assess feasibility, and implement strategic change. Finally the differences in strategic management between private and public sector organizations can be mapped along three dimensions: value generation, resource allocation, and accountability and trust. A strategy is a mechanism through which an entity differentiates itself in a competitive arena. In nearly every industry and sector today, strategy has become essential to staying in business. In the past, a business could sustain itself with a fairly static mission and customer base. Today’s marketplace is larger and more competitive with a better educated customer base. Moreover it is constantly changing at an ever increasing speed. These conditions require business leaders to constantly adjust their strategies to remain competitive in the marketplace. Strategic management is the â€Å"formulation and implementation of strategic plans and the orchestration and carrying out of strategic activities of vital concern to the total organization† (Koteen, 1997, p. 24). Strategic management is based on the following three characteristics: Strategic management is a dynamic process in which strategies are aligned to enhance performance and procure desired business results. Strategic management is a continuous activity in which the strategic direction of the organization is determined and subsequently maintained. Strategic management involves regular decision making on a daily basis to deal with constantly changing situations and a challenging environment. Strategic management is the most popular form of

A National PE Curriculum Model or a Program Framework Research Paper

A National PE Curriculum Model or a Program Framework - Research Paper Example SEPEP is distinguished from any other physical education programs mainly by its focus on the staging of a sports tournament. Throughout the program, the students organize and manage the sporting competition. It is expected that they would learn about sports effectively at the same time gain practical and theoretical insights with respect to the roles and dynamics of sports in real life. In this vein, one also recalls the main characteristic and goal of the authentic model, which is to teach sports by creating an authentic setting and experience for learners. Particularly, there is an emphasis on the diversity of roles. The authentic model makes sure that students do not merely participate as players but also take the role of referee, scorekeepers, record takers, performance reporters, coach and team managers. The main difference, however, is that the SEPEP framework is broader for the students with the added responsibility of having to organize the sporting event itself. This is part icularly important especially when one takes into account a recognized theory that, in order for physical education to be effective – that it exerts a meaningful impact to the students’ life - it must be taught within the social context as enacted in the community (Burrows, Macdonald & Wright, p. 64). The idea is that students are in a better position to learn concepts such as teamwork, fitness and fair play, among others. The SEPEP as teaching framework is an interesting model. It entails a different approach with respect to the teacher and the students; roles.

Proposed HR Program for CompuLearn Essay Example for Free

Proposed HR Program for CompuLearn Essay CompuLearn is a private sector provider of IT-based teaching and learning programmes in business and management based in the UK, with corporate headquarters in Preston, Lancashire and with trading centers in Mumbai, Nairobia and Dubai. Its current global market is focused in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, with 200 education centers in 30 countries. CompuLearn partners with UK universities which validates its programs so that   students are able to qualify in the University programs leading to academic degrees. Its current manpower complement numbers 50 employees mostly based in the corporate office in Preston, Lancashire doing the following functions: Program Development, Customer Service, HR, Marketing, Finance, Sales, IT, Quality Assurance. CompuLearn has embarked on a mission to be market leader in e-learning delivery of University validated programs and foremost learning company in the world. It is on an expanded growth program and it adopted a new strategy to extend to 500 education centers in 60 countries over a span of 3 years. The role of HR is very critical in this new strategy, which is to attract top IT experts. It could be a relatively easy task if not for the following: 1. There is a high turn over in the IT industry in UK and new employees leave after only one month for a new job that offers better pay. 2. CompuLearn has a limited training system in place. Its strategy is to recruit highly trained staff instead of training them in house. The allocated budget for training is almost used up and was used to train the Sales team. 3. Employees have limited management skills as they are mostly technical staff whose training is not in the soft skills development. 4. The company does not have a Performance Appraisal System in place. 5. The staff at the corporate headquarters do not have a comfortable relationship with the staff of the UK universities largely due to complaints of attitude. 6. The HR Director’s strength is in micro-managing and does not have expertise in long-term management plans for the company employees. The Limitations and Constraints Faced by the Company The HR Department will play a very strategic role in supporting the growth of CompuLearn. Among other things, it needs to address the following limitations and constraints faced by the company, whether internally caused or faced by the industry in general: 1. The high turn over rate in the IT industry in UK 2. The lack of a professional or well-developed training and development program for employees 3. The employees’ limited skills in management, customer service and other soft skills 4. The lack of a well-placed Performance Appraisal System 5. The not-so-friendly attitude of the academic staff of the Universities towards the company employees at the corporate headquarters 6. The limited knowledge and skills of the HR Director in long-term planning for the management of the employees Recommendations The HR strategies recommended are based on the following assumptions: 1. Budget The company is working on a limited budget, which is just around 30% of the  annual budget of 25,000 Euros. 2. Lead Department The HR Department will take the lead in implementing the strategies. The HR Director shall formally appoint the section heads to serve as lead persons in implementing the strategies in their respective sections. The HR Director has the free hand in creating working committees to participate in the entire process from planning to implementation. The process will be participatory and with some amount of consultation from the employees. 3. Timetable The strategies are proposed for implementation on a focused basis within the first year (Year 1 Month 1 to Month 12). Beginning Year 2 (Month 13) the focus of the activities will be on monitoring, evaluation, and implementation of improvements. 4. HR Management Perspective/Model Available literature identify different HR Management models that attempt to explain the various strategies adopted by different companies. General classifications fall under the â€Å"soft† and â€Å"hard† models, based on the definitions of employees considered as either â€Å"human† or â€Å"resource†. The hard versions consider employees as resource and adopt a rational approach to managing them, aligning their HR strategies with the strategies of the business. The soft version, on the other hand, considers employees as human and adopts strategies to train and develop them (Bratton and Gold, p. 5). The recommendations adopted in this case will be based more on the soft version of human resource management. Focus will be more on training and development as well as in developing commitment from employees. A limited form of the hard version will however allow the HR to link the strategies with the overall corporate strategy of the company. In analyzing the challenge faced by CompuLearn, a simplistic framework was designed around the following questions, based on the limitations/constraints faced by the company and to become the basis for the strategies: 1. On the high turn-over rate in the IT industry How can CompuLearn keep its employees from leaving the company after short- term engagement only? Or how can the company motivate its employees to stay longer? 2. On the lack of a professional training and development program Should the company train in-house or continue to hire experts from outside? 3. On the employees’ limited skills in management, customer service, and other soft skills. How can the employees learn the soft skills and apply them at work? 4. On the lack of a well-placed Performance Appraisal System Is there a need to formulate or adopt a Performance Appraisal System? 5. On the not-so-friendly attitude of the academic staff of the Universities towards the company employees at the corporate headquarters How can there be a more cordial relationship between the two parties? How can the company make the employees appreciate the importance of having good relations with the University staff? Can this be done through training or should the company replace those who transact with the University staff with other company employees, either through job rotation or job enrichment? 7. On the limited knowledge and skills of the HR Director in long-term planning for the management of the employees. Should the HR Director undertake refresher courses in management? Or should the company hire a new HR person who has the skills in long term planning to assist the HR Director? Below is a presentation of the proposed HR strategies and programs, in matrix form,   that can be implemented under the leadership of the HR Director. They are composed of both short term and long term strategies. The short-term strategies are those that can be immediately implemented, within the first six months from the time the recommendations will be adopted. The long term strategies are those that can be adopted over a longer period and on a continuing basis like the periodic reviews of policies and developing a system whereby improvements can take place every so often whenever warranted. It will be observed that most of the strategies will be newly introduced to the company and it can be expected that certain difficulties will be met. This will include among other things, resistance to the changes to be introduced, the difficulty of the HR Department to implement them for lack of the appropriate knowledge and skills, and with some â€Å"difficult† employees. This is all part of the process of the HR accepting the initial resistance  to the changes. The HR should be firm and consistent but at the same time adopting an attitude of openness and willingness to see through the improvements. Education and training are two important components of an empowered workforce. The saying that a company is only as good as its weakest employee is very much applicable here. Each employee is responsible for knowing about his company and performing according to the expectations set at the time of his engagement. However, it is the job of HR to find the employees who have the potential to learn more and continuously give them the opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills.

Security Threats in Businesses

Security Threats in Businesses Musa Hajara Muhammad Introduction The business environment is becoming a fast paced globalized economy that depends on information and data carried via open channels. As a business organization, it is critical to maintain and protect both physical and virtual property that is being owned against intruders, potential theft and other acts that could cause loss of any form. Dominos, for example, one of the biggest pizza delivery company faced a massive data breach where customer information was made public, hence resulting in loss of sales and customers. In today’s global, digital world, data rules. Safeguarding intellectual property, financial information, and a company’s reputation is a crucial part of business strategy. With the number of threats and the sophistication of attacks increasing, safeguarding becomes a formidable task.Businesses, both small and big are under massive attacks by external agents in order to get credit card information and other confidential data which can be have a negative imp act on the growth of the business. However, this security threats are not limited to attacks from the outside, but also from within the firm (BusinessSecurity, 2013). A recent survey shows that 80% of security breaches are caused by insiders- most often employees, more than 20% of attacks on the corporate WEB sites come from the inside, almost 30% of companies, experience more than 5 attacks from the inside every year. However, it has also been argued that having too much security may affect business processes. According to Cowan (2012), while there are various security solutions to help protect businesses from potential reputational or financial damage, a heavy investment in business security solutions may have a counter-productive impact on the business. It can affect the corporate culture, flow of information and operational processes, leading to inefficiencies and productivity loss (Cowan, 2012). On the other hand, being too permissive can have the same result, with employees able to access, share, lose or damage sensitive data too easily (Cowan, 2012). According to Cowan, business security needs to be tailored to each business depending on their respective risks and business objectives, that is, Security measures must neither be so restrictive that they affect business processes, nor too relaxed and thereby causing harm (Cowan, 2012). The key is to weigh up all the risks and vulnerabilities, potential consequences and controls, and then decide which information assets to protect and which can be accessed and shared openly without major consequences. Following a risk-based approach will lead to business growth and spending the right amount of time and money on the right level of protection in the right areas (Cowan, 2012). As a result of the negative issues of security threats to businesses, many companies today are adopting a corporate security strategy. Corporate securityidentifies and effectively mitigates or manages, at an early stage, any developments that may threaten the resilience and continued survival of a corporation. It is a corporate function that oversees and manages the close coordination of all functions within the company that are concerned with security, continuity and safety (Wikipedia, 2010). Core components of corporate security includes personal security, physical security, information security, corporate governance, compliance and ethics program, crime prevention and detection, fraud deterrence, investigations, risk management, business continuity, and crisis management (Wikipedia, 2010). While it takes effecting time planning to implement, Bordoloi (2012) argues that developing an effective governance approach to corporate security results in five basic outcomes: Reduced risks and potential business impacts to an acceptable level; Strategic alignment of security with the enterprise strategy and the organizational objectives; Business value generated through the optimization of security investments with organizational objectives; Preserved and increased market share due to the reputation for safeguarding information; Efficient utilization of security investments that support organization’s objectives. Also Adhering to a good corporate security policy can assist senior management to help them make decisions and then pass the essential actions to those in management positions. Al-Awadi Renaud (2008) argue that implementing an effective security solution can be complex and time consuming, stating that while it can slow a firm growth due to the resources involved, it is the key strategy for the sustainability of a firm in the 21st century. Al-Awadi Renaud (2008) identified five key factors for the successful implementation of a business security strategy. They include awareness and training, budget, management support, Information Security Policy Enforcement and Adaptation and organization mission. Critical success factors for security policy implementation Dhillon (1999) argues that, organizations must have ongoing education and training programs to achieve the required outcome from the implementation of an information security policy. The 2002 security awareness index report cited by McKay (2003) concluded that organizations around the world are failing to make their employees aware of the security issues and the consequences. Hone Eloff (2002) explain that the behaviour and attitudes of employees towards information security will be more in line with secure behaviour if top management demonstrates concern, therefore it is suggested that the tone of security is set by the attitudes of those at the top of the organization (Hinde, 1998). Management wont act to support the information security unless they can see that it supports the organizations core business function (Blake, 2000). Hence they must be convinced of the importance of information security before they will to provide sufficient budget, and act to enforce the information security policy (Von Solms, 1999). Also, Bjorck (2002) describes budget as the financial facility which firstly rationally estimates the costs and secondly assesses the access required to the resources to achieve successful implementation of information security. Organizations require adequate funding (Doherty Fulford, 2005) to achieve effective information security. â€Å"Budgets generally depend on the manner in which individuals’ investments translate to outcomes, but the impact of security investment often depends not only on the investor’s own decisions but also on the decisions of others† (Anderson Moore, 2006, p.612 ). Lack of information security budgeting in organizations leads to under- investment in appropriate controls (Dinnie, 1999). Moreover, Fung et al. (2003) explains that a good security policy is the keystone to a sustainable business growth. There is no doubt that the adoption of a security policy is the initial measure that must be in place to minimize the threat of unacceptable use of any of the organization’s information resources. And lastly, Siponen (2001) explains that in terms of security, organizations usually do nothing as long as nothing goes wrong, but when things do go wrong, they suddenly pay attention and a lot of effort is required to recover from the situation, even though sometimes full recovery is impossible. Some of the experts said that the organizations clear goals and objectives are essential in implementing security policies and that having a culture of secure information in the organization will affect its success. Conclusion Information is knowledge, and knowledge is power. Businesses are beginning to understand the need to demonstrate to customers that their information is being handled securely, especially in the light of numerous data breaches such as the NSA scandal. When customers are aware that the information a firm possesses about them is highly secured, they tend to build confidence in such a firm, and invest even more. What has been discovered from the analysis above is that firms that are concerned about security are more likely to survive both internal and external threats posed to them. However, due to the complexity of implementing these security initiatives, certain schools of thought are of the opinion that it may take firms concerned with security time to grow. These thoughts have led to the emergence of security analysts, data managers, network and security engineers, and other security personnel who specialize in safe guarding company data and information from various mishaps. In recent years the amount of money pumped into security firms around the world simply goes a long way to reiterate the fact that firms are getting keener about security investment. $15 million pumped into Cylance, $23 million into EndGame, and a whopping $50 million into FireEye are a few from the several investment deals reached with tech security companies. (Bryon Acohido, 2013). Investing in security can cost a company a large amount of its resources, but not adequately investing in securing its most valuable asset, which is information can cause a company to totally shut down in the case of any data exposure or loss. Alpex Consulting Africa Managing Director, Joseph Kibe, in Kenya said, â€Å"Organizations have lost a lot of data and there must be a lot of losses incurred because of customers’ data being thrown away when information leaks to the wrong hands. The economy has to wake up and secure this information†¦if you walk into an insurance firm, a bank, or a hospital, is your information secure? That is what will determine who makes it †¦Ã¢â‚¬  For a successful security policy, organizations must institute security policies to prevent unauthorized access to their resources. Steps must be taken to ensure that employees get the required awareness and security training to make them aware of the security issues and the consequences of insecure behavior. Moreover, the results suggest the ethos of security must come from the top of the organization to encourage a serious attitude from employees and an expectation that they will comply with the organizations security policy rules and regulations. A point worthy of note is that, for a firm to think about security in the first instance, it must already have a decent amount of presence over the internet. This alone, can make a company gain more profit and recognition due to its global presence. Most security breaches occur in the most developed of countries, and this is because of the level of advancement in technology, and also sophistication in cybercrime. A country who is just at the developing stage seldom experiences high level of security mishap. This goes a long way to say that the level of development in a country can be directly proportional the amount of cybercrime that occurs in that country. Implementation of security won’t be possible if a sufficient budget is not allocated. Clear organizational mission statements and goals result in positive employee behavior and positive attitudes towards securing the organization’s information assets. Just like a car, building, or machine, information is an asset, and the most valuable in this era of information technology. Safeguarding such a valuable asset will in no way slow down the growth of a firm, but set it apart from its adversaries. References Bordoloi, C. (2012) 5 Benefits of Proper IT Security Governance URL: http://www.enterprisecioforum.com/en/blogs/cj-bordoloi/5-benefits-proper-it-security-governance Accessed (23/06/2013) Bjorck, F., 2002. Implementing Information Security Management Systems – An Empirical Study of Critical Success Factors. Wikipedia (2010) Corporate Security URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_security Accessed (23/06/2013) Dhillon, G., 1999. Managing and Controlling Computer Misuse. Information Management Computer Security, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 171-175. Doherty, N. F. and Fulford, H., 2005. Do Information Security Policies Reduce the Incidence of Security Breaches: An Exploratory Analysis. Information Resources Management Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 21-39. DeviceLock (2012),Corporate security: risks of the insiders attack URL: http://www.devicelock.com/articles/detail.html?CODE=corporate_security Accessed (23/06/2013) Business Security (2013) Understanding Business Security URL:http://www.businesssecurity.net/ Accessed (23/06/2013) Cole, E (2010) Importance of cyber security to protect your business URL: http://www.securityhaven.com/specialist/cyber-security-for-business.html Accessed (23/06/2013) Hone, K. Eloff, J.H.P. 2002. What makes an Effective Information Security Policy. Network Security, Vol. 20, No. 6,pp. 14-16. Fung, P., Kwok, L. Longley, D. 2003. Electronic Information Security Documentation. Australian Computer society, Vol. 21. Dinnie, G., 1999. The Second Annual Global Information Security Survey. Information Management computer security, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 112-120. Hind, S. 2002. Security Surveys Spring Crop. Computers and Security, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 310-321. McKay, J. 2003. Pitching the Policy: implementing IT Security Policy through Awareness. SANS Institute. Von Solms, R. 1999. Information Security Management: Why Standards are Important. Information Management Computer Security, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 50-57.