The girls stories Essay Example for Free

The girls stories Essay What is there about Millers presentation of the society of Salem which allows the girls stories to be believed? In the 16th century, the lives of most people were centered around God. Many of the laws of the time were based from the Bible, the Ten Commandments in particular. It was believed at the time that there were supernatural forces at work to cause one to stray from Gods path. Ministers and clergymen thought it their duty to purge the Earth of these beings when they presented themselves. During the 1600s, due to most peoples strong belief in God there was consequently a strong belief in the Devil. It was believed that, as God had angels working in his order, the Devil had witches working to corrupt innocent souls. If something went wrong, there were two reasons for it: that you had displeased God or that the Devil was tempting you. So naturally when something as devastating as your child falling ill occurs, you would be looking for someone to blame: a witch. As the people of Salem based their laws on the teaching of the Bible and believed that the Bible itself told them that witches were to be punished by death. To the people of Salem the forest that surrounded the town was met with suspicion. The forest was inhabited with Indians, and as the Indians were not Christians they were believed to be evil, and therefore any association with the forest was considered to be part of the evil. As the girls were struck down by illness after dancing in the forest, it gave the town people the suspicion of the Devils involvement. The original cause of the suspicion was that two of the girls in the town fell ill, one of who was the daughter of Goody Putnam. Having already lost seven children at young ages, Goody Putnam was very worried for the health of her child. She was also becoming suspicious of how many children she had lost, with them all being seemingly healthy at birth. Goody Putnam was the first to cry witch. As the people of Salem based their laws on the teaching of the Bible they believed that the Bible itself told them that witches were to be punished by death.

Business Applications Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay

Business Applications Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay Introduction Information System handles the flow and maintenance of information that supports a business or some other operation. Information is derived from meaningful interpretation of data. Data consists of the raw facts representing events occurring in the environment. An Information System can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization. Using information systems effectively requires an understanding of the organization, management, and information technology shaping the systems. All information systems can be described as organizational and management solutions to challenges posed by the environment. An understanding of the effective and responsible use and management of information systems and technologies is important for managers, business professionals, and other knowledge workers in todays internetworked enterprises. Information systems play a vital role in the e-business and e-commerce operations, enterprise collaboration and management, and strategic success of businesses that must operate in an internetworked global environment. Thus, the field of information systems has become a major functional area of business administration. Business Applications of Information Systems Information systems perform three vital roles in business firms. Business applications of IS support an organizations business processes and operations, business decision-making, and strategic competitive advantage. Major application categories of information systems include operations support systems, such as transaction processing systems, process control systems, and enterprise collaboration systems, and management support systems, such as management information systems, decision support systems, and executive information systems. Other major categories are expert systems, knowledge management systems, strategic information systems, and functional business systems. However, in the real world most application categories are combined into cross-functional information systems that provide information and support for decision-making and also perform operational information processing activities. An information system (IS) can be any organized combination of people, hardware, software, communications networks, and data resources that collect, transforms, and disseminate information in an organization. Information Technologies:Business professionals rely on many types of information systems that use a variety of information technologies. For example: Types of IS- Manual (paper-and-pencil) information systems- Informal (word-of-mouth) information systems- Formal (written procedures) information systems- Computer-based information systems Computer-based information systems (IS) use hardware, software, the Internet, and other telecommunications networks, computer-based data resource management techniques, and other forms of information technologies (IT) to transform data resources into a variety of information products for consumers and business professionals. The role of Information System in an Organisation Information systems perform three vital roles in any type of organization. That is, they support an organizations: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Business processes and operations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Decision making by employees and managers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Strategies for competitive advantage Analysing Royal Caribbean International We can learn a lot about the challenges of revitalizing and redirecting information technology in a company from the Real World Case of Royal Caribbean International. Take a few minutes to read it, and we will discuss it (See Royal Caribbean International: Renewing and Realigning IT with Business in Section IX). The Major Roles of IS: Examples [Figure 1.9] Three major roles of the business applications of information systems include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Support Business Processes involves dealing with information systems that support the business processes and operations in a business. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Support Decision Making help decision makers to make better decisions and attempt to gain a competitive advantage. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Support Competitive Advantage help decision makers to gain a strategic advantage over competitors requires innovative use of information technology. Information System Implementation New information technologies offer scholarly publishers an historic opportunity to increase speed and efficiency of production, add convenience for contributors, and enhance value for readers. The implementation of these systems, however, involves substantial risk. Information technology (IT) projects can and often do fall short of their objectives for a variety of reasons, including cost overruns, resistance from staff or external users, and failure of the technology to perform as expected Elements of complete IS implementation 1 . Development of computer applications for business transactions, such as production, marketing, selling, etc. 2 . Development of management information systems for effective business control 3 . Planned introduction and use of computers and telecommunications 4. Creation of an overall systems and standards architecture for technology, applications and data 5. Development of information systems for business planning 6. Improved productivity in information systems and computing 7. Development of appropriate staff resources 8. Development of internal support systems (payroll, personnel, pensions, etc.) Information System Implementation Success Implementing systems such as the electronic medical record and computerized physician order entry is a complex and difficult organizational undertaking. These implementations require political mobilization of the medical and nursing staffs, reengineering of clinical processes, significant capital commitments, management of large-scale projects and major changes to the IT infrastructure. The magnitude of this undertaking leads to a high failure rate, which some estimate to be as high as 50 percent. Still, some organizations have succeeded thanks to a combination of clear goals, partnership and implementation skills: Strong organizational vision and strategy. Successful organizations have developed a vision of patient care and a strategy to achieve that vision that is compelling, clear and understood by the members of the organization. This vision describes the critical need for excellence in care delivery and points to clinical systems as essential, strategic contributions to the vision. Most information systems initiatives do not require the bedrock of a compelling organizational vision, but clinical information system implementations do. These systems require the commitment and efforts of virtually all staff. They require deep change in operational and clinical processes. And, they require that other investment opportunities be put off, often for several years. For information system implementations of this significance to succeed, the organization must understand why it is doing so and believe that success is essential. Talented and committed leadership. Systems implementation and the related changes in the organization must be guided by senior leadership. This leadership must come from the board and all senior members of the administrative and medical staffs. These leaders must have the ability to inspire and mobilize others to get things done. They must actively engage in changing the organization, and once committed, they must have the strength to thoughtfully stay the course. These leaders must ask hard questions about the systems and their implementation. And they must be pragmaticsuperb practitioners of the art of the possible. A partnership between the clinical, administrative and information technology staffs. Across the strata of the organization, many effective, multidisciplinary teams will be needed. These teams will design information systems, develop new ways to do the work, revise policies and procedures, craft implementation steps, develop training materials and create approaches to resolving inevitable problems. Team members must view their efforts as a partnership. They must illustrate the attributes of high performance teams: skilled, honest, dedicated, willing to compromise and focused on the overall goal. Excellent implementation skills. The implementation of complex information systems requires deep skill. These skills need to occur in two critical areas: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Project management is needed to define, manage and monitor the large number of tasks, staff and resources that are being brought to the implementation. Good project management requires clear definitions of scope, well-reasoned delineation of tasks, astute assignment of accountability for task performance, flexibility in addressing problems and necessary changes in direction, and the ability to identify and resolve problems. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Support is the set of activities that causes an application to stick, that is, to become an integral part of the fabric of practice. Support includes training, responsive enhancements, ongoing communication, discussion of status and problems, and crafting the evolution of clinical policies and procedures. Good to excellent IT. No information system is perfect, and users will find limitations in any clinical information system. Nonetheless, the applications need to be good enough to support the work that needs to be done. These systems must be able to handle critical changes in functionality that are required to address desired workflow and reporting needs. These systems should improve the work lives of providers rather than hinder them. Types of implementation plans Three general tactical implementation plans: The process of putting the new information system online and retiring the old system is known as system changeover. There are four changeover methods which are: > Direct cutover: The direct cutover approach causes the changeover from the old system to the new system to occur immediately when the new system becomes operational. It is the least expensive but involves more risks than other changeover methods. Advantage As we know health centre does not have enough funds for implementing the new system so it would be easier to implement direct cutover method in the health centre. Disadvantage This method of system changeover involves more risks of total system failure and it is preferred for commercial software packages. So if there is a system failure in health centre then it will be difficult to store information of child who visits health centre. And if there is no proper storage then there will be incorrect reports and monitoring of childs health will not be properly done. > Parallel operation: The parallel operation changeover method requires that both the old and the new information systems operate fully for a specified period. Data is input to both systems and output generated by the new system is compared with the equivalent output from the old system. When users, management, and IT group are satisfied that the new system operates correctly then the old system is terminated. It is the most costly changeover method and involves lower risks. Advantage The advantage of parallel system is lower risk of system failure so all the tasks can be done properly at health centre. If the new system does not work properly, the health centre can use the old manual system as a backup until appropriate changes are made. Disadvantage As we know parallel system is the most costly changeover method as both old and new systems operate fully for specified period and we also know that the budget of health centre is also low so it will be difficult for health centre to follow this changeover process. > Pilot operation: The pilot changeover method involves implementing the complete new system at a selected location of a company. Direct cutover method and operating both systems for only the pilot site. The group that uses the new system first is called the pilot site. By restricting the implementation to a pilot site reduces the risk of system failure as compared with is less expensive than a parallel system. Advantages Pilot operation is combination of both direct cutover and parallel operation, which restricts the implementation to a pilot site and reduces risk of system failure as compared with a direct cutover method. Operating system only at pilot site is less expensive than parallel operation for entire health centre and all health centers. If we use parallel approach to complete the implementation then the changeover period can be much shorter if system proves successful at the pilot site so a lot of time will be consumed at health centre in implementing the new system. Disadvantage This method is also costly as compared to the direct cutover. > Phased operation: The phased operation changeover method involves implementing the new system in stages, or modules. We can implement each subsystem by using any of the other three changeover methods. In this approach risk of errors or failures is limited to the implemented module only as well as it is less expensive than the full parallel operation. For implementing child health information system we can use above methods but there are some advantages as well disadvantages of using these systems, which are explained below: Advantages As we know in this method we have to implement the new system in stages, or modules, which is less prone to risk of system failure or errors at health centers, as failure is limited to the implemented module only. It is also less expensive than parallel system because we have to work only with one part of system at a time. Disadvantage As the system, which we are implementing, involves various phased operation like treatment, measuring weight, registration, vaccination etc so it can cost more than the pilot approach. Recommendation As we can determine from above information that pilot approach is the best approach where we can see the combination of less risks as well as less implementation cost because. There are many health centers so we can implement the new system only at any one of the health centers to check whether it is working appropriately or not. And this method is also cheaper than all other metho

Typical Challenge Faced By Room Division Staff

Typical Challenge Faced By Room Division Staff There is a saying , Customer is God which means customers needs should be fulfilled by the goods or service provider so that the customer can become your loyal customer. As to the hotel industry, it is also very true that hotel staff should try the best to satisfy all demands and requests from the guests so as to keep the guests come back often and introduce their friends and relatives to step in the hotel. However, not all customers are easy going and sometimes customers may bring up difficult requests which are not able to be met by the hotel, thus it will pose a great challenge for the hotel staff to handle. In this way, the relevant hotel department, here referred as the front office under the room division will often be responsible for processing such requests and complaints. The way how the customers requests and complaints are handled is very important for the hotels development regarding its reputability and sustainability in this field. Therefore, the aim of this report is to highly focus on the reasons of such difficult requests and complaints and the solutions which will properly get the issues handled without offending the customers and making them satisfy with the services of the hotel. It also addresses the significance for the hotel to be able to handle the complaints and requests in a proper way. In the final part, the report has drawn a proper conclusion for such challenge discussed and analysed. Table of contents Introduction 4 Discussion about the reasons and forms of the difficult requests and complaints brought up by customers 4 The ways how the Front Office staff should face and handle such challenge 6 Significance for the hotel to handle the challenge in a proper way 7 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction With the development of various businesses and tourisms, different types of hospitality industries such as business hotels, holiday inn hotels, have been rapidly developed and expanded in the cities all around the world. Since the massive expansion in this hospitality sector, the competition between hotels with the same level is becoming more and more intensified. Therefore, to improve the service trying to satisfy every customer whenever stepping into the hotel to the best is becoming vital in the hotel management (Kandampully, Mok Sparks, 2001). However, no matter how well the hotel staff made the preparation and how much efforts they made for trying to meet the customers needs, there are still many challenges in terms of handling the actual incidents in the real situation. With the consideration of addressing the challenges which might be encountered by the hotel staff, this report picks one typical challenge that the hotel room division department will occasionally face to analy se. The challenge is identified in the report is how the difficult customers requests and complaints are processed by the relevant staff. Usually the requests and complaints are handled by the front office staff under the room division department of the hotel. Such difficult requests and complaints from customers are very common for the hospitality industry. In the report, it is to write about such typical challenge to be handled by the front office staff in a business hotel. Discussion about the reasons and forms of the difficult requests and complaints brought up by customers In hospitality industry, it is very hard for the hotel not to have any incidents occur since the hospitality sector is dealing with different types of people. Take a Business Hotel as an example, one large Business Hotel will receive thousands of customers each year. All of the customers are with different characteristics or from different countries with obviously different cultures. Even the best and most reputable hotel may not be able to make every customer satisfy with its service. Usually, it is more occasional for the Front Office under the Room Division Department to contact the customers directly. And more often requests or complaints from customers will be delivered to the Front Office and the staff is responsible for handling such incidents. The reasons why sometimes customers will propose some hard requests or even sometimes they directly make complaints about the hotel is not difficult to understand. From the perspective of customer, he/she spends money on the food and services in the hotel, therefore, customer may think he/she should deserve more convenient and better service. And the more money he/she spends in the hotel, the much higher expectation with respect to the services he/she will have for the hotel. This is the psychological reaction of human being. During the hotel service process, if the customers feel the actual experience of the service is not up to the expectation they set in their mind, it will cause customers dissatisfaction (Bardi, 2010). Although most of them will not reveal this mood and leave the hotel without a word, some of the customers will complain to the Front Office. Also since different customers are greatly different in their living background, behaving methods, characteristics, they wil l reflect a different needs for the hotel services. Meanwhile, as the evaluation of hotel services by each customer is subjective, evaluation of the same services may vary from person to person. Thus not all the customers needs can be fulfilled and nothing is perfect, the diversity of the lodging customers absolutely ensure that there will be difficult requests and complaints (Hsu Powers, 2001). During the hotel service, a hotel may confront many forms of difficult customers requests and complaints. There are difficult requests such as late room service, asking for some facilities which are not equipped in the hotel etc. Typical complaints are like unclean room, unreasonable phone price, poor facilities, bad-quality food, language misunderstanding, unhelpful staff and so on (Ahmed, 2005). The ways how the Front Office staff should face and handle such challenge When encountering the difficult customer requests and complaints, Front Office staff may feel great stress for handling such incidents especially when dealing with some hard customers. It is a great challenge for the employees to handle the requests and complaints properly without offending the customers and to ensure Hotels interests at the same time. To handle these incidents in a proper way, the staff should firstly have a right attitude about the challenge. To deal with such unprepared incidents is one positions responsibilities. Requirements and complaints made by customers should be regarded as gifts to hotel. Customers requests and complaints not only reflect the needs of customers are not fulfilled by hotel, but also provide an opportunity for the hotel to evaluate its service quality and management quality in various aspects (Barlow Moller, 1996). It actually provides a good chance to improve hotel in many ways, which will eventually enables the hotel with an outstanding pe rformance and to be very competitive in the lodging industry. For Front Office staff, it is a knowledge to well handle the difficult customers requests and complaints. Normally the staff can resolve the incidents with reference to the following guidances according to different complex situation. When customers ask for some hard requests which may not be achieved within the hotels limit, customers may feel frustrated and disappointed. Usually customers will not deliberately make some unreasonable requests, therefore, when the staff face such requests, they should firstly try to satisfy their customers if the requests are not ridiculous. If hotel can not meet the customers requests, the staff should make apologies to customers in a polite way. The staff should keep the requests down on the notebook and assure the customers that the hotel will improve its service or add the requests in the service range (Malhotra, 1997). Actually the requests are also the advice for the hotel. It can make the hotel perfect its services. For instance, now there are more and more women business travellers, women have more requirements than men in terms of lodging and food and so on. Women customers may ask hotel to prepare better hairdryer and healthy meals. In other situations, hotel may have so me disabled persons who will demand more special requests from the hotel. Normally if customers difficult requests can not be provided by the hotel and the staff refuse them in a very polite way, most of the customers will not be annoyed. However, if the customers requests are refused by the staff without any explanation, customer will make complaints because they feel his self-esteem is devalued. When dealing with the complaints, the staff should be very careful because if the complaints are not handled properly, the hotel will lose not only one customer. When customer complains, the hotel should handle the complaints immediately and take the complaints seriously. Hotel staff should carefully listen to the customer with complaints with a wholehearted attitude and deal with the complaints after being agreed by customer. After investigation, if it is found fault with the hotel, apology and proper compensation shall be made in order to get forgiveness from the customers and make them satisfy with the hotel again. The staff shall keep in mind avoiding conflicts with customers. For the serious incident, the staff shall comfort the customers firstly then report to the manager and handle it according to the complaints procedure. Every complaint should be integrated in a file and analysed so that it can become a material for training as typical cases (Heung Lam, 2003). After the com plaints are resolved, hotel staff should appreciate the customers for pointing out the improper ways of the hotel, which makes the hotel improve itself. Then the customers will feel good impression about the hotel again and will come back for next time. Significance for the hotel to handle the challenge in a proper way To properly deal with the difficult requests and complaints is crucial for hotels success and development. There are plenty of hotels established in the city, why the customers would come back if they feel they are not treated in a good manner. For hotel, to offer a good service is one thing, to resolve requests and complaints in a good manner is another key factor for its reputation. Resolving the problems effectively has a strong impact on the customer satisfaction and loyalty. Customers will possibly satisfy with the hotel based on the recovery efforts made by the hotel (Liao, 2007). There are numbers of hotels becoming good players in the lodging industry because they know how to deliver their services to customers and how to ensure guest satisfaction about their services or even how to handle the guest complaints successfully and gain back the customers trust about their hotels. Therefore, these hotels survive in the competitive accommodation area. Especially at present, technology develops fast and Internet is used by most people around the world. If one hotel failed to handle the guests requests or complaints, the offended customer may spread bad words via Internet, which will greatly destroy the hotels fame and potential customers may choose the other competitor by viewing these comments (Piccoli, Spalding Ives, 2001). Besides this, once the customer feel negative opinion about the hotel, he/she will deliver this message to his/her friends and relatives. For example, when we check the hotel information via Internet, we will occasionally see some messages or comments made by other people. These bad words will definitely make us feel not good about the hotel, although some of them may not be true. While on the other hand, if the hotel can try to fulfill the requests of the customers, hotel will gain considerable profits and will definitely build a good reputation in the hospitality industry. Take London Hilton in Park Lane as an example. Since now there are more and more women business travellers who have specific needs and requirements different from those of male guests. These women guests highlight good health diet and fitness facilities and they require more appropriate facilities in their rooms, such as padded hangers, good lighting and full-length mirror. Therefore, London Hilton refurbished the 30 rooms on its 22nd floor to become an all-women zone and offers a private section for them and enhance the security. The rooms are facilitated according to women taste including fashion magazines, powerful hairdryers and others (Carysforth, 2003). As a result, the London Hilton Hotel is popular by most of the women travellers. Proper handling customers complaints and make the c omplaining customer feel he/she is respected also helps the hotel to build its reputation and win back customers loyalty. Conclusion In conclusion, the hospitality industry most often deal with people. In order to survive in todays intensively competitive business environment, it is very essential for hotels to ensure to achieve customers satisfaction. As peoples increasing sense of protecting his consumer rights, many complaints occur in the hotel service. Also because hotels provide products and services which may be perceived in different ways by different people, different people will have varied levels of opinion in responding to the same or similar service and product consumption. Complaints sometimes do good to the hotel if the hotel is able to solve the problem in an effective way. If not, complaints will contribute a very bad influence to the hotel. However, for the Hotel Room Division sector, it is very challenging for them the properly deal with the matter. The persons for undertaking such position should be experienced and well-trained in this area. The capability of handling the complaints and difficu lt situation is not only about personal traits but also about tacts and strategies. The hotel staff should be familiar with the relevant strategies or procedures when handling the difficult and complex issues. It is also the hotels fortune to have such excellent staff being capable of solving complaints.

Use of Steroids in Baseball Essay -- Sports Argumentative Persuasive E

Use of Steroids in Baseball Since Major League Baseball all-star Ken Caminiti openly admitted to Sports Illustrated to have used steroids during his career, steroid use as a muscle and performance enhancer has been uncovered and become a big issue Major League Baseball is wrestling with. The â€Å"ongoing and delicate subject, baseball’s dirty, little secret that is no secret anymore,† is a huge and growing problem (Curry B20). Now that light has been shed on the issue, critics are beginning to realize the magnitude of this problem and do not like it. Steroids are a cheating virus that is spreading quickly. Users cheat other players, themselves, the fans, and the game itself. Action must be taken to rid Major League Baseball of this virus before it takes over the game. Steroids are illegal in the US, and banned from baseball, however in the past they have not been suspected to be such a big problem. Therefore, Major League Baseball has failed to properly address it with preventative measures. In the 2001, the Major League Players Association’s contract with Major League Baseball protected players on the 40 man roster against testing. As for the minor leagues, testing only occured in-season, and was restricted to some players. Many players use in the off season and know how long the drugs will remain in their bodies (anywhere from 2 weeks to 18 months). If tested positive, they receive a warning about the hazards of the drug and are not punished at all. Five to ten percent of minor leaguers tested positive, and which fails to account for users not tested, those who used out-of-season, and those who found measures around the test. In the majors, some suspect that 50% of players use steroids and some, such as Jose Canseco, as hig... ...2002: D3 Steroids.com. 2003. Anabolics.com, Inc.5 Mar. 2003. Verducci, Tom. â€Å"Totally Juiced.† Sports Illustrated.com 3 June 2002. 5 Mar. 2003. Yesalis, Charles E; Cowart, Virginia S. The Steroids Game US 1998 Associated Press articles on www.CBSnews.com National Pastime Altered By Drugs CLEARWATER, Fla., March 31, 2003 Jason Giambi Subpoenaed SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 20, 2003 Barry Bonds In Subpoena Lineup SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 22, 2003 Designer Steroid Doping Scandal SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23, 2003 Steroid Scandal's Impact Spreads SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 25, 2003 Athletes Testify In Doping Probe WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2003 Baseball To Test For Steroids NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2003 Bonds At Bat In Steroid Probe SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 5, 2003

Civil War Journal Essay example -- essays research papers

Dear Journal, August 2, 1863 With Dixie in my heart, today is the day that South Carolina recruited me for this war. I must soon be ready to go to the regiment I was assigned to. I am in the 3rd Infantry Regiment of South Carolina. I would rather have been in the cavalry since, the Great State, I raise horses, but they needed infantry even more. I will do anything to help the Confederacy. Emily, Joseff, and Soo are sad that their Pa is leaving them. I told them not to fret and remember that I am fighting for what our forefathers wanted. They wanted to have an equally distributed government as not to have a ruler and people with no say. That promise has not been kept, and to start anew, we seceded. The children understand, having the Confederate flag gleaming in their eyes. I said my fare-thee-wells to Anna, the children, and the servants. "Never forget me. We will be together under one nation, the Confederate Nation. Our spirits will live on, bringing forth rights to rule as we please." Going off to war is a tough thing to do. I am forced to leave my family, horses, plantation, and slaves to fight for the pride. The proudest of keeping those elements intact. Keeping those in order is a war in itself. -Jonathan Cort Dear Journal, August 17, 1863 The war front is quite an unimaginable experience unless you go through it yourself. We have little rations of horrid food. Hard tack full of meal worms and chicory coffee. Our Mamie's collared greens is what I miss most right now. I do not feel kindly towards the food, but as long as we are able to keep alive on hard tack and goobers, we will fight to the very end. I am on of the newcomers of t... ...he nation. What I got was being a cripple, and a country where Jeff Davis does not prove his States' rights theory. This is not what I was fighting for. I do not think that is what anyone was fighting for. We, the Confederacy, wanted Peace, Love, and Justice and make our country work. Well, now I realize that those thoughts are just wishful thinking for a Southerner. The war still goes on, and life does, but I want it to be over. All what I lived for, is gone in a blast. My family left me, and I am not allowed back into the war. I am too weak to go on anymore either. The doctors gave me Valium to take. I might as well ease the pain of my heart on Christmas Eve to follow the starry night and have it guide me into heaven. I thank you for being there to help me through this. Now I must meet the honored soldiers that have fought bravely. Maybe in the Great States above, it should be the way it is meant to be. As what Michael has said, "La vie Confederate!" -Jonathan

Baldwin Bicycle Company: Background of the Study

BA-561 MAC Abdulgaffur G. Deki Oscar M. Inocencio Chester V. Lagutin Felomena C. Baal Edsel Cariz J. Tiu 12 October 2012 â€Å"Baldwin Bicycle Company† Background of the Study: Baldwin Bicycle Company (BBC) is a full-line bicycle manufacturing company with 40 years of experience. In 1982, BBC has revenue of over $10M for 98,791 units produced. BBC exclusively distributes through independently-owned retailers, their bicycles are known for their above-average quality. In May 1983, a rapid-growing Northwestern discount retail chain, Hi-Valu, Suzanne Leister, VP Marketing, proposed a private-label agreement.Under this program, BBC would manufacture the Challenger line of bicycles exclusively for Hi-Valu. The Challenger line was to be a low-priced value bicycle, sold at retail prices under BBC’s normal product lines. Statement of the problem: What is the overall impact to the company if BBC will accept the proposal in terms of? a. ) PROFIT b. ) RETURN ON SALES c. ) RETURN ON ASSETS d. ) RETURN ON EQUITY Objectives: 1. To be able to show and analyze the proposal depending on the result which will be used to serve as a basis for making decisions. 2.To determine the total relevant cost in producing additional orders for Hi-Valu. Areas of consideration: 1. BBC sales over the next three years would be 100,000 bikes a year if they will forego the Hi-Valu deal. 2. If BBC will accept the offer, 3,000 units will be lost in regular sales volume a year. 3. According to Ms Leister, Vice President for Marketing, she was acutely aware that the â€Å"bicycle boom† had fattened out, and that poor economy had caused Baldwin sales volume to fall. 4. BBC was currently operating its plant at about 75% of capacity meaning, 75,000 units is currently produced. excess capacity 25,000 units) 5. The contract between BBC and Hi-Valu is for three years and will be automatically extended on a year to year basis, unless one party gave notice that it did not wish to extend th e contract. 6. Most of BBC sales were into independently toy stores and bicycles shops, BBC had never before distributed to its product to department store. Its BBC’s first time to deal such client. 7. Hi-Valu wanted to purchase bikes from BBC at lower prices that the wholesale prices of comparable bikes sold through Baldwin usual channels. 8.If the proposal will pursue BBC requirement for purchasing, inventory and production cost will increased. 9. Hi-Valu would hold the units on consignment in its own warehouses and withhold payment until delivery to a specific store. 10. A bicycle would be paid within 30 days once a bicycle was shipped to a specific store or 120 days had elapsed in the regional warehouse. Alternative courses of action: 1. Reject proposal RISKS: a. ) BBC may face continually declining sales due to a poor economy. b. ) BBC will continue to produce at only 75% production capacity. c. Another disadvantage is that the offer price of Hi-Valu was lower than the r egular selling price. d. ) There is an additional cost involved in producing additional units from Hi-Valu the $5,000 additional cost plus the asset related cost. e. ) The possibility that the current dealers of BBC might drop-out line if they find that BBC is making bikes for Hi-Valu. f. ) The freight charge will be shouldered by BBC until it reached the destination of Hi-Valu warehouse. g. ) additional from regular sales of 3,000 units from regular costumers. ADVANTAGES: a. ) Maintain loyalty from current distributors . ) Maintain 40-year reputation for above average quality and price. 2. Accept Proposal RISKS: a. ) Current dealers may drop Baldwin line. b. ) Current dealers may request a similar product c. ) Putting faith in a new product d. ) BBC may find itself with an abundance of Challenger-specific inventory e. ) Extra costs may result in having to use cheaper materials f. ) Loss of â€Å"street cred† ADVANTAGES: a. ) Greater penetration of the mark through new market segments b. ) I f Baldwin name is not on the Challenger bike, BBC’s reputation may not be damaged c. Strong Challenger sales may balance weak Baldwin sales d. ) With Challenger line, BBC will be producing at a higher capacity Recommendation: The group recommends the alternative courses of action number two which state Accept the Proposal. The followi ng computations was the basis of the recommendation. Potential Problem Analysis: 1. Additional cost is involved. 2. Lost additional sales from the costumers 3. Additional investment to finance additional increase in receivables, inventories, record-keeping,tax inventory, handling labor and equipment, possible obsolescence and or damage.

Geography essay †earthquakes Essay

At a conservative margin two plates try to slide past each other slowly. Quite often, the two plates stick and pressure builds up; the release of this pressure creates a severe earthquake. There are no volcanic eruptions along conservative plate margins because the crust is neither being created nor destroyed. The classic example of a conservative plate margin is the San Andreas Fault in California. The North American and Pacific Plates are moving past each other at this margin, which is the location of many earthquakes. These earthquakes are caused by the accumulation and release of strain as the two plates slide past each other. The vast majority of Earthquakes occur along plate margins. In fact the locations of the earthquakes and the kind of ruptures they produce help scientists define the plate margin. Many earthquakes form a narrow spread at some plate margins than others; generally speaking, the earthquakes at destructive plate margins have a greater spread and therefore affect more places than at conservative plate margins. According to plate tectonic theory, huge slabs of plates are in constant movement caused by convection currents, a lot of pressure builds up at the plate margins, which when released causes a sudden jolt or earthquake. This accounts for a large number of earthquakes that occur at plate margins. The fact that the most deadly earthquakes occur at destructive/transform plate margins suggests that greater pressure builds up than at constructive plate margins. Earthquakes are probably the most frequent of all hazards, yet their impact on people, property and communities varies from one place to another. When it comes to buildings the type of building materials and designs used can minimize loss of life, mainly in wealthy areas. This was the case with the Loma Prieta earthquake where very few people were killed, however in some areas were more vulnerable with older buildings. With the Kobe earthquake (1995) there were less strict building regulations which led to high death toll of over 6,300. In poorer parts of the world building design is often inadequate, even though building design standards are in place they are rarely enforced, which was the case for Mexico City (1985). Here several modern high rise buildings collapsed as concrete crumbled and the thin steel structures tore apart. The central hospital just collapsed in total killing around 30000 people. It can also have different effects on different parts of the world due to the frequency of the earthquake and the levels of development. In wealthy areas where earthquakes are common, such as California and Japan, a lot is done to prepare for an earthquake; there are regular earthquake drills in schools and offices. Poorer countries tend to be less well prepared this is partly due to the lack of money to invest in materials and educational programs. Also because earthquakes are perceived as infrequent problems in a society facing daily struggles for survival. It is often said LEDC’S suffer much more from the effects of earthquakes than MEDC’s which is true in terms of human costs. A poor country with UN sturdy buildings and its inability to cope with the after effects of an earthquake, will suffer greater loss of life, homelessness and loss of livelihood than a rich country. In recent years some of the greatest earthquake disasters have occurred in LEDC’S including India 1993 which killed 10,000 people, Afghanistan 1998 which killed over 6,000. MEDC’s do not tend to suffer as much human loss, but they do suffer a lot of financial loss, as insurance companies and governments re-fund building programs and pay compensation. Afghanistan 25th March 2002 there were a series of earthquakes that lasted 10 hours and killed 800-1000 people, injured 4,000 and left 20,000 homeless. Towns were flattened the earthquake only measure 6. 1 on the Richter scale. There were a few reasons why this earthquake caused so much widespread disaster. The region is remote and very poor, after suffering droughts and wars they have no resources left to cope with such an earthquake. The houses were very poor and couldn’t withstand the shaking; much housing had heavy roofing to insulate their houses which just collapsed killing people inside. Although the earthquake was not so powerful it was a shallow one occurring at a depth of 8km. Now comparing it with a wealthier place you can see the difference that money can make and buildings. Taiwan 30th March 2002 measured 7. 1 on the Richter scale so was more powerful than the Afghanistan one, and was at 10km deep so again was shallow; this earthquake only killed 5 people. The Taiwan earthquake was significantly more powerful than the Afghanistan earthquake yet it caused far less loss of life, this was due to the fact that, many of the buildings were modern and coped well with the ground shaking, people were also aware of the dangers and had prepared themselves to minimize the dangers and damage to the properties. Taiwan is significantly wealthier than Afghanistan and it’s therefore better able to prepare and then to react after an earthquake. In conclusion 2 earthquakes of a similar magnitude might be expected to have similar effects but this is not always the case. Whilst there can be no doubt that a big powerful earthquake will caused a lot of damage wherever they occur, it seems to be the case that all things being equal LEDC’s tend to suffer more than MEDC’s.