Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Determine The Motivation Factors Tourism Essay

Determine The Motivation Factors Tourism Essay 1.0 Introduction This chapter is an introductory chapter. It intend to discuss on background of the study, highlight the problem statement, depict research objectives and questions and explain significance of the study, provide outline of the study and sum up a conclusion of this chapter. 1.1 Background of the Study Before year 1997, the insurance companies in Malaysia are operating as private company complied by the Insurance Act 1963. Yet, followed by the enactment of Insurance Act 1996 which started into force on 1st January 1997, all the insurance companies are converted to public company which licensed by the Ministry of Finance under the Companies Act 1965 (Bank Negara Malaysia [BNM], 2005). The growth of the insurance industry is closely related to the domestic economy of Malaysia. Based on the financial performance, the revenue of insurance industry in Malaysia is increasing gradually year by year. It had shown that an increase of RM 1,110,806 or 7.87% in the income of insurance industry in Malaysia in year 2010 as compared to year 2009. Income of RM 14,114,618 and RM 15,225,424 are recorded respectively for year 2009 and 2010 (Malaysia Insurance Institute, 2010). Meanwhile, the number of registered agents is also growing up year by year. There was a growth from 116,008 agents in year 2009 to 122,399 agents in year 2010, which was increased by 6,391 agents (BNM, 2010). Motivation is the part of commitment and results in achieving the organizational objectives at the appropriate way. Job satisfaction of employees can be motivated by different motivation factors (Balachandar, Panchanatham Subramanian, 2010). According to Tripathi (2001) most of the companies usually motivate their employees by offering economic reward, recognition, promotion, job security, training and authority. When customer comes to buy insurance, very few people contact an insurance company directly, the insurance agent play the role to solicit and sell insurance policies to the general public. No doubt, the revenue of insurance industry is very much depending on the sales gained by the insurance agents. Hence, motivation plays a great role to encourage insurance agents to work professionally in delivering their services to customers. Insurance agents will feel satisfied with their job when companies apply the motivation factors correctly on them. Insurance companies motivate their insurance agents by giving rewards such as extra bonus or company trip to appreciate their effort in getting sales for the insurance company. 1.3 Problem Statement Nowadays, more people want to become insurance agents, which led to the increased of challenges. The statistical report of Bank Negara Malaysia stated that the number of registered insurance agents had increased 5.51% from 2009 to 2010 (BNM, 2010). Normally, insurance agents do not have any basic salary but their pay is based on commission. Insurance agents try to retain and increase their target productivity in order to satisfy their jobs, save their jobs and increase their well-being because the wages of insurance agent depends on a commission basis (Christopher, 2007). According to Bakos (2008) insurance agents retain in the company is highly influenced by commission as remuneration. If the commission to the insurance agents is low, it will de-motivate them and leads to resignation. Past studies showed that motivation and job satisfaction have direct relationship to influence employee retention and performance among various types of organization (Goleman, 1998). According to Cravens, Ingram, LaForge and Young (2010) giving a right tool of training and development can motivate insurance agents more successful in selling life insurance products. Training and development can improve the job skills and knowledge of insurance agents at each level. Therefore, employees should be given more opportunities for advancement to motivate them in order to enhance their job satisfaction level (Feinstein, 2000). Besides, Tripathi (2001) stated that employees can be motivated by job security, recognition, promotion and training to enhance job satisfaction. There are several past researchers Hassan (2010), Salleh, Dzulkifli, Abdullah and Ariffin (2011), Golshan, Kaswuri, Aghashahi, Amin and Ismail (2011) studies on the relationship between motivation factors and job satisfaction among nurses, state Government employees and Gen-Y administrative and diplomatic officers in Malaysia but lack of studies on insurance agents in Malaysia. The objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between motivation factors and job satisfaction among insurance agents in Malaysia. 1.4 Research Questions and Objectives 1.4.1 General Objective The major objective of this research is to identify and determine the motivation factors that influence job satisfaction of insurance agents in Malaysia. 1.4.2 General Question What are the motivation factors that influence job satisfaction of insurance agents in Malaysia? 1.4.3 Specific Objectives To investigate whether commission pay influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia. To investigate whether job security influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia. To investigate whether opportunities for advancement and development influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia. To investigate whether work itself influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia. 1.4.4 Research Questions Will commission pay influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia? Will job security influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia? Will opportunities for advancement and development influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia? Will work itself influence insurance agents job satisfaction in Malaysia? 1.5 Significance of the Study This research is tending to contribute to the individual and companies. To through this research, the insurance companies will know the importance of the insurance agents job satisfaction and knowing the level of job satisfaction of insurance agents. Meanwhile, individual can also gain a better understanding on motivation factors that can lead them to job satisfaction. The second aim of this research is to narrow the gap with regards to understanding job satisfaction of insurance agents by studying the motivation factors that influence insurance agents job satisfaction. Insurance companies will get to know more about the motivation factors that influence the insurance agents job satisfaction by offer some rewards system to satisfy insurance agents. This enables them to build long-term profitability and retain continuous growth in their businesses to gain competitive advantages in the insurance industry. This research will also expose a new knowledge to the public who has interest on the job of an insurance agent. It assists the public on raising knowledge and awareness of motivation factors that influence the job satisfaction of the insurance agents. 1.6 Outline of the Study Chapter two shows the related literature review that provides the foundation for developing the theoretical framework to proceed with further investigation and hypotheses testing. Chapter three presents the research methodology used to test the research questions. It includes research design, population, sample and sampling procedures, data collection method, variables and measurement, and data analysis techniques. Chapter four is the description of the data analysis. It presents the overall result and findings from the data collection. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) is used to generate results in this research. Chapter five is summaries the research finding and also discusses the major finding. Besides, it also discusses the limitation of the study as well as provides the recommendation for future researchers. 1.7 Conclusion This chapter is about the overview of this study stated on the above. This study aims to determine the motivation factors affecting toward insurance agents job satisfaction so as to contribute for insurance companies and the public. In the following chapter two, it will provide the literature review of this study.

Monday, August 5, 2019

The Reasons To Enter Vietnam Economics Essay

The Reasons To Enter Vietnam Economics Essay 1.0 Introduction Vietnam located at the eastern part of the Indochinese Peninsula and the center of South East Asia and a tropical country of the northern hemisphere. The government is runs by the Communist Party of Vietnam. In 1995, the population size in Vietnam reached 74million, ranking second in South East Asia, seventh in Asia-Pacific Region and twelfth the world over. The population size was then increased to 95 million people in the year 2010. Vietnam count as a poor country if refer to its own country GDP per person. After Dot Moi came, the national economy has improved at a high rate thus it improved the living standards and national income of local people as well. The country is one of the fastest growing economies in global which had shown a consistent growth rate in the recent years. While according to World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund in 2011, the GDP of Vietnam was increased per capita and develops from lower- income country to middle-income country (Richard Rou sseau, 2011). Coca-Cola entered Vietnams market at 2004 and produced its own vitamin-packed energy drink along with some familiar brands such as Joy, Fanta, Sprite, and others for the local consumers. Besides, Coca-Cola builds three production plants in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City. Reasons to Enter Vietnam At 2004, Coca-Cola made its first move out from Africa, they decided enters to the Asias markets which include Vietnam. These acquisitions were in line with the Groups growth strategy to expand into emerging markets, in order to underpin the organizations position as an Emerging Markets Specialist (Coca-Cola Sabco History, 2009). The first move of Coca-Cola into Vietnam is based on the new emerge and rapid growth of economy in Vietnam. As the rapid population growth and improvement of economy in Vietnam, Coca-Cola took the opportunity to enter their market. Vietnams economy was growing at between 4% 8% after recovery from the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997.The enhancing of living and educational standards of Vietnamese help in providing employment opportunities to them. The entry of the firm in Vietnamese market able in enhance the economic development and create some job opportunities for the local people. As the soda consumption has reduced in the U.S., Coca-Cola is one of the soft drink industries that increasingly looking to expand their business in countries where there consist of higher national income rate and huge population (Bloomberg Business week New, 2012). This news had shown the reason that Vietnam still able to encourage more investment from Coca-Cola in Vietnam. Moreover, Vietnam relies on the petroleum industry for its local energy consumption and for export; it will cause the economy of Vietnam more stable and attracted many foreign companies direct invest in Vietnam. This had attracted Coca-cola to enter Vietnam markets at 2004. Moreover, the payment for employees in Vietnam is quite low, therefore, it attract foreign companies moving into Vietnam instead of traditional market such as China, India, and Thailand. These all reasons push Coca-Cola chooses Vietnam and made it first move into it to operate its plants there. 2.0 Analysis Gains of entering into a foreign country Political Stability Entering into a foreign country such as Vietnam consists of gains and shortcomings. One of the advantages to enter Vietnam is its political stability. According to Mr. Philippe Delalande in 2010, he mentioned that political stability is one of the factors that have helped Vietnam pursue its economic development policy. Others view from George E. Kobrossy in 2013, General Director of Zamil Steel Vietnam (ZSV) also mention the advantages which help in attracting foreign investors to the country is Vietnams political stability, administrative reform and its efforts in upgrading infrastructure facilities. Coca-Cola faced problems to enter some countries few decades ago due to the politic issues that happened in the country. Standage (n.d) said that Coca-Cola did not exist in the former Soviet Union (Russian) because they worry that the revenue would go transfer to communist government coffers. While Webster (n.d) mention that Coca-Cola not enter French society because Coca-Cola was a mar k of capitalism and a difference between capitalism and communism during Cold War.US brand like Coca-Cola found itself pester in politics, or singled out for criticism although they are not trying to get involved in politics, said Webster. Thus, for the obvious reason, Coca-Cola reentered Vietnams market because of the political stability after Doi Moi (reformation) policy as they feel more assurance in expanding their business in a stable politic country. Foreign Direct Investment One of the gains of Coca-Cola is that Vietnamese government provides many investment incentives for foreign investors, the corporate income tax is low compared to other countries in South East Asia (standard rate is 28% and preferential rates from 10% to 20%). The Foreign Investment Agency reports that by 15 December 2011 Vietnam had attract more than 13,667 foreign investment projects, with a total capital of around RM612 billion (Foreign Investment Agency, 2011). Foreign-invested companies including Coca-Cola accounted for around 27% of the countrys exports, 35% of the countrys total industrial productivity, constituted 13% of GDP, and contributed around 25% of total tax incomes (Vietnam Investment Review, 2001). Thus, there are about US$300 million was announced to invest in Vietnam by Coca-Cola for further capture growing opportunities in one of the most developing consumer markets (Staff, 2012). Under commitments made by Vietnam as part of its agreement to the World Trade Organi zation, Vietnam offered foreign enterprise which included Coca-Cola the general right to import products and sell them to licensed distributors. The process to obtain an investment certificate for foreign-owned company is much easier now. Low labor cost Vietnam is gaining competitive advantage for labor-intensive production industry on the basis of low salary level (Meyer, 2005). In the research on labor costs, Japan labor cost in one month is $1,810, continue by $1,144 in Singapore, $82 in Indonesia, and then Vietnam rank the second lowest place which is US$49 a month and follow by the highest is Cambodia with $47.36 (EuroCham, 2010). Coca-Cola who has chosen to set-up regional offices in Vietnam help Vietnam proven the extensive labor pool is competitive in the market (GLC, 2007). According to the information collected, we found that Coca-Cola Vietnam invest in Vietnam to help boost the local business sales and created 500 new jobs locally in Vietnam while the total labor force that gain this benefit is 99 percent of local Vietnamese (Staff, 2012). This high percentage use of labor force proves that Coca-Cola Vietnam is afforded to hire more local employees due to their low labor cost or low wages. Low production Cost Coca-Cola entering Vietnam because one of the gains is they can exempted from import duties to build fixed assets, such as bottling machinery, means of transport, and production materials that are not produced locally. Additional exemptions are available for raw materials, parts and materials imported for production of goods for export. Coca-Colas revenue in central Vietnam had witnessed a double digit growth over the past few years; three bottling plants of the company produce more than 608 million liters per year in Vietnam (Nordic Industry Development, 2012). Therefore, Coca-Cola beverages Vietnam invested over $3 million into its second Danang-based purified bottle water production chain, with a capacity of up to 6,000 of 500ml bottles per hour due to the low production cost they gain in Vietnam (Nordic Industry Development, 2012). Variety Product Lines that meet Vietnameses Beverages Need Coca-Cola enters Vietnam as they met the demand for hydration, nutrition and energizing refreshment of their customer in Vietnam. Coca-Cola has variety brand of products in Vietnam such as Coca-cola, Coca-cola Light, Fanta, Joy, Minute Maid, Dasani, Real Leaf, Samurai, Schweppes and Sprite. Joy is bottled water drink that pure and has the largest share of 32% compare other brand that company produce. Coca-Cola has the second largest share of 23% continue by Sprite with the percentage of 18% and Fanta which has 17%. Other brands like Samurai obtain 5% from the market share while Minute Maid and Schweppes each occupied 2.5% (Soft drink-Vietnam, 2010). They offer high quality product that meet the need of their target market. For example, Samurai is targeted on the underserved market which is the Vietnamese male adults who need an energy boost, as most of them have heavy workloads. This vitamin-packed energy drink is fortified with six essential B vitamins and has an exciting and refres hing taste with a carbonated, sweet flavor that appeals to the Vietnamese palate and popular among the target group. (Coca Cola Sabco, 2009) Shortcomings of entering into a foreign country Unable to generate wholly-owned subsidiary business One of the shortcomings of Coca-Cola in Vietnam is that foreign-based companies are generally not able to have wholly-owned subsidiary without production in the country. Therefore, importers would normally cooperate with local partners. (Nguyen Meyer, 2004). This had caused Coca-Cola lost a great opportunity in generating more profits. Coca-Cola started-up their bottling plants through joining venture with local Vietnamese partner using the name of Coca-Cola Vietnam. (DDDN, 2013) With the holding only 60 percents of the venture, Coca Cola has limited control over the resources, information and financial leverage to expand their business model and caused this business to be unprofitable. (à lvarez, 2003) According to Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation, Coca-Colas cumulative losses are US$180.6 million, even bigger than its equity of US$141.6 million and Coca Cola was doubted that having transfer pricing. (TuoiTreNews, 2012). Limited Control There a major part of Vietnamese business still owned and controlled by the government and local authorities although there is dramatically growth of private business in Vietnam in recent years (Embassy, 2005). State ownership is still dominant, and issues like informal business practices or land leasing still cause headaches to foreign investors. From the information we analyze, we believe that Coca-Cola also face more difficulties in accessing bank financing, land, and other critical resources that private and smaller enterprises faced the same problems (Tenev, 2003). Coca-Cola as a foreign investors enter Vietnam this Communist country need follow their culture and unfortunately control as well as restricted their business operation in order to continue survive in Vietnam. We believe that Coca-Cola need to have personal relationships in order to sustain their business under Vietnams control because there are some enterprises also follow the same culture with Coca-Cola. There are 4 0 percent of the enterprises believed they had to have personal relationships to receive allocated and transferred lands if regarding to the land use procedures (Vietna.net Bridge, 2012). Drinking Water Problems The last shortcoming of entering Vietnam is about drinking water problems. Drinking water is a key element for healthy life and it is a cornerstone for sustainable community. Most of the consumers of beverages who are concern of the water resource and it will directly affect their purchase decision. (Dickson, 2005)Thus for this obvious reason, Coca cola acknowledged that clean water is critical to operate in sustainable community like Vietnam. In many part of Vietnam, clear water is still a dream. However, Coca-Cola wasted 2.43 liters of water just to produce 1 liter of beverage on average. (Kenan Institute Asia , 2010) Thus, it has given a big impact toward the environment. Our business can only be as healthy as the local communities where we operate; access to clean water is one of the most important barometers of a communitys health. by Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, the Coca-Cola Company. Coca Cola also understand that the issue of water wastage for the production not only affect s the ecology and environment but it affects the corporate image of their company as well. 3.0 Recommendations In past decades, Coca-Cola adopted joint venture with the local partners to penetrate into the Vietnamese market. However, many partners had quit the venture as they unable to bear with the consecutive  loss made. These losses are basically caused by the unnecessary spending and poor cash flow in the business. Thus, in order overcome the problem, jointing venture with local partner such as Chuong Duong Beverage Co. is not sufficient to expand their business efficiently, Coca-Cola should joint venture with other foreign firms who are large enough to support them in term of financial and management as well as serve the demand of the market. For instance, the PepsiCo. has jointed venture with Japanese beverage and wellness company Suntory Holdings Ltd. in Vietnam in order to sustain long term growth in Vietnamese market. As Suntory has a consolidated business foundation in South-East Asian markets, PespiCo is boosting its current market position in order to compete with their competit ors. (RTT , 2012) Beside, In order to generate more revenue, Coca-Cola should follow the footsteps of FedEx to consider in application for wholly-owned subsidiary. FedEx is expected to be the firm that having 100 percents of subsidiary in Vietnam. This could help them to have long-term commitment in Vietnamese market as they able to take advantage in this growing market. (Linh, 2012) In order to solve the limited control problems, Coca-Cola can establish a harmonious relationship with the local authorities since it easier to solve bureaucratic problems if and when they occur especially in Communist country. Relations with local and central authorities can be developed as cooperative relationships, and networking and building personal relationships is recommended to expand their business in Vietnam. Coca-Cola Company should build a close relationship with government so that they will provide more subsidies and privileges to Coca-Cola including the decreasing cost in power usage and cheaper raw materials. Gifts to the appropriate persons and doing more charity to the poverty residents may enhance the atmosphere and smooth the business process given that sending presents is part of traditional Vietnamese culture. Coca-Cola spent over 5milions to 2.1 billion populations in Pacific for the effort of managing the clean water resources with the Community Water Partnership (CWP) program .For example, in Vietnam, Coca-Cola enhances their corporate image and improving the water quality through the Plain of Reeds Wetland Restoration Project and Clean Water for Communities (Phase II), more than 10,000 Vietnam residents able to access to the clear water through. (Staff, 2012) However, these programs dont really have a significant improvement to clean water issue. Thus, in order to achieve efficiency and effectiveness for the business and production operation, Coca-Cola needs to have advance water recovery system besides their CWP program. Water resources always is the global challenges for the beverages company especially operate in country like Vietnam who facing serious issue of clean water. Indeed, Coca-Cola claimed that the technology that they developed not only can reduce operational water needs but it also improves water use efficiency by up to 35percents. (The Coca Cola company, 2012). However, we believe that this technology can be improved by learning from competitors innovation such as PepsiCo. With the helping of Siemens Industry Automation Division PepsiCo has installed an integrated reuse solution at Santiagos snack plantation. It helps the manufacturing facility in increasing its wastewater treatment capacity by 20percents and it is a beneficial technology that incorporating environmental. Besides, the system will reduce 70 percents of fresh water consumption. (Warrendale, 2012) Nonetheless, as we all know these two giant beverage companies were competed aggressively in the industry over a century. Additional, one of the competitive advantages of these companies to retain their uniqueness is their innovation and technology. Therefore, if these two companies could alliance themselves in term of sharing their technology among themselves to solve the water wastage issue it could bring a better water quality to Vietnamese as well as enhances their production especially the bottling process. Since they have the same interest, they can cooperate under the Strategic alliance basis. Strategic alliances are agreements between companies that remain independent and are often in competition. (R.J., 1999). Many alliances are designed in order to seek for improvement in volume, divide fixed costs of production and distribution. A very good example Coca-Cola can refer is the alliance of Nestlà ¨ and Haagen-Dazs. We believe we can grow better together than separately said a Diageo spokesperson. Nestlà ¨ would contribute its frozen dessert technology, while Haagen Dazs would contribute to distribution through the network of points of sale with its name. (E, 1999). The alliance of these two companies for production and marketing has allowed Nestlà ¨ sought to build critical mass in the ice cream sector and a way to reduce costs by operating its plants in California and Maryland at full capacity. (Pellicelli, 2003) Besides, further improvement in competitive advantages can be done through improving Coca-Colas variety product lines. As we know few of the Coca-Cola product lines like Samurai, Coke Light, and Joy win a competitive advantage in Vietnams market. If compare to Coca-Cola biggest competitor markets strategy, PepsiCo had entered the food market and earn over $13 million to their business. Besides, PepsiCo also engaged in snack food which brand under Frito-Lay to gain more markets share. Thus, we suggest that Coca-Cola Company also can increase their market share by extends their product brand in snack as what PepsiCo done. Coca-Cola Company can invest in a new snack brand to attract more consumers in the Vietnam food market. This strategy can be effectively and efficiently implement because snack food is commonly consumed by Vietnamese families but Vietnamese will consume snack food that import from United State due to its lower price (What We Eat to Help Us Grow, 2010). Coca-Cola Compa ny can produce healthy snack food with lower price to attract Vietnamese who focus in health such as Frito Lay which their tasting chips are low fat and ingredient all are natural which contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives (Pepsico, 2012). 4.0 Conclusion Coca-cola as a global leader in beverages industry offer hundreds of brand over the world had entered Vietnam market by offer quality product that can be trust and fulfill the need of Vietnamese. Coca-Cola Company help people lead to an active and healthy lifestyle by provide the information of the beverages. Coca-Cola Company announcement an investment plan of invest $300 million in Vietnam over the next three years to build new infrastructure, create jobs, develop strong partnerships and build its brands in the country.   In the research, we found that enter to Vietnam market have it advantages and disadvantages. After we analyze, we realize that the gains of Coca-Cola is more than shortcomings after enter Vietnam. In order to overcome the shortcomings, Coca-Cola needs to adopt immediate solution and effective strategies in order to strengthen their market position in Vietnam.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Human Evolution :: The Future of Human Evolution

For centuries, man has been curious about his origins and the origins of the life surrounding him. Countless explanations have been formulated using â€Å"evidence† that â€Å"proves† the story to be true. However, in 1859, Charles Darwin published a monumental theory in his book called The Origin of Species. In his book, Darwin outlined his theory of evolution by natural selection (Darwin, 1859). Although complex, this story is extremely useful in explaining the origins and history of life as we know it. Today, however, man questions not only his past, but also his future. Based on Darwin’s theories of evolution, man can actively postulate his existence in the upcoming centuries. Do complex civilizations and advancing technologies give man the ability to outsmart evolution? Or will our technological advances doom us in the end? In order to begin to answer these questions, it is important to understand the basics about Darwin’s theories on evolution. First, Darwin stressed that populations and organisms are variable (Darwin, 1859). Without variation, evolution would not be a viable explanation for the progress of life. Although Darwin was aware that variation occurred because of his extensive observations of different populations, he was never able to pinpoint where this variation came from. The answer lies in genetic material; heritable genes play a huge role in the evolutionary process. Genes are the medium through which variation is passed down through generations and can be affected by several different forces. Mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, non-random mating, and genetic recombination are all ways in which genes can be altered within a population (Mayr, 2001). Darwin understood that organisms are variable, but for a long time he lacked a mechanism, or a driving force, of evolution. Natural selection, or a complex natural process of elimination, turned out to be one of Darwin’s most ingenious contributions to evolutionary thought (Mayr, 2001). Natural selection is the process by which genetic variation is sorted through and selected for through the organism’s ability to survive. Selection may be due to environmental conditions, competition with other species, or reproductive success. Those organisms that survive can then go on to reproduce, and their offspring then carry the successful traits.

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Essay --

The fundamental theme in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest involves society's destruction of individuality. People who refuse to conform to the social standards face ridicule and judgment. Kesey develops this theme through his use of mechanical imagery, metaphors, and symbolism. The novel takes place in a mental hospital, the narrator, Chief is a patient in the ward who suffers from vivid hallucinates. When McMurphy, a spirited character arrives at the ward he begins to question the humility of the hospital, his criticisms of the hospital spark a rebellion amongst the other patients. McMurphy teaches the others to think and speak as individuals and to be themselves despite others judgements. As Nurse Ratched sees the usually powerless patients find power in numbers she decides their leader, McMurphy must be eliminated if she wants to maintain control. She eventually has McMurphy lobotomized leaving him in a vegetable state. In the end Chief runs away fro m the hospital deciding to no longer live his life under the oppressive rule of doctors and nurses. After being inspired by McMurphy’s free thinking ways Chief decides that living a life dictated by society is not a quality life. Throughout the novel Chief continually describes the people and things around him being machines, these machines however are not real. Chief gives a disclaimer very early on â€Å"But it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen†(Kesey 8) acknowledging that the machines he describes could be results of his hallucinations. However these hallucinations are extremely relevant and should not be discounted. â€Å"Hallucinations provide metaphorical insight into the hidden realities of the hospital and should not be overlooked simply because they did n... ...to do your thing, not unless it happens to be their thing, too. It's a laugh, Goober, a fake. Don't disturb the universe, Goober, no matter what the posters say† (Cormier). Jerry is stating that it is better to fit in and conform than to rebel. Don’t disturb the flow of society. Interrupt its progress and get destroyed by its mechanical properties. Jerry and McMurphy were both different, they never fit in with others around them. In the end Jerry and McMurphy paid ultimate the price. If you disturb the way society works you must face the consequences. The combine wants everyone to fit in and play a specific part. Power figures like Nurse Ratched are there to enforce the rules. Society could stop this destruction but taking a stand against the machine is difficult when done alone. In conclusion the destructive tendencies of society is a tragic part of everyday life.

Friday, August 2, 2019

Brian Friels Translations Essay -- Friel Translations Essays

Brian Friel's "Translations" 'Translations', by Brian Friel, presents us with an idyllic rural community turned on its head as the result of the recording and translation of place names into English; an action which is at first sight purely administrative. In Act 1 of the play, Friel brings together the inhabitants of this quaint Irish village in what can only be described as a gathering of minds - minds which study the classics, yet minds which study dead languages. In the same way, while this community is rich in culture and togetherness, it is also trapped in what is later described as a "contour which no longer matches the landscape ofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦fact". Thus, in expressing his ambivalence, Friel presents the reader with a question - is Baile Beag an intellectual Irish Arcadia? There is no denying that Baile Beag is an intellectual community. At the beginning of the play, Jimmy Jack Cassie, one of the central characters, is in the process of reading Joyce's 'Ulysses'. He is capable of reading the text fluently and understands it, despite it being in another language (although he later reveals that, while he is fluent in Latin and Greek, he knows only one word of English). He even relates his own life to that of characters in the book, posing the question, "if you had the picking between them [Athene, Artemis & Helen of Troy], which would you take?". Furthermore, he even goes so far as to associate the smoke described within the pages of the text to the turf smoke which he believes has turned his hair flaxen. Hugh, the teacher in charge of the running of the hedge-school, is also an intellectual. While one could argue that he displays pomposity (his long, drawn out sentences result in him never rememberi... ...g is not what one would describe as a predominantly intellectual community. Furthermore, while Baile Beag is a place rich in community and in culture, a sense of threat and danger undercuts this. For, you see, Friel presents us with a society that teeters on a knife-edge; a people that live in constant fear of rural collapse and the horrendous poverty which would inevitably follow. Exacerbating the relentless grip which this fear has on people's lives is the prospect of the collapse of the Irish language at the hands of the national school, and the potential cultural and linguistic erosion as the result of the remapping of Ireland by imperial forces (although it is unlikely that the people of Baile Beag were aware of this erosion until it occurred). Therefore, while Baile Beag may be a relatively intellectual community, it is in no way an idyllic Arcadia.

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Obstacles Teachers May Face Essay

In any education setting, teachers will come across a wide variety of obstacles throughout their career. These obstacles will differ in each and every classroom, depending on students’ social, cultural and ethnic background. It is vitally important as a teacher to overcome these obstacles to ensure that the students within your class are able to gain the highest possible outcomes, a quality education and enjoyment from their schooling. Some of the many obstacles that a teacher may face in a classroom setting include development abilities both academically and socially, behaviour problems and unmotivated students. Students can differ from one another in several aspects, including age, mental ability, personal achievement, ethnic background, psychosocial development and cognitive development. These differences can affect how classroom learning happens (Snowman & Biheler, 2003). Children develop at different rates this is usually a result of different measures of intelligence, social interaction with peers and personal development. Whether it is physical, mental or emotional each student will differ, and this will also depend on their up bringing, prior knowledge, family circumstances and innate knowledge. Social and emotional development problems will result in the student finding it hard to create relationships and develop learning skills with his or her peers and educators. Intellectual development, communication and speech difficulties will affect student’s concentration, memory, communication and understandings of certain tasks (BTEC First Children’s care, n. d). As a result of children developing differentl, it is vitally important for educators to track and maintain an understanding of how each student is progressing through out the year, this will result in not only being of benefit for the student but also the teacher. According to Vygotsky, for the curriculum to be developmentally appropriate, the teacher must plan activities that encompass not only what children are capable of doing on their own but what they can learn with the help of others in group settings (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). Therefore, by creating learning activities that are in learners’ zones of proximal development, and providing instructional scaffolding to support learning and development will accommodate the children by helping them gain a better understanding of the task at hand (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). In saying this, this will ensure that the ducator is working to their full potential and ensuring that the students are getting the highest quality education. Positive reinforcement is the process of increasing the frequency or duration of a behaviour as the result of presenting a reinforcer. Therefore, offering positive reinforcement will increase and maintain the probability that a particular behaviour will be repeated. There are many different types of reinforcers that can be used to increase behaviours, but it is significant to note that the type of reinforcer used depends on the individual and the situation. While gold stars and tokens might be very effective reinforcement for a second-grader, they are not going to have the same effect with a high school or college student (Cherry, n. d). Also, if your students finish their work on time and have been successfully completing their work you may give them an early mark for lunch play, the students will eventually come to understand that finishing their work on time results in a rewards, therefore they will continue this behaviour. We all apply reinforcers everyday, most of the time without even realising we are doing it. You may tell your child â€Å"good job† after he or she cleans their room; all of these things increase the probability that the same response will be repeated. Students may find tasks hard to complete at school and want to give up, by giving them positive reinforcement twill encourage them to want to keep going. Students are more likely to be motivated to learn if they are positively reinforced for completing a project or task (Snowman & Biehler, 2003). Having a positive attitude as an educator and constant positive feedback also encourages students to feel secure in their learning environment. It can also be used to adjust behavioural issues, whilst punishment and negative reinforcement decreases unacceptable behaviour, it doesn’t teach desirable ones, in saying this; it means that positive reinforcement is more effective. However punishment is sometimes required in some circumstances, as when all forms of punishment is removed it can cause the class to become more disruptive. Research has found that some types of punishers are more affective these include; desists, timeout or detention (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). Skinner believed that peoples innate needs, wants and desires can be avoided, as they alter their current behaviour according to what has happened to them due to the previous consequences of their past behaviour. He called this approach operant conditioning he identified three types of responses or operant that can follow behaviours, these include; Neutral operants, reinforcers and punishers (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). Not sure of the reference? Having unmotivated students in the classroom can make it difficult due to the fact that other students may get distracted and lose focus. Unmotivated students have the ability to disrupt other students that can have a detrimental affect on the entire classroom and overpower teacher’s capabilities. There are many factors relating to the cause of unmotivated students in the classroom. These include behavioural issues and cognitive development. Students with learning difficulties may feel lost and confused by what is being taught and therefore give up on listening and trying. It is important to identify these students and put in place the appropriate means necessary to ensure that these students are understanding and motivated. Motivation is often classed in two different categories; extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation the difference being; extrinsic motivation is to engage in an activity as a means to and end. And intrinsic motivation is to be involved in an activity for its own sake. Eggen & Kauchak, 2010) Motivation is working towards maintaining and sustaining our efforts to reach a particular goal (Snowman & Biehler, 2003). In some classroom settings children display inappropriate or problem behaviours which can make it difficult for themselves and the students around them to learn, and also isolate the child from his or her peers (Child Study Centre, 2002). Therefore it is crucial as an educator to establish and maintain a classroom environment that will motivate students to learn. Having motivation to learn is essential for students to become successful in their learning. It is vital that students set both academic and social goals to work towards to ensure that both the student and the teachers are driving towards the same goal. According to Eggen and Kauchak (2010) motivated students have positive attitudes towards school, they describe school as satisfying, persist on difficult tasks and cause fewer behaviour management problems, process information in depth and excel in classroom learning experiences (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). By creating a positive learning environment within the classroom, students will be encouraged to achieve and set learning goals to attain higher results. In a positive learning environment students feel secure and as a result are more willing to take risks with their learning. A classroom performance goal structure is characterised by the teacher emphasising student performance relative to normative standards rather than relative to the student’s prior performance. Features of this structure are the teacher’s provision of more public versus private performance feedback, and the valuation of correct answers over effort and learning (Hughes. , Wu & West, 2011). Through incorporating student’s interest into the lesson, relating lessons to real life and matching students abilities will help to motivate the students to strive for better results and develop a love of learning. Motivation within the classroom and a child’s need to succeed in their academic life is based on â€Å"Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs based on two groupings: deficiency needs and growth needs. Within the deficiency needs, each lower need must be met before moving to the next higher level. Once each of these needs has been satisfied, if at some future time a deficiency is detected, the individual will act to remove the deficiency† (Huitt, 2007). In conclusion, obstacles that teachers will face throughout their career are respective to each individual child and their differences when it comes to developmental ability, motivation and behavioural issues. Ongoing professional development is a necessary component in ensuring that an educator is properly trained in all areas. This will ensure that educator’s feel confident when an obstacle arises and the skills to be able to deal and respond to any given situation.. Therefore, incorporating a safe and happy classroom environment, ongoing professional development, understanding each individual child’s needs and backgrounds and motivating students will help overcome some obstacles that a teacher may face.

How can we overcome the limitations of financial statements?

Financial statements are an important source of information to multiple groups of people. These people may belong within the organization or they may be outsiders. The internal users of financial statement include managers, financial analysts, CFOs and accountants. Whereas external users may include government agencies, such as tax agencies and the securities and exchange commission, financial consultants, investors, creditors, etc. Now there are certain limitations that financial statements have, and this may cause problems in making intra and inter-company comparisons. In order to minimize or overcome the short-comings of financial statements investors, accountants, CFOs have all developed different analytical tools and techniques. For internal users, especially managers, performance measures have played a significant role in minimizing the effects of these limitations. Analysts now use tools that aid in valuing company’s performance beyond financial results, bringing factors like leadership, patents, specialized workforce, brands and human resources into the picture. Technology has removed a lot of barriers, especially with respect to finance, as companies today are also implementing financial data warehouses the use of which makes it a lot easier for organizations and individuals to make decisions that are logical and in most cases correct. Moreover, some companies are also voluntarily disclosing information about their strategy, key success factors and their management objectives in supplements to their financial statements. This gives the investors, creditors, and other external users of financial statements more of an idea of what the firm is about and where it may be standing in a couple of years from now. REFERENCE Helfert, Erich A. (2001). Financial Analysis Tools and Techniques: A Guide For Managers. McGraw-Hill. Â