A Best Friend free essay sample

The day we met was way back In time, And our friendship has lasted from that day on. A friendship like ours Is hard to find, And sometimes It could take a Lifetime to find that one true friend Who would be by your side when times get too hard to face all alone. I never would have known we could grow together so close. Most friendships can end in a turn of a knob or a tick of a clock, But ours has lasted throughout the hard times we have had. We fought about things that could have Just passed by, But after the hard time we always ended up on each others side.Our friendship has lasted through thick and thin. The last time we said good-bye I thought it was the end, But God keeps bringing us back together because he knows That our friendship is too strong to let us move on. We will write a custom essay sample on A Best Friend or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He knows no one deserves to be alone. Thats why we have each other, to help us through these lonely times. I was lost all those times we were split apart By things that shouldnt have been, I am so lucky to have you, because I love you And youre my best friend until the end, And you can always count on me because Ill be here for you When all the good doors begin to close, Because thats what a best friend is for! A Best Friend free essay sample The day we met was way back in time, And our friendship has lasted from that day on. A friendship like ours is hard to find, And sometimes it could take a lifetime to find that one true friend Who would be by your side when times get too hard to face all alone. I never would have known we could grow together so close. Most friendships can end in a turn of a knob or a tick of a clock, But ours has lasted throughout the hard times we have had. We fought about things that could have Just passed by, But after the hard time we always ended up on each others side.Our friendship has lasted through thick and thin. The last time we said good-bye I thought It was the end, But God keeps bringing us back together because he knows That our friendship is too strong to let us move on. We will write a custom essay sample on A Best Friend or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He knows no one deserves to be alone. Thats why we have each other, to help us through these lonely times. I was lost all those times we were split apart By things that shouldnt have been, I am so lucky to have you, because I love you And youre my best friend until the end, And you can always count on me because Ill be here for you When all the good doors begin to close, Because thats what a best friend is for! A Best Friend free essay sample A best friend is someone who is there for you. My Nana was my best friend, but she died this summer on Friday, July thirteenth. Losing someone close to you is extremely hard, especially when they live with you and you see them everyday. A day without my Nana is like a day without the sun, dark and gray. My Nana, Nancy Carolyn DiNardo was the best friend anyone could have ever asked for. She had a baby doll face with gorgeous deep sea blue eyes, beautiful beach blond hair, and a smile to die for. I miss seeing her precious face and warm smile everyday. She was always there for me. We did so many adventurous and exciting things together for the brief twelve years I knew her. For example, when I was four years old my mom used to work late. My Nana use to baby-sit me. We played dolls, watched movies, played outside, and we did whatever I wanted to do. We will write a custom essay sample on A Best Friend or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page My Nana made me smile when all I wanted to do was cry, and she made me laugh a lot too. One time, when my best friend Rebecca moved away from Easton I was so upset. My eyes were bloodshot red, and the warm sticky tears rapidly raced down my face and trickled gently down the bottom of my chin. My grandmother helped me look at the positives and not look at the negatives and she brightened up my day. Also when I got a low grade on my science test she helped me study for all the rest of the tests I had in that class. The day my Nana died was the worst day of my life. It was a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon in July. The bees buzzed and the flowers bloomed, and my sister, Cassie and I went for a long bike ride. When we came inside drenched in sweat the phone rang. I ran up the front stairs to grab it. That was the worst phone call I had ever gotten, it made me heart shatter into a million pieces. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to die. My Aunt Jan called from St. Vincent’s Hospital, the hospital my nana was in for twenty-seven days, and she was extremely sick. I answered the phone and heard loud sobbing; I didn’t know who was on the phone, until my aunt said it was her. My aunt told me to say goodbye to my Nana and whatever else I wanted her to know because she was going to heaven. As soon as she said those words my mouth dropped open in the shape of a doughnut, and I no longer had the ability to speak. My stomach got all knotted up and my head was th robbing. I started shivering and crying and then I knew I had to say something to my Nana very quickly before she left this world. The last thing I said to my Nana was Never forget me because I love you so much, and I am going to miss you more than you could ever imagine, and then I said goodbye, I love you. I moved slower than a turtle and handed the phone to my sister as she said goodbye. I couldn’t look at her. Her innocent face made everything worse because I knew she didn’t know what was going on, and in a short time after she hung up the phone my Nana would be dead and nothing would be the same, ever. I still feel like this whole summer has been the worst nightmare I have ever had. I want someone to wake me up, and for this pain to just go away. I never did have a chance to actually say goodbye to my Nana when she could understand what I was saying to her. When I said goodbye over the phone she was too sick to understand what I said. The day she left our house and went in the ambulance to the hospital I never thought in a million years she would die, but I guess I was wrong. I sadly learned that after twenty-seven long hard days of not knowing anything, or what felt like nothing to me and the rest of my family. I remember my Nana being carried out of our living room on a long, white, metal stretcher in so much pain. As they got her situated in the ambulance I was upstairs getting my dog, Sparky inside and then the ambulance was gone, on its way to the hospital. My parents went to the hospital after that and I babysat my sister that whole afternoon, until Amie, my grandmother cam e to pick us up. We always had Sunday dinners at her house with my nana and now just sitting in my chair staring at her empty seat makes me want to run and hide, I feel isolated from the world. Without her there, there is a piece missing from my heart and soul. July nineteenth and twentieth were two very hard days as well. They were the wake and funeral. The wake was very sad, and every time anyone said something to me I cried, I couldn’t handle hearing anything that made me think of my Nana. A lot of people loved my nana and came to the wake because she was such a great person, and once you get to know her you just love her. The morning of the funeral we drove to Roberto’s and waited for the limousines to pick us up and drive us to Abriola Funeral Home. I already was feeling sick like I couldn’t move but I thought it was just nerves. We got to the funeral home and waited for everyone to get there and pray, and then we were off to the church for the ceremony. Th en we went to the cemetery. After the ceremony we went back to Roberto’s and had a big lunch with family and friends. I still felt very sick and I couldn’t eat anything. I later found out I had the flu and I ended up giving it to three people that were at the funeral. In August it was my Nana’s sixty-fifth birthday and we celebrated it by going to the cemetery and crying and singing Happy Birthday together because she would have wanted everyone to be together. I still go visit the cemetery that’s about ten miles away, even though it is very tough to be there without her physically with me. Every time I arrive at the cemetery I burst out crying and can’t stop for a long time. When I hear sad songs on the radio, like When You’re Gone by Avril Lavigne or Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie or songs my nana and I used to sing that were happy and now are sad to me I feel very upset and I can’t help it, so I cry my mascara off. I wrote poems to my Nana while she was in the hospital, my favorite poem was titled My Dearest Nana, and it described the way I feel so much. I write songs dedicated to my Nana, too. Every time I see a picture of my Nana I cry my heart out especially the pictures of Nana and me because they are so special to me, and if anything ever happened to them I don’t think I would ever forgive myself for losing them. Even though it’s different now my Nana is still here with me everyday. She use to call me her dreamer and her angel, and that’s what I still try to be. I wish she could see everything that’s going on in my life, and we could talk about it like we use to do everyday when I got home from school. I think back on the past, and time is flying by really fast. I know she’s in a better place even though she’s not here with me, but I miss her, her smile, and the way she use to look at me. It is hard to go through everyday without your best friend, and I’ve learned that through this sad experience that my family and I went through over this sad summer nightmare, that tore my heart apart, and I am still trying to put all of the pieces back together.

ACT Score Percentiles and Ranks (High-Precision 2016)

ACT Score Percentiles and Ranks (High-Precision 2016) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Do you want to know your exact ACT score up to six digits of precision? Every digit can help when you want to know your exact performance. I've used real ACT data, newly released in 2016, to calculate these ultra-high-precision percentiles. What Are Percentiles for the ACT? Revisiting the Question If you'd like to review what ACT percentiles are, check outthis excellent articlethat clearly explains them.Put simply, your ACT percentile ranking lets you know how well you didcompared to other test takers. If you got a 55 percentile(sometimes spelled %ile), that means you scored better than 55% of students who tookthe ACT. Unlike test scores, your percentile is not a score out of 100. While test scores usually indicate the fraction of questions you answered correctly (for example, if you got a 90% on atest, you got 90% of questions right), a percentile shows the fraction of other test takers you beat. What Are theACT Percentile Ranges? Most charts, including ones developed directly by the ACT, only havetwo digits of precision when they give percentiles.This means that scores of 35 and 36 both map to 99th percentile, and, while a 34 maps to 98th percentile, you can't be sure whether that means 98.9 or more like 97.5. For many purposes, two digits just doesn't give you enough precision. For example, if you score a 36 on the ACT, that means you're the top test taker out of 300 students while scoring a 35 means you're the best in a group of 100 students. That's a significant difference; however, both these scores map to the 99th percentile. This means that, if you're scoring close to the top of the ACT range, having access to high precision percentiles is very helpful. Higher precision can also help students receiving less than near-perfect ACT scores. For instance, if you're trying to get into a competitive college, every percent matters, the same way a fraction of a second can determine who wins a race at sporting competitions. As an example, sayyou learn that you improved from the 60th percentile to the 61st percentile for the ACT. This doesn't tell you everything you'd like to know. Your improvementcould be a tinyjump from 60.4 to 60.5, or it could be a much more significantimprovementfrom 59.5 to 61.4. Put another way, having higher precision helps you understand your progress and achievements more. And now, here is the table, based ondata released in2016: ACT Scores and High Precision 6-Digit Percentiles ACT Composite Score Percentile 36 99.9585 35 99.6962 34 99.0642 33 98.0761 32 96.7558 31 95.1067 30 93.0592 29 90.6171 28 87.7440 27 84.3200 26 80.3561 25 75.8399 24 70.7371 23 65.1384 22 59.1688 21 52.8696 20 46.3758 19 39.8415 18 33.2960 17 26.8432 16 20.6258 15 14.7890 14 9.5555 13 5.2653 12 2.3433 0.8449 10 0.2846 9 0.1084 8 0.0451 7 0.0180 6 0.0068 5 0.0025 4 0.0007 3 0.0003 2 0.0001 1 0.0000 Methodology: How did we come up withthese percentiles? To calculate them, we usedofficial data released by the ACTthat givesthe exact number of students who earned certain scores. Using that information, we summed the exact number of students to get the percentile. Within a single score group (e.g. studentsscoring exactly a 34), we presume exactly half are above. Did you know that raisingyour ACTscore by 4points can dramatically increaseyour chances of getting into your topschool?We've written a guide onthe top 5 strategies you need tobe using to have a shot at boostingyour score. Download it for free now: Do Percentiles Change From Year to Year? Within the last three years of the ACT, from roughly January 2013 to January 2016 inclusive,the percentiles have not changed much at all. Therefore, this data can be used for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 scores. However, you shouldn't use scores much earlier than this (for example, scores from 2006) because long-term drift does affect the ACT. What’s Next? Want to start prepping for the ACT but aren't sure where to start? Check out these 5 tips on preparing for the ACT. Is there a particular ACT section that's giving you more trouble than the rest? We can help! Check out our section-specific guides to ACT Math, Reading, English, and Science. Aiming for a top score? Read this guide, written by a perfect-scorer, to learn how to get a perfect 36 on the ACT.

Money as a motivator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Money as a motivator - Essay Example That is why the successful organizations specializing in sales especially in direct sales apply maximum efforts to express recognition to the employees for any achievement, big or small. They know that in our overpopulated world the majority of people feel that nobody cares of them, that they are not important. And the recognition is some kind of a confirmation of their importance. Really, those who understand people usually say: "You are an especial person. You are quite another matter". I am sure, that if more companies will pay more attention to expression of gratitude to the employees, and not only to those who are engaged in sales, but also to secretaries and attendants, that will lead to improbable rise of productivity. 2. Feeling of victory. This is one of the best motivators. If you should fell an inclination to something, let will be inclination to victory, to winning. There are millionaires who work for ten - twelve hours a day, making more millions. And this is not because money is necessary for them. They do that for the feeling of pleasure that "victories" brings. Money is not a big stimulus for them: they already have a lot of money. They need that heady feeling which is got with a victory. Jim Rohn writes: "Usually right after my seminar, somebody comes up to me and says: Mr. Rohn, if had one million dollars I would not work even a day in the rest life. That is why God makes so that people, who say such things, never will grow rich. They will pay for that." (Rohn 1996) 3. Family. Some people will make more for their dearest than for themselves. One man set a goal to earn one quarter of a million a year in order to organise a world tour for his family. The people with so deep feeling of love are very happy. 4. Charity. This is the fourth great motivator.When a great steel magnate Andrew Carnegie died the yellow piece of paper was found in his desk On this narrow piece of the paper, of the time of Carnegies' twenties, there was the main goal of his life written by him: " I am going to spend a first half of my life for saving up money. I want to devote the second half of my life to give out all this money". Carnegie was so inspired with this goal that saved up a private means of 450 million dollars (that is equivalent to 4,5 billion dollars now!) and really, in last period of the life he felt pleasure giving out all this money. (Rohn 1996) Speaking about one of the most important elements of working process, employees admit that compensation itself is not a motivator. The quality of work is a motivator that enkindles enthusiasm. In order to obtain the employee's opinion different interrogations are held in different countries of the world. As the results of new interrogation show, the good wages and safety of work is what people pay attention choosing the employer, but if you want to keep the motivation of employees in your case the work will be the key factor holding them in your company. Last interrogation of the international scale carried out by Investors in People (IiP)/NOP in which 1911 respondent from the Great Britain participated, shown that

Monetary policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Monetary policy - Assignment Example FED â€Å"targets† the fed funds rate means, that the Fed uses reserves changes to affect the federal funds rate. This is because Fed considers that this rate is closely related to economic activities than the T-bill rate, prime rates, discount rates, or mortgage rate. The yields curve is a plain illustration of the relationship between the interest rate paid by a bond and the time of maturity of the bond. A traditional yield curve is shaped by future path expectations of short-term interest rates as well as uncertainty concerning the path. The expression MV=PQ is significant to the economists in helping them to explain what might occur when policies of the Fed on progressively printing money is thrown out, and replaced by a economical scheme of dollar-in, dollar-out turn out. The Fed balance sheet has changed in recent years in that, there were increases in the holdings of the treasury securities from 1961 to 2006, but decreased in 2007. From 2008, the holdings started increasing

Competing Values Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Competing Values Framework - Essay Example However, for successful implementation of this strategy, leaders have to do so by keeping the organizational culture in mind as well as understanding that the daily tensions that exist in the within their organization greatly affect their plans (Hartnell & Kinicki, 2011). The competing values framework comprises of these competing positive tensions, divided into four quadrants. For over 5 years of research and testing, results prove that competing values framework is a successful way of fostering good leadership, improving organizational effectiveness and promoting value creation. According to model, the four quadrants comprise of four hotly competing values within every organization which include collaborate, create, compete and control. In an organization’s limited resources including time, finances and labour, these four values really compete with each (Thakor, 2010). How effectively the leaders of the organization allocate for these resources determine their level of succe ss as business leaders. Their ability to respond to the tensions created by these competing values shapes the organization’s culture, practices, products and its efficiency in growing its operations (Rai, 2011). AÂ   Competing Values Framework Questionnaire developed for this purpose measures three important organizational aspects; purposes, people and practices. Purpose measures the future outcomes that a company hopes to achieve in future, practices measures the current organizational practices while people determine the individual leadership approach.... Their ability to respond to the tensions created by these competing values shapes the organization’s culture, practices, products and its efficiency in growing its operations (Rai, 2011). A Â  Competing Values Framework Questionnaire developed for this purpose measures three important organizational aspects; purposes, people and practices. Purpose measures the future outcomes that a company hopes to achieve in future, practices measures the current organizational practices while people determine the individual leadership approach of all members of the organization in their respective capacities (Moore, Kizer, & Jeon, 2011). According to Sharimllah et al (2011),the developers of the model urge business leaders to use the CVF model in measuring their level of effectiveness. Although there are different ways of defining organizational effectiveness as the competitive value model points out, companies ought to align themselves in the right definition of effectiveness. After align ing themselves, companies can thereby find an innovative potential in achieving their desired growth and outcomes. There are two ways of measuring the competing values assessment. One is at the individual level and the other at the team level. Individually, assessment focuses on the personal development and career planning ability while at the team level assessment focuses on the team development and creating a shared vision and shared valued among the group members. The initial step in competitive value framework is completion of the competing value assessment, which takes place either by the entire organizational members or by strategic business units. After

Effect of Organisational Culture on Customer Satisfaction

Effect of Organisational Culture on Customer Satisfaction Researches by some academics have made it known that a companys culture is closely linked to its effectiveness and efficiency (Kotter Heskett, 1992). In addition, according to (Morgeson, Krishnan, 2006) customer satisfaction is an increasingly significant factor of an effective organization in todays competitive business setting. Prospects arising from increase in globalization by companies, advancement in technology, and outsourcing have meant that companies are increasingly turning their attention to laying greater emphasis on customer service across national borders in order to reduce costs, while at the same time trying to increase customer user-friendliness through day-to-day activities of the firm. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE (Shein 1996), defined culture as: a pattern of basic assumptions that a group has invented, discovered or developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, and that have worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. Other shared definitions by learned scholars refer to organisational culture as pattern of shared values and beliefs that help individuals understand organizational functioning and thus provide them with the norms for behavior in the organization(Deshpande and Webster 1989), a set of cognitions shared by members of a social unit (OReilly et al., 1991). According to (Laurie 2008), organisational culture is a combination of traditions, values, policies, beliefs, and attitude that establishes a general framework for everything done in an organisation. It can also refer to the form of beliefs, values, and ways of managing experience that have developed during the course of the organisations history, and becomes noticeable in its material arrangements and the behaviour of its members. (Brown 1998). (Gupta 2009), in his write up, opined that organisational culture is a set of unwritten rules meant to guide the employees towards an standardardised and rewarding behaviour. TYPES AND MODELS OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE In order to appreciate the incorporation of organisational culture, it is very important to examine and search for different models to improve the understanding of the concept of organizational culture. I. Scheins Three Layer Organizational Model These three layers as explained by (Shein 1996) below are stages of organisational culture that should be categorized carefully with the purpose of avoiding any theoretical misperception. Artefacts and Creations the Artefact and Creation layer is the observable stage of corporate culture, it includes the social environment. Usually researchers study the artistic productions, technological output, physical space in the artefacts and Creations stage. Values usually values symbolize the significant things for individuals, they are affective wants or needs and conscious. The existence of values is very important for the organization in order to function competently and share ideals among staff. Basic Assumptions a specific group of individuals study how to manage and handle the difficulties of internal integration and external adaptation through developing and discovering the assumptions. II. Denisons Effectiveness and Culture Model The effectiveness and culture model for (Denison 1990) represents the relationship between management, corporate culture, effectiveness and finally the performance of the organization. This model is equipped to stress the important association in management practices with the beliefs and principles when examining the effectiveness and culture of the organization and its performance. Involvement this feature includes constructing the individual ability, responsibility, duty and ownership. Corporate culture is described as highly involved strongly support participation and generate a sense of responsibility. Adaptability the adaptability feature means translating the environmental business demands into action. Consistency is the vital source of power, course, formation and integration. Mission -is the long-term trend for the corporation. According to (Laurie 2008) organisational culture can be grouped into four main classes namely power culture, role culture, task culture, and person culture. Power Culture- entirely dependent on central power source and control is excercised by key individuals. Role Culture this type of culture is characretised by bureacracy and is based on rationalisation of all aspects of the organisation with role and job description more important than the individual. Emphasis is laid on position as the main source of power. Task Culture job or project oriented. Person Culture here, the individual is the central focus and every resource available is there to serve the individuals within it. (Laurie 2008). The type of culture inherent in an organisation may be decisive for organisations ability to serve its customers effectively. For example, organisations with a culture with respect for the interest of people value their members by displaying concern for their well-being, growth, and development and lay emphasis on the need for cooperation. Such a culture is more effective than one that emphasizes power, control. (Gupta 2009) went further by suggest the existence of two levels in organisational culture; The visible aspect of the organization which he said is reflected in artifacts, symbols and visible behavior of employees, and the hidden aspect which is related to fundamental values and assumptions that employees make regarding the acceptable and unacceptable behaviors in the organisation. Organisational culture in its entirety consists of traditions, values, norms and physical signs (artefacts) of organisation members and their activities. Practically speaking, the members of an organisation will eventually come to understand the particular culture of their organisation. Then, although the culture is one of those factors that are difficult to express definitely, nevertheless everyone knows it when they sense it. Hidden rules and assumptions become an organisational culture as these rules are implemented over time. A strong culture shapes the behaviour pattern members of the organisation in the absence of policies, procedures or advice from supervisors and managers. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Satisfaction is a general customer attitude by a consumer towards a service provider and an emotional reaction to the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive in terms of service and or product. When customers are satisfied, they are more likely to return, while dissatisfied customers are more likely to go elsewhere (Levesque and McDougall, 1996, Zineldin, 2000). Customer satisfaction is an important constituent of a successful and thriving organization and can be directly associated to increased profit margins and greater employee satisfaction, customer retention, and repeat purchases to organisations that consider customer satisfaction a key factor in its marketing strategy. An organizations social setting-whether it is called culture or climate-is an important driver of customer satisfaction. As stated by, (Ferris et al., 1998) organizational climate can facilitate a positive relationship between human resource practices and customer satisfaction, support ing a social context model for predicting customer satisfaction. Against this background, this paper aims to explore the way organisational culture affects customer satisfaction in the automobile industry setting, based on the general perceptions of front-line employees. However, according to Darby et al.s (1997) the customer service positioning show a positive relationship with different procedures of measuring customer satisfaction, and consequently it is assumed in this paper that the degree to which front-line employees are oriented towards customer satisfaction is an revealing measure of customer satisfaction. (Schneider et al., 1998) reiterated that there are different dimensions to employees understanding of the appropriate form of organisational culture, based on whether they are managers or not. Such differences in perception are linked to their different positions within the organisation. In addition, since the front-line employees (managers) deal with more pressure, managerial demands, and are responsible for their subordinates, they will be more likely able to understand the possible effects of organisational culture on customers. RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES After a critical analysis of the research, the following aims and objectives established for this research are: To analyse the effect of organisational culture on the effectiveness of the organisation. To study the organisational culture of Ford Motors. To understand the relationship between Ford Motors organisational culture and customer satisfaction. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Does organisational culture have any effect on customer satisfaction? What sort of corporate culture does Ford Motors possess? What is the effect of Ford Motors organisational culture on customer satisfaction? LITERATURE REVIEW: A number of academic researchers have studied various elements of organizational culture and customers satisfaction. However, only a few experimental studies have studied the link between the characteristics of an organizations work environment (organisational culture) and this important aspect of organizational effectiveness (customer satisfaction) e.g., Conrad, Brown, Harmon, 1997. Most of the studies that have observed this impact have focused on the relationship between service-oriented climates and customer satisfaction. These studies, while making a very important contribution, have lean towards emphasising on the impact of a climate for service or service climate on customer satisfaction. In doing so, they may run the risk of neglecting some general organizational characteristics that can affect a wider range of organizational outcomes. Starkey and Woodcock (2002) opined that organizations that are less customer oriented are more likely to perform poorly in terms of sales output as against those that are customer oriented. To survive in the highly competitive automobile markets, organisations need to provide products and services that will produce highly satisfied and loyal customers (Westbrook and Oliver, 1991). According to (Asif and Sargeant, 2000), several benefits accrue to the organisation via customer loyalty such as generation of profit, costs related to promotions, advertising, start-up costs are limited. More so, chances of increase in customers will be high, as satisfied customers will recommend the organisations products and services to others. As a result, customer satisfaction can be the key factor to the growth of the business, in term of market share and profit. A popular supposition about the role of organizational culture as it relates to customer satisfaction is that if an organization possesses a strong culture by demonstrating that it has a well-integrated and effective set of defined values, beliefs, and behaviors, then it will achieve a higher level of efficiency. Curry and Kkolou (2004) identify customer focus, participation, and teamwork as important cultural issues influencing customer relations outcomes. They suggested that empowering employees to excel at customer service and ensuring their job security also contribute to customer relation success. According to (Deshpandà © 1999), investigation into market orientation suggests that the existence of an innovative and entrepreneurial culture is strongly associated with exceptional business performance. Collectively, these reports suggest that an organizational culture that puts more importance on customer-oriented behaviours, cross-functional teams, performance-based rewards, adjustment and reactive attitudes to change, and a higher degree of risk taking and improvement, is likely to contribute to have successful customer relations management system implementations. Every organisation has to face the task of ascertaining the critical factors in their organisational culture that will ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty (McDougall and Levesque, 1992). For all these reasons, customers perception of the service experience is frequently the only way accurately to estimate quality level of services and product provided. Within many organizations, identifying these issues may be easy or complex depending on the type of culture involved. In either case, the development of a fitting solution is difficult and the application and maintenance on a long run complex, time-consuming and costly. However, an effective organizational culture is one of the key components influencing an organizations capacity to elicit customer satisfaction and to thrive in the long term. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Research methodology is basically the procedures and processes of collecting and analysing data. There are two types of research methodology positivist and interpretive. In this study, we would use positivist approach in order to collect and analyse data. According to Comte (1971), researchers that demonstrate the use of real life, data is known as positivist approach. Conversely, when researchers have a set of assumption about the outcome of the research, it is known to use interpretive approach (Malhotra 2003). As mentioned in the objectives, we aim to find the effect of organisational culture on the effectiveness of the organization and to do so, we would have to use factual data from Ford motors, and therefore, positivist approach will be used in this study. Research Strategy According to Brymen and Bell (2007:135), a researcher can follow five research strategies in conducting his research. They are: 1) longitudinal 2) experimental 3) cross sectional 4) case study and 5) comparative. For this study, case study approach will be used in order to accomplish the research objective. This is because the effect of organisational culture would be analysed in this research in order to figure out its effect on the customer relations of the company. Research Approach A set of methods researchers use in order to achieve the concluding remark on the research objective of the subject matter is known as research approach. According to Saunders (2003), there are two types of research approaches available to conduct a research and they are Inductive and deductive approach Deductive approach is mostly used when researchers needs to find a causal relationship between the variables while inductive approach is a widely used method for qualitative researches. Since the primary aim of this research is to find out the effect of organisational culture on customer satisfaction, the researcher will employ inductive approach for the research. RESEARCH METHOD: Different types of primary and secondary sources would be used in order to collect data regarding organizational culture and customer satisfaction. Primary Data is the vital data gathered by researchers via interviews, surveys or questionnaires (Anderson 2005). In this report, interviews and questionnaire will be used to provide the study a better understanding of corporate culture and the financial performance from all level of employees. The source that will be used in primary data is a survey and separate interview sessions with managers, executives and even temporary employees in Ford Motors. Secondary Data: Secondary data will be collected through researchers who are conducting the research. This data will be sourced from many departments and the web site in Zain Company, along with published and academic journals, articles, books, online resources and many other data from previous authors. Interviews: Interview is one of the most effective ways of conducting qualitative research. In this study, interviewing method will acquire a clear knowledge about the organisational culture of Ford Motors. There are many types of interviews such as structured, semi structured, focused group, in depth and so on. In this study, semi structured interview will be used since it is well known method to clear the doubts and misunderstandings that might arise from the interviews. It should be mentioned here that the primary feature of semi structured interview is flexibility from both interviewees and interviewers side. ANTICIPATED METHOD OF ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS: Data Analyses This study will involve both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques in order to establish its objectives. A qualitative approach will be used while in order to demonstrate the relationship between organisational culture and overall performance of the company. Conversely, quantitative approach will be adopted to create a relationship between organisational culture and customer satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This research will focus on the organisational culture factors inherent in Ford Motors and the individual effects these factors have on customer satisfaction.

Armchair Economist book report Essay -- Steven Landsburg

Economic theories are as wide as an economist's vision to think. In the Steven Landsburg book The Armchair Economist - Economics and Everyday Life, Landsburg takes many of these economic theories and relates them to everyday type scenarios and makes them understandable to a beginning economist. He breaks his book into six sections each relating to different types of economics, from personal to national theories. Landsburg talks about the power of incentives in his first chapter. What he is referring to is how incentives drive peoples decisions to do things in life. He makes an analogy that Seatbelts kill. This statement refers to the added protection one gets from wearing a seatbelt, which will entice someone to take greater risks while driving a vehicle. We as consumers are bombarded with incentives everyday in the market place. Incentives, come in all forms, sale prices, free-bees, coupons. Incentives are designed to make you do something NOW instead of putting it of until later. Incentives are not always a good thing, such as in today?s housing market. Homebuyers were offered sub-prime and zero percent interest rates to purchase homes. This allow buyers to buy a bit more home than maybe they were qualified to get. Buyers made these decisions at the time because they looked safe, but in the long run many of these buyers have had to give up these homes due to bank foreclosure. Landsburg also talks about maximizing our efficiencies. He relates this theory into an idea of why Rolling Stones concerts always sell out. Is it because they play good music? Maybe. Most likely it is because its tickets are priced right. Pricing tickets is a theory of Supply and Dem... ... that can be manipulated or misleading. Since this is the measure of all things in the market place there are time where something will not qualify for that. For example, If my moms water heater went out, she could pay the money to have a plumber come and remove and install a new one. The money spent on that would increase GNP. On the other hand if she had her husband do the work the money not being spent on the installation is not going into GNP. This is called household production, which GNP omits. > > There are many ideas and topics in Landsburgs? book that were covered throughout the semester. As you can see in just the few topics that I chose to go into economics hits everyone everyday. If we are making decisions on what to eat what to wear or how to spend our hard earned money, it all affects economics and economic effects us.

Sino Soviet Split

Communism in US was embraced as an ideology but in China it was seen as an alternative)bureaucracy, different levels of productive force, dominant role of peasantry,( in china, they had no clue, so the role of town workers and farmers in US and China) different perspective to imperialism ( when communism was instilled in SO, Stalin etc was interested in bringing about a strong US empire, so they felt that other countries should subordinate to theirs, because they feel they were the leader. US volcanically and militarily aided the countries to spread communism-China, believed strictly In sovereignty, no Interference In domestic policies.Mao received extremely Limited aid, he spread It Individually. Hence, China did not see why they should have to succumb to SUE leadership. He refused to conform. In the long march to the mountain, when he recruited and spread communism, the used the farmers, and the loyalty was instilled thru how communism could help their socio economic problem. China has plenty of cheap labor. So Mao Sedona took into account all this factors. -As a result of all the difference in ideology, dominant players, ways, what happen is that when Mao finally established communism in China, he felt independent, he did not feel obligated to SO.They did not respect US s the supreme leader of communism as opposed to Eastern European countries. Ideological – approach + practice difference ( policies headed of , 2 different directions – personality , challenges to USSR supreme leadership. Communist Crises 1) Sino soviet split 2) Chinese Economic Reforms (1978) -by 1980 china was already full on economic reform. Resulting in a major crises June 4th mass demonstration and Attainment Square massacre 1 ) agriculture and farming -leasing land to the farming, in return a fixed quota, incentive to increase farming. Decentralized party power. Province power increased to make decisions.Adoption of household responsibility system. 2) industry- as china be gan to reform, how are you going to measure economic efficiency? What measures were taken to modernize Industry 1) gradual approach 2) pilot project XSL Chuan, starting with the smaller SEE, they were given autonomy. More than 6000 See's were given power. All the state Industrial, manufacturing and production of Industrial products, they were also supposed to be financially independent. They were supposed to increase the among the farmers. But the SEE failed, because of corruption, lack of training of skilled people, lack of enterprising managers. 3) open door policy 4)

Free Essays on Socrates “most Important Thing Is Not Life But The Good Life“

, the individual beliefs in what’s right and what’s wrong (just and unjust). Now, the problem is should we obey or disobey the laws that we believe is unjust? I feel we should disobey it, in a non-violent fashion. Dr. King stated â€Å"An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself†. (p. 252). Even though, laws are meant to put a social order in life some laws may apply to degrade some individuals or groups, and if a law applies in inferiority then it should be disobeyed. I believe Socrates beliefs in a â€Å"good life† were right and he send was a good example. Socrates questioned society, the gods, and the laws of his civilization and for his questionings he was sentence a death penalty. In the dialogue of Crito, Socrates went on into explaining why he wouldn’t escape from jail. Socrates stated, â€Å"for anyone who destroys the laws could easily be thought to corrupt the young and the ignorant†. (p. 55). He believed that running away would give influence society that he was really an ignorant person and was really corrupting the you... Free Essays on Socrates â€Å"most Important Thing Is Not Life But The Good Lifeâ€Å" Free Essays on Socrates â€Å"most Important Thing Is Not Life But The Good Lifeâ€Å" Socrates argues the (1981) â€Å"most important thing is not life, but the good life† (p. 50). I strongly agree with Socrates statement because I couldn’t live life oppressed forever; I’ll even sacrifice my life for a â€Å"good life† because without a â€Å"good life† it wouldn’t be worth living. Therefore, I believe in a good life as long as you fight it in a non-violent fashion just as the great Marting King Jr, and Gandhi has done. In order to live a â€Å"good life† you have to fight for it even if it means your life. History has shown it, fighting for what you believe in will get you somewhere; look at Marting Luther King Jr and Jesus Christ. To give you a better understanding of what is a â€Å"good life’, â€Å"good life† is what an individual believe what is morally correct; in other words, the individual beliefs in what’s right and what’s wrong (just and unjust). Now, the problem is should we obey or disobey the laws that we believe is unjust? I feel we should disobey it, in a non-violent fashion. Dr. King stated â€Å"An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself†. (p. 252). Even though, laws are meant to put a social order in life some laws may apply to degrade some individuals or groups, and if a law applies in inferiority then it should be disobeyed. I believe Socrates beliefs in a â€Å"good life† were right and he send was a good example. Socrates questioned society, the gods, and the laws of his civilization and for his questionings he was sentence a death penalty. In the dialogue of Crito, Socrates went on into explaining why he wouldn’t escape from jail. Socrates stated, â€Å"for anyone who destroys the laws could easily be thought to corrupt the young and the ignorant†. (p. 55). He believed that running away would give influence society that he was really an ignorant person and was really corrupting the you...

An exploration of the dark elements present in Much Ado About Nothing Essay Example

An exploration of the dark elements present in Much Ado About Nothing Essay Example An exploration of the dark elements present in Much Ado About Nothing Essay An exploration of the dark elements present in Much Ado About Nothing Essay Essay Topic: Literature Much Ado about Nothing Much Ado About Nothing is essentially a romantic comedy. One of the central themes is love and the plot centres on the characters expectations and the way in which they deal with love. Although Much Ado About Nothing is typical of many of Shakespeares romantic comedies there are dark elements, which run throughout the play. As soon as the play begins in the first scene, the reader is introduced to Don Pedro and Don John: two brothers. Don Pedro is an important nobleman from Aragon; he is socially superior to everyone else and is often referred to as Prince. Don John on the other hand is the illegitimate brother; he is often referred to as the Bastard. In Elizabethan times illegitimate children were perceived as evil, they were socially inferior as a result of the circumstances in which they were conceived. They were often seen as a representation and reminder of the sin through which they were created. Shakespeare immediately establishes a strong connection between the negative connotations and attitudes that were present in Elizabethan society at the time regarding illegitimate children and Don Johns character. He does this by ensuring that the reader notes the dark shadow that Don Johns presence casts during the otherwise happy and jovial first scene where everyone gathers to welcome Don Pedro and his men back from the war. At first during Act I Scene I there is no mention of Don John in the conversation, and there is no direct speech addressed to him. Only once Leonato has finished greeting Don Pedro and Beatrice and Benedick have exchanged wry remarks does he eventually turn to greet Don John. This implies that although Don John and Don Pedro are brothers and should be treated as equals, Don John is treated as an inferior simply because he is illegitimate. As a contrast to the jovial exchange between Leonato and Don Pedro, the exchange between Leonato and Don John is short and succinct. Don Johns reply to Leonatos greeting, Act I Scene I Lines 140-41 I thank you. I am not of many words, but I thank you. implies that he is a brooding man, that he has deep-rooted issues and troubles and is very melancholy. His disposition and nature all seem to be a result of his unfortunate background. As a result of his background Don John appears to be extremely resentful. His resentment is manifested through his actions and behaviour. Right from the beginning of the play from when we are introduced to Don John he is presented in a negative light. During Act I Scene III Don John is in the company of one of his followers and companions, Conrade. During this scene Shakespeare reveals Don Johns unpleasant nature. Conrade asks Don John why he is so miserable and dejected. Don John replies There is no measure in the occasion that breeds, therefore the sadness is without limit. Don John is telling Conrade that there is no limit to his misery. Don Johns reply indicates that he is self-indulgent, his anger and frustration at his situation has led him to become embittered. He is so self-absorbed that he refuses to let anyone talk him out of his anger. When Conrade presses him for an answer Don John replies telling him that even if there was a reason it would make no difference. Already Shakespeare is presenting Don John to the audience as an unreasonable and melancholy man who will not change for anyone. Shakespeare emphasises this aspect of Don Johns character through his next speech, where Don John professes his stubborn and insensitive character. I cannot hide what I am. I must be sad when I have cause, and smile at no mans jests; eat when I have stomach, and wait for no mans leisure; sleep when I am drowsy, and tend on no mans business; laugh when I am merry, and claw no man in is human Again Shakespeare emphasises Don Johns self-centred nature by the repetitive use of I. Conrade Don John is the antithesis of Don Pedro; he is the opposite of everything the play wants to be about. The dastardly plan to ruin Claudio and Heros wedding is as a result of his hatred for marriage, as well as his resentment towards Don Pedro and anyone who is close to him. It is the ideal of marriage that has caused him to be in his unfortunate position. The fact that he was born out of wedlock may have led him to hold a deep hatred for marriage. If there were no marriage, if marriage did not exist, he would not have to endure the ridicule and degradation that he suffers at this moment. As well as Don Johns plain dealing villain there are other elements of darkness throughout the play. Shakespeare uses the device of deception in different instances to show the reader that all is not as it seems, and often judgements made on observations are wrong. There are two main instances where the plot involves deception and deceit. Firstly there is the plot to bring Beatrice and Benedick together and second there is the more malicious plot, devised by Don John, to ruin Claudios marriage to Hero. The whole farce through which Benedick and Beatrice are eventually brought together and led to reveal their true feelings for one another is carried out using the device of deception. Although there is no malicious intent, the act of deception its self is negative as it is based on playing with peoples feelings.

Book reaction of the book Human Cargo by Caroline Moorehead Essay

Book reaction of the book Human Cargo by Caroline Moorehead - Essay Example This is a hard-hitting book which tries to illuminate these problems from the point of view of refugees, rather than from the comfortable position of the observer who is fortunate enough to have a homeland and to be settled and secure in that place. In reading this book, I was prepared to hear moving stories about individuals who had been caught up in wars, famines and disasters of all kinds. This expectation was more than met in descriptions ranging from cases of rape in Sierra Leone and Liberia, to shipwrecks on the way to Sicily. The grim and horrifying violence and lawlessness in some developing countries is clearly the cause of most large scale refugee movements and the book confirmed my view that these problems are increasing in the world, and that arrangements to care for refugees are not adequate for the volume of need that is there. What I did not expect to read about was the suffering that refugees had to endure on their journey away from horrific situations, and in camps a nd detention centers once they had arrived in places where they had hoped to find relief and a place to stay. This dimension of the book was truly shocking. Apart from highlighting the suffering of refugees, Moorhead has a secondary aim in her book, and that is to bring public attention to the way that affluent governments make the situation of refugees even worse than it already is. The book shows how throughout the twentieth century, systems and processes were invented to keep refugees out of certain countries, such as Australia, for example, and to make sure that they were locked up and kept under very close observation, as in the United Kingdom. The international laws that are designed to protect refugees seem to be very ineffective in doing exactly this. In addition to these political factors, which are no doubt driven by economic forces, since few countries want to take on the financial burden of finding homes, jobs and healthcare provision for the many hundreds of thousands o f refugees, there are also cultural factors. Thinking back over recent decades, there has been a tendency for Western Europe and North America to react to particular waves of refugees, such as the so-called Vietnamese Boat people, for example, with one-off and temporary measures. Newspapers latch on to the drama of these situations, but once the story becomes old news, the funding dries up and the problem remains. Some groups of refugees are demonized by the media, as for example in the case of the Romani people, and also Serbs, Kosovans and other Eastern European groups who were displaced in the fall of communism as small states gained independence and began to implement rules based on ethnic origin. Sadly, these trends seem to be repeated all over the world. My own reflections on this book were first a feeling of shock, since I had not realized that things were so very bad for refugees, and then some thoughts about the current situation in the United States where politicians are a rguing about what to do with the thousands of illegal immigrants who arrive from Mexico and beyond. I think the situation is more complex than it appears on the surface. Many of the people at the center of current debates in America are economic migrants, which means they are seeking better opportunities for themselves and their children. Negative attitudes against this kind of migrant spill over into negative attitudes towards refugees, who truly have no choice in the matter and are moving

Microorganism in food industry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Microorganism in food industry - Research Paper Example Understanding these will possibly lead to much of the food production processes becoming shorter and less time consuming and will lead to less waste being produced. Some examples of foods that are produced using microorganisms include wine, cheese and bread. This paper will attempt to take a look at the microorganisms used in each of these foods and attempt to explain some of the mechanisms they utilise to achieve the result that humans desire. Winemaking Yeast in Wine Wine is a popular beverage where microorganisms play an important part. Wine has been consumed by humans for thousands of years (Okamura et al,1596) and the exact science of the wine making process is still being decoded. The quality of a wine is determined by whether the taste of that wine is original, the finesse, intensity of taste and by the microbiological and physicochemical stability (Dubourdieu, 1986; Noble, 1988; Rapp and Mandery, 1986; Schreier, 1979 of Colagrande, Silva and Fumi, 2) (Refer fig1). The microbi ology behind the wine making process was only established less than 2 centuries ago by the work of Louis Pasteur (Bakalinsky and Penner, 1993 from Okamura et al,1596, Colagrande, Silva and Fumi,2). Yeasts are used extensively in wine making. There are approximately 700 species of yeast and sixteen of these species have been used in the process of making wine. These include Brettanomyces, Dekkera, Candida, Cryptococcus, Debaryomyces, Hanseniaspora, Kloeckera, Kluyveromyces, Metschnikowia, Pichia, Rhodotorula, Saccharomyces, Saccharomycodes, Schizosaccharomyces, Torulaspora and Zygosaccharomyces (Pretorius et al, 1999 of Swiegers et al, 142). Saccharomyces cerevisae is one of the most commonly used organisms for producing wine though other such as Pleurotus ostreatus, Flammulina velutipes and Agaricus blazei have recently been exploited (Okamura et al, 1596). A specific variety of grape can be exploited to produce some qualities of wines such as the distinctive smell (Dubourdieu 2000, Lambrechts and Pretorius 2000, Guth and Sies 2002, Swiegers and Pretorius 2005 of Swiegers et al, 142). Some of these distinctive volatile compounds which cause properties of a wine like smell arise from grapes. However, several are due to the action of yeast and bacteria during the production of wine. Taste is also greatly affected by the bacteria and yeast used during wine (Schreier, 1979; Simpson, 1979; Williams et al, 1989; Etievant 1991, Guth, 1998; Boulton et al, 1998; Rapp,1998; Dubourdieu, 2000; Ferreira et al, 2000; Lambrechts and Pretorius, 2000; Ribereau-Gayon et al, 2000a,b; Ortega et al, 2001; Guth and Sies, 2002 of Swiegers et al, 141). Grapes can only support the proliferation of few microorganisms (Henschke, 1997 of Swiegers et al, 142). This has been attributed mainly due to the selective pressure on the microorganisms due to the high content of sugar and the low pH of grape (Swiegers et al, 142). In addition, sulphur dioxide is usually added to the mixture during wine making and this adds even more selectivity to the microorganisms that can grow. Usually, oxidative microorganisms that may be harmful are limited due to the sulphur dioxide (Swiegers et al, 142). Once anaerobic conditions start to predominate during the winemaking process, even more microorganisms find the conditions unfavourable for growth and the production of ethanol further limits the types of microorganisms th