Friday, November 29, 2019

Is It Possible To Feel Sympathy For Macbeth Essay Example

Is It Possible To Feel Sympathy For Macbeth Paper We can take a quote from this scene where all the witches chant: Fair is foul and foul is fair, this quote IS hinting towards Macbeth future, with he quotes meaning being that things dont look the same as they actually are on the inside. In the second scene, king Duncan learns the rebels, led by traitor Thane of Castor Macdonald, has been crushed by Macbeth, Macbeth is praised for his bravery shown in this quote: for brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name, disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel this shows his bravery and loyalty, at this point he is a soldier with good intentions and no aspiration for harm. After Duncan hears this news he orders for McDonalds execution and announces Macbeth to be the new hand of Castor. Dunces condemns Macdonald by saying no more that Thane of Castor shall deceive our bosoms interest, meaning that he wont receive matters close to his heart. In scene three the witches appear and discuss putting a horrific spell on a sailor just for being rude to one of the witches, this is hinting towards the way they treat Macbeth and what Macbeth is going to be dragged into. The witches then come to Macbeth and Banana to give a prophecy in which they hail Macbeth as Thane of Glacis, Thane of Castor and King hereafter, the three witches then disappear. After, Angus and Ross tell Macbeth he is the new Thane Castor, this tells Macbeth the prophecy is true. Macbeth is very interested and tempted in the crown now we know this from this quote: Why do yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, and make me my seated heart knock at my ribs. Macbeth has just thought about killing Duncan but the thought makes him feel an odd sick feeling, his humanity provokes us to feel sympathy for Macbeth. In scene 4, King Duncan thanks Macbeth and Banana personally. You can tell that Macbeth wants the crown as he flatters Duncan as he says The service and loyalty owe in doing it, pays itself, Your highness part is to receive our duties. However Malcolm, Dunces son, is announced as the next king, you can feel sympathy for Macbeth here because what he has be en promised by the witches has been taken away from him. We will write a custom essay sample on Is It Possible To Feel Sympathy For Macbeth specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Is It Possible To Feel Sympathy For Macbeth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Is It Possible To Feel Sympathy For Macbeth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer However this quotes tells us that Macbeth wants to kill Duncan: that is a Step on which I must fall down, or else Orleans, for in my way it lies, he is saying he must either forget about his ambitions or plan to do something about the obstacles in the way of his true, his decision is made: stars hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires. He is asking God to not let anyone discover his ambitions; we lose sympathy for Macbeth at this point. In scene 5, Lady Macbeth reads a letter from Macbeth of what the witches have predicted, Lady Macbeth becomes desperate for the crown and will now stop at nothing to get it. However she doubts Machetes drive for this throne: yet I do fear thy nature. It is too full o the milk of human kindness so she decides to persuade by pouring her spirits into thing ear. When Macbeth arrives home she persuades and manipulates him into killing Duncan when he comes to spend the night at their castle. We can feel sympathy for Macbeth at this point because he has thinking about killing Duncan and he is vulnerable but Lady Macbeth causes him to change his mind. Scene 6 is a very short one in which Duncan and others arrives at Inverness and is greeted by Lady Macbeth, and flatters him by saying: all our service, in every point done twice and then double, were poor and single business to contend against those honors deep and broad wherewith Your Majesty odds our house. In scene 7 Macbeth debates with himself whether he should kill Duncan. But his wife goads him, manipulating him, she questions his manhood Was hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself. She even questions his love for her From this time, should I account thy love. Macbeth still questions himself, but she begs him to tighten his courage to the limit. Lady Macbeth his pushing and pulling at a weak and vulnerable mind, so we must feel sympathy for him. Macbeth goes ahead with the plan to murder Duncan. In conclusion, I do feel sympathy for Macbeth at some points of Act 1 u to his wife being so ruthless and his loyalty and humanity at the beginning of the Act, but I feel as though t his means hardly anything because his does think about killing Duncan and Macbeth knows what he plans to do is wrong, and fully acknowledges the future consequences. That is a Step on which must fall down, or else overlap, for in my way it lies, he is saying he must either forget about manhood Was hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself. She even Duncan. In conclusion, do feel sympathy for Macbeth at some points of Act 1 beginning of the Act, but feel as though this means hardly anything because

Monday, November 25, 2019

Reading Comprehension Checklist and Questions for Students

Reading Comprehension Checklist and Questions for Students For special education learners, the difference between reading ability and reading comprehension can be stark. Many children who fall into the category of different learners struggle at various places in the reading comprehension process. Dyslexic students have trouble reading letters and words. Other students may find summarizing what they have read to be the hard part. And yet other students- including those with ADHD or autism- may read words fluently, but be unable to make sense of the arc of a story or even a sentence. What Is Reading Comprehension? Simply, reading comprehension is the ability to learn and process information from written sources. Its primary step is decoding, which is the act of assigning sounds and meaning to letters and words. But as simple as defining reading comprehension may be, it is notoriously difficult to teach. For many students, reading will give them their first glimpse into subjective understanding, as they realize that the information that they have gleaned from a text may differ from a fellow students, or that the picture they have drawn in their minds after reading a text will be different from that of their peers. How Is Reading Comprehension Assessed? The most common kinds of reading comprehension tests are ones in which students read a short passage and are asked a series of questions about it. Yet, for special education students, this method is fraught with the pitfalls outlined above. Moving from the process of decoding text to answering questions about the text can present challenges for children who cannot jump from task to task with facility, even if they are great readers and have strong comprehension skills. Sample Questions to Ask About Reading For this reason, an oral exam may bear more fruit than a standard written reading comprehension test. Heres a checklist of questions to ask a child about a book shes read. Their answers will provide you with a glimpse of their ability to comprehend. Consider these questions: 1.____ Who are the main characters in your story? 2.____ Are any of the main characters like you or like somebody you know? What makes you think so? 3.____ Describe your favorite character in the story and tell me why the character is your favorite. 4.____ When do you think the story takes place? Where do you think the story takes place? Why do you think so?   5.____ What is the funniest/scariest/best part of the story? 6.____ Is there a problem in this story? If so, how does the problem get solved? How would you have solved the problem? 7.____ Would any of your friends/family enjoy this book? Why or why not? 8.____ Could you come up with another good title for this book? What would it be? 9.____ What if you could change the ending of this book, what would it be? 10.____ Do you think this book would make a good movie? Why or why not? Questions like these are a great tool to incorporate into story time. If a parent volunteer or a student is reading to the class, have them ask one or more of them. Keep a folder with these questions and have your volunteers record what the students say about the book title theyve just read. The key to success in ensuring your struggling readers maintain a joy for reading is to ensure that the task following reading isnt unpleasant. Dont make answering a series of questions a chore that follows a fun or exciting story. Foster a love of reading by sharing your enthusiasm about what their book is all about.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Accounting Is Important For Growth Sustainabilityâ€Free Samples

Accounting is very important for the growth and sustainability of both old as well as new businesses globally. The financial books, therefore, need to be in top shape every year in order for other activities to run smoothly and improve profitability. Moreover, proper accounting of financials of the businesses enhances the future trends of the business in terms of making decisions (Guthrie and Parker, 2014). This calls for efficient and long-term plans in terms of accounting for a business because the accounting needs are likely to increase as the business grows. In this case, the international financial reporting framework needs to be adopted because it is associated with several merits (Jorissen et al., 2017). To determine the effectiveness of financial accounting report statements in SMEs in Jaipur, India. The importance of financial accounts in the businesses cannot be underestimated. The scope of this study will be to focus on non listed private limited liability entities in the financial sector such as banks and other privately owned firms and companies. The SMEs will thus be selected from this class of businesses and their financial statements analyzed. Accurate financial reporting also gives the investors the willingness and confidence to invest in the business. Moreover, accurate finance reports lead to low costs of capital and ensure that the resources in a business are allocated wisely on the basis of economic development (Suddaby et al., 2015). This calls for the internationally recognized accounting standards to be used because they are of top quality. Another advantage of the global accounting standards in a business is that they can be shared, understood and embraced by several setters of standards globally. Although there are some domestic setters of financial standards, but they need to be in agreement with global setters. In this case, the basic theory of financial standards is not just theory but should be based on support. Since there are very many global standards which act as a financial to global accounting and auditing, the standards adopted should be able to achieve some results. Be hiring a reputable company to ta ke care of the accounting needs of a business, it could be possible to be moving in the right direction in terms of accounting. This makes it possible to fill in some gaps which exist in global accounting which could lead to enhanced business performance. There are some functions of business transactions such as payrolls and ledger books which are almost a daily part of any business (Armstrong et al., 2015). These transactions are carried out on the basis of a set routine and protocol which do not necessarily require expertise in business. In some cases, this can be very dangerous to the company because global accounting standards are very crucial in minimizing errors. In this case, a research will be carried out to determine the use of SMEs in Jaipur city in India. Lack of proper accounting in business is identified with various problems which can negatively affect the continuity and overall performance of a business. For instance, inappropriate accounting makes it difficult for a business to open operations in new markets (Guthrie and Parker, 2014). With increasing varied needs for various market segments, the financial companies face a lot of pressure in an effort to meet the clients' needs. As the shortage of labor increases, so does the companies become in need of talents for its employees. With the young generation adopting technologies, when they retire from service, it becomes important for a company to get other talented people so that they can create plans for the future business operations (Kaya and Koch, 2015). Moreover, there are challenges in creating a team of internal employees who can demonstrate leadership abilities. Such leaders are very crucial for the continuity of the business upon retirement. However, the challenges being faced by businesses in terms of financial accounting and auditing create problems. If some talented leaders would be trained, they would become experts in solving some of the problems that the business might face in the course of its operations (Van Auken and Carraher, 2013). Such motivated and talented employees who possess the best qualities for business operations can thus be an asset because they determine the way in which the customers, employees, and investors perceive the company (Leuz and Wysocki, 2016). However, if the resources are not appropriately allocated due to poor financial reporting, then it becomes difficult for the business to obtain external help in molding the team of next generation leaders who would build the reputation of the business. There are several problems which are associated with lack of proper financial accounting among the SMEs. Most of these classes of business do not adopt the international accounting standards and may mostly rely on their accountants. This could lead to improper decision making which affects the profitability of the business due to failure in meeting the requirements of the business. Another problem which emanates from improper financial reporting is that there are problems with regards to adoption of technology. Some businesses are so reluctant in coping and keeping abreast with the ever-changing trends in technology in order to meet the needs of the customers. Moreover, poor financial reporting could make it difficult to handle the expectations of the clients. This is because nearly every client expects to receive top quality services so that the problems that they are facing can be solved within a short time. It becomes wise that financial reporting companies maintain the customers who are of the same type in terms of meeting their expectations. Since there are variations and varied arguments on whether to use the qualitative or quantitative methods, this study will adopt the mixed methods. The mixed method will apply many data collection methods in terms of interviews and questionnaire surveys. This will allow the detailed investigation of financial reporting among the SMEs in India by use of several perspectives, a step which will increase the confidence of the researcher on the obtained data and results. The use of multiple sources will enhance a complete and holistic form of data collection for this research. As a result, elements of both the qualitative as well as the quantitative data collection methods will be used. This is because there is a wide range of research questions which needs to be answered to meet the requirements of this research. Some of these research questions are more of descriptive and exploratory, necessitating the use of mixed methods. More specifically, the inclusion of the qualitative aspects of data collection, will make it possible to understand the complex nature of the aspects that are being studied and hence a clear understanding. Since the accounting processes involve the human behaviors, the mixed research will help in gaining an understanding of the nature of usage of accounting information. The qualitative research will therefore use a detailed questionnaire which will have both open ended as well as closed ended questions. Therefore, the concurrent triangulation research approach will be used such that the quantitative and qualitative data collected will be analyzed separately but interpreted together. For the quantitative methodology, well structured interviews will be conducted to the same number of respondents on phone as well as face to face. This will ensure that each of the interviews will have the same set of questions. As such, comparisons between various types of SMEs will be easily made based on the aggregation of the obtained answers. In this case, all people of 18 years and above will be included in this study. This will be done in order to ensure that the perceptions of social media marketing in financial institutions were covered throughout all ages. More so, the various SMEs in Jaipur city will be interviewed in order to get their reactions and views concerning financial accounting and auditing in decision-making processes (Vander Bauwhede et al., 2015). Having identified the population, it is important for the researcher to draw a sample from the population. This sample is representative of the population being studied and hence the findings of the sample population can be interpreted on to represent the study population (Charan & Biswas, 2013). In this research, the sample size will be 150,000 SMEs in Jaipur city of India. In this study, simple random sampling technique will be used to interview respondents, answer the research questions and test the hypothesis. A pilot study will be carried out before the main study in order to determine the effectiveness of the data collection tool before the main survey. The variables in this research will be classified as dependent (that the researcher is interested in) and independent (affects the dependent variables). The dependent variables will include age, gender of the respondents. The independent variables will include the nature of the business, whether they use the standard financial accounting standards, level of effectiveness of the financial statements, nature of the business and whether they file the tax returns. Having chosen the sample for this study, forms of informed consent will be sent to the study participants electronically and by hand delivery. The purpose of the study will be explained to the participants and responses will be promised to be confidential and only compiled together with the views of other participants to make a general conclusion and recommendation. The questionnaires will be sent to the respondents via their email addresses while others will be delivered by hand by the research assistants. The participants will be asked to submit the filled questionnaires back to the researcher after three days. The responses received from the questionnaires and interviews will be entered in Microsoft excel, edited and coded as appropriate. The data will be exported into SPSS version 17 data analysis software, analyzed and data presented using descriptive statistics such as means, mode percentages, 5-likert scale and standard deviations. The summaries of the results will be visually presented in forms of tables, charts, and graphs. Moreover, multilinear regression model will be used to find out the use of financial accounting in SMEs. The responses received from the questionnaires will be entered in Microsoft excel, edited and coded as appropriate. The data will then be exported into SPSS version 17 data analysis software, analyzed and data presented using descriptive statistics such as means, mode percentages, 5-likert scale and standard deviations. The summaries of the results will be visually presented in forms of tables, charts, and graphs. Moreover, multilinear regression model will be used to find out the effectiveness of financial reporting for SMEs. While the multi-linear regression controls the effects on independent variables, it will also offer information concerning the effects of independent variables. It is expected that most of the SMEs that uses financial reporting are banks, tax authorities and some management entities. For the case of large SMEs, the financiers are the biggest users of accounting (Brouwer and Hoogendoorn, 2017). Since the directors form the majority of the shareholders of the SMEs, several sources of information are used for the purposes of decision making. In this case, the SMEs statements are expected to be the biggest source of information for the purpose of decision making. There is a likelihood of using both internal as well as external sources of financial accounting reporting standards (Valentinetti et al., 2016). Most of the tax liability by the directors of the SMEs can be estimated using financial statement. The use of mixed methods in research is associated with threats to the validity and reliability of the results obtained. For the primary data a test for validity and reliability will be conducted to find out whether the same results can be reproducible. However, for secondary data, there will be no need of carrying out the test because the data will have already been published and signed as passed in the financial statements of various SMEs. Some of the limitations of the methodology in this research will be in terms of the long time and effort required. Moreover, the research will require more resources in order to collect enough information to answer the set-out research questions. While many sources of information will be used in order to be confident with the research findings, most likely some of the information obtained might not be collaborative and hence there could be a possibility of the discrepancy of results. Most of the respondents who will be considered in this research are those who have sound business enterprises. Since some of the respondents who will be out of reach will be sent the questionnaires, there might be a possibility of bias in terms of ability to read, write or use internet services. Armstrong, C., Guay, W.R., Mehran, H. and Weber, J., 2015. The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance: A review of the evidence and the implications for banking firms and the financial services industry. Brouwer, A. and Hoogendoorn, M., 2017. The role and current status of IFRS in the completion of national accounting rules–Evidence from the Netherlands. Accounting in Europe, pp.1-13. Charan, J., & Biswas, T. (2013). How to calculate sample size for different study designs in medical research?. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 35(2), 121. Guthrie, J. and D. Parker, L., 2014. The global accounting academic: what counts!.  Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal,  27(1), pp.2-14. Jorissen, A., Britton, A., van Mourik, C., Hoogendoorn, M. and Alexander, D., 2017. International Financial Reporting and Analysis. Kaya, D. and Koch, M., 2015. Countries’ adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs)–early empirical evidence. Accounting and Business Research, 45(1), pp.93-120. Leuz, C. and Wysocki, P.D., 2016. The economics of disclosure and financial reporting regulation: Evidence and suggestions for future research. Journal of Accounting Research, 54(2), pp.525-622. Mulvey, G. J. (2015). Ethics in research. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 96(3), 477-479. Suddaby, R., Saxton, G.D. and Gunz, S., 2015. Twittering change: The institutional work of domain change in accounting expertise.  Accounting, Organizations and Society,  45, pp.52-68. Valentinetti, D., Rea, M.A. and Basile, C., 2016. Differences between national reporting practices and IFRS for SMEs presentation and disclosure requirements: Evidence from Italy. International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting, 6(2), pp.146-174. Van Auken, H. and Carraher, S., 2013. Influences on frequency of preparation of financial statements among SMEs. Journal of Innovation Management , 1(1), pp.143-157. Vander Bauwhede, H., De Meyere, M. and Van Cauwenberge, P., 2015. Financial reporting quality and the cost of debt of SMEs. Small Business Economics, 45(1), pp.149-164.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

British Petroleum Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

British Petroleum Company - Assignment Example This paper highlights that Shareholders and owners of BP have the major influence on other stakeholders and business. The cost cutting process may also be a direct result of their emphasis on reducing expenses so that profitability could be improved. Managers are the people who have been trusted with the responsibility of managing the day to day affairs of the firm. Managers of BP are persons responsible for ensuring that the manufacturing facilities at its exploration facility are in conducive form and do not pose any threat to the life of labors or others. Managers interact with the business on daily basis because managing the business is their day to day job. They also interact with other stakeholders through annual general meetings, board meetings as well as interacting with government agencies. The decisions of the managers directly affect the business and the managers as in this case. Managers decided to cost cut and reduce the expenses however; this has resulted into the significant risk issues for the firm. From this paper it is clear that employees are the individuals who work for the organization against certain wages. Employees for BP are the people who work at its exploration facilities and were hurt in different incidents due to security and risk lapses. Business partners of the firm are those firms or individuals who do business with the firm i.e. suppliers of raw material as well other material. Business partners of BP are American government, different other suppliers who have provided it resources to extract the oil from its Texas oilfield. They can influence the business and other stakeholders to the extent of their involvement in the overall affairs of the firms. In terms of safety and risk, business partners can only be limited to the installation and maintenance services provided by them.  

Monday, November 18, 2019

Do Modern Finance And Government Intervention Crash The Financial Research Paper

Do Modern Finance And Government Intervention Crash The Financial System - Research Paper Example This crisis resulted in severe issues including threat of total failure of large financial institutions, evictions, foreclosures, stock market downturns, housing market meltdowns, job terminations, and prolonged unemployment. Evidently, the 2008 global financial crisis significantly reduced the growth rate of countries worldwide and many western economies including US suffered huge net losses. A large number of business organizations went out of the business and thus many investors lost their money. Investigation reports indicate that it was the US housing bubble that led to the damage of financial institutions worldwide. Even though the US Federal government has pumped a huge volume of money into the market, the US economy has not yet completely recovered from the impacts of the crisis. This research paper will critically analyze the crash of the global financial system by referring to the book ‘Alchemists of loss: How modern finance and government intervention crashed the fin ancial system’ written by Dowd and Hutchinson. The paper will particularly evaluate whether the elements of modern finance and government intervention have played a role in crashing the financial system. An Overview of Modern Finance Emergence of floating currencies was a major event led to the development of modern finance. In 1971, Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, suspended the dollar’s convertibility into gold in order to resolve financial difficulties associated with a huge trade deficit and Vietnam War. This policy brought an end to the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates whereby capital flow from one country to another had been limited by exchange regulations. Since investing abroad was an expensive task under the Bretton Woods system, pension funds had kept their money home. According to Caldentey and Vernengo (2010), the policy amendment made the currencies floatable and entirely changed the way financial markets operate; and this change also created the need of currency hedging and resulted in the introduction of futures in financial markets. The floating exchange rates played a crucial role in the development of liberalized markets, which eliminated credit controls and promoted the entry of new lenders. Another effect of the new exchange rate system was the abolition of capital controls and this process led to a sharp appreciation of the dollar and pound. Institutions like insurance companies and pensions funds could freely move money without cross border limitations. In 1975, America introduced a financial reform to eliminate the distinction between brokers and jobbers and thereby to slash commissions. This reform gradually led a long term decline of broking revenues and widely restructured the industry. The increased need for capital forced investment banks either to make money on the stock market or to combine with commercial banks. The broadening of banking businesses resulted in more complex banking transactions and firms started to engage in more risky business ventures. In order to mitigate the growing level of business uncertainty, new forms of exchange rate risk reduction mechanisms such as options and swaps were introduced. In the w ords of Ryder, â€Å"futures, options, and swaps all have the same characteristic: a small position can lead to a much larger exposure† (cited in The Economist). In order to take advantages of the changes in global business environment resulting from globalization, creditors began to lend huge amounts of money to entrepreneurs and other

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The Play of Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon Essay Example for Free

The Play of Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon Essay The story, â€Å"Flowers for Algernon†, is one that has been written using the first person narration and makes use of progress reports hence making the reader to be part of the story an understand the story as it happens through each of the reports used (Rogers, and Daniel, 5-15). The first person technique is important in that it allows all the changes that are seen to take place in Charlie, who is the main character of the story, to be clearly visible both at an external and internal level. It is to be noted that Charlie Gordon is the center of the whole story whereby he is the main character that is subjected to a scientific experiment that is aimed at increasing his intelligence level. In addition to that, Charlie is also the author to the narratives provided through the progress reports.          The reader of this story is able to get a view of life throu8gh the eyes of Charlie who is the main narrator and character in the story ((Rogers, and Daniel, 5-15). The reader is able to understand and follow the progress and development of Charlie through the spellings and the evolution of Charlie’s syntax. The operation that Charlie undergoes fails to work and proves to be detrimental because Charlie gets to find out that his â€Å"friends† are not actually true friends. Furthermore, Charlie becomes arrogant and cannot relate to people after the experiment and his is not able to impress his family which is his true motivation.            Charlie undergoes an intelligence operation which transforms him to become more intelligent than he was before. He ends up getting a job at the bakery with the help of his uncle, Uncle Herman (Coules, Daniel, and Robert, 87). Charlie meets Gimpy, Frank Reilly and Joe Carp, people that he considers to be his friends at the bakery and ones he could rely on. However, as it turns out, these are not his true friends. Gimpy, Frank Reilly and Joe Carp result to making fun of Charlie and resent him for being more intelligent after the operation when he goes back to work with them. The three make fun of Charlie and eventually gets him fired because they never liked him despite the fact that the boss, Mr. Donner, believed in Charlie.            At this point, Charlie gets to know that the people that he considered to be his â€Å"friends† were actually not his true friends based on their actions towards him. However the attitude of the three changes towards Charlie as the story comes to an end and Charlie’s intellectual ability starts to recede drastically. One thing that the reader gets to learn from the actions of Charlie’s â€Å"friends† is that not everyone in your life is your true friend. There are others who may not have good intentions yet they claim to be your friends hence the need to be cautious with people that say they are your friends.            Another issue that is portrayed in the story is that Charlie becomes an arrogant person and is not able to relate with people hence showing that the experiment was detrimental. The lack of proper relationship with other people and Charlie shows that the experiment turned out to be quite detrimental to the life of Charlie (Coules, Daniel, and Robert, 87). It can be observed that after the experiment, Charlie starts to lose his intelligence and he starts to spend less time with his girlfriend Fay. However, it reaches a point whereby Charlie wants to get back with Fay but she cannot accept due to Charlie’s condition which makes her afraid of him. This results in the collapse of their relationship.             Furthermore, the experiment affected how Charlie relates with his family which is seen when he chases his sister out of his room and does not want to talk to her. The issue that one gets to learn from this is that not all experiments have positive impacts in the lives of human beings and it is important that people should accept who they are instead of trying to change themselves.          From the on-set of this story, Charlie is seen as less intelligent and retarded by his family members. The inspiration and motivation to volunteer for the procedure which was aimed at enhancing his intelligence comes from need to impress his family (Coules, Daniel, and Robert, 87). Charlie agrees to undergo the procedure so that he could be what his mother and father wants him to be, an intelligent child. Charlie is rejected by the family that motivated him to get the procedure done. After becoming intelligent, he is also rejected by the foster family for being too intelligent.            Charlie undergoes through a rough time especially when his acquired intelligence starts to recede causing him to become alienated from people and instead spends time alone. From the experiences that Charlie goes through in this story tells the reader that life is full of challenges and that there are appreciating what one has is of great importance than to seek for something that will only result in to misery. References Coules, Bert, Daniel Keyes, and Robert Chambers. The Play of Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon. Oxford: Heinemann Educational, 1993. Print. P.47 Rogers, David, and Daniel Keyes. Flowers for Algernon: A Full-Length Play. Chicago: Dramatic Pub. Co, 1969. Print. P.5-93 Source document

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Daniel’s Sonnet 6 vs. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 Essay -- comparison com

Daniel’s â€Å"Sonnet 6† vs. Shakespeare’s â€Å"Sonnet 130†    Daniel wrote a conventional love sonnet using the traditional Petrarchan style of putting the idea of love, or the mistress, on a pedestal.   Shakespeare turned these ideas on their heads by portraying a mistress who was by no means special and most certainly unappealing. By comparing Daniel's â€Å"Sonnet 6† and Shakespeare's â€Å"Sonnet 130,† one may quickly conclude that Daniel’ s and Shakespeare’s ideas of the perfect lady and of love differ greatly..   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During Daniel's time there was a traditional way of writing love poems.   Many of these poems talked of an unattainable woman whose love and perfection was so great she could only be considered to be divine.   This is exactly what Daniel did.   He wrote of an idea of what the perfect love would be using metaphors. Daniel uses metaphors that related to something of great power or energy, such as the sun, writing "although her eyes are sunny."   Daniel uses the sun to compliment the mystical sense of his mistress.   When Daniel talks of the eyes, he is explaining the power that can be seen in her eyes.   This of course is not a realistic portrayal of a woman, but rather an idea of the kind of love that is so powerful, so heavenly that it is unattainable.   Daniel tries to prove that his mistress has a love so powerful and deep that it can only be an idea.   When many people think of an idea of love that is perfect, many would say that women of purity and beauty would be the perfect woman.   Daniel states this thought when he says "Chastity and Beauty, which were deadly foes."   Here Daniel says that his mistress is pure, innocent, and beautiful.   He is asking the reader to find a woman that perfect.   There also seems to be r... ...false compare that their love is truer than his.   Shakespeare does not need to falsely compare his woman to someone divine. He expresses his lady as being simple and able to accept his true love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With his use of traditional Petrarchan writing, Daniel paints a perfect idea of a woman, one who is immortal and unattainable. Shakespeare, on the other hand mocks this style of writing and creates a vision of a more human woman who has flaws and is anything but perfect.   In conclusion, these two writers have different views on what true love is, and the kind of woman they admire.   Neither way is wrong, but are simply two contrasting ways of expressing how a man looks at a woman.    Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Ed. Katherine Duncan-Jones. New York: Thomson Learning, 1997. (Teacher’s Handout for Daniel’s Sonnet 6)

Monday, November 11, 2019

What It Takes to Be a Manager

nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A MANAGER: THE CASE OF MALAYSIAN FIVESTAR RESORT HOTELS Rozila Ahmad ([email  protected] edu. my) Noor Azimin Zainol ([email  protected] edu. my) Universiti Utara Malaysia Sintok, 06010 Kedah ABSTRACT This article investigates the requirement for managerial posts in five-star resort hotels in Malaysia. Despite the growth of hotel industry in Malaysia, academic literature especially qualitative empirical study focusing on the human capital needs of the industry in the country is scarce.Different from other industries, in the hotel industry a Bachelor’s Degree hardly guarantees the attainment of management position. Based on interviews with 42 hotel employees including 19 managers from six hotels, this article suggests that work experience and leadership skill is crucial for hotel managers to perform their job. Other requirements are knowledge, education and Engli sh proficiency. This suggestion is supported by the employees’ profile. The implications are discussed, emphasizing the need to consider increasing hotel students’ work experience in the industry and enhancing their leadership skill.Keywords: human resource management, hotel industry, career, leadership, education, communication INTRODUCTION There is a shortage of skilled workers in Malaysia due to its rapidly growing economy (Business Monitor International Ltd. , 2010). Tourism is among the main contributor for the economic growth and its alignment with hotel industry has created many job opportunities to the local population. Based on the statistics by Malaysian Association of Hotels (2011a) from 2007 to 2010 the number of tourist arrival has increased from 20. 9 million to 23. million and this was followed by the increment in the number of hotels and motels from 1567 to 2005. This has led to the continuous growth of public and private institutions offering hotel man agement courses to fill the workforce needs of these hotels. Despite the increasing number of hotel graduates, hotels are still facing worker shortages (Malaysian Association of Hotels, 2011b). As in developed countries, Malaysian hotels are having problems in attracting and retaining skilled and knowledgeable workers (Patah, Zain, Abdullah & Radzi, 2009; Cheng & Brown, 1998).On one hand, the shortage of skilled workers in Malaysian hotels is caused by the unattractive work atmosphere of the industry. On the other hand it is caused by Malaysian workforce inferiority to attain management position. Similar to the developed countries, Hotels in Malaysia are facing problems in attracting and retaining skilled and knowledgeable workers due to low salary, rigid job traits and conventional style of top-down operation (Ahmad, Solnet & Scott, 2010; Yamashita & Uenoyama, 2006; Davidson, Guilding & Timo, 2006).However, such problem is less prevalent in Multi National Corporation (MNC) due to t heir strategic human resource management practices that managed to attract and retain skilled workers from competing hotels (Ahmad et al. , 2010). MNC are required to involved more locals in middle and top management position. However, after three decades of growth foreign international hotel managers still dominate the Malaysian hotel industry and this could be due to the decreased level of human capital among the Malaysian workforce (Lazzeretti & Petrillo, 2006).Numerous academic literatures in Malaysia have discussed on how the industry can retain their skilled employees. However, literature on how academicians can increase their students’ employability for 2040 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING management position is scarce despite the indication of Malaysian workforce inferiority to attain management position. This deficiency in the literature gives rise to the research question of this article. The research ques tion of this article is, â€Å"What are the requirements for managerial post in Malaysian five-star hotels? Although articles on required skills for managerial post or similar articles from other countries can serve as a guide, such articles based on empirical study in Malaysia is beneficial to provide a more specific information. Furthermore, to maximize the foreign exchange revenue and the employment of the local population, local colleges and universities need to increase their graduates’ employability. Prior to that, the students must be equipped with the knowledge, skills and abilities required for managerial post.The purpose of this article is to investigate and highlight what are the knowledge, skills and abilities required by the local graduates to attain management position in Malaysia. This article makes theoretical and practical contribution. It increases the number of academic literatures concerning human resource issues in the Malaysian hotels. It investigates t he practitioners’ perception of what is required for management post. By including non-management employees’ perception, it provides comprehensive information of the requirements.This article will benefit the hotel industry in the long term. With the aim to reduce skilled workers shortage and hotel graduates' unemployment, it coordinates industry demand with academic institutions supply. LITERATURE REVIEW Skilled Workers Shortages Since 1970 there has been a rapid growth of tourism industry in Malaysia (Goldsmith & Zahari, 1994). To cater tourists’ needs the supply of hotel and motel rooms has been increased to 158,480 in 2010 (Malaysian Association of Hotels, 2011). The rapid expansion of the hotel industry has exaggerated the demand for employment of competent people.This resulted in skilled workers shortages (Malaysian Association of Hotels, 2011; Business Monitor International Ltd. , 2010). Based on Malaysian Association of Hotels Workforce Survey reports, i n 2008 there was a shortage of 2113 workers in the hotel industry. To mitigate the problem hotels employed foreign workers to work in all the departments except finance and human resources. This has reduced workforce shortages to 1146 in year 2009. In both years Food and Beverage (restaurant) department faced the highest worker shortages while the housekeeping department employed the highest number of foreign workers.The high percentage of foreign employees in housekeeping (10%), stewarding (9%), and food and beverage (restaurant) (5%) is understandable because Malaysian could earn more doing other jobs such as rubber tapping. Furthermore, the Malaysian Muslims are forbidden from serving liquor and this makes occupation in food and beverage (restaurant) department less favourable to them. However, the employment of foreign workers for top management posts (6%), executives (3%), and other posts in sports and recreation (5%) and front office and reservation (2%) is disturbing.It sugge sts that Malaysian workforce (including hotel management graduates) is not skilled enough for these posts. Existing literature lends some support to this suggestion. Hospitality Education in Malaysia The employment of foreign workers to mitigate skilled workforce shortages is acceptable in the past but now it is a dilemma. Such practice may lessen the benefits (such as employment opportunities for the locals and foreign exchange revenue) gained from tourism activities.In 1994 colleges did not have the capacity to produce sufficient number of graduates to meet the increasing demand for skilled workers because there were only ten private schools and colleges and two public institutions (Goldsmith & Zahari, 1994). To date, there is at least 61 private colleges and universities, five public universities, five polytechnics and six community 2041 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING colleges (Ministry of Higher Education, 2011). Some of these colleges and universities have a number of branches.Despite the rapid growth in the hotel education sector, shortage of skilled workers in the industry still persists. In Malaysia, local graduates’ Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management hardly guarantees the attainment of management position. This is different from other countries. Besides recruiting management employees internally, hotels also recruit graduates straight from the university (Mullen, 2007; Yamashita & Uenoyama, 2006). Therefore, the attainment of a managerial position is either through hard work by starting from an entry level position or by a ‘fast track’ through having an academic qualification (Mullen, 2007).Hence, there are managers who have never graduated from the university. They started their career as non-managerial employees and by being among the best performers they have been promoted to a managerial position. While internal promotion is common in Malaysia, direct recru itment from the local university for management posts is rare. Hotels, especially MNC prefers to recruit by advertising through the internet, newspaper and â€Å"words of mouth† in addition to establishing links with government agencies and related associations (Ahmad, 2010).Fresh graduates are perceived to be incapable of handling management duties. Reduced human resource capital in Malaysia is among the reasons for skilled workers shortage in the hotel industry. Human resource capital is at a lower standard than the 1980s because the level of English proficiency and service orientation is lower among the young workforce (Lazzeretti & Petrillo, 2006). Different from their juniors, the senior workforce’ early education was in English (Lazzeretti & Petrillo, 2006; Hanapiah, 2002). Thus, their English proficiency is better. They are looked upon as those who can epresent the organization because of their ability to communicate and deal in English language (Hanapiah, 2002) . The importance of English proficiency is more obvious in MNC hotels whose customers and managers usually communicate in English. Besides English proficiency, other requirement for hotel management post is education, skills and knowledge (technical, human resources, finance and marketing), personality (dedication, creativity, sociability, adaptability and ambitious), leadership quality and work experience (Jayawardena, 2000; Hanapiah, 2002).However, recent academic literature on these skills within the context of Malaysian hotel industry is scarce. There are a number of hotel management literatures from developed countries which discussed about management skills with implications for educational institutions. Kay and Moncarz (2004) stressed on the importance of knowledge in financial management and human resource management competencies. They suggest educational institutions provide proper coverage of financial management course. Likewise, they encouraged the industry to recruit gr aduates from hospitality programs with strong financial management curriculum.Their opinion has deviated from earlier research on management skills that suggested leadership and interpersonal skill as the most significant skills for hotel managers. However, the significance of leadership skill has continuously been supported by recent academic literatures (Boone & Peborde, 2008; Brownell, 2006). According to Boone and Peborde (2008), there are five fundamental leadership skills and these are establishing credibility, managing time, being proactive, empowering others to act and networking.Based on their article, credibility concerns on constituents’ trust and confidence of their manager, being proactive is knowing and executing what needs to be done for the organization’s benefit, empowerment includes enabling self leadership, providing choice, developing competence and confidence and fostering accountability and networking is developing personal contacts to get valuabl e support, feedback, insight, information and resources. They argued that leadership is not a charisma that one may or may not possess; it consists of attitudes, behaviours and skill that can be adopted, learned and mproved through practice. Therefore, they 2042 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING suggest college students and early career workers to master the fundamental leadership skills to build a strong leadership base. Hotel management students should be properly tooled with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to attain management position and then, face and handle the industry’s challenges (Kay & Moncarz, 2004; Boone & Peborde, 2008; Brownell, 2006).Prior to that, it is beneficial to investigate what are the knowledge, skills and abilities required to attain management position within the context of the local hotel industry. With the aim to equip Malaysian students with the necessary knowledge, skills an d abilities, the skills required for management position in Malaysian five-star hotels are assessed in detail. METHODOLOGY The methodological approach used in this study is framed within qualitative research. Respondents were contacted through e-mails and phone calls to request for an interview.A personal interview method was used for data collection which was carried out in May and June 2008. Interviews were conducted according to the respondents’ schedule and availability and at their preferred location. It is important to provide a relaxed environment during the interview to encourage the respondents to openly and fully discuss the topics (Cooper & Schindler, 2003). The interviews were unstructured to give respondents the opportunity to provide more information. The interview started with informing respondents the purpose of the research and their right to withdraw from the research at any time to ensure they were comfortable.To ensure confidentiality, develop trust and en courage the respondents to provide full information, names were coded. M1 refers to the first managerial employee interviewed while NM2 refers to the second non-managerial employee interviewed. Interviews were recorded on tape with the respondents’ permission. Taping the interview allows the researcher to concentrate on the discussion and listen to the interview as often as needed. Repeatedly listening to a taped interview enables the researcher to capture the essence and meanings of words, which facilitates quality analysis of data. ANALYSISThe data collected was analysed using content analysis. To capture the emotion, content analysis of transcripts was conducted manually and respondents’ answers were quoted in the findings. A software program was not used to analyse the data because relying on computers can â€Å"run the risk of trivializing the meaning of texts† (Krippendorff, 2004). â€Å"Content analysis is a research technique for making replicable and v alid inferences from texts (or other meaningful matter) to the contexts of their use† (Krippendorff, 2004, p. 18). Qualitative content analysis allows a researcher to discover what the text reveals.All interviews were transcribed. The transcripts were read multiple times to understand the context of each statement and to enable the researchers to become immersed in the data The sample size for the study was 42 respondents, 19 managerial employees and 23 non-managerial employees. All respondents were from six Malaysian five-star resort hotels that employ more than 300 fulltime employees and have been in business for at least 12 years. All respondents had more than one year’s working experience with the hotel industry to ensure that they had the capability to provide the in-depth information required.Twenty-one respondents were employees of three MNC hotels. Four of the hotels employed expatriates for general manager post. Foreign workers were employed for management and nonmanagement post. The respondents’ profile is described in Table 1. An exploration of respondents’ views on requirement for managerial post was sought. 2043 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING Table 1: Respondents Profile Respondents Post Work Experience Education MNC M1 HR Director 20 years Non Hotel Diploma v M2 Chief Security 16 years Non Hotel Diploma v M3 HR Officer 17 years SPM M4 HR Manager 18 years Hotel Diploma M5 Senior Security Officer 19 years STPM M6 Security Officer 11 years SPM M7 Assistant Front Office Manager 10 years Non-Hotel Diploma M8 Training Manager 10 years Hotel Diploma M9 Landscape Executive 9 years Primary School M10 HR Officer 15 years Hotel Diploma v M11 Assistant Pastry Chef 20 years A Level v M12 Assistant Chief Engineer 17 years Non Hotel Certificate v M13 Executive Housekeeper 19 years SPM v M14 Executive Housekeeper 16 years Hotel Certificate v M15 Executive Chef 15 years SPM v M16 HR Manager 20 years Non Hotel Degree v M17 Executive Housekeeper 18 yearsHotel Certificate M18 Food and Beverage Manager 21 years SPM M19 Personnel Manager 10 years Non Hotel Diploma NM1 Housekeeping Supervisor 17 years SRP v NM2 F Captain 12 years Non Hotel Certificate v NM3 F Captain 9 years SPM v NM4 F Cashier 8 years SPM v NM5 Recreation Coordinator 14 years SPM NM6 Senior life guard 18 years SPM NM7 Account Clerk 18 years SPM NM8 Driver 15 years SPM NM9 Accounts Supervisor 12 years STPM NM10 Hostess 6 years SPM NM11 Commis/ Cook 14 years SPM NM12 Laundry Supervisor 13 years SPM NM13 Receptionist 12 years Hotel Diploma v NM14 Public Area Supervisor 8 years Islamic School NM15 Laundry Supervisor 5 years SPM v NM16 Driver 11 years Primary School v NM17 Room Attendant 9 years STPM v NM18 Housekeeping Coordinator 15 years SPM v NM19 Technician 13 years SPM v NM20 Public Area Supervisor 14 years Primary School NM21 Landscape Supervisor 9 years Non Hotel Certificate NM22 Housekee ping Supervisor 15 years SRP 2044 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING NM23 Food and Beverage Supervisor 7 years Islamic School FINDINGS To answer the research question, respondents were asked to describe the requirements for a hotel managerial post.The requirements mentioned by respondents were positive attitude, leadership skill, communication skill, interpersonal skill, self-motivation, determination, emotional intelligence, knowledge, experience, education and English proficiency. Experience was most frequently mentioned followed by leadership skills, knowledge and education. Table 2 summarised respondents’ views of the requirements for a managerial post in the hotel industry. Work experience was the most frequently mentioned criterion. Majority of the respondents perceived it to be the most important criterion to attain managerial post.Unlike other industries, those people with education but without experience are l east likely to be in managerial positions. This assertion is supported by the examples below: In the hotel industry, an applicant for a managerial position requires more than a degree. Most of the university send students here for three to six months industrial training. But that isn’t enough. That is not good enough. You can be a manager in some hotel, but how are you going to make decision†¦ If you don’t have enough experience and you make the wrong decision, you’ll become the laughing stock to your staff. You have pioneer staff in the hotel.You have supervisors who will question you back. If you work in the government sector or any other sectors, that’s a different story. In hotel industry, you really need the experience. (M7) The importance of having work experience in the hotel industry was mentioned by most of the respondents. According to the respondents, even those with a diploma must start from the entry-level position, and from there it dep ends on their performance. While M17 clearly stated that work experience is more important than education, NM4 gave example of problems faced by new managers without working experience.Even the managers started at the entry-level like us. Then, they learned and learned. High education without work experience is not good enough (for managerial position). From what I’ve seen, fresh graduates who started at management level have difficulty to organise things. (NM4) The next criterion most frequently mentioned was leadership. Some managerial respondents highlighted the importance of leadership qualities. The managerial respondents stated that managers who seek excellence from employees should have leadership qualities. Those with leadership qualities are respected by their subordinates.They are able to make subordinates embrace the organization’s culture and they manage to get things done and obtain good results. 2045 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOM IC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING Table 2: Requirement for Managerial Position Respondents Leadership M1 v Knowledge Experience Education English Proficiency v v v v v v v M5 v v M6 v M7 v M8 v M9 v M2 M3 v v M4 M10 v M11 v M12 v v v v v v v v M13 M14 v v v v v v v M15 M16 v M17 v M18 v NM1 v v v v v v v v NM2 v v v M19 v v v NM3 v v NM4 v v NM5 v v NM6 v v NM7 v v v v NM8 NM9 v v v NM11 v NM13 v NM14 v v NM15 v v NM16 v v v NM12 v v NM10 v v v NM17 NM18 v NM19 v NM20 v NM21 v v v NM22 v v v NM23 v v v 2046 v v nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING A leader’s personal characteristics mentioned by respondents were determination, positive attitude, selfmotivation, emotional intelligence and efficiency. In addition, they felt that managers should be smart, creative and credible. M1 stated the followings: 1. A leader has positive attitude, emotional intelligence, self motivation and determination. . Managers must have lea dership quality to spread the organization’s culture to all their subordinates. 3. Leaders guide their subordinates and makes them realised the importance of satisfying guests which leads to customer loyalty in addition to employees’ loyalty. Therefore, the organization will attain long term profitability. 4. â€Å"We train them, we guide them, we coach them, and if there’s derailment, we put them back on the track†. The influence of a great leader is evident in some of the non-managerial employees and given below is an example.I enjoy my work because I got the chance to meet the guests†¦ My former general manager used to say â€Å"You must take good care of the guest because if you don’t, they will go to other hotels. When this hotel is out of business where can you work? † He advised us to make the guests happy and to do what we should do. It is not difficult at all. When the guests come, I open the door for them, greet them†¦ th ey are like kings and we must treat them well. (NM8) The importance of knowledge was also frequently mentioned by the respondents. Knowledge is gained from experience, education and training:We must be knowledgeable in all aspects; the department that we’re handling and the departments that are related to us. We must at least have the basic knowledge of the functions of front office, maintenance, food and beverage and kitchen. Another thing is how to manage human. This is important. If you want to be a good manager, you must know how to manage your subordinates. (M18) According to M11, those who have worked in many places, including overseas, are knowledgeable and they bring in new ideas. M15 stated that it is also important that managers know the current issues in the hotel industry.Other knowledge listed by the respondents as important included â€Å"how to do paper works† (NM21) and â€Å"how to communicate with colleagues† (NM15). Although education is not t he most important requirement for a hotel managerial post, it is compulsory in order to be promoted to a higher-level management position. In some five-star hotels, employees are required to have at least a university certificate in order to be promoted to a management position in addition to other requirements. In other five-star hotels having a university diploma is a necessity.Now we require at least a diploma. In the past there were not many hotel schools. Only those who are rich can afford to study overseas to learn about hotel management and hotel industry. But now, even Malaysia has Hotel Management School. However, for me, education is secondary because in hotel industry you need experienced people. Experience comes first. (M18) Of the 19 managerial employees interviewed, five managers had a certificate (including STPM and A Level) seven managers had a diploma and one manager had a degree. Seven of these managers were MNC hotel employees.Based on the respondents’ prof ile, even those without college or university certificate had the opportunity to be managers in MNC hotels. At present, only those with certificates are appointed as managers. 2047 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING Another requirement mentioned by respondents was English proficiency. Out of 42 respondents, only eight mention about the importance of English proficiency. According to the respondents, to be a manager they must be able to communicate in English.While the inability to communicate in English will disqualify them for managerial positions, fluency in English is an advantage for them to further develop their careers. M18 stated that English proficiency is important because majority of their guests are foreigners. Interest to work in the industry is another important criterion that is rarely mentioned in the literature. According to a managerial respondent, students’ interest to work in the industry is importan t because it might affect the quality of their work.Whenever students come and work in the hotel industry, I ask them â€Å"are you here because of your father, or you yourself want to come here†. If someone says, â€Å"I don’t like hotel work, my father asks me to come here†, I will say, â€Å"Pack up your bags and go home†. Seriously, if you want to work in hotel industry, you must have the interest. If not, you will waste money, time and effort to do something that you don’t like. So you better don’t do it. Make your decision now, do you want to be a hotelier or not? Honestly, the quality of workers now is very different compared to the last fifteen years. Now there are so many opportunities.So the quality is not there anymore. (M18) Communication skill and interpersonal skill was also listed by the respondents as one of the necessary skills. However, it was mentioned by very few respondents and not much was said about the two skills. Maj ority of the respondents mentioned about the importance of having work experience. Although it is clear that work experience is more important compared to education, this finding does not suggest that work experience is more important compared to other skills such as leadership and interpersonal skill. The objective of this study was to investigate what are the equirements for managerial post and not to rank the skills’ importance. DISCUSSION Based on the literature review and the findings of this study, the requirement for managerial post in Malaysian five-star hotels is work experience, leadership skill, knowledge, education, English language proficiency, communication skill, interpersonal skill and interest to be a hotelier. The significance of most of these skills for managerial success has been mentioned in existing literature. However, the significance of work experience and English language proficiency is more pronounced in the Malaysian context.This study found that h aving work experience is a necessity for graduates’ employment for managerial post. Knowledge and leadership skill are developed through education and work experience. While management theories and basic technical skills can be taught by academic institutions, leadership skills such as analytical and conceptual thinking, relationship building, and self control requires experience in the field (Brownell, 2006). Furthermore, work experience enhanced students’ technical skill. Technical skill efficiency is important for the first level managers due to their proximity with the non-managerial employees (Daft, 1998).Therefore, a partnership with the industry through industrial training is crucial to develop students’ leadership skill which is necessary to foster high-performing organisation (Brownell, 2006). Sending students for industrial training is a normal practice for hotel schools. However, it was perceived insufficient by the hotel managers. Therefore, it is be neficial to lengthen the industrial training period and to encourage students to do part-time at hotels. Part-time employees are employed during peak season when there is abundant of task to be completed.Therefore, besides earning some money, students can gain experience and enhanced the required skills. 2048 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING Different from developed countries, education is perceived as secondary to work experience in Malaysian five-star hotels. However, the importance of education keeps increasing due to the increasing number of hotel management schools and hotel management graduates. The findings of this study reveal that currently even those without higher education could attain management position in MNC five-star hotels.However, these managers have had many years of working experience and have gone through a number of supervisory and management trainings conducted by the hotels. Even the local independe nt and chain hotels provide continuous training to their employees (Ahmad et al. , 2010). Due to the social and demographic changes, at present more educated individual is required for management post. Thus, only those with sufficient work experience and academic qualification could attain management position while others have to start from entrylevel position.To encourage hotels to recruit management candidates straight from the university like in the developed countries, local universities need to produce graduates who have sufficient work experience and are capable to handle management duties. The importance of English proficiency for graduates’ employment and career development especially in the hotel industry is prevalent in Malaysia (Hanapiah, 2002). Although English proficiency was mentioned by few respondents, it does not suggest that it is not as important as other skills. Furthermore, none of the respondents stated that it is less important compared to other skills. In fact, they stated that it is significant for the labour market employability and workforce advancement. The importance of English language proficiency has been highlighted in existing academic literatures (Lazzeretti & Petrillo, 2006; Hanapiah, 2002; Brownell, 2006). Due to the importance, Malaysian five-star resort hotels have been providing English language training to their employees (Ahmad et al. , 2010). Academic institutions can produce graduates who are fluent in English by using the language as the medium of instruction.Other than that, it is beneficial to interview students during their admission process to assess their personal characteristics and English proficiency (Brownell, 2006). Selecting the right candidates for the industry can make producing quality graduates easier for the academic institutions. Interest in the field is another factor to qualify candidates for management post. Unlike other professions such as architecture and engineering, it is difficult to fi nd students whose ambition is to be a hotelier or hotel employees. Academic institutions play an important role to develop students’ interest.Such interest can be developed by inviting successful guest speakers from the industry to share their experience and provide information of their job and how much they earn. However, the interest built can be destroyed overnight if the students encounter negative experience such as workplace bullying during their industrial training or part-time employment in the industry (Patah, Abdullah, Naba, Zahari and Radzi, 2010). Therefore, practitioners have to ensure that their employees can be a role model to the students and not someone they want to avoid.On the other hand, students should be groomed to face the challenges at the workplace. LIMITATION AND CONTRIBUTION OF THE RESEARCH This study lists the requirements for managerial posts but it does not rank the requirements based on their importance. Although it states that work experience i s more important compared to education, such statement is made based on respondents’ words. The qualitative nature of this study does not allow for ranking. Skills listed in the findings came from respondents’ mind. Respondents were not given any list of skills for them to rate and rank.Therefore it is imprecise to suggest that work experience is more important compared to leadership skill just because more respondents mentioned work experience as the requirement for managerial position. This article contributes to the hotel management literature by explaining about the requirements for the attainment of management post in Malaysian five-star hotels and provides suggestions on how to develop and enhance the skills needed in the industry. The suggestion is based on practitioners’ view that is supported by 2049 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING he previous literature. This article can serve as a guide to t he academicians, the university and colleges’ students and to those in early career positions in the hotel industry. CONCLUSION It is essential for the industry and the academic institutions to have a partnership and unity of effort to mitigate the issue of skilled employees’ shortages. The academicians need to realize the importance of producing skilled workforce compatible with the industry human capital needs and the industry need to provide a more favourable workplace that graduates may perceived as an avenue to build their career.Increased unemployment of hotel management graduates coupled with increased dependency on foreign workers does not benefit the country, the industry and the academic institutions. Parents will eventually stop sending their children for hotel management programme when they realized that it does not guarantee a good future for their children. To be in business, academic institutions need to produce quality graduates rather than merely high quantity of helpless graduates. REFERENCES Ahmad, R. , Solnet, D. , & Scott, N. (2010). Human resource practices system differentiation: A hotel industry study.Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management. 17, 72-82. Business Monitor International Ltd. (2010). Chapter 5: Business environment. Malaysia business forecast Quarter, 47-59. Retrieved from report, 2nd http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true=buh=48002789=ehost-live Boone, L. W. & Peborde, M. S. (2008). Developing leadership skills in college and early career positions, 28(3), 3-13. Brownell, J. (2006). Meeting the competency needs of global leaders: A partnership approach. Human Resource Management, 45(3), 309-336.Cheng, A. , & Brown, A. (1998). HRM strategies and labour turnover in the hotel industry: A comparative study of Australia and Singapore. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 9(1), 136-154. Cooper, D. R. , & Schindler, P. S. (2003). Business research methods. New York: McGraw-Hil l. Daft, R. L. (1988). Management (3rd. ed. ). Orlando: Dryden Press. Davidson, M. , Guilding, C. , & Timo, N. (2006). Employment, flexibility and labour market practices of domestic and MNC chain luxury hotels in Australia: Where has accountability gone?Hospitality Management, 25, 193-210. Goldsmith, A. , & Zahari, M. S. (1994). Hospitality education in Malaysia: Filling the skill gap. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 6(6), 27-31. Hanapiah, M. F. (2002). English language and the language of development: A Malaysian perspective. International conference IPBA, 1-15. Jayawardena, C. (2000). International hotel Manager. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12(1), 67-69. Kay, C. & Moncarz, E. (2004). Knowledge, skills and abilities for lodging management success.Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 45(3), 285-298. 2050 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING Kripp endorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: an introduction to its methodology (2nd ed. ). Thousand Oaks: Sage. Lazzeretti, L. , & Petrillo, C. S. (2006). Tourism local systems and networking. Oxford: Elsevier. Malaysian Association of Hotels. (2011a). http://www. hotels. org. my/home. asp? hdnMRef=57 Malaysian Association of Hotels. http://www. hotels. org. my/home. sp? hdnMRef=58 Hotel (2011b). Ministry of Higher Education (2011). List http://www. portal. mohe. gov. my/portal/page/portal/ExtPortal/IPT Statistics. Surveys. of university. Retrieved Retrieved Retrieved from from from Mullen, R. (2007). Careers in hotels. Caterer and hotel keeper, 197, 119. Patah, M. O. , Zain, R. A. , Abdullah, D. , & Radzi, S. M. (2009). An empirical investigation into the influences of psychological empowerment and overall job satisfaction on employee loyalty: The case of Malaysian front office receptionists.Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts. 43-62. Patah, M. O. , Abdullah, R. , Naba, M. M. , Zahari, M. S. , & Radzi, S. (2010). Workplace bullying experiences, emotional dissonance and subsequent intentions to pursue a career in the hospitality industry. Journal of Global Business & Economics, 1(1), 15-26. Yamashita, M. , & Uenoyama, T. (2006). Boundaryless career and adaptive HR practices in Japan’s hotel industry. Career Development International, 11(3), 230-242. 2051

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Comparison of Batteries

Lead Acid Cell vs. Button Cell Lead acid cells were invented in 1859 by the French Physicist Gaston Plante, and are the oldest types of rechargeable batteries. These types of batteries typically weigh at 5kg, but can range from half a kilogram to over 30 kilograms on the consumer market. Though their chemistry means a very low energy-to-weight and energy-to-volume ratio in comparison to other modern batteries, their ability to supply high surge currents means that the cells maintain a large power-to-weight ratio.This makes them highly desirable for use in large appliances such as motor vehicles, which require the high current provided by this type of battery. In comparison, Button cells are much smaller than lead acid cells. Button cells are shaped as small, squat cylinders usually 5 to 22mm in diameter and between 1 to 6mm in height and weigh little over several grams. The voltage and current produced by these batteries are small and steady, and these properties make them very suita ble for powering small portable electronic devices such as wrist watches, pocket calculators, hearing aids, and sometimes pacemakers.These batteries are usually not rechargeable, and last a long time, though lifespan depends on chemical composition and use. Chemistry Lead acid calls use a chemical reaction in order to produce a voltage between the output terminals. The battery contains two plates, and the discharge process is driven by the conduction of electrons from the negative plate back into the cell at the positive plate. All lead acid sells use Lead Sulfate in their reactions. These chemicals were originally contained as a liquid, but a technique has now been developed in which a gel electrolyte is used, preventing leakage.Negative plate reaction: Pb(s) + HSO? 4(aq) > PbSO4(s) + H+(aq) + 2e- Positive plate reaction: PbO2(s) + HSO? 4(aq) + 3H+(aq) + 2e- > PbSO4(s) + 2H2O(l) Overall reaction: Pb(s) + PbO2(s) + 2H2SO4(aq) > 2PbSO4(s) + 2H2O(l) Button cells are single cells, and are Primary cells, being not rechargeable. Button cells have both an Anode and Cathode separated by a separator contained within a metal â€Å"can†. Common anode materials are zinc or lithium, and there are a range of cathode materials, including manganese dioxide, silver oxide, and cupric oxide.Of notable mention is the mercuric oxide button cell, which was banned due to the toxicity and environmental hazard of mercury. Reaction between silver oxide (cathode) and zinc (anode): Zn + Ag2O ZnO + 2Ag These batteries are dry batteries, and are created with the ideal of a long lifetime. As such, they rarely leak if ever, and boast a steady electricity production over a long period of time. Both Lead acid cells and button cells rely on chemical reactions for the production of their energy.However, where a lead-acid cell would typically use an anode and cathode within a liquid or gel medium, button cells use solid anode and cathodes which react with each other through a separator. T his reflects their uses; where the chemistry of a lead acid battery allows it to produce large amounts of electricity in surges as needed to start appliances such as motor vehicles, the chemistry of Button cells allows for a slow and steady release of small amounts of charge. Cost and Practicality As was reflected upon under the chemistry subtitle, the batteries have been designed, and retain their designs, to specifically fit their uses.Though the size of the lead acid batteries does not allow for the powering of small portable devices such as watches, it maintains its usefulness in larger appliances and uses such as motor vehicles, which require a large amount of electrical energy to start up, but does not require a steady flow of energy. This is reflected in the property of these batteries being able to release large surges of energy. As these are designed for long use and provide large power, the cost for these are quite high, ranging from $100 to $300 each.In comparison, the bu tton cell battery is used for very small applications such as wrist watches and hearing aids. This is reflected in their small, convenience, and ability to provide a long lasting, steady flow of energy. However, this means that they are unable to supply large amounts of energy at a time, and are therefore unfit for use in industry and larger appliances such as motor vehicles. The cost of these batteries is much cheaper than that of the large, lead acid batteries, rarely coming up to above a few dollars. Impact on SocietyBatteries have had a large impact on society since their invention. In particular, lead acid batteries were among the first to be invented. These batteries have had a major impact on society; They have allowed for the powering of motor vehicles, which have become a major component in the lives of many living in developed cities. Though an older model of battery, these batteries continue to hold significant impact on society even today. In comparison, button cells pow er small, handheld portable appliances such as watches and hearing aids.This is asignificant difference from the impact of lead acid batteries. However, both batteries have impacted the life of many in developed societies, generally making life easier, and more convenient for all. Environmental impact Lead acid batteries are extremely hazardous to the environment. Lead is a hazardous metal, and poisonous to both environments and animals, and humans are not excepted. Though the use of lead in batteries is usually very controlled, the production of it is not; of three plants in Australia, two have required strict non-residential zones of 2-3 km.This implies that though all safety precautions are being taken, there is still a danger of contamination and danger to the environment. In comparison, button cells are much safer. Though non rechargeable, their recyclability means the mining of the metals used in batteries is reduced to a minimum. However, the environmental impact of these mat erials is determined by the actual materials used. This was reflected upon in the past, when mercuric oxide batteries were banned for the toxicity and environmental damage caused by mercury. References ttp://www. powerstream. com/Size_SLA. htm http://hyperphysics. phy-astr. gsu. edu/hbase/electric/leadacid. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93acid_battery#Electrochemistry http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Silver-oxide_battery http://batteryuniversity. com/learn/article/types_of_battery_cells http://science. howstuffworks. com/electric-battery-info1. htm http://electrochem. cwru. edu/encycl/art-b02-batt-nonr. htm http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Button_cell#Properties_of_different_types http://www. lead. org. au/lanv3n2/lanv3n2-5. html

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Hipparchus the Astronomer, Geographer, Mathematician

Hipparchus the Astronomer, Geographer, Mathematician If youve studied math at a high school level, you probably have experience with trigonometry. Its a fascinating branch of mathematics, and it all came about through the genius of Hipparchus of Rhodes. Hipparchus was a Greek scholar considered the greatest astronomical observer in early human history. He made many advances in geography and mathematics, specifically in trigonometry, which he used to construct models to predict solar eclipses. Because math is  the language of science, his contributions are particularly important.   Early Life Hipparchus was born around 190 BCE in Nicaea, Bithynia (now known as now Iznik, Turkey). His early life is mostly a mystery, but what we do know about him comes from Ptolemys Almagest. He  is mentioned in other writings as well. Strabo, a Greek geographer and historian who lived around 64 BCE to 24 AD called Hipparchus one of the famous men of Bithynia. His image, usually depicted sitting and looking at a globe, has been found on many coins minted between 138 AD and 253 AD. In ancient terms, thats a pretty important acknowledgment of importance. Hipparchus apparently traveled and wrote extensively. There are records of observations he made in his native Bithynia as well as from the  island of Rhodes and the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The only example of his writing that  still exists is his Commentary on Aratus and Eudoxus. Its  not one of his major writings, but its still important because it gives us an insight into his work. Life Achievements Hipparchuss major love was mathematics and he pioneered a number of ideas we take for granted today: the division of a circle into 360 degrees and the creation of one of the first trigonometric tables for solving triangles. In fact, he very likely invented the precepts of trigonometry. As an astronomer, Hipparchus was curious about using his knowledge of the Sun and stars to calculate important values. For example, he derived the length of the year to within 6.5 minutes. He also discovered the precession of the equinoxes, with a value of 46 degrees, which is fairly close to our modern number of 50.26 degrees. Three hundred years later, Ptolemy only came up with a figure of 36. The precession of the equinoxes refers to the gradual shift in Earths rotation axis. Our planet wobbles like a top as it spins, and over time, this means that the poles of our planet slowly shift the direction in which they point in space. Its why our north star changes throughout a 26,000-year cycle. Right now the north pole of our planet points to Polaris, but in the past, it has pointed to Thuban and Beta Ursae Majoris. Gamma Cepheii will become our pole star in a few thousand years. In 10,000 years, it will be Deneb, in Cygnus, all due to the precession of the equinoxes. Hipparchuss calculations were the first scientific effort to explain the phenomenon. Hipparchus also charted the stars in the sky seen with the naked eye. While his star catalog does not survive today, it is believed that his charts included around 850 stars. He also made a careful study of the motions of the Moon. Its unfortunate that more of his writings do not survive. It seems clear that the work of many who followed was developed using the groundwork laid by Hipparchus. Although little else is known about him, it is probable that he died around 120 BC most likely in Rhodes, Greece. Recognition In honor of Hipparchuss efforts to measure the sky and his work in mathematics and geography, the European Space Agency named their HIPPARCOS satellite in reference to his accomplishments. It was the first mission to focus exclusively on astrometry, which is the accurate measurement of stars and other celestial objects in the sky. It was launched in 1989 and spent four years on orbit. Data from the mission have been used in many areas of astronomy and cosmology (the study of the origin and evolution of the universe).   Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 65

Summary - Essay Example The weak defense of the Empire led to the decline of the nation’s central government and the nation started losing to their own official in various provinces. The government had firm control over provinces such as Iraq and Anatolia but they lost grip over provinces including: Greece, Egypt and Balkan. Napoleon of the French military started invading the empire and taking over one province after the other but his efforts failed. Taking advantage of the weak local government, General Muhammad Ali a local was able to seize control of Egypt, Anatolia and Syria; Egypt was a very loss for the Island. Later British forces played a major role to save the island as the British expected that influence of the Russians will elevate if the empire falls. Ottoman Island even experienced economic competition from the European dominance in the area of textile and finished goods sector as they were able to supply goods from these sector at very inexpensive prices. The local artisans and craftsmen experienced fierce competition from European business individuals. During the 19th century, the empire became dependant on Europe for finances and the economic growth and development became heavily dependent on loans offered by European nations. The empire had to repay heavy amounts in face of interest on loan and soon it even lost the ability to repay interest and they had to accept the administration of the Europe. Another major reason of the fall of the Island was the capitulations (AÃŒ goston, 119). Capitulations refers to agreements between the empire and European influence which exempted visitors from Europe from the rules and regulations made by the empire and this even gave the Europeans to exercise their own rules and regulations over the locals. The Europeans manipulated these capitulations to penetrate in the economic side of the empire

Saturday, November 2, 2019

San Diego International Airport Green Project Research Paper

San Diego International Airport Green Project - Research Paper Example Therefore, airports are important regional, national and international commerce. They create an avenue for the connection of a nation’s aviation system with other modes of transport. There is a need to carry out research to solve operating problems by adopting new technologies, and introduce innovation to the airport industry. When planning to implement a terminal improvement project, the terminal planning process should provide insights on potential issues and future trends that they affect the functionality of that terminal (Ashford, Mumayiz, & Wright, 2011). Significant changes in technology, airline operations and industry structure have occurred, creating the need for a balance of importance of certain planning factors for airport terminal buildings. These changes have occurred in cost effectiveness, passenger and baggage security, gate utilization to ensure low cost, and concessions (Brown, 2010). The airport and aviation industry is ever changing. This has led to the need for today’s airport buildings to be planned and constructed in ways that will safeguard flexibility for future modification at the list expense, while responding to variations in demand, the changing passenger needs, airlines and aircraft. Therefore, there has to be a flexible, balanced and visionary planning for airport terminals to ensure future flexibility (Brown, 2010). It should be noted that the creation of plans and designs of airports that provide superior services to travelers is difficult. Airport operational needs are extremely dynamic, creating more challenges in the planning and designing of sustainable airports (Brown, 2010). Additionally, in most cases, capital investment resources for expansion and construction of modern, efficient airports are limited. Therefore, development of airport facility designs which can provide the