Monday, September 30, 2019

The countries with small prison Essay

                 Small prison populations in a country may mean that the government is soft on crime since prisons were designed to hold the law breakers who have been convicted. On the other hand, it may mean that the government and the citizens of a country are doing enough on rehabilitation, training and control of the law breakers to avoid being found on the wrong side of the law (Foucault, 1977). Today, incarceration is considered to be the harshest sanction one can get for any criminal offence. Therefore, doing away with the shame and all the pain and suffering that one undergoes when imprisoned can be a better option to any government and its citizens. This paper focuses on how the small prison populations have been achieved in some countries, and answers the question of, why certain countries are considered soft on crime and others tough on crime.                  The countries like Sweden, which experience small prison population, have a humane way of sentencing law breakers. In in which the jail terms are always less than ten years. Even for the most serious law breakers, as opposed to other countries where the offenders of the law are given a jail term of not less than thirty to forty years behind bars. In real sense, this appears to be like life time imprisonment (Siegel, 2000). Taking into consideration, the life expectancies in various countries in the world. More so, the third world countries. Gendreau et al. (1999) states that the principle rationale for the compulsory minimums, creates a belief that, the duration of time spent in prison will always act as a deterrent to the future breaking of the law. The term spent in custody is believed to have effects in the victims behavioral characteristics such as suppressing criminals behavior due to unpleasantness in the life behind bars and negative social stigma associated with imprisonment this greatly reduce recidivism upon release. The time in prison is viewed as potential â€Å"psychological deep freezers†, in the sense that most of those  caught on the wrong side of the law do enter the prison with a set of antisocial behaviors and attitudes which are never changed during their times behind the bars, this greatly prevents interaction between the inmates which may lead to sharing of the ideas in perfecting their skills as they learn of the new ways of conducting their crimes through the other inmates. Thus the humanity in such countries has greatly helped reduce the crowding in the prisons giving adequate space for the incoming prisoners to get rooms in various prisons available in the various parts of such countries thus decrease in the prisoners populations.                Studies that have been conducted from 1958, involving approximately 336 000 law breakers have shown that there exists a correlation between recidivism and the length of time in prisons, and also the life as under incarceration and receiving the community based sanctions. The conclusions that were derived from such studies were prisons ought not to be used with the expectation of rectifying the behaviors of those who break the law, instead of subjecting those who break the law community based sanctions have proved to be the best teacher of the accepted behavior and norms with those around the victims and the communities at large. The excessive use of imprisonment too proved to have various cost implications, since when under custody the prisoners do meet various personalities and characters who introduce them to very immoral behaviors like homosexuality and lesbianism, the innocent prisoners are always raped, beaten and harassed and even forced to dance nude b efore other inmates. Such behaviors calls upon the prison officials to put in place repeated, comprehensive assessment of the law breakers attitudes, values, morals and behaviors while still under custody. Thus the offenders with the higher risk nature should be given reasonable periods in prison and subjected to adequate retribution.                Such countries too allow those who are under life incarceration to appeal to the courts after a given period, usually after ten to fifteen years, of time to be given a fixed term under  custody, the allowed time for any revised term always ranges between eighteen to twenty five years. The commuting of fixed terms do greatly reduce the number of those in custody, since most of those who do go for revision of their terms behind bars always succeed in overturning the previous rulings and emerge victorious in the sense of having a freedom one day after completing their terms behind bars. In United States of America, California State leads as the most propound with one of the toughest, broadest and most rigorously applied minimum policies, which are generally known as â€Å"the three strikes and out† law (D’Alession & Stolzenberg, 1997). The state has put in place a mandatory twenty five years to life for a third crime case and there is no distinct ion among the types of felonies at this stage (Bellisle, 1999).               Various countries have introduced the use of methods like electronic tagging, which is a cost effective, robust and reliable method of controlling monitoring and rectifying the behaviors of the law breakers. It has become one of the most effective means to resettle the custodians back into the society of the convicts and also using the community. Putting the tags provides a very effective way to keep on track the offender curfews, the equipment too consist of a monitoring unit which is based on radio frequency technology and its use is throughout the criminal system and as an important part of bail conditions too. The tag can be placed on the prisoner’s ankle and the monitoring unit situated in the home or other pace of curfew. The tag and the monitoring unit work together in which the tag acts as the transmitter which sends signals to the monitoring unit, which in turn sends signals to the control center. The tag and the monitoring unit are always unde r a twenty four hour monitor, thus an immediate response is always received for any kind of violation, bringing in time proof as one of its qualities thus maximum reliability. This technology when installed under a supervision requirement, greatly contribute to reduction in offending.                  Giving reassurance to the society that the behavior of the law breakers are on check.               Life behind bars without the hope of parole gives no chance for fulfillment outside the walls of prison, no chance to reconcile with the society, no hope (American Society Of Criminology, 1970). Maturity, at times do lead to the considered reflection which is the foundation of remorse, rehabilitation and renewal. Teenagers living their lives knowing that they have no chance of leaving prison until death, has very minimal incentive of becoming a responsible person. A country like The United States of America imposed sentence of life without a parole on the youths, the was achieved in the U.S by slowly and steadily doing away with the founding principles of the justice of the juvenile systems. Thus this day, a record number of various citizens in the U.S are living their youth, juvenile life without parole (JLWOP), without the fear of being sentenced for crimes committed before being eighteen years of age (Nellis, 2012). Increasing the age of those who can be se ntenced to life imprisonment to a reasonable age, for example eighteen to twenty one years, gives one the experience of life, making one more wiser and sound in both his or her reasoning and thinking capacities. This makes sure that as few childish law breakers as possible end up behind bars.               Post prison support, where the government take the initiative of teaching, guiding and supervising those on probation. This is done through free treatment programs, forums and organizing rallies to campaign against breaking the law, where the culprits are made to be fully involved after making vows never to be part of law breakers ever again. These services are always assisted by volunteers who are citizens of these countries, the volunteers always find ways to befriend the victims thus enabling them to become closer to these people making it much easier for them to interact while share ideas and opinions about where the victims do go wrong bringing some sense into the victims on probation. Mostly, the offenders are always jailed for either violence or on issues related to drugs, in such situations people who were once addicted but have found a way out of the bondage are used to help create a mentality that nothing is impossible and the victims too can also ch ange and make something better out of their lives rather than being caught on the wrong side of the law (Hall, 1982).               In most countries, the small prison population can be due to the prison break, which is the act of a prisoner escaping or  leaving  the prison through unaccepted ways. Escaping prison is regarded as a criminal offence in most countries. Therefore, when an escape occurs, efforts are always made by those in charge of the prison to recapture and bring them back. Such an offence, is always punished by additional jail terms and increased security. Other factors which include whether or not violence was involved during the escape. This is always done to discourage the other inmates from attempting to escape too. However, not all those who escape from prison are always recaptured. This too is a factor which have contributed to the reduction in population in most prisons. Example of such attempts which succeeded include, the 17th century escape of the Dutch author, Hugo Grotius, who escaped from Loevestein where he was being held captive. He managed to go through the security checks by getting into a book coffin and was then smuggled outside. In 1915 the German Naval Air Service Kapitanleutnant, known as Gunther Pluschow, escaped broke from Downingtown Hall prisoner of War camp (Sutherland & Cressey, 1974). From Texas Death Row in 1998, Martin Gurule escaped and he was found dead few days after (Siegel, 2000). Such incidents have greatly contributed to the small prison population in various countries across the world.                In some countries, prisoners are treated like other normal persons, with responsibility and trust. Instead of making them to spend time behind bars, they are given duties within the prisons and mandates to explore their talents and areas of profession. Such prisoners, though under custody becomes very important elements in the society. They always involve themselves in productivity of the nation. They learn new skills which do help them once they are out of prison. Once such skills are acquired, some of the prisoner always involve themselves too much into the new skills they acquire. Such serious involvements help the detainees to rehabilitate and start acting in manners which are always accepted in the community. This too gives the government and other volunteers who are always willing to help those on probation, easy time when dealing with such people when they finally come out of jail. They become good ambassadors, some of them join the volunteers as activ ists against being found on the wrong side of the law. Some, with their newly acquired skills always involved themselves in activities which are productive in the society such as the non-formal education e.g. tailoring, shop keeping etc., skill building programs which involves the motivational talks and subjection to training and control. Such like activities, which they do learn when behind bars while interacting with their fellow inmates. They turn up to be very important parts of the society. And also they are always accepted by most people, because of the important contributions that they make towards the well-being of those around them and the country. Through such activities, other members of the society who in one way or the other, may be found on the wrong side of the law do try as much as they can to try as much to live like those on probation whom they interact with in their day today life (Conclin, 1981).                The other factor which have greatly contributed to small population in prisons, is corruption. Research has shown that the corruption in most prisons, are more widespread and deeply rooted as ever before. The Transparency International United Kingdom (TI-UK) even the conclusions made, do underestimate the true extent of corruption in prisons. This is because they omit three major factors. These factors include, the risks of the officers who are not in the prison  staff being widely involved in corruption. The other factor is, the impact that the organized crime within the prison population has and the symbiosis relationship between the management performance and the corruption. The research shows that the main problem within the services offered in various prisons is smuggling of the illegal materials within the prison walls, these include, drugs and mobile phones. Siegel (2000) states that, the act smuggling not only involve the non-prison staffs but also the prison officers. The prison officers even involve themselves in unwanted relationships with those who have been incarcerated. This close relationship makes it easier for the prisoners to manipulate the officers’ mind and find ways to escape. Escape of prisoners who are in a relationship is always easier because they can be given the uniforms by the officers. Through this the populations are greatly reduced in such prisons. Such corrupt officers do accept bribes from the prisoners so as to help them escape out of the prison.               In countries like the United States of America where there is the highest number of prisoners, approximately 1.7 million. Research show that early 1990s, when the imprisonment rate was half of the present figures. A federal court order was released to reduce overcrowding. This left various states with only two choices, the first one was to put fewer law breakers in custody and secondly, to construct more prisons. In the State of Louisiana, they managed to achieve only the first option which was to lock up fewer people, this was due to lack of funds. But, they were determined to put every law breaker behind bars. The sheriffs had to find ways of footing the funds for construction of the new prisons. And after a few years, there were prisons in most parts of the state. To the sheriffs having people behind bars is like a business with opportunity to develop his law enforcement arm. The sheriffs do buy new squad cars, guns and laptops. These improvements in the ar ms made by the sheriffs, help improve and monitor the arms with ease. This help ensuring that there is very minimum crime cases in the arms headed by any sheriffs. Due to the increased rooms and bed spaces, with arms too for sheriffs to take charge, there is always competition among the sheriffs. This creates a healthy completion where no sheriff will want to be left out.             The high prison population, can also be due to high number of laws set by the government to individuals to tame those with unwanted behaviors in the society. The many laws that are always put in place are there to guide, train and control the citizens to act according to the countries orders. Those found on the wrong side are always put under the police custody for some period of time before being tried to court to be found guilty or not. This is done for every slightest mistake, because when left unpunished, such people always turns out to be criminals charged with very massive offences. To prevent these the government always resolve for the best option of holding the law breakers captives until they are fully rehabilitated. This has proved to be best method to tame the unruly citizens. Since, some of the citizens who always break the law are always afraid to be imprisoned. However, other unruly citizens in these countries which experience high number of populati on in their prisons do get into trouble because of the kind of treatment then get when locked under bars (Grapes, 2000). Not all citizens of a country lives a good state at their homes. Some are dwelling in absolute poverty. To avoid the stress of thinking what to wear and food to eat, they always resolve to get into trouble. Such people when under the custody of the police, they always sure that at the end of the day they’ll be having the basic needs that are unaffordable when they are at their homes (Sutherland & Cressey, 1974). This is due to the good treatment in most of the prisons in the developed countries, where the prisoners’ rooms are always fitted with luxurious equipment like television, internet enabled computers, washrooms etc. For the street urchins who are tired of sleeping in the cold, they always resolve to committing crimes which do land them in such luxurious prisons to eliminate the problems that they do have in life. Conclusion                   The evidence is overwhelming: small prison population does not mean that a country is soft on crime. Through rehabilitation, even the most stubborn criminal can turn out to be the best activist against crime. The life behind bars too can transform any person no matter how rotten the morals of the person is. Increase of the age for those who can be sentenced for life to a reasonable age too is an important contributing factor for the small prison population in these countries. These countries too may be acting soft on criminals in that in most cases the criminals who are kept in custody always find ways to escape. Corruption is also found to be one of the factors that majorly contribute to both low and high prison population in these prisons. On the other hand, those countries with a high prison population is found to have many laws. These laws are found to be the greatest contributor to the large numbers behind bars. References Siegel, L. J. (2000).  Criminology. Belmont, California-U.S.A: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. American society of criminology. (1970).  Criminology. Columbus, OH [etc.: American Society of Criminology [etc. Sutherland, E. H., and Cressey, D. R. (1974). Criminology. Philadelphia-U.S.A: Lippincott Nellis, A. (2012). The Life of Juvenile Lifers. Washington, D.C-U.S.A: DeSales St. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. New York: Pantheon Books. Gendreau, P., GOGGIN, C., LITTLE, T., AND CANADA. (1996).  Predicting adult offender recidivism: What works! Ottawa- Canada: Solicitor General Canada. Grapes, B. J. (2000).  Prisons. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press. Canadian criminal justice association. (2003).  Canadian journal of criminology and criminal justice Revue canadienne de criminologie et justice peÃŒ nale. Ottawa, Canadian Criminal Justice Association. http://www.metapress.com/content/1911-0219/. Hall williams, J. E. (1982).  Criminology and criminal justice. London, Butterworths. Source document

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Learning Essay

Learning something new it’s no easy. I have learned a lot of things in my life like cooking, surfing and horse riding, and I’ve always known that to be pessimistic is not a good choice. That’s why I decided to put a good face to the idea of learn how to dance salsa. A few months ago, I decided to sign up for salsa classes, everything began when we were celebrating the birthday of a friend and suddenly they all got up of their seats to dance salsa, everyone, except for me. Not knowing how to dance salsa is not something special but that day, at that moment, in that birthday, it meant a lot to me because my father was a professional salsa dancer and I am supposed to have that gene in my veins. The first few weeks were the hardest in the dance studio. I was scared, I felt that I had two left feet and for my bad luck always touched me dance with the most awkward of the boys. His name was Marcos. A very friendly guy, handsome and gentlemanly, but dancing was not his best skill. The first steps that we learned were basic but the most painful, I was not used to dance that type of music because it is a very fast dance and every song seemed endless. â€Å"The Salsa is very spontaneous, involves a lot of movement of the hips and feet† always said our instructor, he was a very funny man but what we most love about him was his patience and commitment to us. He showed us that we must first overcome the fear and shame that involves dancing in from of a group of people so we can show all the confidence that we have. And that’s exactly what I did, with time and practice I became the best in my class. Salsa dancing became my obsession I could not stop thinking about it, especially knowing, that the last session was a competition dance. The prize was a medal and that medal was my goal. I practiced day and night, in every spare moment, until the day of competition. I confess I was very nervous but I still succeed in overcoming all my fears and given the best of me on that dance floor. And you know what? I won, I won the medal and became the best in my class, I am very proud of myself because I showed that it is never late to learn something new and that everything in life involves patience, effort, practice and above all dedication . All these aspects made ​​me the person that I am now. A person more confident of itself and of what can be achieved in life. So if you still do not know how to dance salsa, what are you waiting for? It’s never too late, because now I’m sure that for the next birthday of one of my friends, I’ll be ready for dance Salsa until dawn.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Acetone - Background of the Study Essay Example for Free

Acetone – Background of the Study Essay ? Familiar household uses of acetone are as the active ingredient in nail polish removers and as paint thinner. Acetone can also be used for medical and cosmetic uses, such as applying acetone with alcohol for acne treatments to peel dry skin. It can also remove residues from glass and porcelain and it can also remove super glue from the skin. Perhaps, acetone is very useful in our everyday lives. Acetone is also known to remove ball pen marks on fabrics and clothings. It has ethyl acetate that is said to remove ball pen stains. Most people accidentally rubs ball pen marks on their clothing on a daily basis. The study was done to find out if acetone is more effective and easier to remove ball pen marks on clothings or fabrics than normal laundry detergent. The study aims to answer the following questions: 1. What is a more effective and easier way in removing ball pen stains on fabrics? 2. Is acetone effective in removing ball pen marks? If the ball pen mark is removed and the clothing is cleaner and whiter using acetone then acetone is more effective and easier way to remove ball pen marks on the clothing. The study was done to find out if acetone is effective in removing ball pen marks. The study will help mostly students and working adults and everyone who uses ball pen. They will benefit because most of the users have their ball pens blotting on a daily basis. The amount of bleach and acetone used is 20 ml. The ball pen mark is of the same size. Even the cloths are of the same type. This means that the study is limited to these amounts only. This study is limited to testing which among bleach or acetone can remove a simple ball pen mark effectively. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethyl_acetate#Uses, Ethyl Acetate is the solvent present in acetone that can remove the ball pen marks. It is also stated that ethyl acetate is also present in some hairsprays, alcohol, etc. The researchers recommend repeating the testing using different cloths and different amounts of bleach and acetone to test other possibilities. It is also suggested that the researchers use warm water for washing the cloths. Removing ball pen marks- http://housekeeping.about.com/od/stainremoval/a/inkstains.htm Acetone – Background of the Study. (2016, Dec 31).

Friday, September 27, 2019

How has gender inequality been explained (Answer with reference to a Essay

How has gender inequality been explained (Answer with reference to a range of theories and approaches) Critically assess the at - Essay Example It is from the conflict school that feminism emerged. Feminist movements seek to address the â€Å"oppression† of women. Actually, there are also articulations that describe an interaction among class, race, and gender but, unfortunately, this is not covered by this write-up. Moreover, there are ecofeminists that are radical as well as environmental but this is also not covered by this report. II. Perspective on Gender Inequality: Theories and Approaches Macionis and Plummer (2008, pp. 615-616) pointed out that functionalist perspectives on sociology describe gender inequality as fulfilling a function of set of functions in society. They cited, for instance, that a leading functionalist sociologist, Talcott Parsons, pointed out that â€Å"the family operates most efficiently with a clear-cut division of labour in which the females act in expressive roles, providing care and security to children and offering them emotional support† (Macionis and Plummer 2008, p. 615). Fo r Parsons, male on the other hand perform instrumental roles or those related to breadwinning in the family (Macionis and Plummer 2008, p. 615). John Bowlby, another functionalist sociologist emphasized the role of the mother is in the primary socialization of the children (Macionis and Plummer 2008, p. 615). Macionis and Plummer (2008, p. ... According to Macionis and Plummer (2008, p. 617), radical feminists vary in perspectives but â€Å"most agree that it involves the appropriation of women’s bodies and sexuality in some form†. For instance, the usual conceptions of beauty and sexuality are supposedly impositions on women by men at the latter create or construct a particular notion of what is feminine and impose it on society. Beasley (1999, p. 51-64) pointed out that there are several types of feminism: liberal, radical, Marxist/socialist, and socialist feminism. According to Beasley, liberal feminism is the more popular form of feminism (p. 51). Beasley (1999, p. 51) described that this form of feminism is the â€Å"moderate† or the â€Å"mainstream† form of feminism. In the liberal feminism, the explanation for gender inequality is described in terms of unequal rights or â€Å"artificial barriers† to women’s participation in the political or decision-making process. In the l iberal feminist thought, there is an emphasis on mainstreaming or putting the feminist agenda for equal rights on the legal, political and institutional fronts (Beasley 1999, p. 51). According to Beasley (1999, p. 51), the position of liberal feminists is that women should â€Å"compete in the public marketplace† (Beasley 1999, p. 51). For liberal feminists, equality of women with men in the public arena is the core of the liberal feminist agenda (Beasley 1999, p. 52). The liberal feminists hold that men and women are the same and, thus, have equal rights (Beasley 1999, p. 52). Liberal feminists emphasized on reform rather than change via a revolution (Beasley 1999, p. 52). In Beasley’s words (1999, p. 52), liberal feminists â€Å"want what

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Stakeholder Anaylsis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stakeholder Anaylsis - Essay Example Person A wants to buy a part for his new product. He has selected three companies to choose. Each company has some history that will influence the purchasing decision of the customers. Person A needs to know which supplier to contract (Friedman and Miles 15). A stakeholder is any person with a special interest in an entity and who influences an entity’s decision and is also influenced by the decisions made by an entity. They are the customers, creditors, employees, owners, shareholders and the society (Friedman and Miles 15). Stakeholder number one are the customers. They are the end users of the invented product (the bike rack). Stakeholder number two are the employees. They are the source of the effort and skills of producing the parts of the bike rack and the bike rack. Stakeholder number three is the society. The entity’s activities either causes the economic and social development or damage to the society. The following factors will be used to compare the top three stakeholders mentioned earlier: the product cost, employee treatment, and social effect (Friedman and Miles 15). The reactions of the stakeholders to the three suppliers has a great bearing on the future sales of bike rack, thus, will influence the future performance of the company. The stakeholder analysis has been done based on three factors such as the price, the employee treatment, and the social effect of the three suppliers. Based on the stakeholder analysis in the above table, company 3 (supplier number 3) is the best among the three. In addition, all the three stakeholders consider company three as the best. For this reason, Person A should sign a contract with company 3 in order to appeal to more stakeholders and improve

Compare the United States and another country of their choice on the Research Paper

Compare the United States and another country of their choice on the basis of cultural differences and Geert Hofstedes Five Cultural Dimensions - Research Paper Example Such environments also create a problem between the employees and even the managers who come from the different cultural backgrounds and are well versed in different managerial approaches (Walker, Walker, & Schmitz, 2003). Hofstede’s cultural dimensions provide an avenue through which the cultural dimensions of different countries can be analyzed to allow the business create the necessary adjustments towards succeeding in such markets. The United States and China are increasingly growing markets for both local and international business. However, the historical, political, social, and economic pasts of these countries have formed a framework for cultural developments, which shape the current business approaches and interactions. As such, this paper is going to employ Hofstede’s dimensions in analyzing the cultural differences between the US and China, and how the cultural constructs influence the business interactions in the two countries. Currently, China forms the most appealing and in Asia, with increased international collaboration with a variety of partners from other countries and regions. The country not only received direct foreign investments from other countries within the Asia region, but also receives large investments from Europe and North America(Guirdham, 2009). On the other hand, the US forms the largest economy in the world, with a growing number of business lines involving the highly diversified population that has generated a mainstream culture towards conducting business. The line that differentiates the US and Chinese cultures is thick enough and evident within the business practices. The four cultural dimensions by Hofstede coupled by the fifth dimension by Bond provide a clear framework for the analysis of the cultural differences between the US and China. Hofstede was one of the cultural researchers who first adopted the problem-solving pragmatic approach in relating culture and management

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Evaluate and revise A Strategy for Scottish Tourism Essay

Evaluate and revise A Strategy for Scottish Tourism - Essay Example It was evolved primarily based on the views that the overseas target markets showed declining performance, there was considerable increase in short tours and also the expenditure was exceeding budgets as per the targets set. The new strategy was the result of a consultation document from Henry McLeish MSP, Honorable Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning in 1999. The consultation document provided the broad items that could go to make for the new strategy, viz., optimal use of IT, tourism promotion to remote and rural areas, assuring quality, identifying future markets, domestic as well as overseas, extending the tourism season, improving training, improving accessibility of areas for tourism interest in Scotland, ATB functioning, as well as making tourism sustainable in the long term. It is therefore in this context that the strategy was examined. Acknowledges are due and hence conveyed in all earnestness to the university professors, fellow students as well as the different authors and experts who have permitted quoting their works in this report. In particular, mention needs to be made of JRB Ritchie and GI Crouch, whose painstaking work The Competitive Destination: A sustainable tourism perspective, 2003, has afforded this study to be made on the basic of fundamental strategy and tourism concepts outlined by these eminent authors. The study examined the new Scottish Tourist Board (STB) strategy according to the principle that tourism development needs to both competitive and sustainable in the long term. Sustainability means conserving the natural resources of Scotland and protecting its heritage structures. The strategy recognizes the natural advantages of Scotland in its scenic beauty and varied landscape and also highlights efforts to be undertaken like technology adoption, customer focus, service quality assurance, lifelong learning, training, better coordination among public bodies and greater involvement of

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Leadership Management in Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership Management in Action - Essay Example According to Goffee and Jones (1996), organizational culture is â€Å"glue that holds organizations together† while Gerstener (2002) stated that organizational culture is â€Å"not just one aspect of the game- it is the game†. Organizational culture is important enough for an effective business and so is the case of the hospitality industry. The Hospitality industry is comprised of a list of business whose purpose is to provide product and mainly services to its customers. In such a business where the success of the entire business is based on customer satisfaction an effective and strong organizational culture is crucial. As it is stated above that organization is just like an individual with its own very unique traits and personality, therefore, organizational culture has a key contribution in building a competitive edge over its rivals. Values are the most important components of a strong organizational structure because it is a set of its future goals, philosophies and views that an organization share (Alvesson, 2002).. In a short form, an organization’s mission statement and vision statement are the true examples of its values. Values are the key drivers of an organization and are unique from each other. For a successful organizational culture, it is important to have a clear set of values properly communicated to its employees also include the way that pledges to serve customers treat partners, and maintain proficient standards. For setting up values, an organization must have an understanding of customer needs and to the uniqueness in the quality of services (that are hard to imitable). To ensure effective organizational culture, it is important to have a proper implementation plan to practice the values across the organization. Values of an organization are of less importance unless they are not incorporated in its routine and rituals. For

Monday, September 23, 2019

Media Ethics Blog Post Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Ethics Blog Post - Assignment Example Perezhilton.com is a website blog by an American blogger and television personality known as Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. alias Perez Hilton. This media blog contains tabloid photographs and information that covers gossip items about celebrities. The media blog also covers music awards, private events, and promotes music (Hilton Web). Nevertheless, the blog has been receiving criticism for increasing the media coverage of celebrities, posting misleading information, unethical reporting, and false advertising. All the same, Perezhilton.com remains a fundamental reference to ‘news vs. entertainment’ and has resounding influence in journalism and communication. The Perezhilton.com blog covers and informs the audience on all happenings prior to, during, and after celebrity awards shows like MTV awards (Hilton Web). This generates a real feel of the entertainment events. Consequently, it informs and allows the music fans to vote for the shortlisted nominees for all music and movie wards. Additionally, the Perezhilton.com blog posts audio and video music links of up-and-coming musicians thus promoting their music. Actually, through the "Listen to This" category of his blog, many artists have indeed accessed the international market via music posts on the Perezhilton.com blog (Hilton Web). At the same time, Perez Hilton attends private events and posts live and true information and photographs of himself with the celebrities to the audience. I also like the fact that Perez Hilton speaks publicly against certain vices like discrimination of celebrities and other public figures. However, Perezhilton.com blog discriminates in covering media person alities and celebrities. Indeed, Perez Hilton seemingly has an affinity for given artists and a negative attitude against various celebrities (Hilton Web). Indeed, his proximity in reporting manifests biased coverage on Perezhilton.com blog. He has equally defamed many artists with false unethical allegations that lead to serious lawsuits against him. Additionally, there have been serious allegations of favoritism where Perez Hilton never reports on any information castigating his friend Paris Hilton. Actually, Perez Hilton reporting has been unethical where he makes untrue negative remarks about certain artists on the internet and posting music recordings on the internet illegally. Moreover, he posts rumors of death like that of the death of Cuban President Fidel Castro and misleads the audience on serious issues, as the illness of Michael Jackson that he claimed was a public stunt. More so, the promotion of same sex relationships in the Perezhilton.com blog is unethical. Notably, the website will have a significant impact on the perceptions of news vs. entertainment. Ideally, the website will have a positive impact on the perceptions of news vs. entertainment as it generates true entertainment by informing the audience, allowing their participation, and bringing entertainment close to them. More so, it also promotes up-and coming musicians. Nevertheless, it creates a negative perception through its unethical way of reporting and the biased information it relays which leads to a negative impact on the perceptions of news vs. entertainment. Furthermore, the favoritism in reporting, giving misleading information, discrimination in covering celebrities, and false advertisements generates an overall negative impact o

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Group Motivation Inventory Essay Example for Free

Group Motivation Inventory Essay Majority of us humans get up from bed in the morning, set out for school or our job and practically do our daily routines in a way that is unique to us. We interact to our environment and the people around us without fully understanding why we are doing our routine – why we go to school or do great in our job or are amused from a particular activity. Nonetheless we all know that there is something that motivates us for doing this. Motivation refers to the things either internal or external to a person from which makes him enthusiastic and persistent on pursuing a particular course of action (Daft, 526). Studying motivation makes us understand what makes us people initiate a certain action, and what influences our selection of actions. After I took the motivation rating exam, I have a moderate level of group motivation. This means that I am not fully committed to my group but also not completely disregarding how my group will perform. After taking the exam, I realized that there are factors that affect a person’s motivation on a group. Some of these factors are: 1) composition of the group; 2) commitment and dedication of other members; 3) chemistry within the group; 4) appreciation of the group; and 5) each member’s contribution for the group’s success. Upon taking the exam, I became aware that the factor that mostly affects my motivation in a group is a member’s commitment and dedication to the group. This is maybe because I have the habit of giving my best on anything that I am doing. Having this attitude makes me compare what my contributions to the other members of my group. If I think that they are not as dedicated as me, my motivation becomes lower. Appreciation of the group is the next factor that affects my motivation. In my opinion, only a martyr would work on a group that does not value what he is doing. When it comes to the composition of my group, the only problem is that some of the members of the group are so shy to even tell their names. I have encountered this kind of members. They usually want to work on their own. The only thing a leader should do is give him/her what she will do and that is all. The composition of the group is essential to another factor, chemistry. The interaction within a group is also important when considering one’s motivation. Working with group whose chemistry is good usually leads to achieving the group’s goal. Contribution of other members to the group also affects my motivation. If all of the members participate well and contribute what they should give makes me want to also do my part well. On the other hand, if some members do not actually help with the achievement of our group’s goals, the other members, including myself, would have to exert more effort. Thus, we have to be more motivated. The motivation exam made me realize that I am moderately motivated when I am involved in a group. Unlike before, I think I can also measure the dedication of the other group members. With this, I am able to compare my level of motivation with the other members of the group. Only a little bit has really changed. I still do my part wholeheartedly. I try to attend all of the scheduled group meetings and do my best to help the group finish its goals. The only thing that changed is on how I interact with them. Usually before taking the exam, I only ask something to the group if I am having trouble understanding what I should do. I do not want a conversation other than the problems that the group is dealing with. Now, I talk to my other co-members about anything under the sun to further improve our chemistry. With each member’s trust and friendliness, I became a lot motivated. After taking this exam and analyzing my results, there are some things that I would change in order to further improve my participation and motivation in other future groups. First, I will improve my interaction to my future co-members. The chemistry becomes the â€Å"spark† of a good group relationship. If group members interact to each other with respect and friendliness, everyone will help on each. Thus, group goals will be done in a smooth way. In the future, I will also motivate my co-members. I will talk to them if I think they are not participating well in the group and encourage them that we are a team and we have to work together to be successful. There are some theories or approaches to further improve motivation within an organization. One particular theory is the Expectancy Theory associated to the works of Victor Vroom with a number of contributions from other scholars. The Expectancy theory implies that the degree of motivation of a certain individual is associated on his expectations on their capability to perform a particular task and the desired awards he will receive. Expectancy theory focuses on the thinking process present to an individual to gain rewards, not on recognizing what his needs are (Daft, 536). With this theory, I think that sharing my expectations to my co-members will further improve each of our motivations, thus improving the performance of the group. The factor that mostly affects my motivations, based on the results, is the commitment of the other group members. If other members do not do their part, my motivation decreases. I am not comfortable working with a group who is not as committed as me. In order to avoid this, confrontation is needed. Other member should be confronted regarding their attitude and their respective responsibilities to the group. In a sense, before the group does anything, rules should be made clear. Content Theories can also be used to improve motivation within an organization. One of these Content theories is the famous Hierarchy of Needs theory by Abraham Maslow. The theory suggests that there are five classes of needs that motivate a person existing in a hierarchical form. Maslow argues that needs with low-ranks should be the priority. These needs (from lowest to highest rank) are as follows: 1) Physiological needs – the most basic physical needs of humans; 2) Safety needs – the need for a protected and harmless physical and emotional setting; 3) Belongingness needs – the desire to be in a particular group with their trust; 4) Esteem needs – the need for appreciation and recognition within a group or organization; 5) Self-actualization needs – the need of self-fulfillment (Daft, 529-530). The suitable incentive for the group would be from the categories of belongingness and esteem needs. To improve motivation within the group, one should acknowledge each member for what he had done for the group. Appreciation should also be given to them even though their work is not that excellent. At least they have given their best. For every work that a member accomplishes, the other members should at least try to thank him/her. A simple line of â€Å"good job† will make a person exert more efforts and be more motivated. Reference: Daft, Richard. 2005. Management 5th Ed. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Business Report On Marketing Intelligence

Business Report On Marketing Intelligence Market research helps the organization to bring the data which make sense of the organizational performance. Moreover, the successful marketer has focused on the market research to bring the information which is applied in the marketing activities. Therefore, the organization become becomes stable when the marketing activities are successful (Kumar, 2010).. However, the competitive advantage is increased due to the successful inauguration of the marketing plan. For an example, the Proctor Gamble is operating huge market research to strengthen the marketing activities which brought the larger market share. Through this paper the key concepts of marketing research will be merged with the different marketing activities. 1. Requirement One 1.1 Stages of Purchase Decision Making Process Here the purchase decision making process is directly concerned with the final consumer purchase decision making process and the consumer purchase decision is differs in the particular products to products. For example, the buying behavior of toothpaste is different from i-pod. However, the purchase decision process has five stages which are reflected in the following figure one. http://www.seo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Consumer-Research-Process1.png Figure One: Purchase Decision Stage, Source: Jeannet and Hennessey, (2011) This figure is suggesting that, consumers go through all of the stages when they need to purchase (Jeannet and Hennessey, 2011). For an example, when a customer need to purchase a Mobile phone, he/she needs to have need awareness, then move to the information search in the mobile market, then make evaluation between alternatives, then make purchase, finally he/she express the post purchase behavior which reflect the positive or negative feedback. 1.2 Theories of Buyer Behavior in Terms of Individual and Market The buying behavior of the consumers differs in the different market and for that reason exper developed different theories of consumer buying behavior. According to Czinkota and Ronkainen, (2012), there are four theories of the buying behavior which is listed in the following. Complex Buying Behavior: In this situation, consumers have higher involvement in the expensive, risky, purchased infrequently, and highly self-expressive product. Dissonance Reducing Buying Behavior: Highly involvement but seeks little difference between brands. Habitual Buying Behavior: Low involvement of consumers but little brand differences. Variety-Seeking Buying Behavior: Have low consumer involvement but brand difference is significance. 1.3 Factors Affecting Buyer Behavior In the modern market, consumers need to make different buying decision in different condition which is affected by the different factors. However, consumer purchase decision is affected by the culture, society, personality, and psychology. This is listed in the following figure. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dx4MOHdEf_w/THTWsxMxCjI/AAAAAAAAABk/akYObs46fF8/s1600/chart+1.jpg Figure Two: Factors affecting consumer buying behavior. Source: Craig and Douglas, (2009) Cultural: Human behavior is controlled by the culture that is followed by the people and this culture affects purchasing decision. Social: The social structure influences the purchasing behavior of the consumers. Personal: The personal characteristics influence the purchasing decision of the consumers. Psychological: The psychological factors influence the purchasing behavior of consumer like motivation toward purchasing. 1.4 Relationship among Brand Loyalty, Corporate Image, and Repeat Purchasing The brand loyalty, corporate image, and repeat purchasing have strong impact on the competitive advantage of a firm in the highly competitive market. The brand loyalty creates customer loyalty which is resulted the repeat purchasing of the customer Douglas and Craig, (2009). However, the brand loyalty, corporate image, service, price and service quality leads to increase the loyal customer and those loyal customer is the asset of a firm who enhance the brand loyalty and corporate image. The brand loyalty will authentic when the customers have true attitude to make the repeat purchasing. For example, the Pepsi is considered as the true brand loyalties which have the corporate image in the competitive market. 2. Requirement Two 2.1 Types of Market Research Techniques Generally, the market research or the marketing research is designed to collect information to implement in the marketing activities of the firm. Normally, the market research has the two techniques which are listed in the following. Primary Research: The primary research has two ways which is Qualitative and Quantitative research. In qualitative research the research can be designed through the open-ended question and focus groups. However this research technique is used to gather the descriptive information (Dodd, 2008). On the other hand, the quantitative research gathers numerical information to analyze the marketing techniques. The quantitative techniques are done through the surveys. Secondary Research: The secondary research gathers information on the topic which is already published. The secondary research information is gathered from the different institution like trade associations, chamber of commerce, universities, media like newspaper, magazines etc (Dodd, 2008).. 2.2 Source of Secondary Data The secondary data is collected from the different sources which are already published. The secondary research information is already exists. For that reason, the primary data collection is not needed and the secondary information can be gathered from the libraries, public information centre, books, business publication, magazines, newspapers, trade associations, NGOs, banks, real states, insurance companies, wholesalers, manufacturer, regional organsiation, media representatives and many others (Dodd, 2008).. 2.3 Validity and Reliability of Market Research Findings Every research does not require the high level elaboration of study. But, the marketing research needs to conduct the minimum level of study which makes the actual result of the study. The small and informal research background may bring the irrelevant or wrong result (Craig and Douglas, 2009). However, the research validity comes from the data gathering techniques, ethical consideration, and the claims that are done through during the preparation of the research. The research validity may influence greater techniques which mentioned the similarities of other research and opinions. Most of the cases the samples are too small which leads to the poor reliability of the research findings. 2.4 Preparing Marketing Research Plan The marketing research plan is designed to bring the information to implement the current marketing activities. For an example, the market research plan for the Proctor Gamble (PG) has developed to bring out the information of 4.2 billions of customer perception. However, PG has developed the marketing research to justify the brand equity in the market to provide the competitive advantage (Ahmed et al., 2010). For that reason, the company started to cater the consumer to find out the appropriate result and the company has spent tremendous amount of money, effort to bring the innovation. PG knows that, the consumers know about the products which are delivered for the development of the marketing research techniques. PG has successfully handled the market research which brought the appropriate result to determine the marketing result. Now, PG believes that was the only reason why the company is placed in the worlds top one of the brands. 3. Requirement Three 3.1 Market Size Trends within the Market The market size is calculated by the total volume or value of sales in the market and the total volume is calculated through the number of units sold and the amount spent by the customer to have the costs of goods sold. To illustrate this an example of UK book market can be considered, the UK book market is healthy and dynamic market which saw that the market size is upward. In this market, the consumers are the main driver and the publishers need to promote the new writers books rather the old writers (Ahmed et al., 2010). Because, the old writer already captured the market and new writers can expand the market which increase the market size. However, the book market size is also expanding due to non-fiction growth of the products and services which helps to expand the market size. 3.2 Competitor Analysis of Tesco Tesco is the biggest supermarket chain in the UK. The most significant issue is that, the UK supermarket and food retail market is considered as heavily consolidated. In the supermarket chain, the top five supermarket chain has the major market share which is minimum more than five and these companies are Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Wm. Morrison, and Somerfield. These five companies have more than 80 percent of the total market share in the UK. However, the competition between these companies is intense and dynamic (Henry, 2011). However, the competition is begins with plan which is set to position in the market, Tesco considers Asda and Wm Morrison low price group who has the strong market influence in the market and Asda is the second largest UKs supermarket chain. Whereas, the Sainsburys and Somerfield are considered as the smaller competitors, which have focus on the higher price. Tesco is the largest supermarket chain and consider all the competitors to set the marketing activities in the market to increase the sales of the product. In the UK supermarket chain, Tesco is holding the 30 percent market share and Asda and Sainsburys has the second and third position which belongs 16 and 17 percent market share respectably (Bagozzi Foxall, 2009). However, the Morrison holding the fourth position which has the 11 percent market shares with the acquisition of the Safeway. The competitor Somerfield has the 6 percent market share for the fifth position. 3.3 Opportunities and Threats for Asda Asda is a second largest supermarket of UKs supermarket chain, which have currently booming position in the supermarket chain. However, the company was taken over by the USAs biggest brand Wal-Mart. Though, it has been taken over by the Wal-Mart, the brand name didnt change and the old brand name successfully promoted by the Wal-Mart which is completely efficient strategic decision (Bagozzi Foxall, 2009). This strategy has brought some opportunities for Asda, as well as threats. This is relevant in all business practice that, the threats is existed in line with the opportunities. So the opportunities and threats need to identify to attempt for the best alternative action in the market. In the following the opportunities and threats is identified (Lewis and Slack, 2003). Opportunities Threats Sufficient Shareholder More brands but lower selling of high brand products. Currently second largest supermarket chain in UK Asda cannot be compared with TESCO(first biggest supermarket chain) Provides best value rather money to the retailer Focus on selling of Asdas product rather the big brand like Nestle, Cadbury, Proctor and Gamble, Unilever. Having high profit margin Less stores compared to the competitors Efficient procurement system Focus on great profit Table: Opportunities and Threats of Asda. 4. Requirement Four 4.1 Techniques to Assess Customer Response The assessment of the customer response is fully depends on the activities of the firms performance in the firms activity sector. Moreover, the techniques of the customer response are highly developed on the assessment and measurement of the financial planning in which the customer survey is considered as the best way to assess the customer response Doyle, P. (2008). Besides, the customer survey, an organization can assess the different yardsticks which are described in the following part of the paper. Productive Performance Indicator: The productivity of the organization will be increased when the customer response is developed. Because, the sales of the product is increased and the demand for the product also increased in line with the sales. Then, a company try to increase the productivity is increased. Then the organization can easily trace the customer responses. Financial Performance: when the customer response is positive the financial performance is upward. Because, the increased sales contribute to increase the profit margin which make the company profitable. The positive performance brings the customer response. Quality Performance: if the organization offers the better products in the market the customer try to take the full responsibility which increases the product sales. The quality performance is able when the continuous selling is running. Response Cycle Time: The customer who intends to response with the product quality then the repeat purchase increase. The sales volume represent whether the customer making the repeat purchase. This indicates the customer response of the organization. 4.2 Customer Satisfaction Survey To assess the customer satisfaction the direct survey is continued which has logical collaboration of the abandon item. But, most of the cases the survey questions do not matched with the customer satisfaction level and the perceived customer value are highly merged with customer experience (Catherine, 2011). Here, the questionnaire for customer survey is as follows. What is your gender? Which range indicates your age? How long the products are used? Which product and services is preferred by the organization to serve you. How frequent the purchasing of the products needs. The rating of the overall satisfaction level to customer level. Will you recommend to your friend and family to buy from this product. The brand attributes need to be argued or not? Rating the companys product. Which logo customer beliefs to make brand relation? How satisfied you overall with the products attributes? Is the firm is able to support your problems? If the product dont be able how the staff are offer to serve recent problems? How efficient the customer service system of the organization. This question is designed with the options which have the logical structure of the satisfied, strongly satisfied, not satisfied, and neutral. This survey result will help to find out the actual result of the survey. 4.3 Review of the Survey The survey questionnaire brings the data of specific problems and weaknesses of the organization. The term customer satisfaction will be measured when the result of the survey report will be submitted. Moreover, the actual results will carry the recent information which is carried by the research objectives (Catherine, 2011). Customer satisfaction will be brought when the result of the survey will be positive. However, the results may positive or negative both is expected. When the result will be positive the company will try to maximize the service components and features. On the other hand, if the result is negative the organization may take action to make the product development with the special feature comparing the competitors. The customer service provides the special features of the recommendation which develop the marketing activities. Training Plan The training session for the 10 mid level manage will be focused on the key procedures of the market research techniques. The market research techniques is designed to develop the authentic collaboration with the different techniques of research, how to bring the actual result, how to response with the negative result. This system will be enhanced when the research is designed to develop the specific actions of the research techniques. The ten midlevel manager will able to carry out the research of the organization. Conclusion In brief, the high level of value adds the high level of the organizations performance. The customer service is designed to provide the actual results which are demonstrated the individual customers (Bagozzi Foxall, 2009). However, the firms need to focus on the after sale service to bring the customer response which bring the brand equity in line with the corporate image. So, the research and development is the necessary part to know whether the customer is satisfied or not. Finally, the satisfied customer bring the huge benefit for the organization in long run with profitability and growth.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Influence of Power in Macbeth Essay -- Corruption of Power

In The Tragedy of Macbeth, the most prevailing theme is the shift in power in the relationships of the central character. The main character of the play, Macbeth, experiences a shift in control of his relationships as he gains more power. Duncan is the most unlikely character to be killed because of his personality, but because he is the King of Scotland, Macbeth loathes him. In the play there is very interaction between Macbeth and Duncan, showing the little time in which Macbeth gets more power. Prior to the witches’ prophecies Macbeth is loyal to Duncan, and would never imagine killing him. After the one of the witches’ prophecies comes to be true, the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth "yield[s] to that suggestion / whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / and make my seated heart knock at my ribs," showing that he originally would never imagine killing Duncan. (1.3.146-148) Partly because of Lady Macbeth’s suggestion his "vaulting ambition" is starting to take over, and he begins to take into consideration killing Duncan. (1.7.27) Macbeth however, does not feel confident in killing Duncan, giving himself reasons why not to kill him: â€Å"First, as I am his kinsman and his subject/†¦then , as his host, /Who should against his murderer shut the door/Not bear the knife myself,† Lady Macbeth, convinces Macbeth, that killing Duncan is the right thing to do until right before he performs the murder. (1.7. 13-16) After the Macbeth murders Duncan, one sees that Macbeth trusts and is loyal to Duncan, but knowing that one day he would become king, his ambition and the persuasion by Lady Macbeth, causes him to perform the act, that he will regret. This murder changes Macbeth as a person, however, and he soon feels little regret for killing... ...anquo and his son Fleance, the prophesied heir of the throne, in which he states how Banquo â€Å"was your enemy,† referring to the murderers, and how Banquo is Macbeth’s enemy as well, showing that Macbeth and Banquo’s relationship changed from camaraderie to being on opposing sides. (3.1.130) In the Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the complex character of Macbeth, to reveal a message about relationships. He shows that the more power one receives, the more naracastic that person will become, and will only make decisions in his or her best interests. After Macbeth becomes King, all of his actions are based on keeping his position in power, and making sure no one will find out about his previous measures in becoming King. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1915. Google Books. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

Community Service Essay :: Community Service Essays

People’s lives are changed every day by their actions and experiences. This past summer, I participated in a community service project, an experience that opened my eyes in many ways. I was a volunteer at the County Memorial Hospital. In my time as a volunteer at the hospital, I was able to meet patients and staff members from all over the world and learn about their life experiences. Listening to all of their stories has made me truly appreciate everything which I have. One experience that I will always remember is the day I was running errands and had the opportunity to meet a very special patient. She was a sweet woman who was originally from Mexico. We were having a friendly conversation when she asked me about why I chose to do community service at the hospital. I explained to her that I planned on majoring in the medical field one day and I was working on obtaining community service hours. We got to talking about the education systems in our countries. In our conversation I learned that only selected people were given the opportunity to receive an education in her native country of Mexico. She told me about the poor education system and the extreme poverty which debilitates Mexico. As a United States citizen, I am provided with a variety of options for education. People in Mexico must fight to obtain access to any education. This made me realize how truly fortunate I am. At the beginning of this volunteer experience, I walked in hopeful that I would gain some knowledge about the different careers that the medical field possesses, but I got so much more than that. I learned that community service is about making an impact in the lives of other members who share my community. At the end of volunteer services I have decided on a major, I am now striving to become a physician’s assistant. In this position, not only do I get to care for patients, but I am presented with the opportunity to change their lives. I will be able to see firsthand the diversity of cultures from around the world.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Hip Hop America Essay -- essays research papers

Hip Hop America Nelson George's Hip Hop America discusses the nature of hip hop along with the relationship between African Americans and America. Many take the idea of hip hop to be just African Americans and rap music. George continually focuses on hip hop's many contradictions. He addresses how hip hop represents race, ethnicity, class, gender, and generation. George covers much familiar ground: how B-beats became hip hop; how technology changed popular music, which helped to create new technologies; how professional basketball was influenced by hip hop styles; how gangsta rap emerged out of the crack epidemic of the 1980s; how many elements of hip hop culture managed to celebrate, and/or condemn black-on-black violence; how that black-on-black violence was somewhat encouraged by white people scheming on black males to show their foolishness, which often created a huge mess; and finally, how hip hop used and continues to use its art to express black frustration and ambition to blacks while, at the same time, refering that frustration and ambition to millions of whites. Chapter 3 and chapter 16 â€Å"da joint and beyond† really caught my eye. Chapter 3 â€Å"gangsters-real and unreal† summarized the image of the â€Å"hood† and crime filled areas where people are regularly being robbed, shot, and killed. It also told how drugs came about and became a new indusry. It also became popular among musicians and soon became a way to employ young poor teens who lived in these â€Å"hoods†. As many ...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

MRP (Materials Requirements Planning)

From reading about material requirements planning (MRP), I deciphered that this is a manufacturing planning and inventory control system that helps manage manufacturing procedures. MRP systems ideally have three main purposes.The first is to make sure that all materials are obtainable for manufacturing and the products are accessible to deliver to the buyers. The second purpose is to uphold the low inventory in store, and the third is to design manufacturing actions, delivery agendas and purchasing actions.The simple purpose of MRP system is to regulate the inventory. The use of MRP assists companies in keeping their inventory as low as possible while helping plan manufacturing, purchasing and delivering functions.Businesses need to regulate the kinds and amounts of supplies that they buy, strategize which products are to be made and how much of it and confirm that they are capable of meeting existing and upcoming consumer requests, while sustaining the lowest price for the company. Making a bad decision in any of these areas will make the company lose money.Not planning accordingly within this criterion could cause the company to lose a lot of capital. MRP can help you know what resources are needed and how many, as well as when you will need these materials.MRP can be used for materials that are bought from external sellers as well as those made in-house. You need to keep in mind what materials you are making, how much of it do you need, how long they can be stored for. For the planning portion, you need to know what limitations you may have for producing the materials as well as how to make them.For the outputs and reports part of MRP, you have output 1 which is the â€Å"Recommended Production Schedule†. What this does is that it gives you a thorough schedule of the dates that you need to complete the task along with how many to fulfill the call from the Master Production Schedule.Output 2 is the â€Å"Recommended Purchasing Schedule†. This ou tput gives you the dates you will get the materials bought and the dates that the purchase orders should transpire to equal the production schedules. Like with any other system, there are problems that evolve from using theMRP system. The main issue with MRP systems is the integrity of the data. If for some reason there are any mistakes in the inventory data, the bill of materials data, or production schedule, then this would make the output data wrong.To rectify these issues however, some businesses use pull systems and bar code scanning which makes it more accurate. A big concern with the MRP systems is the fact that they are mandated to state the length of time that a manufacturer will need to make a product.The system assumes that this time in manufacturing won’t change every time the item is produced, with no concern as to how many are made, or other things that may be made at the same time. Regardless of some of the issues that the MRP system may have, it does help comp anies reduce cost and inventory on hand.It helps companies produce what they need, when they needed to meet any demands that any consumers may have as well as deadlines etc. This system works well with many different types of companies and it seems to be fairly efficient.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Indian American Immigrants in the Golden Age Essay

Arthur W. Helweg is known as a Cultural Anthropologist and a Professor of Anthropology at the Western Michigan University, who studied the lives and stories of many Asian Indian Immigrants in different countries around the world which includes Australia, Canada, Great Britain, India and the United States of America (Arthur W. Helweg). Through his love and passion for the people with Asian Indian origin, he worked with different publications and has already written various books that feature the tale of many Asian Indian Immigrants around the world. He also co-authored the book entitled â€Å"Immigrant Success Story: East Indians in America,† which has been awarded with the Theodore Saloutos Book Award given by the Immigration and Ethnic History Society, as the best book on immigration history category in the year 1990. More so, he has also done co-editorial task wherein he has been chosen to be a part of the editorial team for the book series entitled â€Å"Discovering the People of Michigan. â€Å" The book entitled â€Å"Strangers in Not-So-Strange Land: Indian American Immigrants in the Golden Age† is regarded as one of the most brilliant works of Arthur William Helweg in his chosen field of interest in studying the narrative of many Asian Indian people around the globe who seek for better life and fortune outside the premises of their motherland. This book is also characterized as one of the apparent proofs that signify the dedication and excellence of Arthur Helweg, as a Cultural Anthropologist and an enthusiast of the Asian Indian struggles as immigrants in different countries abroad, more especially in the United States. Currently, there are now thousands of Asian Indians who are living in the United States. Synopsis of the Book In a sense, this book of Arthur Helweg presents his own account of case study regarding the narrative and struggle of many Asian Indians in the United States. For more than three decades, the story of these people has never been in the mainstream and almost regarded as nonexistent ever since they arrived in the U. S. However, this profound community of Asian Indian is regarded to be a group of immigrants with the highest educated members and known as the highest earning average family of any ethnic group in North America. Thus, theses Asian Indians are noted as valuable members and representatives of the latest type of immigrants arriving in the United States. In a sense, the author, Arthur Helweg, has focused more about the theme of immigration of these people in the United States. This book highlights the truth and facts about the narrative of Asian Indian immigration and how these highly educated and professionally trained immigrants vary and deal with different challenges and difficulties associated to the traditional concepts of migration in the United States. Thus, this book tells about the real stories of these people regarding their journey to the land of America and how they adjusted to the new set of laws in the United States, as immigrants and foreign people. This also highlights the case study of the author about the adjustments involved in creating a new line of respect between the Asian Indians and the Native American people. Furthermore, this reading also renders a clear overview about the historical narrative of the Asian Indian in the United States and how the Indian Diaspora becomes a global tribe, which has been all over the world. This also explains the origin of these people and how their homeland is being recognized, as these people continuous to create good recognition across their names internationally. With the fact that these people is now recognized as one of the well acknowledged group of immigrants in the United States, this book also highlights the real happenings as to how the ethnicity of the Asian Indian survived in a relatively new world and volatile nature of the United States. More so, this also depicts the apparent pictures with regard to the efforts and hard work of these people in laying the foundation of their ethnicity in the United States. The Critique From a personal point of view, it is of reasonable grounds to say that Arthur Helweg, as a cultural anthropologist, professor and author is indeed a master and specialist of what he does best, which is that of studying the narrative of Asian Indian immigrants in different areas around the globe, more especially in the United States, as evident in the excellence of this book. More so, this book is observable to be cohesive and reliable in presenting valuable and factual accounts of the Asian Indian ethnicity and their journey towards instituting their equal position in the American society. Starting from the fundamentals and discussing the significance of the main story, the writing style of Arthur Helweg for this book is indeed informative and at the same time profoundly entertaining, as he also incorporates most of his distinct humor in presenting and discussing some of the light aspects of the book. Though writing a case study type of book is a bit tricky and complicated to do, the author, Arthur Helweg, has done a good job in presenting a well researched and comprehensive readings with regard to the life and struggle of these people, as valuable refugees in foreign countries like the United States. The way Arthur Helweg highlights and reveals both of the minor and major issues that these people are experiencing in the United States, as immigrants, is really one of main factors of that has made this book cohesive and well informative, not only for the member of Asian Indian community in U. S. but also for the people who wants to know more about the narrative of these ethnic people. Relation to Class Material As for this book, the topic about ethnicity and race of the Asian Indian in the United States is what I really understand the most. As a part of the class discussion, I learned that though people from other countries with specific ethnicity or cultural background prefers to live and start a new in a foreign outside of their original home turf, they can still be classified as an individual according to their culture, as seen evident through their beliefs, actions and language. Thus, as for the case of Asian Indian, depicted in the book of Arthur Helweg, it has become more understandable that these people, though they traveled so far and miles away from their homeland, still remain as a recognizable ethnic society in the U. S. because of their cultural background and racial origin, which can never be easily altered though they are already living in a relatively strange world. More so, through the materials we have discussed in class, it made me understand better that racial inequality in diverse countries like the United States is one of the most significant and common issues as well as dangers that typical ethnic immigrants like the Asian Indian in the United States are facing as a group of people living a strange world. Lastly, it is of my well established knowledge that migration of different of ethnic group in particular country helps alter the cultural background and/or orientation by the people involved in the process. In the end, this book of Arthur Helweg, has helped me better understand the issues and facts as to how migration of different ethnic groups of people around the world is changing the world cultures and influencing the formation of various policies both local and international. More so, through this book, I learned that in the end, race and/cultural differences should not be the main basis from which one would draw the importance and superiority of ethnicity. Instead, people should value the worth of one another according to their abilities and help for the betterment of a given country, regardless of race or cultural background. Works Cited Arthur W. Helweg. 15 may 2009 Helweg, Arthur. Strangers in a not-so-strange land: Indian American immigrants in the global age. California: Wadsworth, 2004. Miller, Barbara. Cultural Anthropology in a Globalizing World. Boston: Addison-Wesley, 2007. Profile of Asian Indians in the U. S. A. spindlepub. com. 15 May 2005

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Nokia Strategy Analysis Essay

1.Does Nokia have a truly global strategy, rather than just a series of regional strategies? Explain. Yes, it does have a global strategy. The global strategy of Nokia is the foundation of all the regional strategies and that is based on overall consumer needs. They found out the main consumer needs is focused on selling products (phones) as lowest price all over the world with its simple, easy and basic models. Also beside that Nokia has series of regional strategies that use most advanced technologies in terms of Camera, music and nanotechnology which is the future feature of the phones in e flexible shape and the last not the least is focusing on the business communications to compete with other companies in the industry and keep its position as the market leader. Therefore they placed their strategy in 3 facets: 1. growing the number of people using Nokia, 2. transforming the devices people use. 3. buidling new businesses. 2.Consider the different global marketing environments discussed in the text. How do these environments differ in developing versus developed countries? †¢Developing countries: African, Asian, Latin American countries and Middles East region have the highest sale volumes in a way that the half of the world population have cell phones and one of the three hold a Nokia phone, as China and India are among the countries with highest number of population and also got the highest number of sales, as an example 70 mil phones were sold in China in 2007 that is 38% more than the previous year’s sales. Basically the high demand for this product in these regions is for simplicity and user friendly system that the Nokia has along with its cheap price, as most of the people in these regions have very low income and in some place the mobile is shared by  ½ dozen of people who even cannot read or write ( mostly in Africa). In these regions (African-Asia) the main aim is connecting one person to another, could be a simple greeting phone call, or a simple test message. It does not matter if it’s colorful or black and white, or if it has a camera or Social group connection such as Facebook, Twiter or so on. The simple lifestyle will remain the same in the usage of  the phone as the phone will not stop the normal people gathering and family meetings while in the Developed countries it varys. †¢Developed countries: Europe consists of 39% of Nokia’s net Sale. It was not explained in the text what is the attraction of the European towards Nokia, but I assume it is based on the different features that each phone has that is different from another phone and also the user friendly technology that is used can be another reason as other competitors’ phones are a bit difficult to get used to. The U.S. only consists of 5% of the Nokia’s sale and the reason could be the people’s attraction is towards the most advanced technology smart phone that includes all the required and needy application in one slim size and light weighted smart phone and this is why most Americans seek competitors phone like, Iphone, Samsung, LG, Sony and Motorella and Black Berry phones. In terms of environment U.S is the place of business and fast communication, no double in this place the level of education is very high and simple phones are not the demand of the smart and highly educated individuals, they look for most advanced technology and the simplicity is not their main aim. They try to save time for meeting, gathering by a simple video call, or chat or so on which is the lifestyle of the people of the developed countries. 3.Discuss Nokia’s global strategy in terms of the five global product and communications strategies. Nokia, tries to get highest number of Nokia users not only through the low cost and simple mobiles that are mostly sold in the developing countries, it is also trying to grow in the niche markets that other competitors are focusing on such as the touch screen phones that were first introduced by Apple’s, and music focus products such as i-pod, in camera is competing with other phones and Canon as having more sales than Canons, and the business communication phones with advanced technology phones. The high amount of investment in R&D and expanding the range of products are all part of Nokia’s strategy in order to stay in the market and keep its position as the market leader for a very long period. I personally admire Nokia’s strategy as it is this keeps the Nokia brand name always speeded around for all the segments needs which is the main global aim of the Nokia meeting what the consumer want. 4.Can competitors easily replicate Nokia’s global strategy? Why or Why not? I don’t think so. As other companies are only focusing on their specific niche and investing in other niche needs high investment and it’s already taken by Nokia, and the only way is possible if there will be high investment in these companies to compete with Nokia. As most of the competing companies are not only Phone producers, they are producing a other electronic devices as well and their profit is gained from the whole range of their electronic devices that they sell and focusing only in one different targets of one single product (Mobile phone for low income individuals) would not be very beneficial for them to invest is. (Such as Samsung; Smart TV, mobile phones, Washing Machine, †¦.) But in future (about 20-50 years from now) I think as we go further the old technologies will be cheaper and cheaper, in a way that there will be less demand for these low cost mobile phones as most probably these will be available for free or maybe they will not be used at all as there are new products or devices that will be introduced that will replace the Mobile phone the same for other electronic devices who knows†¦? 5.Will Nokia’s planned expansion into other products and services work? Explain. In my opinion it won’t. As I have read in many places that Nokia had released a Laptop and its sales was not successful. I think Nokia is knows as a Mobile Phone producer and has to focus more on that market only. As if it produces other electronic devices, Nokia’s customer will lose their focus on the Nokia as the leader in the Mobile phone devices. Nokia if is trying to expand, its better to use the sample production as laptop, tablet for very limited period, as limited period only and study the market demand. If it was successful (which it was not in the first place) can expand its products slowly in the business-communicating devices only.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Party Essay

Chapter 6 Revised Everybody loves to party. A meaningful party has a dramatic impact on people’s lives. It was the second day of my university life. I was invited to a new student welcome party. At the beginning of the party, I felt really embarrassed. I knew none of those people in the party. I did not know what to do. For another thing, I have trouble on communicating with other foreigner, especially native English speaker. However, my mind changed quite a bit during middle of the party, and I was glad that I made some new friends. Moreover, I felt this welcome party completely accepted me. This welcome party is going to be a turning point of my student life in Victoria. Body paragraph 1: At the beginning of the party, I felt really nervous. There were so many people in the lounge. I felt suffocated, and did not know how to solve this embarrassment. However, a simple game saved me. we wrote our name on the paper and tossed it to other people. People could find the right person base on other’s nametags. Through this game, I felt a bit more comfort. More over, we could ask questions with each other so we can find our common interests, and learnt more from each other. I felt more involve in this party, it did get better as the party goes on. Body paragraph 2: In the middle of the party, I changed my opinion about this party quite a bit. Then, I realized that I start to enjoy this party. Also, I made a couple of new friends that made me feel welcome. In the mea time, I could chat with them about their hometown, ask questions, and play games with them. It made me cozy. Furthermore, people got to show their talents on the party. For instance, there was a guy came from South Korea called John. John won championships of the Korean National dancing competition three times in a row. He decided to show his classic Hip Hop dancing tricks that was fabulous. And there was another African girl showed her beautiful voice through singing Halo from Beyonce. Continuously, she also presented us with traditional dancing that was awesome. Even though, I really wanted to show some talents as well, I did not. Anyway, it was really exciting to enjoy people’s performances. Finally, it came to the end.. Body paragraph 3: Nearly the end of this party, I am completely blended in and fully involved in this party and felt no more embarrassment. Additionally, this feeling gets stronger while chatting with my new friends. Especially, I talked with them about their personal issues. Therefore, I feel there was no gap between us and it actually felt great. Next, they served us with snacks, pizzas and cream cakes. We had foods and drinks together and it was quite pleasant. Finally, I think this would be my most memorable party at all time. Conclusion paragraph: My mind changed quite a bit through the entire party. Also, I am able to communicate with other people confidently and smoothly. This welcome party will be the new origin of my new life in Canada.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Company in Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Company in Crisis - Essay Example Research questions: taking failure as a phenomenon in everyday life that ought to be crossed either by winning or not we are left with the questions about the ways to win the debacle. In a business firm that faces distress, the big boss must get himself equipped with the capabilities to retrieve answers to questions on the cause and depth of the crisis and then questions regarding the salvation process are to be evolved. The purpose of the research that I conduct is to elucidate answers for these questions about the cause and depth of the distress simultaneously finding the way in which organisation culture has to be reformed or remodelled to get the favourable results in the turnaround process. Changing the organisation culture or cultural renewal is the vital part of the turnaround process, since culture is the base of the entire realm of a business. The methodology of turnaround comprises mainly of grass root changes. Turnaround decisions are hard to conceive, although everybody i n a crisis torn company is eagerly waiting for a fresh mechanism to thrive. I have collected feedback data from many companies worldwide that underwent crisis management and companies that foresaw the crisis and adopted prudent approaches to circumvent the crisis. The research papers and journals on the subject of crisis management were of highly helpful in my research. Throughout the search I found that a strategic change was a must in the turnaround endeavour. A company shows symptoms of distress in six ways. They are: 1. Dividend reduction 2. Plant closing. 3. Losses. 4. Lay offs. 5. CEO resignations. 6. Plummeting stock prices. Operating losses of a company results in the reduction of its capital leading the firm towards bankruptcy. In Kenya, companies such as Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered and National Oil Corp are laying off their staff. Many a companies are left with options to take turnaround steps in the following ways only. 1. Disposing of real property. 2. Merging with other firms. 3. Reducing capital spending on R & D. 4. Issuing new shares. 5. Negotiating with creditors. 6. Liquidation. 7. Lay offs. Of these a successful negotiation with the creditors to extend the duration of debt servicing, interest and paying period fetches a good result of saving the company from liquidation. (Jonah Aiyabei, 2000). 1.1 CAUSE OF THE CRISIS Corporate misconduct is the root cause of crisis to creep in a company. The direction of movement of corporate behaviour is normally from top to the bottom. Integrity must permeate a company from the level of chief executive who are supposed to blend ethical values to their traits of integrity. The survey results of the Investor Responsibility Research Center, Washington D.C., survey of board practices and pay, 2004 delineates that an internal campaign organised by the CEOs emphasises the company was taking the reforms seriously and provide an opportunity for discussion among the employees. Responses received from many of the respondents revealed an inability and impossibility to legislate morality and ethics and at the same time greed was felt at the core of many of the past problems. A grade point average (GPA) of 2.6 in the field of accounting management encompassed the view of the respondents that CEOs should meet with department heads and create a direct

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Business 101 - Assignment Questions Research Paper

Business 101 - Assignment Questions - Research Paper Example In the capitalism context, making profits is the key motive of operation. Under capitalism, resources are privately owned, and so are the implications of the underlying activities (Rae & Hill, 2010). To the businesses, these rights and freedoms come at price. Capitalism makes business owners accountable to the society and to the market economy in which they conduct their business. Pollution, taxation, and social responsibility are other key aspects that make business owners hate capitalism. Most importantly, capitalism encompasses business competition, a critical factor that determines the success or failure of a business. Demand line shows the quantity of a product that would be bought at a given price level. In this respect, changes in market demand will affect quantity of a product demanded in that market. Desirable products correspond to high quantities of demand, and vice versa (McEachern, 2012). on the same note, changes in price affect the quantity demanded of a product. The same principle applies as far as paper and related products are concerned. A demand line shift to the left for paper follows the above-discussed principle. This move represents a scenario where paper would become a less desirable product. The less desirable a product becomes, the lower the quantity demanded and subsequently bought of that product. The demand line, therefore, would shift to the left to represent a decline in the quantity demanded of paper at a given price level. A left shift in demand line, therefore, is negative. It is attributed to reduced paper demand and a subsequent decline in the price level. Business entities are required to comply with relevant rules, regulations, or laws. In particular, taxation is a fundamental practice in the economic setting. Federal taxes apply to incorporated business entities, which are treated as separate taxable business entities. In other words,

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Service Encounter Jounals (Service Marketing) Essay - 1

Service Encounter Jounals (Service Marketing) - Essay Example lue formation, greater participation of customers in manufacture procedure, other people may shape part of product experience, better variability in ready inputs and outputs, numerous services are hard for customers to assess, service products are short-lived and cannot be inventoried, time factor is additional important, release systems comprise electronic and bodily channels. Two good ways to decide if a customer is miserable is, first, they dont want to disburse for a high-quality or service, and two, and they bad mouth and protest about an industry. Complaints can harm a companys picture. Word-of-mouth complaining is bad sufficient, but at the present there are web sites that provide to open forums of customers real or likely grumblings. A web site for Sprint clientele offers clientele and employees to inform their stories. "So whether you are [a] discontented employee, or ex-employee, a client who has been slammed, crowded, [miss]-charged, spoken to rudely, unnoticed, or have received simple old awful service, you can inform your story and well place it here." (Sprint) This venting opening can depiction a corporation for its wrong doing, or on the other hand, it can cast a shadow of hesitation on an ethically run industry unjustly. So what behaviors do bad clientele have, besides not paying and awful mouthing? There are clientele that do not have the where-with-all to uphold control when they are annoyed. They can become orally abusive, and in a number of cases, physically rude. Owner Kevin Wyman of Off-road Outlet Inc. communal, "Into every commerce owners lap a few easier said than done customers have to fall. Once youve been on the in receipt of end of their ire, you be acquainted with why theyre called clientele from hell." (McCune) Learning how to administer these types of clientele can alleviate stress for the clientele and workers. Customers that are unaccustomed of foodstuffs or services can be grievant. Many times there are prospect that dont get

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Enviromental Ethics of Cleaning up the Oceans Term Paper

Enviromental Ethics of Cleaning up the Oceans - Term Paper Example There are many reasons to affirm that all citizens of this world have ethical and moral responsibility to maintain the oceanic health, starting with the cleaning of its waters. Since, ages oceans have provided around half of the required oxygen to all living bodies on earth. Nevertheless, the detection of Dead Zones in several seas and oceans reveal that the marine life within such zones is starving for oxygen. This is mainly due to large scale dumping of agricultural and industrial waste into the oceanic waters. The exploitation of oceans has resulted in extinction of many races of sharks and other predatory fishes along with other species like turtles. Hence, it is the moral responsibility of all global citizens to gear up the efforts towards aggressive ocean cleaning. Various moral theories come up when discussing about the moral responsibility of human kind in saving the environment of this planet. However, main aspects of moral theory include the issues related to sustainability, compassion and participation. It is the duty of every citizen of world to ensure that all creatures and human beings are treated equally. The sustainability is the extension of this moral obligation, which defines the purpose of meeting the requirements of present generation, while ensuring that future generations are able to meet their needs sufficiently. It is in this context that human kind needs to understand its moral duty towards the preservation for oceanic marine life, which is one of the important supporters of human life system. If the ocean waters are not clean, the formation of dead zones will be frequent. This will deprive these waters of the vibrant marine life. We need to preserve marine life for the sake of our present and future generations. The action, which ensures that every one gets sufficient quantity of goods required to live in a

Monday, September 9, 2019

Literature Review Are Wound Vacuum Devices Healing Wounds Essay

Literature Review Are Wound Vacuum Devices Healing Wounds - Essay Example VAC was even compared with the traditional WM dressing method and proved to heal better. This only proves that VAC is indeed a promising and faster way to heal wounds. The main purpose of this research is to look through the new way of wound healing. In the United States, over 2.8 million patients have chronic wounds and treatments cost billions of dollars per year. Wound healing is a complex process which starts with removal of debris, control of infection, clearance of inflammation, angiogenesis, deposition of granulation tissue, contraction, remodeling of the connective tissue matrix and maturation. This sequence of events should be undergone by the wound for proper healing whilst if it fails to undergo these events, a chronic open wound without anatomical or functional integrity results (Joseph, 2008). Chronic wounds should be healed at a faster rate in order to decrease hospitalization days and thereby reduce costs. A product which delivers improved healing process could help in decreasing infection, amputation and length of hospital stay thus entails potential annual savings for healthcare cost. The introduction of vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) which utilizes subatmospheric technique may be the answer in this medical challenge. In VAC, placing an open-cell foam dressing is involved. It is placed into the wound cavity and controlled subatmospheric pressure is applied. The technique was observed to remove chronic edema which increases local blood flow and enhanced formation of granulation tissue (Joseph, 2008). VAC applies negative pressure to wounds hence fluid is removed and growth of granulation tissue is stimulated. Acute, subacute and chronic wounds may be applied with VAC. Argenta, et al. have previously described the use of the VAC device to enhance healing and promote closure of a variety of open wounds FDA cleared VAC for clinical use. Frequent dressing changes which required when using WM, could be lessen by using VAC which requires dressing changes only every 48 hours (Joseph, 2008). Review of the Literature Senchenkov et al. (2007) conducted a study on the use of vacuum assisted closure (VAC) dressing for irradiated wounds. This study aimed to examine the outcomes of split-thickness skin grafts (STSG) secured by VAC during the early part of the postoperative period. Reviews were done on the records of 17 preoperatively radiated patients with extremity sarcomas that was reconstructed with STSGs combined with VAC to assess the efficiency of VAC in this purpose. Through January 1997 and December 2005, there have been 19 patients identified to base on their records to have undergone STSG reconstruction of irradiated extremity defects with VAC. These patients had soft tissue sarcomas. External beam radiation was used to treat the tumor bed and added with intraoperative radiation or brachytherapy. This was done before skin was grafted. Two of these patients however were excluded in the study because one had necrosis of the underlying irradiate muscle flaps while the other had 40% skin graft placed with epidermis which faced the recipients bed. This left 17 patients (9 men and 8 women, age 42 to 82, mean 65) to be