France - Change over Time Essay (French Revolution)

*As the title indicates, this is a change/continuity AP essay written for World History class. Vaguely, the essay question was: Describe change and continuity in France from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s.*Like many other European nations in the 1700 s, France experienced a dramatic shift of sentiments against the monarchy, nobility, and Catholic Church as the people, fired by rousing new Enlightenment ideals, began to question authority and emphasize the need for equality, liberty, and democracy. The social and political changes in France were best characterized by three different periods - the weak monarchy of King Louis XVI and the subsequent period of confusion after his removal from power, the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte and his†¦show more content†¦Despite a brief attempt to regain control of France, called the Hundred Days, Napoleon would never again dominate France. During Napoleon s reign, France saw the return of the absolute ruler. However, growing nationalism bro ught about Napoleon s removal from power. This period is also marked by the continuity of woman s role in France. Despite the tumultuous events of the time, women saw little change in their rights and status. Philosophers like Mary Wollstonecraft found little support for her ideas and France politics and society continued to be a male dominated arena. After Napoleon s removal from power, the Congress of Vienna, comprised of Prussia, Russia, Austria, Britain, and France, met to forge peace. Using conservative polices, the map of Europe was redrawn to ensure the balance of power and monarchs were restored, created peace in Europe until 1853. However, the French revolution had flamed a support for nationalism as more conquered nations demanded autonomy; the majority of the rebellions were unsuccessful. France had a final revolution had removed the monarchy for good and established a democratic republic. France had finally made the transition from absolute monarchy to democracy. With this change came many social changes such as the end of serfdom in Western Europe and the decreased power of the nobility and the increased importance of wealth inShow MoreRelatedRiley: Republic and French Revolution Essay607 Words   |  3 PagesAssignment Two Revolutions Complete and submit this assignment by the due date to receive full credit. (50 points) The French Revolution began less than two decades after the American Revolution. In many ways, the American experience was an inspiration for the citizens of France. But the people of the two countries had different situations and had different concerns, which influenced the way each revolution began, progressed, and ended. In this assignment you will write an essay that comparesRead MoreFrench and Haitian Revolution Comparisons1531 Words   |  7 PagesJanuary 2013 How France started a Revolution across the Atlantic Throughout history, there have been dozens of times when people were extremely upset with the government that was ruling over them. However, these angry citizens only revolt a fraction of the time, due to fear of the government. Two examples of when people stood up for their rights and revolted are the French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution. These revolts are loosely connected, as many say that the Haitian Revolution was inspiredRead MoreFrench and Hatian Revolutions Similarities and Differences941 Words   |  4 PagesDouglas Tong Essay corrections Between 1750 and 1870, countries such as France and Haiti experienced dramatic economic, political, and social changes through Revolutions. 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All of which plays significant roles in peopleRead MoreEssay about Paine and Burke1644 Words   |  7 PagesAND LOCKE OR PAINE AND BURKE DIFFER. This essay will examine the philosophical difference between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine relating to the French and American Revolutions at the late Eighteenth Century. We are going to present a summary of the debate between these two different philosophers in the first part of this essay. The pros and cons of each man will be looked at in the second and third part of the essay and the final part of this essay will explain why Thomas Paines view was moreRead More French Revolution Essay1141 Words   |  5 Pages Why was there a French Revolution? Between, 1789  ¡V 1799, many events occurred in France that caused an outbreak within the people thus leading to a revolution. This culminated in the France becoming a democratic government. This essay will argue that the resentment of absolute government, financial difficulties, the famine, rise of philosophes and the ongoing feud between the estates are all the major causes of why there was a revolution in France. Firstly before going into the topic, the wordRead MoreAnimal Farm By George Orwell922 Words   |  4 PagesRussian Revolution. The story can be related to almost any revolution because the main idea involves dictatorship. In this essay, Animal Farm will be compared to the events and people that were involved in the French Revolution. The animals in Mr. Jones farm were treated harshly, like the lower class citizens of France. The common element in both was that there was no middle class, the French and the animals on the farm were either very wealthy or living in extreme poverty. As for the French revolutionRead MorePolitical Roles During The French Revolution Essay1593 Words   |  7 PagesFrench Revolution laid the fertile ground for the promulgation of civil rights which ceased to exist prior to the revolution, more importantly the rights of the less privileged, women. The French’s patriarchal society was held prejudice against women, thus when women’s clubs and po litical associations formed during this period was notable for its capabilities to promulgate political enfranchisement for women. In this essay, I would discuss in-depth the banning of women’s clubs and political associationsRead MoreCauses Of Enlightenment1636 Words   |  7 PagesThe French Revolution is known as one of the most significant events in world history. With the perfect culmination of economic woes and the spreading of new, radical ideas, revolution was inevitable. The cause of the French Revolution can be attributed to many things. However, the most significant cause of this great historical event is the Enlightenment. This essay examines how Enlightenment thinking forever altered the role of the government and its policies in the lives of the French people.Read MoreFrench Revolution- Reign of Terror1140 Words   |  5 Pagessocial changes in France. The National Convention and Committee of Public Safety declared the law of suspects, ‘terror’ me asures as acceptable and a necessary means for the government. The purpose was to eradicate France of enemies of the revolution and to protect the country from foreign invaders. Over the course of nine months, seventeen thousand people were guillotined. This set the course for change and continuity with the struggle for control between the interactions of groups in France. The results

Fool Chapter 7 Free Essays

string(68) " chill when she goes, don’t she\?† said formerly Fiona\." SEVEN A BROTHER TRAITOR Am I to be forever alone? The anchoress told me it might be so, trying to comfort me when I felt pushed aside by the sisters of Dog Snogging. â€Å"You’re gifted with wit, Pocket, but to cast jibe and jest you must stand separate from the target of your barbs. I fear you may become a lonely man, even in the company of others. We will write a custom essay sample on Fool Chapter 7 or any similar topic only for you Order Now † Perhaps she was right. Perhaps it is why I am such an accomplished horn-beast and eloquent crafter of cuckoldry. I seek only succor and solace beneath the skirts of the soft and understanding. And so, sleepless, did I make my way to the great hall to find some comfort among the castle wenches who slept there. The fire still blazed, logs the size of oxen set in before bed. My sweet Squeak, who had oft opened her heart and whatnot to a wayfaring fool, had fallen asleep in the arms of her husband, who spooned her mercilessly as he snored. Shanker Mary was not to be seen, no doubt servicing the bastard Edmund somewhere, and my other standard lovelies had fallen into slumber in proximity too close to husbands or fathers to admit a lonely fool. Ah, but the new girl, just in the kitchen a fortnight, called Tess or Kate or possibly Fiona. Her hair was jet and shone like oiled iron; milky skin, cheeks brushed by a rose – she smiled at my japes and had given Drool an apple without his asking. I am relatively sure that I adored her. I tiptoed across the rushes that lined the floor (I had left Jones in my chamber, his hat bells no help in securing stealthy romance), lay down beside her, and introduced my personage to the nether of her blanket. An affectionate nudge at the hip woke her. â€Å"Hello,† said she. â€Å"Hello,† said I. â€Å"Not a papist, are you, love?† â€Å"Christ, no, Druid born and raised.† â€Å"Thank God.† â€Å"What are you doing under my blanket?† â€Å"Warming up. I’m terribly cold.† â€Å"No you’re not.† â€Å"Brrrr. Freezing.† â€Å"It’s hot in here.† â€Å"All right, then. I’m just being friendly.† â€Å"Would you stop prodding me with that?† â€Å"Sorry, it does that when it’s lonely. Perhaps if you petted it.† Then, praised be the merciful goddess of the wood, she petted it, tentatively, almost reverentially at first, as if she sensed how much joy it could bring to all who came in contact with it. An adaptable lass, not given to fits of hysteria or modesty – and soon a gentle surety in her grip that betrayed some experience in the handling of manly bits – simply lovely she was. â€Å"I thought it would have a little hat, with bells.† â€Å"Ah, yes. Well, given a private place to change, I’m sure that can be arranged. Under your skirt, perhaps. Roll to the side, love, we’ll be less obvious if we keep the cuddle on a lateral plane.† I popped her bosoms out of her frock, then, freed the roly-poly pink-nosed puppies to the firelight and the friendly ministries of this master juggler, and thought to burble my cheeks softly between them, when the ghost appeared. The spirit was more substantial now, features describing what must have been a most comely creature before she was shuffled off to the undiscovered country, no doubt by a close relative weary of her irritating nature. She floated above the sleeping form of the cook Bubble, rising and falling on the draft of her snores. â€Å"Sorry to haunt you while you’re rogering the help,† said the ghost. â€Å"The rogering has not commenced, wisp, I have barely bridled the horse for a moist and bawdy ride. Now, go away.† â€Å"Right, then. Sorry to have interrupted your attempted rogering.† â€Å"Are you calling me a horse?† asked Possibly Fiona. â€Å"Not at all, love, you pet the little jester and I’ll attend to the haunting.† â€Å"There’s always a bloody ghost about, ain’t there?† commented Possibly, a squeeze on my knob for emphasis. â€Å"When you live in a keep where blood runs blue and murder is the favored sport, yes,† said the ghost. â€Å"Oh do fuck off,† said I. â€Å"Thou visible stench, thou steaming aggravation, thou vaporous nag! I’m wretched, sad, and lonely, and trying to raise a modicum of comfort and forgetting here in the arms of, uh – â€Å" â€Å"Kate,† said Possibly Fiona. â€Å"Really?† She nodded. â€Å"Not Fiona?† â€Å"Kate since the day me da tied me belly cord to a tree.† â€Å"Well, bugger. Sorry. Pocket here, called the Black Fool, charmed I’m sure. Shall I kiss your hand?† â€Å"Double-jointed, then, are ye?† said Kate, a tickle to my tackle making her point. â€Å"Bloody hell, would you two shut up?† said the ghost. â€Å"I’m haunting over here.† â€Å"Go on,† said we. The ghost boosted her bosom and cleared her throat, expecto-rating a tiny ghost frog that evaporated in the firelight with a hiss, then said: â€Å"When a second sibling’s base derision, Proffers lies that cloud the vision, And severs ties that families bind, Shall a madman rise to lead the blind.† â€Å"What?† said the former Fiona. â€Å"What?† said I. â€Å"Prophecy of doom, innit?† said the ghost. â€Å"Spot o’ the old riddly foreshadowing from beyond, don’t you know?† â€Å"Can’t kill her again, can we?† asked faux Fiona. â€Å"Gentle spook,† said I. â€Å"If it is a warning you bring, state it true. If action you require, ask outright. If music you must make, play on. But by the wine-stained balls of Bacchus, speak your bloody business, quick and clear, then be gone, before time’s iron tongue licks away my mercy bonk with second thoughts.† â€Å"You are the haunted one, fool. It’s your business I do. What do you want?† â€Å"I want you to go away, I want Fiona to come along quietly, and I want Cordelia, Drool, and Taster back – now, can you tell me how to make those things come about? Can you, you yammering flurry of fumes?† â€Å"It can be done,† said the ghost. â€Å"Your answer lies with the witches of Great Birnam Wood.† â€Å"Or you could just fucking tell me,† said I. â€Å"Nooooo,† sang the ghost, all ghosty and ethereal, and with that she faded away. â€Å"Leaves a chill when she goes, don’t she?† said formerly Fiona. You read "Fool Chapter 7" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"Appears to have softened your resolve, if you don’t mind my sayin’.† â€Å"The ghost saved my life last evening,† said I, trying to will life back into the wan and withered. â€Å"Kilt the little one, though, didn’t she? Back to your bed, fool, the king’s leaving on the morrow and there’s a wicked lot of work to do in the morning to prepare for his trip.† Sadly, I tucked away my tackle and sulked back to the portislodge to pack my kit for my final journey from the White Tower. Well, I won’t miss the bloody trumpets at dawn, I can tell you that. And sod the bloody drawbridge chains rattling in my apartment before the cock crows. We might have been going to war for all the racket and goings-on at first light. Through the arrow loop I could see Cordelia riding out with France and Burgundy, standing in the stirrups like a man, like she was off to the hunt, rather than leaving her ancestral home forever. To her credit, she did not look back, and I did not wave to her, even after she crossed the river and rode out of sight. Drool was not so fickle, and as he was led out of the castle by a rope round his neck, he kept stopping and looking back, until the man at arms to whom he was tethered would yank him back into step. I could not bear to let him see me, so I did not go out onto the wall. Instead I slunk back to my pallet and lay there, my forehead pressed to the cold stone wall, listening as the rest of the royals and their retinues clomped across the drawbridge below. Sod Lear, sod the royals, sod the bloody White Tower. All I loved was gone or soon to be left behind, and all that I owned was packed in a knapsack and hung on my hook, Jones sticking out the top, mocking me with his puppety grin. Then, a knock at my door. Like dragging myself from the grave, was making my way to open it. There she stood, fresh and lovely, holding a basket. â€Å"Fiona!† â€Å"Kate,† said Fiona. â€Å"Aye, your stubbornness suits you, even in daylight.† â€Å"Bubble sends her sympathies over Taster and Drool, and sends you these sweet cakes and milk for your comfort, but says to be sure and remind you to not leave the castle without saying your farewells, and further that you are a cur, a rascal, and a scurvy patch.† â€Å"Ah, sweet Bubble, when kindness shagged an ogre, thus was she sired.† â€Å"And I’m here to offer comfort myself, finishing what was started in the great hall last night. Squeak says to ask you about a small chap in a canoe.† â€Å"My my, Fi, bit of a tart, aren’t we?† â€Å"Druish, love. My people burn a virgin every autumn – one can’t be too careful.† â€Å"Well, all right, but I’m forlorn and I shan’t enjoy it.† â€Å"In that we shall suffer together. Onward! Off with your kit, fool!† What is it about me that brings out the tyrant in women, I wonder? â€Å"The next morning† stretched into a week of preparation for departure from the White Tower. When Lear pronounced that he would be accompanied by one hundred knights it was not as if one hundred men could mount up and ride out of the gates at sunrise. Each knight – the unlanded second or third son of a noble – would have at least one squire, a page, usually a man to tend his horses, and sometimes a man at arms. Each had at least one warhorse, a massive armored beast, and two, sometimes three animals to carry his armor, weapons, and supplies. And Albany was three weeks’ journey to the north, near Aberdeen; with the slow pace set by the old king and so many on foot we’d need a crashing assload of supplies. By the end of the week our column numbered over five hundred men and boys, and nearly as many horses. We would have needed a wagon full of coin to pay everyone if Lear had not conscripted Albany and Cornwall to maintain his knights. I watched Lear pass under the portislodge at the head of the column before going downstairs and climbing on my own mount, a short, swayback mare named Rose. â€Å"Mud shall not sully my Black Fool’s motley, lest it dull his wit as well,† said Lear, the day he presented the horse. I did not own the horse, of course. She belonged to the king – or now his daughters, I suppose. I fell in at the end of the column behind Hunter, who was accompanied by a long train of hounds and a wagon with a cage built on it, which held eight of the royal falcons. â€Å"We’ll be raiding farms before we get to Leeds,† said Hunter, a stout, leather-clad man, thirty winters on his back. â€Å"I can’t feed this lot – and they’ve not enough stowed to last them a week.† â€Å"Cry calamity if you will, Hunter, but I’m the one to keep them in good spirits when their bellies are empty.† â€Å"Aye, I’ve no envy for you, fool. Is that why you ride back here with we catch-farts and not at the king’s side?† â€Å"Just drawing plans for a bawdy song at supper without the clank of armor in my ear, good Hunter.† I wanted to tell Hunter that I was not overburdened by my duties, but by my disdain for the senile king who had sent my princess away. And I wanted time to ponder the ghost’s warnings. The bit about daughters three and the king becoming a fool had come to pass, or at least was in the way of it. So the girl ghost had predicted the â€Å"grave offense† to â€Å"daughter’s three† even if all the daughters had not seen the offense yet – when Lear arrived at Albany with this rowdy retinue, offense would soon follow. But what of this: â€Å"When a second sibling’s base derision, proffers lies that cloud the vision†? Did it mean the second daughter? Regan? What did it matter if her lies clouded Lear’s vision? The king was nearly blind as it was, his eyes milky with cataract – I’d taken to describing my pantomimes as I performed them so the old man would not miss the joke. And with no power, what tie could be severed that would make a difference now? A war between the two dukes? None of it about me, why do I care? Why then would the ghost appear to this most irrelevant and powerless fool? I puzzled it, and fell far behind the column, and when I stopped to have a wee, was accosted by a brigand. He came up from behind a fallen tree, a great bear of a fiend, his beard matted and befouled with food and burrs, a maelstrom of grey hair flying about under a wide-brimmed black hat. I may have screamed in surprise, and a less educated ear might have likened my shriek to that of a little girl, but be assured it was most manly and more for the fair warning of my attacker, for next I knew I had pulled a dagger from the small of my back and sent it flying. His miserable life was saved only by my slight miscalculation of his distance – the butt of my blade bounced off his behatted noggin with a thud. â€Å"Ouch! Fuck’s sake, fool. What is wrong with you?† â€Å"Hold fast, knave,† said I. â€Å"I’ve two more blades at the ready, and these I’ll send pointy end first – the quality of my mercy having been strained and my ire aroused by having peed somewhat upon my shoes.† I believed it a serviceable threat. â€Å"Hold your blades, Pocket. I mean you no harm,† came the voice under the hat brim. Then, â€Å"Y Ddraig Goch ddyry gychwyn.†[22] I wound up to send my second dagger to the scoundrel’s heart, â€Å"You may know my name, but that gargling with catsick that you’re doing will not stop me from dropping you where you stand.† â€Å"Ydych chi’n cymryd cerdynnau credid?†[23] said the highwayman, no doubt trying to frighten me further, his consonants chained like anal beads strung out of hell’s own bunghole. â€Å"I may be small, but I’m not a child to be afraid of a pretended demon speaking in tongues. I’m a lapsed Christian and a pagan of convenience. The worst I can do on my conscience is cut your throat and ask the forest to count it as a sacrifice come the Yule, so cease your nonsense and tell me how you know my name.† â€Å"It’s not nonsense, it’s Welsh,† said the brigand. He folded back the brim of his hat and winked. â€Å"What say you save your wicked sting for an enemy true? It’s me, Kent. In disguise.† Indeed, it was, the king’s old banished friend – all of his royal trappings but his sword gone – he looked like he’d slept in the woods the week since I’d last seen him. â€Å"Kent, what are you doing here? You’re as good as dead if the king sees you. I thought you’d be in France by now.† â€Å"I’ve no place to go – my lands and title are forfeit, what family I have would risk their own lives to take me in. I have served Lear these forty years, I am loyal, and I know nothing else. My thought is to affect accents and hide my face until he has a change of heart.† â€Å"Is loyalty a virtue when paid to virtue’s stranger? I think not. Lear has misused you. You are mad, or stupid, or you lust for the grave, but there is no place for you, good greybeard, in the company of the king.† â€Å"And there is for you? Or did I not see you restrained and dragged from the hall for that same offense: truth told boldly? Don’t preach virtue to me, fool. One voice can, without fear, call the king on his folly, and here he stands, piss-shoed, two leagues back from the train.† Fuckstockings, truth is a surly shrew sometimes! He was right, of course, loudmouthed old bull. â€Å"Have you eaten?† â€Å"Not for three days.† I went to my horse and dug into my satchel for some hard cheese and an apple I had left from Bubble’s farewell gift. I gave them to Kent. â€Å"Come not too soon,† said I. â€Å"Lear still fumes about Cordelia’s honest offense and your supposed treason. Follow behind to Albany’s castle. I’ll have Hunter leave a rabbit or a duck beside the road for you every day. Do you have flint and steel?† â€Å"Aye, and tinder.† I found the stub of a candle in the bottom of my bag and handed it to the old knight. â€Å"Burn this and catch the soot upon your sword, then rub the black into your beard. Cut your hair short and blacken it, too. Lear can’t see clearly more than a few feet away, so keep your distance. And carry on with that ghastly Welsh accent.† â€Å"Perhaps I’ll fool the old man, but what of the others?† â€Å"No righteous man thinks you a traitor, Kent, but I don’t know all of these knights, nor which might reveal you to the king. Just stay out of sight and by the time we reach Albany’s castle I’ll have flushed out any knave who might betray your cause.† â€Å"You’re a good lad, Pocket. If I’ve shown you disrespect in the past, I’m sorry.† â€Å"Don’t grovel, Kent, it doesn’t wear well on the aged. A swift sword and a strong shield are allies I can well use with scoundrels and traitors weaving intrigue about like the venomous spider-whore of Killarney.† â€Å"Spider-whore of Killarney? I’ve never heard of her?† â€Å"Aye, well, sit on that downed tree and eat your lunch. I’ll spin the tale for you like it was web from her own bloody bum.† â€Å"You’ll fall behind the column.† â€Å"Sod the column, that tottering old tosspot so slows them they’ll be leaving a snail trail soon. Sit and listen, greybeard. By the way have you ever heard of Great Birnam Wood?† â€Å"Aye, it’s not two miles from Albany.† â€Å"Really? How do you feel about witches?† How to cite Fool Chapter 7, Essay examples

Woman in Black Monologue free essay sample

Walks down stage, addresses audience. Skips: Suddenly conscious of the cold and the extreme bleakness and eeriness of the spot and of the gathering dusk of the November afternoon, and not wanting my spirits to become so depressed that I might begin to be affected by all sorts of morbid fancies, I was about to leave, and walk briskly back to the house, where I intended to switch on a good many lights and even light a small fire If It were possible, before beginning my preliminary work on Mrs. Drawls papers.Glances at Burial Ground and sees the woman again. Comes forward to addresses Audience again Skips: It wasnt so much flesh, more bone and she had no expression on her ravaged, colorless face. But then as I stared to the point where my eyeballs became stuck, I saw the expression, one of dread, but one of hopelessness and inadequate, desperate for something which had been taken from her, yes, she was missing something! Womans face shows In more detail. We will write a custom essay sample on Woman in Black Monologue or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Woman comes Down Stage so audience can see her more. Kelps addresses audience again.Kelps: I was scared, frightened, partly because of the passionate emotion and incineration which streamed from her. That frightened me, she seemed to direct all her evilness towards me, why, what had I done? But at this particular moment In time I could far from base my reactions upon reasons and logic. For I did not know If her hatred was projected towards me. Glances over shoulder. Kelps: The one thing I did know was that due to the combination of the peculiar, Isolated place and the sudden appearance of the woman and her dreadfulness of her expression began to fill me with fear. Woman in Black Monologue By surreptitious Script Writing Page intended to switch on a good many lights and even light a small fire if it were Womans face shows in more detail. Skips addresses audience again. Skips: I was scared, frightened, partly because of the passionate emotion and her evilness towards me, why, what had I done? But at this particular moment in time I could far from base my reactions upon reasons and logic.

Walgreens Strategic Analysis Essay Example

Walgreens Strategic Analysis Paper Veronica Washington 0180175 Walgreens Pharmacy (WAG) An Industry Leader at the Inflection Point The following report is an in-depth discussion of Walgreens Pharmacy with an analysis and assessment of the company’s strategic initiatives. Each strategy yields a direct purpose of diminishing the influence of a specific force from Porter’s 5-force Model as the supporting data culminates an outlook on the company’s future. COMPANY OVERVIEW Charles Walgreen of Chicago, Illinois, pioneered the first Walgreens in 1901, with corporate headquarters now located in Deerfield, Illinois. In the company’s 100-year reign as the prescription industry leader, Walgreens changed from war bonds, soda fountains, and restaurants to 24-hour store access, nationwide locations, easy-to-use online stores, and health care clinics. 6,400 stores now operate in all 50 states including Puerto Rico, with 30% open 24 hours. By 2010, Walgreen’s aspires to operate 7,000 stores nationwide and pave the way for the organic growth of 13,000 sites. As of December 2007, Walgreens employs 226,000 associates, hiring 25,000 in 2007 (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). According to the company’s 2007 annual reports, â€Å"Walgreens has been listed on: Fortune magazine’s Most Admired Companies in America list†¦ranked 44th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U. S-based companies†¦[and] ranked the leading online drugstore. † (WAG Annual Reports, 2007) In the past 2 years especially, Walgreens embarked on several ventures that will enable them to have first-mover advantage in the healthcare industry. CURRENT FINANCIAL INFORMATION In 2007, Walgreens increased net sales by 13. 4% to $53. 7 billion and increased net income by 16. 6% to $2. 4 billion. Long-term investments, which have consistently increased by roughly $100 million dollars each year since 2004, reflect company profits (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). In the 2007 operating cash flow analysis, Walgreens yielded a yearly total over $23 million in deferred taxes that arose for tax relief in advance of tangible asset depreciated accounting expenses. While net cash flows in the operating sector dropped by $80 million in a single year production, sales, and delivery continue to expand. In the 2007 investment cash flow analysis, the company directed $6. billion toward short-term investments (auction rate securities) available for sale amounting to an accumulated $6. 8 billion (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). With a staggering $1. 8 billion spent on new additions in 2007, this perceived overextension by shareholders of the company’s business and intangible asset acquisition of $1. 1 billion doubles the amount of cash used in the invested activities of 2006 (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). Employee termination and salary cuts yielded a 50% drop in proceeds received from company life-insurance policies. The $5. million proceeds of 2007 pale in comparison to the $10. 7 million received only a year before. Walgreens spent $2. 4 billion in investing activities during 2007, more than that of 2005 and 2006 combined (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). In the 2007 financi al cash flow analysis, net proceeds were $850 million. With a $141 million debt payment, $1 billion in stock repurchases, $310 million cash dividends to shareholders, and a $214 million bank overdraft sum, Walgreen’s 2007 net cash used for financing activities rose to $626 million from 2006’s $413 million (WAG Annual Report, 2007). We will write a custom essay sample on Walgreens Strategic Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Walgreens Strategic Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Walgreens Strategic Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In summation, the initial cash and cash equivalents of 2007 declined from $920 million in January to $255 million by the end of December resulting from the company’s overextension, and may result of losing their position as the industry leader in the near future (WAG Annual Reports, 2007) POWER OF BUYERS According to Porter, a buyer who has power â€Å"can always find an equivalent product, [then] play vendor against [one] another† (Porter, 2008). Consumers reap the benefits of an industry that pays for repeat business. In 2007, Walgreen’s pharmacists took 157,000 prescription transfer calls from neighboring competitors. (WAG Annual Reports, 2007) Mark Wagner, VP of Operations, announced that after reviewing the 2007 compiled transfer logs of the company, â€Å"72% of all prescription transfers [in 2007] are competitor coupon-related issues † (WAG Annual Report, 2007) Walgreens remained static in their decision to offer any type of compensation to new customers or transferred prescriptions until October 2008. Walgreens customers receive an average of four prescriptions on monthly basis from the pharmacy (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). With 65% of the sales revenue of the company coming from the pharmacy, Walgreens declines to bargain with out-of-pocket customers over price. Regardless of a climbing prescription drug-price trend, demand remains elastic because customers demand choices of similar, less expensive medications if authorized by their doctor. The amount of reimbursement Walgreens receives from Medicare, Medicaid, and Worker’s Compensation falls drastically, as incremental revenues from those sources decreases (Stewart, 2006). According to Lueck, â€Å"Medicare and Medicaid comprise 25 percent of the federal budget, and the government cannot afford to spend at the current rate† (Lueck, 2008). In order to maintain relationships with customers, retail pharmacies resorted to buying sections of Medicare Part D insurance companies: AARP Walgreens vs. CVS Caremark (Caremark Rx Inc. , 2007). RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS From Porter’s point of view, â€Å"the degree to which rivalry drives down an industry’s profit potential depends, first on the intensity with which companies compete and, second, on the basis on which they compete† (Porter, 2008). Other than retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, mail-order pharmacies, internet pharmacies, international pharmacies, vitamin stores, and homeopathic treatment providers attempt to maintain market share in the healthcare industry (Lueck, 2008). Walgreens largest competitor, CVS Pharmacy, fell short of Walgreen’s sales revenues by $7 billion in 2007 (WAG Annual Report, 2007). Contrary to Porter’s model of rivalry, the healthcare industry is experiencing massive growth. Growth is not a force, but only a factor; and as Porter mentions, â€Å"high growth rate will not guarantee profitability if customers are powerful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  as stated in the last section (Porter, 2008). Tom Charland, CEO of Merchant Medicine, in his prophetic wisdom forecasted an â€Å"increased scarcity of physicians and midlevel practitioners in many markets and the increased use of pharmacists. † (Berman, 2007) This justifies the idea that most baby-boomers will spend several hours a week in doctor’s offices receiving treatment for maladies that require prescriptions. Because of meager prescription profits, customers gain little when switching from one pharmacy to another. As Jeff Rein, VP of Walgreens, understands, â€Å"95% percent of our patients pay only the co-pay required by their insurance plans. † (WAG Annual Report, 2007) This removes Wal-Mart’s $4 prescription plan from the picture. POWER OF SUPPLIERS In Porter’s words, suppliers with power â€Å"can squeeze profitability out of an industry that is unable to pass on cost increases in its own prices. (Porter, 2008) To make up for excessive inventory costs for new medication Walgreen’s must decrease labor hours and work more efficiently. For corporate executives in retail pharmacies like Mark Wagner of Walgreens, â€Å"the end solution is to cut costs†¦and the biggest cost in stores is payroll. † (Merrick, 2008) With manufacturers keeping new FDA-approved substitute (generic) medications at bay by creating expensive time-released versions of the ori ginal, retailers spend more money than ever before on shelf space (Merrick, 2008). The following demonstrates a sample of what Porter means by suppliers having power when they â€Å"offer products that are differentiated† (Porter, 2008). In March 2008, analysts at Citigroup Inc. announced, â€Å"AstraZeneca will have more time to market the product†¦Seroquel XR, a once-daily version of the [original] drug†¦ slowly [converting] patients to the patent-protected drug before a generic version of Seroquel becomes available† (Merrick, 2008). Generic companies defending their rights to enter the market state brand name manufacturers received patents through inequitable conduct (Merrick, 2008). While CEO of Astra Zeneca, David Brennan remains â€Å"pleased with the courts decision to uphold [our] valid intellectual property, healthcare companies like Walgreens suffer exorbitant inventory costs at lower vendor allowances for keeping both brand and newly arriving formulations (Merrick, 2008). STRATEGIC ANALYSIS The significance of this report’s title, â€Å"An Industry Leader at the Inflection Point†, speculates that Walgreens cannot remain myopically moving forward now that competitors are strategically placing modes of â€Å"creative destruction† in the healthcare industry. For example, Walgreens is following suit to retake power from buyers, a force seen in previous paragraphs, with a revolutionary prescription problem-processing center, POWER. These 24-hour call centers will automatically fix any third-party insurance rejection errors at all 6400 store locations, leaving pharmacists and pharmacy technicians more time to devote to prescription accuracy, efficiency, and patient consultation. Alan McNally, Walgreen’s new CEO as of October 22, 2008, justifies the use of POWER so â€Å"the company’s founding base of competitive advantage will bring vital market share, stockholder optimism, and customer sentiments of timeliness and prescription safety back to Walgreens† (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). Despite Walgreens’ ability to gain back market share by utilizing POWER, this evolution of problem-solving workflow is the company’s first major step in â€Å"creative destruction. Since an estimated â€Å"25-30% of work in the pharmacy originates from processing and troubleshooting third-party claims†, Walgreens shows no sign of maintaining current hourly needs for technicians when POWER operations begin (Merrick, 2008). The excess reserves saved from this venture will allocate finances for greater stockholder dividends and ensure the company’s progressive movement into staying one-step ahead of the competition (Merrick, 2008). Acc ording to the 2008 annual reports released in November, the salary expenditures saved from cutting technician hours will help support funding for the accumulated $1. billion dollar long-term debt in 2008 (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). Formerly discussed in the section, â€Å"Power of Suppiers†, Walgreens showed vulnerability to brand-name manufacturer’s new formulations marketed to physicians as more effective and safer than their FDA-approved generics. The county’s nation-wide recession that tumbled into a worldwide pandemic has been reason enough for many consumers to forgo reinstating their prescription insurance plans in 2009 and instead shop around for bargain generics (Lueck, 2008). Porter describes the country’s turmoil perfectly by announcing America is in the â€Å"Age of Anxiety,† as he reminds readers that in the US â€Å"restructuring destroys about 30 million jobs per year† (Porter, 2008), To combat consumer demand for lower cost prescriptions, Walgreens has aggressively marketed the Walgreens Drug Program in 2008. This discount program offers consumers the option of choosing from a list of 400 price-approved and quantity-approved generic medications at a 90-day supply for $12 (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). To attract customers to less expensive and more readily available generic medications, Walgreens built the discount rogram to show how much each customer can save while receiving a therapy that is exactly or similar to what their doctor prescribed. The only cost associated with this plan is a one-time $20 fee for using the service pennies compared to the hundreds of dollars each month otherwise spent on prescription healthcare covera ge. The idea of Walgreens creating healthcare clinics where customers can go and receive treatment for common symptoms arose from competitor initiatives to capture a segment of the market not dominated by Walgreens. The purpose of this tactical approach was to lessen the force of rivalry in the industry. As of November 2008, Walgreens â€Å"operate[s] more than 600 health and wellness clinics in our stores and on employer worksites [with] plans to expand to 800 sites by the end of fiscal 2009 (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). While data on this new mode of investment has not been conclusive or forecasted in expected yearly revenue, Walgreens intends on honing company expansion in this market to counter aggressively competitor initiatives. STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT The watershed of massive change for Walgreens culminated amidst what economists are calling a worldwide recession. Like all prosperous profit seeking companies, Walgreens managed to find ways to cut hours while increase efficiency that paved the way for higher shareholder dividends in 2008. CEO Alan McNally describes Walgreens’ strategy as â€Å"a successful triumph in a frantic market† leading on with a direct correlation of the yearly highlights to â€Å"an increase of $. 11 in common share dividends for 2008† (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). Despite the company’s massive growth of long-term debt, the strategic positioning of POWER centers in high volume areas and payroll cuts began the combat against the emerging inflection point issues discussed. More than 1 million people enrolled in Walgreens discount card program in 2008. The company anticipates numbers to increase significantly at the beginning of Medicare reinstatement in January 2009 as members become more proactive in finding lower prescription costs. Constructed on gaining the business of customers upset with their current prescription coverage, the iscount care program cultivated an increase of gross market share to 17. 6% of the retail prescription market in 2008. According to the new annual reports, in August 2008 Walgreens priced a $1. 3 billion five-year bond offering to be â€Å"used in the repayment of short-term debt under its commercial paper program and general corporate purposes† (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). The bond’s primary purp ose of financing the expansion of Walgreens’ Take Care Clinics around the country will reinforce goals of insatiable growth in the United States. As the beginning stages of these clinics develop, Walgreens will have a better idea of the market’s reaction. SUMMARY OF STRATEGY These market-enhancing strategies formulated by observing frustrated consumers over the years yield a successful and progressive outlook for Walgreens. While Walgreens’ presence in communities nationwide will continue to expand, the systems and processes which customers receive service will undoubtedly change. As services become increasingly automated and salaries are cut to supply overhead costs of the latest technologies and capital investments, Walgreens’ initiatives to solidify their position as the market leader will continue to be a tantalizing puzzle for the company’s corporate executives. REFERENCES Berman, D. (2007,  January  17). CVS Raises Caremark Bid, Pressuring Express Scripts. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. A. 4. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1195592291). Caremark Rx Inc. : Advisory Firm Urges Holders To Accept Offer From CVS. (2007,  March  14). Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. A. 12. Retrieved October 25, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1232229641). Lueck, S. (2007,  September  19). Politics Economics: Democrats to Revisit Medicare Provisions. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. A. 12. Retrieved October 23, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1337919191). Merrick, A. (2008,  March  19). How Walgreen Changed Its Prescription for Growth. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. B. 1. Retrieved October 20, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1448083011). Merrick, A. (2008,  October  9). Walgreen Abandons Bid for Longs; Drug Chain Cites Weak Economy, Withdraws $2. 7 Billion Offer. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. B. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1570234871). Stewart, J. (2006,  November  8). Common Sense: Letdown Over Deal By CVS, Caremark Offers Opportunity. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. D. 2. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1158307411). Porter, Michael E. (2008. Jan) â€Å"The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy. † Harvard Business Review. Porter, Michael E. (2008. Nov) â€Å"Why America Needs an Economic Strategy† Business Week Walgreens Annual Reports, The (2007, Dec 31). Questions and Answers for Shareholders. Retrieved October 10, from Walgreens Co. Website: http://files. shareholder. com/downloads/WAG/460812286x0x147120/C3FF93FD-4E51-4F5A-94FD-C0D058A9A911/Walgreen_AR_07. pdf Walgreens Annual Reports, The (2007, Dec 31). Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition. Retrieved October 10, from Walgreens Co. Website: http://files. shareholder. com/downloads/WAG/460812286x0x147120/C3FF93FD-4E51-4F5A-94FD-C0D058A9A911/Walgreen_AR_07. pdf

Effects of Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) essays

Effects of Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) essays In response to the corporate scandals such as Enron, Adelphia, WorldCom and Tyco, the U.S. Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in an attempt to prevent the assortment of ills related to corporate finance and reporting (Grumet, 2007). This new legislation uses a series of steps designed to ensure that publicly traded corporations instituted adequate financial controls, that they documented those controls, and that they certified their accuracy. SOX enforced its goals with a very big stick: personal liability and the possibility of criminal penalties for corporate financial officers (Montana, 2007). Although a fairly recent piece of legislation, there are recent developments and issues involving SOX, that have come to light over the last two years. Montana (2007) notes that in the intervening years since SOX's inception, there have been a number of high profile events that have captured Congress' attention that has diverted their attention away from SOX. For this reason, he surmises, the Act itself remains un-amended. Regarding SEC regulations, the SEC has not promulgated any substantial new SOX rules since March 2004. Although the rules that were promulgated until that time were the source of much criticism, due to concerns about vagueness, recent tinkering with small bits of existing rules have not been able to adequately address these concerns. Another issue concerning SOX was the cost of compliance, which has been much higher than originally predicted. Of particular concern in the costs to comply with SOX section 404. This section addresses the internal control system certification provision, and has been deemed by many as unfair, especially for smaller businesses. Section 404 requires management at (...) companies to assess the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting and issue their findings in a public report. The legislation also mandates that audito...

Death Penalty for Juveniles

Death Penalty for Juveniles In 2005, he U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to outlaw the death penalty for juveniles who were under the age of 18 at the time of the crimes, calling the execution of children unconstitutionally cruel. Pros Those who favor keeping the death penalty for juveniles make the following arguments: State legislatures should determine whether or not juveniles should be executed for capital crimes, not the courts.Juries should determine the culpability of juveniles on a case-by-case basis, on the nature of the crime and the maturity level of the individual juvenile.In a society, which is experiencing an increase in violence by juveniles, banning the death penalty would remove a much-needed deterrent.What other countries do concerning executing juveniles should not be relevant to the courts consideration of what the United States Constitution demands. Cons Those who oppose the  death penalty for juveniles  make these  arguments:​ Executing children is immoral and uncivilized.Scientific research shows that juveniles are underdeveloped and immature, particularly in the areas of the brain that dictate reason, impulse  control, and decision-making, and therefore should not be held culpable.A high percentage of juveniles on death row have suffered from mental abuse, physical abuse,  sexual abuse, drug addiction, abandonment and severe poverty.The execution of juveniles is expressly forbidden in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights,  the Geneva Convention  Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.With the exception of Somalia, the United States is the only country in the world that still executes juveniles.

Health & Illness Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Health & Illness - Assignment Example he health inequalities in Britain have grown to be viewed as a norm so that there is a big difference in the mortality and morbidity levels between upper social classes (the rich) and lower social classes who are the poor (Health Knowledge, 2011). In measuring the health inequalities it is necessary that we look at their causes. Determinants as age, sex, genetics, income, personal behavior, and social networks tend to affect health. In measuring inequalities we mainly have to draw focus on health socioeconomic determinants as income and housing. Morbidity is said to be a proportion of a particular disease in a given geographical area. As life expectancy increase in the UK, focus has been drifted towards prevalence of chronic illnesses which impact on the usage of health facilities. Wales has the lowest healthy life expectancy for all genders compared to England and all other parts of the UK (Hawe, 2008, pp. 5). Acording to Hawe (2008), the statistics stand at 65.6 years for males and 68.7years for females in 2003, compared to 67.6 (males) and 70.1 (females) years in the UK as a whole. Hawes table bellow shows statistical evidence: From the statistical evidence above we can draw analysis that that the health inequality depicted is due to poverty of the lower social class especially in most parts of Wales."People in affluent areas will likely live eight years longer than those in deprived parts of the North of England and South Wales." (Moore, 2015). We can then conclude that the more poor the geographical locality the more prevalent health illnesses. Mortality is being subject to death and its rate is the measure of number of deaths in a population. According to Mathews & Gardiner (2002, pp. 244), health and the risks of premature deaths are brought about by socio-economic factors throught life. The inequalities in imortalities in adulthood are widening more than in childhood due to poor cocioeconomic circumstances. Socioeconomic positions are highly associated

Summative Assessment In Education Research Paper

Summative Assessment In Education - Research Paper Example Why is it important to use authentic materials when teaching the English language? (3 marks) 2. Name six of the materials that can be used to supplement a course book when teaching English. (3 marks) 3. Discuss four methods which can be used to make a lesson more lively (4 marks) 4. Mention five advantages of using a course book while teaching (5 Marks) 5. Mention five best practices associated with the use of a course book (5 Marks) 6. Discuss the four options for use of a course book (8 marks) 7. Give four reasons why it is important to plan a lesson (2 marks) Section B: Lesson plan (30 marks) 1. With the news article and blank lesson plan provided, devise a lesson plan that can be used to teach a certain aspect of grammar. You are free to choose any aspect of your interest, but the lesson plan should include all the stages. Make sure all spaces are filled. Teacher: Room: Observer: Expected numbers: Date & Time: Class Level: Context: Teaching Aids: Learner Objectives: Personal Aims : Anticipated problems for students: Solution: Anticipated problems for teacher: Solution: Procedure Phase Timing Interaction (â€Å"Online TESOL / Online TEFL ITTT Answers†, 2009) Section C: Essay questions (40 marks) Write an essay of about 500 words to discuss one of the following concepts 1. Use a course book in lesson planning to maximize effects. 2. An ideal lesson plan. 3. Benefits of using a lesson plan. Note: your essay must contain a brief introduction and a conclusion. An assessment Triangle and cognitive Learning model In creating my summative assessment, I relied on the concept of the assessment triangle and the cognitive learning model. According to Selah & Khine (2011), the mentioned can provide a guide which helps, when an assessment instrument to support reasoning from evidence is designed, which is my objective. At this point, I feel that it is necessary to apply the concept of an assessment triangle where I considered all its elements. One of the elements o f an assessment triangle that I critically analyzed is cognition. Cognition refers to the theory, data, and a set of assumptions about how student present their knowledge and develop competency in a subject matter domain (Bernholt, 2012). Using the concept I try to align my summative assessment in the best possible way to make it test the level of competency my students have developed during the learning process. To understand this cognitive behavior fully, I decided to use the cognitive learning model. According to Busemeyer & Diederich (2010), this model has a goal of scientifically explaining processes used by the human brain to accomplish complex tasks. Using this model, I was able to understand the cognitive behavior of my students. This has helped me a lot in designing this summative assessment by showing me how the students behaviors interact with the goals we want to achieve through this summative assessments. Another element of as assessment triangle that I have considered is the beliefs element.

Theory assessment Essay Example for Free

Theory assessment Essay As a trainer, teacher and assessor my roles are many and varied. As part of my day to day work I may not only deliver lessons but also carry out theory assessments, practical assessments and sometimes interviews. I may have to motivate and liaise as well as guide and assess. I will have to keep records and be a subject specialist as well as liaise internally and impart information and advice sometimes on a personal level. The first impact I play regarding my role is either interviewing possible candidates or meeting and greeting them on the first day of their course. Meeting potential apprentices/apprentices on their first day induction requires me to make a good first impression and aim to create a degree of respect and professionalism from the onset. Geoff Petty says in his book. â€Å"When you go for an interview you put your best clothes on. Employers are affected by first impressions, but so are you as a teacher. We do this because we want to know how to behave towards a person and how we can expect them to behave towards us. It would of course be fairer to suspend judgement, but few of us manage this in practise†. (Petty G 2009) It has been proven (Petty G: 2009) that students’ that don’t look interested in studies or that have a â€Å"don’t care attitude† are more likely to do worse on their course that those that appear bright and willing to learn. This is partly due to our â€Å"first impressions† leading to the student being taught differently even though this may be subconscious. This is when it is important in your role as teacher to be the needs identifier and try to teach to the needs of the students’ as individuals and not to teach to the needs of the class as a whole when designing the learning and implementing it. Every student is an individual that has their own preferred learning styles one of the most common and widely used categorizations of the various types of learning styles is Fleming’s VARK model (sometimes VAK) consisting of visual learners, auditory learners, kinaesthetic learners or tactile learners. Flemming claimed that visual learners have a preference for seeing (think in picture; visual aids such as overhead slides, diagrams, hand-outs, etc. ). Auditory learner’s best learn through listening. Tactile/kinaesthetic learners prefer to learn via experience, moving, touching and doing (active exploration of the world; science projects; experiments, etc. ) Its use in pedagogy allows teachers to prepare classes that address each of these areas. Students can also use the model to identify their preferred learning style and maximize their educational experience by focusing on what benefits them most(Wikipedia. org/learning styles). During my lessons I always try to give students a mixture of learning styles so overall the lessons are more varied. I find this keeps the levels of interest much higher and it caters for the group as a whole, this way each student gets to learn at some point in their preferred learning style, this helps me confirm that they have knowledge and understanding from classroom based auditory and visual learning and that they can demonstrate through practical assessments that they have the skills and ability to perform tasks to a standard which can be deemed competent. I insist my students must understand how, when, where and why they should perform tasks. By giving students as much information as possible I believe this empowers the individual and gives them more incentive for learning. As a railway trainer assessor it is my responsibility to ensure support and guidance is available to help support students with various needs and personal issues, any apprentices who report a problem to me it is my duty to speak to the respective students and help deal with their learner needs, if it is anything regarding personal issues it is then my job to involve the appropriate person that deals with those issues, from the designated safe guarding officer to councillors within the affiliated colleges, chaplains or in some cases if the severity of the matter is such by contacting police. All aspects on quality and diversity must be considered at all times and any issues must be kept confidential as the tutor has a duty of care to his/her students. As a railway assessor I am responsible for a class of up to 26 students as their supervisor/mentor it is my duty to inform the student of any relevant legislation and codes of practice. One of the first subjects covered is Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA) giving students information on company safety policies and information regarding fire and first aid. Week one of their initial six week course involves presentations and QA regarding legislation that is applicable to the railway such as COSHH (control of substances hazardous to health), RIDDOR (reporting of diseases dangerous occurrence Regs) as well as HAVS (hand arm vibration syndrome) Noise Regs, LOLER (lifting operations lifting equipment Regs), Railway Regs and manual handling. â€Å"Recording provides the platform from which teachers can base their reporting to others and is a mechanism for evaluating learning and teaching. (highlandschools) One of the most important roles of a teacher (and assessor) is record keeping. From day one it is my responsibility to start with a course register as the course progresses I am responsible for gathering evidence that students produce assessing it, evaluating it, marking it and keeping it filled away safely. Data protection is very important because as a teacher we deal with personal details. Part of my job entails collecting apprentice’s bank details and personal details this documentation needs to be collected and passed on to the wage department safely and securely. Weekly reports are carried out on each candidate this information must be kept in a secure location because any misuse could be detrimental to the welfare of students and break any trust built up between student and teacher. Keeping records is a very important reflexive tool for both teachers and learners. Accurate records taken throughout a course enables both teacher and students to continually reassess the effectiveness of the teaching/learning relationship by giving an ongoing measurement against what the candidate should be learning, what they have been taught, whether or not they are making progress and whether the structure of the lesson plan is sufficient or not. Indications on whether the student needs more additional help can also be highlighted. Holistic record keeping is beneficial as it can give an indication if there is external problems for example poor attendance may be due to a multitude of reasons and as a tutor this gives you an initial warning that there may be an underlying problem with this information you can then look deeper and begin to analyse behavioural patterns to identify whether or not there is any issue that might require the notification of other professional bodies. Keeping accurate records of candidates work is necessary for progress, monitoring student achievement, ability and skill through ongoing assessment is essential to track their progress with the additional constructive feedback helps teachers set realistic targets for the candidate to achieve. Once these targets are met the end product is passed on to the awarding bodies for certification. My personal interpretation is that the role of a teacher is a very varied and flexible one. Structured by lesson plans and course criteria the simple fact that individual students can be so diverse due to background, ability, age, and motive for learning makes the role of a teacher unique each and every day. It is my opinion that there is a great responsibility of a tutor to pass on knowledge in a positive and passionate way, the tutor creates his/her own environment for learning and in that environment all the needs of the learner should be met. The teacher should be able to relate to individuals to develop a good personal teaching relationship and to understand what gets the best results out of each student to maximise learning outcome.

Othello and Heroism Essay -- Othello essays

Othello and Heroism  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello the audience finds heroism exhibited not only by the hero, the Moor, but also by other characters in the drama.    A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   C. Bradley, in his book of literary criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, defines a woman character, Desdemona, as a hero in the play from the very outset:    There is perhaps a certain excuse for our failure to rise to Shakespeare’s meaning, and to realize how extraordinary and splendid a thing it was in a gentle Venetian girl to love Othello, and to assail fortune with such a ‘downright violence and storm’ as is expected only in a hero. It is that when first we hear of her marriage we have not yet seen the Desdemona of the later Acts; and therefore we do not perceive how astonishing this love and boldness must have been in a maiden so quiet and submissive. (191)    A character’s attitude toward the most fearful foe – death itself – is unquestionably a criterion for judging a heroic type from a non-heroic type. Helen Gardner in â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune† considers Iago’s wife Emilia to be a true hero of the play because of her fearless outlook on death itself:    Emilia’s silence while her mistress lived is fully explicable in terms of her character. She shares with her husband the generalizing trick and is well used to domestic scenes. The jealous, she knows,    are not ever jealous for the cause But jealous for they are jealous.    If it was not the handkerchief it would be something else. Why disobey her husband and risk his fury? It would not do any good. This is what men are like. But Desdemona dead sweeps away all such generalities and all caution. At this sight, Emilia ... ...y large and grand, towering above his fellows, holding a volume of force which in repose ensures pre-eminence without an effort, and in commotion reminds us rather of the fury of the elements than of the tumult of common human passion. (168)    WORKS CITED    Bradley, A. C.. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Penguin, 1991.    Gardner, Helen. â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from â€Å"The Noble Moor.† British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.                  

Introspection Within Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Essay

Introspection reveals something about a person to himself. In a literary work such as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Introspection reveals something about a person to themselves and the audience. Although the monster of Frankenstein killed he is still a good person because he shows compassion, friendliness, and through remorse for the bad things that he had done; much of this had been shown through introspection Also, the monster had no control of him when he committed murder, therefore he is good even though he committed murder. The monster shows that he is good and not evil by showing compassion. He shows this when the monster realized that the family of peasants were unhappy because of their poverty that the monster had been contributing to by stealing their food. When the monster realizes this he becomes torn by his guilty conscience he stops surreptitiously taking their food and does what he can to reduce their hardship by collecting firewood and leaving it outside their house for them. Before the monster finds out what causes their despair he says that he is deeply affected by their unhappiness, â€Å"The young man and his companion often went apart and appeared to weep. I saw no cause for their unhappiness, but I was deeply affected by it† (71). This shows that the monster has a good heart and conscience and that he can show compassion. The monster also shows compassion when he helps a woman who is drowning. The monster says, â€Å"She continued her course along the precipitous sides of the river, when suddenly her foot slipped, and she fell into the rapid stream. I rushed from my hiding-place and with extreme labour, from the force of the current, saved her and dragged her to shore. She was senseless, and I endeavoured by every means in my power to restore animation†(93), showing that he did his best to save the woman because of his compassion towards her. Although Frankenstein’s Monster is often described as rude, he is friendly. He tries to make friends with the family of peasants which he had been helping secretly. Frankenstein’s Monster attempts to befriend the family of peasants, but is harshly rejected. The monster says,† You and your family  are the friends whom I seek† (88), to the old man, signifying that he is looking to make friends. This shows that Frankenstein’s Monster is a good person. Another thing that shows the monsters friendliness is that he calls people that do not know him friends. For example, Frankenstein’s Monster calls the family of peasants his friends. Frankenstein’s Monster says, â€Å"I slept; the remainder of the day was spent in observing my friends.†(73). this shows that Frankenstein’s Monster is friendly. Frankenstein’s Monster’s friendliness is a sign that he is good. Although the monster killed he is still good because he showed remorse for his negative actions. For example, the monster when the monster was talking to Walton he says, â€Å"You hate me, but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself. I look on the hands which executed the deed† (152). The monster essentially said that he is disgusted by himself and he explains that it is because of his negative actions. Another example of the monsters remorse is when the monster tells Walton, â€Å"After the murder of Clerval I returned to Switzerland, heart-broken and overcome. I pitied Frankenstein; my pity amounted to horror; I abhorred myself† (151). The monster is saying that after the murdering Henry Clerval he felt so bad for Frankenstein that he described it as horrible. This shows that the monster felt deep remorse after one of his few murders meaning that he was mistaken for committing the act. The monster is good because he was not in control of himself when committing murder. The monster even said, â€Å"I knew that I was preparing for myself a deadly torture, but I was the slave, not the master, of an impulse which I detested yet could not disobey† (150). By saying, â€Å"preparing for myself a deadly torture† (150), the monster meant killing because the guilty conscience after murder was deadly torture to him. So essentially the monster is saying that murder was an impulse which he did not like but he could not disobey the impulse that he was a â€Å"slave† to. An example of this impulse is when the monster said, â€Å"Urged by this impulse, I seized on the boy as he passed and drew him towards me† (94). When the monster seized the boy, he strangled him shortly after. The monster was talking about the same impulse which he was a slave to. The monster was put through immense  emotional pressure with a childlike mind and the body of a monster. The monster had no control over the impulse which led him to kill therefore he was not to blame thus acquitting him of murder. Therefore it cannot be argued that the monster is bad because he was not in control of himself. It cannot be argued that the monster is bad because of murder because he was not in control. Also the monster showed emotions synonymous with being a good person. These emotions include remorse, compassion, and friendliness among others. This shows the monster to be without a doubt good. The real monsters are the people who led the monster to commit murder by treating him poorly. This mirrors countless real world situations such as school shootings, perhaps the shooting in Columbine when a few students were out casted, then they committed a massacre in the school. The same principle of an outcast with the mind of a child, with power, in the case of columbine, guns, killing many because he or she was out casted is apparent in the book Frankenstein as it was in other shootings. Works Cited Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.

The impacts of The UK’s withdrawal from The European Union on the Hotel Industry

Introduction The hotel and accommodation industry in the UK is a major business for both multinational and SMEs in the country due to the attractiveness of UK as a tourist destination on a global scale. The free movement of persons across the euro zone has increased the frequency of travels between the EU member states, which has bolstered the tourism sectors of the EU economies.This situation is more apparent in the UK where most of its foreign tourists emerge from the EU member states due to ease of movement of persons within the EU (Rolfe & Hudson-Sharp, 2016). Consequently, the hotel industry in the UK is largely depended on leisure and business travellers from the UK. The decision by Britain to withdraw from the European Union is a disaster for the tourism industry and specifically businesses involved in providing tourists with accommodation services. There is a general serious concern for the UK’s hotel industry as a result of the anticipated negative effects of Brexit on the travel industry in the UK. Constraints of Free Movement There is a strong tourism and travel flows between the EU and the UK. The destination for the majority of UK tourists is the EU, which is, in turn, the main source of international tourists entering the UK (Rolfe & Hudson-Sharp, 2016). Travel and tourism trade between the EU and the UK has been expedited by the free movement of products and services, people and investment across the Euro Zone. This free movement and the flow of travel and trade could be significantly affected by the implementation of the Brexit. The EU has various regulations that are designed for the benefit of business travellers and holidaymakers. As much as most of these policies may not be altered immediately, UK’s withdrawal from the EU has significant future implications. Free movement of people between the UK and other EU member states is supported by various regulations such as the financial protection regulations for bundle holidays, flight delays compensations, access health cover while traveling wi thin the EU, and controls on mobile phone charges. In this respect, Brexit will expose customers within the EU to higher prices and fares while considering UK as a travel destination, which might limit the competitiveness of the UK as a tourist destination for travellers from the EU (Milas et al., 2016). An immediate concern for the travellers’ hotels in the UK is the effect of uncertainty period that follows the current Brexit negotiations. Further, the period immediately after exit from the EU will be damaging to the Hotel industry in the UK. Specifically, an exit will culminate in elevated travel costs and decreased travels between the UK and the EU. This would also imply the collapse of the European Health Insurance Card, which is an attractive package for travellers within the EU. Consequently, for the hotel industry in the UK, the negative effects of Brexit far outweigh the perceived benefits. The Cost-effectiveness of Human Capital The hotel industry in the UK is a net employer of a significant number of immigrants from the EU. A consideration of changes that will affect the ability of the sector to recruit foreign nationals could affect many businesses in the hospitality sector with respect to filling various roles in that there is a general skill shortage in the UK’s labour market (D’Angelo & Kofman, 2016). In this respect, the hospitality sector in the UK could struggle to fully recover from the withdrawal of UK from the EU in that the hotel industry in the country is dependent on the EU as a source of labour. Specifically, the freedom of movement within the EU is key to the sustainability of the hotel industry in the UK and therefore Brexit may affect the financial viability of various elements of the Hotel industry in the UK. For instance, hotels in the UK are able to provide quality services at a lower cost when compared to its major competitors, Australia and the United States as a result o f its membership to the EU. Furthermore, the large customer base in the EU enables UK Hotels to operate at capacity which means that they can offer better prices and guarantee more visits and hence competitiveness of the UK tourism sector (Milas et al., 2016). The implementation of the Brexit implies that EU residents will not be able to freely work as employees within the UK’s hotel industry. This will force the hotels to outsource some of its services to local firms, losing quality control and increasing the cost of hotel services by over 20 percent. Therefore, the membership of Britain within the EU is central to the existence of Hotels in the UK as cost effective quality service providers on a global scale. Conclusion As Brexit becomes a reality in the hotel industry in the UK, it is apparent that exiting from the EU may affect the sustainability of hotels from two points of view. Firstly, the collapse of free movement deal between the UK and other EU member states imply a significant decline of foreign travellers in the UK due to cost and travel bureaucracy issues. Secondly, the possibility of a significant number of employees in the hotels industry facing deportation due to withdrawal from the EU imply increased operational costs for hotels in the UK and ultimately a decline in their competitiveness on a global scale. Therefore, as plans for Brexit are being laid down, it is important to consider the possibility of adopting policies that will ensure the hotel industry in the UK survives the Brexit process. Reflective Summary This reflection is founded on Gibbs (1988) Reflection Cycle. The decision to utilise this approach was rooted in the fact that it inspires a vibrant account of the situation, examination of feelings, experience evaluation that enhances the ability of an individual to make sense of all the experiences and ultimately be able to apply the acquired knowledge in related situations (Gibbs, 1988). While the principle objective of this course was to examine learning through developing academic skills, the approach taken in this course to achieve this objective merits a reflection. The course in both lectures and tutorial sessions involved the establishment and development of working study groups. From the study groups, I was exposed to numerous perspectives on what a study group is and numerous variations of study groups in different contexts and different purposes. In fact, as much as the same charge with respect to study assessment was provided, each state resulted in a unique study group. Despite these disparities, I gained fascinating insights in the study group practice, and I currently consider it to be among the most valuable approach to exploring novel ideas and contributing practically to my professional development. In addition, I noted that since the study group agenda is driven by the group members, the experience was highly personal and purposeful. This model has been influential in my ability to develop excellent communication skills. Specifically, this module made me aware of the imperativeness of communication skills with respect to communicating with instructors and peers, expressing thoughts and reflection, depicting critical thinking during group discussions, and being culturally sensitive while talking to peers. These are competencies that will build on my communication skills to assist me in my academic undertakings. Further, this module explores ways of improving written forms of communication in that it is essential for a student to be able to express him/herself through writing. This will be important to me when writing research papers, analytical case studies, speeches, and essays. References D’Angelo, A., & Kofman, E. (2016). UK: Large-Scale European Migration and the Challenge to EU Free Movement. In South-North Migration of EU Citizens in Times of Crisis (pp. 175-192). Springer International Publishing. Gibbs, G. (1988). The reflective cycle. Kitchen S (1999) An appraisal of methods of reflection and clinical supervision. Br J Theatre Nurs, 9(7), 313-7. Milas, C., Worrall, T., & Zymek, R. (2016). Watch Out for Winners and Losers: Odd-?Implied Brexit Sentiment and FTSE Returns. Financial Times. Rolfe, H., & Hudson-Sharp, N. (2016). The impact of free movement on the labour market: case studies of hospitality, food processing and construction. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/download/45123775/Free_movement_final_report.pdf

The Design of the Sidekick essays

The Design of the Sidekick essays The Design and Use of the T-Mobile Color Sidekick Communication is important. Many people use cell phones and electronic devices everyday to communicate with their families and friends. One type of cell phone that many hard of hearing or deaf people use, along with hearing people, is the T-Mobile Sidekick from Danger, Inc. They use it because not only it has a phone feature like all cell phones, but it also has an instant messaging program that serves as an alternative to a phone for people who cannot hear well. The Sidekick will be examined, to see if it is beneficial to a person who owns one, by following some of the main designing principles derived from Donald A. Normans The Design of Everyday Things. The Sidekick has many things wrong about it that are often overlooked and it also has many great features, such as its email service that makes the device a cell phone/pager in one. The Sidekick comes in a spiffy colorful box from T-Mobile and it includes a re-charger, a wrist strap and a cover. Does the Sidekick have an excellent sense of usability? That has yet to be determined in this paper. The appearance of the pager has customers vying for it. Its silver body with a swivel LCD screen that rotates clockwise 180 degrees around the hinge, that sits about a couple of centimeters from the top of the phone, makes a person want to get his/her hands on whats exposed when the LCD is flipped a QWERTY keyboard. When the LCD screen is swiveled upside down, the contents on the screen will also flip to make reading easier. A clickable scroll wheel is embedded inside the right center of the device where the users thumb might roam over when the hand is holding the pager. Inside the wheel, lies a multi-colored tiny light bulb to display changing colors used for feedback to the user. Placed on the top right corner of the pager, which is directly above the flashin g scroll wheel, exists an 11-row vent in...

Business Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Law - Case Study Example 2). On the other hand, the Clayton Antitrust Act, another antitrust law of the United States of America, prohibits "exclusive dealings", "mergers or acquisition" if these acts substantially lessen competition (15 U.S.C., secs. 14 and 18). The US antitrust law refers to the body of laws that make illegal or unlawful certain business practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers, or both, or violate business ethics. These include anti-competitive behaviors such as monopoly, restraint of trade and commerce, and unfair business practices like exclusive dealings, mergers, and acquisition and other practices that lessen business competition or harm the economy. In order to determine whether a corporate action or conduct is anti-competitive and thus prohibited by the antitrust law, two methods can be applied: the per se rule and the rule of reason. Under the per se rule which was utilized in the Sherman Antitrust Act, a corporate conduct is anti-competitive if is overwhelmingly harmful to the business or to the economy like horizontal price fixing or territorial division agreement. It does not require further evidences since it is evident on the face of the agreement itself. The rule of reason on the other hand, utilized in the Clayton Antitrust Act, requires the plaintiff to prove that the agreement caused economic harm in addition to proving that the defendant acted as charged. Merger is most likely the type of transaction that Awesea will offer in the case at hand. A merger is considered when both CEO's agree that joining together is in the best interest of the companies, as in the increase of sales but cutting the cost of operational expenses. The law on merger in relation to antitrust law is governed under section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act. It was further strengthened by the Celler-Kefauver Amendments of 1950 and the various merger guidelines issued by the US Department of Justice. Said laws modified the Sherman Antitrust Act where a mere merger is a violation of the antitrust law as a method of promoting monopoly (Sec. 1). At present, any challenges in the legality of mergers are decided using the rule of reason, that is, the plaintiff can only prevail upon proving to the court that the defendants are doing something which can bring substantial economic harm. The Clayton Act also allows the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to regulate all mergers and gives the government discretion whether to approve a merger or not. Another law, the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act, provides in summary that before a certain merger can close, both parties must file a "Notification and Report Form" with the FTC and the Assistant Attorney General in-charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice so that the regulatory bodies can assess whether the proposed transactions violate the antitrust law of the US. Applying the rule of reason under the Clayton Act, when a company merges or acquired another company in order to promote its product in a certain country or to increase it sales, said transaction lessens competition, thus violates the antitrust law. The said fact is supported by various decided cases by the US Supreme Court which still are in effect today. One case is US v. Falstaff Brewing Copr., et. al., 410 U.S.

Final exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Final exam - Essay Example Therefore, I would do my best to improve employee relations because it would not only help the employees work in a collaborative manner but also it would result in increasing the company’s productivity. I would take a couple of steps to resolve the employee relations issue. First, I would make the marketing manager aware of the breakup between John and Sue. I would tell the manager that Sue does not enjoy working with John anymore because of the breakup. I would also tell the manager that Sue feels very uncomfortable when she finds John hanging around her office. After informing the manager about the nature of working relationship between Sue and John, I would advise him to choose some other employee to work with Sue on the upcoming project. In case the manager stresses on using John with Sue for the project, I would take the second step. The second step would be to improve the working relationship of Sue and John. I would summon John to my office to warn him. I would notify him that his name would be no more on the employee list if I get any complaint about him from Sue. I would also call Sue in my office to tell her that she would be going to work with John on a project and if John shows some unacceptable gesture during or after work to make her feel uncomfortable, she should let me know. Next, I would call both of them in my office together to sign a good working relationship agreement between them. In this way, I would be able to improve their working relationship for the benefit of the company. Labor relations issue is also very important in my view. The reason is that it resolves many of the individual compensation issues as well as employer-employee relationship issues. Labor relations deal mainly with the interchanges between employers and employees. â€Å"While labor relations is most often used to discuss this exchange as it pertains to unionized employees, it may also refer to

Exam Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Exam Questions - Assignment Example One of the techniques is to starting the process with individual ideas. Every individual should first put down their own ideas individually. After the first step, everyone should then bring up their ideas. Judgments should be withheld and no one’s ideas should be criticized. This then should ensure that everyone is heard. The group should then go radical and ensure that even the impractical are analyzed for any possibility. There should be emphasis on generation of many ideas as possible. The group should then build on individual ideas. c) The problem solving model can help the management team to gather information on the market and identify possible solutions to their problem. They can then define their issue, gather information and try to brainstorm ideas that can solve the problem on the sale of their product. They will then come up with a solution after critical analysis of several ideas. However they are likely to encounter difficulties in gather adequate information on their problem of their sales. This then will hinder the identification of possible solutions. d) Individuals working on their own should consider identifying the issue at their stake before trying to generate any ideas. After that, the individual should consider the technique of looking at issue on different points of view. This will enable the individual be able to consider several possibilities when generating ideas. a) The characteristics of critical thinking include defining the problem that is at hand and understanding well. Another feature is asking as many questions as possible to get all the necessary information on certain issue. Critical thinking also involves clear analysis of several assumptions and biases on certain ideas. Tolerating ambiguity avoiding emotional reasoning in several cases are also common features of critical thinking. c) Fallacies of relevance are arguments whose premises are logically relevant and are therefore in a position to establish a clear

Cross cultural awareness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Cross cultural awareness - Essay Example This clearly states the increasing importance of globalization in the present era. With the increase in globalization, firms are employing people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. This is where the problems of cultural stereotyping arise. There is a need for firms to train the employees in the International Human Resource Management processes. IHRM involves the study of how the HR processes (Recruitment, induction, compensation, performance management, etc) are conditioned by the political, legal, economic environments and the labor practices of the countries in which their firm has subsidiaries. The cultural adaption training given to the employees is known as acculturization. In America, autonomy is given a lot of importance whereas in countries like India, most organizations have a very bureaucratic culture. Also, in America, people are risk taking and welcome uncertainty hands on. Whereas it is the complete contrast in countries like Japan where people fear taking risks (Patricia Ann Mehegan 2006). Thus, global management is all about recognizing these cultural differences, acknowledging them and adapting to them. The global firms nowadays require managers who are well trained to adapt to the cultural difference when they go as expats in other countires. Cross cultural understanding need to be a part of employee’s learning if he wants to excel in his career. The commonly held beliefs or opinions about certain individuals, cultures or communities are known as stereotypes (Richard A. Nitsche 1977). Stereotypes are basically our perceptions of something, the image we draw in our heads of a particular person or thing. These stereotypes are based on previous assumptions, which are not always verified. People stereotype a community into two categories: the in-groups and the out groups. In-groups are the group people see in a positive light and

Invisible Contract

Invisible Contract The concept of the invisible contract can also be expressed as psychological contract which entails the unwritten employment relationship between the employer and the employee. It is an unspoken set of beliefs usually hidden or remains invisible, held by both parties which co-exist with the written contract of employment. The psychological contract is used to refer to the perceptions of what both employers and employees have regarding their business relationship based on what they are to give and receive from each other respectively. This concept can be traced back to Ancient Greek Philosophers as well as social contract theorists like John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. Kotter (1973) describes the psychological contract as an implicit contract with specifications of how both the individual and organisation are meant to behave in their employment relationship. The psychological contract is an abstract relationship between employers and employees driven by their perceptions of values. According to Cluterbuck (2005) value has three core meanings and they are value as respect, value as worth and value as beliefs. Value as respect refers to the perceptions of the employees towards the organisation with regards to how the employee feels about working with that particular organisation. If the employees feel that they are contributing positively to the organisation and if these efforts are being recognised by the organisation, the hidden orientation becomes successful. Value as worth on the other hand refers to how the employers and employees create added value for each other through reciprocal rewards. For example, the organisation providing Good pay and providing training and development opportunities for the employees while the employees in turn add value to share holders in order to raise capital. In this proposal various psychological aspects will be described in the context of organization and also its employees and also the appropriate methodology for this research will be discussed for the further completion of the investigation. 1.1 Research Question What is the role of the invisible contact or psychological contract between employers and employees in Starbucks coffee in City East District? 1.2 Key Aims This research seeks: To compare the Old and New Types of the Psychological contract To explore the opinions of a selection of Starbucks Coffees employees and their managers about their side of the psychological contract. To evaluate the assumptions both employers and employees have towards the concept of the psychological contract. To explore how psychological contracts can be enhanced to increase competitive advantage in supermarkets. To examine the changes in the psychological contract over the years, the reasons for the changes and the influence the new contract is having over both employees and the organisation. 1.3 Background of the Company: Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 16,120 stores in 49 countries, including around 11,000 in the United States, followed by nearly 1,000 in Canada and more than 800 in Japan. Starbucks sells drip brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, snacks, and items such as mugs and coffee beans. Through the Starbucks Entertainment division and Hear Music brand, the company also markets books, music, and film. Many of the companys products are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Starbucks-brand ice cream and coffee are also offered at grocery stores. In May 1998, Starbucks successfully entered the European market through its acquisition of 65 Seattle Coffee Company stores in the UK.   The two companies shared a common culture, focussing on a great commitment to customised coffee, similar company values and a mutual respect for people and the environment. CHAPTER 2 2.0 Literature Review This chapter highlights the major arguments surrounding the concept of the psychological contract. The psychological contract is unwritten and therefore it is merely implied but could be explicit to some extent but not necessarily allow for agreement to the parties involvement. It can differ from individual to individual as well as from various organisations because individuals have various perceptions even with the same terms and conditions it still varies amongst individuals. The concept of the psychological contract can be traced back to Ancient Greek Philosophers and social contract theorists like John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. William Morris described Love of work as a Man at work creating something which he feels will exist because he is working at it and wills it and is therefore exercising the energies of his mind, soul and body (Morris 1870). 2.1 Definitions of the Psychological contract Agyris (1960) has been given credit for bringing to limelight the concept of psychological contract. He describes the psychological contract as a set of practical and emotional expectations of benefits that both employers and employees have of each other. Kotters (1973) defines the psychological contract as an implicit contract between an individual and his organisation which specifies what each is expected to give and receive from each other in the relationship. Morrison and Robinson (1997) on the other hand describe the psychological contract as an employment belief about the reciprocal obligations between that employee and his or her organisations where these obligations are based on perceived promises and are not necessarily recognised by agents of the organisation. According to Schein (1978) the psychological contract was described as a set of unwritten reciprocal expectations between the individual employee and the organisation. According to Goddard (1988), the way psychological contract is managed will determine how successful an organisation will become. The psychological contract entails what both parties to the contract (i.e. the employer and employee) expect from each other based on their employment beliefs and values. 2.2 Types of Psychological Contract Rousseau (1995) describes four types of psychological contract. The first type is the transactional which is short term and there is very little involvement of the parties, employees are more concerned with compensation and personal benefits rather than being good organisational citizens (Robinson et al 1994). The second type of psychological contract is the relational, which is a long term type focuses on more emotional factors like support and loyalty rather than on monetary issues like pay and compensation. The third type is the hybrid or balanced which aims at long term relationships between employers and employees as well as specifying performance requirements. The fourth type is the transitional contract which according to (Rousseau, 1995) does not offer any form of guarantee because of the ever changing nature of the organisations environment.    Short Term  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Long term Transactional (ex. retail clerks hired during Christmas shopping season) * Low ambiguity * Easy exit/high turnover * Low member commitment * Freedom to enter new contracts * Little learning * Weak integration/identification Balanced (ex. high involvement team) * High member commitment * High integration/identification * Ongoing development * Mutual support * Dynamic Transitional ex. employee experiences following merger or acquisitions) * Ambiguity/uncertainty * High turnover/Termination * Instability Relational (ex. family business members) * High member Commitment * High affective commitment * High integration/identification * Stability Table 1: Types of Psychological contract (Rousseau 1995 Pg 17) The psychological contract is an abstract relationship between employers and employees driven by their perceptions of values. According to Cluterbuck (2005) value has three core meanings and they are value as respect, value as worth and value as beliefs. Value as respect refers to the perceptions of the employees towards the organisation with regards to how the employee feels about working with that particular organisation. If the employees feel that they are contributing positively to the organisation and if these efforts are being recognised by the organisation, the hidden orientation becomes successful. Value as worth on the other hand refers to how the employers and employees create added value for each other through reciprocal rewards. For example, the organisation providing Good pay and providing training and development opportunities for the employees while the employees in turn add value to share holders in order to raise capital. There must also be a sense of equilibrium her e so the parties involved feel a sense of fairness. There are two main types of psychological contract and they are the Transactional and Relational Psychological contracts. The transactional focuses on short term and specific monitory agreements with little involvement of the parties where employees are more interested in good benefits and compensations. The relational psychological contract on the other hand is a long-term contract that focuses on support and loyalty rather than on monitory issues, it is a more emotional contract. Rousseau (1990) categorisation of obligations as relational or transactional is shown below (Table 2) Employer  Ã‚   Obligations: Transactional Employer Obligations: Relational Employee Obligations: Transactional Employee   Obligations: Relational Advancement Training Notice Overtime High Pay Job security Transfers Loyalty Merit Pay Development No competitor support Extra role behaviour Support Minimum Stay Source:   Rousseau (1990) Table 2: Categorisation of employer and employee obligations as Transactional or Relational 2.3 Changes to the Psychological contract The concept of the psychological contract has led Academics to carry out a vast and in-depth research on the subject matter. The concept of the psychological contract has changed over the years and this chapter will describe its changes. Holbeche (1998) noted that the old psychological contract existed before the 1980s where employment was guaranteed as long as employees continued to perform their best at work. The change occurred from the 1980s to the present as a result of emergent challenges to corporate strategies which were being influenced by economic turbulence. There was an urgent need by organisations to adopt change to deal with economic downturns and as a result of this most organisations began the process of downsizing and began to focus more on their core business and outsource other peripheral activities. These business strategies were required for organisational development and they challenged the old psychological contract that was based on Job security and moved focu s to a new contract that is based on employability. According to Hiltrop (1995), the psychological contract that gave job security and job stability to the relationship of both employees and employers has dramatically altered in the past two decades. He further stresses the change in nature of loyalty and commitment with the emphasis changing from long term careers to current performance. Rousseau (1995) acknowledges these changes by stating that contracts were previously transactional in nature but with the emergence of the bureaucratic era they developed to become relational. The old psychological contract was based on a reciprocal obligation of both employer and employee where employees provided loyalty to employers and employers gave Job security. Various factors led to the change in the psychological contract and they include amongst others the recession in the early 1990s as well as the effects of globalisation. This resulted in a change from the old psychological contract to a new contract. Individual offered: Organisation expected: Loyalty Loyalty In-depth knowledge of organisation Staff with a deep understanding of how the business functioned Acceptance of bureaucratic systems that defined the individuals rate of progress Willingness to build a career slowly through a defined system Willingness to go beyond the call of duty when required Individuals who would put the organisations needs before any outside interests Individual expected: Organisation offered: Job security Job security Regular pay increases Regular pay increases based on length of service Recognition for length of service Status and rewards based on length of service Recognition of experience Respect for experience Table 3: Adapted from Pembertons model of the psychological contract (1998) Table 3 represented above describes the characteristics of the old psychological contract where the organisation provided job security and rewards based on length of service and the employees provided loyalty and commitment on their part. Sparrows (1996) interpretation of this new contract is outlined in table 4 below: Change vs Stability Continuous Change Culture Performance based reward Development Employees for self-development and increasing their employability. Emphasis on development of competencies and technical skills Rewards Paid on contribution Promotion Criterion Performance Promotion Prospects Fewer chances of promotion due to essentially flat organisational structures focus on sideways moves to develop a broader range of skills Relationship Type Transactional rather than relational; no job security guarantees Responsibility Accountability and innovation encouraged Status Fewer outward symbols Trust No longer seen as essential. Emphasis on engendering commitment to current project or team. Table 4: Adapted Sparrows new psychological contract (1996) These changes occurred against a background of economic hardship; redundancies were widespread, unemployment increasing and government focused on reducing trade union powers. The outcome was a more vulnerable and wary workforce. The economic climate forced companies to examine cost reduction as a means of sustaining or increasing profits. Human resource policies were cost effective rather than paternalistic. Staff were increasingly seen as resources who were useful for a specific role and either adaptable or replaceable when that role ended. The new contract is based on the offer of the employer to provide fair pay for the employee as well as providing opportunities for training and development. As a result of this, the employer can no longer offer Job security and as such has weakened the amount of commitment employees have to offer. Atkinson (2002) suggests that the new contract focuses on the need for highly skilled flexible employees who have little or no job security but are highly marketable outside the organisation. Bagshaw (1997) states that, in this new Psychological contract, individuals need to commit to five key areas which have both short term and long term views. They are Continuous learning, Team working, Goal setting, Proactive change management and Personal advocacy and networking (Bagshaw 1997 pg 188). He further argues that if these key areas are focused on, the employees will be raising their values of future employability. Furthermore, the common dialogue between the two parties with similar interests in mind will establish commitment and loyalty. The reasons for such changes were described by Herriot and Pemberton (1997) as the Restructuring and continuous change of organisations led to increased feelings of inequity and insecurity and as a result, motivation was affected negatively. Hall and Moss (1998) demonstrate the shifting of the psychological contract using three stages of adaptation. The first stage, they described as the trauma of change state and they argued that a lot of organisations go through this stage. The second stage they described as adapting to the new contract where they estimated a 7-year period may be needed in order to fully adapt to the new contract stressing its not a linear process and as such it is possible to fall back to previous states. The third stage is described by Atkinson (2002) as the point of gradual change and continuous learning, valuing the employee and offering loyalty to employees based on performance and development. This stage seeks to avoid the trauma of the changing contract by offering fundamental respect for the individuals involved. Hall and Moss (1998) argue that changes to the psychological contract are possible without going through the first and second stages if handled appropriately. Atkinson (2002) further develops two concepts that emerge from long term management of the contract. The first is that organisations that are successful will provide opportunities and resources to enable individuals to develop their own careers through a relational approach. The second is that organisations will need to be more effective in renegotiating contracts and minimising risks of violating contracts (Rajan, 1997). This is because violating contracts will have negative impacts on employee attitudes and motivation. 2.4 Employer and Employee Perceptions Shore and Barksdale (1998) describe a productive employment relationship as one in which a degree of balance in perceived employee-employer obligations exist. This degree of balance suggests a mutual supporting relationship in which employees offer their skills and organisational commitment in return for rewards from the organisation. Winter and Jackson(2006) argue the need to consider both employer and employee perspectives, they suggested that it will enable investigation into the perceptions of mutuality of both parties and through this process, evaluate how well the employer has fulfilled his obligations to the employees and vice versa. Rousseau (1995) states that psychological contracts are formulated in the minds of the individuals and as a result reflect individual beliefs shaped by the organisation in regards to exchange terms between the employee and the organisation (Winter and Jackson 2006). Rousseau (1995) stresses the need for a link between the employees promises and obligations towards the organisation and that of the employer towards the employee. This is because of the differences in perceptions of both employers and employees of what constitutes the conditions of a reciprocal exchange agreement (Winter and Jackson 2006). Figure 1 Contracting Transitions (Herriot et al 1998 pg 102) Figure 1. Above describes the employment relationship of both employer and employee with transitions employees are likely willing to make and what they are able to offer in return. Herriot (1998) describe the process of contracting and negotiating between the employer and employee with a need for organisations to discover individual or group wants and match them with their own wants and offers through negotiation. Holbeche (1998) describes what employers perceptions of employees obligations are, as: Employees will take responsibility for managing their own careers Be loyal and committed Be dispensable when they are surplus to requirements Be adaptable and willing to learn new skills and work processes Holbeche (1998) further suggests the main components of employee expectations as: To be more employable in exchange for job security For organisation to support career development in return for loyalty For high skills and expertise to be recognised and duel rewarded According to Armstrong and Stephens (2005), a positive psychological contract is strongly linked to higher employee satisfaction, better employment relations and higher commitment to the organisation. They further suggest how performance management processes can help clarify the psychological contract and make it more positive through: Defining the level of support to be exercised by managers. Providing non-monetary rewards that reinforce the messages about expectation. Providing a basis for the joint agreement and definition of roles. Providing financial rewards through schemes that deliver messages about what the organisation believes to be important. Shields (2007), states, trust has been discovered to be a critical factor in employee behaviour and outlook. He further argues that when the level of trust between employers and employees fall, employee commitments and satisfaction deteriorate as well as motivation and effort. Guest and Conway (1997) outlined the following set of practices as having the most positive influence on employee work attitudes and behaviour and they are: Job security Training Opportunities High Pay Open communications Employee involvement programs According to Turnley et al (2003), psychological contract breach results in a number of negative results which include, lower levels of employee commitment, increased cynicism, reduced trust, reduced job satisfaction and high turnover. 2.5 Employee Motivation and the Psychological Contract Employee Psychological contracts are defined by Flannery (2002) as the important additional component to an employees job description which makes the job worth doing and reflects the main source of employees motivation. These contracts are part of what motivates employees to be productive at work and enables them to give their all at work. Shore and Barksdale (1998) discovered that employees reported higher levels of commitment, lower levels of turnover and higher organizational support when their employment relationships with their organisations were fulfilled. Rousseau (2004) suggests three ways in which employees design their own psychological contract. First, through their career aspirations, employees make different commitments to the organisation based on whether they view it as a long term employment possibility or a short term one which they need to move on to attain better opportunities. Employees with a stepping stone perspective tend to adopt transactional contracts while employees with long term employment possibilities tend to be more relational in contract nature. The second determinant is the personality of the individual, employees that are highly neurotic will tend to adapt more transactional contracts because they tend to reject actions by organisations to build relationships while conscientious workers on the other hand who possess great value for duty are more likely to have relational contracts. Thirdly, Rousseau states that employees who have negotiated special arrangements that are not usually available to others usually believe they relational contracts. This is because they have negotiated for opportunities for training and development which are special arrangements and a feature of relational contracts. A survey conducted by Guest and Conway (1997) on The Motivation and effort of employees discovered that the more motivated employees had a more positive psychological contract which presupposes that employees who are satisfied with their jobs and committed to their organisations report higher levels of general motivation so also do those with a positive psychological contract (Guest and Conway 1997). It was also discovered that attitudes have the highest influence on reported levels of motivation. Osteraker (1999) suggests there is a link between values and needs stating that individual needs, influence motivation and those needs determine how individuals will behave. Osteraker (1999) further stresses that values and attitudes can change over time due to a change in the organisation such as downsizing and restructuring.   2.6 Culture Hofstede (1984) suggests that different cultures imply different mental programming that controls activities, values and motivations. Therefore, organisational commitment is a psychological state that characterises the employees relationship with the organisation (Kong 2007). Culture is described as consisting of a system of values, attitudes, belief and behavioural meanings shared by members of a society (Thomas et al 2003). According to King and Bu (2005) employees of different cultural traditions and socio-economic environments are more likely to have very different perceptions on employer-employee relations. The type of psychological contract that individual employees will form with their employers is influenced by the personality traits, societal values and cultural norms of that particular individual (Raja et al 2004). This further implies that individual personality traits and cultural norms could provide a system that will explain why employees facing similar work environment and work conditions may form very different employment relationships with their employers (Zhao and Chen 2008).   These norms, values and beliefs provide a framework that will determine the way individuals behave and act accordingly. Individualism is defined by Gould and Kolb (1964) as an emphasis on ones self as separate from the others and an end in itself. The individual is independent and self reliant believes in self development and competition. In collectivism, the self often overlaps with a group. The main focus is on cooperation with a group, interdependence, social norms with the group comprising of t he main unit of social perception with individuals viewed as embedded in a universe of relationships (Lebra 1984). According to Thomas et al (2003)   individualism refers to the tendency to be more concerned about consequences of behaviours of ones personal goals through viewing oneself as independent of others while collectivism on the other hand refers to view oneself as interdependent with selected others with consequences of behaviour for the group as a whole and group interest. Research carried out by Zhao and Chen (2008) discovered, that individuals with an individualistic cultural value tended to form more transactional psychological contracts while people with a collectivism cultural value formed more relational contracts. It was discovered that collectivism motives tend to avoid differentiation and focus on relational contracts while self motives were more transactional in nature. This goes in line with research conducted by Lee (2000) where it was discovered that relational contracts are more likely related to behaviour in work groups in Hong Kong than in the United States. 2.6.1 Culture, Personalities and the Psychological Contract Rousseau (1995) outlines the two most important influences of employees psychological contract and they are both the organisational influences and employees personal dispositions. According to Tallman and Bruning (2008), the way employees interpret information from their employers, their observations of actions and activities in the workplace, together with their personal dispositions are theorised to create idiosyncratic contract attitudes in the minds of employees. Additionally, if management understand the factors that influence the development of employee psychological contracts, they may be able to manage these contracts more effectively (Tallman and Bruning 2008). Research carried out by Raja (2004) established a link that connected several facets of employee personality to their psychological contracts. Their research examined personality traits, including extraversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism and the extent to which these personality constructs related to employees choice of a transactional and relational psychological contracts. People high in neuroticism have poor job attitudes and they are unlikely to give of themselves other than what is necessary to maintain their jobs (Tallman and Bruning 2008). Kichuk and Wiesner (1997) further argue that people high in neuroticism are fearful, angry and functions as poor team performers with poor attitudes towards change. N