Water is My Safe Haven Essay -- Personal Narrative, Descriptive Essay

Water is My Safe Haven Everyone, once in their life, searches for a place or thing to get away and to be by themselves for awhile. When they find this place or thing, it provides them with the comfort, stability, and vitality they may need. It can be a library, the outdoors, a car, the front porch, or even a swimming pool, where they feel the safest, the most comfortable, or feel like all their burdens, all of their worries may be washed away. For me that place is the water; a river, a lake, a beach, a swimming pool, wherever there is water, that’s where I‘ll be. I was always afraid of the water. I was always afraid to leave the edge of the pool and to swim off in the middle. The pool was a big place where water was on all sides, it was stronger than me, and it intimidated me. Swimming for me was like a dog paddling the water. It was hard, and I was a young and confused on the mechanics of swimming. I can remember being thrown in the pool very often, that being a tactic my Mother used to get me to swim. It worked sometimes but other times I needed assistance. I can remember when I joined the swim team as a freshmen in high school. I wanted to get over my fear of water and wanted to learn how to swim. Goggles in hand, swim cap tightly fitted on my head. My legs shaking. The smell of freshly applied sunscreen coming through my pores. Beads of sweat dripping from my forehead. Nervousness overpowering my body. I was scared. This was it, I’d have to swim. No more holding on walls. A big pool surrounded by walls, a diving board, and 13 feet of water. There was no way I was backing out. The question was could I do it? I got into the pool. It was cool against my warm skin. Lilies floated by. Bugs buzzed... ... me. It created this big barrier from the outside world; we were one. I treaded the water afraid of letting go of the wall, and I swam to the middle of the pool. My brother raced towards me and we swam together. I was getting tired of swimming to and from each wall, but I was having fun. We decided to take a break. We pulled ourselves out of the pool from the side. Relief had overpowered us as we lay our cool bodies on the hot concrete. The heat began to warm us up so we decided to get back in. That was a day where my brother and I felt as if we were really kids. Wild and adventurous, loving the water. The water was my place of comfort outside of my grandparents’ home. I couldn’t take Mississippi with me to California, but wherever I went, there would ultimately be water, and I could always take that with me, I’d always have a piece of Oxford, I’d always have water.

Social Justice - Measure For Measure, Animal Farm, American History X :: essays research papers

Social justice is a topic known all to well in today's society. Such issues as social heirarchial structure and unjust representatives of citizens of nations are issues in need of attention by those in power. Corruption, lies and greed by those in power however stand in the way of this form of justice from occurring, leaving many with little or no social status open to prejudice on race, religious and sexual grounds. Outlined by William Shakespeare in Measure for Measure and George Orwell in Animal Farm is the ease in which power can corrupt. A utopian society is created once a farmer is overthrown from his position in charge of all the animals on "Manor Farm". A set of rules to govern the citizens of the revolutionary society was decided upon and these were to be the fairest and least controversial rules for the citizens of "Animal Farm" to abide by: "The Commandments were written on the tarred wall in great white letters that could be read thirty yards away. They ran thus: THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS 1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy 2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a freind 3. No animal shall wear clothes 4. No animal shall sleep in a bed 5. No animal shall drink alcohol 6. No animal shall kill any other animal 7. All animals are equal. It was very neatly written, and except that "friend" was written "freind" and one of the "S's" was the wrong way round, the spelling was correct all the way through. Snowball read it aloud for the benefit of the others. All the animals nodded in complete agreement, and the cleverer ones at once began to learn the Commandments by heart." As months passed on Animal Farm, the pigs, who thought they were the dominant force in the running of the animal farm, became more and more in control. Animal Farm, had now become the fairest it would ever be. Word of what had happened to Manor Farm had spread across all of Ireland and England. Animals all over the country were following in their paths led by pigs Napoleon and Snowball. However, as this was happening, Animal Farm was heading to ruin as the pigs became selfish and ignorant. They would now consider themselves above the laws and commandments they had set, as they believed they had set the way for the new society. To a greater extent, leaders Snowball and Napoleon would control and decide the fate of the farm, setting rations, "In January food fell short.

Effects of Cyberbullying Essay

Examples of Cyberbullying Cyberbullying examples  is referred to as a form of bullying  that is known to take place through the use of electronics such as mobile phones and over the internet. Furthermore, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter among many others, chat, text messages as well as websites are avenues through which cyber bullying can take place. It is to be noted that cyber bullying often is between kids, teens or even pre-teens and it will involve emails, text messages as well as rumors that are spread or posted on a social site over the internet or through the phone. Picture messages that are embarrassing, websites and even videos in addition to fake profiles are some of the means through which cyber bullying can take place. It has become quite a common social menace among young people and often those that have been victims of cyber bullying have been at one time bullied in person. Cyber bullying has great negative impacts on the life of the victims and therefore, should be dealt wi th accordingly by the relevant stakeholders who include parents, teachers as well as the government. Causes of Cyberbullying Characteristics Cyber bullying can take place at any time of the day, that is, 24/7. The kids that are targeted can be reached at any time when they are with the parents or guardians as well as when they are alone (Hoff, & Mitchell, 2009). This means that cyber bullying can take place either during the day or during the night. This trait of cyber bullying makes it quite difficult for parents or even guardians to monitor their children and even become aware of them being bullied. The second characteristic that is associated with cyber bullying is that the messages and the pictures being sent to the targeted kid can be done anonymously and can easily be distributed within a short time to a large number of people using the same sites(Hoff, & Mitchell, 2009). This is a big problem when it comes to dealing with the issue of cyber bullying because it becomes difficult to trace where the message or even picture have originated from so that the culprit can be brought to book. Finally, it is important to note that cyber bullying has quite a long lasting impact on the targeted victims. This is based on the reason that after the harassing messages, pictures or even the texts have been posted on the sites; it becomes quite difficult to erase or even delete those messages(Mishna, Khoury-Kassabri, Gadalla, & Daciuk2012). This means that every time the kid being bullied will view them and this will keep tormenting them and therefore, there is need to address such kind of issue by the relevant stakeholders. Negative effects of cyber bullying Any form of vice in the society often has its negative effects on those people that it is directed towards. In this case, cyber bullying has some of the greatest harmful effects on the lives of the kids who are victims(Mishna, Khoury-Kassabri, Gadalla, & Daciuk2012). Some of the negative impacts of cyber bullying on kids include the indulgence in drugs or even alcohol. When a kid is a victim of cyber bullying, they become frustrated. This results in the use of drugs as well as alcohol. The other negative effects of cyber bullying include the kids skipping school hence their education life becomes ruined since they tend to avoid their bullies (Campbell, 2005). The performance of the bullied kid will tend to drop as they will lack interest in their studies. Furthermore, the bullied kid will be affected in terms of their personality. The bullied kid will experience lower self-esteem since they will become afraid of facing their tormentor or even interact with other kids as they used to since they will be ridiculed (Mishna, Khoury-Kassabri, Gadalla, & Daciuk2012). Finally, it is to be noted that children or kids that experience cyber bullying will tend to experiences health complications and problems such as stress which may lead to other serious health problems. Causes of Cyber bullying There are several causes which have been identified that result in cyber bullying among kids. One of the causes is the motivation for revenge. Some of the cases of cyber bullying are as a result of kids who have been bullied in the past and therefore want to do the same to others. The second cause of cyber bullying is the belief by other kids that the victims often deserve to be bullied(Mishna, Khoury-Kassabri, Gadalla, & Daciuk2012). For example, if a certain kid is thought to be mean to others, they may decide to bully the kid to make them change or in retaliation to their meanness. Thirdly, some kids bully others because of boredom. They are looking for fun and therefore, they think that bullying others will help cheer them up. The other causes which have been identified include peer pressure from others that have been involved in cyber bullying, the perception that everyone else is involved in cyber bullying, and the beliefs that they will not be caught due to the anonymity invol ved(Mishna, Khoury-Kassabri, Gadalla, & Daciuk2012). Finally, hunger for power especially for kids from well-off families towards poor kids is also a cause in addition to lack of empathy for other kids. According to National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statisticsin the year 2010-2011 about 9% among the students that are in the 6–12 grades have at one time had an experience of cyberbullying. In the year 2013, according to Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Surveyabout 15% of the 9-12 grade students in high school to have experienced cyber bullying over the past year 2012. In conclusion, cyber bullying has become one of the most committed criminal acts among the young people and kids. However, due to the continued technological developments, it has become quite a challenge to handle the issue of cyber bullying. It is also quite difficult to determine the exact number of cases of cyber bullying considering that some of them are not reported to parents or even authorities in the schools. References Campbell, M. A. (2005). Cyber Bullying: An Old Problem in a New Guise?.Australian journal of Guidance and Counselling, 15(01), 68-76. Hoff, D. L., & Mitchell, S. N. (2009). Cyberbullying: Causes, effects, and remedies. Journal of Educational Administration, 47(5), 652-665. Mishna, F., Khoury-Kassabri, M., Gadalla, T., &Daciuk, J. (2012). Risk factors for involvement in cyber bullying: Victims, bullies and bully–victims. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(1), 63-70. Source document

Looking for Alabrandi and the Simple Gift Essay

Good morning teachers and fellow students. The idea that we continue on as we are: unchanged, unchanging is unbelievably illogical. In a time and world where things are constantly changing, it is impossible to be in existence without being affected by the process of change. Changes are inevitable, and they are happening everywhere around us. This idea is portrayed in the Prescribed film â€Å"Looking for Alibrandi† and my ORT The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick. The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances if there is a reaction, both are transformed. This quote by Psychologist Carl Jung is clearly evident in both texts looking for Alibrandi and The Simple Gift. During the opening scene of the film looking for Alibrandi there is a Qantas plane taking off or departing likewise in the Simple Gift the symbol of Change is more dramatic with Billy illegally riding the freight train out of town; he is unsure where he will end up. This is very contrasting to the symbolism of leaving in looking for Alibrandi where Josie believes she knows exactly what she wants to do, where she wants to go and who she wants to marry. Josie Meets Jacob Coote from cook high at a public speaking event, the two have an instant reaction it could even be described by chemical. Josie and Jacob are portrayed as opposites Josie’s believes that she is better than Jacob. When the Sydney schools have the first social event of the year Josie looks to John Barton (the son of the national liberal party leader) But john never asks her it is Jacob that asks her to dance, Jacob Says â€Å"It’s a pity you’re not school captain we could have been perfect† this highlights that Jacob is aware of Josie’s views towards him. In The Simple Gift Billy’s life changes significantly, as does Old Bill’s. When readers first get to know Old Bill, the technique of recounting is used as we learn why he is a homeless man. When Billy enters Old Bill’s life, he is prompted to change the way he lives. At first, Old Bill opposes these changes, as he swears â€Å"piss off kid†. He then begins to accept the changes as we observe him getting up early, having showers and quitting drinking. Old Bill’s attitudes towards change develop through the novel and by the end, he looks forward to change as he deals with his past When Billy first becomes homeless I believe that this moment is the catalyst for change in Billy’s life. Billy meets many challenges in this new place, such as where to sleep and where to find food. He meets these challenges head up, as he is determined to enter this new world and make a new life for himself. He sleeps in an old train carriage, and most of his meals are scraps from McDonalds. His attitude towards this change is enthusiastic and he feels that this change is beneficial for him. Josie meets thernominal challenges also with the death of John Barton, Josie’s world is thrown into turmoil and Josie seeks answers as to why someone like John Barton with all the things he had going for him would commit suicide. And asks the rhetorical question â€Å"I wonder what his parents will do with the sheets, will they throw them away or will they scrub and scrub so that they can always sleep on them.† Josie is in an emotional state for quite a while. One day on the train Josie and Jacob cross paths and Josie has a break down, Jacob comforts her. I believe that this is the catalyst of change for Josie between her and Jacob. Josie’s Initial reaction to her father Michael Andretti coming back into her life was nothing short of her dismissing him as a useless selfish object. This is parallel with the reaction of Billy towards his father. This is supported by the extracts ‘soulless tyranny’ of â€Å"the old bastard’ his father. This technique of expletive language is used to depict the poor relationship he shared with his father. I believe that Josie chooses to have a positive relationship with her father when she calls him after Josie hits Carly with one of her ancient history textbook. Michael gets Josie out of trouble at school and also changes Josie’s perception about fathers Josie now believes that fathers have a use, she is also growing quite fond of her father. Josie now stays at her father apartment on Sydney harbor on most weekends and enjoys spending time with her father. In the closing scene of the film it is exactly one year later on tomato day again and the picture quality is a lot sharper this conveys that Josie is clear about her decision to be there and even invites her friends over this time. The key idea conveyed in both â€Å"Looking for Alibrandi† and â€Å"The simple Gift† is quite nicely summed up by â€Å"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances if there is a reaction, both are transformed† this is clearly evident in both with Josie’s relationships with Jacob Coote and her father Michael Andretti and Also for Billy with his relationships with Old Bill and Caitlin.

Quality is Being Perfect

Achieving quality† is said to be a major issue throughout industry, commerce and government bodies. It†s just not passing craze of flavour of the month. Quality is vital for growth, survival and prosperity of every organisation. Nowadays, more and more organisations are placing greater emphasis on quality in order for them to prosper and become successful. In this essay I will be explaining the different concepts of quality, which are established by different institutes and people. I will then compare these concepts and give my view on each of them. In the second part of this essay I will be looking at areas of commonality and difference between ‘quality of product manufacture† and ‘quality in service†. Quality is difficult to define but what is sure is that we all know when it is achieved and when it is not. This assessment of quality is subjective and it can vary from different perceptions of individuals. It is the perception of the individual, by what influences his experience and what he thinks. Overall, the word quality can mean different things to different people. For example, the first car that I bought appeared to me to be of superior quality, even though it was thirteen years old, had many rust patches and the roof was leaking. On the other hand, a company director who drives a Rolls Royce may think that the car is a load of scrap. The second-hand car to me was quite satisfactory where it got me to my required destinations, but the company director may think it is bad advertisement and unreliable. For this reason, quality can be defined as ‘fitness for purpose†. It can be defined as fitness for purpose because the second-hand car was fit for my purpose. The definition ‘fitness for purpose†, was defined by an early American quality guru, Dr Joseph Juran. He always believed that if a product was fit for purpose, then it was a quality product. But from my perspective, this is not always true. This is because the second-hand car that I bought was fit for my purpose (transported me in safety), but it was not conceived to be a quality car by many of the people who I showed it to, except the sycophants who always tried to please me. Many people stated that the car was a ‘reject† due to the fact that it was rusty and the roof was leaking. Now that I have sold it, I would agree with these people, it was not a quality car, but it was fit for purpose. So therefore, this prime example gives you an indication that ‘fitness for purpose† does not always mean quality. The definition begs the question of ‘whose purpose? † Plato†s (philosopher) theory suggests that it was the customer who defined the purpose and the customer who defined quality. But Juran†s definition does not even mention the purpose of the customer. Another problem with the fitness for purpose definition is that the purpose may not always be known. Juran believes that the majority of quality problems are because of poor management, rather than poor employee work. In general, he believes that management controllable defects account for over 80 per cent of total quality management problems. Overall, Juran†s definition is too elementary where there is a need to closely define to what is going to be offered, then quality can become ‘conformance to requirements†. Conformance to requirement is widely used in industry to define quality. â€Å"This definition is often attributed to Philip Crosby, another well-known guru of quality†. (Owen,B 1995). Crosby believed that if a product were conformed to requirement, then there would be no such thing as a quality problem where the company itself has established its products based directly on its customers† needs. The Crosby definition places an emphasis to meet a certain specification that also leads to an emphasis on the reliability of the product or service. Reliability ranks with quality in importance where â€Å"it is the ability of the product or service to continue to meet the customer requirements†. (Oakland, 1995). Crosby also states that when a product is produced or when a service is delivered, it should have ‘zero defects†, where you should ‘get it right first time†. What zero defects means is not that people never make mistakes, but that the company does not start expecting them to make mistakes. But from my point of view and from Juran†s perspective, the zero defects approach cannot always help an organisation to achieve quality. Juran believes that employees should be given long-term training, where it should start at the top of the hierarchy of the organisation. The problem with Crosby†s quality control approaches are that there can be clear dangers that the customers can become less important than the standard of the product because there is too much emphasis on control and getting things right first time. This is because every organisation should be able to make certain mistakes and learn from them the next time around. One advantage of his approach is that he places more emphasis on prevention, rather than inspection, so therefore, there can be increased quality where the costs can decrease and thus increasing profits. The main problem with Crosby†s definition is that it is too simplistic. Producing a product that is conformed to requirement that has had no problems during the manufacturing process does not necessarily mean that it is a quality product. For example, a golf player who completes a round without breaking the rule is not necessarily a good quality player. Also, a driver who drives home without breaking the law is not necessarily a quality driver The fitness for purpose and conformance to requirement definitions seeks to establish a level of performance that is acceptable to customers where their needs are met and where they have no cause to complain. But between these two levels there is a ‘grey† area, where the specification is achieved, but where the customers may feel that they have not gained value. For this reason quality can be concerned with ‘ providing a service that delights our customers†. This definition was originated by the late American quality guru, Dr W. Edwards Deming. â€Å"He was the first American quality expert to teach Japanese managers about quality. â€Å"Deming†s work in Japan has been identified as putting Japan on the road to leadership in international business and industry†. (Internet). Deming argued that the customer should not just be satisfied, but delighted in order to gain repeat custom. He also stated that you should always keep ahead of your customers† expectations that include every aspect of supplier-customer relationship, not just the product or service being provided. From my perspective, Deming†s approach to quality is much more perplexing than Juran and Crosby†s definitions. Both Juran and Crosby were focused too much on the product, but Deming covers all of the aspects of quality. Deming also allocates the measurement of quality through statistical calculations where Juran and Crosby are more concerned with the production process measurements. Another quality guru, Armand V. Feiggenbaum who is the chairman of the International Academy of Quality, stresses that quality does not mean ‘best†, but ‘best for the customer use and selling price†. What Fienbaum†s definition is trying to say is that products should be produced to customer requirements and be sold at a good reasonable price, thus achieving quality. From my perspective, this is a good definition. For example, if I buy a television that contains a lot of features, it†s reliable, unique and it is at a good reasonable price, then it would be a quality product to me. Also many people associate price with quality, people expect better quality when paying more, thus Fienbaum gives a good clear definition of quality. To Fienbaum, quality is a way of managing an organisation. He stresses that quality does not only mean that customer problems have to be fixed faster. Like Juran, he says that leadership is essential to a company†s success. Finally, I am going to talk about a well known Japanese guru, Kaoru Ishikawa who is known as the father of ‘quality circles†. Ishikawa stresses that ‘quality does not only mean the quality of a product, but also of after sales service, quality of management, the company itself and the human being. Ishikawa†s definition is trying to say that all of the aspects of the organisation have to be known to be of good quality standard. For example, Rolls Royce produces quality cars but also the company itself and the management is known to be of good quality. So therefore if all of the aspects of the organisation are good quality, then this can lead to good corporate reputation, thus increasing sales and profits. Overall, Ishikawa†s definition is similar to Deming†s and Fienbaum†s definition, where there is a focal point to look at all of the stages of providing quality. In conclusion, all of the guru†s definitions are different and have all proved to be successful in their own situations. It is also worth remembering that all the gurus are consultants and have different definitions due to the fact that they come from different business backgrounds, so therefore, their approaches to quality differ from each other. Now that I have defined the different concepts of quality, I am now going to explain the difference between ‘quality in product manufacture† and ‘quality in service delivery†. A product is any goods other than land, bridges or buildings and includes a product which is comprised within another product whether by virtue of being a component part or raw material or otherwise†. (Dale and Plunkett, 1994). On the other hand â€Å"A service encounter is any direct interaction between a service provider and customers†. (Dale and Plunkett, 1994). Industries, such as financial services, health care, tourism, government, transport and communications have their business activities focused on services rather than products. Quality customer service is now a focus of every organisation where it is typically achieving a competitive advantage. â€Å"Consumers, be they individuals, households or businesses, are more aware of the alternatives on offer; in relation to both services/products, and to provide organisations and rising standards of service†. (Dale and Plunkett, 1994). Overall, the quality of service delivery has become as important as the quality of product manufacture. However, they have several characteristics that distinguish them from each other when providing quality to customers. One main difference between quality in product manufacture and quality in service delivery is that products are tangible and services are not. So therefore when manufacturing a product, a firm will have to make sure that there are no defects on the product and that the product is conformed to requirement. This is because if there are any defects on the product, then consumers have a right to complain with tangible evidence (the product). On the other hand, services are intangible; there is usually little or no tangible evidence to show once a service has been performed. For example, when a mortgage adviser has given his proposition to a consumer, later the consumer will have little or no evidence of the service delivery to prove how good or bad it was. So consequently, from one perspective, service organisations can afford to make mistakes and not get blamed for them, although it can lead to a bad corporate image and serious damages, such as in health care situations. Overall, quality in a product will be evident but quality in service delivery does not always have to be evident due to the fact that services can be intangible. Another key difference between these two is that poor quality products can be replaced but poor quality services cannot always be replaced. So therefore, as Philip Crosby says, you will have to ‘get it right first time† with ‘zero defects† when delivering a service. Overall, an organisation can afford to make mistakes when achieving quality in a manufactured product. But an organisation cannot afford to make mistakes when delivering a service due to the fact that it is very hard or impossible to rectify a poor quality service. For example, if a nurse in the hospital drops a baby and as a result, the baby has a brain damage, then this mistake in the service will be very impossible to rectify. So therefore, in services, such as health care, there are generally fewer errors than in products due to the serious consequences that a service organisation (hospital) can face if it makes a mistake. As Deming states, organisations will have to delight the consumer through their services in order to achieve quality. So therefore, it is essential for service providers, such as doctors, to get it right first time. One other major difference is that it is more difficult to use quality standards in services than products, in the conventional sense. This is because there is the characteristic of heterogeneity, where variability exists in services as a function of labour inputs and non-standardisation of delivery. (Dale and Plunkett, 1994). There can be small variations in products but services can have large variations, it all depends on the individual who is delivering the service. Overall, different individuals deliver services in various different ways. Elimination of the virus of variability in products is easier to tackle than services. Deming†s concept of statistical control is widely used in industry in order to eliminate variation in products. The behaviour of the process remains the same over time with controlled variation and by the use of statistical control. If no statistical control is used, then the behaviour of the process is likely to change, usually in unpredictable ways and at unpredictable times with uncontrolled variation. So therefore, statistical control over the manufacturing of products can achieve quality and eliminate variation. But the problem with the statistical concept is that it cannot eliminate variation in service delivery, the statistical concept is only suitable for manufacturing products. From my perspective, training the staff can only eliminate service variation as Juran says. Overall, I think that huge variations in products such as Walkers Crisps can devalue the product because consumers expect the same taste from each packet, that is said to be of good quality and number one in the UK market. However, there is slight variation in Walkers Crisps, but this is usually common with ever packet of crisp. Recently, there was a research taking place in the UK that is working towards eliminating the variation of tastes of each crisp. The elimination of variation in crisps is another step towards achieving quality in product manufacture. On the other hand, it is sometimes said that the variation in services often produce quality. However, variations in services are usually dealt with by training the staff. Last of all, I think that it is harder to achieve and control quality in service delivery than product manufacture. This is because services (such as doctors† time) cannot be stored to meet fluctuations in demand, but products can be stored. In order to conform to requirement and delight the customer (achieve quality), service organisations will have to meet demands at perplexing times, or otherwise they will find it very difficult to achieve quality. An organisation that does not meet fluctuating demands can gain a bad corporate image, thus decreasing the overall quality of the organisation. I think that service organisations can only meet fluctuating demands by setting out standards. For example, opening seven days a week rather than five days a week or specially opening when demands are excessively high. Realistically, this can be very difficult to achieve. A recent example of a service organisation that is not meeting fluctuating demands is the National Health Authority (NHS). The flu syndrome has recently affected many people in the UK, including the elderly. As a result, more people have been attending to the doctors and hospitals, thus making it more difficult for the NHS to cope with the increasing demand levels. Many appointments and operations have been cancelled in many hospitals due to the increase of patients. This prime example gives you an idea that service organisations cannot always deliver quality due to the fact that they cannot always deliver there services on time. In the above example, many people have criticised the NHS of not providing quality services, in other words, not coping with the fluctuation of demand levels. Overall, I think that only if the whole organisational chain is functioning efficiently can quality be achieved in both products and services. The quality chain links all of the business, and its external suppliers, to provide quality to the consumers. This objective is only achieved if each chain link provides quality. If one fails, then the overall objective of achieving quality is very unlikely to be achieved, the chain will not be functioning properly. For example, if a sales assistant does not have enough knowledge on a certain product, then the customer will not receive sufficient information on the product by the sales assistant,thus the quality of the product will be unrecognised. So therefore, the sales assistant is letting every one else down in the quality chain, thus, the chain will not will moving effectively. In overall conclusion, I think that different individuals perceive quality in different ways because everyone has different perceptions. I also think that in their definitions of quality, the gurus are looking at different aspects of quality in order to find different ways of saying the same thing. Basically, ‘meeting customer requirements† achieves quality because you are producing and delivering what the customer wants you to produce and deliver. As well as meeting customer requirements, ‘delighting the customer† is also a good concept of quality because you are going beyond your customers† expectations when delighting your customer with a product or service. However, all the gurus have different definitions due to the fact that they specialise in different business backgrounds, thus they all give a good definition of quality based on their past experiences. There are many differences in achieving quality in a product than achieving quality in a service. One of the differences is that services are tangible and products are not. Thus leaving little or no evidence of service delivery, even though is was not perceived as good quality. However, if mistakes are made in certain services, then these can not always be rectified, but when manufacturing a product, mistakes can usually be rectified easily without facing serious consequences. The main difference between quality in product manufacture and quality in service delivery is that products can be stored to meet fluctuations in demand, but on the other hand, services cannot always be stored, thus decreasing the quality of service delivery. A good example of a service not being stored is the NHS that is not meeting its recent demand levels. Also, another difference between these two is that there is more variation in services than products. Product variations can usually be controlled, but service variations are more difficult to control, thus this can decrease or increase the quality of service delivery. Last of all, I think that it is more important for service providers to ‘get it right first time† due to the fact that poor services are hard to replace, where faulty products are easily replaced.

The Nature of Reconstruction in African American History Essay

The Nature of Reconstruction in African American History - Essay Example   African Americans participated in huge numbers in the war as soldiers either enslaved by the confederate rulers or as loyalists to the Northern states due to their denouncement of slavery. The northern states, known as the Union, won the war in 1865 with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at McLean House Virginia. With the victory of North, and their policy of emancipation was universally implemented in the entire country. This along with other political and social measures taken in the aftermath of the civil war for reconstruction of the war struck areas and to ensure the integration of freedmen in the society are collectively referred to as reconstruction. As mentioned earlier, the reconstruction refers to the steps taken by the federal government to counter the effects of Civil War, specifically on the former Confederate States and on the freedmen. There were various objectives of the reconstruction initiated by the then President Abraham Lincoln and the Republ ican Congress in 1863. An administrative and political structure had to be re-established in the southern states which lost the war. Moreover, their incorporation in the Union itself, and the congress was also to be carried out in the long term. Moreover, even after the war ended, there was a huge following of the ex-Confederate leaders in the nationalist white men of the southern states (Horton, 2005). The status of the Confederate leadership had to be decided in order to avoid any conflict or chaos. Another, rather more serious, issue was to decide the social, economic and political rights of the freedmen under the constitution. Most important of them was the question that whether or not the freedmen should be given the right to vote. Hence, the reconstruction can be thought of as political, social, economic, legal and administrative restructuring of the southern states by the President and the Congress. There were two different approaches followed by the Union politicians during the Reconstruction era. The office of the president, under Abraham Lincoln, and after his death by Andrew Johnson, resorted mostly to administrative measures to avoid conflict, and contain the chaos caused by southern nationalists over the above-mentioned issues. The policy of both presidents was very lenient towards the southern states and ex-Confederate politicians. They wanted the Reunion of Southern States with the federal government as early as possible. Starting from 1862, military governors were appointed in ten out of eleven states which exercised administrative and legal powers. At that time, it was decided that these governors would give way to a political set up when at least ten percent of the white men in a state vowed allegiance to the Union and also accept the declaration of emancipation (the Ten Percent Plan). The states were then allowed to elect their own governor and legislative assembly and write a new constitution embodying concepts of emancipation and federatio n. These measures proved to be very effective in the immediate control of the riots, which had broken in the southern states.

Wal-Mart's German Misadventure - case study Term Paper

Wal-Mart's German Misadventure - case study - Term Paper Example Indeed, proper global marketing if implemented correctly has the  ability  to guide a company to the next level. Different  strategies  are employed based on each specific region where  the company is operating (Ocampo, 1). For example, McDonald's varies its operation and attitude towards business based on their restaurants’ location. The company identifies the popular items within a given country and then focuses on marketing the same. Global marketing is particularly important for business organizations that provide products as well as services possessing a universal demand. McDonald’s success story can be well illustrated through the presentation of some simple statistical evidences: in fact, â€Å"McDonald’s is now the â€Å"leading global food service retailer† with 33,000 local restaurants and serving almost 68 million people in119 countries each day (Introduction to McDonald’s)†. ... The following report illustrates the case of Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retail chain that struggled to concrete its feet in Germany, incurring huge loss and experiencing successive obliteration from the German market. Overview and Background of the case company- Wal-Mart Stores, INC is an American public stock company, which is into a business that runs a chain of warehouse stores and discount departments worldwide. Sam Walton founded it in 1962 and since then, the company hasn’t stopped growing, increasing its stores number from 24 in 1967 to 276 in 1980. Nowadays, the company operates in 4400 stores in the US only and has expanded its activities internationally. The company integrated the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) in 1972. Moreover, Wal-Mart has all over 8500 stores in the entire world under 55 different names such as in Mexico where it operates as Walmax, in Britain it operates as Asda likewise Seiyu in Japan and as Best price in India. It has been successful in implementing their concept globally, ranking among the top retailers in the various countries they operate in. In act, after it has started its globalization plans in the 90s, Wal-Mart became by 2003 the largest retailer in Mexico, Canada, Argentina and Puerto Rico. The organization was started as a single store, which soon became the largest retail shop of the world. Thanks to its prolific success, the organization is called the â€Å"TREND SETTER† in retail chain shops by some researchers. Furthermore, Wal-Mart operates each store from the product, which they have in stocks. Wal-Mart has a philosophy of providing lowest price everyday or EDLP and superior customer support. This company uses its unique cross-docking inventory system, which reduces the