Explanation of Nuremberg Defense

Welfare Reformation essays

Welfare Reformation essays This week we offered a plan to end welfare as we know it-a plan that will encourage personality and help strengthen our families through tougher child support, more education and training, and an absolute requirement to go to work after a period of time. -Bill Clinton, radio address, 6/18/94 The welfare system is in deep distress. From the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the current reigning of Bill Clinton, many a bills have been brought for to reform it. Originally, Roosevelt established the system as a type of government stripend to financially challenged individuals; however, it was not intended to act as a dependent income for them (Tucker 45). Even though many changes have been made over the past three years, it has not made much of an impact on the problems at hand (Pear). Officials discovered that many welfare recipients misuse the benefits. Studies have shown that the welfare system should begin by providing job placement, ending benefits for illegitimacy, and educating the young. First, the aspect of job placement is directly related to the misuse of welfare. In order to succeed at rising employment rates, current wages have to increase dramatically. A welfare check ranges form $5.53 to $17.50 an hour; in a like manner, minimum wage is less than an hourly welfare check (Tilly 8). People desire the higher money of a welfare check to that of a low-paying job (Tweedie 117; Tanner 18). This dependency on receiving the check causes many problems not just with the current generation, but future generations will also be similarly affected. These children are acquiring the habits of their parent or parents, thus creating a permanent underclass (Tucker 45). Economic incentives for staying on welfare should be abolished. People should no longer be allowed to remain on the system for extended periods of time. In accordance with the lesser incentives, the government should place more emphasis on rai...

A Strategic Plan for Personal Development Research Paper

A Strategic Plan for Personal Development - Research Paper Example Though the general notion is to think that leadership and power are synonymous, to me what Martin Luther King Jr. said makes more sense, â€Å"I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right, and that is good† (as cited in Ng, 2012, p.88). I look up to Gandhi as a model in this respect though I can in no way put a claim to achieve the level of his leadership legacy. It is important for my quest to find a leadership model that combines business or politics with personal integrity, that I learn what kind of a leader Gandhi was. As put by Nair (2010), â€Å"Gandhi wore no resplendent uniform, commanded no armies, and held no government position,† yet he had a whole nation behind him, ready to respond to his every uttered word (p.2). All this was achieved through non-violent means, which is nothing less than a miracle. Renowned leadership expert, Karl Moore has observed two key leadership qualities in Gandhi and added that they are also what many leaders of today lack- â€Å"leadership by example† and â€Å"persistence† (2011). It is the high standard of leadership practiced by Gandhi that I would like to set as my notion of perfect leadership, and aspire to at least work towards it with the self-reassurance that Gandhi was also an ordinary human being like I am. I believe, towards building and maintaining a peaceful world, which is day by day becoming a distant mirage, I owe this quest to myself, my future generations, and to my society. I envisage finding a high standard of leadership using the model of Gandhi as my idealized and ultimate paradigm. As a path for traveling in this direction, it is necessary that I seek the support of already evolved and well-defined paradigms for leadership. The leadership qualities that I look forward to cultivate include an ability to lead from the forefront yet walk with the group, exercise power where necessary yet make that power emerge from a common will, a vision of a world that is a more equal and just society, and the willingness to let others grow and become leaders themselves. Given the present situation where idealism looks good on paper but is mocked when it becomes real, I understand that it is a quite challenging task ahead of me. To make creative use of the scholarship on leadership that has been built by great academicians and visionaries, will be the best possible option for me to begin with. Hence I searched for theories, paradigms and models put forth by scholars in the field in an attempt to locate a paradigm that genuinely moves me and synchronizes with my vision of leadership. The paradigms that I found to be having the closest potential to achieving my end are, transformational, transactional and servant leadership paradigms. This is also in view of the fact that Gandhian model of leadership has been already described as transformational and transactional (Moore, 2011). Before I go deeper into the rele vance of these paradigms for me, I need to consider some definitions of leadership. Academic definitions go as follows: â€Å"

Sales Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Sales Management - Essay Example In the company worked as brand manager and promoted last year. The position parallel to him is vacant. Keren French sr. manager national sales having 5 years of experience in the company is looking after account management of major clients. Just below her she has appointed Rick fire as national sales manager of Canada operations directly reporting to her for the last one year in the company. Prior to this assignment Rick was working with a small company for the last 6 months. Rick fire as energetic, enthusiastic and young man always trying to look after opportunities to grow has been performed well in last one year with relationship management with the client Zellengers. For that he has been appreciated and offered training and career enhancement prospects. But being an over ambitious person he set his target and seeing the opportunities in alternative channel development he came with a proposal for the product "Freshner" which has the monopoly in the market. He wants to create an alternative channel with sports apparel and sport goods (SASG) chain. Though he has not been assigned the job but on his own he talked with Les about the proposal just without any details. The actual problem starts here. His proposal has not been paid proper response and he feels disheartened. Due to his ambitions he talked to Keren his immediate boss who again sent him to Les. Les again told him to wait for the results from U.S. market. Now he approached to Dave with strong re commendation of Keren. Due to that pressure Les called him but again he was not with complete proposals. After 2 weeks he again met with LES with proposals and researched information and les paid proper attention to him and signaled him to go ahead. But again he has never involved les directly in the project and just provided him the overview of the progress through e-mails. Prior to last meeting before contract has to be executed Les willingly asked for participation. Rick wanted to appraised the complete situation before final meeting but only managed to talk just prior to meeting and the objection raised by Les about pricing which has been an important issue because stores are selling at $4.99 where as SASG has been priced $5.99 and the experience of US has not been good for the company. So it has to be properly answered. So in the last presentation before contract being executed Les objected on the price issue and the client became susceptible to execute the contract and it has opened up the problem that existed in the sales management team at the top level. The main problem which has been told by Les that Rick is not a team player and pursuing his personal agenda to promote himself keeping behind the companies long term goals, objectives and relationship with their clients. While Rick thought that Les has spoiled his efforts due to his rivalry and inherent autocratic behaviour. He was very near to strike a good deal for the company but Les spoiled the whole effort. So it is the problem of two personality types one who willing to perform on any situation not taking the overall view about the deal seriously and trying to implement his own agenda while the other one having more experience in the field like to build long term relationship with client and before considering any contract wants to involve whole team and to discuss all the issues thoroughly. Analysis: Going through the whole case study it has been quite evident that top

Management of Human Resources Class Discussion wk2 Assignment

Management of Human Resources Class Discussion wk2 - Assignment Example The engaging of the Human Resource to the external environment is more challenging as they have to cover more area than the usual internal environment capacity that they are familiar with. Meeting external responsibilities means more time, more resources, and more responsibilities as it is an expansive area that requires more attention to be able to handle the environment more efficiently. These will ensure a smooth transition and cooperation in making the relevant adjustment to the organizational structure response to external issues (Mabey, 2012).Taking the first step to deal with the issues is better than waiting the problem to catch up with the organization. Engaging in the external issues gives an insight and understanding of the environment the organization is existing in and how to prepare for the impacts that will cause either positive or negative. The economic globalization and political landscape has completely transformed the shape of the current Human Resource management. The competition is high, and one wrong move can destroy the whole organization (Noe, 2006). The Human Resource has to be keen on political matters because they are very sensitive and might affect the entire organization either negatively or positively The Human Resource has to engage a Rights Dispute for employees who are hired in unfair labor conditions.The Human Resource has to file a complaint with the relevant authority that will protect him from whistleblowers.The Human Resource has to exercise their legal rights as an employee by contacting OSHA immediately because the complaint must be filed within the legal time limits.These are to ensure that the company follows the stipulated laws that are laid down for favorable conditions of the workers (Gilbert,

Bond Pricing and Interest Rates

Bond Pricing and Interest Rates Bond Pricing And The Term Structure Of Interest Rates: A New Methodology For Contingent Claims Valuation We read the paper Bond pricing and the term structure of interest rates by Heath, Jarrow, and Morton. Their paper presents a theory for valuing contingent claims under a stochastic term structure of interest rates. The methodology takes as given an initial forward rate curve and a family of potential stochastic processes for its subsequent movements. A no arbitrage condition restricts this family of processes yielding valuation formulae for interest rate sensitive contingent claims which do not explicitly depend on the market prices of risk. In relation to the term structure of interest rates, arbitrage pricing theory has two purposes. The first is to price all zero coupon (default free) bonds of varying maturities from a finite number of economic fundamentals, called state variables. The second, is to price all interest rate sensitive contingent claims, taking as given the prices of the zero coupon bonds. The primary contribution of this paper, however, is a new methodology for solving the second problem, i.e., the pricing of interest rate sensitive contingent claims given the prices of all zero coupon bonds. The methodology is new because (i) it imposes its stochastic structure directly on the evolution of the forward rate curve, (ii) it does not require an inversion of the term structure to eliminate the market prices of risk from contingent claim values, and (iii) it has a stochastic spot rate process with multiple stochastic factors influencing the term structure. The model can be used to consistently price (and hedge) all contingent claims (American or European) on the term structure, and it is derived from necessary and (more importantly) sufficient conditions for the absence of arbitrage. The Difference Between Duration And Maturity In Bonds Based on the article: Bond Price Volatility and Term to Maturity: A generalized Re-specification Most investors and especially we who are taking the course Fixed Income Securities are familiar with the bonds maturity. The article wants to illustrate why we cant just rely on the length of maturity when estimating how volatile the price for a certain bond is. As we have read before during the course, there is a common and accepted thumb rule that tells us that for a given change in yields, the price change for the bond will be greater the longer the term to maturity is. Therefore I first of all want to highlight the difference between the duration and maturity. Firstly I will have a short explanation of these two terms and further I will continue this paper by explain some important parts from the article. When it comes to maturity, we all know the maturity is the point in time when the investor receives back the principal. We also know that a bond will increase in value, that is, the price of the bond will increase, if the interest on the market decrease and vice versa. From this statement above, it may be clear that the longer maturity, the more changes in the interest rates can be waited and the more volatile the bond price will be. The duration of a bond will show how sensitive a bonds price is to changes in the interest rate. Its a measurement for how much the bond price will change due to a one percentage change in the interest rate on the market. Duration of 7 means for instance that if the interest rate raises by one percentage means that the price of the bond will fall 7 percentages. The duration is simply the weighted average amount of time that it takes for the investor to be repaid all cash that is both the coupon payments and the end, principal payment. Therefore the duration will always be less than the maturity, except for zero-coupon bonds where they will be equal. These two properties are important when it comes to duration: The first one is that the longer the maturity, the higher the duration. The second one is that the lower the coupon payment the higher the duration. With these facts above, I want to highlight the important aspect of this what the article goes through. Indeed, the price volatility is connected to the time structure of the bond, but its not direct mathematically related to the maturity in a pure simple way. Since there are evidence that duration is more accurate, the authors for the article wants to generalize the following: For a given basis point change in market yield, percentage changes in bond prices vary proportionally with the duration and are greater, the greater the duration of the bond. There is also true that there is an inverse relationship between duration and coupon. This means that a higher coupon bond will automatically be seen as a shorter-term bond than a bond that has a lower coupon payment, even if they in fact have the same maturity period. Furthermore, this means that a comparison of these bonds with equal maturity will underestimate the default risk premium in periods of upward sloping yield curves and also overestimate the premium in periods of downward sloping yield curves. For instance, referred to the above information, there is evidence that the duration varies inversely with coupon rates. A 50 year 8 percent coupon bond, yielding 6 percent, have approximately the same duration as a 20 year 2 percent coupon bond yielding the same amount of 6 percent. To sum up the article and this paper, I want to highlight the complexity of the relationship between the bond price volatility and the maturity, as well as the relation between then bond value and the duration, even if I believe that duration is a more accurate measurement of price volatility. Expectations, Bond Prices, And The Term Structure Of Interest Rates The term structure of interest rates is of great importance when dealing with bonds, since the interest rate significantly affects the bond price. Burton G. Malkiel examines the relationship between market interest rates and bond prices in his article Expectations, Bond Prices, and the Term Structure of Interest Rates, where he takes the position that Lutz theory of Basic Behavioural postulate is correct and important in understanding the behaviour of market interest rates of securities with different term to maturity. Lutz says that investors decide whether to invest in bond based on their expectation of future short rates, since they are not able to predict long term rates. Malkiel furthermore aims to ease the principle hypothesis by Hicks and Keynes, that future prises are biased expectations of future spot prices. A bonds market price or value is determined by four factors: the face value of the bond; the coupon or interest paid periodically to the bondholder; the effective interest rate per period; and the number of years to maturity. The lower interest rate, the higher the bond price hence the significant relationship between the two factors. The term structure in this sense is important since the investor wants to choose the term and bond that is most beneficial. According to Malkiel, the term structure is based on investors expectations, which is influenced by the normal range of interest rates. If interest rates appear to be very high relative to the normal range, investors may expect that interests will fall and vice versa. The term structure problem is furthermore analysed with a combination of spot and forward trading, resulting in longer term rates as combinations of relevant forward short rates: (1 + R2)2 = (1+r1)(1+r2). When long-term average rates are below the current short rate future short-term rates are expected to fall, and conversely, long rates will exceed the current short rate if future short rates are expected to rise. Additionally, when interest rates are believed to be high in relation to historical averages, investors will prefer long-term bonds while issuers prefer to sell short-term securities, whilst low interest rates will encourage investors to buy shorts and issuers to sell longs. Supporting Lutzs theory, Malkiel makes the conclusion that short and intermediate areas of the yield curve exhibit more dramatic responses to changes in expectations. This is due to the fact that investors cannot predict the long term rates; they only interpret the near past and current market conditions. What is also worth mentioning is that the term structure fluctuates more between e.g. one to two years, and three to six years, compared to a very long period of time, e.g. thirty-four and sixty-eight years. This is also due to the fact that it is difficult to predict changes in interest rates for such a far away future. This furthermore explains that the yield curve tends to flatten out the longer term to maturity. To conclude, investors will choose to purchase bonds depending on their expectations of how interest rates will change in the near and long-term future, the term-structure, and that presumably would be most beneficial in terms of bond price and returns. Does Duration Extension Enhance Long-Term Expected Returns? The articles main purpose is to give investors important information regarding duration and if you can gain a profit or not in the long-term. The author is using empirical evidence mainly from the U.S. Treasury bond market over the past 25 years. All the results of the past returns depend on the interest rate trend in the period the authors are looking at. The focus in the article lies on the long-run expected return differentials across bonds with different maturities. The risk premium is defined as the long-term return exceeding short-term risk-less rate. The writer means that the one-year bill earns on average 150 basis points higher return than one-month bill and after two years the yield curve will remain a constant line. In other words the return of the bill will stay reasonably the same at two years but recall that long-term bonds are riskier than short-term bonds because it is difficult to predict the future. In other words it is uncertain how much the bonds are worth in the long-term because there are many different causes that affect the value in the future. The article discusses the bond risk premium using six theories. There are three classic term structure hypotheses. The first is called pure expectations which means assuming that there is no risk premium. The second is the liquidity/risk hypothesis explaining the compensation for return volatility. The third explains the increase and decrease with duration depending on time horizon called the preferred habitat theory. Ilmanen presents two modern asset pricing theories. One that explains the risk premium proportional to return volatility and the other one that clarifies CAPM. The latter explains that the risk of assets depends on the sensitivity to aggregate wealth as in stock market sensitivity (ÃŽ ² correlation) and risk premium (ÃŽ ² Market risk premium) which in turn depends on market volatility and risk aversion level. Equilibrium model means assets performing poorly in bad times should earn positive risk premium while assets performing well are accepted for low yields but other non-risk related factors are also mentioned. To sum up the article long-term bonds are riskier than short-term bonds and investors earn positive risk premium for bearing this risk. Various models specify that expected returns are linear in duration and return volatility but other factors may contribute. References Longstaff, F. A., and E. S. Schwarz (1992), Interest Rate Volatility and Term Structure: A Two-Factor General Equilibrium Model, Journal of Finance, Vol. 47(4), pp. 1259-1282. Heath, D., R. Jarrow, and A. Morton (1992), Bond Pricing and Term Structure of Interest Rates: A New Methodology for Contingent Claims Valuation, Econometrica, Vol. 60(1), pp. 77-105. Hopewell, M. H., and G. G. Kaufman (1973), Bond Price Volatility and Term to Maturity: A Generalized Re-specification, The American Economic Review, Vol. 63(4), pp. 749-753. Malkiel, B. G. (1962), Expectations, Bond Prices, and Term Structure of Interest rates, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 76(2), pp. 197-218. Ilmanen, A., (1996), Does Duration Extension Enhance Long-term Expected Returns? Journal of Fixed Income, September, pp. 23-36.

The Colliding Dynamics of Class Structure Essay -- Social Studies

The rigidity of class structure is the culprit for the vast number of inequities in society. Power is concentrated in the hands of a small sector; leaving a few individuals to have more authority and influence, in comparison to others. The construction of class structure identifies the way groups are divided into social positions. Differences stemming from social position are further exemplified by the accessibility to valuable resources–such as wealth, education, occupation, and status. Those with distinguished command in society have access to these increasingly wide ranges of resources, which may be present in limited forms to the less powerful. Used as a device of supremacy, power is a style of control when the basis is acquiring these societal possessions. Even though class structure is considered to be fluid in nature, for some it is a complex web of entanglements hard to deal with it. Groups who suffer from social and material deprivations are not doing so by choice, b ut hugely in part to economical and occupational factors. These prominent distinctions have led several to fall victim to the systems of hierarchy. Built within these schemes are the inequalities that arise due to one’s position; and captured inside are the outcomes that influence levels of individual, educational, and occupational independence. People who do observe the inequities between classes may feel the impact of social stratification in various ways. Similarly the dynamics of class structure are very significant elements found throughout the works of Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, and Karl Marx. They are all in agreement that society host the series of conflicts underlying that of class structure. Class structure as a whole denotes differing realit... ...ist Feminism." Critical Sociology (Brill Academic Publishers) 25.2/3 (1999): 196-217. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. Marx, Karl, and Frederick Engels. Marx/Engels Selected Works, Vol. One. Moscow. Progress Publishers, 1969, N. pag. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist- manifesto/index.htm. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant". The Seagull Reader Essays. 2nd Edition. Ed. Joseph Kelly. New York. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2008. 243-250. Print. Peet, Richard. "Inequality and Poverty: A Marxist-Geographic Theory." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 65.4 (1975): 564-571. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One's Own. New York. Quality Paperback Book Club, 1992. Print. Woolf, Virginia. Three Guineas. New York. Quality Paperback Book Club, 1992. Print.

Peppercorn Issues Essay

How will you analyze the data collected? How will you make sense of the situation at Peppercorn? This should probably take a majority of the class period, since how the consultants see the organizational issues will, in part, determine how the feedback process will be designed. Choosing a diagnostic/analytic model is no small issue. There is no evidence in the case that a particular diagnostic model is driving the data collection process (a potential problem), and there are at least two models that would work. First, the consultants could use an individual based model – such as the one described in Chapter 6. For each job at Peppercorn, the consultants could ask what their data reveals about task identity, skill variety, task significance, autonomy, and feedback in the context of Peppercorn’s structure. But this is a more limited perspective and not as good a choice. Second, and perhaps more relevant in this case, would be an organization-level diagnostic model such as the one presented in Chapter 5. Inputs: Based on their initial discussion with Drew as well as data from the interviews, we can see that the labor market has gotten very tight. It is more and more difficult to find workers and in particular student workers. This tightened market has forced the dining services unit and Peppercorn to increase the pay rates twice (although with little apparent effect). In a related category, we also know that a union represents full-time employees. It is this labor shortage that is driving many of the dynamics of the case. The primary customer, students with meal plans, suggests that there is little likelihood that price increases can be used to offset the labor scarcity. On a more general level, we know from data in the interviews that the food-service industry is known for its low wage levels and long and odd hours. Design Components. The observation and interview data provides some information on each feature of organization design. In some cases, there is much data of high quality while in other cases the amount of data (and its credibility) is thin. Strategy: The mission and goals for the university’s dining unit lays out their purpose and operating goals. There appears to be a broad interest in providing nutritious food, creating a good social and aesthetic atmosphere, and serving the economic needs of the university. The goals reflect this broad interest by addressing customer satisfaction, facilities quality, management excellence, financial management, alignment with the university’s mission, and industry leadership. There is little in the case suggesting that Peppercorn’s strategy is any different. Peppercorn, according to Drew, is trying address the difficult labor market by providing an enjoyable place to work although the consultants note a certain disconnect between what is said (decentralized and participative) and what is practiced (more centralized, less participative) based on their observations and interview data. Technology: The overall transformation process is moderately interdependent and fairly low on uncertainty. The key workflow issue seems to be the supply system. Supplies, in the form of food, aprons, cookware, and so on, are ordered through a computer system that isn’t working very well and resulting in frequent outages of different items. Since this process sits at the front end of the transformation process, its ineffectiveness is a key source of problems for the kitchen and service staff. In some way, the whole of Peppercorn is held hostage by this computer system. Once the raw materials have arrived, food is prepared – sometimes as much as a day in advance – according to meal plans and recipes that are well understood. [Although some of the cooks seem proud of their recipes and interested in creating new ones, do you really want people to be very innovative in this situation? In some ways, this conflicts with the situation.] The prepared meals are transferred to the serving line where customers (students) are provided with their food. One of the consultants notes that there was no portion control at this stage and that a considerable amount of â€Å"customization† existed as workers gave students a little more of some things or accommodated specific requests. After the meal, the leftovers, utensils and plates, and trash are fed into the dish room where plates and utensils are cleaned and recycled for use. Other processes also exist but are also relatively low in interdependence and uncertainty, including order taking, cash exchange, hiring and staffing, and grievance handling. Structure: A formal organization chart for both the university dining services and Peppercorn are presented in the case. Drew’s role is interesting because he leads two organizations – Peppercorn as well as the Salt Mill – and has a professional supervisor (Larry) that is assigned from the university dining organization. Larry’s relationship with the different employees draws some attention from the consultants and there is a mostly negative perception of Larry and his skills. The case also points out a rather complex set of employee relationships. There are full time employees (union- represented), full-time temporary employees (a non-union position that has been added to accommodate the problems associated with the declining numbers of student workers), and student labor. The students have their own management structure and supervise themselves as well as the full-time temporary employees (although these employees receive their training from the permanent staff) which has been the point of some contention. At best, it suggests that there may be two standards of work performance at play. At worst, there could be some very divisive resentment over preferential treatment. Measurement Systems: There is no information presented about how employee work is measured (goals set, performance monitored and feedback), there appears to be no portion control on food served, and no financial information is presented. There is mention of a grievance process, but no indication of grievance activity levels. If the computer system problems are added into this category, there would appear to be a pretty big hole in the sophistication of this system. Human Resource Systems: The interview data reveals a number of complexities in the way employees are paid through the union contract and the motivational aspects of that system. In the initial interview between the consultants and Drew, he describes how some workers can actually be incented to call in sick, for example. The case also mentions that wage rates have been increased twice in recent months to address the lack of student issues. Alignment and Effectiveness: Roger reports that customer satisfaction is consistently positive with the one complaint being the heat inside the facility – an apparent artifact of the dining room being built over the heating plant. There is no financial data presented, so we cannot comment on the profitability of the unit. There is, however, considerable data on employee satisfaction. There is a fairly consistent downward trend across many of the employees interviewed, although there is a high degree of tenure among many of the full-time employees. There is also fairly consistent data with respect to tensions between the different types of employees. Within that effectiveness assessment, can we make any inferences with respect to alignment among the organization design features? The presenting problem in the initial conversation between Drew and the consultants was a â€Å"hiring problem† and that has certainly been confirmed, the question is â€Å"why?† First, the strategy for Peppercorn does not seem clear. Other than some sense of â€Å"doing the best we can with what we have,† there are no clear goals for the restaurant and no clear sense of why people come there other than they have a meal plan. They are a fairly captive audience and there’s not much in the way of competition for Peppercorn. Does this suggest a lack of external pressure that translates into all the â€Å"things seemed pretty relaxed† comments in the case? Second, the computer system is a big problem, and probably not under Peppercorn’s control. The University dining unit probably programs and maintains the system. There is a potential big black hole here since we don’t know how the system works. The one potential issue here is that it may not be the system; it may be Larry, so that has to be confirmed. Third, how much of the tension in the restaurant is the result of the structure where students supervise adults. Understanding the rationale for this approach and what the alternatives are would be a fruitful conversation. Fourth, and related to the strategy– There appears to be very few measurement systems. How do employees know if they are doing well or poorly?

The Quick Definition of a Robot

The Quick Definition of a Robot A robot can be defined as a programmable, self-controlled device consisting of electronic, electrical, or mechanical units. More generally, it is a machine that functions in place of a living agent. Robots are especially desirable for certain work functions because, unlike humans, they never get tired; they can endure physical conditions that are uncomfortable or even dangerous; they can operate in airless conditions; they do not get bored by repetition, and they cannot be distracted from the task at hand. The concept of robots is a very old one yet the actual word robot was invented in the 20th century from the Czechoslovakian word robota or robotnik meaning slave, servant, or forced labor. Robots dont have to look or act like humans but they do need to be flexible so they can perform different tasks. Early industrial robots handled radioactive material in atomic labs and were called master/slave manipulators. They were connected together with mechanical linkages and steel cables. Remote arm manipulators can now be moved by push buttons, switches or joysticks. Current robots have advanced sensory systems that process information and appear to function as if they have brains. Their brain is actually a form of computerized artificial intelligence (AI). AI allows a robot to perceive conditions and decide upon a course of action based on those conditions. Components of Robots Effectors - arms, legs, hands, feetSensors - parts that act like senses and can detect objects or things like heat and light and convert the object information into symbols that computers understandComputer - the brain that contains instructions called algorithms to control the robotEquipment - this includes tools and mechanical fixtures Characteristics that make robots different from regular machinery are that robots usually function by themselves, are sensitive to their environment, adapt to variations in the environment or to errors in prior performance, are task oriented and often have the ability to try different methods to accomplish a task. Common industrial robots are generally heavy rigid devices limited to manufacturing. They operate in precisely structured environments and perform single highly repetitive tasks under pre-programmed control. There were an estimated 720,000 industrial robots in 1998. Tele-operated robots are used in semi-structured environments such as undersea and nuclear facilities. They perform non-repetitive tasks and have limited real-time control.

Three Most Inluential Events in History essays

Three Most Inluential Events in History essays As time goes on, different things from our history become more and more important and influential. It takes time to see how an event could be influential. And what does it influence? On September 11, 2001, our nation was rattled with the terrorist attacks against our nation. It was a huge event in our history. However, time will tell how influential this event is. What does it influence? Will it influence our way of life more as the years go by? It took a good twenty, thirty years or so before non-segregated schools were truly non-segregated. So what makes an event truly important in our history? What makes an event leave such an impact that it sticks out strongly in your mind? The answer is simply the lasting effect it has on our society and how strong it made us in the end. There are three main events that have truly shaped our nation and society as it is today. The first of these events would be womens right to vote. Women make up a huge percentage of Americans population. By suppressing that large number you blatantly ignore a powerful force. When women gained the right to vote in 1920 the nation gained a powerful voice. Amendment 19 gave women the right to vote and it made our nation stronger. After that, the entire nations citizens could vote, thus allowing the nations voice to be heard. This amendment is one of the best amendments there is. It not only shows that women have a powerful voice and position in society, but also that women are equal to their husbands, brothers and fathers. The American character was shaped by the ability to go West. The second event is the conquest of the West. In the 1800s Americans unitized their freedom and moved west. Settlers faced hard times once they settled and began their lives on the frontier but they stuck together, strong, united as one, and helped each other get through it. The Homestead Act helped motivate the pioneers to survive. It was a time when...

Pilot Study - Plan for data collection Research Paper

Pilot Study - Plan for data collection - Research Paper Example Teachers are faced with a number of factors that make it difficult for them to implement their RET experiences in the classroom. Therefore, it is important to find out how to support teachers in their classroom after completion of an RET program, with the goal of improving student learning. As such, this paper documents a plan about how to do some pilot testing of data collection related to the RET program. Basically, preliminary data will be collected directly from the participants who have been involved in this program. The three methods that will be used to perform this task include the following: interviewing, observation and reading their teaching plans. The interview technique that will be incorporated in the primary research for this study will be face to face with the participants. The interview question design and set up would be maintained at a simple level that is easy to understand by the participants in the study. The questions that would be used are open ended and exploratory in nature and focus on gathering information on the main topic within short time period so that the respondents are given the opportunity to respond quickly without wasting their time and efforts. The main purpose of interviews is to discover the opinions and views of people who are involved in the study. According to Oppenheim (1992), the main advantage of interview technique is that first hand information from the participants about their views and perceptions towards a certain subject are explored. This helps to generate more knowledge about a certain subject area under investigation. The other advantage of the interview technique is that they are unbiased since they involve direct interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee (Struwig and Stead, 2004). This will help the interviewees to express their opinions about their perceptions towards the RET

Assess the view that feminism has succeeded in its aims Essay

Assess the view that feminism has succeeded in its aims - Essay Example Gilligan further stated that there were female and male moral hierarchies, and that the female moral hierarchy should be equal to the male moral hierarchy. Therefore, Gilligan proposed that females and males should be approached and studied differently, and that women might have different moral hierarchies, but that these hierarchies are not inferior to males, just different. Gilligan further found that men and women are different, in that women value care over rights, and men value rights over care. She further went on to note other cultural differences, such as that males define themselves by separation from others, and females define themselves by identifying with others. Further, cultural feminists understand that our rights and ethos are male centric, and believe that society should listen to the women's voice as much as the man's voice (Turnier et al., 1996). Ending Stereotypes of Women Since cultural feminism is concerned with the differences between men and women, and that, b ecause we lived in a man's world, the man is the one who defines society, stereotyping of women based upon a male's perception of the female ideal is one problem that cultural feminists fight to overcome. One of the ways that women are stereotyped is through the use of ideal body images, which are the ideals that women feel that they have to achieve, in order to be seen as being acceptable to society. The ideal is represented by Playboy models and pageant winners, which are, by and large, difficult if not impossible to attain for the average woman (Calabrese et al., 2011). Our society is inundated by this beauty ideal both through the regular media and through advertising. Advertising, according to Dyer (1989), features the feminine beauty ideal because advertising essentially markets a fantasy, in this case, a male fantasy. The objects that are to be sold are made more valuable in the eyes of society by being associated with these ideal images. Therefore, the feminine ideal of the Barbie or Playboy figure – slim waisted and large breasted – becomes the standard by which women are judged in our advertisements, and is responsible for perpetuating the stereotype that women must uphold these ideals (Dyer, 1989).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The reason why the feminine ideal is that of the slim waisted and large breasted Barbie doll or Playboy centerfold is because this is the supposed ideal of the male, and, as de Beauvoir (1973) notes, femininity is defined by the patriarchy in society. That said, as Lorber (1993) notes, the standards of beauty, as defined by men, are ever-changing in society. While the ideal might be the Barbie figure today, and it was in the 1950s as well, as shown by the popularity of Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Jane Russell, the ideal in the 1990s was the emaciated look. This look, according to Lorber (1993) was small-breasted, slim hipped, and emaciated. This ideal was something that the women starved t hemselves for during this period of time (Lorber, 1993). What controls what is popular, as far as body types go, is patriarchy, society and culture (Lorber, 1993). The problem with these images, aside from how they make women feel, is that women become essentially the object of the male sexual gratification and desire, and makes women believe that their appearance is associated with their worth. This leads to a kind of destructive stereotype, that women are supposed to meet the stereotyped ideal, and, if they do not, they fall