Learning Experiences with Linear and Systemic Questioning Essay

In this paper I will have a detailed interview process laid out in order of focus. First, I am focusing my interview on the background of my partner and what motivates her to go to school and further her education. Secondly, I will ask her why she chose to specialize in her field of work and what are side hobbies or enjoyments that she does besides working towards her career goal. Lastly, I will be asking about her family and their views on education. I will be asking both linear and systemic questions to get my answers. I have looked up the meaning of linear and systemic questioning and their differences before writing out the questions I am using for Michele. I feel like this assignment has helped me to understand and recognize the difference in the questions being asked and which ones will give me a more detailed answer. Learning Experience with Linear and Systemic Questioning I am doing an interview process with Michele Renner to learn more about her as a student, professional, and person. I know that this assignment is a stepping stone to learning all I need to know to be a MFT. The interview process will teach me how to reply and question in a professional matter and how to talk with a complete stranger without there being any uneasiness. I believe that this interview essay is relevant to my education needed for MFT work. I think it is a great way to quickly get to know a part of my fellow classmate’s life and see the inside without having met her yet. Michele has a very busy life, I know this much from reading her introduction in class. She has six children and that isn’t the only thing keeping her on her toes. I admire the fact that she is continuing her education despite all that is going on in her life; it shows that her motivation is strong. Michele not only has a strong motivation for continuing her education but a very inspirational story. Question Development Michele chose education to be the main focus of our interview process with me as her interviewer. I have lined up eight linear questions and seven systemic questions all around the topic of education and how it affects her family and time with extracurricular activities. My questions are listed in Appendix A. Since Michele only chose education I was able to format my questions in a way to gain more insight on her everyday life by asking how education affects her, her kids, her spouse, and her work. All the questions are relevant to my case and were not over personal or intruding. She was a great person to talk to and I could imagine myself laughing with her over coffee or in an actual counseling set up. Linear Questions I developed my linear questions based on the information she may be willing to share. I am asking some closed questions that only require a short answer and some open questions that will follow with the systemic questions I have lined up next. The open ended questions will give Michele a chance to go into further detail with the question and her answers. Linear questions are questions that are problem explanation and definition questions, they usually begin with Who, What, Where, When, and Why? They are investigative questions that lead up to gaining some insight to the person you are talking to but they don’t give a full explanation. The limitations of linear questions are that they are narrow, short-term questions and don’t get to the heart of the problem. Short-term, linear approaches have several inherent limitations. First, they are based on a problem-solving model that is more associated with American corporate thinking than with client suffering and therapeutic healing. Typically, the model includes the following sequence: (a) identify the problem, (b) consider various interventions to solve the problem, (c) choose the best interventions, (d) apply the interventions, (e) assess progress periodically, and (f) modify the interventions as needed. This clear-cut, linear approach appeals to executives, administrators, and others in positions of authority and has proven itself effective as an approach to solving problems in corporate and other settings. It is no accident that the trend toward streamlined, linear approaches in clinical work coincided with the rise of managed care and its corporate mentality (Ackley, 1997; Miller, 1996c). Linear questions don’t help the client without the involvement of also another form of questions. Using linear questions alone are ineffective to getting the desired results from the client, which can leave the client and the counselor both feeling misunderstood and upset. Systemic Questions I developed my systemic questions based on what my linear questions were about. I wanted to make sure some of the questions were the same type of question as my linear question but worded in a circular way that would get me more detailed answers and more depth behind her answers. Systemic questions are both circular and reflexive. They are behavioral effect questions, difference questions, hypothetical future questions, and observer perspective questions. The reflexive questions are intended to indirectly influence the family and are predominantly facilitative. The circular questions are more exploratory as the counselor tries to discover the way everything is connected together. Because the distinction between lineal and circular may be regarded as complementary, and not just as either/or, these assumptions and their associations may overlap and enrich one another. Most therapists have internalized these concepts to varying degrees and probably operate with both sets of ideas, but in differing ways, with differing consistency, and at different times. Although these assumptions and presuppositions tend to exert their effects covertly and non-consciously, they still have a significant effect on the nature of the questions asked. Hence, this second dimension adds considerable depth to an understanding of differences among the questions asked. If the therapist assumes that influence only occurs indirectly, through a perturbation of preexisting circular processes in or among family members, the influencing questions are considered â€Å"reflexive questions. † (Tomm, 1988, p. 3). If the therapist has established a Batesonian cybernetic orientation toward mental process, and has developed skills in maintaining a conceptual posture of circular ypothesizing, these questions will come easily and freely. Two general types of circular questions, â€Å"difference questions† and â€Å"contextual questions,† have been associated with Bateson’s fundamental patterns of symmetry and complementarities. The Interview When I called Michele I was immediately at ease with her as a person. She was very upbeat and forthcoming with her information. After asking her how she was I jumped right into the questions. I explained to her which questions I was doing first and how many there were for each linear and systemic questionings. She had no problems going into elaborate detail about her life and why she is doing what she is doing today, she talked as fast as I could type her answers! Since I did not have a recorder I did have to ask her to repeat herself if I did not finish typing the answers that she was giving me but she was very nice about it and as soon as we concluded our interview I made sure to immediately formulate the answers into more coherent sentences while it was all fresh in my mind. Interview Themes  The themes and content that came out of this interview with Michele are few. One theme or content that was revealed to me was that her inspiration for education came from her mother who did not complete high school. The content that came out from the systemic questions would be how supportive her family is even though it is a financial strain on them. The linear questions brought out her main reasons for wanting her education and the systemic questions went into more depth of what the education means for her and her family as a whole. Theme one. The first theme would be her mention of her mother and losing her father when she was young. She brought up her mother quite a bit in our interview and I could tell that her mother was a great factor in her decision to keep going to school no matter how long it took her to succeed. She is very proud of her mother for the way she was, raising children alone with no degree and no financial backups. Michele doesn’t want her kids to ever have to worry about wanting or needing things and she wants to get her degree to be able to enjoy what she loves doing most. Theme two. The second theme is that of finances. She did bring up the fact that she has been in school for a very long time because she is only taking one class per quarter so that she can pay for it and still have time to do her work, school, and family life in a balance that is easier on her. She teaches her children that it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there, it is important to have dreams and goals and make them come true. The future of her children won’t be as hard on them as it was on Michele growing up. Interviewer Role Stance. As an observer for the linear questions I realized that the questions were straight to the point without asking for more detailed information from Michele and it was pretty basic. I felt that I was getting to know Michele through my linear questions but I was able to understand more through the systemic questioning. My systemic questions were open-ended questions that helped our conversation go into further detail because Michele felt that the questions opened up for her to go into more of her life story. Relationship with the interviewee. I started each set of questions by letting Michele know what type of questions I was asking. She was very forthcoming and she said that some of the questions I asked her were really good because she hadn’t thought about it in the way that I asked it. She is a very nice person, easy to talk to and get along with. We talked about how we both found Capella, the weather changes, and the state we live in. The systemic approach definitely went into further detail but I feel like I gained a lot of insight from the linear questions as well. Multicultural/diversity issues. Michele and I did not talk about cultural backgrounds as she only wanted to talk about her educational background. I feel now, that I could have incorporated some cultural questions into the topic of education. We did talk about her family and how they are very supportive of her career and educational goals and we never stepped on a touchy subject that made her hesitate to answer me. Curiosity. I am naturally a very curious person about other people and how they think and what they do and why they do it. So it was no problem for me to ask more questions on top of the ones I have listed. I knew by intuition which topics not to go into further detail with her about since I don’t know her that well and it was irrelevant to her education. One thing I wanted to know was more about her dad. I did however; ask her about her grandparents influence and more about her mother. My curiosity helped me to see in greater detail the aspects of her relationship with each member of her family. Assessment of Interviewer. I really liked the questions that I asked, and I was polite and made jokes so that we were on easy footing. I do think back on the interview and wish I had asked different questions because some of them seemed to be repetitive even though she answered them each in a different way. For example, What made you change your path to this specific one? Was a question I asked after asking why she chose being an MFT. She had answered in the previous question the answer to both questions which turned out to be one and the same. I had chosen that question because in my experience most people at one time had wanted to be something else first and then changed their mind later in life.

Balanced Scorecard and Financial Perspective

African Journal of Business Management Vol. 5(32), pp. 12520-12530, 14 December, 2011 Available online at http://www. academicjournals. org/AJBM DOI: 10. 5897/AJBM11. 928 ISSN 1993-8233  ©2011 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper An investigation into the interrelation between balanced score card factors: A case study in the automotive industry Jalalpoor Mahdieh1 and Tolouei Pedram2* 1 Department of Management, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.Department of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. 2 Accepted 14 June, 2011 Since 1990s, when Kaplan and Norton introduced balanced scorecard (BSC) model, this model has been considerably popular amongst managers all over the world. Although BSC is known as a successful performance measurement tool amongst managers, there have been criticisms of that including: How financial and non-financial measures are linked together? Are relationships in a direct way or there is bi-directional casualty?To overcome the limitations t o current BSC theory, this paper aims to describe main factors of each balanced scorecard BSC perspectives and investigate interrelation between them with consideration to automotive parts sector in Iran. For this aim, we analyze the relationship between various perspectives in structure of balanced scorecard and measure causal relationships between various perspectives and their role in improving financial perspective. This research was conducted through a set of monthly reports of Balances scorecard factors in Tosnco – company of auto industry – during a three-year period.Case study evidence verified the underlying theoretical hypothesis of BSC. It is verified that perspectives are positively correlated with each other and new interrelation between internal process perspectives factor and financial perspective evidence was also found. The innovative dimension of this research is that we actually applied BSC in Iran and investigated factors related to auto industry an d interrelation between factors with each other. Key words: Performance, process, customer, finance, factors. INTRODUCTION Performance measurement is considered a part of a performance management system. This process includes series of activities to eminently and spiritually achieve organizational excellence in the competitive field and focus the efficiency and effectiveness of these activities. Martinson (1999) offer several descriptions of organizational performance, and present a variety of models and methods to performance measurement at the same time. Traditional performance measurement methods *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email  protected] ut. ac. it Abbreviations: BSC, Balanced scorecard; statistical package for the social sciences. SPSS, that were based on financial measures- not only reflected the complete success or failure of companies that did not ave the necessary abilities, but also failed to establish a logical relation between the company’s success factor s and was unable to support management programs (Kaplan and Norton, 2001). Environmental management issues have received an increased amount of attention in recent years, as have various performance measurement systems (PMS) such as the balanced scorecard (BSC). At this time, BSC was presented as the most practical and comprehensive performance measurement model. In recent years, BSC has been a comprehensive model when looking at management issues for financial and non-financial purposes and has been very popular as it as attracted a lot of attention (Norreklit, 2000). This model offers a variety of performance factors in four Mahdieh and Pedram perspectives: The Financial perspective; the customer perspective; the internal business process perspective and the organizational learning and growth perspective. The BSC is a multi-criteria evaluation concept that highlights the importance of performance measurement (Tseng, 2010). Based on BSC, the cause and effect relationship between th e four perspectives have been created (WongOn-Wing et al. , 2007; Paul, 1998). In fact, the logic of cause and effect as the essence of he BSC approach-which distinguishes it from other approaches- is described (Atkinson et al. , 1997). It is stated that the learning and growth performance, internal process performance, costumer performance, and financial performance counteract each other eventually (DE Haas and Kleingeld, 1999). Jones and Sasser (1995) recognized a cause and effect relationship between loyalty and customer satisfaction and financial results, where customer satisfaction leads to loyalty and it is customer satisfaction that can bring positive financial results. Due to the chain relationship between perspectives, hanges in one perspective would cause changes and reactions in other perspectives. Consequently, managers can achieve improved financial results through the chain relationship between perspectives (Cohen et al. , 2008). Relationships in BSC model are indicate d within the framework of the fact that in order to make financial results, we must provide value for costumers, and this would happen only, when an organization improved internal processes and match them with costumers’ demands. Accordingly, in order to improved internal processes, and initialize processes that provide value for costumers, the rganization must reinforce growth and learning in the organization (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). Hogue and James, in study of Australian construction companies in 2000, realized that the companies employing non-financial factors have made considerable financial results. Other researchers have realized that using BSC is indirectly related to improved performance and profitability (Malina and Selto, 2001). There are very few researches related to causal relationship between various factors; especially between financial perspective and other perspectives in BSC model. Amongst such researches we can point to a research, in Greece, that onside rs the relationship between parameters of BSC model in 90 companies. Results of this research indicate that improving non-financial perspectives results in better financial perspectives, and non-financial perspectives are interrelated (Cohen and Thiraios, 2008). Although BSC is known as a successful performance measurement tool amongst managers, there have been criticisms of that including: How are financial and nonfinancial measures are linked together? Are relationships in a direct way or there is bi-directional casualty? In this study, we present an approach to overcome the limitations to current BSC theory.The scope of our study is two-fold; the first goal is to investigate and identified main factors of each balanced score card perspectives with 12521 consider to automotive parts sector. We categorize the factors and determine their priority in regard to environment of automotive parts industry. While the second goal of the study is focused on cause and effects logics and linki ng financial and non-financial perspectives together. In this part, we will assess the influence of factors of each perspective on other perspectives and analyze the cause and effect relationship between them. In order to present a better image of reciprocal impacts f various factors, we have taken into consideration four perspectives of the automotive company with an exception of BSC, and then we will analyze the interrelationship between four perspectives. Considering the fact that in the present environment of Iran, management and control affairs are considerably important, and accurate scientific evaluations are amongst managers’ major concerns, BSC is considered to be one of the most comprehensive and functional tools of performance evaluation. This research measures the effects of different perspectives of balanced score card in an automotive parts manufacturing unit in Iran. LITERATURE REVIEWHere, we first explain how to use balanced scorecard, and then in the next par t, we investigate and identify factors related to each perspective. Part A – BSC Since 1990s, when Kaplan and Norton introduced BSC model, this model has been considerably popular amongst managers all over the world. Hundreds of organizations have already employed this model, or intend to employ it in near future (Rautiainen, 2008; Kald and Nilsson, 2000). Healthcare organization in Sweden has appreciated BSC model quite well, and has employed it as a solution to organizational problems, as well as a means of realizing organizational goals (Aidemark, 001). Germany, England and Italy have also successfully developed BSC model (Gehrke and Horvath, 2002). Numerous countries in Northern Europe have employed this model (Kald and Nilsson, 2000), and studies indicate that the model has been specifically favored in most of those countries; although in some countries, including France, where there is another model called â€Å"dashboard† rooted in their culture, BSC model is no t so popular (Bourguignon et al. , 2004). Kaplan and Norton stress on importance of three principals in the concept of BSC: 1. Maintaining causal relationship 2. Including adequate performance incentives and timulators 3. Maintaining the relationship with financial measurement factors (Speckbacher et al, 2003). 12522 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. Figure 1. All perspectives of BSC. On this basis, researches refer to this model as a means of working out strategies based on causal relationship (Speckbacher et al. , 2003). Causal logic is considered to be the essence of BSC model. Other researchers name causal logic as the core of BSC model (Atkinson, 1997; Norreklit, 2000). There are also theories stressing that Kaplan and Norton (1996) have not adequately explained the causal relationships, and researchers claim that the entioned relationships are not causal, and are merely logic (Pedram, 2003). Another research, in Finland, is indicative of dissatisfactions caused by lack of causal relationsh ip between components of the model (Malmi, 2001). Although definition of causal relationships is the basis of accomplishment for balanced scorecard model, apparently many organizations do not take this into consideration (Aidmark, 2001; Ittner et al. , 2003). Part B – Factors related to each perspective in BSC In this paper, in order to measure and evaluate relationships between various perspectives, we searched or factors related to each perspective. The four perspectives of BSC are learning and growth, internal processes, costumer, and financial. Here we briefly explain characteristics of each perspective. Learning and growth perspective: stress on innovation, creativity, competition, capabilities, and target subjective properties. This perspective aims to identify professions (human assets), system (informational asset), and organizational state (organizational asset) in order to support internal processes. Internal process perspective: identify decisive processes in the o rganization. In this perspective, we ust make sure that company’s products and services meet the needs of customers. Costumer perspective: results in introduction of a valuable approach that guarantees loyalty of costumers. In this perspective we must keep constantly identifying parameters, which costumers consider as valuable, and provide them for costumers. Financial perspective: defines tangible outcomes of organization’s strategies and includes a series of traditional financial factors. This perspective covers longterm goals of the organization, and company’s major goals are usually put into this perspective. Financial erspective is usually considered to be a secondary aspect and a function of other perspectives. It is indeed the outcome of activities of other three non-financial perspectives. All perspectives, their causal relationships, and their relationships with strategies are shown in Figure 1. METHODOLOGY Kaplan and Norton stress that BSC is a model, and must be optimized in accordance with specific elements related to an organization or industry. This model cannot be used as a general model for various organizations and industries, or even for all aspects of an industry. Therefore, it must be designed and xecuted individually for each condition and each organization. Every organization must adjust BSC to its own mission, outlook, strategy, technology, organizational culture, and environment, in order to use it properly (Kaplan and Norton, 1993). For the same reason, we searched in related literature and Mahdieh and Pedram. studies and worked out factors related to each perspective within the realm of automotive parts. The factors are as follows: 1. There are some general factors in accordance with the requirements of international standard. Standard related to this industry is ISO/TS16949: 2009 and ISO9000 2.There are also factors related to costumer, which all companies must report to costumers periodically. 3. Factors related to other stake holder such as communities, share holders and employees 4. Factors included in scientific articles and researches with related subjects We took all required factors from the mentioned sources and put them in Table 1. Source of each factor is shown in the table too. After taking the viewpoints of experts and conditions of the Company into consideration, we selected main factors from Table 1. Factors shown in Table 2 are measured and analyzed as major factors throughout this article.Also in Table 3, the number of factors which are used in the paper is shown. Hypotheses formulation According to Kaplan and Norton model there is a continuous relationship between perspectives of BSC. According to this model, Kaplan and Norton claimed that outcomes of optimizing performance of learning and growth perspective are evident in better performance of internal business processes. This would accordingly have a positive effect on costumer perspective, and finally improves financial performance. These relationships are shown in Figure 2. The following research has aimed to evaluate this claim.In this article, we analyze the relationship between various perspectives in structure of balanced scorecard. Measuring causal relationships between various perspectives and their role in improving financial perspective is the final goal of this research. Three hypotheses were formed in this regard: H1. 1: There is a positive relationship between learning-growth perspective and internal process perspective. H1. 2: There is a positive relationship between internal process and costumer perspective. H1. 3: There is a positive relationship between customer perspective and financial perspective.In the next part, we investigated the relationship between each main perspective of BSC and detailed factors of the other perspectives. The second part of article will assess these hypotheses: H2. 1: There is a positive relationship between all factors of learning and growth perspective and internal process perspective in total. H2. 2: There is a positive relationship between all factors of internal process perspective and costumer perspective in total. H2. 3: There is a positive relationship between all factors of customer perspective and financial perspective in total. 12523 se performance factors which had been frequently used in literature of BSC. For financial perspective we used one financial criterion. In the following tables abbreviations and values related to each factor are brought from TOSN data during the period of 2006-2009. Number of factors in each perspective is shown in Table 4. We worked out level of realization of factors on the basis of company reports, covering the period of March 21st 2006 to March 20th 2010, and in a monthly order. In order to synchronize and facilitate calculations, we worked out reports related to the factors on a monthly basis and in forms of percentages.For each factor, we worked out 48 data from the existing information, we then calculated geometrical average of factors and determined the level of interrelation between each factor and geometrical average of the related perspective. We also worked out value of each factor for the period of March 21st 2006 to March 20th 2010. Measuring the relationship between perspectives This trend showed that the BSC, when executed have growth factor. By using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) in this article, Level of interrelation between each factor and other factors of the same perspective was taken into consideration.By using SPSS, we determine importance rate of sub-scales (factors). The importance rate of each factor is shown in Tables 5, 6 and 7. Also the correlation between four main perspectives is shown in Table 8. The relationship between these four perspectives is shown in Figure 3. In Addition to relationships which are stated in Kaplan and Norton BSC card, it is obvious that there are some strong between perspectives. These relation ships demonstrate that not only these for perspectives are in contact with each other in simple direction as it is shown in Figure 2; they depend on each other indirectly. It eans that not only our hypotheses in the first part are based on facts; some other relationships should be taken into account. Next, we determined whether all the sub factors of each perspective influence on upper perspective. For this aim, we consider each factors of one perspective (for example learning) and calculated the correlation between all factors of that (L1-L8) with the next perspective (In this example, the process perspective). Based on BSC model, all of the factors of each perspective (Learning) must influence directly on the next perspective (process). We will investigate whether this claim is true or not.These relations are shown in Figure 4. Research method Conclusion Statistics used in this article are related to automotive parts manufacturing companies in Iran. The data are collected in Naien Development and Progress Company (TOSN Co. ). TOSN was established in January 1997. The main activity of this company is manufacturing main parts of automotive engine. The company is the sole manufacturer of some specific parts in Iran. The company outlook is defined as pioneering in manufacturing main parts of automotive engine in the Middle East. In this research we tried to In this article, we investigated factors related to each erspective. In order to measure and evaluate relationships between various perspectives, we searched for factors related to each perspective and ranked them for each perspective (Tables 5, 6 and 7). In the next part, we evaluated level of interrelation between non-financial perspectives and financial perspectives through 12524 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. Table 1. General factors related to evaluating BSC perspectives. Perspective Factor Abbreviations Financial Return on assets return on equity inventory turnover sales margin assets turnover, debtors turnover R OE ROA IT SM AT DT Percentage of lost clientsPercentage of customers’ complaints Market share on time delivery to customer rate of orders variety of products (according to the market), Perceived level of quality Perceived level of trust to the products After-sales service Rate of new costumers Perceived level of service Brand awareness Brand image Perceived value of money Perceived level of service PLC PCC MSh OTD RO VoP PLoQ PLoT AfSS NC PLoS BA BI PVoM PLoS Effectiveness of the quality management system Degree of evaluation suppliers performance number of raw material suppliers Reduction defect (casting ,machining) Reduction scraps m ean time to repair ean time between faults repair costs Quality cost Per capita logistic per capita raw materials transportation costs per capita product transportation costs EQMS DoESP NRMS RD RS MTTR MTBF RC QC PL PRMTC PPTC Costumer Internal processes 1 source 2 4 * * * * * * * * 3 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Mahdieh and Pedram. 12525 Table 1. Contd. production person-hours average daily production percentage of product realization Useful product line internal duplication error overall equipment efficiencyEffective dispatching of orders (in terms of price, specifications and delivery time) degree of cooperation with suppliers degree of cooperation with distribution channels Speed of adopting innovations already introduced in the market Speed of adopting innovations not yet introduced in the market rate of support the groundwork for establishment of a process-based organization Learning and Growth PPH ADP Ppr Upl Ide OEE EDO DoCS DoCDC SoAIaI SoAInI sgepo Per capita presented suggestion, per capita accepted suggestions per capita executed suggestions rate of training hours rate of training section efficiencyFrequency rate of accident Severity rate of accident rate of access to IT per capita non-cash bonus rate o f investment in new technology rate of innovative products and services exchange of information with co-operative companies Promotion of common business plans with co-operating companies Cooperative companies monitoring Collaboration and information exchange in the organization Pps Pas Pes Rth Rtse FRA SRA Rai PNCB InvTech IPS FExCO FPCBT CCM FCoEx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Source 1-factors from international standardSource 2-factors from customer viewpoint Source 3-factors focusing on stakeholder viewpoint Source 4-factors from literature review questioning main hypotheses in balanced scorecard logic. Indeed, we tried to find a real evidence for this claim. The questioned data in TOSN, manufacturer of automotive parts using balanced scorecard for 3 years, confirms this claim in some aspects. Results of presented hypotheses were as follows: Interrelations between growth perspective and intern al processes perspective was almost 0. 96. Also, interrelation between processes perspective and costumer perspective was 0. 824. Interrelation etween costumer perspective and financial perspective was 0. 781(results are shown in Table 8). Therefore, in this company there is a deep and 12526 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. Table 2. Selected factors related to evaluating BSC perspectives in this article. Factor Financial perspective Sales margin Abbreviation Label Sm F Customer perspective Market share Perceived level of quality Perceived level of trust to the products After-sales service Perceived level of service Brand awareness Brand image Perceived value of money MSh PLoQ PLoT AfSS PLoS BA BI PVoM c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 c6 c8 c8 Internal business and production process perspectiveEffective dispatching of orders (in terms of price, specifications and delivery time) degree of cooperation with suppliers degree of cooperation with distribution channels Speed of adopting innovations already introduced i n the market Speed of adopting innovations not yet introduced in the market Rate of support the groundwork for establishment of a process-based organization EDO DoCS DoCDC SoAIaI SoAInI Sgepo p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6 Learning and growth perspective Rate of investment in new technology Rate of innovative products and services Exchange of information with co-operative companiesPromotion of common business plans with co-operating companies Collaboration and information exchange in the organization Rate of training hours Rate of training section efficiency Cooperative companies monitoring InvTech IPS FExCO FPCBT FCoEx Rth Rtse CCM l1 l2 l3 l4 l5 l6 l7 l8 Table 3. Number of factors in each perspective. Number of factor 1 8 6 8 23 Perspective Financial perspective Customer perspective Internal business and production process perspective Learning and growth perspective Total and positive relationship between non-financial factors of the model. According to BSC model, Kaplan and Norton claimed hat outcomes of optimizing performance of learning and growth perspective are evident in better performance of internal business processes. This would accordingly have a positive effect on costumer perspective, and finally improves financial performance. Kaplan and Norton did not investigate the different relationship between all perspectives. In this article, we assessed all the relationships between perspectives to determine the cause and effect relationship between all perspectives. Our research resulted in amazing conclusion. We found the relationship between business processes and financial perspective strong.Interrelation between financial perspective and internal Mahdieh and Pedram. 12527 Figure 2. Effect of factors of BSC on each other. Table 4. The importance rate of each factor in the learning perspective. L1 1 0. 854(**) 0. 933(**) 0. 938(**) 0. 947(**) 0. 969(**) 0. 968(**) 0. 959(**) 0. 975(**) L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L L2 0. 854(**) 1 0. 959(**) 0. 948(**) 0. 868(**) 0. 8 91(**) 0. 922(**) 0. 903(**) 0. 938(**) L3 0. 933(**) 0. 959(**) 1 0. 968(**) 0. 934(**) 0. 937(**) 0. 954(**) 0. 954(**) 0. 978(**) L4 0. 938(**) 0. 948(**) 0. 968(**) 1 0. 928(**) 0. 957(**) 0. 976(**) 0. 955(**) 0. 984(**) L5 0. 947(**) 0. 868(**) 0. 34(**) 0. 928(**) 1 0. 911(**) 0. 934(**) 0. 957(**) 0. 961(**) L6 0. 969(**) 0. 891(**) 0. 937(**) 0. 957(**) 0. 911(**) 1 0. 987(**) 0. 958(**) 0. 978(**) L7 0. 968(**) 0. 922(**) 0. 954(**) 0. 976(**) 0. 934(**) 0. 987(**) 1 0. 963(**) 0. 990(**) L8 0. 959(**) 0. 903(**) 0. 954(**) 0. 955(**) 0. 957(**) 0. 958(**) 0. 963(**) 1 0. 982(**) L 0. 975(**) 0. 938(**) 0. 978(**) 0. 984(**) 0. 961(**) 0. 978(**) 0. 990(**) 0. 982(**) 1 Table 5. The importance rate of each factor in the process perspective. P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P P1 1 0. 852(**) 0. 918(**) 0. 765(**) 0. 916(**) 0. 865(**) 0. 962(**) P2 0. 852(**) 1 0. 663(**) 0. 951(**) . 925(**) 0. 853(**) 0. 920(**) P3 0. 918(**) 0. 663(**) 1 0. 580(**) 0. 736(**) 0. 683(**) 0. 827(**) P4 0 . 765(**) 0. 951(**) 0. 580(**) 1 0. 824(**) 0. 738(**) 0. 827(**) P5 0. 916(**) 0. 925(**) 0. 736(**) 0. 824(**) 1 0. 939(**) 0. 968(**) P6 0. 865(**) 0. 853(**) 0. 683(**) 0. 738(**) 0. 939(**) 1 0. 958(**) P 0. 962(**) 0. 920(**) 0. 827(**) 0. 827(**) 0. 968(**) 0. 958(**) 1 Table 6. The importance rate of each factor in the customer perspective. C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C C1 1 0. 979(**) 0. 959(**) 0. 872(**) 0. 953(**) 0. 945(**) 0. 806(**) 0. 820(**) 0. 938(**) C2 0. 979(**) 1 0. 948(**) 0. 891(**) 0. 947(**) 0. 53(**) 0. 855(**) 0. 876(**) 0. 965(**) C3 0. 959(**) 0. 948(**) 1 0. 849(**) 0. 972(**) 0. 960(**) 0. 705(**) 0. 733(**) 0. 898(**) C4 0. 872(**) 0. 891(**) 0. 849(**) 1 0. 873(**) 0. 933(**) 0. 879(**) 0. 878(**) 0. 956(**) C5 0. 953(**) 0. 947(**) 0. 972(**) 0. 873(**) 1 0. 970(**) 0. 733(**) 0. 764(**) 0. 917(**) C6 0. 945(**) 0. 953(**) 0. 960(**) 0. 933(**) 0. 970(**) 1 0. 804(**) 0. 829(**) 0. 961(**) C7 0. 806(**) 0. 855(**) 0. 705(**) 0. 879(**) 0. 733(**) 0. 8 04(**) 1 0. 985(**) 0. 935(**) C8 0. 820(**) 0. 876(**) 0. 733(**) 0. 878(**) 0. 764(**) 0. 829(**) 0. 985(**) 1 0. 946(**) C 0. 938(**) 0. 965(**) 0. 898(**) . 956(**) 0. 917(**) 0. 961(**) 0. 935(**) 0. 946(**) 1 ** Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (2-tailed). processes of production and business was positive and equal to 0. 946. Based on this finding, we tried to determine the reason for this relationship. For this aim, we considered all the factors of each perspective and we evaluated these detailed relationship. Interrelation between factors of process perspective and financial 12528 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. Table 7. The relationship between main perspectives. L P C F L 1 0. 967(**) 0. 888(**) 0. 950(**) P 0. 967(**) 1 0. 824(**) 0. 946(**) C 0. 888(**) 0. 824(**) 0. 771(**) F 0. 950(**) 0. 946(**) 0. 771(**) 1 ** Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (2-tailed). Table 8. The relationship between each factor of one perspective with the next perspective. Relatio nship between factors of learning perspective and three other perspectives Learning factor Process Customer Financial ** ** ** L1 0. 971 0. 793 0. 968 ** ** L2 0. 854 0. 967 0. 827** ** ** L3 0. 921 0. 916 0. 911** ** ** L4 0. 951 0. 917 0. 914** ** ** L5 0. 910 0. 793 0. 929** ** ** L6 0. 984 0. 852 0. 944** ** ** L7 0. 977 0. 884 0. 945** L8 0. 947** 0. 843** 0. 932** Relation Strongly accepted Moderately acceptedStrongly accepted Strongly accepted Moderately accepted Strongly accepted Strongly accepted Strongly accepted Relationship between factors of process perspective and three other perspectives Process factor Learning Customer Financial Relation P1 0. 880** 0. 740** 0. 889** Direct relationship P2 0. 940** 0. 964** 0. 849** Strongly accepted P3 0. 687** 0. 547** 0. 729** Direct relationship P4 0. 869** 0. 968** 0. 765** Strongly accepted ** ** P5 0. 934 0. 817 0. 888** Direct relationship P6 0. 960** 0. 752** 0. 936** Direct relationship Relationship between factors of custo mer perspective and three other perspectives Customer FactorLearning Process Financial Relation C1 0. 753** 0. 711** 0. 822** Strongly accepted C2 0. 821** 0. 775** 0. 696** Not accepted C3 0. 656** 0. 579** 0. 803** Strongly accepted ** ** C4 0. 506 0. 525 0. 677** Strongly accepted C5 0. 628** 0. 664** 0. 531** Not accepted C6 0. 748** 0. 663** 0. 600** Not accepted ** ** C7 0. 957 0. 936 0. 961** Strongly accepted C8 0. 921** 0. 923** 0. 937** Strongly accepted perspective as a whole was the greatest level of interrelation between financial and non-financial factors. As it was earlier demonstrated, there is a strong direct relationship between business process perspective and inancial perspective. This relationship has not been declared as a direct relation in Kaplan and Norton Model; whilst its more analysis will be useful regarding its high occurrence rate, factors p1, p3, p5, p6 are the main reason for such strong correlation between business processes perspective and financia l perspective. It shows that although, according the model, the relations are series like and bottom-up, there are other relations amongst perspectives as well which must be considered. More detailed analysis of such relations may be posed as the following: P1 high correlation with the financial perspective:Effective dispatching of orders (in terms of price, specifications and delivery time) with financial perspective; given the status quo of the company, relation of this factor with financial perspective is so that more Mahdieh and Pedram 12529 Figure 3. The relationship between four perspectives in BSC. Figure 4. The relationship between main perspectives factors. attention to this factor will lead to faster payment by the customer and hence improvement of financial status of the company. market with financial perspective; this factor relates to R and D field. And regarding its high importance for the ustomer, it will result in faster payment and also will create direct relationsh ip with financial perspective. P3 high correlation with the financial perspective: Degree of cooperation with distribution channels, with financial perspective; this factor affects on p1 factor and improves the performance in terms of financial perspective. P5 high correlation with the financial perspective: Speed of adopting innovations not yet introduced in the P6 high correlation with the financial perspective: Rate of supporting the groundwork for establishment of a process-based organization with financial; because of its elation with â€Å"activity based cost† (ABC) method, it has found relationship with processes and processes separation topics. Considering such direct relations between these two perspectives and their definitions, it can be concluded 12530 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. that although the offered relations in this model are verified in this case, all relations have not been considered in BSC model. Thus, consideration of all of these relations is essential to ac hieve the strategic goals of the company. Research limitations and suggestion for further Factors introduced in each perspective were general. In utomotive parts manufacturing section, we needed to have interviews with managers and decision makers to determine rates of these factors. During analysis of relationship among different perspectives, a direct relation was attained between customer perspective and learning and growth perspective which may be analyzed precisely in the coming studies. REFERENCES Aidemark LG (2001). â€Å"The meaning of balanced scorecards in the health care organization†. Financ. Account. Manage. , 17(1): 23-40. Atkinson AA, Balakrishnan R, Booth P, Cote JM, Groot T, Malmi T, Roberts H, Uliana E, Wu A (1997). New Directions In Management Accounting Research, J.Manage. Account. Res. , 9: 79-108. Bourguignon A, Malleret V, Norreklit H (2004). â€Å"The American balanced scorecard versus the French tableau de Bord: the ideological dimension†. Mana ge. Account. Res. , 15: 107-34. De Haas M, Kleingeld A (1999). Multilevel design of performance measurement systems: enhancing Strategic dialogue throughout the organization. Manage. Account. Res. , 10: 233–261. Gehrke I, Horvath P (2002). â€Å"Implementation of performance measurement: a comparative study of French and German organizations†. In Epstein MJ, Manzoni JF (Eds), Performance Measurement and Management Control: A Compendium ofResearch, Studies in Financial and Management Accounting, JAI Press, London, 9: 159-80. Hoque Z, James W (2000). â€Å"Linking balanced scorecard measures to size and market factors: impact on organizational performance†. J. Manage. Account. Res. , 12: 1-17 Ittner C, Larcker D, Randall T (2003), â€Å"Performance implications of strategic performance measurement in ? nancial services ? rm†. Account. Org. Soc. , 28: 715-41. Jones TO, Sasser WE (1995). Why satis? ed customers defect. Harv. Bus. Rev. , pp. 88–99. Kald M, Nilsson F (2000). â€Å"Performance measurement at Nordic companies†. Eur. Manage. 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Norreklit H (2000). â€Å"The balance on the balanced scorecard – a critical analysis of some of its assumptions†. Manage. Account. Res. , 11: 6588. Pedram H (2003). â€Å"The balanced scorecard: what is the score? A rhetorical analysis of the balanced scorecard†. Account. Org. Society, 28: 591-619. Paul A (1998). What is the balanced scorecard, www. alancedscorecard. org. Rautiainen AI (2008). † The interrelations of decision-making rationales around BSC adoptions in Finnish municipalities†. Int. J. Prod. Perform. Manage. , 58(8): 787-802 Speckbacher G, Bischof J. Pfeiffer T (2003). â€Å"A descriptive analysis on the implementation of balanced scorecards in German-speaking countries†. Manage. Account. Res. , 14: 361-87. Tseng ML (2010). Implementation and performance evaluation using the fuzzy network b alanced scorecard. Comput. Educ. , 55, 188-201. Wong-On-Wing B, Guo L, Li W, Yang D (2007). â€Å"Reducing conflict in balanced scorecard evaluations†. Account. Org. 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Construction Legal Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Construction Legal Studies - Essay Example The government has developed the Joints Contract Tribunal (JCT) forms and representatives RIBA, which covers a wide range of topics in the construction of a building. There are forms that assist all parties involved in determining the price cost, lump sum, agreements between employer and builder, the construction of streets, additional provisions, etc. These forms are very detailed and if followed, will make the project easier, more manageable, and more acceptable to all. This will result in fewer risks of liabilities. If the employer abides by the Standard Form of Contract and follows his/her duties as listed, he/she will find that all will be more efficient. The architect, Clerk of Works, and others are specialists in their specific field and know better how to perform these duties. Therefore, the employer does not have to take on these responsibilities, will not what to do and what not to do, and will also know what his/her rights are in the case that the contractor becomes bankrupt. Finally, the employer will be less liable should a situation arise. The Joints Contract Tribunal (JCT) forms lay out the architect’s instructions and he must abide by the guidelines, which are set forth in Clause 4.1 of the form. To keep each other accountable, determinations by the employer and contractor are listed in complete details on Forms 27 and 28. The building contract should lay out all the roles, responsibilities, and rights of each and every employer and employee. ... If the employer abides by the Standard Form of Contract and follows his/her duties as listed, he/she will find that all will be more efficient. The architect, Clerk of Works, and others are specialists in their specific field and know better how to perform these duties. Therefore, the employer does not have to take on these responsibilities, will not what to do and what not to do, and will also know what his/her rights are in the case that the contractor becomes bankrupt. Finally, the employer will be less liable should a situation arise. The Joints Contract Tribunal (JCT) forms lay out the architect's instructions and he must abide by the guidelines, which are set forth in Clause 4.1 of the form. To keep each other accountable, determinations by the employer and contractor are listed in complete details on Forms 27 and 28. The building contract should lay out all the roles, responsibilities, and rights of each and every employer and employee. The Architect's instructions should follow the guidelines as listed in the JCT. The same applies for Architects 1 and 2 as should also apply for Employers 1, 2, and 3. All has been presented and laid out in JCT and if Construction Legal Studies 3 followed precisely whilst adding specific details pertaining to the specific project and staff. Another avenue to take in order to insure that the on-site construction is managed effectively to avoid problems is be familiar with the occasions that require the issuance of a certificate. Legal Studies (2002) lists the matters that require certificates to be issued: a. Practical Completion of the Works. (17.1) b. On making good defects. (17.4) c. Damage by frost due to injury which took place before the practical

Rhetorical Analyses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rhetorical Analyses - Essay Example Rupert Murdoch, an ultra-conservative, envisioned in the beginning of Fox News a more conservative observation of the media in contrast to the much more liberal representation that was emanated at the time. The film takes this information and then proceeds to broadcast a systematic series of events that test the validity and substance of Murdoch's journalistic approach. During the Reagan administration, Murdoch demanded the airing of a story in tribute to Reagan. The film portrays this as a problem because Fox News specifically focused on that story over other more important events. The only issue with the way in which they express this information is that they did not indicate what other stories were going on at the time that had a greater value. A very interesting point the film dealt with was its emphasis on very specific parts of internal memos Fox sent to each individual broadcasting station. In the film, they darken the outside information and focus simply on one or two particu lar lines. The material from these one or two lines involved the stories that were to be covered that day or week. The only issue with this method of persuasion is that it does not in fact show the entire memorandum, but rather a very particular part. By hiding the audience from an entire article and instead revealing only a small portion, the documentary distorts the larger issue with minute details. In its emphasis on fair and balanced reporting, the film challenges this claim through a very animated interviewer named Bill O'Reilly. Throughout his segment with the person he is interviewing, he often prevents them from giving their opinion by telling them to "Shut Up." There is a nice clip from the film that combines all sorts of instances where O'Reilly tells others to shut up. This is a very effective way to demonstrate the repetitive disgruntle that O'Reilly has towards anyone that is not a right-wing conservative. These clips also succeed in showing the irrational behavior of a very powerful correspondent. For in fact, he does not truly represent anything even close to the claim of fair and balanced reporting. By constantly interrupting people he interviews, he does not give anyone else but himself a chance to express their opinion. Not only is he biased, but the film also shows his uncontrollable temper at a press conference. At the conference, he tells his opponent to "Shut Up" repeatedly after the man simply responds to O'Reilly with one simple remark. Probably the most influential method the film has at influencing people's opinions of the Fox News organization is its usage of anonymous interviews with previous Fox employees. The interviews involve events and occurrences that went on behind the scenes in the Fox news room. The effective result of all of this is that interviewing anonymous people automatically evokes a sense of fear and suspicion in the audience. Even if the information they present is not factual, the viewer will believe what they are saying because they presume the person is being forced into anonymity by the actions of Fox News. The power in this argumentative device is that it subconsciously convinces viewers that something must be wrong with Fox if all of these normal, everyday people were all mysteriously removed from their positions. The film does not simply use dramatic interviews to entice its

As the instruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

As the instruction - Essay Example It is worth noting that some of the earlier documents of this kind can be seen to greatly influence later documents and the ideas presented within them. President Roosevelt presented this paper in Congress in 1941. Some of the key ideas sene to be laid out in this paper have been widely adopted and voiced by subsequent administrations and other Americans over time. In this paper, President Roosevelt is seen to emphasize the fact that prior to the year 1941, the United States had been greatly affected by occurrences in other continents. These had seen the country involved in about two wars as well as a number of undeclared wars in the United States’ attempt to secure the basic principles of peaceful commerce and civil rights. He urged for democracy which he claimed was greatly assailed across the world. In his speech Roosevelt points out that there are some fundamental things that Americans happen to expect from their government pertaining to their economic and political system s. He summarizes these things as being security for anyone that may happen to require it, jobs offered to those who are in a capacity to work, the general preservation of all civil liberties for each and every individual, and the ending of granting of a number of special privileges to only a select few. These civil liberties, as presented by Roosevelt in 1941, were later seen to be adopted by the UN in the UDHR that it presented in 1948 as the freedom from fear and want and the freedom from of speech and religion (Roosevelt 6). The UDHR presents a number of human rights that contain compressed versions of civil liberties as declared by Roosevelt. Some of them include Article 1 that emphasizes the fact that all human beings are born equal and should therefore have both equal dignity and rights. Article 23 of the UDHR is also seen to borrow its idea from Roosevelt as it stresses the innate right of all individuals to be able to work and have a basically free choice of employment. Secu ring the freedom for individuals to essentially be in a capacity to hold a job is seen to serve to save the individual from lacking some of the wants such as food, essential medical care and housing. (UN General Assembly 2–5). Similarly, in declaring the right for everyone to obtain security, liberty and life, Article 3 of the UDHR highlights the right of all people to obtain personal security, the government should be in a capacity to provide adequate security for its citizen’s according to the expected requirements of this Article which are in turn seen to be in-line with the freedom from fear (UN General Assembly 2). In his article, Kaplan is seen to point out that the United States’ concerted efforts to promote democracy in the poorer different parts of the world are critical. In a similar fashion to Roosevelt, Kaplan stresses that the current democracy in the United States is essentially at a greater risk than ever before (Kaplan 1). Kaplan ends his article by painting a substantially gloomy picture of the potentially bleak future that stands to affect America and the various achievements that have been made possible across the world primarily as a result of the advent and continual spread of democracy. He contends that the West could arguably be seen to stand to eventually fall to the same fate as most of the earlier civilizations across the world, such as the Roman Empire that strongly believed

Patient safety in the operating room Research Paper

Patient safety in the operating room - Research Paper Example In this essay, patient safety in the operating room shall be considered in terms of how safety can be ensures, the effects of denying patients their safety and importance of the promotion of safety in the operating room. What is Patient Safety? Patient safety is an integrated process of ensuring that a patient who visits the operating room for surgery is not put at risk to situations that would harm or worsen the health condition of the patient in any way. Safety of patients in the operating may be jeopardized in several ways including wrong site surgery, wrong medication and leaving foreign material in the bodies of people. Measures for ensuring safety in the operating room The need to ensure patient safety is indispensible and a basic right of every patient that cannot be undermined in anyway. To achieve safety however, a couple of measures need to be put in place. First of such measures is work experience of practicing surgeons and nurses. The oversee of surgical operations in the operating room is such a complex medical practice that it demands the hands of highly qualified, competent and experienced health professional to undertake. However, the problem of low staff base, employee turnover and lack of employee retention has led to a situation where most health facilities fall on inexperienced nurses and surgeons to handle cases in the operating room (Dodd, 2003). ... ould bring them up to speed with current developments in the surgery fraternity so that they will not in any way lug behind in the jurisdiction of their duties. Another important factor that needs to be put in place to ensure safety in the operating room has to do with communication. Expects have identify the breakdown of communication and poor communication as serious risk factors for the increased cases of absence of safety in the operating room. For example Jean Nagelkerk, GVSU vice provost for health, registered nurse and family nurse practitioner reports that â€Å"a breakdown in communication causes up to 70 percent of errors† (Kopenkoskey, 2011). Safety in the operating room is therefore advocated through the creation of an effective communication system between surgeons, nurses and patients. Between surgeons and nurses, there must be a team approach that ensures that the team has communicated well among itself and that it is highly aware of what it is going to do even before surgery starts. During team discussions, specific instructions must be given on what each person’s role is going to be like so that the practitioners do not get nervous and naive during the operation. At the time of operation also, it is important that communication goes on among the practitioners especially when need developments on the operation crop up. After the operation to, communication must go on about the effectiveness of the operation process and how the patient can be helped to recover quickly. Communicating to the patient is also important because the patient needs to be informed of what is expected of him or her in order that he or she does not create situations of complications either during or after the operation. Another important measure for ensuring safety is pointed out

Accounting and Finance Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Accounting and Finance Assignment - Essay Example For instance; in â€Å"the general theory of finances† there are two definitions of finance and accounts: 1. Finances of the socialistic state represent economical (cash) relations, with the help of which, in the way of planned distribution of the incomes and savings the funds of money sources of the state and socialistic manufactures are formed for guaranteeing the growth of the production, rising the material and cultural level of the people and for satisfying other general society requests†. 2. â€Å"Finances characterise the formation of centralized ad decentralized money sources, economical relations relatively with the distribution and usage, which serve for fulfilment of the state functions and obligations and also provision of the conditions of the widened further production†. This definition is brought without showing the environment of its action. We share partly such explanation of finances and think expedient to make some specification. The system of creation and usage of necessary funds of cash resources for guarantying socialistic widened further production represent exactly the finances of the socialistic society. And the totality of economical relations arisen between state, manufactures and organisations, branches, regions and separate citizen according to the movement of cash funds make financial relations†. Just to more simplify the term â€Å"Accounts†, Accounts are simply established to provide a record of individual business transactions as they apply to a certain area or item. Your personal checking account is established in order to provide a record of individual personal financial transactions you create when you write a check. All of the accounts are listed in a general ledger. Today, the actual ledger book has long since been replaced by accounting software that creates a general ledger on the computer. The concept however has not been altered. The general ledger is the central location for maintaining all your accounts.

Recommendations of marketing approach for Yorkshire Smoothies 2035 Essay

Recommendations of marketing approach for Yorkshire Smoothies 2035 - Essay Example However, due to the presence of domestic as well as international competitors, companies willing to penetrate in the global market, should take sound marketing strategies to survive in long run. Here, the marketing strategies of Yorkshire Smoothies will be discussed in terms of Industry analysis and Marketing Mix to ensure sustainability and profitability for the company in global market. Yorkshire Smoothies is a UK based contemporary fruit beverage brand, flourishing in the premium segment of fruit based health drinks. The products are specially designed for the health conscious consumers made by locally grown organic fruits. However, the company has taken a pricing strategy for keeping their price above any other retail brands available in the supermarket in order to attract the premium segment of the retail customers. Using glass bottle instead of plastics, using locally grown raw materials, sponsoring and arranging promotional events in annual folk music festival are some of the examples of sound ethical practises maintained by the company. Success of Yorkshire Smoothies in UK market has influenced the company to expand their business in developing nations such that in India (Bennet, 2008). After receiving inquiry from a significant distributor, the company is seriously thinking of capturing the market opportunities. Hence, the company needs to analyze whether they should standardize their marketing strategy and production process in India or they should adapt the strategies prevailing in the country in order to ensure sound business operation and long run profitability in Indian market (Solberg, 2002). For the purpose of expansion of business of Yorkshire Smoothies in India, the company is required to analyze the factors contributing to their product acceptability and growth in the UK market and compare those contributory factors in terms

Consumer culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Consumer culture - Essay Example The second edition of  Consumer Culture  see the sights the nature and position of using up in up to date societies. Celia Lurys the latest revision of this flourishing classic set up the significance of latest object-based studies for consumer culture, and slot in new chapters on making and the increase of moral consumption. A "consumer culture" is that whose financial system is defined by the retail and expenditure of consumers. Consumer culture is strongly tied to capitalism, because it is determined by money. What differentiates it, though, is that it is not focused so much on the authority of money as it is on the joy that can be accquired through buying and owning personal property (SCHNEIDER, Anna, 2011). This review discusses the second, revised edition of Celia Lurys book Consumer Culture, which was initially published in 1996. Lury looked at the subject of consumer culture from the viewpoint of cultural sociology, arguing next to other sociologists that it arrive at far ahead of the area of the economic. Her plan is to give students and further concerned readers with a good quality, effortlessly reachable impression of the unusual features of consumer culture and the divergent angles as of which it can be observed. To achieve that, the book is divided into eight sections. The first chapter launches the idea of material culture (culture manifest in and being prejudiced by objects) of which consumer culture is viewed as a particular outline and of substance as mover of significance. The following part concentrates on the economical aspects of consumption, while chapter three cope with the function and changed insight of objects suggestive of somewhat ahead of their real worth in economy and daily utilization and their interrelationship with subjects to draw attention to the position attributable to consumer

Bridge Discuss the complex relationship between Eddie and Catherine Essay Example for Free

Bridge Discuss the complex relationship between Eddie and Catherine Essay The play is set in a slum area in Brooklyn.Between 1861 and 1920, 30 million people immigrated into America. Many people settled by the ports as there was a steady supply of work from the ships and Eddie Carbone is one of these longshoremen.  Eddie is the forceful, irrational protagonist with many complex emotions while his niece (by marriage only) is rather naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and open. As they live in the same house, they spend most of their time with each other and get on well together as family.   Eddie and Beatrice (his wife) took Catherine in when her mother died and therefore, Eddie feels a great sense of responsibility; I promised your mother on her deathbed. Im responsible for you.  To Catherine, he is like a paternal figure, and she does love and respect him that way. At first, I also believe that is how Eddie thinks of her.  He provides a good home for her, puts food on the table and sees her through education, I think truly wanting the best for her- to go up in the world. His aspirations are high;  I broke my back payin her stenography lessons so she could go out and meet a better class of people.  His social aspirations for her are obviously higher than his own community- but does that mean he is snobbish of his own class? I think, perhaps slightly.  Eddies protectiveness of Catherine can be just like a normal fathers, as he says about her new skirt;  I think it too short, aint it? But often, this protectiveness can turn into dominance and possessiveness over his niece and his attitude towards her becomes unnatural. Eddie is never completely at ease. He tells her shes walkin wavy, but this is because he is subconsciously sexually attracted to her. He criticises her appearance and behaviour because she is attractive to other men and he does not like that. I think, in a way, he believes she is his and he wants her all to himself- i.e. if he cannot have her, no one can. I think to aid this, he tries to keep her a little girl, when actually, she is becoming a woman;  Youre a baby.. when you stand here by the window waving outside.  The word baby is mentioned constantly as if it will eventually persuade Catherine that she is one. This environment would be suffocating for her.  However, Beatrice isnt blind to all this;  You gonna keep her in the house all your life?  Eddie (insulted); What kinda remark is that?  She has not had sex with Eddie for quite a while and I think she knows it is because of his desire for Catherine. When Alfieri makes a joke about Catherine not being able to marry Eddie, he doesnt laugh, as he starts to realise his sexual feelings for Catherine are becoming more apparent. When Beatrice finally says;  You want somethin else, Eddie, and you can never have her!  He is stunned with silence, but I think deep down, he knows it is the truth.  Eddies positive and negative elements are often intertwined, but I think his intentions for Catherine were good; however the feelings he acquired for her should have been dealt with differently. Catherines attitude to Eddie is entirely different though. Eddie who lays down the laws heavily influences her, but she seems totally unaware of her sexual appeal generally, but especially to Eddie. Beatrice actually has to tell her about it;  but youre a grown woman and youre in the same house as a grown man. So youll act different now, heh?  Although Catherine is rather innocent, but I think that is because she is overprotected, so, in effect, there is a viscous circle. Catherines attitude to Eddie is, totally non-sexual, but after Beatrices talk, she does start to become aware of what could be going on, perhaps a little.  It didnt even cross her mind that she was a potential rival to Beatrice;  He said you was jealous?  When Catherine falls in love with Rodolfo, Eddie cannot stand this, and does everything in his power to stop it, as his subconscious desires tear him apart slowly. He even calls the immigration bureau and risks his respect (which means so much to him) for her.  I feel that both Eddie and Catherine were partly to blame for the tragic end of their relationship and in general. However, Catherine gained her confidence and independence a little more toward the end of the play. Eddies possessiveness and dominance over Catherine suffocated her into staying a baby, but I feel she could/should have been more self- aware, especially of the situation around her.

Ludwig Van Beethoven And Sonatas Music Essay

Ludwig Van Beethoven And Sonatas Music Essay Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on 16th December 1770 and died in Vienna, Austria on 26th March 1827. He was one of the famous classical composers of all time. He was also known as a pianist. Beethoven composed 32 piano sonatas for the piano. One of the piano sonatas that will be analyzed in this thesis is the Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 which is named as Pathetique. Ludwig van Beethoven composed the Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 Pathetique in 1798. This piece was dedicated to Prince Karl Lichnowsky. This piano sonata has three movements. This sonata was the earliest Beethoven sonatas to be famous and this sonata was first published in Vienna, Austria. The first movement, Grave, then Allegro molto con brio, the key signature is c minor and the time signature is in 4/4 time. According to Elterlein, E. V. (1920), This movement portrays his characteristics, a lifelike picture of manly, painful, earnest and passionate emotion. Here and there, fire breaks out, in a marked rhythm, but only to be immediately quenched. There are several modulations in this movement which are from c minor to eƆ¦ minor to Db major to f minor and back to c minor. The second movement, Adagio cantabile, the key signature is Ab major and the time signature is in 3/4 time. Elterlein, E. V. (1920) also said that this movement is much more peaceful than the first movement and is well expressed in the sustained singing theme. The third movement, Rondo allegro, the key signature is c minor and the time signature is in 4/4 time. It gives completeness to the whole. The author also said that The storm which swept through the soul in the first movement has subsided. This movement ends with a satisfactory conclusion. This piano sonata portrays Beethovens emotions and characteristics when he was composing this piano sonata. 1.2 Background of Study Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on 16th December 1770. He died in Vienna, Austria on 26th March 1827. During that time, there were two great composers who were still living which were Mozart and Haydn. Music at that time was the form of entertainment for many people. But in this modern era, music still remains as one of the form of entertainment too. According to Knight, F. (1973), the author said He is also known as a German composer of Flemish descent. He is the son and grandson of musicians at the court of the Elector of Cologne at Bonn. His grandfather, Louise van Beethoven was a court musician in Bonn in 1733 but eventually became the Kapellmeister but his grandfather spent most of his time running a wine business. Johann, his son, Beethovens father was a teacher and a singer at a chapel. He was an alcoholic. He married Beethovens mother, Maria Magdalena in 1767. Ludwig van Beethoven was their second child because their first child died in infancy. His grandfather died when he was three years old. His father taught him to play the harpsichord and the violin just as soon as Beethoven fingers were long enough to play the instruments. His father wanted him to be the next Mozart. So he made him practice hard. Beethovens did not have a happy childhood. When he was eight years old, he started lessons with other teachers besides his father. C.G. Neefe was the court organist and a composer. He was the best teacher to Beethoven from 1779 to 1782 because he taught him to play Bachs forty-eight Preludes and Fugues and composition. He was appointed as court organist when he was about thirteen years old. In 1787, Beethoven went to Vienna, Austria for the first time and it was not a long visit because he had to get back to Bonn to see his mother who was seriously ill. He was so depress when she died. After his mothers death, his home was never well managed and Beethoven always looked untidy. When he was seventeen years old, Beethoven had to look after his family because his father was in a wretched state. Part of his salary was given to Beethoven and this made life easier for Beethoven and his brothers. The van Breuning family is close friends of Beethoven throughout his life. His violin teacher, Franz Anton Reis and the young Count Waldstein helped him in various ways. Beethoven was also very fortunate to have an Elector who loved to spend his time listening to music. Bonn had been invaded by the French armies in 1794. In 1792, Beethoven left Bonn for the last time and he never returned. He travelled to Vienna, Austria. It was also possible that he went to Vienna after being persuaded by Haydn. After arriving in Vienna, Beethoven realized that Vienna has a different musical atmosphere. In Vienna there are more churches, theatres and court compared to Bonn. They are attended by the citys large population. He was busy studying for some years in composition because he always found composing hard and stressful. According to Sadie, S. (1967), the author said that among the earliest of his compositions which are still played today are the three piano sonatas, Op.2, which he dedicated to Haydn. In these we can see how this strong-willed, defiant young mans personality comes out in his music. After completing the Piano Concerto in B flat, he left Vienna for a few months due to a tour. He went to musical centres of Europe which were Prague, Leipzig, Berlin, Budapest and Pressburg. During his journey, he met Prince Lichnowsky who became one of his greatest friends and was also travelling with him. He dedicated one of his finest piano sonatas to Prince Lichnowsky, the Pathetique. In 1798, he started to lose his hearing. He was becoming deaf which is the most painful and terrible fate for a musician. The deafness did not stop him from composing because he had his perfect inner ear as he was a trained and skilled musician. He could hear the sound just by looking at the score. In 1799 and 1800 were the years that he realized that his hearing was deteriorating. He only told two of his closest friends, Franz Wegeler and Karl Amenda of his sickness. He tried various treatments but they all seemed to make him feel worse. Beethovens musical style began to change. There are three periods which can be seen in his life and works. As he was in his thirties, his music began to acquire new and deeper qualities. This was the middle period. His career can be divided into three periods which are the classic period models, the revolutionary pieces which expanded the music vocabulary and compositions which are written in a unique way with elements of contrapuntal, variations and with complete freedom. His pieces became longer, deeper and more expressive. In his last years, he had to carry all his conversations in writing because he became completely deaf by that time. 1.3 Literature Review A few textbooks about music theory were read in order to understand the field of the research. After reading a few of them, it can be seen that a few books say some things which are similar and some things which are different. For example, Willson, R. B. (2009) textbook titled An Introduction to Music Studies gave a brief introduction about music theory and analysis. The book talks about analysis that can be helpful for the performers, it can help us develop our listening skills, give us a mental representation of music and try to understand what the composers did in the past. Theory on the other hand provides a framework for analysis but it did not explain about the analysis of form and rhythm like the other book which is the Dale, C. (2003). The book which was written by Dale, C. (2003) titled Music Analysis in Britain in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, talks about musical analysis of form and rhythm. In the analysis of form chapter, the author explains about ternary and bi nary forms. This chapter also explains on how two of these forms create a larger form such as sonata and rondo. Both these books are helpful in this thesis because it helped in identifying the forms and teaches a person to analyze a score but the Dale, C. (2003) book did not describe about how to develop our listening skills or give us a mental representation of music and also how to understand what the composers did in the past. Another textbook which is Kostka, S. Payne, D. C. (1984) titled Tonal Harmony: With an Introduction to Twentieth Century Music is about music theory and harmony. The authors said that Harmony is defined as the sound that results when two or more pitches are performed simultaneously. It is the vertical aspect of music, produced by the combination of the components of the horizontal aspect. It also describes the elements of pitch and rhythm. It also introduces and teaches us triads, seventh chords, diatonic chords in major and minor keys, voice leading notes, 4 part writing, harmonic progression, non-chord tones, diatonic seventh chords, augmented sixths, neapoliton chords, binary and ternary forms, modulation techniques and enharmonic modulations. However, this textbook did not discuss about the Sonata form, slow movement form and the Rondo form which will be used throughout this entire thesis. But this book can be use as a reference to understand the basics of theory music. A book from Caplin, W. E. (1998) titled Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven contains all the information which is needed for this thesis. This book explained about the sonata form in one chapter which consists of the exposition, development and recapitulation. Then there is the slow movement form in another chapter in the book which is usually found in a piano sonatas second movement such as the Beethovens Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 Pathetique and it is also known to combine the transition and subordinate theme or can also reduce the size of the development section. Then there is a chapter explaining the rondo form too in the book such as the rondo form is known to have two main types which are the five part rondo and the sonata rondo. The ones that will be used in the thesis are the sonata form, slow movement form and the sonata rondo form to analyze the piano sonata in this thesis. However there are other books which also contains the same information as this book but there are still some differences between them. Green, D. M. (1979) titled Form in Tonal Music: An Introduction to Analysis wrote a book about an introduction to analysis. The author also discusses about the sonata form which is what this thesis wants. The author also told some history about how the sonata form came to being such as the term sonata was usually used for works performed by one or two players only. Then the sonata form was explain just like the book written by Caplin, W. E. (1998) in his chapter of sonata form because Green, D. M. (1979) also explained about the sonata form which must have the exposition, development and recapitulation sections in order to form a sonata form in a piano sonata. He also said that it is usually in the first movement of the piano sonata. His book On the other hand, Rosen, C. (1988) titled Sonata Forms also wrote about the sonata form and said that the first movement sonata form is one of the most complex and very organized series of forms due to the eighteenth century composers who had the tendency to put a great weight on the opening movement which often results to most dramatic structures. The author only briefly explained the sonata form unlike in the books of Caplin, W. E. (1998) and Green, D. M. (1979) but it also helped in giving some information for this thesis. It was easier to understand and the explanation of the sonata form was shorter than the other two books which are mentioned. Schoenberg, A. (1967) titled Fundamentals of Musical Composition also discusses about those forms such as Sonata form consists of three large scales of functions which are the exposition, developments, and recapitulations. Slow movements are constructed in conventional sonata form. There are a few types of rondo forms such as ABACA, ABACADA, ABACABA. But most of the time it can be situated in one of the two main categories which is the five part rondo (ABACA) and the sonata rondo (ABACABA). He did not discuss about the slow movement form which is also going to be used in this thesis in chapter three. There are books which gives descriptions on what the piano sonata sounds like by describing it like a story and what the mood is like in the piece. Beethovens Pianoforte Sonatas: Explained for the Lovers of the Musical Art by Elterlein, E. V. (1920) book describe about the piano sonata like a story. For example, the author describes the first movement by writing that it is one of the composers primary character and when the allegro molto con brio starts the author said that it was like a lava stream that burst out of its bound and charges to the front which no one is able to stop it. The description was very story like and it was easy to understand the mood of the movements in the piano sonata. Fischer, E. (1959) writes about his opinion about this piano sonata in his Beethovens Pianoforte Sonatas: A Guide for Students Amateurs. The author said that the first movement of this piano sonata is like a symphonic work and the last movement is not suitable with the first two. But the second movement was perfect. Dimond, P. (1995) book titled The Art of Beethoven: Volume I is about the piano sonata that is going to be analyzed in this thesis. The first movement starts with Grave, then Allegro molto con brio. It begins in the key of c minor and the time signature is 4/4 time. The second movement is Adagio cantabile. It begins in the key of Ab major and the time signature is 3/4 time. The third movement is a Rondo. It begins in Rondo Allegro and is back in c minor. The time signature is 4/4 time. The book also contains a brief analysis of the three movements of the piano sonata. These books are somewhat similar to one another but also at the same time different because although the y are describing the same piano sonata they describe it in their own way. However, Kreskys book only has some movements of certain piano sonatas which he had analyze. Tonal Music: Twelve Analytic Studies by Kresky, J. (1977) only analyze the second movement of the piano sonata in this thesis. This book is also very useful in chapter three because in this research there is an analysis for the second movement of this piano sonata. Lives of the Great Composers which was written by a few authors but Latham, P. (1943) wrote on a chapter of Beethoven in the book. It is about Beethovens life. It is a biography book about when the composer was born and where he was born. The author also explains the composers life in Bonn, who were his music teacher, when he went to Vienna and stayed there and until he died. Other books which are similar to Latham, P. (1943) book are Solomon, M. (1978) titled Beethoven which also describes about the composers life, The Great Composers: Beethoven written by Sadie, S. (1967), The Master Musicians: Beethoven written by Scott, M. M. (1934), The Stream of Music written by Leonard, R. A. (1967), Thayers Life of Beethoven: Volume I written by Krehbiel, H. (1949), Beethoven: Biography of a Genius written by Merek, G. R. (1969), and Beethoven and the Age of Revolution written by Knight, F. (1973). These books are mostly about Ludwig van Beethovens life, personality, hardships, romance, when he started losing his hearing and when his works were composed. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on 16th December 1770 and he died in Vienna, Austria on the 26th March 1827. He was a man who gets angry easily, untidy, and difficult to understand. He wrote 32 piano sonatas, 9 symphonies, and so on. He composed the Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 Pathetique in 1798 and it was during that time that he noticed he was going deaf. He had a few very close friends and they stayed by his side even though sometimes there are conflicts between them. All these biography books were read in order to understand Beethoven and his music. After reading all of them, it became easier to understand Beethovens characteristics and how his music evolved through the years. In this thesis, Taub, R. (2002) book helped a lot. His book title is Playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas. It is one of the performance practice books that are found in the University of Malayas main library. He wrote about his opinion on how he thinks this piano sonata should be interpreted. For example, he said that in order to play and effective fp the pianist should depress the keys fast to create forte, then immediately allows the sound to rise so that the sound can be immediately become soft. This information from the author is very helpful in this thesis in chapter four. The piano is the main instrument which is used most in this thesis because the analysis of this thesis is related to the piano. The Pianoforte written by Clutton, C. (1969) is a small chapter from a book titled Musical Instruments through the Ages which is edited by Anthony Baines. The chapter explains about the history of the piano about how it was created and who first created it. The piano was later developed a lot during the classical period. The piano became well known after Mozart started composing music for the piano in the 1770s. Another two similar books which is about the piano are The Piano: A History by Ehrlich, C. (1976) and Keyboard Interpretation: from the 14th to the 19th Century by Ferguson, H. (1975). The touch, fingering, tones, musical types and forms, and pianist problems are very important and must be solved in order to interpret the music successfully. This is related to one of the objectives in this thesis because over the years the piano is always being devel oped in the 18th century until now. So a brief history of the piano should be included in this thesis so that everyone who read this thesis can understand how the piano was made and why different pianos create different sounds. Pedalling techniques are sometimes different on the pianos that the pianists are playing. It will be discussed further in chapter four. 1.4 Objectives There are a few objectives which need to be achieved in doing this topic besides fulfilling my graduation requirement which are: To examine the performance practice of Beethovens early/ middle/ late sonata on todays grand piano but this thesis will only focus on one of his early piano sonata. To analyze the movements and the way it should be played on todays grand piano because during the time of Beethoven, they used a different style and technique to approach this piano sonata. This thesis will help the readers who read this to play the piano sonata if they are having difficulty in understanding how it should be played. To analyze the recording of a few musicians playing this piano sonata whether they are playing similarly or different than what it is written on the score and also to see which pianist piano playing is best to be learnt from. Comparing the urtext edition score and another publisher score to see which version is best. 1.5 Methodology The method that will be applied in this research is mainly on researching secondary resources, surfing through the internet and visiting the libraries which can be gain accessed and permission. In order to understand the field that is chosen, a lot of secondary resources is needed which are books, articles from journals, e journals and thesis. Those secondary resources helped picked the topic and title for this thesis. By going to the University of Malayas main library and also borrowed some of the lecturers books, it can be found that a book titled Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven by William Earl Caplin are very useful for this thesis. There is also an article titled The Paradox of Musical Analysis from the Journal of Music Theory which was written by Mark DeBellis which was found in the University of Malayas main library in the journal section. This article gave a brief idea on how the thesis should begin and h ow to start the musical analysis. All the methods which were mentioned will be carried out towards the end of the research because getting more information is very important for this research. The books in the University of Malayas main library also have many biography books of the composer, Ludwig van Beethoven which is in the research. Books which were written by Knight, F., Latham, P., Solomon, M., Sadie, S., Scott, M.M., Leonard, R.A., Krehbiel, H., Merek, G.R. and others all talked about Beethovens life, hardships, compositions that he composed, challenges that he faced and his sickness. The books had many different styles in describing his life, hardships, compositions and challenges. These books can help in the thesis while it is being done because they are like guide books of Beethovens life on what he had done and achieved. Books which are related to performance practice are also used in this thesis are also found in the University of Malayas main library. A book which was written by Taub, R. was about how to play the Beethovens sonata. This book interprets how a Beethoven sonata should be played by the author. A book which was written by Ferguson, H. and Marshall, R. L. will also be used for this thesis. All these books are related to what is being analyzed in this thesis. After finding all the secondary resources for data and understanding them which are related to the thesis, the topic and title of the thesis can now begin analyzing. The scores which are taken from two types of publications will be analyzed. The first analysis is by analyzing the piano sonatas movements such as modulations, dynamics, articulations, pedal points and others. The second analysis is by comparing both editions of the scores which are from different publications to see whether there are similarities or differences. The third analysis is to analyze a video of a pianist who uses one of those editions in interpreting his or her playing of the Beethoven piano sonata on the grand piano. In order to get information for the research, there are many sources that can be access easily through the internet. For example, the JSTOR database and MUSE database. These websites can be accessed for references and articles from journals for the research. With the use of internet, it is also possible to purchase a book through the internet in amazon.com that cannot possibly be purchase in any of Malaysias bookstores. There are books which are sometimes not available in Malaysia because the bookstores in Malaysia did not order them. It is also because those books are not so suitable to everyone. The books are usually bought by musicians and people who want to gain more music knowledge. The internet can also be use to view videos of famous pianist playing the piano sonata. The videos can be easily viewed in Youtube.com. By observing them through the videos, a comparison can be made on which pianist plays the piano sonata better and also which edition of the score is being interprete d the most. All these will be done in chapter two, three and four. A CD will be provided with this thesis for this piano sonata. The CD contains two pianists who play the same piano sonata which is Beethovens Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 Pathetique.

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

Capital Punishment is the legal infliction of death as a penalty for violating criminal law. It has been around for thousands of years and still continues to execute people today. Capital Punishment is inhumane and in some cases sentences the innocent to death. It is obviously the most severe form of criminal punishment. Being morally unjust, the purpose of it has no significance. Killing a person for their wrongdoings does not in anyway help our society. Capital Punishment must be abolished. Capital Punishment originated in Ancient Times. The first evidence of capital punishment is from Hammurabi’s Code, a book of Babylonian Law, from 1700 B.C. Hammurabi himself suggested: â€Å"an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth.† Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross. This is one form of capital punishment. The bible talks about capital punishment. One example of capital punishment in the bible is â€Å"Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death† (Exodus 21:12). It also suggest stoning a woman is she has unmarried sex. By the end of the 15th century, England had recognized 7 major crimes that deserved the death penalty. Throughout the 1800’s more than 200 crimes were recognized as punishable by death. Many countries in our present day world applied the death penalty throughout the past. Some reasons for the death penalty include betraying the King or Queen, going against ones religion, cheating on your spouse, theft, murder, burglary, r ape, and arson. Also, in early Egypt one could be put to death for disclosing the location of sacred burial sites. Some methods of capital punishment include crucifixion, stoning, drowning, burning at the stake, impaling, beheading, and the electric chair. Today, capital punishment is accomplished by lethal gas or injection, electrocution, hanging, or shooting. As of 2000, 72 countries no longer used the death penalty for any crimes. Another 13 countries authorized it only for exceptional crimes. It is reserved for individuals who commit the most violent or serious crimes, such as murder or treason. None of the countries in Western Europe utilize the trend of capital punishment, nor do most countries in South America. Asian and Islamic nations tend to practice capital punishment. The majority of countries in Africa, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also make use of it.

Racial Equality in the United States Essay -- essays research papers

Throughout the history of the country, America has been considered a fairly racist union. From the workplaces to the society, as an Asian, I felt there's a strong barrier between white and black people, although I felt a little bit of racial among us. In this essay, I will talk about the major racial issue of this country through out my experiences. Undoubtedly the greatest injustice in the United States to this day is the white's treatment of African-Americans, specifically slavery. The vast majority of non-black people of that time believed that blacks were not equal to other races. White Americans of the slavery period specifically held this view. It was nearly impossible for a black to live free in America, and it was even more difficult for a black to find a job. As time passed, however, many people began to change their views on race relations in America. After slavery was abolished, fewer and fewer people believed that they were supreme over the African-American race. Not only were blacks free, they were becoming accepted as people in our society. They were even becoming accepted in the workplace. Many employers were no longer bothered by giving a job to an African-American. America seemed to finally be turning around for the better. After all, African-Americans only asked for equality, and they were getting closer and closer to that goal with each passing day. Suddenly, however, some people began to lose sight of the mission they set out to accomplish. Instead of just trying to make America equal, they felt that they should attempt to make up for the times when it was not. Many places in society, such as the workplace, the court system, and the entertainment industry, seem to have shifted to being easier for blacks ... ...slators and citizens alike must keep in mind our nation?s goal of racial equality, and not lose sight of that goal by making and following foolish laws. Certainly African-Americans have suffered greatly in the past, however, we must not continue to make things easier for blacks at the expense of whites today. In conclusion, despite the popular belief that blacks deserve reparations for their past treatment, our country cannot and should not afford them special treatment on account of the past. Now is a new era of life in the United States, and a new chance to fix the mistakes we have made in the past. We must not make these same mistakes twice, as that would be devastating to the future of our country. The greatest nation of the future will be the fairest nation, and if the United States is to maintain its greatness, then it must first achieve racial equality.