PRODUCT INFORMATION Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

PRODUCT INFORMATION - Assignment Example The products were then shipped to other parts of the world like France in the 1970s and orange juice wars with other rivals like in Coca Cola began in the 1980s. In subsequent years, the product’s packaging and marketing strategies have changed but the taste and content have remained relatively the same. In 1949, the product was simply freshly squeezed orange juice but in 1954, it became a chilled product made using flash pasteurization. In 1983, packaging was reduced to a smaller quantity but the prices remained the same; this mirrored developments in earlier periods (1964) when the organization created its own bottles and sold the product in such containers (Pania et al 3). The product maintained similar tastes until 2006 when it was diluted to become less thick and less calorie-rich. In 2009, its packaging was altered to a generic form but 3 months later, the company went back to its original packaging as customers complained; now it is found in plastic bottles. Tropicana original orange juice won the IPA Effectiveness Awards 2006, Silver because of its campaign advertisement conducted in the United Kingdom (â€Å"IPA effectiveness awards 2006†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). The brand also boasts about getting Carbon Trust product footprint certification in 2007 because of determining the environmental" impact or ecological footprint of its production process. It is also a recipient of the Beverage Innovation Awards in 2009 by an organization of the same name because of the sustainability initiatives in production and rainforest consumer awareness programs (â€Å"2013 Annual report† 102). The brand currently boasts of market share leadership in the orange juice market as it accounts for 28% of all juices sold in the US. A drop had been recorded in 2009 when the company made a repackaging blunder, but its shares recovered thereafter. Currently, the next most competitive brand is Simply Orange by Coca Cola, which accounts for 14% of the

Oxidation-Reduction Series Essay Example for Free

Oxidation-Reduction Series Essay Place 10 drops of Zinc nitrate, Zn(N03)2 into well A3 of the 24-well plate. 5. Place 10 drops of Iron (Ill) chloride, FeC13 into well A4 of the 24-well plate. 6. Place 10 drops of Copper (II) sulfate, Cu S04 into well A5 of the 24-well plate. 7. Take the metal solids from your LabPaq 8. Use your tweezers to pick up and carefully insert the piece of magnesium into the sodium sulfate. Record your observations. 9. Carefully insert a piece of zinc into the magnesium sulfate. Record your observations. 10. Carefully insert a piece of lead into the zinc nitrate. Record your observations. 11. Carefully insert the lead into the iron Ill) chloride. Record your observations. 12. In the same way carefully insert the iron into the copper (II) sulfate. Record your observations. 13. Place a paper towel over the drain of your sink and pour the contents of the well plate through it. 14. Throw the paper towel and metal pieces in the trash Rinse the well plate and your Oxidation-reduction table (below) Reactions Mg Na2S04 -+ drain wit n running water. Da sodium is stronger than magnesium, turned iron duller, little amount of bubbles Zn in MgS04 Little to no reaction Less of an reaction than the Fec13, but kind of changed color Pb in FeC13 †+ Changed its color made it slimy green Fe CUS04 Completely stripped nail, turned the tip orange Conclusion I was surprised at the reaction that Iron had because although I did expect some reaction I didnt expect that much of a reaction. I was also surprise at how subtle Pb and Zinc and Pb in Iron could be, I feel that this lab was beneficial in honing our observational skills as some of the reactions where harder to see at first, such as Zinc in Magnesium. Potential Sources of Error I feel that human error could destroy this experiment because if you dont clean the well you wouldnt get an accurate response from the metal. I also thought that the pipet was hard to get the accurate amount of drops out (10). Also the time could play a role, if you recorded your observation at different points of the reduction series you might get different answers. Questions A. Based on your observations make an activity series of the metals used. List them in such a way that the most active metal is on the left and the least active metal is on the right. Remember, sodium and copper are metals, too. 1. Iron, Zinc, Lead, Magnesium B. Suppose you inserted a piece of copper into a solution of nickel chloride and bserved no reaction. Then if you inserted a piece of iron into the solution of nickel chloride a nickel deposit formed on the bottom of the well in the well plate. Where does nickel fit into your activity series? 1. Iron, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Magnesium C. Suppose you inserted a piece of an unknown metal into a solution of zinc (II) nitrate and observed no reaction. Then if you inserted the unknown piece of the metal into the solution of iron (Ill) chloride a deposit formed on the bottom of the well in the well plate. Where does the unknown metal fit into your activity series? 1.

Analysis of Human Resources (HR) Department

Analysis of Human Resources (HR) Department We have chosen Al Futtaim group as the subject of our research. The aim of our research is to review the HR department and point out the weaknesses. To achieve this goal we will review the background and history will give us an idea about the achievements and/or obstacles that faces the company. Also, we will look at the organizational structure of the group and the key people who are managing it. It is important for our research to have a complete idea about the managerial practices and the HRM role in accordance with the other departments. We will evaluate the strength and weaknesses of the HRM and we will end our research with recommendations with for possible improvements. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND Al Futtaim group is a family business which was established in the 1930s as a trading company. The owners of the group hold the upper management positions headed by Majid Al Futtaim as the chairman of the board of directors. The companies working within the group have developed quickly and became a regional integrated commercial, industrial and services business located in the Gulf Area. Currently, the group consists of more than 40 companies dominating many market segments in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Pakistan. The group has four subsidiaries which are Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Trust, Retail, and Ventures. The group was created with a purpose of managing its subsidiaries and supervising the work in order to develop the business and achieve unified goals. The managements promise is to respond quickly to the customers need and satisfy the groups shareholders. Moreover the management gives its word to provide challenging opportunities for the employees in orde r to enhance their performance. Another promise is to serve the community, protect the environment and achieve a notable corporate social responsibility. (companys official website) MANAGEMENT PRACTICES The Group consists of several core businesses that complement each other, however they are separately managed. This strategy provides higher flexibility and better potentials because the separate operating divisions can grasp different opportunities. At the same time, different divisions work together on key projects and contribute, as a group, to the achievements and the profit. There are business agreements of cooperation and management within the group. The management relies on the differentiation of the retail brands in order to gain customer loyalty which in turn will enhance the sales growth and business development. (companys official website) To face the market challenges, and because the group has large companies and diverse employees which serves diverse customer segments, the management has continually brought innovations and change to a conventional industry. The group declares that they are both; socially and environmentally responsible which has positive consequences such as increasing employees loyalty, ensuring growth and increasing profit. Moreover, the groups strategy is built on creating a win-win situation for the organization, main stakeholders (such as employees and customers), and the communities where they are functioning. To achieve this strategy, the group has a well established HR department responsible for a large number of employees and workers. With its objectives and goals in mind, Majid Al Futtaim group cares about the human resources working for the group. As an example, we can look at one important division which is Al-Futtaim Electronics Sanyo. In this department, the management has laid down the ground for its human recourses to take ownership of the initiative called Customer 2000. This initiative calls for a change in the staff attitude and approach as well as a change in the working environment as a whole. In other words it is a call for a change in the way business is conducted. This initiative is a mean to enhance productivity and effectiveness of the employees. They are trained to become more alert and aware of the Internal Customers and at the same time they should have the ability to focus on the External Customers. By taking this step, and to be able to coordinate the efforts and expertise of their staff, the management formed a core committee whose role is to open the communication channels between the mana gement and the employees. The committee performs as a forum to convey and formalize the concepts and ideas that will eventually lead to the objective of total customer satisfaction. The committee organizes open sessions and ensures the participation of all the managers and department heads of profit-centers. These sessions provide a chance for healthy discussions and exchange of ideas and points of views. The group functions according to the philosophy of Prosperity through Customer Satisfaction. To face the new challenges and to maintain the growing thrust, the core committee holds its sessions on a weekly basis and ensures through one on one meeting that the information is absorbed by all the staff. (companys official website) THE ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE Strategy and planning process need a powerful management to transfer the perspectives into reality. Al Futtaim is a diversified group and a large organization managed by the owner, Majid Al Futtaim, as the president and the head of the management hierarchy. The chairman is Sir Michael Rake, an international expert who is an asset for the group because of his long experience and professional background. The board consists of a group of members who have particular expertise in certain areas and who can contribute to the decisions and the prosperity of the group. The CEO is Mr. Iyad Malas a young Arab who earned his education in one of the American universities in the region. Mr. Iyad and his executive team are responsible for the strategy for the whole group which includes what the businesses are in addition to the whole financial performance of the group. At this level of the management planning includes anticipation of change in all the functions of the group. The CEO Deputy is Mr. Ahmad Bin Brek, who is also a competent manager who has the ability to lead the group to its goals. The next level is the business executive team which consists of several young and well educated employees who implement the plans and run the business according to the agreed upon and well thought out strategy. Based on the bottom-up input, the business executive managers report to Mr. Iyad and contribute to the business strategy process. The following level in the hierarchy consists of the department heads and their assistants. Their roles are to orient, empower and manage their staff in order to contribute to the general performance of the company. The line managers report to their managers and they in turn report to their presidents who are responsible for the specific business strategy. At the end of the management hierarchy come the line and office managers and their assistants who work in the field with the staff and monitor the implementation of the plans and report to their superiors in the same business unit. At this organizational level the unit executive managers are responsible for the strategy. Part of the groups business planning scenario is the industrial context; economy, government, territories, existing market cultures. The other part is of the planning is the goals and targets which are specified in the groups strategy and the strategic group model. In the second level come the department managers then the line managers then the supervisors who report to their direct managers. In each department there are the employees with different jobs and responsibilities. If the whole working team does not work together, no goals will be achieved. And if the human resources are not satisfied by the working environment in general they will not be able to perform well. (companys official website) At this point, HRM has a main role to play. Without the human resources, none of the aforementioned strategies would be achieved without having efficient employees. These employees must be managed effectively in order to gain their loyalty and ensure that they will perform t the best of their abilities and lead the company to meet the vision, mission, and goals of the company. HRM has several functions all of them are related to the human resources in the group. Some of the functions are the following: RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION One of the most important functions of HRM is the staffing process. This process is costly and time and effort consuming. The HR professionals know that this process should be well planned to save the group the continuous expenses of advertisements, legal procedures, and training the new employees. HRM is responsible for analyzing the jobs, generating job descriptions, advertising the openings, analyzing the applicants CVs, interviewing the candidates, selecting the best candidates and closing the deal by offering the new employees the contract. All these processes are completed in cooperation with the managers of the different departments After signing the contract, the HRM is always ready with an orientation program delivered by the direct managers. The orientation includes the policies and procedures, group culture, security and safety issues, work practices and other related issues to help the new employee to get acquainted with others, place and the new tasks he/she will perform. Later on, when the new employee starts the job, the HRM is responsible, in cooperation with the managers, for the appraisal process. The result of the appraisal helps the HR professionals to set the training plan in order to empower the employee with any required skills. Majid Al Futtaim group has a strategic vision concerning its employees. The strategy recommends that employees be chosen based on fixed criteria. The staffing process, to an extent, ensures recruiting the experienced and efficient employees. As a private LLC, the management worries about the shareholders value and prosperity and the strategies and plans revolve around increasing sales, profit and expansion of business. These reasons are behind hiring effective people who can contribute to the groups success. HUMAN RESOURCES PLANNING Also, HRM controls the number of employees and keep it in the appropriate range; too much employees is costly and wasteful of resources. On the other hand, too little employees is a barrier to meet the goals and affects the overall performance of the group. Staffing in Al Futtaim group is affected by many factors such as the budget, the need of expertise and the turn over of employees. Also, the need to control the staffing process depends on the yearly appraisals, business outcomes, and the efficiency of current employees in relation to the change and development. Government regulations and changes in business trend are important factors in terms of increasing or decreasing the number of staff. The role of HRM goes beyond the planning role to implement the plans and take decisions about what is better for the organization. HRM in AL Futtaim Group are seen as reactive rather than being proactive because they are doing the minimum expected from a big and rich group. The reason is not the inefficiency of the HR professionals or in the plans and documentation. The issue is that the group is owned by a family and the last decision is for the owner. Usually in this type of company what really matter is decreasing the expenses and increasing the profit. In this case the HRM cannot implement the change nor can they function according to the international high standard and ideal practices. EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION Empowering and motivating employees to complete their tasks efficiently is an HRM responsibility. Employees must be rewarded for their efforts or else they will transfer to another company and the company will lose their experience and knowledge of the ideal work practices. As mentioned before, recruiting new staff member will cost the company money, effort and time. Moreover, a company with high retention is never the choice of professionals who look for job security. AL Futtaim group care about its human resources. The HRM has a training plan and it was implemented for many years in the past. Now things are changed. The world financial crisis affected the business in general and the extra benefits for the employees are reduced to the minimum and the new workers are getting lower salaries and zero benefits. According to one of the groups employees, the workers are complaining in regards to their salaries and the overall standard of living. As everyone knows, the rents have risen tremendously in the last year. This issue has put a burden on the foreign employees and some of them left the work to another job for less then AED 300 raise in their salaries. This would not happen if the HR management in accordance with the financial department adjusts the pay rate and implement a plan to offer financial reward to the good employees so that the group will gain their loyalty. The employees need to be motivated in order to increase their efforts and work to the best of their abilities. In AL Futtaim Group, Bonuses as incentives are offered to the managers and they are excluding the workers. The common way to encourage the workers is choosing one of the good workers as the employee of the month. This will influence the workers appraisal at the end of the year and the chance of getting a raise becomes higher. More incentives are required if the group wants to attain the loyalty of all the employees. EMPLOYEES APPRAISAL HRM has a main role in assessing the performance of the employees. It is a very important process because the decision makers will have a full picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the staff. Based on the appraisal decisions will be taken to improve the performance of individuals and to point out the potentials within the company. Al Futtaim group HRM pays a special attention to the assessment process. The employees are assessed formally and informally through the year. The main appraisal is conducted on yearly basis and based on the results, some changes are made. Based on the result of the appraisal HRM sets a training plan to enhance the performance of the staff members. Another importance of the yearly appraisals is to link the payments to the competency of the employee. What is happening now is that due to the recession, the group did not give a pay raise to the majority of the staff which has a negative impact on their performance of the individuals. Yet, the appraisal is used efficiently to make use of the talents which already exist in the group. When openings are posted internally, the chance is given to the employees to apply and they are chosen based on their performances, yet not for the upper management posts. The weakness in this process is the results of the appraisal are not used to give the employees the incentives they deserve. The raise in the salaries and wages, if decided, is based on the market situation not on the performance and achievement of the individual. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS Among the HRM roles is to manage the complex employee (industrial relations) between the following parties: Workers and their official and unofficial representatives. Workers and their managers Government, organizations and related agencies. The UAE is shifting to a service based industry. The business requires qualified and skillful people to do the jobs which make the influence of workers more influential. The wise management of the group is aware of this issue and has built, to an extent a relationship with the employees and to maintain the psychological contract with them. HRM in Al Futtaim Group have an industrial relations program. The employees do have a voice and it is reflected in the management actions. A good example is the (customer 2000) project where workers can express themselves while developing their skills. It gives them a chance to get involved in the planning for offering better services to the customers. There are several evidences demonstrating that HRM policies demonstrate groups concern of the individuals performance. As a result we expect to see these policies are well implemented for the benefit of these individuals. Cost based barriers could be responsible for not taking the right actions. Workers are still considered as machines and no margin for mistakes is allowed. The work time is calculated by minutes and the overtime payments are less than the working hours wage. In al Futtaim group there is no win-win situation because the main concern as we have mentioned before is the customer. Satisfying the customer means more profit tor the shareholders. The only benefit for the workers is that they keep their jobs. There are hard workers in the company who were never acknowledged or took any bonus as an appreciation for their achievements. It is true that HRM in A Futtaim Group is effective in terms of generating all the documents which govern the relationship with the employees. HR professionals prepared the job specification, job appraisal, induction programs, training courses, performance management and reward management, malpractice policy, etc. But in general all these documents are for the benefit of the business first and none of them demonstrates the importance of the employee as an individual. So we can say that the importance of the psychological contract is not fully considered. For example, competent employees in Al Futtaim group are offered opportunities to upgrade their positions and their income but these chances are never open to reach to the upper management positions. Such actions affect the relationship with the employees and reduce their loyalty and level of job satisfaction. Another issue is that the cost based management implemented in Al Futtaims private companies affects the psychological contracts with the staff members. Employees lose trust in their management and it would be impossible to retain them. The minute they find a new job they will leave taking with them their experience and their relationships with the customers. A part of the HRM is that the employee relations professionals prepare reports for the management to keep them updated about the current situation, changes or new trends. The mangers/ owners use this information in negotiations, conferences and press releases. The staff interprets and administers the contract in terms of problems, salaries, insurance, safety, management practices etc. in AL Futtaim Group as there are no labor unions or employee association representatives, and this is done with individuals who have no power over the management of the group. So, the real purpose of these negotiations is not achieved. PROVISION OF EMPLOYEE SERVICES Caring about the employees well-being functions is one of the HRM functions which aim to retain good staff and attracting others to work with the company. Services that can be offered to the employees are many. They vary between understanding the personal circumstances of the employee such as extended sick leaves, allowing emergency leaves, and offering loans to the employee in need. Another service is to help the employees to resolve personal issues, to move them to an easier work in case they have special medical needs, and assisting the sick people to benefit from better treatment in better hospitals. In Al Futtaim group HRM has a plan for the provision of employee services but it is not fully amended. The following points can be seen as weaknesses: Number of the disabled people working in the company. Lack of financial and other activities conditions such as sports and hobbies related to the work Offering financial aids to workers in need or maybe having a fund program to help workers in difficulty. On the other hand the group has good safety and security practices. They have a good safety manual with clear policies and procedure. The employees are trained on first aid and evacuation in case of fire. SO we can say that HRM in Al Futtaim group care about their employees in terms of maintaining safety by raising the workers awareness and training them on the policies and procedures. EMPLOYEES TRAINING AND EDUCATION Training the employees to develop their skills and to raise their awareness is one of the HRM functions. Also the training courses are necessary to prepare some of the employees to acquire higher positions. Training and empowering the employees in Al Futtaim is part of the groups promise. The aim behind focusing on training the employees is enhancing the performance of the staff members. As a result of monitoring and assessing the employees work a training plan is set. Lists are prepared and training agencies are approached but, not all the plan is usually implemented. Financial factors affect the process, so sometimes the training courses are cancelled or the number of participants is reduced. The other option is Another plan is usually set for the in house training courses which are better implemented because of the cost is less and the timing can be adjusted. Also from time to time the Group outsources some technical or information based training courses. These trainings are usually attended by the supervisors whom in turn give the information to the workers. This does not work well all the time because not all the supervisors have the ability to train and convey clear information to others. OUR COMMENTS In any organization the HRM is effective when the functions are related to the vision, mission and vision and values. The organizational structure influences the implementation of the plans. In Al Futtaim Group, the HR department is managed by professionals who are aware of and experienced in the best practices of HRM. There are some obstacles which derives from the type, culture, policies and procedures of the Group. As a family business, the main purpose is to satisfy the customers in order to increase the profit. In this case the employees are required to perform to the best of their abilities and no mistakes are allowed. Individuals who have any special circumstances and cannot do the job effectively will not be given the chance to go back to the track. The management will look for a substitute who will not cost the Group extra expenses. The recruitment process is done carefully because the management wants to decrease the expenses. They look for the good qualification in the applicant but the person who will cost them less will be employed. The relation between the management and the individuals is limited to how much this person will benefit the company rather than how can we make this person comfortable and satisfied. The global political and economical issues affects the plans as the group is managed based on cost. Any factor can affect the employees benefit and the company will not accept to pay any extra expenses or increase the HRM budget. In the contrary, if the market is down the budget is decreased. If we are going to compare HRM in Al Futtaim with other similar companies, we can say, as aforementioned, that it has some advantages. Yet, what we are looking for is an HRM who has the authority and the power to fulfill the functions as they should be done. HRM is about the human resources in the group. Their satisfaction influences the outcomes of the group positively. It is not enough to pay the minimum salary and follow the basic labor laws in the country to gain the loyalty of the workers. There are several functions for the HRM that should be decided and implemented internally to distinguish the employees and the business as a whole from others. Open channels with the employees, empowering them, building a relationship with them, offering them opportunities to meet their personal goals, helping them to solve their problems and supporting outside activities will enhance their belonging top the group and will reflect on the work environment and the business as a whole. APPENDIX MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The organizational of the group give an idea of the hierarchy of power in the group. We can see there is a diversity in the managers nationalities which adds to the experiences and the qualifications of the management team as a whole. Al Futtaim Group is managed by qualified people who have a long experience in management of similar industries and who are able to lead the company according to the international standards. .The local and foreign managers are working hand in hand for the benefit of the company and its stakeholders. The group includes several companies and a diverse work force which has to be managed effectively by managers who have cultural awareness and UAE work experience. In AL Futtaim group, the management has proved its efficiency in running the business. In the following page, we included the biography of the chairman and other managers to demonstrate their effectiveness and experience in managing the group and meeting the goals. President Majid Al Futtaim Chairman Sir  Michael Rake   Chief Executive Officer Mr. Iyad Malas Board Members Sir  Michael Rake   Mr. Waldemar Schmidt Mr. Tarek Ben Halim Mr. Richard North Dr. Fahad Almubarak Mr. Paul Manduca Mr. Trevor Coates Mr. Philip Yea Dr. Khalid Alkhazraji   Management Mr.  Iyad Malas   Chief  Executive Officer Mr. Ahmed Bin Brek Deputy Chief Executive Officer http://www.majidalfuttaim.com/images/maf_chart.jpg BIOGRAPHY Majid Al Futtaim Majid Al Futtaim, the Founder and President of the Majid Al Futtaim Group has successfully brought the concepts of regional shopping malls and hypermarkets to the region. His pioneering vision has changed the face of shopping, entertainment and leisure in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Majid Al Futtaim opened his first shopping mall in 1995 and has since created a business of international significance. Over the past decade the Group has taken his groundbreaking concepts into other major cities in the United Arab Emirates and throughout the Middle East and North Africa including; Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and Lebanon. Sir  Michael Rake   Sir Michael Rake is Chairman of BT Group and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, as well as a director of Barclays PLC, McGraw-Hill Inc and the Financial Reporting Council. He is also chairman of the private equity oversight group the Guidelines Monitoring Committee. BT pays him an annual salary of  £600,000.[1] From May 2002 to September 2007 Rake was Chairman of KPMG International. Prior to his appointment as Chairman of KPMG International he was Chairman of KPMG in Europe and Senior Partner of KPMG in the United Kingdom. He joined KPMG in 1974, and worked in Continental Europe before transferring to the Middle East to run the practice for three years in 1986. He transferred to London in 1989, became a member of the UK Board in 1991, and had a number of leadership roles in the UK before being elected UK Senior Partner in 1998. Rake is also a Vice President of the RNIB, a member of the Board of the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue, a member of the CBI International Advisory Board, the Chartered Management Institute, the DTIs US/UK Regulatory Taskforce, the Advisory Council for Business for New Europe, the Ethnic Minority Employment Taskforce, an Association Member of BUPA, The School of Oriental and African Studies Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the Judge Institute at the University of Cambridge, Senior Adviser for Chatham House and the Global Advisory Board of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation. He was Chairman of Business in the Community from 2004-2007 and a member of the board of the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum from 1998 to 2007. Rake is also a Governor of Wellington College and a board member of Guards Polo Club. He is married with four children and five stepchildren, and was knighted in 2007. Mr. Iyad Malas Iyad Malas is the CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Trust, the family office of the Majid Al Futtaim family in Dubai. Previously, Mr. Malas was the Regional Director for South Asia for International Finance Corporation, based in New Delhi. He had responsibility for all of IFCs investments in all sectors in the South Asian markets, including India. Mr. Malas worked with IFC beginning in 1987, investing in many regions of the emerging markets and was the Division Manager for Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa before working for four years in Egypt, first as CEO of Fleming CIIC and then as the Chief Operating Officer and Head of Asset Management for the preeminent Egyptian investment bank, EFG-Hermes from 2000 to 2004. Mr. Malas was educated at the American University in Beirut and earned an MBA from George Washington University. Mr. Malas is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Murdstones in Charles Dickens Great Expectations :: Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essays

Murdstones in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations I think the Murdstones are the two main villains in the story. Mr.Murdstone, step dad of David, he is evil, cruel and treats David harshly. He hates David and wants him out of the way. Mrs Murdstone, sister of Mr.Murstone also vicious and self-centred. Both of them together ruin the early childhood of David and have control of the Copperfield family. The sheer evilness of the Murdstones resulted in the death of David's mother-Clara, although at one point he did love Clara, but her pretty house and her income probably added to her attractions in his eye. I think worst of all the Murdstones tormented David both physically and psychologically. Dickens is very clever in describing the appearance of the Murdstones, it very much relates to their ruthlessness. He describes the eyes of Mr.Murdstones as "à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. with his ill-omened black eyesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦." Already we are given a warning of impending disaster from the looks of his eyes. ". Shallow black eyeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦an eye that has no depth in it to be looked into" This just shows the wretched character he is. As much as I hate the character, I noticed that Dickens have put a touch of gentleness to the character of Mr.Murdstone. This is stated when David notices his 'handsomer' side. "à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In spite of my misgivings, a very handsome man." I think this description is very cleverly done. It makes the character more real and life like so we can relate to. It emphasizes "never judge the book by its cover". Miss.Murdstone, sister of Mr.Murstone, doesn't perform well either, description wise. ". Gloomy-looking lady she was: dark, like her brotherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦" This shows the similarities of the characters, not only connected by blood, but also by appearance and by heart. Jane Murdstone is stronger, colder, and more heartless than her brother. Dickens makes her seem inhuman by comparing her to metallic objects, especially locks, chains, and prisons. In a society where a spinster is a dependent creature, she uses her power over her brother to secure a home for herself. "à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Hard lack boxesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦" "Hard brass nail." ". Hard steel purseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦" ". Jail of a bagà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦." ". Heavy chain." ". Metallic lady." All the above quotes describe the 'characters' of the things she carry and how they resemble her. The word "hard" have come up several times and so has anything that has got to do with it. This just shows how much wickedness she posses only in her belongings. I think the main feature in which Dickens expresses that really brings out the villainous of the characters are the things they do. Ever since entering the Copperfield household they have been controlling

Keeping Up with the Joneses Essay

Society has many effects on the narrator in â€Å"Two Kinds† and Madame Loisel in â€Å"The Necklace†. Whether it is helping us achieve feats or our actions in public, we can be affected both negatively and positively. In the short story â€Å"The Necklace† Madame Loisel is dirt poor. When her husband, a simple Clerk, comes home holding a white envelope which says â€Å"The Minister of Education and Mme. Georges Ramponneau beg M. and Mme. Loisel to do them the honor of attending an evening reception at the Ministerial Mansion. Madame Loisel tries her best to look as good as she can at the reception. She even borrows a necklace to look her best at the reception, this is because of how society expects us to look our best and dress up on occasion. In the other short story, Two Kinds, Ni Kan’s mother wants her to be something she doesn’t want her to be. Whether it was opening a restaurant, working for the government, or even building a house to sell it and make a profit. She basically wants her to become a prodigy, which is highly unlikely. My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and get good retirement. You could buy a house with almost no money down. You could become rich. You could become instantly famous. â€Å"Of course, you can be a prodigy, too,† my mother told me when I was nine. † Her mother wants her to become a prodigy because of how society has â€Å"molded† her thoughts and actions. Her daughter, she is only best tricky, you can be best anything. What does Auntie Lindo know? For example, her mother forces her to learn the piano, which doesn’t work out very well â€Å"Three days after watching the Ed Sullivan Show my mother told me what my schedule would be for piano lessons and piano practice. She had talked to Mr. Chong†¦ † In both positive and negative ways society has affected me in m any aspects of my life, society has affected how I look, how I do in school, what I want to become after High-School, what I say, how I perform in sports. In conclusion, society in a whole affects everyone, everywhere, every day in every way. This concludes my essay.

Assess the Contribution of Marxism to Our Understanding of the Role of Education Essay

Using material from Item A and elsewhere assess the contribution of Marxism to our understanding of the role of education. As mentioned in Item A, Marxists take a critical view of the role of education. They see society as based on class divisions and capitalist exploitations. The capitalist society is a two class system as mentioned in Item A and it consists of a ruling class, the bourgeoisie and the working class, the proletariat. The bourgeoisie exploits the proletariat according to Marxists and they believe that the education system only serves the needs and interests of the ruling class, as mentioned in Item A.  Marxists also education as functioning to prevent revolution and maintain capitalism. According to Louis Althusser, the state consists of two elements or apparatuses, both which work to keep the bourgeoisie in power. Firstly, the repressive state apparatuses (RSAs), which maintain the rules of the bourgeoisie by force or the threat of it. The RSAs include the police, courts and army. When necessary they use physical force to repress the working class. Secondly, the ideological state apparatuses (ISAs), as mentioned in Item A, maintains the rule of the bourgeoisie by controlling people’s ideas and beliefs. The ISAs include religion, the mass media and the education system. In Althusser’s view, the education system is an important ISA and it performs two important functions. Firstly, it reproduces class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation, by failing each successive generation of working class pupils in turn, as mentioned in Item A. secondly; it legitimates class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true cause. The function of ideology is to persuade workers to accept that inequality is inevitable and that they deserve their subordinate position in society. If they accept these ideas, they are less likely to challenge or threaten capitalism, as mentioned in Item A. Other Marxists such as Bowles and Gintis develop these ideas further. They argue that capitalism requires a workforce with the kind of attitudes, behaviour and personality type suited to their role as alternated and exploited workers willing to accept hard work, low pay and orders from above. In this view, the role of the education system in capitalist society is to reproduce an obedient workforce that will accept inequality as inevitable. From their own studies of 237 New York high school students and their findings of other studies, Bowles and Gintis concluded that schools reward precisely the kind of personality traits that make for a submissive, complaint worker. For instance, they found that students who showed independence and creativity tended to gain low grades, while those who showed characteristics linked to obedience and discipline such as punctuality, tended to gain high grades. From this evidence they concluded that schooling helps to produce the obedient workers that capitalism needs. They do not believe that education fosters personal development. Rather, it stunts and distorts students’ developments. Bowles and Gintis argue that schooling takes place in ‘the long shadow of work’ i. e. work influences education, resulting in close parallels between schooling and work in capitalist society. Relationships and structures found in education mirror or correspond to those of work, hence known as the correspondence principle. For example, in school in a capitalist society reflects work in a capitalist society by distinguishing between the authority and where people fit in the hierarchy; the hierarchy in the school is with the head teacher at the top and then teacher and students and similarly in a workplace there is the head of company followed by department managers and workers. The correspondence principle is seen to operate through the hidden curriculum, which refers to all the things that students learn at school without being formally taught those things. For example, punctuality, conformity and obedience are taught through the hidden curriculum. This is different from the formal curriculum, which refers to the knowledge and skills pupils are taught explicitly in lessons such as math and science. The hidden curriculum therefore consists of ideas, beliefs, norms and values which are often taken for granted and transmitted as part of the normal routines and procedures of school life. Bowles and Gintis argue that it is through the hidden curriculum that the education system prepares us for our future as workers in capitalist society. Bowles and Gintis also argue that in order to prevent rebellion from those disadvantaged by the inequalities of capitalism, it is necessary to produce ideologies that explain and justify inequality as fair, natural and inevitable. If people think inequality is justified then they are less likely to challenge the capitalist system. According to Bowles and Gintis, the education system plays a key role in producing such ideologies. They describe the education system as a giant ‘myth making machine’ and focus on how education promotes the ‘myth of meritocracy’. Meritocracy refers to a system where everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve, where rewards are based on ability and effort. This means that those who gain the highest rewards and status deserve it because they are the most able and hardworking. Bowles and Gintis argue that meritocracy does not actually exist. Evidence showed that the main factor determining whether or not someone has a high income is their family and class background, not their ability or educational achievement. By distinguishing this fact, the myth of meritocracy serves to justify the privileges of the higher classes, making it seem that they gained them through open and fair competition at school. This helps persuade the working class to accept inequality as legitimate, and makes it less likely that they will seek to overthrow capitalism. The education system also justifies poverty, through what Bowles and Gintis describe as the ‘poor-and-dumb’ theory of failure. It does so by blaming poverty on the individual rather than blaming capitalism. It therefore plays an important part in reconciling workers to their exploited position, making them less likely to rebel against the system. All Marxists agree that capitalism cannot function without a workforce that is willing to accept exploitation. Likewise, all Marxists see education as reproducing and legitimating class inequality. That is, it ensures that working class pupils are slotted into and learn to accept jobs that are poorly paid and alienating. However, whereas Bowles and Gintis see education as a fairly straightforward process of indoctrination into the myth of meritocracy, Paul Willis’ study shows that working class pupils can resist such attempts to indoctrinate them. As a Marxist, Willis is interested in the way schooling serves capitalism. However, he combines this with an interactionist approach that focuses on the meanings pupils give to their situation and how these enable them to resist indoctrination. Through his study, Willis found that the lads (12 working class boys), form a distinct counter-culture opposed to the school. They are scornful of the conformist boys who they call the ear’oles. The lads find school boring and meaningless and they flout its rules and values, for example by smoking and drinking, disrupting classes and playing truant. These acts are a way of resisting school. They reject a ‘con’ the school’s meritocratic ideology that working class pupils can achieve middle class jobs through hard work. Willis notes the similarity between this anti school counter-culture and the shop floor culture of male manual workers. Both cultures see manual work as superior and intellectual ork as inferior and effeminate and this explains why they see themselves as superior both to girls and effeminate ear’oles to aspire to non manual jobs. Their resistance explains why they end up in these very jobs themselves- inferior in terms of pay and conditions- that capitalism needs someone to perform. For example, having been accustomed to boredom and to finding ways of amusing themselves in school, they don’t expect satisfaction from work and are good at finding diversions to cope with the tedium of unskilled labour. Marxist approaches are useful in exposing the myth of meritocracy. They show the role that education plays as an ideological state apparatus, serving the interests of capitalism by reproducing and legitimating class inequality. However, postmodernists criticise Bowles and Gintis’ correspondence principle on the grounds that today’s post-Fordist economy requires schools to produce a very different kind of labour force from the one described by Marxists. Postmodernists argue that education now reproduces diversity, not inequality. Marxists disagree with one another as to how reproduction and legitimation take place. Bowles and Gintis take a deterministic view. That is, they assume that pupils have no free will and passively accept indoctrination. This approach fails to explain why pupils ever reject the school’s values. By contrast, Willis rejects the view that school simply ‘brainwashes’ pupils into passively accepting their fate. By combining Marxists and interactionist approaches he shows how pupils may resist the school and yet how this still leads them into working class jobs. However, critics argue that Willis’ account of the lads romanticizes them, portraying them as working class heroes despite their anti social behaviour and sexist attitudes. His small scale study of only 12 boys in one school is also unlikely to be representative of other pupils’ experience and it would e risky to generalize his findings. Critical modernists such as Raymond Morrow and Carlos Torres criticise Marxists for taking a class first approach that sees class as the key inequality and ignores other all other kinds. Instead, like postmodernists, Morrow and Torres argue that society is now more diverse. They see non-class inequalities, such as ethnicity, gender and sexuality, as equally important. They argue that sociologists must explain how education reproduces and legitimates all forms of inequality, not just class, and how the different forms of inequality are inter-related. Feminists make a similar point. For example, as Madeleine Macdonald argues, Bowles and Gintis ignore the fact that schools reproduce not only capitalism, but patriarchy too as females are largely absent from Willis’ study. However, Willis’ work has stimulated a great deal of research into how education reproduces and legitimates other inequalities.

Role of an Army leader Essay Essays

Role of an Army leader Essay Essays Role of an Army leader Essay Essay Role of an Army leader Essay Essay The function of an army leader is to supply intent. way. and motive to soldiers while go oning to transport out the mission or undertaking that is at manus. As a leader in the ground forces. one must keep their cognition of the criterions of behavior. policy. jurisprudence. regulations of battle. and the Geneva Conventions. Leaderships of the ground forces must be able to understand that their actions. behaviours. and determinations are a direct reflects of their leading and the ground forces as a whole. As a leader in the ground forces. one must be able to stand for the army’s leading values as a direct representation and they must be able to be a function theoretical account for their soldiers to follow. Army leaders are committed to developing value based leading and seeing to the wellbeing of Soldiers and their households. The function of an army leader extends influence beyond the direct concatenation of bid. An army leader is a direct representation of the organisation in which they represent and the armed forces in general. As a leader in the ground forces. one must take by illustration and must be a direct representation of the criterion and of good behaviour. Leaderships are responsible for set uping and keeping positive outlooks and attitudes. which produce the scene for positive attitudes and effectual work behaviours. Leaderships must be able to promote and back up the growing of persons and squads to ease the accomplishment of organisational ends. Leaderships need to fix others to presume places within the organisation. guaranting a more various and productive organisation. Guidance is an of import of being a leader in the ground forces by guaranting those undertakings are consistent and accomplished in a timely mode. Harmonizing to Army Regulation 600-100 ( AR 600-100 ) . there are three degrees of leading. The degrees of leading are direct. organisational. and strategic. As a direct leader. you are the frontline leader to the soldiers such as their squad leaders or squad leaders. Direct leaders are responsible for constructing cohesive bonds amongst their squad and to authorise their subsidiaries along with implementing policies to be able to carry through the mission. As a direct leader. you must be able to run independently. but within the bounds of the commander’s purpose. Organizational leaders on the other manus are those that must cover at higher echelons such as a battalion or brigade degree. Their policies influence the bid clime. and they must be adept in communicating. dialogue. critical logical thinking. and interpersonal accomplishments. They must be skilled at complex determination devising and job resolution and hold a good apprehension of the full scope of full-spectrum operations. Strategic leaders set the organisational construction. allocate resources. and joint the strategic vision. Strategic leading involves running the ground forces from developing strategic programs. policies. counsel. and Torahs to finding force construction designs based on future mission demands and capablenesss. As a strategic leader they must be able to prioritise over-arching ground forces plans against viing involvements while jointing ground forces plans and policies to the highest degrees of DOD and the authorities. All leaders have the duty of mentoring those junior enlisted soldiers below them in rank and to develop them to the fullest extent possible. Army leaders can develop junior soldiers through preparation and instruction and are responsible for supplying feedback to the soldier through guidance. coaching. and mentoring. As a leader when you coach a junior soldier. you are simply supplying counsel to the soldier in ways to carry through a undertaking at manus. Coaching is a tool best used to convey out that single quality as a future leader and to heighten their leading abilities. One of the most of import functions as an army leader is to mentor lesser experient soldiers and assist them to make their fullest possible both personal and professional. Leader must be able to mentor soldiers in both a professional and insouciant mode. Another function of a leader is to develop soldiers in a manner that they will represent the warrior ethos as it is stated in the soldier’s credo. The ground forces has a committedness to the development of its hereafter leaders by supplying the proper preparation in values. properties. and progressively complex and unstable universe. Respect and leading is something that goes manus in manus. To be a good leader. you must be able to derive regard in order to be a good leader and be able to keep moral amongst the soldiers in which you are trying to take. The definition of regard is an attitude of respect. esteem. or esteem ; to pay proper attending to and demo consideration towards an person and to handle them politely. Respect is something that is need in the ground forces due to the fact that as single advancements in rank they take on more duties and must be able to take soldiers and in order to take soldiers. first you must be able to give regard to your soldiers for them to demo you respect. Without regard in the ground forces there would be no signifier of order or criterion in which a leader can keep a soldier to as a usher to follow. Respect is an property that must be earned in order to be given. In order to acquire regard. you must foremost be able to handle soldiers with regard and as grownups. Respect is a major facet in mundane life in both a professional and personal mode. Respect is the foundation on which our society lives. The darkest times in our country’s history can be traced to a deficiency of regard. When Torahs are ignored there can be no civility. The Torahs in our society are based on regard. both for ourselves and those around us. For one to be considered a good leader there must be an even sum of leading and regard that is portrayed to the soldiers. Soldiers are more disposed to esteem leaders that show them respect alternatively of those that do non demo them esteem. As a leader of soldiers. you must be able to divide the line from friend and leader but must be able to give regard in order to acquire regard. Respect is one of the nucleus ground forces values and every soldier should populate by it if they are portion of the ground forces and they must adhere to the ground forces values in their mundane lives.