Martin Surname Meaning and Origin - Genealogy

Martin is a patronymic surname taken from the ancient Latin given name Martinus, derived from Mars, the Roman god of fertility and war. Surname Origin:  English, French, Scottish, Irish, German and others Alternate Surname Spellings:  MARTEN, MARTINE, MARTAIN, MARTYN, MERTEN, LAMARTINE, MACMARTIN, MACGILLMARTIN, MARTINEAU, MARTINELLI, MARTINETTI, MARTIJN Fun Facts About the Martin Surname One of the early notable English MARTIN families was a strong seafaring family residing primarily in Leicester, England. Representatives include Admiral Sir Thomas Martin, Captain Matthew Martin and John Martin who sailed around the world with Sir Francis Drake. Famous People With the Surname MARTIN John Martin - English painterGeorge R. R. Martin - American science fiction and fantasy writerMax Martin - Swedish producer/songwriterDel Martin - lesbian activist Genealogy Resources for the Surname MARTIN 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? Martin DNA Group ProjectUsing the male Y-DNA the project intends to sort out the many Martin / Martain / Martyn / Merten families and to find their origins. All Martin researchers are welcome and encouraged to participate. Martin Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Martin  family crest or coat of arms for the Martin surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.   MARTIN Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Martin  surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Martin genealogy query. FamilySearch - MARTIN GenealogyExplore over 15  million historical records which mention individuals with the Martin surname and its variations, as well as online Martin family trees. MARTIN Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Martin surname. DistantCousin.com - MARTIN Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name Martin. ----------------------- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.ï » ¿Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Value Chain Analysis of Aggreko - 2672 Words

University of Stirling Pre-Masters Skills for Business Environment Value chain analysis of Aggreko Name: Rita Date: 2011 Tutor: David Dick Value chain analysis of Aggreko 1. Introduction Currently, along with the increasingly development of globalization, every walks of life has to confront with the fierce competition. Even electric power market is no exception as well. Furthermore, more and more companies have not satisfied with the domestic market, they have focused on expanding the international market, such as Aggreko. As leader of the world s temporary power industry Aggreko has achieved a serious of success in recent years, even they need to face to intense competition from domestic and international†¦show more content†¦Specifically, the primary activities comprise inbound logistics, operation, outbound logistics, Marketing and sales, and service. Whilst there also have some activities, including firm infrastructure, HR management, technology development, and procurement, support company’s primary activities (ibid). Furthermore, a firm’s profitability can attribute to its effectiveness in performing these activities efficiently, and in t hese activities, a firm has the opportunity to generate superior value. On the other hand, a competitive advantage also can be achieved by reconfiguring the value chain to provide lower cost or better differentiation (McGuffog and Wadsley, 1999). For those reasons, the value chain model is a very useful analysis tool for defining a firm’s core competencies, such as cost advantage and differentiation (Ibid). In terms of cost advantage, Porter identified 10 cost drivers related to value chain activities, included economies of scale, learning, capacity utilization, linkages among activities, interrelationships among business units, degree of vertical integration, timing of market entry, firm’s policy of cost or differentiation, geographic location, and institutional factors. The company can through controlling these drivers develop a cost advantage (porter, 1985). In addition, porter also identified divers of uniqueness that related to the value chain, included PoliciesSh ow MoreRelatedAccounting for Non Accounting Students45396 Words   |  182 Pages95 96 97 12 Interpretation of accounts 13 Contemporary issues Case studies: The communication of financial information Interpretation of accounts 14 Foundations 15 Direct costs 16 Indirect costs 17 Budgeting 18 Standard costing 19 Contribution analysis 20 Specific decisions 21 Capital investment 22 Emerging issues Case studies: Fixed and flexible budgets Standard cost operating statements Pricing PART 2 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Multiple choice questions Answers to multiple choice

Economic Ideas Of The Enlightenment Essay Example For Students

Economic Ideas Of The Enlightenment Essay The Enlightenment is the name given to the intellectual movement that was centered in the Western World, mainly Europe, during the 18th century. The rise of modern science greatly influenced the enlightenment. It was also the aftermath of the long religious conflict that followed the Reformation. The thinkers of the Enlightenment were dedicated to secular views based on reason of human understanding, which they hoped would provide a basis for beneficial changes affecting every area of life and thought. There were many people during the Enlightenment that made an impact on the world. Many people had different opinions about what was happening and how to fix the problems facing the world at that time. One man started this change with his Encyclopedia. This man was Diderot; it was called the great work of his life. This book was a major weapon against the old French society. His book made a great impact on the people because it was so cheap that everyone could obtain a copy. With the printing of this book a new group emerged from the populace. This group, named the Physiocrats, has been viewed as the founders of the modern discipline of economics. A well-known member of this party is known for his thoughts on the old economic ideas. His name was Adam Smith and he had many economic ideas of the enlightenment. Adam Smith wrote the book Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. This book had three basic principles of economics. The first principle was the condemning of mercantilist use of protective tariffs to protect home industries. A tailor does not try to make his own shoes, nor does a shoemaker try to make his own clothes. (Western Civilization pg. 493) With this line of reasoning Adam Smith was saying that a country should not try to make their own products when another country can supply them for cheaper than the one country can make it. A nation should make what it can for the least amount of money, without the tariff, then trade it with other countries. The free trade principle was a fundamental economic principle to most people. The second principle that Smith proposed was about labor. Unlike most of the Physiocrates he thought that labor was a countries true wealth. Labor was the only part of the country that could change the wealth, not gold or silver. Finally Smith believed that the government only existed for three of the peoples basic needs. He thought that the government should be a passive policemen. The three needs that Adam Smith theorized were the fact that the people need some protection against another country in the case of an invasion. The next need was for justice and peace in the cities. To do this there had to be police. The very last need was maintenance. There were many roads and bridges that needed to be kept in working order and the citizens were too busy to do it themselves. Many of the ideas that Smith proposed were then incorporated into everyday living. This made the enlightenment a new place for people to live. The enlightenment brought a new life for the poor. They soon got jobs and many other benefits for these poor people. The Enlightenment brought more trade to the people. They felt that, along with Adam Smith, countries should only make items that they can do for the cheapest amount. This spread trade to many different countries that had items others needed. Distributing trade made work available for a greater number of people. Government members wanted to help their country have a greater economy. With this idea in mind they started to make jobs open to more people. With more members in the working society the country would have more benefits. There would be a larger food supply and more money going back into the economy. The government supported the people by making new positions for the needy. They did this by developing new jobs to fit the three needs for the people according to Smiths theories. The people needed to have maintenance around to fix the roads and bridges. These made many new jobs for handymen. The next need was the need for security and justice. The government had to structure an office for this, which supplied many new jobs and made people feel safer so they came to the country. .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 , .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 .postImageUrl , .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 , .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714:hover , .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714:visited , .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714:active { border:0!important; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714:active , .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714 .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u66cd7bac0d38cf054fdf08f8cf38c714:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Grapes Of Wrath EssayThe new theories of the Enlightenment are still around this very day. It has an effect on almost everyone that works or lives today. There are still many different places in the government that have the same ideas that were used back then. The United States government trades with many other countries. It trades with the Middle East countries for oil when we have a small stock of our own. In trade we give them, something that we grow a large amount of that few countries do, corn. The government also supplies a large amount of jobs to maintain the roads, bridges, get others jobs, and to supply safety to the citizens. The Enlightenment came to an end in Western Europe after the upheavals of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era revealed the costs of its political program and the lack of commitment in those whose rhetoric was often more liberal than their actions. Nationalism undercut its cosmopolitan values and assumptions about human nature, and the romantics attacked its belief that clear intelligible answers could be found to every question asked by people who sought to be free and happy. The skepticism of the philosophes was swept away in the religious revival of the 1790s and early 1800s. The cultural leadership of the landed aristocracy and professional men who had supported the Enlightenment was eroded by the growth of a new wealthy educated class of businessmen, products of the industrial revolution. Only in North and South America, where industry came later and revolution had not led to reaction, did the Enlightenment linger into the 19th century. Its lasting heritage has been its contribution to the literature o f human freedom and some institutions in which its values have been embodied. Abstract Over the years there have been many eras that have effected the way we live now. In the Enlightenment Adam Smith had many theories about the economy. These ideas had a grand effect on the people of the time and the people that live today. The Enlightenment and its ideas help bring along many ideas and many other eras in the process. BibliographyBibliography The Enlightenment Paul Brians 1999 http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.htmlBjorn Christensson Philosophers Guide 1997 http://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/phil/filosofer/philosophers.htmlPolitical Movers and Shakers of the Enlightenment, Mike Hodges, 1996 http://www2.cybernex.net/~mhodges/movers/enlightenment.htmWestern Civilization Volume II, Hughes Annual Edition, 1982An Inquiry into the nature and Cause, Adam Smith, William Benton Publishing, 1952Intro into the Enlightenment, Lloyd Spencer, Totem Publishing, 1997Western Civilization Volume Four, Jackson J. Spielvogel, Wadsworth, 1999European History

William Goldings Lord Of The Flies Essays - English-language Films

William Golding's Lord Of The Flies Everyone, at one time or another, has dreamed of running away to a deserted island to get away from the life of the real world, but in William Golding's Lord of the Flies this perceived dream of a deserted island is brought to reality. When the dream did come true for some English boys things don't actually turn out as glorious as imagined. Human nature went into effect and let evil run wild. The Island paradise they once saw turned into a bloody nightmare. A message that ran rampant throughout the novel was that evil is inherited in everyone. By looking at three very important scenes, one can see how the effects of evil are permanently etched into everyone's personality. Understanding those events are vital to understanding the overall theme of the book. The constant reminder of inherent evil didn't start off right away when the boys arrived at the island. Evil slowly crept into the open. This valid point invites me to show you one of the first moments where evil attacked. Henry (a little boy on the island) was playing on the beach when several triumphant splashes in the water surrounded him. It was the arm of Roger (a character that experienced evil more than anyone) who was throwing stones at the littlun. This key point in the book illustrated how Roger began to love the power he could have over other living things. He enjoyed this power, but was still living by the rules of the real world. I could see the good slipping away from Roger even though there was a space around Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw (62). This was one of the many meetings with evil that Roger would join in on. This significant point in the book paints a clear image of how evil wanders in peoples souls. As done with very intricate novels, things are hidden that you have to search for. These monumental points are found deep into the book. They don't pop out right away. With the help of others, one of these symbolic moments trampled over our faces. The enjoyment that the boys had from killing a sow made a light bulb click on and we realized that that Golding made this event to appear like a rape. The words they used and the brutality of killing drew the evil out of them as if a rape would. When the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her I knew the evil had gone full steam ahead (135). This event should be historic throughout this novel for its importance of clearly displaying how evil is in everyone deep down inside. When the good turns to bad you know there's something wrong. You feel almost as if there's no place to go because the only place turn just became a lonely deserted road. The way Golding described one of these moments really got me thinking. When Ralph (one of the children who resisted the evil to the end) felt the desire to squeeze and hurt I knew that evil was close to capturing everyone (115). It seemed nearly impossible to me for Ralph to surrender to the temptations of evil, but there he was doing it. I felt like we failed. I knew then at that moment that evil could grab any one and destroy them at their weak points. This could have been one of the best argumentative points I had to give depth to my grasp of the way evil works. In the end good did surpass evil and it cured all of the boys from the wrong temptations. I know now that evil does reside in the darkness of everyone's sole. I'm prepared to watch out for it now and shove it back into its shadowy corner when it strikes. Roger suffered the most from evil, but turned to good in the end. I still can't believe that the evil almost got Ralph. He was one of the strongest and held on until the end. If you understood those key events, then you know how evil is inherent in human nature and can be aware of it. Arts Essays

The 1920 Wall Street Bombing

The 1920 Wall Street Bombing At noon on September 16, 1920, a horse drawn buggy loaded with 100 pounds of dynamite and 500 pounds of cast- iron slugs exploded across the street from the J.P. Morgan bank headquarters in downtown Manhattan, New York. The explosion blew out windows for blocks around, killed 30 immediately, injured hundreds of others and completely destroyed the interior of the Morgan building.. Those responsible were never found, but evidence- in the form of a warning note received at a nearby office building- suggested anarchists. Tactic / Type: VBIED / Anarchist Learn more: VBIEDs (vehicle borne improvised explosive devices | Anarchism and Anarchist terrorism Where: Financial District, downtown Manhattan, New York When: September 16, 1920 The Story: Shortly after 12pm on September 16, a dynamite loaded horse drawn cart exploded on the corner of Wall and Broad Street in downtown Manhattan, just outside the banking firm. J.P. Morgan   Co. The blast would ultimately kill 39 people- most of them the clerks and messengers and secretaries who served the financial institutionsand cause damage in the millions of dollars. To witnesses, the scale of the damage was unimaginable. Glass flew everywhere, including into the Morgan building, where several of the banks partners were injured (Morgan himself was traveling in Europe that day.) The attack was made more lethal by the cast iron slugs packed in with the dynamite. Investigations began immediately, with several theories about who might have committed the attack discarded along the way. Thomas Lamont, a Morgan bank principal, first accused Bolsheviks of the attack. Bolsheviks was for many a catch-all term that meant radicals, whether anarchists, communists or socialists. The day after the attack, a message was found in a mailbox a block from the attack, which said: Remember. We will not tolerate any longer. Free the political prisoners or it will be death for all of you. American Anarchist Fighters! Some have theorized that this note indicated that the attack was revenge for the murder indictment, several days earlier, of anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Finally, it was concluded that either Anarchists or communists were responsible. However, those responsible for the attack were never located, and suspicions about the object of the attack were inconclusive. From Wall Street to the World Trade Center: The first act of terrorism aimed at the heart of the nations financial institutions inevitably draws comparison to the second, on September 11, 2001. Beverly Gage, author of the forthcoming book, The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in its First Age of Terror, has made one such comparison: To New Yorkers and to Americans in 1920, the death toll from the blast seemed incomprehensible. The horrible slaughter and maiming of men and women, wrote the New York Call, was a calamity that almost stills the beating of the heart of the people. That those numbers now seem paltry statistics from a past when we counted civilian deaths in dozens instead of thousands underscores just how violently our own world changed last Tuesday. The destruction of the World Trade Center now stands alone in the annals of horror. But despite the difference in scale, the Wall Street explosion forced upon New York and the nation many of the same questions that we are confronting today: How should we respond to violence on this new scale? What is the proper balance between freedom and security? Who, exactly, is responsible for the destruction? There is another striking similarity. We may think that the defensive security crackdowns and resource mobilization following 9/11 are unprecedented, but a similiar mobilization occurred in 1920: Within days of the attack, there were calls on Congress and the Department of Justice to dramatically increase funding and legal mechanisms to counter the threat of Communists and Anarchists. According to the New York Times on September 19: It was said today at the Department of Justice that Attorney General Palmer would recommend in his annual report to Congress that drastic laws for dealing with anarchists and other disturbing elements be enacted. At the same time he will ask for larger appropriations, which were denied in the past.

US Postal Service Mail Holding Service Online Request

US Postal Service Mail Holding Service Online Request You spent months planning the perfect vacation and at last, its time to hit the road. The bags are packed, the car is loaded, and the dogs in the kennel. But wait. What about having days of mail stacking up in your mailbox where robbers and identity thieves might get their hands on it? No problem. Just go online and arrange to have the  U.S. Postal Service  (USPS) hold your mail while youre gone.   The USPS mail holding service offers postal customers the option of having their mail held for from three to 30 days quickly and easily. When you go on vacation, the last thing you need is to be concerned about the safety of your mail while youre away. Our Hold Mail Service addresses this issue almost effortlessly, said Francia G. Smith, USPS vice president and Consumer Advocate. This service represents our continued commitment to increasing customer access- making it easier and more convenient for customers to use the Postal Service when and where they need to. You can request USPS mail holding services up to 30 days in advance of the day you want it to start or as early as the next scheduled delivery day. You should request your mail holding start date by 3 a.m. EST (2 a.m. CT or 12 a.m. PST) on your requested day, Monday through Saturday. If you are going to be away from home for more than 30 days or if you are making a long-term move, you can also set up temporary or permanent USPS Mail and Package Forwarding Services. If you are making a permanent move, you can also use the forwarding service to update your official address. If you are just moving temporarily, you can use the Postal Service’s mail and package forwarding service for a period as short as 15 days or as long as one year. After the first six months, you can extend for another six months. How to Do It After you get online, just  go to the Postal Service home page. In the menu under Track Manage at the top of the page, click on the Hold Mail menu option.   Youll be asked to enter your delivery address information and the dates on which you want the Postal Service to start and stop holding your mail.   At the end of the mail holding request process, youll be given a  confirmation number so that you can modify the request if you come home early or decide you want to stay on vacation a little bit longer. The online service electronically notifies your local post office, and all of your mail will be held for the time specified and delivery is resumed on the requested date. Having the Postal Service hold your mail while you are away is one of the best steps you can take to prevent having your mail stolen. Request Mail Holding by Telephone   You can also request the USPS mail holding service over the phone by calling toll-free  1-800-ASK-USPS and following the menu options.   Whether requested online or by phone, millions of Postal Service customers have taken advantage of this convenient service since its 2003 launch.

Strategic Financial Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Financial Management - Coursework Example In the recent past, Wetherspoons plc has become famous in converting the large and unconventional residential premises into pubs. According to the set pub standards in Britain, premises often tend to be large, using open plan layouts, which Wetherspoons has devoted to follow. The success of the company has seen it being quoted on the Stock Exchange in London becoming an active component of FTSE 250 index on the stock exchange. In the recent past, Wetherspoons has started giving support to cask ale at the time it has deemed it unfashionable to do it, something that has established it as the largest in terms being the single purchaser from the microbreweries in the United Kingdom (Martin 2012, 8). This paper examines the financial performance of Wetherspoons Company, analyzing its rations from the perspective of the investor. One of the things that make most companies successful is the fact that they have effective and successful financial management platform. Proper financial management is very important to companies and other kinds of business organisations as it helps to illustrate the accountability plans that the business soften has. It is this kind of accountability which financiers and other investors use in determining the net worth of the business for additional investments. For this reason, any business that is determined to make profits and expand its boundaries has to ensure that it creates sound financial management systems. This is actually one of the things that have Wetherspoons Company manage its growth and expansion, reaching its current form, having almost a thousand outlets with plans to increase its market share (Woodger 2010, 9). Investors are the most important people in the growth and success of any business; they always give their money and resources to the business in the expectation that the business will be profitable for them to get their expected returns in

The Red Tent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Red Tent - Essay Example Leah, Dinah, and Rachel find the tent as a safe haven, which caters for their emotional needs. It is in this tent that the women had an opportunity to share feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This way, they were able to continue with life and feel unified and strong at the same time despite the challenges they were facing (Finding 49). The tent can also be regarded as significant since it serves as a birthplace where the women bring new lives into a society where the male gender is dominant. Thus, the Red Tent acts as a support system that brings the women together for their own well-being. Each woman in the tent is supported by the rest in times of giving birth. In the tent, some women gain experience of helping others with childbirth. For example, Dinah and Leah become midwives and assist their fellow women during childbirth. The tent also reveals the tribulations that women went through in the past, as well as the role of the ancient women (Finding 49). The setting of the book explores the traditions and customs that subjected women to suffering. Traditionally, women did not take part in meaningful activities in the society, as they were only expected to give birth, take care of their children, and provide household services to men. It was men who ruled over women and the female members of society had an obliga tion to be submissive. The Red Tent is also a symbol of the common problems that women used to face during the ancient times. This is because women are sent in this tent when they experience their menstrual cycle, as well as during the times when they are nearly giving birth. Although men consider this as a form of isolation, women take this as an opportunity to share amongst themselves and address the issues affecting them. Since they sit privately in the absence of men, such an experience enable them to talk freely and help one another (Finding 50). There are certain rituals taking place in the Red Tent, the most significant of them being

Business Past Paper Essay Example for Free

Business Past Paper Essay E of the following topics and write it in the space provided. (i) The changing role of women in the family (ii) The involvement of young people in organized sports Topic:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1. (a) State TWO reasons why a researcher would research the topic which you have stated above. (2 marks) (b) Suggest ONE objective on which a researcher may focus in doing a study on the topic you chose. (2 marks) (c) Based on the objective you suggested in 1 (b), write ONE research question. (2 marks) (d) State ONE appropriate method that may be used to collect data on the topic you chose. (1 mark) (e) Outline why a researcher should use the method you stated in 1 (d) above. (2 marks) Total 9 marks 2. (a) For the topic you have chosen, suggest TWO variables which a researcher may investigate. (2 marks) (b) Identify TWO groups from which a researcher may select a sample to get information on the topic you chose. (2 marks) (c) State ONE method of choosing a sample from ONE of the groups you identified in 2 (b) above. (1 mark) (d) Briefly describe the method you suggested in 2 (c). (2 marks) Total 7 marks 3. (a) Suggest TWO ways to display the data that may be collected on the topic you choose. (2 marks) (b) Explain briefly why the data should be displayed in the ways you suggested in 3 (a). (2 marks) (c) Name TWO statistical measures that a researcher may use to determine how numerical data, such as scores obtained in a study, are related. (2 marks) Total 6 marks Use the information in the passage below to answer questions 4 and 5. ALCOHOL AND FAMILY LIFE In a recent study done on the effects of alcohol on family life, the heads of fifty (50) low income households responded. The following information was obtained and analyzed. 30% of the respondents stated that alcohol consumption deprives some families from satisfying their basic needs, 60% indicated that it is a cause for domestic violence in the home while 10% claimed that it prevented family members from enjoying planned leisure activities. These findings have caused concern for many community groups. Leaders of these groups have indicated their desire to find some solutions to these concerns from the local authorities in their communities. 4. (a) (i) Display the findings obtained in this survey in a pie-graph in the space provided below. (4 marks) (ii) Write ONE statement about the data you displayed in the pie-graph. (2 marks) (b) State ONE characteristic of the sample used in this survey. (1 mark) (c) Name ONE research method that the researcher may have used to collect information. (1 mark) (d) Write ONE question that may be included in the research method you named in 4 (c). (1 mark) Total 9 marks 5. (a) Based on the data provided in the survey, write ONE research question. (2 marks) (b) Based on the findings you displayed in 4 (a) (i), suggest ONE recommendation that may be helpful to the community leaders. (1 mark) (c) State ONE change you would make if you were asked to conduct the study. (1 mark) Total 4 marks

Contrasting Lucas Beauchamp of Go Down, Moses and Joe Christmas of Light in August :: comparison compare contrast essays

Contrasting Lucas Beauchamp of Go Down, Moses and Joe Christmas of Light in August  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Lucas Beauchamp, found in Intruder in the Dust and Go Down, Moses, is one of William Faulkner's most psychologically well-rounded characters. He is endowed with both vices and virtues; his life is dotted with failures and successes; he is a character who is able to push the boundaries that the white South has enforced upon him without falling to a tragic ending. Living in a society which believes one drop of black blood makes a person less than human and implies criminal tendencies, a society in which men like Joe Christmas are hunted and killed for fear of racial mixing, Lucas is a character who contradicts all that we have come to expect from a typical tragic character of mixed blood, such as Joe Christmas or Charles Bon. By contrasting the Lucas Beauchamp we find in the "The Fire and the Hearth" section of Go Down, Moses to a model tragic figure such as Joe Christmas from Light in August, one can measure Lucas' success by his own merit, not by his white ancestry. Environment is key to understanding Faulkner's characters.  Ã‚   Daniel J. Singal argues Faulkner's intentions of creating Lucas Beauchamp as a "model transitional identity," a bridge from Jim Crowism to the end of segregation (268).   Segregation produces a structure of society that feels threatened by that which cannot be arranged into the roles of hierarchy. Andre Bleikasten states, "To divide is to pass judgment, to name the categories of good and evil, to assign them to fixed locations, and to draw between them boundaries not to be crossed" (326). Jefferson society divides its citizens into categories of black and white. Each individual knows where he or she stands; each knows at a glance which category every other citizen belongs to, and treats others accordingly. Any deviation from this structure is a threat to the society (326). In Light in August, Joe Christmas poses such a threat to Jefferson society because he is able to cross the boundaries. He looks white, but allege dly has black blood. He never acted like either a nigger or a white man. That was it. That was what made the folks so mad. For him to be a murderer and all dressed up and walking the town like he dared them to touch him, when he ought to have been skulking and hiding in the woods, muddy and dirty and running.

Avarice in the Crucible

Cambria Anderson Petersen AP English III/Period 3 11 November 2012 Avarice and Vengeance in The Crucible The play The Crucible takes place during the Salem Witch Trials of the 1800s. Yet Arthur Miller does not reveal the tragedy of the witch trials in the manner expected. Miller expresses the underlying causes of the accusations made as those stemming from personal greed and the feeling of revenge. Abigail Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Putnam, and Reverend Samuel Parris all have their own agendas as to why they â€Å"cry witch† on others in their village.Miller outlines the history between Abigail Williams and John Proctor in Act One: Abigail was removed from the Proctor home by Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife, because of an affair happening between her and Proctor. Because of this, Abigail harbors a hate and jealousy towards Elizabeth. In Act Two, a warrant was sent for Elizabeth’s arrest: The girl, the Williams girl, Abigail Williams, sir. She sat to dinner in Reverend Parr is’ house tonight, and without word nor warnin’ she falls to the floor.Like a struck beast, [Parris] says, and screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear. And [Parris] goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. And demandin’ of her how she come to be so stabbed, she [†¦] testify it were your wife’s familiar spirit pushed it in. (Miller 79) Abigail knew that from the beginning of the witch scare that she could exact revenge on those who she felt wronged her or took something from her, which would be the case of Elizabeth.Abigail knew Mary Warren made a doll, and was planning to give it to Elizabeth; she also saw Mary Warren stick the needle back in. Abigail took advantage of the situation to provide seemingly irrefutable evidence of witchcraft on Elizabeth’s part. Through this, Proctor sees that vengeance runs these trials, and how easily people turn on one another to get what they want. Proct or also knows that Abigail’s revenge has no limits; she has no shame, and always believes that she is right, much like the character of her uncle, Reverend Parris.At this point, Proctor had to juggle keeping his past a secret from the public and protecting Elizabeth, as Abigail will turn on anyone who â€Å"wrongs† her. Mr. Thomas Putnam and Mrs. Ann Putnam have a sorrowful history of losing their newborn children, while only having one that survives. Mrs. Putnam finds comfort in blaming their midwife, Sarah Osburn, for the deaths, saying, â€Å"I begged [Thomas] not to call Osburn because I feared her. My babies always shriveled in her hands! (I. 50). Mrs. Putnam finds that crying witch on Goody Osburn would solve the â€Å"murder† of her children, yet does not desire to take into account her own role in her pregnancy, being that Miller says she is fourty-five years old (I. 13). Mrs. Putnam, in a way, wants someone to feel the pain of losing seven children, be ing that she is a selfish woman – putting her child in the dangers of witchcraft to find the identity of the person who â€Å"killed† her babies.Accusing someone of witchcraft, and potentially running their life, was the perfect way to exact her so-called â€Å"revenge†. Although Reverend Parris never accused anyone of witchcraft, he refuses to defend Proctor of any charges brought up against him – from insulting the court to claims of witchcraft. In Act Three, Parris takes Proctor’s depositions from Corey Giles and Mary Warren personally, warning Judge Danforth that â€Å"[†¦] since [he] come to Salem [Proctor] is blackening [his] name [†¦]† (110) and â€Å"[Proctor]’s come to overthrow this court, Your Honor! (97). Aside from trying to protect his reputation, Parris makes such allegations about Proctor in an attempt to prove Proctor as an unreliable messenger. Parris wants to get vengeance for what he feels Proctor has do ne to him, just as Abigail wants revenge on Elizabeth. But, these alleged wrong-doings have only come from Parris’s mouth; he seems to enjoy taking things personal when they come from Proctor, and the courtroom scene is the perfect place for Parris to return the hate he feels from Proctor.The Salem Witch Trials proved to be a time of tragedy and mass hysteria as accusations ran rapidly through the small Massachusetts village. The source of the witchcraft charges came from the village people’s personal greed and want of retribution, as well as many other contributing factors. Abigail, Parris, and the Putnams all used this situation to their advantage, hoping to get some personal satisfaction out of their charges, thus ruining lives of their victims: Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor, and Sarah Osburn.

Review on John Donne’s ‘Holy Sonnet 14’

Poem: Holy Sonnet XIV Name of author: John Donne Imprisoned In the poem Holy Sonnet XIV, John Donne writes about the different imprisonments of life. In his poem he is saying that he has fallen for the temptations of Gods enemy, the devil, and he is asking God to break the hold the devil has on him. John portrays that he is trapped and bound by the evils of the devil, and he wishes to be â€Å"divorced†(11) from the devil to be once again imprisoned by the love of God, either way he knows he â€Å"never shall be free†(13).The point John is making in this poem is that he loves God and no longer wishes to live with the sins and imprisonment of the devil, but rather be â€Å"enthralled†(13) by God. John first speaks of God as a â€Å"three-personed God†(1), meaning God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Throughout the poem John is at a fallen state, where he has fallen so hard it would be almost impossible for him to alone break the bond that he has with the devil, to be righteous and serve God. John is asking God to help him in breaking the bond, asking to â€Å"Batter†(1) his heart for God, breaking the unholy bond, the engagement that he has with the devil.John wishes to be the God-loving person he knows he is. John needs God’s powerful ways to make him a new person, today some call it a â€Å"born-again believer†, and John so badly wants God to â€Å"make me new†(4). John feels as if he has been taken over by the devil. John is pleading his case in this poem, to God as to why God should help him, defend him, save him, and make him new. This poem is like Johns prayer, pleading to God his reasoning in why God should help him, since God is his â€Å"viceroy†(7) that he should want to defend him.John is trapped as if he is held captive, and is weak and untrue to God, but at the same time still willingly and joyfully loves God. John uses the word â€Å"betrothed†(10) to emphasize that h e has been tied, or engaged to the devil in his actions and wished to be â€Å"divorced†(11). John is saying he is bound by the devil and doesn’t want to be imprisoned by the devil, but instead be imprisoned by God. It’s like no matter what path John is on, whether it is the path of the devil, or the path of God, he will be imprisoned either way and never be free.John grew up as a believer in God and he eventually grew to be known as â€Å"The Great Priest† by many people. A great priest doesn’t have to stray to far from God to feel as John felt in this poem because no one sin is greater than the other. This was not the first time John had felt he had strayed away from God â€Å"divorce me, untie, or break that knot again†(11). The Holy Sonnet XIV is about a man who felt as if he strayed away from God and how badly he wants God to help him get back on the right track, living for Him.John was catholic at a time when anti-catholic sentiment wa s common. He began to question his faith when his brother Henry died. John then soon struggled near poverty to support his family for almost 10 years. With him being in hard times and straying away from his religion, to then come to pick back up into his religion is an example of his life and what he wanted people to know by reading this poem. After he got back to his normal life, in religion, he then became the priest that we know him to be today.

Free Essays on In Womens Hand

Summary of â€Å"In Women’s Hands† During the 20th century, not only were many countries of Latin America undergoing stages of political instability with many governments having oppressive military rule, but women specifically were demanding more rights and respect inside and outside of the home. In Chile, women were becoming more assertive throughout this century as to what they wanted out of life, striving against the restrictions put upon them by governments and society. Maria Antonieta wanted to be President of the Republic when she was a child. However, this was one of her aspirations that didn’t seem to be very plausible at the time. Women has just won the right to vote in 1949, and hardly any had been accepted into government offices up until the later 1900’s. Most women were expected to have the same dream of getting married by age twenty and raising a large family. This role alone was difficult when the government of Chile during the 1970’s posed many hardships after the nationalizing of industries, banks, and mines. Many women had to hoard their goods such as alcohol, cotton, or wool trying to keep the necessities needed for taking care of their families. This angered many women and created many protests between the right and left wing governments. In 1973 Salvador Allende was killed during the coup and General Pinochet took power with help from the U.S. The military captured many remaining leftist supporters, forc ing people to flee or disappear. As in many countries with the military taking over, some people were detained or tortured, and some never seen again while leaving their families behind. Doctor Maria Matamala lived through some of this torture. She and a friend returned to the place where men gauged and electrocuted them, remembering all the suffering they had gone through as women of a machismo society. Around the 1980’s, many women came out of silence and demanded truth and justice for... Free Essays on In Womens Hand Free Essays on In Womens Hand Summary of â€Å"In Women’s Hands† During the 20th century, not only were many countries of Latin America undergoing stages of political instability with many governments having oppressive military rule, but women specifically were demanding more rights and respect inside and outside of the home. In Chile, women were becoming more assertive throughout this century as to what they wanted out of life, striving against the restrictions put upon them by governments and society. Maria Antonieta wanted to be President of the Republic when she was a child. However, this was one of her aspirations that didn’t seem to be very plausible at the time. Women has just won the right to vote in 1949, and hardly any had been accepted into government offices up until the later 1900’s. Most women were expected to have the same dream of getting married by age twenty and raising a large family. This role alone was difficult when the government of Chile during the 1970’s posed many hardships after the nationalizing of industries, banks, and mines. Many women had to hoard their goods such as alcohol, cotton, or wool trying to keep the necessities needed for taking care of their families. This angered many women and created many protests between the right and left wing governments. In 1973 Salvador Allende was killed during the coup and General Pinochet took power with help from the U.S. The military captured many remaining leftist supporters, forc ing people to flee or disappear. As in many countries with the military taking over, some people were detained or tortured, and some never seen again while leaving their families behind. Doctor Maria Matamala lived through some of this torture. She and a friend returned to the place where men gauged and electrocuted them, remembering all the suffering they had gone through as women of a machismo society. Around the 1980’s, many women came out of silence and demanded truth and justice for...

12 Types of Questions in Casablanca

12 Types of Questions in Casablanca To illustrate the various ways that questions can be framed in English, here are 12 memorable exchanges from the classic film Casablanca. In Casablanca, at the beginning of the flashback scene in Paris, Humphrey Bogart pops open a bottle of champagne and then immediately pops a few questions to Ingrid Bergman: Rick: Who are you really? And what were you before? What did you do and what did you think? Huh?Ilsa: We said no questions. Despite that pledge, the dialogue in Casablanca is full of questions - some of them answered, many of them not. With apologies to the screenwriters (Julius Epstein, Philip Epstein, Howard Koch, and Casey Robinson), Ive plucked 12 of these exchanges out of context to illustrate the various ways that questions can be framed in English. To learn more about any of these interrogative strategies, follow the links to our Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms. Wh- QuestionsAs the name suggests, a wh- question is one thats formed with an interrogative word (what, who, whom, whose, which, when, where, why, or how) and that allows an open-ended answer - something other than yes or no.Annina: Msieur Rick, what kind of man is Captain Renault?Rick: Oh, hes just like any other man, only more so.Annina: No, I mean, is he trustworthy? Is his word . . .Rick: Now, just a minute. Who told you to ask me that?Annina: He did. Captain Renault did.Rick: I thought so. Wheres your husband?Annina: At the roulette table, trying to win enough for our exit visa. Of course, hes losing.Rick: How long have you been married?Annina: Eight weeks. . . .Yes-No QuestionsAnother aptly named interrogative construction, the yes-no question invites the listener to choose between only two possible answers.Laszlo: Ilsa, I . . .Ilsa: Yes?Laszlo: When I was in the concentration camp, were you lonely in Paris?Ilsa: Yes, Victor, I was.Laszlo: I know how it is to be lonely. Is the re anything you wish to tell me?Ilsa: No, Victor, there isnt. Declarative QuestionsAs Rick demonstrates, a declarative question is a yes-no question that has the form of a declarative sentence but is spoken with rising intonation at the end.Ilsa: Richard, I had to see you.Rick: You use Richard again? Were back in Paris.Ilsa: Please.Rick: Your unexpected visit isnt connected by any chance with the letters of transit? It seems as long as I have those letters Ill never be lonely.Tag QuestionsA tag question (like Ricks wouldnt it?) is a question thats added to a declarative sentence, usually at the end, to engage the listener, verify that something has been understood, or confirm that an action has taken place.Rick: Louis, Ill make a deal with you. Instead of this petty charge you have against him, you can get something really big, something that would chuck him in a concentration camp for years. That would be quite a feather in your cap, wouldnt it?Renault: It certainly would. Germany . . . Vichy would be grateful.Alternative QuestionsAn alternati ve question (which typically ends with a falling intonation) offers the listener a closed choice between two answers.Ilsa: After Major Strassers warning tonight, I am frightened.Laszlo: To tell you the truth, I am frightened, too. Shall I remain here in our hotel room hiding, or shall I carry on the best I can?Ilsa: Whatever Id say, youd carry on. Echo QuestionsAn echo question (such as Ilsas Occupied France?) is a type of direct question that repeats part or all of something which someone else has just said.Ilsa: This morning you implied that it was not safe for him to leave Casablanca.Strasser: That is also true, except for one destination, to return to occupied France.Ilsa: Occupied France?Strasser: Uh huh. Under a safe conduct from me.Embedded QuestionsTypically introduced by a phrase such as Could you tell me . . ., Do you know . . ., or (as in this example) I wonder . . ., an embedded question is a question that shows up inside a declarative statement or another question.Laszlo: Msieur Blaine, I wonder if I could talk to you?Rick: Go ahead.WhimperativesA blend of whimper and imperative, the term whimperative refers to the conversational convention of casting an imperative statement in question form to convey a request without causing offense.Ilsa: Will you ask the piano player to come over here, please?Waiter: Very well, Mademoiselle. Leading QuestionsIn courtroom dramas, attorneys usually object if the opposing counsel asks a leading question a question that contains (or at least implies) its own answer. In this example, Laszlo is actually interpreting Ricks motives, not questioning them.Laszlo: Isnt it strange that you always happened to be fighting on the side of the underdog?Rick: Yes. I found that a very expensive hobby.HypophoraHere, both Rick and Laszlo employ the rhetorical strategy of hypophora, by which a speaker raises a question and then immediately answers it himself.Laszlo: If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die.Rick: What of it? Then itll be out of its misery.Laszlo: You know how you sound, Msieur Blaine? Like a man whos trying to convince himself of something he doesnt believe in his heart. Each of us has a destiny, for good or for evil.Rhetorical QuestionsA rhetorical question is one thats asked merely for effect with no answer expected. Presumably the answer is obvious.Ilsa: I know h ow you feel about me, but Im asking you to put your feelings aside for something more important.Rick: Do I have to hear again what a great man your husband is? What an important cause hes fighting for? Commoration In an effort to shake Rick out of his grim mood, Sam employs another rhetorical strategy, emphasizing an idea (in this case, a whimperative) by repeating it several times in different ways. Sam: Boss. Boss! Rick: Yeah? Sam: Boss, aint you going to bed? Rick: Not right now. Sam: Aint you planning on going to bed in the near future? Rick: No. Sam: You ever going to bed? Rick: No. Sam: Well, I aint sleepy either. At this point, if we were in class, I might ask if anyone had any questions. But Ive learned a lesson from Captain Renault: Serves me right for asking a direct question. The subject is closed. Heres looking at you, kids.

Negative Effects of Outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Negative Effects of Outsourcing - Essay Example As a result, there is a debate concerning the benefits and costs involved in outsourcing (Wikipedia, 2007). This paper discusses some of the negetive impact of outsourcing jobs on US economy and society. Outsourcing jobs to other countries will negatively impact American Society by depleting the availability of jobs in the US, decreasing the level of customer service we receive, and reducing our privacy. There are arguments for and against outsourcing of jobs in United States. Many of them suggest that outsourcing has had a negative impact on the American economy. However economists and government officials who are supporter of outsourcing of jobs to other countries stress the overall benefit and long-term advantages of this practice for the American economy. Unfortunately those who have lost their jobs due to the emerging outsourcing businesses to foreign competition often discover that the creation of higher paying jobs to replace ones that are lost has not occurred. As a result of this there are many who are undergoing mental trauma. There is a great deal of impact of outsourcing on the economy. It contributes to a deteriorating the economy as it contributes to the trade deficit and exports the American knowledge base to other countries. While outsourcing has helped to improve the lives of people in other countries, it should not be done at the cost of creating unemployment in America. Outsourcing of jobs at a lower wage may benefit the company, but it has serious impact on those who loose jobs and deteriorate their living standards. Taking a correct estimation of the costs of outsourcing would establish the fact that keeping jobs in the United States is more competitive than otherwise. Outsourcing has resulted in increasing unemployment problem in America. While those who are in favor of outsourcing argue that as a result of outsourcing, high-value jobs will be created to substituting jobs lost by outsourcing, the facts reveal quite different situation in future. Projections made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2004 have clearly said that outsourcing can only increase unemployment. According to a CNN commentator Lou Dobbs, among the top-ten projected areas of job growth only three categories require a college degree. He also interprets that those who take new jobs will provide only 80 percent of their former pay rate. Some of the statistical data reveal the following facts. Unemployment among America's engineers has sharply increased from 2.0% in 2001 to 4.2% in 2002 to more than 6.0% in the first quarter of 2003. The unemployment problem is even worse for people belonging who have the basic degree in electrical, electronics, computer and software engineers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor, unemployment among electrical and electronics engineers reached 7.0% in the first quarter of 2003. 6.5% of all computer hardware engineers and 7.5% of computer software engineers were also unemployed during the same period. It is also evidenced that outsourcing has negative consequences for the overall American economy. Even though free trade is often cited as a reason for outsourcing, Dobbs suspects that eminent economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo, who regularly advocated free trade, would take a different opinion if they realized that

OLS final exam Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

OLS final exam - Term Paper Example In addition, these labor management relations of today are quite different from the ones used 50 years ago. Besides, there are also some important legislative issues and laws that govern these labor relations in the U.S (Lewin, Keefe & Kochan, 2012). Therefore, this paper will discuss and analyze some of the labor relations in the U.S in contemporary society as compared to those that were administered in 50 years ago (Kuang & Moser, 2011). Again, the paper will address some of the legislative issues and laws that govern labor relations in the U.S. Furthermore, the paper will discuss the causes of declining union membership in U.S and the reasons that have led to decline in union membership (Flanagan, 2005). Lastly, the paper will address contract negotiation process and give important facts about contract negotiation process (Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor, 2012). Labor Relations To begin with, a comparison research about the current labor relations and the past labor relation show that, current labor relations are more organized and more beneficial to most people in the U.S. This is because today there are many provisions in the law and legislative structure on issues dealing with labor relations such as Wages and Hours labor management laws that provide standard limits for wages given to the employees and the set of standard limits of hours that an employee should work. In the past 50 years, these laws were not there; hence, the current labor relations are far much better than they used to be 50 years ago. In addition, there are labor relations laws such as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act that provides and advocates for retirement benefits to employees such as health care provisions. Besides, today, there are various procedures, policies, and provisions in the laws, that energize labor management in the country. Therefore, it is clear that labor management and relations are far much better today than 50 years ago (Max, 2013). Legislative issues and laws in United States Various legislative issues and laws in the U.S govern labor relation, and are applicable to all workers, employees, businesses, and even contractors. First, one important law is about wages and hours that outline the standard limits for wages and hours of working, which apply to both private and public employment relations. This law requires that employers should cover employees’ pay for those who work overtime and normal hours, and for overtime work, the payment should be one and a half of the normal regular rates of payment. Again, the law states that in the non-agricultural jobs, children under the age of 16 can only work on the less dangerous jobs while children can only work or are employed during school holidays, as the law does not allow school-going children under the age of 16 to be employed when they are supposed to be in school. In addition, the law provides standard conditions and procedures under which immigrants in t he U.S can work, and states that they can only work under some immigrant and nonimmigrant visa policies and programs (Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor, 2012). Secondly, the Occupational Safety and Health Act provides work place and health regulations in the workplace by stating that employees in both private and

Nursing Informatics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Nursing Informatics - Coursework Example Nurses must integrate the nursing informatics into their professional lives to enable them develop their nursing systems for specific needs such as in the psychiatry department. Restructuring of job descriptions helps the health workers perform their roles with great competence due to their specialization and advanced skills in their department. For instance, there are nurses involved with health education, mental health counseling, and occupation health among others. The long care support and services training facilitate knowledge to make sure that the patient receives high-quality service and promote the independence of individuals who are beneficiaries of the service. A performance appraisal for health care nurses is very important as rewarding them boosts their morale to provide high-quality services (Careeronestop.org, 2015). The nurse performance appraisal tools assist in determining the key areas of responsibility in which each nurse can perform perfectly. The techniques involve getting the information and rating each nurse with respect to the dedication and contribution to the organization, which helps to make judgments when promoting. The nursing s uch as the dressing code policy, confidentiality, and commitment policies are important in ensuring quality services for the patients. Some other professional guidelines are keeping short nails, avoiding the use of strong fragrances, and sometimes-personal cell phones are not around during the care for the patients. Electronic health records and use of computers is important for all health professionals, especially the nurses. Micron technology (MU) enables the use of charts to pass information such as patient preferred pharmacy prescriptions, which can be sent to the pharmacy after the patient is discharged. The other important part of the Mu that facilitates quality health services is the

Needs Assessment of Public Sector Organisation

Needs Assessment of Public Sector Organisation Table of Contents Page 1. Introduction. 1 2. The needs assessment to be carried out. 1 3. The Context. 1 4. Why a needs assessment would be useful. 1 5. The Needs Assessment Plan. 1 a. Process Outline. 1 b. Data Collection. 2 c. Data Analysis. 2 6. Plan for Evaluation. 3 7. Ethical considerations. 3 Bibliography. 3 Appendices. 3 1.Introduction. A needs assessment is a systematic approach used to identify the gaps in the current position, the factors that affect the performance and the changes needed to get it to the desired position. To achieve this there needs to be a clear and thorough understanding of the people who will be involved with the system or product, the activities involved and the goal of the system. The people who are involved or the stakeholders may have differing needs and this along with any unforeseen requirements or gaps should be captured in the assessment. There are three phases to the needs assessment process, the first phase is to make a plan, second phase is to gather and analyse data, and third phase is identify solutions and report back. 2.The needs assessment to be carried out. To develop a suitable IT system to capture, track and trace all stages and aspects of projects, from proposal to completion. With clear indications of where and how these link into the strategic and workplans and ability to provide a clear audit trails of all stages, documents, sign offs and authorisations relating to the proposal. 3.The Context. This is for a public sector organisation with over 50% of its budget being spent on projects. The projects mainly consists of research work which are outsourced using tendering processes. The current process is very disjointed, with different software being used depending on the stage, department and personnel preferences. There appears to be incomplete document audit trails. The current system has been in operation for a long number of years. The system needs to be able to provide information to various stakeholders about the current state of play of the project. Relevant information needs to be captured from multiple sources including the financial system. The system needs to comply with statutory regulations, corporate governance, public sector and EU guidelines and directives, and have suitable constraints to protect confidentiality and commercially sensitive information. 4.Why a needs assessment would be useful. There appears to be gaps in the processing of information and possible lack of guidance on the steps or next steps to be followed. A needs assessment would collect information about the stakeholders, target group or groups. It would establish what needs are being met, resources that currently exist and determine what needs are not being met. Following analysis of this information a proposed system plan will be furnished within the agreed timeframe. 5.The Needs Assessment Plan. a.Process Outline. The first step is to study and become familiar with the agreed terms of reference as set out by management. This will define the objective, scope, and limitations of the needs assessment. It will establish the lead person and contacts within the organisation, the resource requirements, expected costs and time frame for completion. This along with familiarisation of the mission statement, strategic plan, organisation chart, workflow chart and infrastructure of the organisation will help develop an understanding or concept of the organisations needs. Assessing the capabilities of the current system and gaining a clear understanding of the future needs of the system requires a comprehensive analysis. This analysis will be both qualitative and quantitative. This data gathering process will consisting of workshops, focus groups, interviews, and system observation. These methods will be used to produce information to analyse options and design the best possible system given the available resources. The organisation is relatively small and is divided into six departments headed up by a Senior Manager. A stratified random sampling method will be used to focus on identifying stakeholder needs, and involve all stakeholder groups and get the views of all the right people. a.Data Collection. Workshop. Initially a workshop will be held with the objective of getting senior managers to articulate a vision of the ideal system. This exercise will be a half-day facilitated by a consultant. It will attempt to succinctly define the scope of the system, the long-term functionality that the system is expected to have, and the major issues that the existing or new system must address. Security requirements, risk assessments, online approval processes and reporting requirements will be identified. Focus Group. Following on from the workshop a focus group consisting of at least two section managers, two project managers and two clerical / administrative staff from each department will be convened. It is expected that this will take a half day but may require a full day. The focus group will be led by a trained facilitator. This group is selected to provide a representative group of users of the system. It will provide an opportunity to identify, difficulties, gaps, expectations and establish what is working with the current system and what they feel is needed to meet the objectives identified in the workshop. Whether the difficulties experienced are due to obsolete technology or ineffective policies and procedures. The focus group will also provide an opportunity for this group identify missing or needed functions. Interviews. A number of stakeholders will be interviewed as part of the process to gain further insight public sector tendering and procurement processes and thresholds. Board approval processes along with relevant EU guidelines and directives. These will be semi structured interviews with stakeholders who may not have direct or regular contact with the system such as the Audit committee chairman, Comptroller and Auditor Generals officer, IT and Finance Managers. System observation. In order to gain further insight into the context, tasks, goals and to fill in the gaps it may be necessary to observe directly how specific tasks are preformed currently. It will involve selecting random proposed projects and following all stages from start to finish taking samples and examples of reports produced, authorisation requirements, technology used, time taken for specific tasks, and difficulties encountered. This step may require the use of video and photography. c.Data Analysis The data will be analysed using a grounded theory approach. This will incorporate both the qualitative (e.g. themes, patterns, quotes, pictures, descriptions etc.) and quantitative data (e.g. number of projects, number of people involved in projects, budgets, time taken to perform tasks, number of software packages etc.) . The data will be extracted in a systematic way to develop a conceptual model of the system required. This will be an iterative process. The data extracted from the workshops will be transcribed first, read, coded using an axial coding system. This is a two-step hierarchically process that will divide the data into major categories and subcategories. This will identify the critical objectives, work flows, interactions and communications. This will form the basis for guiding the focus groups and interviews. Following further analysis of these in a similar fashion the data will be assimilated. Essential Use cases will be compiled to capture what the new system is expected to do. 6.Plan for evaluation. Once needs and requirements have been established the results from the data analysis will be presented in a report and charts summarizing the findings and an outline of a conceptual model of the system. Initially a low fidelity prototype will be produced. This will allow the stakeholders to evaluate the product and allow for redesign. It is expected that this will be an iterative process until a suitable product is. 7.Ethical Issues It is important that the rights and dignity of participant in the assessment are protected. Participant are to be fully informed about the assessment being conducted and the purpose of the assessment. It is important to encourage staff to participate in this assessment but they must do so willingly. All participants should be encouraged to speak freely without fear of being penalised. They may withdraw at any time or refuse to participate in any part. The confidentiality of all participants will be protected and they will not be identified in any reports or published documents. Bibliography. Cairns, P. Cox, A.L. (ed). (2008). Research methods for human-computer interaction. Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press. [Accessed online 20/1/2017] Preece, J., Rogers, Y., Sharp, H. 2016. Interaction design: beyond human-computer Interaction. 4th ed. Chichester: John Wiley Sons Ltd.

Canada Should Sell Water to America Essay -- Argumentative Essays

Since more than 70% of the Earth is covered with water, one would assume that there is enough water for everyone. However, this statement would be incorrect. Only 3% of that water is considered usable and 2% of the usable water is locked in the polar ice caps. This leaves 1% of that water for the use of humans. Canada possesses a substantial amount of this water, while other countries are less fortunate. One of these countries is the United States of America, the biggest users of water in the world. They are looking for a new source of water and have been hoping Canada can be this new source. The Canadian government should accept the proposal to sell water in bulk to the United States due to the availability, the safety and the economic opportunities it would bring. Water is easily available to Canadians. According to Report Newsmagazine, Canada possesses 20% of the world’s Fresh Water. Report also states that Canada possesses only 0.5% of the world’s population. This means that on a per capita basis, Canada has more water than any other nation. Furthermore, water is a renewable resource, which means that once it is used, it may be used again after the water cycle. Many other materials Canada sells to the United States are not renewable. Dennis Owens, the senior Frontier Centre analyst says, â€Å"Here we are giving non-renewable oil and gas to the U.S., then water falls from the sky and goes into the ocean and we won’t give it to them.† In Newfoundland, Gisbourne Lake has the potential to drain 500,000 cubic meters of water per week. This drainage would only lower the level of the lake one inch and this would naturally be replenished within ten hours. Canada has cut down trees that will take 100 years to grow back a nd sold them. S... ...e-not’ province related to others† Manitoba could now have the potential to become just as industrialized and important as a province such as Ontario. The whole of Canada would benefit economically from water schemes. Selling water to the United States would be possible, safe and would create numerous economic opportunities, which Canada can not afford to pass up. Canada has access to more fresh water than any other country, which the Canadian citizens will not use. Sharing this water with the United States, and getting something back in return, would be safe to the ecology and Canada will still have enough water for themselves. The water will always be waiting there, however the economic opportunity is one that would have to be taken advantage of now. The United States will not wait forever for Canada to make a decision. The Canadian government needs to act now!

Financial Ratio and Costco

Acct Info for Decision Making Project on Costco Wholesale Corp. Costco Group 2012 History & Background Founded by  James (Jim) Sinegl  and  Jeffrey H. Brotman,  Costco opened its first warehouse in  Seattle, Washington, on September 15, 1983. Sinegal had started in wholesale distribution by working forSol Price  at both  FedMart  and  Price Club. Brotman, an  attorney  from an old Seattle retailing family, had also been involved in retail distribution from an early age. Wal-Mart  founder  Sam Walton  had plans to merge  Sam's Club  with Price Club.In 1993, however, Costco merged with Price Club (called  Club Price  in the Canadian province of  Quebec). Costco's business model and size were similar to those of Price Club, which was founded by Sol and Robert Price in 1976 in San Diego, California. Thus, the combined company, PriceCostco, was effectively double the size of each of its parents. Just after the merger, PriceCostco had 206 locations gen erating $16  billion in annual sales. PriceCostco was initially led by executives from both companies, but then Sol and his son Robert Price founded Price Enterprises and left Costco in December 1994.In 1993, when growing competition threatened both Price Club and Costco Wholesale, they entered into a partial merger just after Price’s earnings dropped to 40%. The new company, named PriceCostco, Inc. , focused heavily on international expansion, opening stores in Mexico, South Korea, and England. Despite best efforts to recover losses, sales continued to drop. Disagreement between the two leaders, Robert Price and Jim Sinegal, regarding company direction and recovery policies soon left the merger in tatters.In 1994, the breakup was formally announced. Sinegal continued to manage PriceCostco while Price’s breakaway company was named as Price Enterprises. The first Price Club location was opened in 1976 in an old airplane hangar,  previously owned by  Howard Hughes, and is still in operation today (Warehouse No. 401, located on Morena Boulevard in San Diego). In 1997, the company changed its name to Costco Wholesale and all Price Club locations were rebranded Costco. As of December 011, the Company operated a chain of 598 warehouses in 40 states and Puerto Rico (433 locations), nine Canadian provinces (82 locations), the United Kingdom (22 locations), Korea (seven locations), Taiwan (eight locations, through a 55%-owned subsidiary), Japan (eleven locations), Australia (three locations), and 32 warehouses in Mexico through a 50%-owned joint venture. Financial Highlights Net Revenue Year| 2012| 2011| 2010| Costco Net Revenue| 12,314,000| 11,176,000| 9,951,000| (Currency in USD) The net revenue of COST increase every year, it was a good sign.Year| 2012| 2011| 2010| Costco Net Income| 1,709,000  | 1,462,000| 1,303,000| (Currency in USD) COST did better in the following two years. And COST had most 40. 6 thousand dollars increase from 2011 to 201 2. Total Assets Year| 2012| 2011| 2010| Costco Total Assets| 27,140,000  | 26,761,000  | 23,815,000  | Costco Total Liabilities| 14,779,000  Ã‚  | 14,759,000| 12,986,000  | (Currency in USD) The total assets and liability of COST shows that the company purchased a lot of assets on its credit during these three years. That might be not a good sign, because COST might not have enough cash.Earnings per Share Year| 2012| 2011| 2010| Costco EPS| 3. 89| 3. 3| 2. 92| It’s increasing in every years. It means COST are profiting during every years so that they can paying the EPS. Financial Ratios Analysis Profitability Ratios 1. Return on Assets (ROA) Year| 2011| 2010| 2009| Costco| 5. 78%| 5. 69%| 5. 09%| Return on assets ratio is calculated by dividing net income by average total assets. Return on assets represents the cents in profits for every dollar of assets. This measures how efficiently and effectively the company uses its assets to generate profits.These numbers tell the ability of Costco to make profit. Costco has a positive net income so that its ROA is increasing past 3 years. 2. Return on Equity (ROE) Year| 2011| 2010| 2009| Costco| 12. 81%| 12. 50%| 11. 31%| The Return of Equity is calculated by dividing net profit by total shareholders’ equity. Return on equity measures a corporation's profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders. The number above shows that Costco is with stable growth in past 3 years, however, ROE ;15% that will attract more investors to invest.Effectiveness Ratios 3. Asset Turnover Year| 2011| 2010| 2009| Costco| 3. 52| 3. 40| 3. 35| Asset turnover  is calculated as sales divided by average total assets. It measures  a firm's efficiency on using its assets to generate sale. The higher assets turnover is, tells the better the company does. Costco’s assets turnover tells us that it did a better job in 2011 because the ratio increased 0. 12 compared with 2010 which only grew about 0. 05. 4. Inventory Turnover Year| 2011| 2010| 2009| Costco| 12. 67| 12. 31| 11. 94| Inventory turnover is calculated as COGS divided by average inventory.It measures how many times per year the company sells its inventory. Firms with a low cost strategy want a high inventory turnover, while firms with a differentiation strategy will experience a lower inventory turnover. The ratios for Costco are increasing during the three years, and Costco seems to have done a better job in selling their inventory because it sells its inventory faster and faster. Liquidity Ratios 5. Current Ratio Year| Aug. , 2011| Aug. , 2010| Aug. , 2009| Costco| 1. 14| 1. 16| 1. 11| The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities.This ratio measure if a firm has enough in current assets to cover his current liabilities. The current ratios for Costco have gone up during 2009-2010, and decreased during 2010-2011. However, the ratio is greater than 1 which means Costco has enough assets to cover his current liabilities. 6. Quick Ratio Year| Aug. , 2011| Aug. , 2010| Aug. , 2009| Costco| 0. 55| 0. 56| 0. 49| The quick ration is calculated by dividing the sum of cash, account receivable and short-term investment by current liabilities. As with the current ration, an analyst would want to see a minimum of one for the quick ratio.However, the number above shows that Costco’s quick ratio is under 1, which means that Costco is not doing well on its job. It might because Costco has a too big liability to its business or Costco has a less current asset to cover its liabilities. Solvency ratios 7. Long-Term Debt to Assets Year| Aug. , 2011| Aug. , 2010| Aug. , 2009| Costco| 0. 05| 0. 09| 0. 10| The long-term debt to assets is calculated by dividing long-term debt by total assets. This tells us that if a firm can pay its long-term debt. If a firm does not a ability to pay off its long-term debt, shareholder might be left with nothing.The lower long-term debt is the better ability a firm has to pay its debt. Costco is doing well by keeping the long-term debt ratio (average) around 0. 08, which means its assets will be enough to pay the long-term debt. 8. Debt to Equity Year| Aug. , 2011| Aug. , 2010| Aug. , 2009| Costco| 0. 10| 0. 20| 0. 22| The debt to equity is calculated as dividing total liabilities by total shareholder equity. It tests the ability of the firm to cover its interest payment. The higher the ratio is, the lower the likelihood of default.Costco’s debt to equity ratio is quite stable around 0. 10-0. 22 during 2009-2011. Summary According to Costco's 2011 annual report, the Costco Wholesale has a growing rate in making profits. It is one of the largest retailer stores in the global market. Unlike most retail operations, it has built its model around providing only what people want to buy quickly or in volumes that make up for its discounting practices. As the economy has slowed, the warehouse d iscount strategy has come into focus as the go-to source for both consumers and small business supply needs.Costco and its subsidiary companies are mostly like engaged in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, through majority owned subsidiaries in Taiwan and Korea, and a 50 percent-owned joint venture in Mexico. Costco operates membership warehouses based on the concept that offering member’s low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and private-label products in a wide range of merchandise categories will produce high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover, management said in a recent filing.Here are the competitive advantages and disadvantages for Toyota based on our research data and analysis: Competitive Advantages: * Know their customer: Costco goes after a certain type of customer: small business owners who are status conscious and who have money to spend on bargain-priced premium ite ms like Dom Perpignan champagne, luxury watches and tech gadgets. * Deliver bigger value, not just lower prices: Costco doesn’t just offer low prices, it offers exceptional bargains on elegant, Treat customer service as an investment, not a cost to be shed: Costco has been criticized by some Wall Street analysts for their high labor costs –and Costco does pay their employees quite well Costco Wholesale SWOT Analysis Strengths: Costco Wholesale offers its customers and consumers lowest prices on a wide range of national and international branded products and goods, in a wide arrange of merchandise categories. The products and services of the Costco Wholesale are reliable as the company deals in best available quality products at competitive prices.The company pays attention to details and has various strengths that add to its success. These factors include rapid turnover of the inventory, running an efficient operating structure, reduced cost of handling of merchandise and generation of high sales volume at each of its store. Costco Wholesale gives preferences to it customers and provides them best value for the money. Weaknesses: Costco’s business conditions constantly change because external and internal forces make other business participants to alter their actions.The driving forces in this sector are the major underlying causes changing business and competitive conditions. Operating on a large scale means difficulty in bringing changes to grass root levels Opportunities Costco Wholesale is one of the first companies to have a growing acceptance of internet shopping. Costco created a website in the United States as well as website in Canada to be more effective and competitive in the internet market. The company is constantly working to make its distribution channels stronger and enter new potential markets.By offering value and working more towards developing a strong loyal customer base the company can gain more market share. Threats Warehouse clubs not only compete in one sector or market but it competes with a wide range of other types of retailers which include Wal-Mart Dollar General, supermarkets, general merchandise chains, specialty chains, fuel stations and internet retailers. Their competitiveness changes because the different types of products they deal in. Due to its tremors growth and growing market share, the company has caught the attention of many of the market leaders and its competitors.The industry of wholesale has a number of individual companies that are highly competitive and have very effective strategies. They have developed loyal customer bases and everyone is relentlessly fighting for the greatest market share. Costco’s major competitors include Wal-Mart. Recommendation 1. Develop more types of the products. The Costco involved every kind of products in the store, but we can see there are just few types of each product, so the optional become less and less.Every customer wants to the lower price at Costco, but they still want to have more choices on each product. And every single product just has the biggest packet so that it may cause to the waste. So the member of the Costco doesn’t have any choices to select the same product, such as the size, color and so on. 2. Improve the quality of the products. The strategy of Costco is the right products in the right place for the right price, but the right price should be with the good quality, but some customers said the quality of the clothes is not good.We cannot deny that most of the products have the good quality, but the company should check on every product, or just a little customers' unsatisfaction will influence all the customer's choice. 3. Increase the amount of the stores. The company has 600 locations wide world. In US, there are 433 locations. As an international global company, Costco should develop more location out of the United States so that it can open a new market in the world. For othe r countries, the customers are still inconvenient to purchase in the Costco. It will decrease the confidence of Costco's members.The Costco's strategy is the right products in the right place for the right price. If the members of other countries doubt the right place, the strategy will be broken. 4. Reduce the prices of some products. The company guarantees the low price and most of the products are, but we still can see a lot of products are more expensive compare to other stores, especially Jewelry. For most customers can understand that the high quality with the high price, but the huge amount of numbers, such as 12,234. 99 will make the members confuse to the strategy of the company

Background to HRM at General Motors Corporation Essay

General Motors Corporation (NYE: GM) is the leading American automaker in the world with its operations spanning in 157 countries. The car manufacturer was established in 1908 in Michigan and today it is headquartered in Detroit, the United States of America. Besides the domestic industry of the United States of America, General Motors manufactures cars and trucks in other 30 countries around the world. Among its brand products are Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Hummer, Holden, Opel, Saab, Pontiac, Vauxhall, and Saturn. Besides these brands that are owned by the automaker, GMC also operates joint ventures in China and Japan. That is, Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile respectively. From its Website, General Motors Corporation is among the leading American employer with 204 000 employees distributed throughout its global markets. The employees include production engineers, financial auditors, marketers, and researchers among others. Before restructuring and retrenching that took place in 2008 following a harsh global financial crisis that resulted into a loss of $37.3billion by the automaker, General motors corporation was the leading American employer with 284 000 employees (GMC, 2008). Because of its large network of global presence in 31 countries, General Motors human resource management practices entail international practices that are designed in accordance to the international operation requirements and the organizational culture designed to reduce operational costs. Majority employees of the corporation’s subsidiaries in the 31 countries are drawn from the domestic pool of local labour markets and only a few expatriates are drawn from USA as back office managers due to their wide knowledge of its organization culture (Cappelli, 1999). The Board of directors which draws from the organization’s international market presence is charged with the responsibilities of making major decisions critical to the company’s operation. According to Gustin (2008), General Motors Corporation spent up to $103 million in settling healthcare insurance benefits of its retired employees in 2007. From this information, it is evident that the American automaker provides life insurance covers for its employees upon retirement. However, following restructurung, these benefits  were stripped off and only a few employees still enjoy them today. From January 1, 2010, pension scheme of retired hourly employees of General Motors Corporation was transferred to United Autoworkers; a third party insurance firms and all permanent employees who were hired after january 1, 1993 nolonger receive health care insirance benefit upon retirement(GMC,2008). The entry salary of the global automaker is dictated by the labour laws of each market of operation and thus varied with the United States of America being the highest irrespective by job categories ( Main et al., 2007). The organization has invested in a Human Resource Management system that allows close interraction of its global employees through technology such as e-mailing and enterprise resource Management (Azrul, 2010). Marketing strategy entails presentations by field marketers to the organization’s large distributors and online follow ups. Reccommended HRM practices for GMC From the above background analysis of General Motors corporation, it is clear that the organization requires international Human Resource Management practices that will integrate the cultural diversity of its employees.The catastrophic impact of the 2008 financial ciris that resulted into massive restructuring and retrenching of its human resources also underscores the organization’s poor human resource planning. The following recommendations are prescribed for the automaker on the basis of figure 1 below. The first recommendation, is Re-designing the business strategy to target the bottom line of the market. According to Azrul (2010), one of the main reasons for the $37.4 billion loss incured by the American automaker is external market forces from competitors like Honda and Hyundai that were producing far cheaper vehicles with high efficient engines and low fuel consumption rates as compared to Genereal Motors’ brands. In the heat of global financial crisis, the market shifted to consumption of cheaper and less fuel consumers produced by the competitors resulting in huge losses by the General Motors Corporation. The new business strategy should entail  designing cars and trucks with high eficent engines and electric cars that can survive an upsurge in oil prices. This will involve an investment in manufacturing technologies that ensures high quality at reduced costs such as electric engines that uses bateries.This will give the Amecan leading automaker a competitve advantage against the stiffening market competition. The second recommendation is outsourcing of labour from China and Japan. Many Corporations prefer to manufacture their products from China because of the availability of a relatively cheaper labour force when compared to western counterparts. General Motors corporation can either outsource its human resoure from China or undertake most of its production from its Japanese and Chinese Subsidiaries. The labour laws in the two countries are relatively flexible and firendly than in the United States of America. This will help the American Automator reduce huge operational costs incured in meeting the big payroll of over 200, 000 employees. The third recommendation is integration of employees’ training in high involvement work practices. According to Konrad (2006), engaging employees of an organization in job specific training improves their productivity by increasing their job-related skills, reducing propensity of committing costly errors, and increasing their job confidence. Training of General Motors’ employees on their job specifications will improve their productivity. Ofshore trainings in China and Japan are recommended. This will allow the corporation’s manufacturing engineers to learn new efficient production technologies of Japan and China in making cheaper and highly effiecient cars. Motivational incentives such as team building sessions, delegation of duties, self-managed leadership styles, and monetary rewards will boost their commitment to the organization. The combined effect of training and motivation will necesitate restructuring of a pay roll while leveraging on improved productivity of highly productive employees. The fourth recommendation is embracing technology in Human Resource Management system to enhance global cordination of its business. According to Dreher and Dougherty ( 2002), the use of technology such as centralised Enterprise Resource Management system to co-ordinate human resource  activities of General Motors will enhance quick sharing of ideas and consultation among the global employees of the company without barriers. This will allow the organization to carry out its marketing strategies efficiently and effectively without limitation by geographical distances. Effective Human Resource Management through streamlined sofware-based systems enhances fast communication and online training which gives an organization a higher competitive advantage. The fifth recommendation is integration of social benefits such as pension and health care schemes in the reward system. From the backround information above, it is evident that General Motors Corporation with-held social benefits for employees who were hired after January 1, 1993 and transferred the remaining ones to third pary insirance firms. The American automaker also stripped healthcare benefits for retired employees beyond 65 years. Acording to Konrad (2006), social rewards like health care insurance schemes make employees feel more valued by their organizations than monetary rewards in terms of bonuses and salary increments. Also pension schemes improve employees’ commitment to their employer because of future guarantees. This reduces employees’ turnover which is essential in retaining critical human resources for continuity of operation of General Motors. High staff retention improves an organization’s competitive advantage in a complex market of operati onal rivalry. The sixth recommendation is the implementation of employee productivity management and monitoring systems such as Balanced Score Card (BSC) and High Performance Work System (HPWS) (Rouse, 2000). The latter system refers collectively to open systems, autonomouas teams and teamworks, and performance-based pay (Azrul, 2010). The implementation of the two Human Resource Management systems will improve organizational performance by providing real time employees’ information storage database from which future managerial decisions, and rewards will be based. According to Konrad ( 2006), employees of an organization are more productive when they are aware that their performance is recorded for review in determining their future rewards. Effective implementation of the Human Resource Management systems will help General Motors Corporation in categorising employees  according to their productivity rates. This information is important in determining the relevance of job training and objective restructuring in the event of a crisis like that which befell it in 2008. In this case, only high productive employees will be retained. The seventh recommendation is the implementation of an integrative pay/ reward system to inculde performance-contingency pay scheme, skill-based pay, and seniority-based pay scheme. According to performance-contingency pay scheme, the employees’ reward will be based on the performance of their working teams. This will help the automaker in creating effective self-managed and motivated teams. Skill-based pay will ensure that employees’ pay schemes are based on their job skills. For instance, production engineers will be given high pay than marketers because of their technical skills required by the organization. Seniority-based pay scheme demands that those employees who have stayed longer in the organization will get a higher pay than new comers because of their cumulative salary increements along their carrier path. Seniority-based pay scheme promotes staff retention even when the entry salary is relatively lower than the market rates because employees know that there is a room for growth. In general, General Motors Corporation should ensure total compliance with the labour markets and legal environments of their respective countries of operations before implementation of the proposed recommendations. For instance, the employment laws regarding hourly wages, minimum wage policy, employment opportunities, labour regulations, and safety rules in China are different from those of the United States of America. Therefore it is imperative that the American automaker consider their implications in setting the minimum entry wage in each country of operation. Conclusion. In conclusion, General Motors Corporation can sustain its competitive strategy as a leading automaker by embracing the above prescribed Human Resource Mangement system that integrates staff training on job related skills, outsourcing, social reward scheme, technology, and  performance-contingency pay scheme among others as strategic competiencies in its operation. The implementation of Balanced Score Card and HPWS is critical in improving the productivity of the organization’s employees. The proposed system will enhance high staff retention, high staff productivity, and objective contingency planning in times of global crises like the 2008 global financial crisis that lead to massive retrenchment by the automaker. References Azrul, A. (2010). Human Resource Management & General Motors. Monash University Publication, p.1-13.From: http://www.scribd.com/doc/14812855/Human-Resource-Management-General-Motors Main, B.G.,Jackson, C., Pymm, J.,& Wright, V. (2007). GMC:The Remuneration Committee and Strategic Human Resource Management. University of Edinburgh publications, p.1-49. Cappelli, P. (1999). Employment Practices and Business Strategy. Oxfford, ew York : Oxford University Press. General Motors Corporation. (2008). Restructuring Plan for Long-Term Viability: Submitted to Senate Banking Committee & House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Detroit: General Motors Corporation. Rouse ,D. (2000). Manufacturing Sdvantage:Why High Performance Work Systems Pay off. Journal of Team Performance Management, vol 96(5) , p.1420. Dreher, G., & Dougherty,T. (2002). Human resource strategy: A behavioral perspective for the general manager. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Gustin, L. R. (2008). Billy Durant: Creator of General Motors. Ann Arbor. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Konrad, A. M. (2006). Engaging Employees Through High-Involvement Work Practices. IVEY Business Journal , n.p.From: