Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Final project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Final project - Essay Example Globalization requires varied expansion strategies like diversification, bifurcation, mergers, acquisition etc to gain competitive advantage over its competitors. The study will highlight the various factors that affect globalization and its effect on global economy. Factors like how globalization serves purposeful at organizational, reorganizational and integration of financial markets. The integration occurs at varied levels especially at industrial and financial markets. The author of the study will also highlight the various important components of globalization that binds the companies together for a unified purpose. The techniques of research methodology and the findings and analysis of the research methodology would be also included in the study. Finally, the study will conclude with recommendation that can improve the current situation that affects globalization. Background & Rationale for choosing the topic Globalization not only affects and benefits the national economy but also has positive effects on the regional development of the economy. Apart from economic integration free trade conditions (Wagner, 2002). Globalization compels the business organization to adapt to changing market dynamics based on ideological trends that help in the balance of the professional and personal goals of the employees of the organization. Various other factors like unemployment, parallel economic growth, cutting of costs, etc will be considered an important aspect of globalization are some of the major factors which have been considered while choosing the topic. Modernization and growing economy is also a significant contributor to development of the organization. The principal cause of the effects of globalization is that it helps in the modernization and growth of the economy, which is instrumental for understanding its impact on the business activities. This is one of the basic and rationale for choosing the topic for the author of the study, which helps in underst anding the effects and outcome of the globalization. Apart from the above mentioned components factors like deregulation also helps in liberalization of the capital account and also integration of wide range of financial services. Section 2 Literature Review Effects of Globalization Globalization has been regarded as a crucial component from the economic, monetary, socio economic aspects and implications of globalization (Rosnan, Ismail and Daud, 2010). In economics, globalization has played an important role for the development of the economy and has changed the scenario of the world economy. Different types of industries have benefitted importantly from globalization especially the creative industries, which have earned an estimated amount of $60 billion annually over the past few years. The increasing globalization has also impacted the creative, film, car manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries to a large extent for expanding on a larger scale. The globalization of the film industry has made it significant contributor to the world economy. Apart from strategy aspects monetary and exchange policy also helps in emphasis of the maintenance of the economic contention like trade off, credibility, increase in uncertainty etc. This also helps in increased competition among the organizational members. Globalization helps in shaping the social policy and the policy making procedure for the welfare of the organizati

Monday, October 28, 2019

John Locke - Mind Essay Example for Free

John Locke Mind Essay Hume and Lockes conflicting views on the existence of personal identity stem from a fundamental disagreement in regard to memory. According to Hume we have an impermanent personal identity as a result of our constantly changing stream of perceptions. These mental experiences are usually triggered by impressions, or perceptions that involve a sense experience. These constantly changing streams of perception form the false identity. On the other hand John Locke proposes this concept that  says X has identity if the ideas of X cause an observer to have of x are the same at different times. The best capable observer is X themself, as they are there for every moment. For Locke all that is needed for personal identity is mental identity. Both these ideas of personal identity are intertwined with each respected philosopher’s views on memory. According to Hume, memory is unreliable. He believes projectivism tricks us into forming memories. This is true because Hume also says we can’t remember everything, but we project as if we do. The reason he imposes this is because he believes it causes us to assume we are the same in our memories as we are now. Hume says our memories are triggered by ideas, or perceptions caused by thinking about an impression, instead of actually experiencing it. These memories at best resemble one another, which means we confuse similar but different impressions of ourselves for an impression of a single unchanging self. Moreover, Hume says we do not have the same ideas as we do now and do in the past. As a result memory gives us false identity with what it remembers. With this, the nature of the human self is derived from these mental experiences. Although Hume maintains that personal identity is falsely assumed by humans, the ideas that arise from our memories are what forms one’s identity. The end result of personal identity is that individuals have a false sense of identity, but that this false sense of identity is what gives them their individuality. This whole process is reliant upon memory; hence memory is crucial in the development of the false self and individuality. Contrary to Hume, Locke believes memory is reliable. He insists that we are able to genuinely recall the same memories. Similarly to Hume, Locke agrees we don’t remember everything. Although he shares this belief, he feels what we do remember is enough. He continues this assertion as he points out we don’t remember everything accurately but we remember enough accurately. In doing this, we are able to accurately recall past ideas and compare them with present ones. This is how he reaches his point that memory is reliable. Since  our memories are reliable, our ideas in the past and the present can genuinely be the same. For Locke, the nature of the human self is formed through this process of linking old memories to new memories to create similarities. Like Hume, individuality is obtained when this process is complete and with it comes awareness of one’s self through time. While Hume and Locke have very differentiating opinions on the conception of personal identity relative to memory, they both agree that the end result will be a unique individual.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Economy :: Unions Labor Work Papers

Unions Why Unions? "Unions are groups of working people who join to talk to employers about wages and conditions of work instead of workers talking to employers on an individual basis."1 Because they speak for everybody, unions can get a better deal for each worker than one employee could by negotiating with the employer. As seen in the short movie "WHY UNIONS?", non-unionized workers talks about the unfair treatment they experience in the work place. Through collective action, workers formed unions so they could have a voice in deciding wages, hours, working conditions and dealing with the many problems arises in the workplace. Unions are not just organizations trying to get more dollars and cents or better working conditions for people who hold union cards. People who don't enjoy the benefits of union protection get benefits too. "The labour movement was in the forefront of the struggles for public health care, for public education, for minimum wages, holidays and employment conditions."2 1 D. Martin, Form War To Peace, Canadian Labour Congress, Quebec, 1991, P.17 2 Notes On Unions, Canadian Labour Congress, Quebec, 1992, P.1 Union Nowadays "Unions are like businesses: their success depends upon attracting and retaining buyers (new members). Recently, one of the major problems faced by the union movement is that few Canadians understand what services unions come into public."3 The public also don't know the union is also helping Canada in other parts of areas such as economy, etc. The public think that the only time unions come into the public's eye is as a result of strike or withdrawal of services. This is because of the impressed strikes held by the union workers. The memorable one would be the strike held by the Toronto Transit Commission workers back in September 1991. The lack of transportation resulted in inconveniences among the public. The Canadian public becomes upset over conflict. The strikes make the public forget about the contributions of unions in other areas. "From a marketing perspective, the union movement has positioned itself like the nuclear industry -- it receives attention only when it is about to blow up, melt or leak."4 Five important needs for union movements are: 3 Alistair Davidson and Ian Mckinnon, "Unions need to study marketing," The Globe and Mail, May 8 1984, Business section, P.8

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Business Communication Essay

Q 1. Describe any situation that you experienced where the communication went wrong because the listening was faulty. Analyze the situation by explaining the type of listening barrier. . How could this barrier be overcome? (10 marks). The following example illustrates an organizational barrier to communication. By the time the message is passed down from the Chief to the lower level Executives, it is distorted completely, so much so that the original message is interpreted differently by each level in the organization. Memo from CEO to Manager: Today at 11 o’clock there will be a total eclipse of the sun. This is when the sun disappears behind the moon for 2 minutes. As this is something that cannot be seen every day, time will be allowed for employees to view the eclipse in the parking lot. Staff should meet in the lot at ten to eleven, when I will deliver a short speech introducing the eclipse, and giving some background information. Safety goggles will be made available at a small cost. Memo from Manager to Department Head: Today at ten to eleven, all staff should meet in the car park. This will be followed by a total eclipse of the sun, which will appear for 2 minutes. For a moderate cost, they will be made safe with goggles. The CEO will deliver a short speech beforehand to give us all some information. This is not something that can be seen everyday. Memo from the Department Head to Floor Manager: The CEO will today deliver a speech to make the sun disappear for 2 minutes in the form of an eclipse. This is something that cannot be seen everyday so staff will meet in the car  park at ten or eleven. This will be safe, if you pay a moderate cost. Memo from Floor Manager to Supervisor: Ten or eleven staff are to go to the car park, where the CEO will eclipse the sun for 2 minutes. This does not happen everyday. It will be safe, and as usual it will cost you. Memo from Supervisor to Staff: Some staff will go to the car park today to see the CEO disappear. It is a pity this doesn’t happen everyday. Communication was filtered or misinterpreted because of the following barriers: Organizational Barriers – In organizations that are too hierarchical, that is, where there are multiple â€Å"layers†, messages may have to pass through many levels before they finally reach the receiver. Each level may add to, modify or completely change the message, so much so that it becomes distorted by the time it reaches the intended receiver. In other words, there is likely to be loss of meaning and the message may not reach the receiver in the same way as it was intended by the sender. Another type of organizational barrier is a departmental barrier. This means that each department in an organization functions in isolation and there is no co-ordination or communication between them. This barrier could be overcome by the following methods: 1. Encourage Feedback – Organizations should try to improve the communication system by getting feedback from the messages already sent. Feedback can tell the managers whether the message has reached the receiver in the intended way or not. 2. Create a Climate of Openness – A climate of trust and openness can go a long way in removing organizational barriers to communication. All subordinates or junior employees should be allowed to air their opinions and differences without fear of being penalized. 3. Use Multiple Channels of Communication – Organizations should encourage the use of multiple channels of communication, in order to make sure that messages reach the intended receivers without fail. This means using a combination of both oral and written channels, as well as formal (official) and informal (unofficial) channels of communication. The types of channels will be discussed in detail later, in a separate unit. Q 2. Select a business article from any business publication. Evaluate it in terms of : a) Appropriate level of readability b) Use of jargon, slang and metaphors c) Use of simple vs. complex words. Is it well or poorly written, in your opinion? Attach a copy of the article with your response. (10 marks) World Markets Rise As Double-Dip Fears Ease: World stock markets advanced modestly Monday as investors rode momentum from Friday, when an upbeat U.S. jobs report eased fears that the global economy could slip back into recession. With Wall Street closed for a holiday, however, trading was expected to remain light. Markets took heart after official data last week showed private employers in the U.S. added 67,000 jobs in August, more than analysts expected. The figure bolstered optimism that the U.S. will maintain a slow but steady recovery from last year’s recession and avoid another economic contraction later this year. By mid-afternoon in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.3 percent at 5,446.17, Germany’s DAX was 0.3 percent higher at 6,153.31 and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.3 percent at 3,684.20. Asian indexes closed higher and trading on Wall Street was to remain shut for Labor Day weekend after closing higher on Friday. With most major governments reining in economic stimulus measures and many pushing through austerity spending cuts to reduce deficits, investors worry the global economy would be pushed into a double dip recession, particularly  as the U.S. slows down quickly. Because the U.S. economy is the world’s largest and consumer spending there accounts for a fifth of global economic activity, the stronger-than-expected jobs data on Friday helped calm investors’ frayed nerves after weeks of worrying indicators. â€Å"The renewed flight to safety we have witnessed over the past month is overdone and risks an equally large reversal when the worries over a double dip subside,† analysts from Rabobank said in a report. â€Å"As the unexciting, steady and below-trend global recovery continues, it’s important not to confuse it with a double dip recession.† Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index climbed 2.1 percent, or 187.19, to 9,301.32 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7 percent to 1,792.42. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.8 percent to 21,355.77. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8 percent at 4,575.50. Markets in mainland China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and Singapore were also higher. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 1.2 percent to close at 10,447.93 on Friday. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.3 percent to 1,104.51. Shares in the U.S. ended the week in the positive, the first time that has happened in a month. The early gains in September mark a stark turnaround from August trade, when shares fell on doubts about the global economic recovery. The dollar fell to 84.24 yen from 84.27 yen on Friday. The euro was slightly lower at $1.2880 from $1.2895. Benchmark oil for October delivery was down 40 cents at $74.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 42 cents to settle at $74.60 on Friday. Jargon refers to technical terms or specialized vocabulary. Some of the  technical terms mentioned above are â€Å"rode momentum, Kospi, FTSE, CAC, DAX, calm investors’ frayed nerves, etc.† More complex words and phrases are written in the above article and this reduces the level of readability when read by a common man. The above article is well written, however, the reader of the article should have a certain amount of knowledge in the field of stock trading and world financial markets. Q 3 List out and briefly explain five â€Å"do†s and â€Å"don’t’s† for each of participants and chairperson of a meeting. (10 marks). Before the Meeting As pointed out earlier, meetings need to be planned in advance, so that they are successful. Before any planning can be done however, a basic question to be asked is whether to hold a meeting at all. The answers to the following questions would help to decide whether a meeting is necessary in the first place – -Can the matter be decided or discussed over the telephone? -Can the matter be expressed in writing, in the form of a memo, or an email message? -Are key people available to attend the meeting and are they prepared? -Is the time allotted for the meeting sufficient? If the answers to the first two questions are yes and the answers to the other two questions are no, there is no purpose in calling a meeting. Once the need for a meeting has been determined, the next step is to start planning the meeting. First of all, the type and number of participants should be decided. A problem solving meeting should include representatives from all departments, since the decision would otherwise be incomplete. Shareholders, who are the owners of the company, should also be included. In terms of numbers, the size of the group could be anywhere between seven and eleven members. An exception to this is an information sharing meeting, where the numbers could be larger, so that a maximum number of people benefit from the information. The second and most important step in planning a meeting is to indicate the purpose or agenda of the meeting to the participants in advance. An agenda  is essentially a list of topics that will be discussed during a meeting. In the words of Adler and Elmhorst, â€Å"A meeting without an agenda is like a ship at sea without a destination or compass: no one aboard knows where it is or where it is headed.† An agenda is prepared by the Chairperson of the meeting, or the person who calls the meeting. During the Meeting: The task of conducting and moderating the meeting rests with the chairperson. He or she must be well versed with the procedures for opening the meeting, encouraging balanced participation, and solving problems creatively, concluding the meeting and managing time efficiently. We shall discuss each of these procedures in detail. 1. Opening the Meeting – The manner in which the meeting is opened is important, since a good opening will ensure that the rest of the meeting will proceed smoothly. There are different ways of opening a meeting. Generally, it is best to sum up what has been stated in the agenda – including the goals, background information and expectations of the participants. It is also a good idea to provide an outline of how the meeting will proceed, as well as a time budget. 2. Encouraging Balanced Participation – It is also the responsibility of the chairperson to encourage silent members to contribute to the meeting and to moderate the dominant members, so that they do not â€Å"hijack† the meeting. There are several techniques to encourage participation –  · Encourage Participation in the Reverse Order of Seniority – This means getting the junior members to speak or air their opinions first. If the senior people speak first, they may feel suppressed or be afraid to disagree with their superiors.  · Nominal Group Technique – In this method, the meeting participants are encouraged to work and contribute their ideas independently 3. Managing Time – There is no prescribed length for a meeting. The duration of a meeting will depend on the type and purpose of the meeting. Generally, problem-solving meetings will take longer than other routine meetings. In any case, the chairperson should set a time budget for the meeting, depending on the agenda and ensure adherence to the time limit. 4. Keeping the Meeting Focused – Often, a lot of time is wasted during meetings by going off track and by discussing topics that are irrelevant. In such situations, it is the responsibility of the chairperson, or the person moderating the discussion to make sure that the discussion remains focused on the topics mentioned in the agenda. 5. Ensuring â€Å"Convergence† – Convergence means hearing the points of view of all the members and then arriving at a decision. It is again the responsibility of the chairperson to bring the meeting to a point where an opinion emerges on each item of the agenda. 6. Summing Up – This means summing up the different points of view, the decisions and the actions to be taken. This should be done by the chairperson, identifying the role of each person on each item of the agenda, along with a specified deadline. Example – Chris will take the responsibility of contacting the media and sending material for advertisements and press releases by March 13th. 7. Concluding the Meeting – The way a meeting is concluded is as important as the opening, since it will influence the follow-up action taken on decisions made during the meeting. The chairperson should know when and how to conclude the meeting. The meeting should normally be concluded at the scheduled closing time, unless important issues still remain to be discussed and members are willing to extend the meeting. Sometimes meetings may be concluded before the closing time, when key decision makers are not present, or when important information such as cost figures are not available. 8. Keeping â€Å"Minutes† of the Meeting – Since meetings are called to take important decisions concerning the organization, it is important to maintain a permanent written record of the proceedings, which can be referred to at a later stage, or serve as a guide for action. Such a record is known as â€Å"minutes† of the meeting and may be done in an informal or formal manner, depending on the type of meeting.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Overstretched European families up against the demands of work and care Essay

Care Policies Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Care is defined as provision of what is appropriate for welfare, health, protection and maintenance of something or someone. Care policies are acts that that guides people to seek serious consideration or attention so that they can carry on with their daily activities in an appropriate manner. Care policies must be unique to the type of service being offered and be developed in cooperation with the service community. Policies are developed depending on the need or conditions. However, the policy has to be introduced to the community and explain the future plans of development. The main concern is to know how to develop policies that meet the needs of the society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In various parts of the continent there has been a reverse of roles whereby women are getting involved in paid employment. This has altered the traditional role of the father as the breadwinner of the family since this model presume that women can be dependent to care for children, frail and older relatives as well as disabled family members. The paper seeks to acknowledge how care policies are developed. The paper focus on the relationship connecting how constituencies formulate care claims and the manner these care policies are prepared and delivered in diverse regional, national and historical perspective. The main focus is on the care policies for employed parents in Europe, but it also briefly analyze policies for unpaid careers and disabled citizens.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The paper aim at providing an explanation within particular framework of the rapport between ; the connection of claims based on the needs of those who receive and those who provide care, the logics and political frames which are concerned to meet care needs, as well as the implications of such policies to distinct care providers and care receivers. The policy should be consistent with the values, goals and the mission of the service to be provided. The policy should as well be applicable to the management structure as well as the type of service being provided. The care policy should also follow the format used in other policies. There should also be regulatory and legislative mandates governing the policy as it apply to the type of service. This among other factors will determine how well the policy addresses the need and thus provide the service in the best way possible. Every year organizations are called upon to review their policies and procedures so that they can meet the required terms.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The book Gender and social policy in a global context by Razavi and Hassim explain how economic and social rights have been traditionally prepared and modeled by the procedure of economic and political change, and by design and normative postulations of social institutions. The book reveals that these assumptions and processes are in depth gendered even in phases where official political parity has been achieved. The book uncovers the gendered structure of the society and it highlights the significance of thinking ahead of markets and states in societal provisioning, also incorporating interaction analysis between social institutions, especially family and society. Though there have been a lot of radicalization in the care and balance of work in many communities, the book shows in many circumstances these alterations have been reestablished rather than masculinity wrinkled inequalities. In order to acknowledge the results, it is important to explore the rapport between the values and presuppositions on which social institutions are represented in different nations and the approaches in which they have structured work access and burdens to entitlements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Policies and procedures describe how care providers can plan to operate their program. Working parents in Europe have easy access to openly funded schemes offering superior care. European countries provide appropriate alternative models of child care. However, different European countries have different systems of child care policies. For example, French child care is anticipated basically as early childhood education and is free to all kids despite of the socio-economic type. In France, many children are registered in the full-day and undergo same national scheme, with the same prospectus and their teachers are paid good salaries by the same state bureau. On the other hand, Denmark offers a â€Å"non-school model† with a primary aim of helping working parents not to educate their children. In European countries child care expenses are considered as a social liability and are funded by the public. European countries also highly rega rd the Family leave Act as compared to other nations such as United States. European legislative board also emphasizes on the number of hours that parent work as a significant factor that moulds the approach of how kids are thought about and people providing the care. European working parents work for few hours and weeks so that they can have time to care for their children. This is a very important step since parent care is not easy since it requires full attention. It poses very difficult to balance time between office work and taking responsibility as a parent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rates of maternal employment are high in European countries, but parents are able to balance between work and family responsibility. There are three major care policies for working parents in Europe which are: publicly provided or subsidized early childhood care and education program, paid parenting leaves that allow parents to care for their children without forfeiting their income or jobs, and working time policies that increase alternatives for part-time, reduced-hour and high-quality employment. Collective-bargaining agreements and legislation forbid employers from mistreating part-time employees. European care policies that protect parental time are attached with superior public early childhood care and education program. In unison these policies back up provision of safe, developmentally nurturing care for kids since birth until the beginning of their primary school. In Sweden, working parents are entitled to 15 months paid paren tal leave and the parents also have statutory right to work for at least six hours a day until their children turn 8 years. European countries acknowledge the importance of parent care since the parent is the child’s first teacher. Parent care is very crucial since it will shape the child development process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, European care policies are far much better off as compared to other countries such as United States. In European countries child care expenses are well thought-out as social responsibility and are funded by the public while in U.S. parents pay for child care services. European countries formulate care policies to protect the working parent by offering alternatives such as part-time, reduced-hour and high-quality employment. These care policies in European countries are very crucial to working parents since they help the parent to balance between work and family responsibility. References Boca, D. (2007). Social policies, labour markets and motherhood: a comparative analysis of European countries. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. DrobnicÃÅ'Å’, S. (2011). Work-life balance in Europe: the role of job quality. Houndmills, Basingstoke Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. KroÃÅ'ˆger, T., & SipilaÃÅ'ˆ, J. (2005). Overstretched European families up against the demands of work and care. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell. Razavi, S., & Hassim, S. (2006). Gender and social policy in a global context: uncovering the gendered structure of ‘the social’. New York: Palgrave Macmillan The European Model. (n.d.). What we can learn from how other nations support families that work. Retrieved May 29, 2014, fromhttp://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Europe/European_Model_Families.html Source document

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Department of Economics Essays - Economics, Economy, Macroeconomics

Department of Economics Essays - Economics, Economy, Macroeconomics Department of Economics Howard University Principles of Economics I Econ-001 Kristen E. Broady, Ph.D. Academic Support Bldg. B, Room 323 Howard University Email: [emailprotected] Personal Email: [emailprotected] Office Phone: 202-806-7740 Cell Phone: 803-920-3072 Office Hours: TR 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Other times by appointment TEXTBOOK: Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, Economics in Modules , 3rd edition, Macmillan, 2014. Supplementary Readings: Thomas Swartz and Frank Bonello, Taking Sides, Clashing Views of Controversial Economic Issues, 11th edition, The Dushkin Publishing Group Inc., 2004. Ellen Frank et al, eds., Real World Macro, 26th Edition, Dollars & Sense Economic Affairs Bureau, 2009. Campbell R. McConnell, Stanley L. Brue and Seam M. Flynn, Economics, CUSTOM edition, McGraw Hill, 2009. mcconnell18e.com Course Description: Principles of Economics I is the first course of a two semester course sequence in introductory economics. These courses introduce the student to the basic principles of economic theory and policy. Economics is a systematic discipline, which studies the production and distribution of goods and services in a world with unlimited human aspirations but finite productive resources. How economists conceptualize the diverse problems arising from the tension between unlimited desires and fixed resources will be discussed. The basic methods of thought and tools of analysis which economists use will be described. The students will be introduced to the important policy issues which make economics a lively and controversial field. The main body of economic theory is typically divided into macroeconomics and microeconomics. Principles I is mainly focused on macroeconomics, the study of how aggregate (large) units of the economy behave. Macroeconomics studies the behavior of such important aggregate variables as total household consumption and savings, total business investment, government expenditures, the level of wages and employment, and the overall stock of money and credit. Macroeconomic theory studies these questions by dividing the economy into three types of inter-related markets; the market for labor, the market for goods and services, and the market for monetary and financial assets. Macroeconomic policy is concerned with unemployment, inflation, economic growth, and economic equity at the national level. On the other hand, microeconomics (principles of economics II) is concerned with the study of individual households and firms, and specific industries and markets. Students can find a vast amount of economics related material on the internet. Some selected links (URL's) are given in the Economics Department web site coas.howard.edu/economics/ Objectives of the Course: The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the basic principles of macroeconomic theory and policy. Upon successful completion of the course, students should become familiar and comfortable with: . The methods of thought and tools which facilitate economic analysis. . The historical and contemporary facts of the economy at the macro-level, such as the history of the business cycle, inflation, productivity, economic growth, income distribution, and structural change. . The most important institutions of the economy such as the household sector, the business sector, the financial system, the tax system, and the federal budget. . The economic relationships used in macroeconomic theory such as the consumption function, the investment function, the aggregate expenditure function, the aggregate demand function, and the aggregate supply function. . The concept of macroeconomic equilibrium and disequilibrium . Alternative theoretical models of macroeconomic behavior such as the classical model, the Keynesian model, and the monetarist model. . Important historical episodes of macroeconomic policy application such as the Great Depression of the 1930s, wage and price controls during World War II, the Kennedy tax cut of the 1960s, the oil price inflation of the 1970s, "Reaganomics" of the 1980s, the Clinton economic program of the 1990s, and the Great Recession of the late 2000s. General Course Requirements: The program of study consists of lectures, class discussions, reading assignments, written assignments and written examinations. Students are responsible for attending classes regularly and completing all assignments in a timely manner. A minimum of three examinations will be given during the semester. A departmental comprehensive final examination will be given at the end of the semester. The final examination will count for thirty percent (30%) of the final grade. Any student who does not take a quiz or examination must obtain permission of the instructor in order to take a substitute or a make-up test. A student who does not secure such approval will receive a grade of `F' (or zero) for the quiz or examination missed. Your instructor may require additional readings during the course. Final Grade Determination: The final grade of the student in this course will be based on his/her overall

Monday, October 21, 2019

Budgets Cuts and Their Negative Effect on School Essays

Budgets Cuts and Their Negative Effect on School Essays Budgets Cuts and Their Negative Effect on School Essay Budgets Cuts and Their Negative Effect on School Essay Essay Topic: College application Zone One BUdget Budget Cuts Affect School Education Negatively By Jose Valdez English Composition 10/15/12 Everybody has their own hopes and dreams, which being having a stable job or being the next Neil Armstrong this is becoming is less likely thanks to the budget cuts to educations. If budgets cuts continue our dreams wont be chosen but pre-determent brought by the limitation of education. How do we know the student being limited education won’t be the next president? Budgets cuts are affecting schools nationwide. Starting early is a key element in a student’s development in their education and studies and will pre set how well they can understand and complete tasks. Since doing mathematical equations or learning about our past presidents is not equally as fun as playing video games is tend to be hard to keep students interested. Since technology is advancing in a fast pace is easier to make learning fun and twice as evident. Since everything cost money the budget cuts don’t allow this methods to be tested or use which leaving student to just to glide thru elementary not learning how beneficial and fun education can be and show them how dreaming can pay off. Besides budget cuts teaching is pointless to dream it has made countless of school close mostly elementary since according to Budget And Policy Priorities more than two thirds of the states are providing each student with the amount they provided in 2008 which is about 250 dollars per student, per year. So each student is receiving about 200 or so per year which is not enough which means another student funding is being use which put the second student who’s fun is being use for the other student with less money for their education which is leaving a never ending domino effect. No wonder school are closing they don’t have enough money to support their current student or the future student leaving students with no school or just putting their dreams on hold. Not only that but since more schools are closing, school lunches and breakfast may be the only meals for some of these student and since there is no school there is no meal for the student who really need them. So budget cuts are not only taken away student’s dreams but their meals as well. Is sad how politicians prefer to fill their pockets instead of kid’s stomach Who ever were lucky to have gone elementary and graduate has the privilege to fight for a spot in middle school. Since budget cuts limit space and class sizes in schools now in days it has become more of a warzone during registration and anxious parents hopping to get a spot for their children and not having to come back next year leaving their kids to lose the knowledge they gain and maybe their only meal. Knowledge is like a pencil if it’s not sharpens once in a while it looses its point. For the lucky few who get a spot now will have to suffer threw class sizes of 40 or more students. With bigger size classes it has become harder for them to get help from their teacher since the teacher has to divide their attention equally to 40 or more students. Leaving the student with unanswered question and which may lead the student not understanding the material. Since there varieties of ways to get help with school work most of them been cut like tutors due to school budgets leaving students unattended and to fend for them self. Budget cuts not only affect students but teacher as well because like grading papers was not hard enough imagine grading 40 or more students papers which lead to teachers to be behind schedule and not letting them advance in their teachings which in the student suffer since they don’t learn. Since now students have 6 classes now they will have to have 6 different textbooks and thanks to budget cuts most students will only get one copy which will be use for school and home they will have to carry with them everyday. Textbook that may be up to date or miss dated or miss treated. Imagine the strain they poor backs must suffer all thanks that budget cuts wont allow them to have a copy of the book in class. Budget cuts are forcing students to not only to learn on their own but as well to carry largely heavy books that may really hurt their backs. After most students have finish middle which seems more like home school than a regular middle school they will have they will have to go threw the same process that they went thru middle school registration. Since the main focus for high school is to get high school student ready for college. Which mean teaching student what classes they need to take, what requirement is needed to attend certain colleges. The basic each future college attendee should know. Since budget cuts have limit or cut college prep classes most student go thru high school not knowing how to go to college and for most those classes can be the difference of graduating or not graduating. Since budgets cuts are taking away not only the college prep classes but as well as excellent teachers’ we have un experience teachers teaching classes they have no experience on. Which miss lead student to false or little information. Thanks as well budget cuts has cut the school year by almost one month forcing teacher to shove lectures down student throats and making students swallow the teaching whole with out no time to chew or process all the info there being fed and they ask why we do so poorly on test. The budget cuts has force education to be taught in an inefficient way, which is shown on our test scores, which affect the student for a better chance at a college of their choice, which only will limit their dreams and hopes. After student go thru the pain of college application and waiting thru the pain and hopping the budget has not taking a toll in there chance of getting into the college of there dreams . Which seems more and more are not getting to their desire college because they where unprepared mentally or finically which is all thanks to budget cuts. Since most don’t get to the college of their dreams they will have to go with their back up plan being junior college or trade school. Which work for other but not the plan they hope for. If school was not expensive enough for student who does attend a Cal State or UC they always have the fear of intuition always going up which again is thanks again to the budget cuts. Since most student depend on financial aid to help them pay thru school most of the student are receiving less on less of finial aid and more and more student loans. For which most student is okay since in the end its worth it but t the point of college is to get student started to the carrier of their dream how are they suppose to do that when they have students loan breathing behind their backs. Most students can just hope to fins a job to start paying off their loans as soon as possible which most do find and which most don’t. According to Washington Post 1 out of 2 college graduates are under paid or are underplayed so meaning it will take longer for them to pay their students loans or will some will have them for live. When most student think the nightmare of struggling for classes and learning is over they go to college to see students fighting for classes. The states are higher in for classes since one class can mean the difference from graduating or having to put your future until the needed class is available. Thanks to budget cuts limiting how many of each certain class there can be really has put many college students dreams into hold. Since most people think all students are the same and don’t think don’t school is realy important maybe the school budget cuts funding can be places some where else where they were really appreciate being back into the communities. Which little do they know helping student will benefit the community twice as much. As a student I’m affected by the budget cuts, as a student I cant understand the pain of other student go thru thanks to the budget cuts who. I lived thru the warzone of registration, the mass of classes of students I had to sit by an Thanks to budget cuts it has force to change when I will retire when I can have a stable job or future. It has changed how much I will have to pay since now I see now matter how much of a stable of a job I will have will never be a stable job since I will be paying a debt that maybe will take a life time to pay off. I will always told school was affordable but was I lied to or thanks to budget it has made our schools and teachers to liars. Since students loans has its limit it has force me to get a full time job to help pay for school. Which has made a big strain on me since I barely get any sleep. Budget cuts don’t only affect your pocket put your health, budgets cuts has become a disease that is out of control and if we don’t but a stop to it more student will suffer like I am. I have to little sister who are in elementary in a few years they will be going to middle school, then high school and so on. I don’t want them to go thru fighting for a spot in classes or seeing their hope and dreams crush or put on hold since some greedy politicians find having big pockets are more important than students future. Budget cuts it’s a disease that affects student hope and dreams. They force student to learn own their own and affect their help being by getting no sleep or carrying heavy books. Forcing them to work hours to pay for school since school should be a reward for their hard work. Budget will force school grounds to be a warzone one day since most student will have to start fighting for there future which is shouldn’t be that way every student should have the equal opportunity as any student to try to build there hope and dreams and how far they go will be up to them. How do we know thank to budget cuts we denied the next best president to be born or the person who will find the cure for cancer show his idea to make a world a better place. Budget cuts don’t only affect student but the future of the world and the economy. Citations Education funding drops in more than half of states. (2012, September 5). Huff Post. Klein, A. (1992, August 18). Federal Education Cuts . Education Wee, pp. 5-5. Hope, Y. (2012, April 22). In Weak Job Market, One In Two College Graduates Are     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jobless Or Underemployed. Huff Post. Center on BUdget and Policy Prioreties. (2012, September 4). New school year     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  brings more cuts in state funding for schools [Editorial]. Retrieved from     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Center on Budget and Policy Prioreties website: cbpp. org/cms/     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  index. cfm? fa=viewamp;id=3825

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Comparative Forms of Adjectives

Comparative Forms of Adjectives Comparative Forms of Adjectives Comparative Forms of Adjectives By Maeve Maddox Adjectives have inflections. That is, adjectives change in spelling according to how they are used in a sentence. Adjectives have three forms: positive, comparative, and superlative. The simplest form of the adjective is its positive form. When two objects or persons are being compared, the comparative form of the adjective is used. When three or more things are being compared, we use the adjectives superlative form. A few adjectives, like good and bad form their comparatives with different words: That is a good book. This is a better book. Which of the three is the best book? He made a bad choice. She made a worse choice. They made the worst choice of all. The comparative forms of most adjectives, however, are formed by adding the suffixes er and est, or by placing the words more and most in front of the positive form. RULES FOR FORMING COMPARATIVES: 1. One syllable words form the comparative by adding -er and -est: brave, braver, bravest small, smaller, smallest dark, darker, darkest. 2. Two-syllable words that end in -y, -le, and -er form the comparative by adding -er and -est: pretty, prettier, prettiest happy, happier, happiest noble, nobler, noblest clever, cleverer, cleverest 3. Words of more than two syllables form the comparative with more and most: beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful. resonant, more resonant, most resonant 4. Past participles used as adjectives form the comparative with more and most: crooked, broken, damaged, defeated, etc. 5. Predicate adjectives (adjectives used to describe the subject of a sentence) form the comparative with more and most: afraid, mute, certain, alone, silent, etc. Ex. She is afraid. He is more afraid. They are the most afraid of them all. So far, so good, but when it comes to two-syllable words other than the ones covered by Rule 2, the writer must consider custom and ease of pronunciation. Usually, two syllable words that have the accent on the first syllable form the comparative by adding er and est. Ex. common, cruel, pleasant, quiet. BUT tasteless, more tasteless, most tasteless. Some two-syllable words that have the accent on the second syllable form the comparative by adding er and est: polite, profound, BUT: bizarre, more bizarre, most bizarre. The rules given above should prevent abominations like more pretty or beautifuler. When in doubt, look up the preferred inflected forms in the dictionary. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†Precedent vs. Precedence50 Words with Alternative Spellings

Saturday, October 19, 2019

McDonalds Foreign Direct Investment and Distribution strategy Essay

McDonalds Foreign Direct Investment and Distribution strategy - Essay Example McDonald’s foreign direct investment focuses primarily on investment in restaurants and the food industry. The company made its foreign direct investment for the long term, with the distinct purpose of making a profit. As a multinational firm, McDonald’s has significant foreign investment assets that comprise of the parent company in the US and foreign affiliates domiciled in host countries. The company has the capacity to derive and transfer its capital resources globally and operate restaurants and penetrated markets in other countries worldwide. McDonald’s foreign direct investment not only focuses on controlling affiliate restaurants in developed countries but developing countries, as well. Investing overseeing has generated immense benefits to McDonald’s and its investors. Inward investors continue to gain easy access to markets in foreign countries, particularly since the company’s products can be made using local ingredients.It makes apparent commercial sense for McDonald’s to set up local restaurants, which make use of local ingredients instead of exporting ingredients directly from the US.McDonald’s establishment of affiliate firms in other nations allows the company to gain access to a vast array of resources, which include among others cheap and skilled labour, as well as local expertise and knowledge inherent in the foreign nation. McDonald’s builds restaurants in other countries thereby exploiting the economies of scope.

Millennial Management Style in today's generation Essay

Millennial Management Style in today's generation - Essay Example Growing companies need this millennial generation who have innovative ideas that can help them improve performance. Deciding new millennial management style is extremely crucial for maximizing generation-Y potential in the companies. Therefore, the growing companies can win the generation game because with the millennial management style they can lead their managers and employees to help them perform better in the business world. Millennial management style is different from the conventional management style that is adopted by generation-X. The purpose of millennial management style is to satisfy generation-Y expectation in working force so that the millennial generation can perform at their best. This implementation positively impacts the future of growing company because of the rising number of generation-Y workers. The millennial generation expects active, involved leadership, income, personal enrichment, teamwork, and most importantly flexibility. Therefore, the growing companies must focus on following aspects to integrate the new millennial management style: Millennial management style applies flat management structure or teamwork based roles. The old tradition of a companys hierarchy structure doesnt work effectively in millennial management as in Generation-X Company. In millennial management, everyone has the same right to express his or her aspiration and his or her need for high interaction with his or her team. Set clear expectation with relationship-style focus appeals to millennial employees. When the company assigns a job or project to millennial employees, they should address the expectation with clear guidelines, priority, and intention that the millennial needs to follow. A clear expectation is very useful in millennial management system; this is because a companys management can set up a deadline that the millennial employees will fulfill when they submit the project. Autocracy leadership style doesnt work effectively in

Friday, October 18, 2019

The tempest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The tempest - Essay Example Shakespeare’s magic in â€Å"The Tempest† is sophisticated and metaphorical since it belongs to a powerful and wise wizard Prospero. Prospero`s magic is expressed in many ways in a play and it has multiple meanings as well. Magic can be interpreted as a special art, as a sum of knowledge, as a gift, as a power, as the ability to manipulate and control others. In the beginning of the play though it becomes clear that knowledge is the core of Prospero`s magic as the reader learns about the value of his books. Despite his experience, Prospero learnt magic from his books that is why he is vulnerable without them. Even Caliban understand that Prospero`s skills are dependent on his books: Prospero`s experience and his ability to rule others is also part of his magic, his special technique. Some readers can perceive Prospero as cruel and violent as he uses others tests them or punishes them when necessary. The loyalty of his spirit Ariel saves Prospero several times. Prospero knows that and emphasizes how much he relies on the help of the creatures weaker than him: Opposite to Sycorax`s magic, which is uncontrollable, brutal, and animalistic, Prospero`s magic is an art of wise and experienced man. But understanding its role in his life Prospero decides to quit it finally and become an ordinary man. His experience and knowledge of human nature allow Prospero to be influential without

Strategic Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic Plan - Essay Example Because of this, there is almost nothing organizations that deal in the same merchandise can do to specialize in the market, apart from riding on market forces (of demand and supply) to stay afloat. By being innovative, Joe’s Electric Cigar will be able to come up with unique and customer-friendlier models. This will in turn help the firm realize and maintain its niche in the market, increase its market share and widen the scope of its profitability. By studying the progress of Joe’s Electric Cigar, an analyst also gets the gist on the importance financial goals and preparations. This is because Joe’s Electric Cigar is a fledgling organization with minuscule financial resources, albeit the operations of this firm are financially very demanding. Thus, Joe’s Electric Cigar presents an ideal case study on the essence of management and financial planning as key ingredients to success. III. General Company Description Joe's Electric Cigar is a company that was formed in 2000, with a multipronged purpose: satisfying the needs of the clientele; abating environmental pollution; and assuaging health complications that accompany smoking. While all these multipronged aims of Joe's Electric Cigar (JEC) are geared towards helping smoke addicts quit smoking in a healthier manner, they ensure that the feat is exacted in a healthier and hygienic manner. JEC ensures that it achieves this hydra-headed feat by introducing into the market, an electronic cigarette, a personal vaporizer or an electronic nicotine delivery system. An e-cigarette is an electronic inhaler which simulates and thus acts as a substitute for tobacco smoking. This equipment uses a heating element which vaporizes a liquid solution to release either a flavored vapor, or nicotine. These e-cigarettes are designed like cigarettes, to allow them to mimic conventional smoking implements such as cigars and cigarettes, in their appearance or use. IV. Products and Services JEC has simply sp ecialized in the making and selling of electric cigar, meaning that the products that JEC deals in, and seeks to distribute in the market is solely, the electric cigar. However, the provision of electric cigarette in the market is characterized by an attempt to diversify the brand by including e-cigars, electronic delivery systems and personal vaporizers, alongside the provision of electronic cigarettes. V. Marketing Plan JEC intends to increase its market share and curve itself a niche in the market by introducing and bringing unique merchandise into the market. The introduction and maintenance of e-cigars which have a touch of uniqueness is in turn to be realized through the reinvention of the design of Joe’s electric cigar/ cigarette. This involves remodeling the cartridge so that the sponge which holds the liquid in place is totally eradicated. In light of this, in place of the sponge holder, there is a tank which holds the fluid and connects the atomizer with another tun nel. Some of the ways through which the reinvention of JEC’s e-cigar model helps JEC strengthen its hold in the market are: the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Product Formulation Portfolio; Evaluation pro-forma 5 (PFPE5) Essay

Product Formulation Portfolio; Evaluation pro-forma 5 (PFPE5) - Essay Example is critically important because Acetyl Chloride is a poisonous chemical and the amount used in the preparation of Aspirin should not exceed the maximum concentration allowed in human consumption products (3). On the other hand, the amount of Acetyl Chloride used is sufficient enough to make salicylic acid the limiting agent (1). For instance, since the reaction is reversible, the presence of excess Acetyl Chloride will force the equilibrium towards the production of the desired end product (Aspirin). The 5 drops of pyridine used are sufficient to neutralize the resulting hydrochloric acid without making the solution basic while at the same time acting as a catalyst for the reaction(4). This is because Pyridine is a base catalyst that plays the dual role of being a catalyst and a neutralizing agent at the same time. Additionally, the use of many drops of pyridine justified because pyridine as a base catalysts is less reactive than most acid catalysts such as 85% Phosphoric acid and, therefore, a greater volume of the ingredient may be required for the reaction to be effectively catalysed. Both the two methods involve acetylation salicylic acid to produce aspirin (acetylsalicylic Acid). However, despite the remarkable similarities between the process of making aspirin using the new formula and the mechanism used in the old formula, the main difference between the two distinct processes is that the leaving group in the new process is a chloride ion as opposed to the acetate ion in the old process. On the other hand, the by-product of the overall process is hydrochloric acid while the old process produces acetic acid as a by product

From what frequent activity do you derive your greatest joy Why is Personal Statement

From what frequent activity do you derive your greatest joy Why is this activity meaningful to you, and how does it shape your perspective on life (500 words or less) - Personal Statement Example Athletes were the epitome of power for me and, of course, I imagined myself playing. I never missed Yankee games and patiently waited for the day I would come to the stadium with my dad. However, it was not all I wanted to do in my life. Growing up, I was becoming more and more interested in the strategy of the game and baseball coaching seemed to be the best role I could have in my life. Everything changed when I had the opportunity to try myself as a coach in 11th grade. I started volunteering as a coach at the 68th Precent youth little league in Brooklyn, New York. I recollect this experience with a smile on my face because it was so great to help little kids to succeed. I was more than a coach for those kids; I tried to be a role model for them and showed that good deeds always paid back. Several children in my team had special needs and I felt really great helping them to boost their achievements in sport and in life making them more open for communication and new things. We shared many special moments with the team; even though not all of them were happy, there was a special atmosphere that surrounded our communication. All those kids reminded me of myself; I experienced the same problems, felt badly when I could not play well and was excited when my team won the game. Overall, I understood that baseball coaching was what I needed to do to be happy. This coaching experience explains many things to me. I realize that many things in life are not about winning. It is more pleasant to be happy and share happiness with other people. Brought up to be over-achievers, my generation often strives to win under any circumstances but sometimes victory does not make people happy. Victory does make people feel better for some time, but this feeling disappears and leaves nothing after it. All in all, I like baseball because it is more than a game where one should win. I treat this game as memories about my

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Product Formulation Portfolio; Evaluation pro-forma 5 (PFPE5) Essay

Product Formulation Portfolio; Evaluation pro-forma 5 (PFPE5) - Essay Example is critically important because Acetyl Chloride is a poisonous chemical and the amount used in the preparation of Aspirin should not exceed the maximum concentration allowed in human consumption products (3). On the other hand, the amount of Acetyl Chloride used is sufficient enough to make salicylic acid the limiting agent (1). For instance, since the reaction is reversible, the presence of excess Acetyl Chloride will force the equilibrium towards the production of the desired end product (Aspirin). The 5 drops of pyridine used are sufficient to neutralize the resulting hydrochloric acid without making the solution basic while at the same time acting as a catalyst for the reaction(4). This is because Pyridine is a base catalyst that plays the dual role of being a catalyst and a neutralizing agent at the same time. Additionally, the use of many drops of pyridine justified because pyridine as a base catalysts is less reactive than most acid catalysts such as 85% Phosphoric acid and, therefore, a greater volume of the ingredient may be required for the reaction to be effectively catalysed. Both the two methods involve acetylation salicylic acid to produce aspirin (acetylsalicylic Acid). However, despite the remarkable similarities between the process of making aspirin using the new formula and the mechanism used in the old formula, the main difference between the two distinct processes is that the leaving group in the new process is a chloride ion as opposed to the acetate ion in the old process. On the other hand, the by-product of the overall process is hydrochloric acid while the old process produces acetic acid as a by product

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Fundamentals of Property Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Fundamentals of Property Law - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the expression 'the fee simple of the land' naturally means the fee simple as the highest estate unencumbered and subject to no conditions. Because the discharge of the mortgage was forged by Brown, the property naturally has some encumbrances. The deal has fallen through basically because of the whole debacle with Brown, who was hired by Hollis. In order for Lowe to acquire the property, everything must be resolved regarding the discharge of the mortgage. As it stands, just because Hollis possessed the land did not necessarily mean that he had total ownership. â€Å"Under the existing law of real property, the mere possession of land did not prove ownership conclusively.† As such, it must be noted that a fee simple is the closest thing to absolute ownership in Australia that one can have, however it does not mean that one necessarily completely owns the property. This may be difficult to understand, but basically, it is a guarant or that someone cannot just blatantly take over someone else’s property if there are encumbrances upon the piece of land being sold, similar to liens in other countries. Advise on the interest that Phil has in Savacre. Would it make any difference to your answer if Phil’s lease was only for a period of one year?   Phil has several options here. For starters, he may decide to sue Lowe for having acted upon his intention to demolish the property before Phil’s lease was up. Another issue to consider is the fact that Hollis may be getting a capital loss from the property. â€Å"[T]he owner of a building could grant a rent-free lease over the building to an associate and possibly crystallize a capital loss if it then sold the encumbered property to a third party at its reduced market value.†

Monday, October 14, 2019

Body mass index Essay Example for Free

Body mass index Essay In this assignment I will demonstrate every step of the process of determining my body mass index or BMI. After finding the body mass index I will then complete the following intervals based on my height. The formula used to determine the body mass index is BMI= 703W , where W represents a person weight in pounds and H represents a person H2 height in inches. My height is 70 inches. The first interval shows a compound inequality for: 17BMI22 17703W22 H2To make it an equivalent inequality I replaced the BMI with the formula 17703W22 702 My height in inches replaced H2 17703W22 4900then multiply by the height that was squared 17(4900)703W22(4900) 4900cancelling is performed 83300703W107800 multiplication carried out 83300703W107800 703 703 703to get W by itself all terms were divided by 703 118.49W153.34 After completing the problem I determined that people who are 70 inches may have a longer that average life if they weigh between 118.49 and 153.34 To solve this interval I’m going to solve for W prior to solving the inequality. 23703W25 H2 Multiply by H2 23H2703W25H2 Divide by 703 to get W by itself 23H2703W25H2 703703703 it is now an equivalent inequality 23(4900)W25(4900) 703 703from solving the first interval I know that my squared height is 4900. I then plugged it in the place of H2 then multiplied 112700W122500 703 703 160.31W174 Divide A person of 70 inches who weighs between 160.31 and 172 is probably not overweight. The third interval indicates a range for a person that is probably overweight. I solved this problem by inputting the number into the last compound inequality for 23 25. 25BMI29.9 25(4900)W29.9(4900) Multiply 703 703 122500W146510 703 703 Divide 174.25W208.41 A person that is 70 inches tall probably is overweight if their weight is between 174.25 and 208.41. The last interval is to be solved for someone who is obese. The inequality is BMI≠¥30 Since this is not a compound inequality I only need to use the middle and right terms. W≠¥30(4900) Multiply 703 W≠¥147000 Divide 703 W≠¥209.10 This interval indicates a person of 70 inches in height is obese if their weight is greater than or equal to 209.10. Of the 4 regions I’m going to notate interval 4 which states a person is obese if their weight is greater than or equal to 209.10. X is going to represent those who are obese X= (209.10, ∞) Graphed it would start at 209.10 pounds and so to infinity or it would never end. ( 209.10 ∞ In conclusion, during the course of the week I learned two different ways to solve for inequalities. I found that by solving for W in the intervals 2 through 4 was a lot easier and quicker than completing all the steps in the first interval. Reference Dugopolski, M. (2012). Elementary and intermediate algebra (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Citizen Service Centres (KEP): Perceptions of Customers

Citizen Service Centres (KEP): Perceptions of Customers 1. Introduction 1.1 Importance of the Research According to the philosophical bases of marketing customer wants satisfaction. As the consumer is the key for a firm, the voter is the central element for a government or party (Lock and Harri,1996).In this context the citizen voter wants satisfaction and searching his satisfaction from the services that are offered to him is ‘‘ a lens through which government and public managers can gain a better perspective on how citizens respond to the performance of public services, (Van Ryzin , 2004) and offers important findings for the policy makers. Citizen satisfaction surveys are frequently used by U.S. local governments and public administration researchers in order to measure the quality of local government services (Hatry et al., 1992; Miller and Kobayashi, 2000). A big number of U.S. cities use surveys regularly (New York , San Francisco, Phoenix etc.),in order to analyze in a descriptive and unvaried way , the level of perceived quality of services ,within a locality and over time (Van Ryzin et al., 2004). Recent studies have compared citizen satisfaction with benchmarks that were developed from data collected across many localities (Miller and Miller 1991; Miller and Kobayashi 2000), and have focused on the individual, jurisdictional, and city-specific determinants of citizen ratings of service quality (De Hoog, Lowery, and Lyons 1990; Hero and Durand 1985),like taxes and expenditure ,and also on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of respondents such as race (Schuman and Gruenberg, 1972). Other investigations have negotiated the citizen satisfaction from the police according to their ethnoracial characteristics (Brad W. S. 2005), or satisfaction from the education system or from hospitals (Amyx,Bristow ,2001, Suda Anita D.,1998). The importance of the public services quality became popular in the United Kingdom at 1990s when the political parties put an emphasis on the subject ,but even in our days the need for quality services that meet â€Å"customer† citizens needs and expectations, is more and more obvious .This need for quality public services is even expressed by the European Social Fund, as the implementation of the strategy and policies of the European Committee at Member States ,is strongly related with the public service organizations, which many of them are responsible for (ESF,2009). And although, in the marketing research exist a number of well-developed models of approaching customer satisfaction, there has been little development of a model that would test citizens satisfaction. As a result, it would be valuable to test such a model in the framework of Greek public services. 1.2 The Research Objectives The overall objective of this research is to examine the Greek citizens perceptions and expectations of service quality concerning the Citizen Service Centres (KEP) -a Greek public service based on servqual model. From this overall objective a number of more specific aims can be identified: Investigate consumer expectations towards the service offered from public services Examine citizen perceptions about Citizen Service Centres(KEP) Asses the factors that play an important role in the service quality of Citizen Service Centres (KEP) 2. Literature Review 2.1 Politics and the marketing concept It has often been argued that the application of ‘marketing tools and instruments in politics is nothing new (Perloff, 1999; Baines and Egan, 2001).In the last twenty-five years what have changed about the political marketing is not just the size of political marketing management but also the belief that political actors act and think in political terms. Political actors are them that they try to do marketing management in a frame of integration of marketing instruments in a coherent marketing strategy (Newman, 1994a; Dermody and Scullion, 2001). It is supposed that the selling of politicians and the selling of a product is linked (OShaughnessy, 2001) and that commercial and political contexts are essentially similar (Kotler, 1999). Many marketers believe that the tools and concepts of marketing can be transferred directly to the political arena (Lock and Harris ,1996) .The applications of political marketing are used as a tool of managing politics, developing policy (Nimmo, 1999), or even governing (OShaughnessy, 2003). The marketing concept in commercial terms is based on the principle that all company planning and operations will be customer oriented. As such the philosophical basis of the marketing concept is that customer want satisfaction (OCass, 1996). When a political party or candidate applies this concept to the political process, they must be in a position to adapt to and satisfy voters needs (Mauser, 1983; Newman and Sheth, 1987; Reid, 1988). For major mainstream parties, the overriding objective is to attract voters, win elections and hold power (Lock and Harris, 1996).In this extent knowing the degree of satisfaction of citizens seems to be important. 2.2 Citizen Citizen is every person of a state that has the citizenship of it (New Encyclopaedia, 2006). According the place and the time different criteria were used to define the citizen .The genealogical criterion, which is the oldest, the legal criterion and the economic (taxation) criterion .According to the first, citizen is the son of citizen that hasnt lost his rights. This definition was used in the ancient cities in order to distinguish the mass from the public. According to the second criterion citizen is each one that is recognized like that from the law. And finally, according to the last , citizen is each one that owns property or a quantity of goods and contributes to the governmental budget (Encyclopaedia Papyrus Larousse Britannica, 1992).Citizens have some rights and obligations .Their rights are political such as the right to vote, to be member of the jury or public servant , and personal such as the right to live ,to have free speech , to work, to live in freedom ,etc . ,that are protected from the state and are given to everyone. Citizens obligations such as taxation are set in order to protect the privileges that are offered to citizens from the government and they emerge from the need of the States existence (New Encyclopaedia, 2006). One of the governmental works is the provision of goods and services. All the modern governments take part directly to the economy by providing goods and services , organising industrial enterprises I promoting economic activities .Providing sanitary, education, and social insurance services , is one of the modern states concerns (Heinz Eulau ,1992). 2.3 Citizens as Customers, Customers as Citizens The classic definition of customer is â€Å"one who purchases or receives a product or service† (Carlson, 1997). The concept of customer is often more complicated in the public sector. For example, the city of Coral Springs in Florida, refined the idea by considering two distinct categories of external customers. Moreover, a building permit applicant is a direct customer while the applicants neighbors are among the indirect customers who will benefit if the decision helps to ensure a safer city and more appropriate land use and construction practices. But even with these refinements, â€Å"citizen† sometimes has a broader meaning. Citizens enjoy rights and take on responsibilities that extend well beyond those commonly recognized to customers (Popovich, 1999). Despite the passage of generations, the fact that government cannot succeed without the peoples trust and support, is a true even today. These essential elements of civil society shape the capacity and help determine the actual performance of government. Societys efforts to accomplish its highest priority and most practical goals are likely to fall short in the absence of the peoples agreement in the functions of government. As the customer is the key for a firm, the citizen -voter is the central element for a government. 2.4 Public services A service is a non material product (education, health safety etc).The meaning of public services isnt constrained in the area of Public and Αdministrative law .The public service is a known significance in the economy, as an appropriate tool of the states expansion in the social relations, for the preservation of stabilized provisions for the welfare state. Beyond the needs of the of practical policy, the interest of the political science with the expansions of the political philosophy is expressed , as the public service is characterized as the expansion of the state in its social activity . In other words , it is the way by which the state contacts the citizens in order to cover their direct needs .After the two World Wars this phenomenon is observed in the European area .In Germany , this works as ‘‘Anstalten (institutions) and the ‘‘ offentlichen Unternehmungen (public enterprises) . The administration (the welfare state) undertakes and guarantees ben efits even for the preservation of life of human who live massively in big cities such as transportation ,cleanliness , water , electricity etc. ÃŽ ¤he principles of function of the public services are connected with the needs and social aims that are tended to fulfil. Therefore, services are provided to everyone in the same way in order to cover the needs, under conditions that change from time to time (Encyclopaedia Papyrus Larousse Britannica ,1992 ). According to the Europa Glossary that is being updated given the recent signing of the Treaty of Lisbon ,the concept of public service is >. At the same time the Europa Glossary defines that continuity of service quality security of supply equal access affordable prices social , cultural and environmental acceptability Article 16 of the EC Treaty, introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam, confirms the role of public services in the European Union. The EU policy on operators of public services is still shaped by the desire to liberalise network public services and to widen the scope of competition on national markets, be this, in the areas of rail transport, postal services, energy or telecommunications>>. 2.5 Citizen Service Centres (KEP) The institution of KEP was founded in 2002, based on an idea of the Deputy Minister Mr Beno. The KEP were founded according to the article 31 of law 3013/2002 and were staffed with short term labour agreement workers, according to the processes of article 6 of law 2527/1997. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (2007), over 60.000 of citizens visit every day Citizen Service Centres (KEP) for certified or not processes, ratifications of registrations, certifications of genuine signature and every kind of administrative information. The last three years 40 new KEP were founded and now they are 1035 at their total. The centres are open Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 20:00, and Saturday, 8:00 to 14:00. At Citizen Service Centres (KEP) citizens can:  · obtain information on what they need to do in order to manage their transactions with the municipality * submit applications for the processing of matters that involve the City that the KEP is registered and state agencies in accordance with joint decisions issued by the Interior Minister or other competent Minister >(City of Athens ,2007). Some of the procedures (about 1.014 at total) that Citizens can carry out at Citizen Service Centres are the following:  · The registration or transfer of registration of a passenger vehicle or motorcycle  · The issuance of a birth certificate duplicate  · The issuance of a criminal record duplicate for general or legal use  · The issuance of a marital status certificate  · The issuance of a birth certificate duplicate for those registered with the City of Athens  · The application for a rent subsidy for the year 2006 to Workers Housing Organisation beneficiaries (former recipients)  · The issuance of a registry birth certificate duplicate for an adult or minor  · The issuance of a public transport pass for individuals with disabilities  · The application for the seasonal unemployment benefit in accordance with Article 22 of Law 1836/89 OAED (Greek Manpower Employment Organisation)  · The issuance of a marital status certificate for individuals registered with the City of Athens (online)  · The application for a rent subsidy for the year 2006 to Workers Housing Organization beneficiaries (new recipients)  · The issuance of a marriage license duplicate  · The application for the OAED (Greek Manpower Employment Organization) family subsidy  · The issuance of a drivers license  · The issuance of a Type A military status certificate (full)  · The renewal of a drivers license  · The issuance of a registry death certificate duplicate  · The application for change in passenger vehicle or motorcycle ownership  · The issuance of a permanent residence certificate  · The issuance of a judicial interdiction certificate See Appendix 1 Progressively KEP were transformed to Centres of Completed Transactions, bringing the Public Administration more near to citizen. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (2007), citizens trust KEP and are in general satisfied from them. Nowadays they have permanent staff which possesses about 2588 positions. The number of affairs that KEP handled the last years is presented at the table below: PERIOD NUMBER OF AFFAIRS SERVED CITIZENS 2006 3.042.509 1.154.554 2005 2.305.195 1.527.516 2004 1.643.313 1.316.505 2003 423.759 356.872 Medium number of affairs per day from Monday to Friday: 11.805 Medium number of affairs per day (Saturday): 821 According to the Ministry KEP are recognizable from about the 80% of citizens. Equally big are the visits to them that they exceed 60%, since they were enriched with new, more attractive for the citizen processes. But more interesting are the numbers linked with the subject of satisfaction of citizens, which according to the ministry exceeds the 90%. The problems that the Public Administration was facing when KEP were created were multiple. The most serious of them were the bad organization and the centralism of public services, lack of confidence in the government owned services, lack of evaluation, lack of meritocracy, weakening of ASEP, fragmentary, and consequently unsuccessful, efforts of application of Electronic Governing, absence of controls and sanctions and finally inflation of bureaucracy and corruptness. For this reason in 2007 a number of regulations of the article 15 of the law for Citizen Service Centres (KEP) were introduced, in order to fight the difficulties and dysfunctions of citizens service (Ministry of Internal Affairs, 2007). Some of the regulations were the following:  · The foundation of the Direction of Organization and Operation of KEP in the General Secretariat of Public Administration and Electronic Governing. The Direction was founded in order to guarantee the proper operation of KEP, but also their evolution in Centres of Completed Administrative Transactions, and the resolution of problems that emerges, because of their big number, the crowd of subjects and processes that they realize and the recent enlargement of their competences. The monitoring and the co-ordination of the operation of KEP is practiced , up today, at fragmentary way from the existing Direction of General Secretariat of Public Administration and Electronic Governing, fact which creates difficulties as far as it concerns the united confrontation of problems.  · The regulation of subjects of mobility of permanent personnel. The employees will stay in the KEP of their placement, for at least a five-year period, so that the experience, which has been acquired in the particular KEP, not to get lost.  · The simplification and acceleration of processes  · The restriction of joint responsibilities between the Ministries. It is indicatively reported that Minister of Internal Affairs does not act jointly in more than 25 different regulatory actions  · The obligatory deadline of 50 days for the transaction of the affairs of citizens  · The payment of complete compensation in the citizen in case of delay  · The self appointed search of supporting documents from the service on behalf of the citizen. 208 certificates can be requested from the service without the citizens presence, for 18 of them the self appointed search is obligatory. Indicative is the progress that took place in the case of self appointed search of certificates of birth from KEP, where, while in 2005 they had 231.327 certificates and medium time of transaction the 8 days, in the end of 2006 the transaction reached 432.188 certificates, that is to say almost double, with medium time of transaction the 5 days. Same is the acceleration as far as it concerns the certificates of familial situation, where while in 2005 were published 253.071 certificates, in 2006 until 2007, 373.219 certificates have been published  · The suppression of submission of supporting documents and their replacement with a personal declaration form for 7 cases  · The videoconference of administrative bodies  · The generalization of electronic communication and exchange of documents between the services. The network â€Å"SIZEFKSIS† ensures 50.000 digital certificates (under form of card) in civil servants equal in number. With this way is provided the possibility of electronic distribution of document, with simultaneous place of signature on this, with electronic way, without a problem of genuineness, after the distribution becomes from the above permitted employees with the use of digital certificate of (card). This electronic distribution involves big acceleration of process of publication and mission of document and contributes considerably in the fighting of bureaucracy.  · The application of a plan of restriction of state expenses and the enlarged public sector, by reforming the public services, so that they become more functional and effective  · The promotion of a regulatory reform, with the establishment of rules of good legislation as well as a system of evaluation of the results of legislative regulations in the competitiveness and the entrepreneurship The City of Athens operates a total of seven (7) Citizen Service Centres (KEP), one in each City District. Citizen Service Centres provide an online service for Athens citizens with regards the following: * City of Athens municipal roll certificates * Permanent residence certificates * Certification TAP property fee payment (in cases where agreement exists on the number of square metres registered with the Public Power Corporation and the contract of purchase) The Citizens Helpline 1595 provides information on documents required for all procedures processed by Citizen Service Centres. 2.6 Service marketing Usually marketing had been seen as having dual dimension.On the one hand, there is the notion which supports that the existence of an organization in economical and social content is based on the satisfaction of customer needs and wants, and on the other hand there is the â€Å" set of activities † which serve this philosophy in order to be implemented (CromptonLamb,1986). The marketing of services is a sector with particular characteristics .The expenditure on services is growing in most industrialized economies. According to the European Commission , â€Å"the percentage share of gross domestic product attributable to the services sector rose from 38 per cent in 1970 to almost 50 percent by 1990†. Crowell supports that â€Å"what is significant about services is the relative dominance of intangible attributes in the make up of the service product†. Services as a special kind of product usually they do not result in ownership but they can be linked to a physical good require special treatment. According to Jobber, as many offerings may combine tangible and intangible characteristics the distinction between them is >. For example, a marketing research study provides a physical good, which is the report that comes out, but also is the result of a number of service activities such as interviews with respondents, analysis of results, designing of the research, etc. Products such as a skirt or a pair of socks usually are not accompanied by a service so they can be characterised as pure goods, but also a visit to a doctor or psychotherapy can be regarded as a pure service as there is nothing tangible that the client receives. 2.6.1 THE NATURE OF SERVICES Service characteristics can be summarised to the following four: intangibility, variability, perishability and inseparability. 2.6.1.1 Intangibility As intangibility can be characterised the fact that services cant be smelled, touched, tasted or seen. Service is â€Å"a deed, performance or effort and not an object device or thing† (Berry, 1980). In other words customer cant evaluate a service before buying it and sometimes cant evaluate it even after consuming it. For this reason the challenge for the service providers is to prove the quality of the service by communicating tangible benefits to consumers. Another characteristic of intangibility is the fact that the service cant be owned so customers pay for the use of product or the performance. 2.6.1.2 Variability The provision of service quality may vary depending to the person who provides it. In other words important factors are the capabilities the person has, his physical and mental situation (tiredness, attitude etc.) the location the service is provided .So, in order to control quality variation , methods such as evaluation systems , tight quality controls and service standardization methods are necessary (Jobber,2004). 2.6.1.3 Inseparability In contrast with physical goods services cant be stored in order to be used later. Services are characterised by the â€Å"simultaneous production and consumption.† Because of this characteristic service providers role is very important to the satisfaction of consumer, as many times he is supposed to be himself the company in the eyes of customer (Berry, 1980). For this reason â€Å"the importance of service provider is an integral part of the satisfaction gained by the consumer†. The behaviour of the service provider is also important for the experience that the customer has for the provided service .So, great importance must be given to the training and rewarding of the staff and its selection (Aijo,1996). Another element that is connected to inseparability is the fact that the customer may experience the service in combination with other customers because of the nature of the service and the place it is offered. At this case marketing managers should take into consideration the role of customer interactions between them, but also the inter customer conflicts and nuisance (Barron et al., 1996). 2.6.1.4 Perishability Unlike the physical goods, services cant be stored in order to be used in the future or at peak times. So service providers should take into consideration the combination of demand and supply and use methods such as multi-skilling of the staff in order to be used at peak seasons or part time employees, supply flexibility, differential pricing and reservation system in order to minimize time waiting (Jobber, 2004). Today one of the greater challenges that the sector of services has to face is the increasing competition in combination with the growing expectations of customers and the developing demands of customers as service improves (Joseph Walker, 1988). 2.6.2 SERVICE MARKETING MIX Models had to explain the relationship between the market and the organisation in order to maximize the seconds performance (Gronrooss C, 1982). To certain extent managing services are more complicated than managing products, as products can be standardised. The standardisation of a service is far more difficult as there are more input factors i.e. process, people, physical evidence, to manage than with a product. The service marketing mix consists of the 7Ps model. These include except from the classical 4 Ps that stands for: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, three more Ps which are People, Process and Physical evidence. 2.6.2.1 People People participate and deliver the service experience, the efficiency and effectiveness, the availability and capability, the customer interaction and the internal marketing. Any provision of service includes as an essential part the use of appropriate staff and people. In order to gain an organisation competitive advantage it is important that it recruits the right staff that is well trained in the delivery of service. Usually consumers perceptions and judgements are affected by the employees they interact with. Consumers wait from the staff to have the appropriate attitude, service knowledge and interpersonal skills that they are paying for. So many organisations train their staff to certain standards. Physical Evidence Physical evidence concerns the place where the service is delivered, infrastructure, facilities, surroundings, essential evidence and peripheral evidence ,equipment and premises. It is an element of the service mix that contributes to the formation of the opinion of the consumer about the organization .So the judgments and the perceptions of the consumers are formed by the sight of the service provision .For example if you walk in an office you expect a friendly environment neat and tie. Process The systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the service, constitute the process. So process refers to the operating process that takes the customer through ,from the initial contact till the service experience and evaluation , database management, service delivery, queuing systems, ordering ,standardization .The customer usually expects efficiency and quickness at the process of the service delivery and this fosters consumers loyalty and confidence in the organization. 2.6.3 Quality Quality is important to business organisations and their consumers, because quality products or services can and will secure consumers business. In addition, linking quality with expensive spending is not absolute, as price will not determine always quality. The high or low quality of a product or service is usually determined, â€Å"by how it made the consumer feel and whether consumer expectations were satisfied or exceeded† (Kotler P. et al, 2008). Quality was very popular in the marketing literature,  « where the notion of satisfying the customer was a dominant model of quality of service provided and consumer satisfaction  » (Raftopoulos V., 2005). The US Strategic Planning Institute in 1972 developed the concept of relative perceived quality (RPQ),  «that is the perception of quality as defined by customers, relative to the offerings of competitors. In other words quality is what a customer perceives it to be and this is a dynamic and complex notion.  » 2.6.3.1 Public service quality The need for quality public services is also expressed by the European Commission through the European Social Fund in its program for 2007-2013.The reason is that the quality of public services affects the implementation of policies and the strategy design as public sector organizations are responsible for them at a big degree at the Member States ,e.g. government ministries , local authority departments and special agencies (ESF,2009). The fact of how important is the quality of public services and the need to be improved, became popular, in Britain, at 1990s when the Government gave clear > on the subject, by the proposal of the Conservative Prime Minister John Major enclosed in his Citizens Charter White Paper (Prime Minister, 1991). The issue faced great consensus from the political parties as the same year both Liberal and Labour parties published their own citizen charter proposals. The citizen driven improvement of the quality of public services was a fact (Black et al., 1994). This policy which faced the citizen as user and needed the reporting of performance from the service providers was continued for a long period it was enriched with best value new policies and was popular as>.According to this concept public services is better to be managed than administrated (Black et al.,2001). At the same time another reason that public service quality is important is that the needs and expectations of the users change and increase. Service quality and how to measure it developed to be a critical issue ,so during the 1990s performance measurement techniques developed as a result of >such as government legislation ,regulatory activity by industry keepers and major policy initiatives, as Black St. et al. , characterize them, and not as a result of the needs of the service provider. Meanwhile , all the efforts of understanding and measuring public service quality where characterized as weak and an increasing interest for quality improvement models techniques , certification and awards developed .So a number of new significances appeared such as total quality management and continuous improvement, process mapping techniques, Institution Standards and Charters. The revolution of the commercial service sector that took place the previous decades influenced also public sector organizations that faced the need to provide quality services that meet ‘customer needs and expectations. As Wisniewski remarks, > (Wisniewski, 2001). The notion of treating the customers has started to change as they dont receive passively uniform services without their voice or influence being considered (Skelcher, 1992). At the opposite side, the adoption of traditional methods may lead to the delivery of a service distant from customer needs. So organizations many times, after a more profound search, discover that the needs and values of customers are different from what they assume before searching (Farquhar C.R. ,1993). In order to discover customer perceptions and collect data concerning the attitudes o

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Growing Need For The Aware :: essays research papers fc

We as Americans need to become more sensitive to our use of language because with the increasing number of ethnic groups in the country one has to be cautious as to how they should define a certain group. Political correctness is a type of medium that helps us come to respect and communicate with the diverse group of races and cultures. Before we go on any further we must first define the meaning of political correctness. According to Webster's Dictionary, political correctness is the ideology that shows sensitivity, tolerance, and respect for another's race, gender, sexual preference, nationality, religion, age, physical handicap, or other especially if it differs from one's own. In other words, political correctness (better known as PC) is behavior and speech manifested in people of all race and culture that reflects an open-minded attitude towards other people present within the society today. For example, being 'PC'; refers to using phrases as 'physically challenged'; instead of 'disabled'; and 'Asian'; rather than 'Oriental.'; This term originated, interestingly enough, after the Civil Rights Movement and during the birth of modern feminism when many minority groups were fighting for their rights as Americans. The meaning of the words was not as significant back then as they are now. Political correctness has a completely different meaning today and it holds a lot of truths to it because it gives us that leverage to appropriately address someone without offending him or her. Many people these days are using the politically correct terms, especially business people, teachers, politicians, journalists, etc. It is sad to say that there are many more people whom simply do not realize what they say can be insulting. There are many examples in today's society where people haven't been considerate of other people's feelings and have been extremely un-PC. Most recently the so-called 'shock jock';, Doug Tracht who works in Washington DC, played music by Lauryn Hill on his radio show (MSNBC local news online). Hill is the black hip-hop artist nominated for 10 Grammy awards. On air, he remarked 'No wonder people drag them behind trucks.'; The statement referred to the brutal death of a black man in Texas who was dragged behind a truck. This is not the first time Tracht has gotten in trouble for a racial remark. In 1986 at another local radio station, Tracht made a derogatory remark about Martin Luther King day. That radio station was picketed and received bomb threats from angry people before Tracht made an on-air apology.