Long-Range Career Objectives Essay

Please provide a statement outlining your immediate educational and long-range career objectives in relation to your chosen field. If there is a particular faculty member with whom you wish to study, please give that person’s name and explain why you want to study with that person. You may also wish to include other information, such as any undergraduate research experience, internships, or other experiences you may have had to document your preparation for advanced study in your chosen field. My future plan is to achieve the CPA of America and work in a renown accounting firm or in the finance department of companies. I think by learning in your school can give me a better opportunity fulfill my future professional development. What’s more, by learning taxation and accounting for two years in my own country, I developed a personal interest in those fields. I believe America’s outlook and teaching of accounting is very unique and efficient. In order to have a bet ter understanding of this concept I would like to study at your school. Here I want to share my internship experience with you. I was fortunate to be chosen as an intern in the taxation department of Deloitte Touchà © Tohmatsu. My job here is to assist the senior manger to do some search and document revised work. Working here not only gives me a better understanding about my professional knowledge but my future career development. It also gives me a chance to find out how a successful company operates and what makes a qualified staff for that company. The DTT has very comprehensive and effective information sharing and communication system. In which it will make sure every staff member has easy access for use. For instance, I was only an intern there, but I can visit every internet resource and store documents in all the DTT†s firms in China. In addition, I can make a direct conversation to my co-workers, including the partner of the company, immediately if needed. The significance of these systems not only let us do our work efficiently and quickly, but also send messages to all its workers that â€Å" we have confidence on your professional ethics and we are ready to listen to your advises all the time.† The true thing is DTT always regard all its staff members as a part of the company, I think that is why employees are hard working on a daily basis. I think the most important character of a DDT employee is initiative. Compared to waiting for a job assignment , we should be eager for a work opportunity and find something to do when we are not occupied. This internship taught me that I should show my capability and my willingness to my job at the same time. Although I am no longer working in DTT China, I am the one equal member of initiative that seeks further study opportunity in your university. I hope this piece of writing could give you a better understanding of my personality to consider my application.

Case Study: Google in China Essay

When Larry Page and Sergy Brin first launched the Internet search engine, Google; they did so with one goal in mind, to provide people searching the internet for information with the fastest, most reliable search engine. Because of their creativity and innovation, Google is one of the largest and most profitable Internet search engines available. With more than 150 domains worldwide, people in almost every country can search the Internet for information about everything from historical facts to current events. Ingrained into the company’s code of ethics is the often quoted phrase â€Å"don’t be evil† (Hill, 2009, p. 148). By this, Google means the company will not compromise their Code of Conduct and will provide searchers with information which is current and not biased or censored in any way. To Google, their Code of Conduct is also about â€Å"doing the right thing† (Google, 2009, para. 1). Because of Google’s Code of Conduct when the company ent ered China, human rights activists had hopes that the citizens of China could search the Internet without the Chinese government censoring the results. The purpose of this paper is to address the following regarding Google’s presence in China, (a) the legal, cultural, and ethical challenges confronting Google, and (b) the various roles the Chinese government plays in Google’s Chinese business operations. In addition, the paper will include a summary of the strategic and operational challenges facing Google managers who are living and working in China.. LEGAL, CULTURAL, AND ETHICAL CHALLENGES In 2000, Google began offering services to the Chinese allowing them the ability to search in their own language. Google did not have an office in China so the service was out of the United States. For approximately two years, the Chinese people could use Google to search for information over the Internet. Then in 2002, the Chinese government blocked access to Google’s website and instead began making searchers use a site approved by the Chinese government. When the government later allowed access to Google, people found certain sites considered politically sensitive were not available. China was blocking sites the government considered subversive. To solve this problem, Google decided to establish an office in China with the goal of providing the Chinese population access to the largest amount of information the company could provide. In essence, Google voluntarily agreed to censor certain results considered subversive by the Chinese government. This created legal and ethical problems of Google being able to live up to the company standards of providing users complete access to all information. Various Roles the Chinese Government Plays In 2010, Google discovered their website had been hacked into. Although the company will not say publically whether or not they think the Chinese government was behind the hacking, they did inform the government they would no longer voluntarily censor their search results. According to Branigan â€Å"Google claimed the cyber-attack originated from China and that its intellectual property was stolen, but that evidence suggested a primary goal was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists† (Branigan, 2010, para. 14). Google also stated that they found where Gmail accounts of human rights activists living in China, Europe, and the United States were being hacked into by third parties on a routine basis (Branigan, 2010). During February, a statement was released by Secretary of State Clinton concerning the rights of all to have access to the Internet and â€Å"pledging to file a formal State Department protest regarding this month’s alleged Google Chin a censorship and hacking† (Baer, 2010, para. 1). Strategic and Operational Challenges Because of these latest developments, Google found themselves in the position of needing to make some very difficult decisions. The company needed to decide whether or not they should remain in China and agree to the terms of the Chinese government. These terms essentially meant allowing third parties to access and monitor the company’s site and Gmail accounts. However, Google seems to have found a solution for this dilemma by providing searchers with a link to the company’s uncensored Hong Kong website. The Chinese government seems to be in agreement with this solution and is allowing Google to remain in China for now (Horowitz, 2010). CONCLUSION When Google decided to enter the Chinese market, the company did so because they knew how important the Chinese market was for their business. They also realized that China provided an opportunity for the company to grow. However, entering China also resulted in Google being faced with having to make some serious ethical and legal decisions. These decisions include whether Google should continue to censor results on its website or if Google eventually needs to pull out of China. Currently, Google seems to think that giving the Chinese access to some information is better than not granting them access to any information. References Baer, M. (2010). _Cyber attacks & the ethical dimension of the Google China episode_. Retrieved from http://globalcomment.com/2010/cyber-attacks-the-ethical-dimension-of-the-google-china-episode/ Branigan, T. (2010). _Google challenge to China over censorship_. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/13/google-china-censorship-battle Google. (2009). _Google Investor Relations Code of Conduct_. Retrieved from http://investor.google.com/corporate/code-of-conduct.html#I Hill, C. W. (2009). _International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace_ (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin Horowitz, D. (2010). _Google Still in China_. Retrieved from http://www.daniweb.com/news/story295468.html

Microbiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Microbiology - Essay Example An evaluation of the total viable count and the presence of pathogens in the uncooked chicken were taken into account. The kitchen sponge and the hand wash water of the chicken were considered for the analysis. The analysis for the presence of the pathogenic micro organisms will help us to overcome the toxicity levels. (Mattick et al. 2003; Mattick et al. 2003a). A lot of tests were done to determine the presence of the bacterial load in the micro organisms. Some of them include Gram staining, Catalase test, Oxidase test, coagulase test, API Strip test, the effect of disinfectant hypochloride, cleaning agents and morphological tests. The presence of the pathogens is found using the biochemical tests and the API strip test. The differential staining of the bacteria helps to identify the unknown bacteria present in the sample. Before all the tests the samples are serially diluted and the 4th (10-4) and 5th diluted (10-5) sample are used for the analysis. The API 20E strip consists of 20 individual and miniature tests that contain the reagents for the identification of the metabolic capabilities and specifically the Enterobacteraceae family. (Butler et al. 1975). For the antimicrobial susceptibility testing, the Iso-Sensitest Agar (ISA) media was used. To test the presence o f enterobacteriaceae, the ISA media is enough according to the BSAC. The Molten agar was poured into the sterile Petri plates and they are dried to remove the excess moisture. To these plates, the antimicrobials of choice are used to such that it diffuses into the medium and they interact very well with the micro organism incorporated. The disc diffusion method of AST is the most commonest and effective method for the detection of the microorganisms in the sample. The inoculums was prepared and inoculated in the medium. The plates were incubated at 35-37 degree Celsius for at least 24 hours.

Why We Root For Some Antagonist Portrayed in Film, Literature and Article - 1

Why We Root For Some Antagonist Portrayed in Film, Literature and Television - Article Example The second example is the main character of the series Revenge, whose plot, regardless of whom it hurts, is aimed at selfish revenge. A different example, as reviewed by Cowden (2014) is the Ruthless killer in captain America, the movie. He is ruthless killer whose memory is frequently erased so that he lacks the emotions of regret. This is worse when he beats a friend he had. Throughout the movie, the watcher is still hopeful that his memory is regained to stop the evil nature. The big question is why do we secretly love and enjoy these kinds of characters yet they are schemers, evil, horrific and merciless? The first reason for hating while loving the antagonists is the fact that these characters are a reflection of who we are. If not for rules and the law, most people would be involved in evil and negative acts. Therefore, watching someone else do what we consider evil and hide within brings a sense of commonness and adventure to the viewer. Secondly, according to Langley (2012), the psychological mindset of reactance is also another reason.. He reports that the human always desires what is prohibited. Since the society is against actions of villainy, the psychological reactance makes us to root for the survival of the bad guy. Another reason for the love for villains is revenge. In most cases, villains are motivated by revenge. We understand and recognise their feeling and the spirit behind the revenge(Vivanco, 2012). Vivanco (2012) also explains the fundamental attribution error that makes us love the antagonists. It is noted once a person understands the need of a stranger they are likely to treat them as they would have desired to be treated. Another reason for the love of villains is the psychological mindset that beautiful is good. Most people view people that are physically attractive as good and hence are held in high regard. The villains in most of the films

Analysis of Business Environment for Coca-Cola Company Research Paper

Analysis of Business Environment for Coca-Cola Company - Research Paper Example The company currently estimates the average drink sales per day at about 1.8 billion with more than 500 brands by 2011, four of which are the world’s top-five sparkling brands. Coca-Cola is one of the only trademarks with the universal presence and became a billion dollar brand in 2010. It has sponsored the biggest sporting events in the world, the Olympic Games and the FIFA world cup for more than 80 years (The Coca-Cola Company, 2012, par.2). The Company has undertaken many social responsibility initiatives including the Haiti Hope Project in 2010 which aimed at developing a sustainable mango industry in Haiti. The company attributes its business success to five main factors which are unique and recognized brand , quality, marketing, global availability and ongoing innovation. This paper will explore the business environment in which Coca-Cola Company operates focusing on among other things its SWOT, competitiveness and value chain. Assessment of the General Environment The general environment consists of the external factors which affect any business. These factors are dynamic and range from Demographic, Economic, Political/legal, Socio-cultural, Technological and Global. All these affect the business of Coca-Cola Company in one way or the other, but two of the most important factors for the Coca-Cola would be the economic and technological factors. The behavior of economies of the countries in which the company transacts business has a great influence on the performance of company products in those countries. Rise in inflation and interest rates trends increases operating costs and reduces production within the industry as well as affecting demand for beverages sold in those markets. When the countries face trade deficits or surpluses, it has an impact on the exchange rate which may be favorable or unfavorable thus increasing or reducing costs of raw materials and products because of increases or decreases in the value of exports/imports. The com pany’s products in those markets are affected accordingly. Economies facing budget deficits, as opposed to surpluses, may increase taxes in order to make up for the deficits, again impacting on Coke’s business in terms of increased business costs. Increase in rates of consumption may favor the uptake of beverages sold by Coca-Cola, but increase in savings by the populace will be detrimental to the company’s business. Changes in GDP levels, as well as business cycles are additional aspects that have an influence on the industry and business in which the company operates under the economic factor. Technologically, industry as well as firm benefits and/or vulnerabilities would be associated with taking or failing to take advantage of new generational purpose technologies, research and development, converging technologies and process architectures as part of the aspects of technology. In addressing business environment, competition is a key element that always comes to mind. The five forces of competition that are employed to establish the position of the company relative to its competitors in the industry as given by Porter are potential of new entrants, bargaining power of

Can commercial media be ethical Be sure to draw on each of the module Essay

Can commercial media be ethical Be sure to draw on each of the module topics to in answering the question and use artefacts fro - Essay Example It will also contain ads from various brands that were banned for breaking the ethical barriers. Commercial Media Most of the content of media is staged, where the TV channels show that the Pope is blessing innumerable people, what is important in showing this on air is the millions of people who are viewing this at home not the ones present at the scene where the Pope is offering his blessings. Similarly, the political discussions shown that are witnessed on the TV require approval by the political authorities before these are presented to the viewers. Nevertheless, it can be said that such media programs are few, however, the point persists that such manipulated media is existent. Although, such ‘live Media’ events may be few in number but with the passage of time they are increasing in quantity (Rosengren, 1994). Thus, it can be implied that the human mind is largely conditioned by the media available on the internet, programs on TV, and articles available online and in the magazines. Many individuals believe it to be authentic and let it influence their mind sets. This perspective to look at the authenticity of media makes the consumer gullible to the gimmicks presented in the content of media available on TV, in News Papers, and magazines (Hiebert, 2001; Berman, Abraham, Battino, Shipnuck, & Neus, 2004). Journalism is another way to advertise the product in the market. The image of the advert entirely relies upon the sort of publicity it receives. Usually, this type of advertising is used for the events and media programs; creating a hype for the program in order to increase the TRP’s of the show. Publicity of a product can make and break the image of the product; for whatever the consumer reads and sees on TV thinks it to be authentic to its core. Thus, a bad publicity can ruin the image of the product altogether (Kwanash-Aidoo, 2005; Baerns, 2003; Mickey, 1997). Therefore, it can be analyzed that commercial media has the power to shap e the mind sets of individuals to the extent where they can believe in certain things and abandon beliefs as well. The commercial media have evolved over the last decade. With the emergence of new technology the ideas of communication has been shaped in to varied ways that gauge the attention of the audience and the media providers. This has diverted the attention of the media developers to the newly innovated ways of communication to tools such as the internet and mobile media. Many advertising agencies have invested large sums of money in ambient media. UK industry forecasts that the ambient media are so effective that its growing rapidly, in the near future the cost for ambient media will be in millions of pounds; moreover the literature suggests that the traditional media such as TV, posters, Cinema, and radio is substantially being replaced with the ‘non-traditional out-of-home’ media which is collectively referred to as the ambient media (Hiebert, 2001; Shankar & Horton, 1999). It is essential to high light that due to non-availability of business models in media many of the factors in advertising remain unattended and hap-hazard. For these reasons media tries to publish a story in order to sell well. This lack of media business models only make the media focus upon

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES - Essay Example Moreover, the implementation plans become effective because they are based on priorities. The most important plans are executed first before considering the other plans based on a predetermined manner of ranking such priorities. Incorporation of short-term objectives to the functional tactics enhances the need of accomplishing implementation plans with urgency. Policies play a major role in the success of an enterprise. Their development aids in the protection of all the stakeholders of an organization through the principles they provide. Policy development leads to the development of an ethical structure followed by an organization for its success. The development of the policies also ensures an organization’s capacity as a going concern because they provide continuity for the organization over a long period (Blyth, 2009). Moreover, through the development of such relevant policies, an organization experiences effective management and accountability in its system. This occurs through the adoption of the principles and remaining committed to them as per the policies. Such principles are consistent and equitable, thus affecting the performance of an

Teacher and Gun in Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Teacher and Gun in Schools - Essay Example Public school teachers should not be armed because security is not their responsibility. Teachers are meant to impart knowledge to schoolchildren. There is no training of teachers that are meant to ensure that the child is secure while in school. Arming teachers will not help in resolving incidences of violence and shooting in the school. In fact, even if the teacher is armed he will not be concentrating on ensuring that school compound and classroom are secure. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the state, and school administrators to ensure that maximum protection is provided in school. This is because security lapse outside the classroom is the one leads to shooting in the classrooms. For example, if there was maximum security outside Connecticut, the gunman could not have accessed the children in their classrooms. On the other hand, arming teachers will have far-reaching consequences for children. Mostly, carrying the gun in school will frighten the children especially those never exposed to the gun before. This is likely to affect their academic performance in school. Others who may be exposed to guns in their homes may tend to sneak with guns in school, as this may perceive this as the acceptable culture. This is because they are likely to emulate their teachers. On the other hand, teachers carrying guns may lead to rising of the violent culture. Most of the children may grow up viewing violence as an acceptable thing in the society. For example, those children who tend to be exposed to guns at an early age are more likely to be violent in future (National Association of School Psychologist 2). Additionally, public school teachers accessing guns may lead to lack of concentration in school. This may occur to both children and teachers. The teachers are less likely to handle two things at a time. They cannot take care of security and at the same time teach children.

Correctional Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Correctional Policy - Essay Example erica boasts the highest incarceration rates on the planet, even higher than places such as China, Iran or Russia, Canada also has significant challenges housing, feeding, and rehabilitating all of the prisoners in its prisons nationwide. According to a report released by the Pew Center for Research on the United States, nearly one in 100 persons in the United States is incarcerated (Pew Center, 2008). Canada has a much smaller population than the United States but the statistics are no less that a staggering. Statistics Canada has recent reported that for the first time in more than 10 years Canadas incarceration rate has increased and is now 110 prisoners per 100,000 of the Canadian population. This represents a 2% increase and for comparative purposes Canadas incarceration rate is higher than most western European countries including that of Sweden which is 82 per 100,000 and France which has an incarceration rate of 85 per 1000 population. The numbers are staggering and must be u nderstood if one hopes to tackle the issue of criminal justice reform and correctional policy reform in the 21st century (Tony, 2001; Statistics Canada, 2008). Seeking to address the fundamental issues associated with an overcrowded prison system and to propose a means through which correctional policy reform can be undertaken in the Canadian context, the following will argue that restorative justice will provide the answer to Canadas incarceration woes. This policy brief will be structured in the following manner in order to properly address the problems associated with over incarceration in Canada. Beginning with an analysis of the problem, an exploration of the weaknesses, deficits, and excesses of Canadas present correctional policy will be this elaborate upon. Following this a recommended policy to address the problems discussed above will explain the concept of restorative justice. Arguing that restorative justice can be one of the means through which solutions to Canadas

Academia and Text Matching Software Essay Example for Free

Academia and Text Matching Software Essay Critically evaluate the use of text matching software as an aid to developing good scholarship practice Introduction Academic dishonesty such as plagiarism has been a major factor in education that has affected students’ success and academic achievements in recent years. Plagiarism according to Park (2003) is the act of appropriating or copying another person’s work and passing them on as one’s idea without acknowledging the original source. Park (2003) noted that plagiarism is a growing problem and has been a misuse of the writings of another author, their ideas, hypothesis, theories, research findings and interpretations. Furthermore studies by Chao, Wilhelm and Neureuther (2009) emphasised that the rising trend of plagiarism among students can be attributed to several factors such as academic literacy, language competence and the technological advancements in the world today in terms of high speed internet facility available in hostels and computer labs. These factors according to Chao, Wilhelm and Neureuther (2009) has enhanced the ability of students to plagiarise a whole assignment by obtaining papers on the internet relating to their assignments which is as easy as copying and pasting. Park (2003) stated that students have different perceptions towards plagiarism. He noted that students view plagiarism as a minor offence which is different from cheating in exams. He further discovered that plagiarism could be unintentional (ibid). This is because some students possess a mental illusion in which they believe they have produced something from their own perspective while infact they are reproducing something which they have read from another author. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the effect of text matching software as an aid to developing good scholarship practice. This paper will begin by briefly describing what good scholarship practise is. In addition the use of text matching software for detecting good scholarship practice will be critically discussed and a conclusion will be made based on the evaluation. Good scholarship practice can be referred to as a formal study which involves academic learning and achievement. It involves acknowledging where information used to support ideas in a particular context is gotten and citing the sources (Locke and Latham, 2009). Britag and Mahmud (2009) pointed out that different strategies whichinclude the use of electronic software tools such as turnitin have been derived for detecting plagiarism with the intent of allowing students’ take responsibility of their learning and also work hand in hand with their tutors in the drafting stages of their assignments. According to Britag and Mahmud (2009) manual detection of plagiarism is difficult because it is time consuming and this is the reason why some tutors are reluctant in pursuing potential cases of plagiarism. However both the manual method of plagiarism detection and the electronic text matching method should be employed (Britag and Mahmud, 2009). Scaife (2007) argued that the electronic text matching software is not the solution to eliminating plagiarism because the software only focuses on text matching of paper under review with documents (journals, articles, e-books and conference papers) found on the internet or which has been previously submitted and this is a limitation because the only detection are focused on electronic materials without considering some non-electronic paper based documents which could still be plagiarised. Walker (2010) stated that with the development of text matching software such as the turnitin plagiarism detection was made easier, however he emphasised that the turnitin detection software is not 100 per cent efficient, it merely identifies and matches materials present in a document uploaded to turnitin website to materials available on the internet. Walker (2010) describes the electronic text matching software as a tool only suitable for detecting word for word or direct plagiarism in electronic form and the refined ones from the paper based sources are not easily detected. Moreover Carroll and Appleton (2001) argued that the turnitin is just an option for measuring plagiarism and that alone cannot be used as a basis for judging good scholarship practice. In addition Carroll and Appleton (2001) insist that the use of electronic software for detecting plagiarism requires human application and interpretation and that using turnitin alone as a medium for plagiarism detection is not proficient. According to Barrett and Malcolm (2006) the electronic text matching software (turnitin) only indicates possible plagiarism without any certainty, it is left to the tutor to determine the extent to which the writer has plagiarised or included some sources in the paper without acknowledging where they were acquired. In conclusion the concept of plagiarism cannot be overemphasised. It has become a factor that has affected good academic scholarship practice and has  created an avenue for educators to develop methods for detecting and dealing with plagiarism. The development of the electronic detection software such as the turnitin has enhanced the detection of plagiarism however it cannot be relied upon completely because it is not effective. In addition it is important to understand that the best way to detect plagiarism is to use both the manual method which involves educators and the use of electronic text matching software such as turnitin. Students could also be assisted in understanding the criteria for academic writing such as the code of conducts which requires them to acknowledge any source from where data is derived when writing academically. References Barrett, R. Malcolm, J. (2006) Embedding plagiarism education in the assessment process, International Journal for Educational Integrity, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 38-45. Bretag, T. and Mahmud, S. (2009) A model for determining student plagiarism: Electronic detection and academic judgement. , Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 50-60. Chao, C. , Wilhelm, W. J. , Neureuther, B. D. (2009. ) A Study of Electronic Detection and Pedagogical Approaches for Reducing Plagiarism, The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 31-42. Carroll, J. and Appleton, J. (2001), Plagiarism: A good practice guide, Oxford: Oxford Brookes University. Locke, E. A, Latham, G. P (2009) Has Goal Setting Gone Wild, or Have Its Attackers Abandoned Good Scholarship? , The Academy of Management Perspectives, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp.  17-23. Park, C. (2003). In Other (People’s) Words: plagiarism by university students—literature and lessons, Assessment Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 472-488. Scaife, B (2007) IT Consultancy Plagiarism Detection Software Report for JISC Advisory Service. [Online]. Retrieved from:www. plagiarismadvice. org/documents/resources/PDReview-Reportv1_5. pdf [Accessed 24th October 2012]. Walker, J. (2010) Measuring plagiarism: researching what students do, not what they say they do, Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 41-59.

Secure Barcode Authentication using Genetic Algorithm

Secure Barcode Authentication using Genetic Algorithm Dr. Poornima G. Naik Mr. Girish R. Naik Abstract— Genetic Algorithm (GA) is an invaluable tool for solving optimization problems due to its robustness. It does not break even if the inputs are changed slightly or in the presence of a reasonable noise. GA offers significant benefits over other optimization techniques in searching a large state space or n-dimensional surface. In todays information age information sharing and transfer has increased exponentially. With the popularization of Internet and exponential increase in e-commerce transactions security has become an inevitable and an integral part of any e-commerce application. Data integrity, confidentiality, authenticity, non-repudiation have gained tremendous importance and have become important components of information security. In this paper we have made an attempt to exploit the randomness involved in crossover and mutation processes of GA for generating a barcode for authentication process. The number of crossover points and number of mutation points is f ixed and cannot be altered by the user. In the current work we have employed a single crossover point and two mutation points. We have used Code-39 and Code-128 encoding techniques for generating a barcode. The barcode data comprises of 12 randomly generated decimal digits. Each decimal digit is represented using 4 bits. Hence the length of the barcode data is 36 bits. The randomly generated data is transformed into encoded form by applying crossover, mutation and XOR operations before generating a bar code. The randomness together with encoding makes the password robust and hard to track. Finally, the algorithm is implemented in Java and applied for authentication of employee data in a hypothetical organization. The methodology is general and can be applied to any task where authentication is required. Index Terms— Genetic Algorithm, Cross-over, Mutation, Barcode, Encoding. The paper is organized as follows. The first section gives an introduction to Genetic Algorithm under the heading of Introduction. Section II covers the literature survey and the current scenario of application of soft computing in implementing security. Section III focuses on the proposed method of barcode generation using Genetic Algorithm. Section IV covers implementation of the algorithm in Java. Finally, Section V is devoted for conclusion and scope for future enhancements. I. Introduction Genetic algorithms (GA) are adaptive heuristic search algorithms based on the evolutionary ideas of natural selection and genetics [1]. They are based on the principle of Darwinian idea of survival of the fittest and natural genetics. Genetic Algorithm Generally, a Genetic Algorithm consists of three basic operations. Selection Crossover Mutation The first step consists of searching individuals for reproduction. In our problem, we have selected two vectors of 16 bytes each as parents for reproduction. Since the problem is of encryption, there is no special preference given to any particular selection method. All the vectors are selected sequentially based on their order of appearance in a text file. Cross-over is the process of taking two parents and producing from them a child. In an optimization problem, crossover operator is applied to the mating pool with the hope that it creates a better offspring. For the problem under consideration, crossover is taken as one of the steps in producing a decrypted vector. We have employed four-point crossover method. In the case of optimization problem, selecting more than four crossover points will result in the disruption of building blocks whereas in the case of encryption larger the disruption better is the algorithm which makes it robust and difficult to break. After crossover, the vectors are subject to mutation. In optimization problem, mutation prevents the algorithm from being trapped in a local minimum. Mutation plays the role of recovering the lost genetic matter as well for randomly distributed genetic information. In encryption problem, mutation is employed for inducing disorder into the vector. It introduces a new genetic structure in the population by randomly modifying some of the building blocks and maintains diversity into the population. We have employed flipping method, in which for a character 1 in mutation chromosome, the corresponding character b in the parent chromosome is flipped from b to (9-b) and corresponding child chromosome is produced. In the following example 1 occurs at two random places of mutation chromosome, the corresponding characters in parent chromosomes are flipped and the child chromosomes are generated. Structure of Code128 Bar Code Barcodes are made up of a series of lines that vary in width and correspond to various numeric, alphanumeric, or multicode configurations which can then be read in by a laser barcode scanner.Code 128 is a very effective, high-density symbology which permits the encoding of alphanumeric data. It includes verification protection both via a checksum digit and byte parity checking. This symbology has been widely implemented in many applications where a relatively large amount of data must be encoded in a relatively small amount of space. Itsspecific structure also allows numeric data to be encoded at, effectively, double-density. A Code 128 barcode consists of a leading quiet zone, one of three start codes, the data itself, a check character, a stop character, and a trailing quiet zone as shown in Fig. 1. The Code 128 data is encoded in strips of bars and spaces. The sequences of zeros or ones simply appear as thicker bars or spaces. The checksum is included in the barcode, and is a digi t that verifies that the data just read in was correct. The checksum digit is based on a modulo 103 calculation based on the weighted sum of the values of each of the digits in the message that is being encoded, including the start character. Fig. 1. Code-128 Barcode Similar structure exists for Code-39 Barcode. ii Literature survey In literature to date, many GA based encryption algorithms have been proposed. A. Tragha et.al [2] have describe a new symmetric block cipher system namely, ICIGA (Improved Cryptographic Inspired by Genetic Algorithm) which generates a session key in a random process. The block size and key length are variables and can be fixed by the end user in the beginning of the cipher process. ICIGA is an enhancement of the system GIC (Genetic Algorithm inspired Cryptography) [3]. There are various proposed methods for image encryption such as quad tree approach, cellular automata [4, 5]. There are wide applications of GA in solving non-linear optimization problems in various domains [6,7]. But very few papers exist which exploit the randomness in the algorithm for implementation of security. Chaos theory and entropy have large application in secure data communication and the desired disorder is provided by inherent nature of genetic algorithm [8, 10]. Mohammad SazzadulHoque et.al [11] have pre sented an intrusion detection system by applying GA to efficiently detect various types of network intrusions. They have used evolutionary theory to filter the traffic data and thus reduce the complexity [12]. There are several papers related to IDS all of which use GA in deriving classification rules [13, 15]. But to the best of our knowledge very few papers exist which exploit randomness in generating barcode for authentication purpose. III Proposed Method Fig. 2. Application Architecture We have used Code-39 and Code-128 encoding techniques for generating a barcode. The barcode data comprises of 12 randomly generated decimal digits. Each decimal digit is represented using 4 bits. Hence the length of the barcode data is 36 bits.The randomly generated data is transformed into encoded form by applying crossover, mutation and XOR operations before generating a bar code. The application architecture is shown in Fig. 2. Pseudocode The pseudo code for barcode generation process using GA is depicted in Fig 3. Step 1 : Generate a 12 digit random number and store it in a vector. Step 2 : Each decimal digit in step 1 can be represented using 4 binary digits. Hence the total number of binary digits required to represent the data is 4 x 12 = 48 bits. Generate a hash H, by repeating digits 0 and 1 (if the digit is > 8) and 0 and 0, otherwise, required number of times. Step 3 : Perform the XOR operation between the data and a 48-bit hash computed above. Step 4 : Split the vector into two vectors of size six each. Step 5 : Compute 10’s complement of each digit. Step 6 : Perform the crossover operation at the midpoint. Step 7 : Perform the mutation at the extreme positions of the vector. The mutation operation consists of flipping the digit from its original value to its complement. Step 8 : Combine the vectors to reconstruct a 12-digit vector. Step 9 : Perform the XOR operation between the data and a 48-bit hash computed above. Step 10 : Use the 12-digit number generated above to generate a barcode in code-128 fromat. Step 11 : End Fig 3 Pseudo code for barcode generation using GA Mathematical Formulation. Let the original vector be represented by VOriginal. Let H be the hash constructed as follows. H= ∑’ Hi where 1 Hi = 0000, for i = 8 or 9 = 0101, otherwise. H is the generated hash of length 48 bits. Compute the hash of VOriginal as shown below: VOriginal ÃŽ ¸ H = VHash Split the hash into two vectors of size six each. Let the two parts be represented by, V1Hash and V2Hash, respectively. VHash = V1Hash + V2Hash Compute 10’s complement of each digit. Let the two parts be represented by ( V1Hash)ÃÅ'  and (V2Hash )ÃÅ' , respectively. Perform the crossover operation at the midpoint. Let the two new parts now be represented by C( V1Hash )ÃÅ'  and C(V2Hash ), respectively, where C is the crossover operator. Perform the mutation at the extreme positions of the vector. Let the two parts now be represented by MC( V1Hash )ÃÅ'  and MC(V2Hash ) ÃÅ' , respectively, where M is the crossover operator. Combine the vectors to reconstruct a 12-digit vector. Perform the XOR operation between the data and a 48-bit hash, H computed above to generate a final vector. Let it be VTransformed. We get, VTransformed = [ MC( V1Hash )ÃÅ'  + MC(V2Hash ) ÃÅ' ] ÃŽ ¸ H (1) Decoding Vector into original Vector Perform XOR operation between H and VTransformed given by equ(1) to get, [ MC( V1Hash )ÃÅ'  + MC(V2Hash ) ÃÅ' ]. Split the hash into two vectors of size six each. Let the two parts be represented by, MC( V1Hash )ÃÅ'  and MC(V2Hash ) ÃÅ'  respectively. Perform reverse mutation operation and then reverse cross0ver operation on two individual parts to get, ( V1Hash)ÃÅ'  and (V2Hash ) ÃÅ' , respectively. Take 10’s complement of each digit in the two vectors to get, ( V1Hash) and (V2Hash ), respectively. Combine the two vectors to get VHash, where VHash =VOriginal ÃŽ ¸ H Perform XOR operation between H and VHashto get the original vector. The entire process of generating the barcode is illustrated below with the help of an example. Step 1: Generate a 12 digit random number and store it in a vector. Let the number be represented by Step 2 : Generate Hash H as shown below. Step 3 : Perform the XOR operation between the data and a 48-bit hash computed above. Step 4 : Split the vector into two vectors of size six each. and Step 5 : Compute 10’s complement of each digit. and Step 6 : Perform the crossover operation at the midpoint. and Step 7 : Perform the mutation at the extreme positions of the vector. Step 8 : Combine the vectors to reconstruct a 12-digit vector. Step 9 :Generate Hash H as shown below.. Step 10 : Perform the XOR operation between the data and a 48-bit hash computed above Step 11 : Use the 12-digit number generated above to generate a barcode in code-128 fromat. CODE128- 996108946439. Decoding the barcode Step 1: Extract the rightmost 12 digits from the barcode. Step 2 : Generate a hash as shown below: Step 3 : Perform the XOR operation between the data and a 48-bit hash computed above Step 4 : Split the vector into two vectors of size six each. Step 5 : Perform reverse mutation at the extreme positions of the vector. and Step 6 : Perform the crossover operation at the midpoint. and Step 7 : Compute 10’s complement of each digit. and Step 8 : Combine the vectors to reconstruct a 12-digit vector. Step 9 : Generate a hash as shown below: Step 10 : Perform the XOR operation between the data and a 48-bit hash computed above which represents the original vector iv implementation in JAVA The model proposed above is implemented in Java using MS Access as backend and Swing for GUI development. JDBC Type-I driver is used. The structure of the Barcode table used in the implementation is as follows : The following figures 4.1 to 4.4 show the output windows generated by Barcode tool developed in Java. Fig. 4.1 Java Barcode Generation Tool Fig. 4.2 Generation of Barcode Fig. 4.3 Barcode generated in Code-39 Format Fig. 4.4 Barcode Authentication Process. V.CONCLUSION AND SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK In this paper we have proposed a model for barcode generation based on genetic algorithm and is implemented in Java for authentication of employees in a hypothetical organization. The password is encrypted by applying crossover, mutation and XOR operations and is difficult to track. This model provides a unique security layer on top of existing barcode security layer which makes the password more robust and difficult to break. Even if the database is hacked, the password cannot be stolen because the relationship between barcode and ID is not known. The model can be employed in situations where authentication is of prime significance and can be used for secure transmission of limited data such as credit card number. It provides a cheaper solution to RFID for authentication. Due to the symmetry in the operations involved and symmetry of XOR operation, the coding and encoding processes are reversible. Our future work consists of interfacing the software with barcode scanner and study of various coding techniques with reference to their applicability. References David. E. Goldberg, â€Å"Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning†, Pearson Education, 1989, ISBN-13: 978-020115767. X. F. Liao, S. Y.Lai and Q. Zhou. Signal Processing. 90 (2010) 2714–2722. H. Cheng and X. Li. IEEE Transactions on Signal Processive. 48 (8) (2000) 2439–2451. O. Lafe. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence. 10 (6) (1998) 581–591. R. J. Chen and J. L. Lai. Pattern Recognition. 40 (2007) 1621–1631 Dr.Poornima G. Naik, Girish R. Naik, Application of Genetic Algorithm to Mass Production Line for Productivity Improvement, International Journal of Latest Trends in Engineering and Technology (IJLTET) Special Issue – IDEAS-2013 ISSN:2278-621X. S. Li, G. Chen and X. Zheng. Multimedia security handbook. LLC, Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press; (2004) [chapter 4]. Y. Mao and G. Chen. Handbook of computational geometry for pattern recognition, computer vision, neural computing and robotics. Springer; (2003). H. S. Kwok, W. K. S. Tang, Chaos Solitons and Fractals, (2007) 1518–1529. Mohammad SazzadulHoque, Md. Abdul Mukit and Md. Abu NaserBikas,An Implementation of Intrusion Detection System Using Genetic Algorithm, International Journal of Network Security Its Applications (IJNSA), Vol.4, No.2, March 2012 L.M.R.J Lobo, Suhas B. Chavan, Use of Genetic Algorithm in Network Security, International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)Volume 53– No.8, September 2012 W. Lu, I. Traore, â€Å"Detecting New Forms of Network Intrusion Using Genetic Programming†. Computational Intelligence, vol. 20, pp. 3, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, pp. 475-494, 2004. M. M. Pillai, J. H. P. Eloff, H. S. Venter, â€Å"An Approach to Implement a Network Intrusion Detection System using Genetic Algorithms†, Proceedings of SAICSIT, pp:221-228, 2004. S. M. Bridges, R. B. Vaughn, â€Å"Fuzzy Data Mining And Genetic Algorithms Applied To Intrusion Detection†, Proceedings of 12th Annual Canadian Information Technology Security Symposium, pp. 109-122, 2000. M. Middlemiss, G. Dick, â€Å"Feature selection of intrusion detection data using a hybrid geneticalgorithm/KNN approach†, Design and application of hybrid intelligent systems, IOS Press Amsterdam, pp.519-527, 2003.

Listening Skills :: Communication

CLOSE LISTENING According to scholars in the field of listening, â€Å"Listening is the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages" (qtd in Thompson, et al. 1994). While we may feel that we are already good listeners, we are also aware that sometimes our attention wanders, we space out completely, or we lose track of a speaker because we begin thinking about our own ideas. By asking you to practice listening, we are not suggesting that you are not a good listener already, but that by thinking about listening -- what qualities make a good listener, the various kinds of listening roles we play, and the personal challenges we have in effective listening – and doing some listening exercises, you’ll maintain the listening skills you have and perhaps develop new ones. Getting Started (Class 1) 1. First, working in groups of 4 or 5, generate a list of 8 qualities that good listeners have. These might include both visible and non-visible items. 2. Next, create a list of 8 things that can get in the way of ones ability to listen fully and effectively. For example, what kind of environments are best for listening? What kinds of emotional states make it harder to listen accurately? 3. Next, think about the different kinds of listening people engage in; what roles do listeners play from day to day? 4. Finally, come together as a class and compile a master list of your group’s findings. The â€Å"What I heard† Exercise (Class 2) Because a big part of engaged listening involves giving feedback to a speaker, sometimes we have to be able to both listen and think simultaneously. While focusing too much on our own thoughts can get in the way of effective listening, making simple connections to explore later can be very useful. In this exercise, you will listen to your classmates describe the main points from their Close-Reading papers (from Assignment One), and follow-up with a segue to your own paper. 1. First, one person says what passage his or her Close Reading is about and either reads all of it or an excerpt aloud. 2. Next, that person tells the class about the main points of his or her Close Reading, using the Close Reading paper as notes. 3. At this point, anyone whose passage is similar (some may even have identical passages) or raises similar issues, enters the conversation with an affirmation that he or she has heard the previous speaker by saying something like, â€Å"What I heard you say is †¦Ã¢â‚¬  followed by the link that the student sees between his or her own paper and the paper of the previous speaker. Listening Skills :: Communication CLOSE LISTENING According to scholars in the field of listening, â€Å"Listening is the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages" (qtd in Thompson, et al. 1994). While we may feel that we are already good listeners, we are also aware that sometimes our attention wanders, we space out completely, or we lose track of a speaker because we begin thinking about our own ideas. By asking you to practice listening, we are not suggesting that you are not a good listener already, but that by thinking about listening -- what qualities make a good listener, the various kinds of listening roles we play, and the personal challenges we have in effective listening – and doing some listening exercises, you’ll maintain the listening skills you have and perhaps develop new ones. Getting Started (Class 1) 1. First, working in groups of 4 or 5, generate a list of 8 qualities that good listeners have. These might include both visible and non-visible items. 2. Next, create a list of 8 things that can get in the way of ones ability to listen fully and effectively. For example, what kind of environments are best for listening? What kinds of emotional states make it harder to listen accurately? 3. Next, think about the different kinds of listening people engage in; what roles do listeners play from day to day? 4. Finally, come together as a class and compile a master list of your group’s findings. The â€Å"What I heard† Exercise (Class 2) Because a big part of engaged listening involves giving feedback to a speaker, sometimes we have to be able to both listen and think simultaneously. While focusing too much on our own thoughts can get in the way of effective listening, making simple connections to explore later can be very useful. In this exercise, you will listen to your classmates describe the main points from their Close-Reading papers (from Assignment One), and follow-up with a segue to your own paper. 1. First, one person says what passage his or her Close Reading is about and either reads all of it or an excerpt aloud. 2. Next, that person tells the class about the main points of his or her Close Reading, using the Close Reading paper as notes. 3. At this point, anyone whose passage is similar (some may even have identical passages) or raises similar issues, enters the conversation with an affirmation that he or she has heard the previous speaker by saying something like, â€Å"What I heard you say is †¦Ã¢â‚¬  followed by the link that the student sees between his or her own paper and the paper of the previous speaker.

Comparison of Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branaghs Versions of Hamlet Essa

Comparison of Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branagh's Versions of Hamlet Modern day directors use a variety of methods to hold ones interest. Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branagh’s created versions of Hamlet that shared some similarities, but ultimately had many differences in respects to an audience’s appeal. An appealing movie is one that has an alluring ambiance and an intellectual stimulus. With these two movie versions, a setting and a mood forced an audience to acquire specific emotions, but Ethan Hawke’s version generated emotions more strongly and effectively. Also, these movies had extremely different uses of music and visuals, but both movie versions incorporated them well for the ambiance it tried to obtain. Finally, both movie versions drew characters to captivate the audience; however in Ethan Hawke’s version, the characters were used so effectively that it was easy to feel involved with them. While both these versions of Hamlet had a captivating ambiance, Ethan Hawke’s version was more appealing due to the intel lectual incentive that it offered. Setting and mood are methods of direction that can change a film’s ambiance and bring on an adundance of intelligent thoughts. Hawke and Branagh both reproduced Hamlet with a setting and mood that were both appealing for an audience. For instance, Hawke created a film much unlike Shakespeare’s play with a modern day setting. At the start of the film, the mood was set using modern visuals and melodies. Then a soliloquy of Hamlet was seen stating his troubling inner emotions. These scenes created a mood of youth and despair which eventually would become very effective in the plot of the film and the development of Hamlet’s character. Branagh’s version created a setting and a mood similar to Shakespeare’s original play. The beginning of the play opened with two guards waiting for the appearance of a ghost. Traditional music and dark visuals like a statue of Hamlet’s father created a mood of darkness and anxiety. This gave the film suspense which was much needed for the story. Clearly, both directors used the setting and the mood to play with particular emotions of the audience. However, Hawke was more creative in his methods and he created a non-traditional setting and mood that related more to a modern day audience. For example, Hawke focused on the mood by choosing camera shots during Hamlet’s soliloquy that... ...ter development was sophisticated and artisitic. In this version, the audience was absorbed with Hamlet’s character. This introduced a variety of thought and reflection making the film more appealing to a widespread audience. Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branagh recreated Shakespeare’s Hamlet with an alluring ambiance, however Ethan Hawke’s version was more appealing to an audience due to the stimulation of intelligent reflection. The setting and the mood in each of these versions played with the audience’s emotions, but Ethan Hawke’s version brought on stronger ones. Secondly, Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branagh used different choices of music and visuals that were equally effective in creating the ambiance the directors wished to obtain. As well, both movie versions created characters that tried to influence an audience; but, Ethan Hawke’s version introduced its main character so effectively that an audience was captivated by him. These two movie versions had some similarities, but Ethan Hawke’s different style produced a more appealing film. In the end, it was interesting to view the ways in which a director can try to make an old story more appealing to a modern d ay audience.

Health vs Happiness Essay

Picture this: you are hungry, busy, and don’t really feel like cooking or cleaning. So you dash to the nearest fast food joint and order a fat, juicy burger with some fries and a soda to wash it down. Once in a while this may be okay, but if you find yourself taking this easy way out more than once a week, there may be consequences. The American Heart Association states that diets high in salt, cholesterol, sugar and fat can take away from other essential nutrient levels. This may lead to heart problems or obesity. Practicing little or no physical activity can lead to further health complications. Is it a waste of time to watch what you eat or how you exercise? Maybe not. Skipping those fast food meals and substituting with a sandwich made at home or packing leftovers for lunch takes no more time than pulling into the drive through. Getting up and walking around your office a few minutes each day is better than sitting at your desk all day. If you do choose tha fast food route, park your car and go inside to order. If you think life is too short to care about what you eat, think again. You may, in fact, be shortening your life by taking shortcuts. If you are a smoker, that makes it much shorter. Some people may feel that they are happier if they can eat what they want when they want it. But is being overweight, fatigued and lazy being happy? For me, it is not. I am not the perfect picture of health, but I do feel that being healthy is being happy. I did not watch what I was eating or how I was taking care of myself until I became pregnant. I started eating healthier, drinking more water, and feeling better. Feeling better physically made me happier. I am no longer pregnant and still plan on keeping the healthy habits I kept while pregnant. Keeping healthy habits also gives one more energy, which in turn may help with exercising. Eating healthy and exercising could reduce stress. Less stress equals more happiness. So does being healthy mean being happy? I say to each his own. If you are happy being obese and having health problems, then so be it. I, for one, am happy being healthy.

Improvement of the Road Safety

A car accident is part of a list of problems on the road. Car accidents can happen to drivers anytime, anywhere, and even with those who are careful. This essay will deal with the road safety problem. I will discuss about main causes of the car accidents, and possible solutions for this problem. Now let’s look at the problem more closely. Every year the number of car accidents increase, due to increasing the number of cars on the road. Preston, 2007) The main causes of the car accidents are driver distractions, drunken drivers, driver fatigue, using cellular phones while driving, speeding, aggressive driving, mechanical failure, road conditions and weather. (Morris, n/d) (Unknown 1, 2005)Usually the most affected in car accident is driver, but passengers and pedestrians also are affected by the road accident. Brown, 2007) In general, about 1. 2 million people die due to car accidents each year nationwide andOne of the possible solutions of this problem could be car safety, whi ch include active and passive safety. Active safety means that this system helps driver to avoid an accident. Passive safety serves to save alive for driver, passengers in case of accident. Unknown 2, n/d) Nowadays some of the active and passive safety features already installed in majority of cars for example such systems as Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) which helps to stop car more effective and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) which stabilize a car on the road by correcting oversteering or understeering, improving traction on slippery or icy roads. (Unknown 2, n/d) There are such systems as proximity monitors which shows how close is your car to the vehicle ahead and drifting monitors which alert driver when car drifts.

Presenter Notes

Slide#1Good morning! My name is and I’m happy to be here today for this presentation. We will be discussing ways to maximize the use of our Human Resources department and I will concentrate on the ways our Human Resources department can be used for individual performance appraisals, ways of assessing our teams and succession planning.Slide#2What are performance appraisals? Simply put, they are the evaluation of goals that are pre-determined and set by both the employee and organization (Harvard Business Press, 2009). They are used to measure an employee’s performance and team performance.Why are performance appraisals needed? A performance appraisal can be used to provide documentation for any needed disciplinary or termination issues. It can also be utilized to identify the best employees. This will help management identify employee’s individual strengths and weaknesses. This will help employees reach their highest potential. Management is then able to take the information to identify proper training and feedback for every employee. We would cease to exist without our patients. Patient satisfaction is a major factor within the organization. Thus, patient satisfaction comments provide an important source of documentation when using performance appraisal.The performance appraisal can provide an objective evaluation. The goals should be consistent among all employees within each job description. Evaluation then would be conducted using the equal benchmarking. Utilization of the same goals and expectation within the job description helps management avoid discrimination complaints.The management team must take ownership of the performance appraisal system and emphasize its importance and usefulness to our employees. Our employees must realize the value of our appraisal system and be actively involved with  his or her own appraisal to take ownership of his or her own successes.A performance appraisal can provide clarification of expectations, management communication, increased consistency, and expand accountability. Our company will benefit through boosted productivity, retaining experienced employees, and the fostering of culture that allows employees and management to communicate and share ownership in the evaluation process.Slide#3Plan—A date and time should be decided upon in advance to minimize potential conflicts and allow for proper preparation. The appraisal should take place in a location that will provide privacy and limit interruptions.Document—Positive and negative documentation should be collected from the employee hire date. This allows for an accurate, solid performance appraisal to be delivered. Collection of this documentation can happen in many ways, but most often occurs through e-mails, feedback from team members, disciplinary paperwork, current job description and scope of practice, attendance, patient satisfaction surveys and management’s own notes. This information will allow the necessary information that will be needed to deliver an accurate and well-founded performance appraisal.Review Past Appraisals—Has the employee reached his/her goals from the last performance appraisal? Determine what actions need to take place for this employee to improve current performance, what management can do to help the employee reach these goals and provide praise for actions the employee has done well.There are potential drawbacks when using performance appraisals. It is often a hard task to differentiate between organizational performance and individual performance (Towney & Harris, 2000). A performance appraisal may be ineffective if it does not correspond with the culture within the organization (Schraeder, Becton, & Portis, 2007). Also, if not used correctly, a performance appraisal can be detrimental to a company. Complications arising:impede improvement: Soltani (2005) believes that performance appraisals will  adversely affect quality improvement within an organization due to negative perceptions. Negative perceptions: Performance appraisals can be stressful and uncomfortable for both the employee and management. This often is true if the employee being appraised does not trust management or they believe the appraisal is an exercise to be endured and executed. Erroneous information: Accurate information should be provided within the performance appraisal. It should be used to compare current performance to pre-established criteria and the employee should be rated honestly.Often, this is not the case and the employee will receive inflated ratings to please the employee to avoid conflict. Legal issues: When not conducted appropriately, performance appraisals can cause legal issues for the organization. Thus, the performance appraisal must be free from bias and discrimination. Professional goals: Performance appraisals are used to outline an employee’s performance goals. An overly challenging goal may affect the employeeâ€⠄¢s quality of work, knowledge and skills. This would not be beneficial for the organization or employee. New employees should focus on outcome goals rather than performance goals initially. Affect pay: A deficit in performance-based pay may be linked to the performance appraisal. This leads to tension among employees and management.Slide#4The employee should be informed of any performance pay increases after the appraisal. The rationale for not giving any increase in performance pay should be discussed with the employee and allow the employee any rebuttal if not in agreement with the appraisal.Goals must be communicated with the employee and must be in alignment with organizational culture. They must be specific, measurable, supported, and achievable. These goals will be motivators for the immediate time to come. Unobtainable goals are discouraging and provide no real way to achieve company goals. Documentation of the plan of action for the employee should be completed. This docume ntation will provide a record of what has been tried, lessons learned, and the direction in which the employee should take to meet goals.This will help the employee gain knowledge and experience prior to taking on additional responsibilities. Thus, providing the  employee with his/her strengths and weaknesses. Next the discussion for what the employee goals will be for the upcoming future should take place. New goals should be addressed. The employee should be willing to correct any performance issues.The performance appraisal process should include this step for an overall effective process. This allows management and the employee to be involved with the process.Slide#5The employee should know where he/she stands in obtaining performance goals. Thus, providing feedback is an integral part of the task. The feedback should be delivered to the employee to motivate the employee but also help him/her identify any weakness in his/her performance and to help contribute to growth. The em ployee should leave the appraisal with knowledge of what he/she specifically needs to improve on and the actions needed to improve. However, management may unknowingly make mistakes when delivering feedback. This may impede the employee’s performance. Some instances that may be counter-productive to providing feedback is not honestly providing accurate feedback because of a negative connotation, focusing on the individual rather than actions, generalizing the feedback given, and offering solutions with negative feedback only.Personality Appraisal: The employee’s personality may be appraised instead of his/her performance. This may leave the employee feeling attacked. Demoralizing: The appraisal may only provide feedback on what you are not doing well, instead of what you have done correctly. â€Å"I Talk, You Listen† Approach: The appraisal should allow for conversation to take place. The employee should be allowed to ask questions and not to have to sit quietly and listen to only what management wants to say. Surprises: The employer should not surprise the employee. The employer should provide feedback at times other than the performance appraisal, especially if the actions of the employee are negative.Performance appraisals are not often looked fondly upon. Management delivering the appraisals needs to use the appraisal as a way to provide  both positive and negative feedback. This will make the process more effective and beneficial to both the organization and employee.Slide#6The performance appraisal should be completed using simple language. Do not use jargon when speaking with the employee. The employee expects honesty, so don’t gloss over the appraisal if it is not as positive as the employee hoped. This isn’t the time to renegotiate the goals set at the beginning of the year, but to deliver the information on any deficits the employee had. The manager delivering the appraisal should not be afraid to praise the emplo yee for doing a good job. On the other hand, if the employee has not performed as expected, the manager should not feel the need to hide the bad news.The employee’s performance is not a reflection on that manager, but the employee. It is not ethical to inflate an employee’s performance detail to spare feelings. Doing so, actually will expose the organization to liability. Feedback should be given throughout the year so there is no surprise or likelihood for any confrontations during the appraisal review. The employee will respect the manager more when this takes place then waiting until the performance appraisal for all the information to be divulged.Slide#7Is the company concerned with employee successes? Yes! When the employee is able to succeed in attaining his/her goals, the organization succeeds as well. Increased efficiency and production are achieved when management and employees work together with a common goal. The organization will exist only when our company invests in our employees.Professional investing begins upon the employment of the new employee. The employee was hired for his/her individual set of skills and knowledge. The roles and responsibilities of the employee evolve and grow as the organization evolves. Thus, the organization continues to invest in the employee for both the organization and employee’s benefit.There is a benefit to helping an employee expand in professional development.  The organization invests in that employee and hopes to promote the culture of the company. This allows the employee to adapt to changing demands in the work environment. When the employee is successful, then the organization appears more successful.A successful performance appraisal will benefit the organization by providing professional development of the employee. This will help the organization create a employee that follows the culture of the organization. This leads to increased employee satisfaction and results in decreased e mployee turnover.Slide#8Teams of individuals compose an organization. There are organizational expectations for a team’s performance. Four areas need to be considered when assessing a team’s performance. These areas are financial health, market wins, service quality and personal development (Smith, 2004). Financial viability—Financial viability is important in measuring team performance. This tells management how well the team utilizes employees and keeping the overall costs reduced.Market wins—The assessment of the team in marketing gives the organization a picture of how well the team is doing in comparison to company goals. Service Quality—The team is assessed on how important they make the consumer feel and attention paid to needs of the consumer. Was the care appropriate and did the team provide the consumer an opportunity for communication of his/her needs? Personal Development—The team is assessed on the investment of each team member ’s personal development. Did the team members achieve his/her goals and how does this compare to the overall team efforts? Specific evaluations can be good indicators in overall team satisfaction.Slide#9A multi-source feedback model is one that gathers information on an employee from members within the employee’s immediate peer group. This type of feedback model will include direct feedback from peers, supervisors, and  subordinates. This model also gives the employee a chance to evaluate his/her own performance. Feedback may also come from external sources, such as patients. Multisource feedback may be contrasted by upward feedback, where feedback is given from direct reports and traditional performance appraisals, where his/her direct supervisor only evaluates the employee.This combination of appraisals ensures accurate assessments of employees and teams. Supervisors would be able to utilize feedback from the employee’s peers, patients, and his/her own indiv idual performance review. The employees must separate individual assessments from team assessments to ensure accuracy. This type of evaluation also allows for praise to be given when it is due.The multi-source feedback model can also be utilized for team performance evaluations. The multi-source feedback model allows supervisors see the performance of a team from all points of view. This model would be able to identify if the team is meeting organizational goals.Slide#10 Managers must be consistent when evaluating team performance and employees. The manager must understand the importance of the assessment strategy. For example, the employee evaluation focuses upon the individual employee while the team evaluation focuses upon the team as a whole. Thus, it is important to have a system in place for evaluations. The nature of the team type of evaluation needs to be focused on discussions rather than endless form filing. This makes sense because the manager will need to gain an underst anding of the whole team and the successes attained in meeting designated objectives.The discussions need to focus on what can strengthen the team and what individual opportunities exist for individual team members. The team members must feel comfortable and be encouraged to be candid during the discussions. Employee evaluations focus on the individual employee and conducted with that employee only. There are many types of evaluations available to assess an individual employee in an ongoing performance assessment. Individual assessments are aimed at providing feedback to the employee and management for administrative decision-making and employee development. The primary purpose of an employee performance  appraisal is to improve the employee to achieve goals.Slide#11Individuals are not happy doing the same job over and over again without the prospect of something more interesting or challenging being offered to them. Employees who anticipate a long-term career path will look at op tions available to them. They will likely be more motivated and productive. They will want to understand what is expected from them and think about what they need to do to remain with the company.Succession planning helps the organization plan what it must do to provide professional development for our employees. A successful strategy provides cross-training and mentoring to employees and prepares them to be ready to step into other jobs and responsibilities should the opportunity present itself. This allows the organization to function effectively. To ensure growth and sustainability, an organization should implement a succession planning strategy. This will guarantee the organization continued successes and allows the organization to develop more leaders within (Beck, 2013).Slide#12The organization can use succession planning through the development of more leaders within the actual organization. This allows the organization to invest in employees, which provides positive reinforc ement and satisfaction. This also allows to place employees in different positions should the necessity arise to fill positions due to unforeseen circumstances. The actual candidates selected must be chosen carefully, since the candidates will be expanding their competencies and skills to ensure they will be able to lead others. The candidates must be familiar with as many departments as possible so they are able to foster a greater understanding of the organization and culture.Successional planning should be a benefit within the organization. This can be used to help recruit valuable employees. This will help aid the  organization attain the mission and goals set forth.Slide#13 Identification of key positions should be completed. Next, key employees should be identified for these positions. The employees should have adequate development and training to attain the organizational mission and goals. This would ensure the employees identified for these positions would be prepared to step-in to these key positions. This assures the organization has created a group of highly competent employees to advance within the organizational framework.The employees selected must be willing to participate in succession training for the program to work. The organization must ensure the employees selected have the desired abilities and talents to follow the career paths set forth by the company. This is where professional development is key. The organization has created the opportunity for the employees and the organization must motivate the employee to grow. This will help the organization develop employee loyalty and reduce turnover.Senior leadership must be involved for succession planning to be effective and successful. This leadership must become integral in the training and development of the selected employees. The senior leaders must buy-in to the concept of succession planning and provide a positive attitude to the development and training.Slide#14The performance appr aisal system provides opportunities for professional development and training, encourages positive company attitudes, and provides the opportunity for a clear understanding of expectations to be seen. The actual appraisal provides the opportunity to reward, encourage, and clarify expectations for employees. Appraisals are meant to be as accurate as possible and be fairly administered.The appraisal system can be utilized in both individual and team evaluation  approaches. The appraisal system should always be given in a non-threatening manner and be a positive experience even when the appraised employee doesn’t meet expectations. The appraisal should provide a platform to help motivate and develop employees.The goals of employees and the organization should be aligned so both entities reap the rewards. Evaluation of both individual and team performance is beneficial in increasing productivity individually and organizationally. This leads to a more accurate evaluation.The mul ti-source feedback model can be utilized to evaluate team and individual performance. Peers, supervisors and the individual teal member is able to evaluate performance. This model can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses that can then be discussed and a plan of action be implemented to promote professional growth.Succession planning is the strategy utilized to fill vacant positions with qualified employees. The key positions are initially identified and then the employees are identified for these positions. Significant training and professional development will then take place for succession within the organization.The goal of this presentation is to foster the understanding of a successful performance appraisal process. Our organizational goal is to provide support to our employees by promoting professional development to attain our organization’s mission and goals.Slide#15 The Human Resources department is ready to help prepare performance appraisal forms, establish protocols, provide managerial training to improve communication skills to help deliver performance appraisals, and ensure the performance appraisal process complies with all laws.The attitude conveyed by the CEO and Board is a positive one that shows a commitment to our employees and has our employee’s best interests in mind.  They want employees to be vested in our organization and provide professional development to all involved.Our organization is taking a positive attitude to performance appraisals and is promoting them as a positive opportunity for constructive change. Performance appraisals are not to be used as a disciplinary measure.Our organization supports all employees and will continue to help our employees become engaged in a process that will retain them. Interventions will be implemented for those who need improvement. Positive reinforcement will be used at all times.

Qantas Airlines Market Segmentation

The purpose of the task is to develop an understanding of market segmentation and explain how it can assist organizations in the allocation of their resources more effectively and efficiently. The marketing segmentation process is a strategy adopted by organizations with an aim of preparing the organizations sales and marketing for the target clients (Steenkamp & Ter Hofstede, 2002). The target clients are the clients who are known to traditionally consume the products or services of the particular organization. The discussion below focuses on Qantas Airlines and discuses the advantages the organization has gained from the strategy as well as associated benefits. Further the discussion aims at analyzing how the organization has been able to maximize profits as a result of the market segmentation strategy. Lastly the discussion shall in a general perspective focus on the applicability and suitability of the strategy as well as the challenges involved. Definition of consumer needs at Qantas Airlines. The airline has in an effort of market segmentation, categorized the needs for its customers into 3 distinct levels based on the perceived needs of the particular customers in the respective departments. To this end the airline has come up with the following categories or levels. Business. Qantas Airlines has come up with a strategy of dealing with hotels which meet the standards of their customers. As a policy the airline only boos its passengers to certain hotels only where the company enjoys some interests and discounts as a laid out in a memorandum of understanding. Secondly the Airline has reorganized its operations in line with the policies and procedures which the top board meets and reviews yearly. An example was the recent improved communication system which was aimed at improving communication with flight crew any were in the world. As a sales strategy it can be said to have resulted into improved profits due to high customer turn out as well as the elimination of slug- in time which would result from poor communication earlier (McKenna, 1988p. 275-80). Qantas Airlines has also utilized its marketing strategy to mange its inventories which are in different locations al over the world, by the use of IT the farm has been able to overcome challenges related to the task of inventory and has come out successfully to minimize loss and wastage of company assets. Consumer needs. The company has taken into consideration in the process of its product design the fact that there exists a class of consumers for its services who won’t just use a flight for the sake of it. They have to be treated and made to feel special and comfortable. To this end the company had come up with first class a prestigious class who are basically consumers whose major concern is not the much they are charged for the flight but the comfort that comes with it. This satisfies the company’s clients emotionally and therefore leaves a permanent or at least long last memory on the customers mind that is hard to erode and it makes the company to have what is termed as regular customers who no matter what, they value and like the services of Qantas Airlines. Functional needs. Functionally the market segment is likely to utilize the services and even propose the same to new customers who would trust the word of mouth from accomplice than the usually costly and expensive advertisements. This is an effective marketing strategy (Steenkamp & Hofstede, 2002p. 101-120). Considering that different people require different purpose s to meet their demands and needs, Qantas Airlines has invested in flat beds for the flights especially long distance ones by investing in new fleet of Boeings which are ideal for long distances since passengers are likely to get sleep during the flight. Segmentation needs for Qantas Airlines Since Qantas Airlines has already been in the market for over a decade and therefore can be termed as market leaders in the flight industry, they have concentrated in a process of reducing expenses, the company carried out a retrenchment of its employees aimed at reducing the number of employees deemed not very core to the organizations needs and therefore not key staff. The other key cause of market segmentation for the airliner is the need for a consistent and more cash flow (Day, 1980p. 345). Before it undertook the market segmentation exercise, Qantas was facing liquidity problems and for several years that, registered minimal profits. The need for a more efficient service delivery caused the company to seriously consider segmenting the market hence the reason for aiming at market segmentation. The airliner has segmented the market further into: The different seasons as determined by different times. Accessibility of the different customers has also influenced how the market is segmented to favor customers who are easily reachable and those who are hard to reach such as those who live in areas where the airliner does not have offices and at the same time can not book for services online. As a marketing strategy, Qantas Airways has scheduled direct flights to vacation and holidays all over in the world. Market segmentation, for Qantas Airlines has involved dividing the market into the following segments: Key strategies in the marketing campaign includes categorizing such into how similar they are, similar in needs, expectations and are likely to respond similarly to the market segmentations in place (McKenna, 1988p. 57-89). For instance, when Qantas hiked fares for the prestige class and minimized fares for the business class, it was easy for the market to react; this led to improved sales and more bookings. The company has come up with niche markets, such as Africa, Asia and Far East. This led to Qantas Airways to categorize the market into business and private, segments which then fitted the needs of specific customers such as those who take business trips. Advantages. By providing for the segmentation the company customers, the company has achieved efficiency. Efficiency has been achieved in the way the company tapped opportunities in the leisure and summer holiday takers. This led to the introduction of special fare rights as well as introduction of chartered flights aimed at taking the customers to their destinations. The markets were to be exploited exhaustively and the only way of doing it was through the segmentation of the market. By deducing customers needs’ the company was also aiming at maximizing its profits. This significantly improved the markets and led to the improvement of flight bookings. On the other hand the company improved the introduction of cargo flight aimed at tacking the growing demand for air lifting of cargo. To the advantage of the company the segmentation led to the company achieving a marketing edge and becoming one of the most competitive airlines’ both in terms of activity and customer preference. Therefore the company was able to effectively look into the market and attain maximum profits. Another key thing is that, the company was able to maximize on the needs of the company while at the same time satisfying the needs of the customer. The key advantages of the organizations segmentation process. †¢ All target markets by Qantas are accessible. †¢ All the segments by the organization have been curved out to ensure that they are large enough to offer big enough customer subscription. †¢ The reduction of flights to and from the New York route was aimed at concentrating the flight to other markets with loyal clientele. †¢ The reduction of lights which was also seen as rationalization plan affected the Manila, Rome, Bangkok, Taipei, Johannesburg, India, was an direct result of the market segmentation and it has proved worthy while. Qantas market Segmentation was largely necessitated by the collapse of Ansett a major competitor in the Australian domestic flight market. In terms of inventory the segmentation has led to the disposal of 2 B747SP aircraft in 2002 which for the company translated to minimization of cost of repairs. The introduction of an all economy-class aircraft targeted the segment of domestic market as well as off season flights which happen when not so many people are traveling. A segment consisting of flights from Sydney to Melbourne to Sydney to Brisbane and back was introduced since that was deemed ideal for business travel. City Flyer was also introduced to serve the domestic market which is flourishing and its operational costs very low. Market segmentation is a winning strategy as is evident with Qantas, there is a need for other business to borrow from the Qantas example and therefore cash in the strategy which although it involves drastic measures is nevertheless key to organizational marketing and sales strategic plans.

A Division of Parody Productions Essay

1. FACTS: Parody Productions, LLC is a company that sale his playing cards over the internet. The product portrays well-known players from a sports team’s history. The plaintiff in this suit, Ronald Swoboda, is included in the New York Mets Hero Deck. Swoboda claims that he has never given Parody permission to use his image. He further contends that through his attorney he sent Parody a cease and desist letter. Parody refused to stop selling cards with Swoboda’s name and images. In response, Swoboda filed the instant lawsuit to enjoin Parody from the continued use of his name and likeness and for damages for violating his right to publicity, and, alternatively, damages for unjust enrichment. The trial court sustained the exception of lack of personal jurisdiction and this appeal followed. See more: Satirical elements in the adventure of Huckleberry Finn essay 2. ISSUE: The issue is â€Å"Did Court of Appeal of Louisiana approve lack of personal jurisdiction of an internet merchandiser?† 3. DECISION: Affirmed 4. REASONING: Since 1945, technology has advanced to such a degree that it is possible for sellers to reach consumers in their homes worldwide. The onset of the Internet has created a lapse between the method of doing business in 1945 and the legal system’s ability to keep up with technology. The â€Å"purposeful availment† requirement for the exercise of personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant ensures that it will not be haled into a jurisdiction solely as a result of a random, fortuitous, or attenuated contact, or by the unilateral activity of another party or a third person. In Quality Design, the court ruled that Tuff Coat’s website was a passive one, whereby information about its product was provided, but actual sales were arranged via telephone or mail.

IMG Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IMG - Case Study Example Currently, the company has diversified to include services such as stadium ownership and management, television, event ownership, modeling organization among others (Anand and Attea 1-23). Further, IMG has proved to be a successful business empire that grew from focusing only on one opportunity kind. However, this single opportunity lead to diversification and realization of other viable but related opportunities. This diversity has however been managed through the introduction of subsidiary companies to manage different interests of the mother company. As such, McCormack (or his successors) should go ahead and seek diversity since it has proved to add value into the mother company. Further, in so doing the company will be hedging itself against competition from other companies that may seek to exploit these diversities. Moreover, the company has laid down a strategy that has defined the role of any given subsidiary venture. In fact, such a subsidiary company is at liberty to manage itself as an independent company. As such, the need to engage in experts is covered by the presence of IMG itself. However, due to the dynamic unpredictable eventualities in the nature of its business dealing there may crop a situation that will call for expert’s services. For example, if IMG or on of its constituent company is faced by a legal issue, then it will be necessary to indulge the services of an equally potential law firm (Anand and Attea 1-23). Given the reputation of this organization, the concerns of engaging external consulting firms have not been a concern to it. The founder and CEO of IMG have strategically approached this situation through specialization and division of duties. The specialization calls for an independent company to manage all duties related to that field. For example, tennis duties are ran by a single company, such that the players and tennis events, tennis broadcasts as well as tennis courts will

Macroeconomics Creative Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Macroeconomics Creative Project - Essay Example There exists a big distinction of social issues and economic issues within our society; but, what we may tend to consider more social can best be explained using the analytical tools of economics. Attending exhibitions such as art exhibitions or museum exhibitions is part of social life and fun. From a classroom perspective, attending an exhibition, particularly in a museum is often part of history, art, literature, and architecture courses, but acquiring any economics knowledge form an exhibition in a museum is quite novel. Attending an exhibit would be more beneficial to art, history and architecture student than it would be for an economics student. It would be perceived by many as having fun. Imagine of an exhibition relating to identity politics and issues of race in America in the 21st century. This is more history and political science. Race is a social issue in the society that has been on the forefront since the emergence of civil rights movements in the U.S. Such an exhibit can easily be integrated into a history and art class and help students understand class theory better; but, for a macroeconomics class, it would seem less beneficial. The typical introductory course in macroeconomics covers measurement of national incomes, theories of income determination, market systems, inflation and unemployment, and the effect of fiscal and monetary policies. Usually, there is no inclusion of a discussion on the economics of race. Taking a close reflection of the literature of race issues in the America, including some articles from reliable writers on issues of racial discrimination; for example, the issue of African American not being included in Social Security, it is possible to integrate race in economics. Issues of employment discrimination on the basis of race have been reported all over in the society since time in history. From classroom skills acquired in the macroeconomics course, I believe outside classroom activities

CHURCHILLS LEADERSHIP STYLE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CHURCHILLS LEADERSHIP STYLE - Essay Example He said that â€Å"if we fail then the world sink into an abyss† (Churchill, 1940). Technical and analytic skills: Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874 in Blenheim Palace. He was born into a wealthy family who treated Winston to a rich lifestyle. In 1893, Churchill entered the Royal Military College as a Cadet, where he rose to the top ranking commander. He began to make political speeches at the age of 23; he talked to the primrose League. When he was 24, he wrote his first book ‘The Story of the Malak and Field Force’. Churchill was elected to the House of Commons at the age of 26, being one of the youngest members. Winston was appointed Prime Minister of England on May 10, 1940. The two books published made him a respectable author and made people believe his speeches. Influence and social skills: His speech at the House of Commons was intended to not only try to persuade elected officials, but also to speak to all people fighting against the Nazi Party. â€Å"We must fight in this war, and we must win, for if England shall lose the rest of the world would lose.† In the last part of his speech, he said, â€Å"But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science† (Churchill, 1940).   Communication skills: The speech was written in chronological order. It started with British efforts in France and the battles that were fought around the area then ends with him stating that the war now laid on the British navy and army. Winston’s speech also gives a problem and a solution to the war; he says, â€Å"Fight and never give in, for losing is not the end of the war but the end of the world† (Churchill, 1940). Throughout the speech, he claims that since Hitler was winning the war and conquering countries, Great Britain must

Week2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week2 - Essay Example While it is true that MNEs and IGOs are playing an exponentially increasing role globally, it cannot be accepted that they â€Å"are supplanting,--- traditional nation-states as the primary economic and political units of world society† (Author, 3). States still retain their roles, and protect their self-interests: China’s exchange-rate policy exemplifies the power of the nation state. Again, particularly in democracies, electoral issues and vote-bank politics often over-ride global compulsions. The skeptic’s stand that â€Å"globalization is a myth† (Michael, 4) is likewise too extreme for my thinking. Skeptics equate globalization with â€Å"a perfectly integrated worldwide economy† (Author, 5). However, globalization is not just a matter of economics, but also interconnectedness in the spheres of science, medicine, arts and humanitarian welfare. Regional and local power centers are very much a part of the global framework, but these trading blocs and nation states are certainly not immune to international pressures. Again, the global pressure successfully exerted on China in the case of the activist, Chen Guangcheng, illustrates this point. The transformationalist approach, which strikes a balance between the hyperglobalist and skeptical schools, appeals to me. It accepts that â€Å"globalization is a central driving force behind the rapid social, political and economic changes that are reshaping modern societies and world order† (Author, 7). It submits that there is as yet no â€Å"borderless economy† (Author, 3). At the same time, it concedes that international businesses cannot evade national regulations. It supports my stand that the world is not yet fully divided nor fully integrated. Mainly due to technological advances, the impact of any event is felt on life in all parts of the globe. While the world has not yet become â€Å"a shared social space† (Michael, 3), it is continuously being transformed and