Applying Bradshaws model of river characteristics to the Barranco Del Essay

Applying Bradshaws model of river characteristics to the Barranco Del Rio, Tenerife. With the focus on the impact of landslides - Essay Example in the introductory parts of the paper for the better understanding of what will be discussed and linked with the hypothesis as well as the Bradshadow model (Arthur, 2007, page 391). The methodology used in the study has included the designs, the various equipments used in testing and experimenting as well as measuring, and the instruments. This study is therefore aimed at determining the drinks’ possible effects. It is also important to highlight that this paper has specified coherently the procedures and the results of the study. The study has been summarized with a clear conclusion. It is therefore important to highlight that the report is therefore quite detailed with the facts that were collected and the truths about Tenerife (Christine, 2001, page 281). It is important to highlight that this paper delves in the discussion of the Application of Bradshaw’s model of river characteristics to the Barranko Del Rio, Tenerife. The paper as well focuses on the impact of landslides. In the paper, there will be various diagrams that illustrate the various stages at the distinctive stages of the river. This is a report of a fieldtrip undertaken to Tenerife where variables of Bradshaw’s Model of River Characteristics were tested on a Barranko (river valley), focusing on the hypotheses that are listed below (Donald, 2008, page 518). Tenerife Island has a land of 2034.38Km2, the most densely populate is and in Spain. This as well makes it to be the largest island of the Canary Islands archipelago. It is important to highlight that it is one of the Canary Islands. It is connected using two airports that well developed for the enhancement of the accessibility of the island. These are the Tenerife north airport and the Tenerife south airport. The island was formed due to volcanic eruption and nearly visited by above 10 million tourists every year because of the scenic beauty in the island. The soils I this area are therefore the permeable volcanic type of soils that

Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Music - Essay Example dentify his place in the society and makes him realize what role he is actually playing or being a part of the society what role the society expects him to play. However, such perception or gaining of experience is always not very positive, as, a human being, due to various socio-cultural turmoil as well as personal level hostility, perceives the society and its inhabitants essentially hostile. Due to development of such conception he also assumes that the basic requirements to live as a Human Being are not been provided to him by the social institution. Consequently, he rebels against all those systems as well as attempts to assert himself as a separate identity that is engaged in an eternal quest to gain his rights and rightful place in the socio-cultural backdrop. In the eyes of the society he becomes, thus, an outlaw, a misfit but deep inside his heart he believes that what he is doing is right because he is fighting not only for his place in the society as an individual but his rebellion is actually voicing position of several other people who also are engaged in the same quest to recover their rightful place in the society. Judging this position, such a person can be equaled with the character of Satan in Paradise Lost (Book I) where Satan wages immortal battle against God, who becomes representative of the social institutions, restraining basic rights and freedom of the common people. Such essence of hope for a better future, fused with the spirit of rebellion can best be perceived in music. Whenever it has come to social dynamism, radical change into the existing socio-cultural structure, and change into the cultural perspective of the existing social form, music has always voiced the reflection of common people, their perception about society and the spirit to rebel that would finally help in constructing and deconstructing the thought pattern for a better future. Such phenomenon is true in case of every society, if we make an evaluation of music from

Analysing The Role Of Personal Choice In Euthanasia Philosophy Essay

Analysing The Role Of Personal Choice In Euthanasia Philosophy Essay Imagine for a minute that you have cancer with no cure in sight. As the days go by you keep getting worse and worse. You become very uncomfortable and unable to function on a daily basis. You live everyday in pain so unbearable that you can no longer get up out of bed. Life has become meaningless. You just want to end your life, but you cant, because in Indiana, physician assisted suicide is illegal. You end up dying a very painful death, one that no one should have to go through. Anyone who is terminally ill should have the right to die if they choose to. Everyone should be able to die with dignity and the satisfactory of a painless death. People who are opposed to physician assisted suicide are most likely uneducated about the subject. They see it as immoral and unethical because society makes it seem that way. However, if people were more educated on the subject they would be surprised to find out that it is actually a persons personal choice. There are many things one must do before being considered for the lethal medication. Physician assisted suicide provides the necessary means for a person to end their life, but the patient themselves have to actually administer the medication to end their own life. A patient can not walk into the doctors office and tell them they feel like dying today and have the doctor give them the lethal medication. In Oregon there are guidelines that must be followed first. A patient must be 18 years old, a resident of Oregon, capable of making healthcare decisions for him/herself, and be diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months(www.Oregon.gov). After tho se initial guidelines have been approved, it is totally up to the patient if they want to take the medication after it is prescribed. In March 1998, an Oregon woman dying of breast cancer asked her physician to prescribe a drug that would allow her to end her life-Later that month, she took it and became the first person in the U.S. to commit suicide with the help of a doctor legally(Robinson). Everyone should have that very right. Physician assisted suicide is a compassionate option for those who suffer and have reached a clear decision to end their lives peacefully(Woodward). We are allowed to choose to give our pets a humane death when they are in their final stages of life, yet we as humans are denied that very same right. It seems as if we respect our pets more then human dignity. Suppose you have a dog whom has been a part of your family for ten years. You love the dog as if it is a part of your family. One morning you awake to the dog whining and in excruciating pain. Immediately you pick the dog up, wrap it in a blanket and fly out of the door. You worst nightmare is unfolding in front of your eyes. You only want what is best for your beloved dog. You arrive at the veterinarian office and take the dog back into the examine room. There are many tests that have to be done before the cause of the pain can be determined. You sit in the waiting room for what seems like forever when finally the veterinarian comes out with the news your were dreading to hear. Your dog has cancer and it has spread throughout its whole body. A flood of emotions rush through your body and you can not contain the way you feel about the diagnosis. It is heartbreaking. You only want what is best for the dog right? If it is going to live a life full of pain, why prolong its life when you know it is going to be uncomfortable? Now, instead of a dog, put a human being in the place of the dog. Does it seem fair that we are able to end that dogs life and not a human being? Absolutely not! The laws need to be changed, so we as human beings have more rights to our own lives. Our government is denying us rights that we should have. A recent study done on characteristics and end of life care of 460 DWDA patients who died after ingesting a lethal dose of medication in Oregon during 1998-2009 shows just who, and why people chose to end their lives. According to the chart, males are more likely then females to ask for the lethal medication. The range is age between 75-84. Married people and whites are more likely to take the lethal medication. The underlying illness is cancer that brings most patients into the physicians office to ask for the lethal medication. Most of the people who took the medication were being taken care of by hospice. The main concern for the ending of the persons life was losing anatomy. Only forty out of four-hundred sixty people had complications after taking the medication, and those were minor. (www.Oregon.Gov) From that information, we can conclude that the lethal injection is relatively safe. The injection is painless, and takes effect almost immediately after it is taken. The patient w ill die peacefully and with the dignity they deserve. As with everything in life, there are both pros and cons to assisted suicide. The cons are very important and beneficial to the patient. Tremendous pain and suffering of patients can be saved(Messerli). Of course, taking the lethal medication will end all pain the patient is experiencing. Patients can die with dignity rather then have the illness reduce then to a shell of their former selves(Messerli). No one wants to be remembered as that person who was basically a vegetable. Healthcare costs can be reduced, which would save estates and lower insurance premiums(Messerli). Lets face it, insurance companies do not want people who are high risk on their policy. Nurse and doctor time can be feed up to work on savable patients(Messerli). More patients who do have a chance at life can get the care they truly deserve. Pain and anguish of the patients family can be lessened, and they can say their final goodbyes(Messerli). If the patients family knows ahead of time that the patient is going to pass away, there is time to say all those things they want to, while the patient is still able to understand and respond. Vital organs can be saved, allowing doctors to save the lives of others(Messerli). That is very rewarding to the patient who is dying, they know they will still live on through someone else and also they are saving another persons life. Many people commit suicide in a messy, and traumatic way because they do not have the option for assisted suicide, which is another clear cut point in why assisted suicide should be legal. There are also cons to physician assisted suicide. It violates the Hippocratic Oath(Messerli). Doctors are not supposed to harm a patient in any way, and giving them a lethal medication to die, is defiantly a way to harm a patient. Physician assisted suicide could open the floodgates to non-critical patient suicides and other abuse(Messerli). If it were legal, some people would try to take advantage of it. Certain religions prohibit suicide and the intentional killing of others However, isnt making someone suffer immoral and unjust? Doctors and patients may be prompted too soon to give up on recovery much too soon(Messerli). People can, and do recover from serious illnesses, but the numbers are not impressive enough to make physician assisted suicide illegal. Doctors are given too much power, and can sometimes be wrong(Messerli). There is not a one person who has ever been right their whole life. People make mistakes daily. Doctors have enough knowledge to know that a patient is goin g to die sooner or later, just because they are off by a few months, doesnt make physician assisted suicide a horrible thing. In the article titled Confronting Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: My Fathers Death, Susan Wolf is faced with her father who is dying, and initially she is opposed to physician assisted suicide, until she has to witness her father die a very painful death right in front of her eyes. In the end she wrote. I would not want to bear the burden of having accelerated of causing his death by euthanasia or assisted suicide; this is hard enough. My fathers death made me rethink my objections to legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia, but in the end it left me at ease with what Ive written(Wolf). This is a perfect example of why people should have the right to die, and the effects it has on family members. It has got to be horrifying to have to sit by and watch a family member die, a slow painful death. This can cause mental and emotional stress on both patient and loved ones. A concern among many who are opposed to physician-assisted suicide is that if it were to become legal, some people might feel they have a duty to die in order to avoid becoming a burden either to loved ones or to society(Woodward) This is valid reasoning, but that reasoning should not be based on that alone. I would feel like it would be more of a burden to continue living in continuous pain and suffering and putting myself a my family though months and sometimes years of torture then to be opposed to it. Why would it be a burden to end a life of someone who is telling you they do not want to live? It would be more abundant to end that persons life, and know that was the right thing to do. You could continue living on knowing you done the right thing and gave your loved one what they wanted. I did an interview with Oliver Newton, a cancer patient currently in hospice care who is dying of leukemia. His main concern was being a burden to his family members. He did not want his family t o feel as though they had an obligation to care for him. I would rather pass away peacefully then live in the pain I have been experiencing since 2008(Newton). When I asked him how he felt about physician assisted suicide, his reply was I wish that was an option in Indiana, if it were, I would defiantly take advantage of it(Newton). This was just one interview I did, and I could tell in this mans eyes that he was done living in the conditions which he is in. It is sad to see someone who feels as though their life is worth terminating. People in Olivers case should be granted the right to end his own life under his own terms. Medical experts say nearly three of every four people who are facing death experience moderate to severe pain, and that more than half die in pain. Too often, the pain could have been easedbut wasnt, they say(Carey). It is a tragic experience to have to go through so much pain in ones final days. It seems so unfair. Is it not enough that they are lying on their death bed? Apparently that isnt enough. It is inhumane and immoral to let a person suffer such an agonizing death. The odds of dying in pain are too high. There is no way of arguing against physician assisted suicide unless a person is actually put in the shoes for a day of someone who does have a terminal illness. Physician assisted suicide isnt hurting anyone. If one could just feel their pain for even a minute, people would change their minds about letting that person dye peacefully and painless. In a book titled Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide (For and Against) Dworkin and Frey argue that physician-assisted suicide is morally permissible and that it ought to be legal for physicians to provide the knowledge or the means, or both, by which a patient can take his or her own life(Dworkin, Frey and Bok). They propose that autonomy and relief of suffering are important values and that dying patients have the right to make the process of dying as painless and dignified as possible and to control the time and manner of their death(Dworkin, Frey and Bok). It should be considered morally permissible for many reasons that too many people can not understand. It should be a patients right to use their freedom of speech and get what they so desperately need. It is unjust that we have to struggle so bad to get a law that we need so desperately. Since everyone would have to go through a screening before even being considered for the drug, it would almost be impossible to get it fo r no good reason. There are millions of people out there who need it terribly and are in dire need of relief. Anyone should be able to pick the time and manner of their death if they are terminally ill and dying anyway. That should be a right everyone should have. It is a shame that we do not have that. If someone chooses to die with the help of a physician, they should be allowed to. Physician assisted suicide should be legal in every state, with the same guidelines as Oregon. Everyone deserves to die with dignity. If animals have the right to die with dignity, then a human should be able too. The fact that animals have better rights then us as humans do, seems more immoral then legalizing physician assisted suicide. The pros by far outweigh the cons of legalizing physician assisted suicide. Someone who is opposed to physician assisted suicide needs to walk in the shoes of a person who is terminally ill and dying just so they know exactly what that person is going through. People need to be better educated about the subject and do research on it. Our society is not setting a good example for our future which is scary. A person deserves a lot more rights then what is legal right now. Anyone should legally be able to end their lives if they are terminally ill. They should be able to do so when they choose to with family members crowded around for their last good-bye. It is safe to say that living a dogs life is better then a humans.

America Needs the Death Penalty Essay -- pro capital punishment essays

In 1973 Author Shawcross was convicted of raping and murdering two children in upstate New York; however, after serving 15 years Shawcross was paroled in 1988. In a horrific 21-month killing spree, Shawcross took 11 more lives. That is 11 innocent people who would be alive today had justice been served (Pataki, Deterrent 2). With the topic of the death penalty comes a lot of controversy which is rooted from questions like: is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment, is it helpful in crime control, is proper representation applied to these cases, and should reform be applied in the areas of crimes punishable and methods? Although some people argue that the death penalty is inhumane and against human rights, crime rates could be lowered through the use and reform of the death penalty. Since the 1700’s forms of the death penalty have been used for one reason or another, but today some disagree with this judicial practice. The death penalty is the ultimate punishment imposed for murder or other capital offenses, and in Alabama a capital offense is murder with eighteen aggravating factors. In 1972 the Supreme Court moved away from abolition, holding that â€Å"the punishment of death does not invariably violate the constitution† (Bedau, Case against 2). Since 1900, in this country, there have been on the average more than four cases each year in which an entirely innocent person was convicted of murder (Bedau 7) and because of these startling numbers people are against capital punishment. It is a horrible reality to convict an innocent person of a crime and even worse to put this person on death row. There are even more horrific stories, like the one of Roger Keith Coleman, who was executed in Virginia despite widely pu... ... Death Penalty† American Civil Liberties Union Ed. Michael Wood. July 1992. Web. 24 Jul 2014. D’Alembe, Talbot â€Å"Understanding the Death Penalty Study Commission Report† Raising the Bar in Capital Cases. 34.2 ( 2007): n.pag. Web. 24 Jul 2014. Liptak, Adam â€Å"Does Death Penalty Save Lives? A New Debate. New York Times. New York Times, 18 Nov 2007. Web. 9 Jul 2014. Pataki, George E. â€Å" Death Penalty is a Deterrent†. USA Today Magazine. USA Today, Mar 1997. Web. 26 Jul 2014. Peirce, Gleen L. and Michael Radelet â€Å"Monitoring Death Sentences Decisions: The Challenges and Barriers to Equity†. 34.2. n. pg. Web. 26 Jul 2014. Templeton, Jean M. "Death Row Reforms May Lead to a Fairer Criminal Justice System." Capital Punishment. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Shortage of Water in Pakistan

Shortage of water in Pakistan As we all know, Pakistan is facing severe shortage of water. There are two main reasons, one due to persistent droughts—which is beyond the control of a man, and the other due to miss-management of water resources. Impact on economy / society * Less water means less agricultural yields, meaning they cannot fulfill the food requirements of the nation, so they need to be dependent on other countries. Due to less production of main crops, which are wheat, cotton, sugar cane and rice, the Industries related to them will suffer adversely * Less agricultural outputs will compel people to head towards urban areas for jobs, which will increase the unemployment further. Water Issue between Pakistan & India * Concern is growing in Pakistan that India is controlling the water flow of rivers that flow from India into Pakistan.Pakistan has raised objections to Indian water projects, but a World Bank-appointed neutral expert rejected most of the Pakistani o bjections. * Pakistani commentators, think that India is controlling the river waters to strangulate Pakistani agriculture, which could affect Pakistani exports and increase its dependency on food imports. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CRISIS ? * A result of natural factors * Poor water resources management * Increased pollution of surface & ground water * Population explosion * Over exploitation of ground waterHow can they solve this problem? Creating awareness on†¦ * water resources and its conservation & management * A forestation activities * Rain water harvesting * Environmental information & education * Prevention & control of water pollution * Recycle of waste water * Use of modern irrigation techniques * Authorities should take appropriate steps to curb the illegal extraction of water and ensure its equitable distribution. * government should make laws on water conservation, like many western countries.IMPORTANCE OF DAMS FOR PAKISTAN * Irrigation. * Electri cal Energy. * Water Supply for everyone. * Flood Control. Conclusion The problems faced by the water sector in Pakistan are many, acute and serious. Therefore, building more reservoirs/dams and having an effective management strategy are the needs of time. Also implementation of the solutions I gave you will enable the country to meet the challenges ahead, and achieve the objectives to become a nation with no water shortage.

Do You Think Footballers Deserve

Even though soldiers provide a more valuable service. All footballers do is kick a ball around a field and moan that they don't get paid enough while soldiers are over in another country risking their lives to protect ours spending months on end away from their families. This happened to my older brother he was sent on a tour of Afghanistan for nine months and he missed the birth of his son (his first words, his first steps) he even missed our mothers death and funeral.Footballers don't have to do that they can just leave training if they have an emergency! Some people think that when soldiers sign up to join the army they know what they are getting not and its their own choice and they aren't being forced into the army. I think these people are heartless. Secondly, I believe that the money footballers get paid could be put to better use. In the Premier League alone around two hundred million pounds are spent on players' salaries per year! With that money you could change some of Afr ica into a first world country.You could give them proper housing, clean endless supply of water, electricity, schools, hospitals and especially jobs. Some might say that footballers do give to charity and already donate money to those things but hey don't give much; they could still give a lot more! There are some very charitable footballers such as Tidier Dragon who spent three million pounds of his wages to building a hospital in his hometown of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. However, there are others who give nothing.One man can't change the world! Another reason why many players shouldn't get paid so much is because most of them just waste it. Karri Benzene is a good example, he bought a chrome three million pounds Budgets Everyone super sport which he hardly uses. Many of them buy stupid pointless things that aren't even important or they just do it as a joke like one footballer bought an Oxbow one just so he could throw it off a balcony another bought a Lampooning Reverent for one mil lion pounds so he could blow it up.Other people may believe that it is their money and they can do with it what they want but they should be more responsible! They could donate some money to charity or keep it in savings for when they retire. Even do something worthwhile for their family! Furthermore, some footballers don't deserve it because some Of them are just bad people like the obvious Luis Square, who bit Atman Baked whilst playing for Ajax against SSP and he but Barbarian Avionic whilst playing for Liverpool against Chelsea! He also bit Giorgio Chilling at the world cup for Uruguay against Italy.In addition to this violent conduct he was racist to Patrice Ever by refusing to shake his hand, is this man is a good role model for children? Does he really deserve to earn thousands each week? Another example is a star Brazilian footballer who tortured and killed his mistress then fed her dismembered body to his pet Arteriole's. Goalkeeper Bruno Fernando De Souza who was tipped to play for Brazil in the 2014 World Cup, is accused of murdering model Elise Samurai to avoid paying child support after she gave birth to his love child.

UFO Exist essays

UFO Exist essays U.F.O., extra terrestrials and aliens do they really exist? Is there a government conspiracy? Why can so many people swear to have been abducted or seen flying saucers and all describe the same thing and be wrong? For many years people have been fascinated with creatures from other planets. Many shows and movies have these types of subjects, such as, ""X-Files,"Men In Black," "Independce Day," "Star Wars," and a classic , "E.T." There have been many sightings, for example, the Roswell incident, over 50 years ago. Little men with a round, bald head, beatty eyes, 3 feet tall, that hover 2 feet above the ground, is the most commonly described alien. Can there really be other beings capable of reaching the planet earth? Many people would say "There are no such things," like Cory stated, because of some insignificant reasons. For example, there is no type of fuel on this planet or is known by humans to have the capabilities of taking something from one galaxy to another, but aliens are not on from the earth and where they come from such a fuel may be readily available for them to use. Many others like to say that U.F.O.s have not been pictured or documented, or that really people are say it is just mearly swamp gas, or possibly a weather balloon. The claims of sightings comes from ordinary people and are in perfect mental health. Mrs. Engler, one of my friends mother, believes she saw a U.F.O. one night, and when she told her husband what she saw, he thought she was crazy. The next morning, however his mind changed when he saw a pictured of what Mrs. Engler was describing. Another excuse some people like to say is that th ese sightings are mearly just hoaxes to occupy the minds of the citizens set up by the government to coverup some other kind of scandal. Realistically, it would be nearly impossible to pull of these kind of stunts for so many years and never get caught. On July 3, 1947, rancher W.W. "Mac" Brazel came ac...

Pain theories essays

Pain theories essays Pain has been experienced by everyone regardless of age, gender or economic status. Pain is usually described as unfavorable experience that has a lasting emotional and disabling influence on the individual. Theories that explain and assist in understanding what pain is, how it originates and why we feel it are the Specificity theory, Pattern Theory and Gate theory. In this paper I will attempt to demonstrate my understanding of the theories and also will be critically analyzing the theories about the experience of pain by incorporating relevant concepts from literature and relating Pain has been described with a wide range of different words. McCaffery (cited in Adams and Bromley, p192, 1998 ) simply states that the experience of pain as being what the experiencing person says it is, existing when he says it does. This definition by McCaffery strongly indicates that pain is conceived and experienced differently in an individualized manner .McCafferyss definition of pain suggests experiences of pain depends only on the person experiencing the pain and that no other person is fully capable to understand how he/she may be feeling as the result of pain. McCaffery does not actually state in his definition what pain is and what causes the discomfort, how and why pain arises(Adams and Bromley,1998). Bond (1984) describes pain as being a personal and unique experience which arises in the brain due to injury to the body tissue, disease or due to biochemical changes in our bodies. There are two main types of pain, acute and chronic. Acute pain is experienced for a short time and usually has a specific cause and purpose such as injury to body tissue (Adams and Bromley, 1998). Acute pain can be treated using drugs such as aspirin or other method of pain relieve. Chronic pain has no time limit therefore, can last for months and years, and serves no obvious biological purpose...

Realigning Elections in American History

Realigning Elections in American History Since the stunning victory by Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States Presidential election, the discourse around words and phrases such as â€Å"political realignment† and â€Å"critical elections† have  become more commonplace not only among  political analysts but also in mainstream media. Political Realignments A political realignment occurs when a particular group or class of voters changes or in other words realigns with a political party or candidate who they vote for in a particular election – known as a critical election or this realignment may be spread out over a number of elections. On the other hand, â€Å"dealignment† occurs when a voter becomes disenfranchised with his or her current political party and either chooses not to vote or becomes an independent. These political realignments take place in elections involving the U.S. Presidency and the U.S. Congress and are signified by power changes of the Republican and Democratic parties that constitute ideological changes both issues and party leaders.  Other important factors are legislative changes which affect campaign financing rules and voter eligibility. Central to realignment is that there is a change in voter’s behavior. 2016 Election Results In the 2016 election, although Trump is winning at the time of this writing the Electoral College by a margin of 290 to 228 votes; Clinton is winning the overall popular vote by more than 600,000 votes. In addition, in this election, American voters gave the Republican Party a clean power sweep – the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. One key to the Trump victory was that he won the  popular vote in three of the so-called â€Å"Blue Wall† States: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.  Blue Wall States are those who have solidly supported the Democratic Party over past ten or so presidential elections. With respect to the electoral votes:  Pennsylvania has 20, Wisconsin has 10, and Michigan has 16.  Although these states were essential in propelling Trump to victory, it is important to note that his margin of victory from these three states totaled approximated 112,000 votes. If Clinton had won these three States, she would be the President-elect instead of Trump.   In the ten Presidential elections prior to 2016, Wisconsin had only voted Republican on two occasions – 1980 and 1984; Michigan voters had voted Democrat in six straight Presidential elections prior to 2016; and as well, in the ten Presidential elections prior to 2016, Pennsylvania had only voted Republican on three occasions – 1980, 1984 and 1988. V. O. Key, Jr. and Realigning Elections American political scientist  V.O. Key, Jr. is most well-known for his contributions to behavioral  political science, with his major impact being on election studies.  In his 1955 article A Theory of Critical Elections, Key explained how the Republican Party became dominant between 1860 and 1932; and then how this dominance shifted to the Democratic Party  after 1932 by using empirical evidence to identify a number of election which Key termed as â€Å"critical,† or â€Å"realigning† which resulted in American voters changing their political party affiliations. While Key specifically starts with 1860 which was the year that Abraham Lincoln was elected, other scholars and political scientists have identified and/or recognized that there have been systematic patterns or cycles which have regularly taken place in the U.S. national elections.  Ã‚  While these scholars are not in agreement as to the duration of these patterns: periods that range from every 30 to 36 years as opposed to 50 to 60 years; it does appear that the patterns have some relationship with generational change. Election of 1800 The earliest election which scholars have identified as realigning was in 1800 when Thomas Jefferson defeated the incumbent John Adams. This election transferred power from George Washington and Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Party to the Democratic-Republican Party which was led by Jefferson. Although some argue that this was the birth of the Democratic Party, in reality, the party was established in 1828 with the election of Andrew Jackson. Jackson defeated the incumbent, John Quincy Adams and resulted in the Southern States taking power from the original New England colonies. Election of 1860 As stated above, Key explained how the Republican Party became dominant starting in 1860 with the election of Lincoln. Although Lincoln was a member of the Whig Party during his early political career, as President he led the U.S. to abolish slavery as a member of the Republic Party. In addition, Lincoln and the Republic Party brought nationalism to the United States on the eve of what would become the American Civil War. Election of 1896 The overbuilding of railroads caused several of them, including the Reading Railroad, to go into receivership which caused hundreds of banks to fail; resulting in what was the first U.S. economic depression and is known as the Panic of 1893. This depression caused soup lines and public ire towards the present administration and made the Populist Party the favorite to take power in the 1896 Presidential election. In the 1896 Presidential election, William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan and while this election was not a true realignment or did it even meet the definition of a critical election; it did set the stage for how candidates would campaign for office in subsequent years. Bryan had been nominated by both the Populist and Democratic parties. He was opposed by the Republican McKinley who was backed by a very wealthy individual who used that wealth to conduct a campaign that was intended to make the populace fearful of what would happen if Bryan won. On the other hand, Bryan used the railroad to make a whistle-stop  tour giving twenty to thirty speeches daily.  These campaign methods have evolved into the modern day. Election of 1932 The 1932 election is widely considered as the most well-known realignment election in U.S. history. The country was in the middle of the Great Depression as a result of the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Democratic candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his New Deal policies overwhelmingly defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover by a margin of 472 to 59 Electoral Vote. This critical election was the underpinnings of a massive overhaul of American politics.  In addition, it changed the face of the Democratic Party.   Election of 1980 The next critical election occurred in 1980 when Republican challenger Ronald Reagan defeated the Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter by the tremendous margin of 489 to 49 Electoral Votes. At the time, approximately 60 American’s had been held hostage since November 4, 1979, after the U.S. Embassy in Tehran had been overrun by Iranian students. The Reagan election also marked a realignment of the Republican Party to being more conservative than ever before and also brought about Reaganomics which was designed to fix severe economic issues that confronted the country.  In 1980, the Republicans also took control of the Senate, which marked the first time since 1954 that they had control of either house of Congress. (It would not be until 1994 before the Republican Party would have control of both the Senate and the House simultaneously.) Election of 2016 – Realigning Election? The real question with respect as to whether the 2016 election victory by Trump is a â€Å"political realignment† and/or a â€Å"critical election† is not easy to answer a week after the election.  The United States is not experiencing internal financial distress or facing negative economic indicators such as high unemployment, inflation, or increasing interest rates. The country is not at war, although there are threats of foreign terrorism and social unrest due to racial issues.  However, it does not appear that these were major issues or concerns during this election process.   Instead, one could argue that neither Clinton or Trump were viewed by voters as being â€Å"Presidential† due to their own ethical and moral issues.  In addition, since lack of honesty was a major hurdle which Clinton attempted to overcome throughout the campaign, it is quite plausible that out of fear of what Clinton would do if elected, voters chose to give the Republicans control of both houses of Congress.

Total Quality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Total Quality Management - Essay Example TQM is based on the practice and assumption that problems should be dealt with at the point of origin itself. Each process in any business, like sales, marketing, operations, finance, production, planning, personnel, technical, have parameters of input. If the input is wrong, the output is bound to be wrong. Wang suggests that the correction should be made at the input level itself, which minimizes the chances of a wrong output. Silos also agrees that every aspect and every process of the business system should be involved so that all functions – vertically and horizontally across all levels are covered (1999 cited by Cannon, 2002). Although there have been modification to the adaptation of the TQM, the essential principles of this management philosophy remains the same. This paper will highlight how Marriott considered the TQM in their hotels. Marriott International has always been known as an employee-oriented family atmosphere organization. As service expectation of the existing customers and potential customers have gone up, and as TQM is a management philosophy based on continuous improvement, Marriott felt the need to consider TQM in their company to be able to deliver quality service and to sustain their image in the competitive market. To be able to consider TQM in their organization, Marriott first ventured to define TQM in their own style. To them, TQM meant: The philosophy of the founder of Marriott was â€Å"Take care of Marriott people and they will take care of Marriott guests† (Cannon, 2002). They were in essence attempting to satisfy both their internal and external customers by the TQM approach. They believe that â€Å"Hands-on managers† are absolutely vital to continuing the Marriott culture. The managers need to possess the people skills in being able to support, inspire, encourage, lead and listen to associates. Employees leave the organization or form unions when they are dissatisfied with the management. With the

Stock Market Advice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Stock Market Advice - Essay Example Efficient Market Hypothesis postulates that "only fundamental factors, such as profits or dividends ought to affect share prices" (Stock Market). But this is true only in an ideal situation - a perfect market - which is hardly the case. Over shorter periods, there are wide variations in stock prices on account of any number of reasons, some of which are not even technical in nature. The stock market is driven by investor confidence - and that is a matter of personal choice that cannot be predicted. The general mass of investors invests with a 'herd mentality'. Inexperienced players can rarely, if ever, 'time the market' and hence generally incur losses. Warren Buffet has said in his biography that, "...despite all this available information, [analysis, 'hot' tips, blogs etc], investors find it increasingly difficult to profit." He continues, "...Sometimes there appears to be no rhyme or reason to the market, only folly". The market crash of 1987, resulting in a 22.6 percent drop in t he Dow Jones Index, could not be traced to any specific cause, and is just one example of this 'folly'.Since timing appears to be the critical factor, it follows that one's holdings have to be monitored continuously. Non-performing assets have to be divested and new stocks acquired based on the intrinsic value of each stock arrived at after careful study and keeping in mind market sentiment. Investing in the stock market is not like investing in instrument offering fixed returns, where once the initial investment is made it does not have to be looked at again until its maturity. Some stocks may hardly show any movement, others may show steady appreciation, while others may have depreciated when it comes to selling them. Nevertheless, it is equally true that stocks as a general rule have almost always appreciated over the long term.

Word autobiographical research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Word autobiographical - Research Paper Example I saw that people were being mistreated because they belonged to a different race altogether. The differences stemmed from the fact that there was less empathy for one another and more emphasis on one’s own self. This paper explains how racial relations are dealt with in an organizational setting and how value would be derived from different agendas that the people have had during this scenario. Moving ahead with the discussion at hand, the members of this community, which is essentially an organization, are more or less like me. They are different in the sense that they are from varied backgrounds and hence their understanding and behavioral levels are slightly distinctive. The members of the organization are undertaking the same tasks as I am and hence in a number of ways they are very similar to how I work and how I spend my life. This is an important understanding because my organization has hired individuals who are much like me and who know how to strike big with the cha nging organizational norms and routines. Furthermore, the leaders within the organization treat distinctive people of the racial differences in varied ways. They do not have any uniformity within their ranks and there is a definitive racial divide that is existent within the workplace settings. I am being treated differently than the ones who are from other sides of the city as this is something that does not go down well with the employees. Nearly every one of these employees has an issue or the other with the way the leaders manifest their point (Hindes, 2009). All of them believe that sanity can prevail if the leaders mend their ways and start doing the right thing at the right time. The role of the leaders under such racial discussions is an important one if they realize the same. If they do not understand the gravity of the situation that has come about within the workplace realms, then it is about time that they should start getting their point across to the concerned individu als. Race is such a critical and sensitive issue that it cannot be taken for granted, and especially by the people who are in significant positions, like the leaders themselves. It would be correct to state here that the other people present within the workplace settings have biased perspectives. This is because they believe it is up to them as to how they shape up racial discussions. It is a fact that they treat people in a number of different ways, all of which are based on their thinking realms. They treated the Blacks as people who are under them, no matter if they senior to them. They treat the Asians shabbily because they are from a third world region. I am also treated differently as I belong to a totally different race and I have felt that under certain occasions and situations, they treat me in a way that is unbecoming of them as well as my own self. I am of the opinion that such stigmas should be done away with because they are not at all in the better interests of the org anization from the long term scheme of things. As far as the organizational rules and policies are concerned, there are clear cut instructions as to how racial biasness should be avoided and the manner in which they should be dealt. There is absolute discouragement for racial talks, discussions, slurs and the like, but then again nothing is being promulgated in true letter and spirit within the organization (Carter, 1997). I believe this is because the human resources management department is not playing its due role in a quantifiable manner. If this department knew that such racial problems could arise, proper steps would have been taken to avoid the same. However, this seems to be something which is apparent now than ever before in the history of the organizatio

Four pillars of a hyper-social organization Essay

Four pillars of a hyper-social organization - Essay Example The four pillars are based on the need to abandon concepts that were applicable in the previous marketplace, but can be harmful when held onto during hyper-social strategy development. Essentially, the theme of the four pillars theory is addition by subtraction, as the elimination of outdated beliefs will only help to strengthen the development of appropriate hyper-social business strategies. The four pillars approach states that four ideas need to be forgotten: market segmentation, company centricity, processes/hierarchies, and discrete information channels. Each of these previously integral guidelines have been compromised by the development of hyper-social societies. Market segments are no longer relevant as groups have become associated in non-traditional ways, such as due to ideological beliefs (Gaines & Mondak, 2009), that require the focus to shift from the behaviour of markets to the behaviour of people. Accordingly, the next pillar requires businesses to change their operations to be human-centric as opposed to the traditional company-centered structure. Lastly, information channels have become similarly irrelevant due to the vast availability of information through group resources, and structure in general has become unrealistic as a characteristic principle of socially-influenced

Critical Incident Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical Incident Management - Research Paper Example One of the methods that help justice and security organizations to be firm on its certification of public safety is scenario-based planning (Eppen, Martin, & Scharge, 1989). Scenario planning is â€Å"a comprehensive planning tool that some of the dedicated firms make use of to achieve their long-term goals† (Eppen, Martin, & Scharge, 1989). Scenario-based planning ensures the management of civil liberties in justice organization that they unintentionally compromise fulfilling other duties. It also makes sure that the organizations do not forget public safety while satisfying other demands. The role of scenario planning within these organizations is to minimize or control these risks (Tibettes, 1998). Many security and justice organizations have policies that make them implement on the actual rules and regulation of these companies. To understand this clearly, example of use of force is appropriate. The policies regarding use of force describe an increasing sequence of actions that an officer can take to handle a situation (Tibettes, 1998). This sequence usually has many levels of intensities, and there is a strict instruction for officers to use an appropriate level of intensity of force, keeping in mind the present situation. This also allows an officer to shift from one level of sequence to another without much difficulty. In law enforcement, there is a huge carefulness which makes it very important; police discretion refers to the autonomy of a justice agency or individual officer working in that or any other justice agency to choose to involve in a certain situation to handle it or not (Tibettes, 1998). The implementation of scale of discretion by an office is when an officer arrests a person for a DUI (Driving under the influence); there is a low discretion in this incident in the name of public safety. High discretion is observed when as officer issues a citation on a driver failing to signal a lane change. In particular, the â€Å"amount of effo rt required by police to compel compliance from an unwilling subject is legal definition of use of force† (Tibettes, 1998). Officers should not use any force if they find no conflicts, fights or battles, in other words, no force if there is no resistance. As an example, the sequence of intensities of force starts from officer using verbalization for controlling a situation; if situation does not come under control, he can go for Empty Hand Control. Even when the situation gets worse, an officer can go for Soft Hand Technique, then gradually Less Lethal Method (Surette, 2010). If the situation cannot be controlled with any of the above methods, officers can have an impact on it with the use of weapon, then chemical spray, and then finally the use of lethal force. There are many debates regarding the use of force continuum. These are regarding the convenience of techniques or tools under this continuum. Should the law include this method in the policies and would they might incr ease the liability? Use of force is not appropriate for every situation because not every situation can convert into a continuum (Tibettes, 1998). The law enforcement and other criminal and justice agencies need to structure their organization in a way that everyone can openly share their ideas and opinions; there is no fear of saying anything even if it is wrong. Most importantly, veterans should give

America the Addicted Nation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

America the Addicted Nation - Research Paper Example Despite the government’s continued struggle to encourage the American people to change their bad habits, deaths and accidents because of these addictions still make the news almost every day. As if drugs and alcohol do not do enough damage to the individuals in America, the people have discovered a new craze thanks to the progress of technology and never-ending competition of electronic giants like Samsung and Apple to come up with the most convenient or the smallest electronic gadgets. Americans seem to have made social networking sites a part of their daily routine. Despite all the complaints about violation of privacy and negative effects on behavior, Americans still find themselves susceptible to the appeal of Facebook, Twitter and the like. Marijuana & Prescription Drugs America’s dependence on drugs does not have a definite start. Drugs are part of the field of medicine, the aspect of society which is responsible for promoting the well-being of its members. As suc h, drugs have always been available to the American society. Dependence on these, as with any addiction, began when Americans started taking prescription drugs more often than they were supposed to or for reasons the drugs were not prescribed for. Almost one out of ten Americans above twelve years old is categorized with substance abuse or dependence. (National) This is alarming because the age reference shows that drug addiction already starts when an individual becomes an adolescent. This means that when teenagers are supposed to be enjoying their life by engaging in after-school activities like playing sports and spending time with their families, they are actually getting high on illegal and prescription drugs. The most commonly abused drugs are marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants and psychotherapeutic drugs for non-medical purposes. (Cooper) This was based on 2010 survey conducted by the government regarding drug, alcohol and tobacco use. Marijuana, specificall y, has had a longer relationship with Americans, making center stage during the 60’s and the 70’s â€Å"when getting high was the norm† (Krueger) in America. However, it soon became listed under narcotic drugs and was considered habit-forming and as such harmful for society. Penalties exist for those cultivating, distributing and using marijuana. In Florida, possessing one ounce of marijuana is equivalent to five years and a $6,000 fine while selling close to 25 pounds is a felony which comes with a-five year jail time and a $5,000 fine. (Rao) Recent times, however, has seen a twist to the tale of marijuana and Americans. Medical benefits derived from use of marijuana have pushed medical experts, legislators and patients to clamor for the legalization of marijuana. In 1976, Robert Randall became the first patient to be legally allowed to use marijuana for the treatment of his glaucoma. (Recipients) Subsequently, the government formed a study in 1992 and starting giving free marijuana to nearly 20 patients every month (Stolberg). The program has long been shut down but the comfort marijuana has provided to people with cancer, rare bone disorder and the like are too obvious. Unafraid of the legalities involved, some retirees use marijuana for Crohn’s disease and arthritis because traditional medicines leave them feel sicker. (Krueger) Although the federal government still rules against the use of marijuana, Washington and Colorado have

Critical Incident Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical Incident Management - Research Paper Example One of the methods that help justice and security organizations to be firm on its certification of public safety is scenario-based planning (Eppen, Martin, & Scharge, 1989). Scenario planning is â€Å"a comprehensive planning tool that some of the dedicated firms make use of to achieve their long-term goals† (Eppen, Martin, & Scharge, 1989). Scenario-based planning ensures the management of civil liberties in justice organization that they unintentionally compromise fulfilling other duties. It also makes sure that the organizations do not forget public safety while satisfying other demands. The role of scenario planning within these organizations is to minimize or control these risks (Tibettes, 1998). Many security and justice organizations have policies that make them implement on the actual rules and regulation of these companies. To understand this clearly, example of use of force is appropriate. The policies regarding use of force describe an increasing sequence of actions that an officer can take to handle a situation (Tibettes, 1998). This sequence usually has many levels of intensities, and there is a strict instruction for officers to use an appropriate level of intensity of force, keeping in mind the present situation. This also allows an officer to shift from one level of sequence to another without much difficulty. In law enforcement, there is a huge carefulness which makes it very important; police discretion refers to the autonomy of a justice agency or individual officer working in that or any other justice agency to choose to involve in a certain situation to handle it or not (Tibettes, 1998). The implementation of scale of discretion by an office is when an officer arrests a person for a DUI (Driving under the influence); there is a low discretion in this incident in the name of public safety. High discretion is observed when as officer issues a citation on a driver failing to signal a lane change. In particular, the â€Å"amount of effo rt required by police to compel compliance from an unwilling subject is legal definition of use of force† (Tibettes, 1998). Officers should not use any force if they find no conflicts, fights or battles, in other words, no force if there is no resistance. As an example, the sequence of intensities of force starts from officer using verbalization for controlling a situation; if situation does not come under control, he can go for Empty Hand Control. Even when the situation gets worse, an officer can go for Soft Hand Technique, then gradually Less Lethal Method (Surette, 2010). If the situation cannot be controlled with any of the above methods, officers can have an impact on it with the use of weapon, then chemical spray, and then finally the use of lethal force. There are many debates regarding the use of force continuum. These are regarding the convenience of techniques or tools under this continuum. Should the law include this method in the policies and would they might incr ease the liability? Use of force is not appropriate for every situation because not every situation can convert into a continuum (Tibettes, 1998). The law enforcement and other criminal and justice agencies need to structure their organization in a way that everyone can openly share their ideas and opinions; there is no fear of saying anything even if it is wrong. Most importantly, veterans should give

Service Request Essay Example for Free

Service Request Essay Section1 Complete Section 1 of the Service Request SR-rm-022 paper. Using the Service Request SR-rm-022, analyze the HR system. Prepare a 4- to 6-page paper that accomplishes the following: †¢What key stakeholders in Riordan Manufacturing would you gather requirements from? †¢Describe the information-gathering techniques and systems analysis tools you would propose for the project. †¢Identify the key factors that help ensure the information required for the project is gathered successfully. †¢Explain what project scope is and why it is important. Describe the areas of project feasibility that are examined in the analysis phase of the SCLC. †¢Cite and discuss 2 to 3 references, in addition to the required readings, that are relevant to the assignment. Include citations and references formatted consistent with APA guidelines. Submit Section 1 of the final paper. Note to Faculty: To assist faculty in scoring this benchmark assessment, scoring rubrics have been provided for Weeks 2-4 individual assignments. Please submit the completed scoring instrument into the Gradebook system with the student’s assignment grade. Faculty members are not required to use this instrument, and it may be adapted. Section2 Complete Section 2 of the Service Request SR-rm-022 paper. This week’s assignment incorporates the transition from analysis to design. Consider revising Section 1 based on faculty feedback. Note: The content of the Week Three assignment should not be changed because this assignment has been selected for the university’s Programmatic Assessment Project. As such, completed student assignments may be periodically sampled for program analysis purposes. Prepare a 4- to 6-page paper that includes the following: †¢Describe the application architecture and process design. Include a high-level description of the security controls you recommend for the design of this HR system. †¢Apply the tools of systems analysis to describe the information systems architecture in terms of data, processes, interfaces, and network. You can use a Microsoft ® Visio ®diagram to draw examples of flow charts, data flow diagrams, and any other design tools. †¢Cite and discuss 2 to 3 references, in addition to the required readings, that are relevant to  the assignment. Include citations and references formatted consistent with APA guidelines. Submit Section 2 of the paper. Note: To assist faculty in scoring this benchmark assessment, scoring rubrics have been provided for Weeks 2-4 individual assignments. Please submit the completed scoring instrument into the Gradebook system with the student’s assignment grade. Faculties are not required to use this instrument, and it may be adapted. Section 3 Complete Section 3 of the Service Request SR-rm-022 paper. This section incorporates the transition from design to implementation. Consider revising Sections 1 and 2 based on faculty feedback. Note: The content of the Week Four assignment should not be changed because this assignment has been selected for the university’s Programmatic Assessment Project. As such, completed student assignments may be periodically sampled for program analysis purposes. T Prepare a 4- to 6-page paper that accomplishes the following: †¢Describe the implementation stage for this project. †¢Include a discussion of the six major activities for the implementation stage as described in the text: Coding Testing Installation Documentation Training Support †¢Describe in the discussion of these six activities how each activity would be specifically planned for the individual project situation. †¢Discuss the benefits of using defined and repeatable processes for accomplishing these activities for the implementation stage. †¢Cite and discuss 2 to 3 references, in addition to the required readings, that are relevant to the assignment. Include citations and references formatted consistent with APA Guidelines. Compile Sections 1 through 3 into one final paper. Note: To assist faculty in scoring this benchmark assessment, scoring rubrics  have been provided for Weeks 2-4 individual assignments. Please submit the completed scoring instrument into the Gradebook system with the student’s assignment grade. Faculty members are not required to use this instrument, and it may be adapted.

A Reflection On My Learning Styles Education Essay

A Reflection On My Learning Styles Education Essay INTRODUCTION This reflective essay aims to draw reflection from experience acquired from the Learning from Practice and Reflection (LFPR) module studied at level 1. My own development during this period will be examined in addition to issues encountered in the progression of the event/activities endeavoured upon. In an attempt to demonstrate significant comprehension of my learning from experiences encountered during this process, emphasis would be made on the learning style(s) utilised and how these were examined and developed. My preferred and actual pursued roles will also be highlighted to show how I developed and/or changed behaviours. How I have managed to develop new and existing skills will be assessed and the extent to which I understand myself and my learning. Finally, I would evaluate the potential scope of improvements made and in need of being made by looking ahead in order to perceive how things would be done and what I would do differently resulting from lessons learnt from past experience. The aforementioned analysis will be well structured to cover the different stages (planning, implementation and evaluation) involved in the activity pursued, and will be made against a backdrop of theory and models that would be utilised and act as supporting evidence accumulated from the module. In doing so, one must also acknowledge the importance and relevance of such a topic due the wide scope it possesses to the extent of being applicable far and beyond this module, university life, but to greater dimensions at the peak of ones career. Learning styles, preferences and skills learnt and adopted could be further honed and tailored around ones expertise in order to maximise ones potential and capacity. This would prove crucial and particularly beneficial in areas where there is much at stake, not to mention the flexibility involved in its transferrable nature (the acquisition of transferrable skills such as organisational, decision making, communication, research, IT appropriate numeracy and group work) where its concept could be implemented in areas/situations of a less magnitude such as nurturing kids to adopt such learning techniques a an early age when starting a family or general everyday experiences. LITERATURE ON LEARNING STYLES/CYCLES PREFERENCES Honey and Mumford The process of learning has been found to be multi-dimensional as various schools of thought have come up with various theoretical models that conjure how people learn. Among the most renowned is Kolbs (1984 1995), who presented learning as a cycle; evolving on a constant basis. Viewing this one can easily reason perhaps why academics such as the likes of Kunzel(no-date) would argue from a psychological standpoint that learning is a journey or a lifelong process. The diagram below illustrates the Kolbs (1984; 1995) initial development of learning as a cycle: Subsequently deduced from the original cycle above is Honey and Mumfords (1992) learning cycle illustrated below: The second enhanced version seems to suggest that in every learning situation, the learning process involving the learner should move consciously through every stage of the cycle. However, this may be found contrary to practical reality and experience which show significant preferences for one or more of the stages over others and that not all learners are well grounded in all stages of the cycle. Although some learners may positively or negatively dislike one or some of the stages, there is nothing to prove or indicate that such preference systems make learners better or worse than one another. Relevant and directly aligned to each stage of the learning cycle, Honey and Mumford (1992) identified four different preferential methods in which people prefer to learn, namely; Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist. People tend to operate in just one or in a combination of these modes depending on the degree of preferences, because rather than being fixed characteristics, these are assumed to be acquired characteristics adaptable either through evolved circumstances or at will. Additionally, it is said as mentioned by Honey and Mumford (1992), that ones managerial approach usually reflects ones learning style or vice versa. Honey and Mumford (1992) also found: Activists tend to prefer being proactively involved and dominated by imminent and new experiences with a philosophy of wanting to give a go at anything at least once. This consumes their days with activity and problems are usually tackled through brainstorming. Honey and Mumford (1992) also suggests that activists are busy looking for another activity once the short bursts of excitement from one has sedated. Apparently according to Honey and Mumford (1992), activists are bored with implementation and longer-term consolidation processes and are least productive in learning from passive situations centred on concept or theory that may include the likes of watching and listening to lectures or reading, but rather tend to thrive on and relish the challenge of new experiences. One may argue however, that this element of interest does in fact involve implementation however short-termist it may be, so perhaps it is long-term implementation that activist dislike, but can tolerate short-term as long as it serves their needs of interest and preferences. Activists also prefer not to review their learning achievements and opportunities and dislike situations requiring detailed preparation, solitary work or repetitive tasks. Reflectors prefer to stand back, listen, observe and ponder on experiences from various perspectives, and learn best when doing this. This process usually involves collecting information (either first-hand or from others) to be thoroughly thought through from every possible angle before coming to any definite conclusions, comments or actions. As a result, characteristics traits present in reflectors include postponing outcomes as long as possible; always exercising caution, whilst watching other people in action preferring to occupy a back seat in discussions and meetings, always thinking before speaking, adapting a low profile and possessing a slightly tolerant, distant and unruffled aura. Honey and Mumford (1992) suggests reflectors are weaker in learning when rushed into things without time to plan or with inadequate data, when pushed into role play duties like chairing a meeting. Theorists as learners enjoy analysing and synthesising; by combining and converting distinct facts and observations into comprehensive logical theories. Theorists are said to learn best when presented with a concept theory, system or model irrespective of the potential distance from reality associated with such application. This philosophy relishes logic and rationality. Honey and Mumford (1992) state that theorists enjoy being intellectually challenged; preferring to work with structure, a clear purpose, and being allowed to: investigate associations and interrelationships question assumptions and logic analyse reasons and to generalise from deductions Theorists are said to usually think things through in a well structured and logical manner with high perfectionist tendencies; restless unless and until things fit well into a rational scheme or sequence. Characteristic of this learning preference is keen interest on principles, theories, models, assumptions and systems thinking, and detached, analytical and dedicated to rational objectivity in nature. Anything flippant, subjective in judgement, ambiguous and lateral in thinking, tend to be of discomfort to theorists, who are weaker in learning when: supposed to do something without clear purpose activities are unstructured and ambiguous emotion is emphasised faced with shallow activities subject supporting data is unavailable feeling out of tune with the rest of the group (Honey and Mumford, 1992). Pragmatists are more concerned with making things work on a practical reality by possessing a keen interest on implementing theories, ideas and/or techniques learnt (either recently or previously) to test if they work. This is a feat in slight contrast with reflectors and theorists. Pragmatists are said to positively (and perhaps proactively) search out new ideas and relish opportunities to experiment with applications. They enjoy getting on with things, making practical decisions and solving problems, and are confident and decisive when acting on ideas proving attractive. Pragmatists are also practical and down-to-earth in nature; responding as a challenge to problems and opportunities with a can do, there always a better way or an it is good if it works attitude. Such attitude can be easily perceived as positivist and optimist in mentality or way of thinking. Honey and Mumford (1992) suggests that pragmatists are best at learning when there is a clear link between their current job or (team) role and what is being learnt (the subject matter). They are said to enjoy exposure to processes or techniques clearly practical in nature with immediate relevance where there is a high probability for an opportunity to exist for implementation. As identified by Honey and Mumford (1992), points of weakness in learning with such preference are where there are no immediate rewards, benefits and/or relevance existing from learning activity and/or event(s). After completing Honey and Mumfords (1992) learning styles questionnaire, my highest and second highest score was against reflectors and theorists respectively. This indicated that strengths and learning preferences centred on those of reflectors and theorists and weaker in comparison to adapting traits of activists and pragmatists learning styles. Additionally, my personal results of Honey and Mumfords (1992) learning survey indicated that I preferred watching and thinking than doing and feeling; which effectively placed me in a philosophy category. This complemented the theorist style of learning more than the reflectors by suggesting that I preferred: to dwell on observations and pull thoughts into an integrated whole in a structured manner, logical reasoning, theories, projects and models, analogies, systems, case studies and lectures; courtesy of Clarke (2010). Equipped with this knowledge, placed me in a better convenient position to benefit from choosing the most suitable and adaptable learning techniques, experiences and opportunities at given activities/event(s)/tasks such as the group activity we embarked upon as on a module requirement. Additionally, there are options now available at least consciously where learning styles can be developed in order to expand the range skills available for learning purposes. Considering that by preference, with regards to the three main stages involved in any given task/activity/event (planning, implementation and evaluation), reflectors and theorists are more keen and productive in the planning and evaluation sides of things as opposed to activists and pragmatists implementation, it is of no surprise that I also enjoyed and performed better during these stages (planning and evaluation) of our group activity. Pragmatically speaking this does not suggest however, that Honey and Mumfords (1992) learning cycle theory was not at all contradicted or called into question at times in reality, as it would be quite naive to deem it flawless especially considering the wide dimension of learning styles preferences theory and literature out there. This criticism of Honey and Mumfords (1992) learning cycle matches Smiths (2001) fourth criticism of the cycle which outlines that the ideological sequences do not necessarily equate to reality. Among other criticisms by S mith (2001) worth mentioning is the fact that cultural conditions and experiences are not at all considered and acknowledged, not to mention the subjective perhaps pre-judgemental and weak empirical evidence it relies on for diagnosis. The overriding criticism of this learning cycle is Smiths (2001) sixth but not least criticism which quite rightly points out that the relationship between knowledge and learning processes is much more complex than Kolb (1984) and Honey and Mumford (1992) suggest. Emphasising this point is the Islamic principle and philosophy described so eloquently by Abdalati (1975) as; the truth and knowledge are not entirely confined to sensory knowledge or perception alone. This principle is so firmly rooted when pondered upon that it goes further to expose the fact that any view held or derived by an individual(s) without infallibility or divine revelation, is usually based on the rationalisation of ones own prejudices. LEARNING LOG These were noticed and considered upon critical reflection of critical incidents aided by the utilisation of a learning log which kept track of how I was managing my learning. Consciously and deliberately, time was taken out to focus on my performance during the course; as is the emphasis of this essay. The objective of this is to review thoughts that led to specific actions, outcomes, and lessons learnt from experience in order to be well equipped and informed for future practice; weaknesses could be developed and repeated mistakes avoided. From an enhanced version of the earliest known version of the renown proverb initiated by Julius Caesar,: experience is the teacher of all things, author Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia (A.D. 77) mentioned experience as the best teacher, which does emphasis the rationale behind such learning methods. When used critically, the technique of critical reflection can assist one to hone skills. The learning log; which in essence is a diary, a pro gress file or a journal of event/activities with short term reactions to activities, can significantly in the reflecting process. The learning log used during this module can be summarised into three main sections, these were: An actual log; this was a detailed/brief account of what happened Immediate Reactions to situation/activity A Rear View; looking back at what significant outcomes would I take away from event/activity, what lessons were learnt and if anything could have been done differently looking ahead for the future One of the most significant of critical incidents logged (courtesy of Gallagher (2010)) during our group activity within the period of this module was recording briefly that I had left my phone behind on the day we were supposed to be selling cupcakes at university and only realising it 15 minutes after leaving the house on my way to pick up the cakes from a group members house. My immediate reaction was one in rational non-panic mode; with less emotional attachment to the situation I assessed the fact that it was not at all imperative to have my as opposed to the imperativeness attached to actually having cupcakes for sale, being on time to secure a good spot and to allow enough time to plan ahead on the day to make sure everything was in order running smoothly than rushing into things with less thought; traits usually associated with lateness. So I decided not to go back for it and proceeded to my destination which was to a team-members house to pick up the cupcakes. This of course complemented a philosophy style of learning, with the only contradiction being that if philosophers due think things through logically and prefer structure, then surely there should have been provisional scope made in my thoughts to make sure I did not leave my phone behind especially in an important occasion as our big day as far as our group activity was concerned where communication could play crucial roles for organisational and logistical purposes. The counter argument to this would perhaps be acknowledging the fact that no man is perfect not even the best of philosophers not to mention a mere student and besides, surely not all group members would forget their phones; so in such terms this was not a deal breaking error that would seal ones fate, but was easily absorbable and offset by other more superseding factors. In the looking back section of this log, lessons learnt was to go that extra mile to prepare a little bit more; perhaps by making a shortlist of essentials and to dos and tick each one and I go along; this ensures all bases are covered in events leading to a big day/event/activity/occasion/meeting and so on. This is something I could do differently in the future in any role applicable. Overall, I rated my performance and confidence in this critical incident as 4. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING Subject to necessary changes a personal development plan (PDP) is most relevant to target driven job/role as highlighted by Honey and Mumford (1992) and is usually utilised for unexpected opportunities and/or weaknesses. To monitor ad record progress, a PDP also identifies areas in need of improvement. Set criteria/targets are usually individualistic and unique to individual performance. Overleaf is a copy of one among PDPs made during module, but this drew reference to the group activity: What I am going to do Open the sales of cupcakes by picking up cakes, setting up stall and begin selling the cakes and the documented accounting for sales Why I am going to do this My personal contribution as s a group member in an attempt to achieve success; a goal that unifies all group members as we are all in this together How I am going to do this Plan ahead, through structured and logical manner, logical and rational reasoning over the logistics involved with the delivering of the above target. Make sure estimated time of arrival is early, cakes are ready for pick up on time, use selling, numeric and bilingual skills to the best of my ability to close as many sales as possible When I am going to do this On the 21/03/11 When I will review the results /how I will know I was successful Post 21/03/11 Courtesy of Honey and Mumford (2006) Quite similar to a learning log to the extent that it extracts from ones learning log and appraisal documents, but perhaps more challenging, target driven and development orientated. A PDP would usually include dates, event/activity, achievement/results, interpretation of achievement/results against a benchmark, lessons learnt and any possible room for improvement or what could be done differently is under-achieving. OTHER RELEVANT MODELS: VAK Leite et al. (2009) highlights one of the most renowned classifications of the different kinds of learning styles is Flemings VAK also known as VARK which is an expanded version of neuro-linguistic programming models. As an abbreviation the VAK stands for: Visual learners; prefer seeing/thinking things through pictures, handouts, visual aids like PowerPoint slides and so on. Auditory learners; prefer learning by listening via lectures, tapes, discussions and so on. Kinesthetic learners; prefer learning by experience; actually doing on a physical dimension; be it experiments, moving, touching, and active exploration to name a few (Walter et al., 2009). Upon taking the VAK survey, Visual learning was revealed as my preferred learning style and my goal thereon was to focus on visual aids as a main source of learning in order to maximise my educational experience. However, to avoid getting too carried away with this model, it is hard not to recognise the fact that all three styles within VAK are required for effective learning in the pursuit of knowledge and experience as they are inter-related/-dependent and used more often than not interchangeably. Although it supplemented my other identified styles of learning (reflector/theorists/philosophy), my preference for visual aid for instance as a visual learner would still require listening when benefitting from a PowerPoint presentation being presented by a lecturer unless one was deaf or chose to cover their ears and kinaesthetic element involved would be efforts and energy required to access it in the first place be it using a computer/laptop, jotting down notes or taking a walk into t he classroom again unless one was immobile or chose to be stationary. Emphasising this fact of objective criticism is the mere fact that losing any one of the imperative senses directly associate specifically with anyone of VAK classifications would equate to having a learning disability irrespective of what type of learner/learning preferences one is/has. BELBIN TEAM ROLES Source: XenerGie (no date) The above illustration outlines the nine different main team roles that people are scored on depending on how strongly they express behavioural characteristics of the nine roles, which are more or less self explanatory. The overall assessment process involved to derive such results is known as the Belbin Team Inventory or Belbin Self-Perception Inventory (SPI), which was instigated by Belbin (1981; 1994) to measure preference for the main roles. My SPI results indicated that my most natural roles (where I scored exceptionally high) were as: A Plant; described by Belbin (1981; 1994) as someone with bright ideas who prefers to work on his or her own and generates ideas without considering the practicality or considering others views and can be bored easily by others inputs. Plants are also described as weak at communicating with, learning from, or managing, other people. A Monitor Evaluator; Excellent in reasoning for solutions, views from a wider perspective when all options are considered, but similar to plants weaker at motivating, acknowledging, or facilitating others as rationality is favoured over emotions. A Completer Finisher; Possesses depth to efficiently assist a team to see task(s) through but with major emphasis on accuracy and perfection which can frustrate other practically minded members. Members feel safe by him although there still remains a tendency to annoy due to perfectionism characteristics. My results in totality with key for decipher and interpretation purposes are illustrated below: Courtesy of Belbin (1981; 1994) IM Implementer CO Co-ordinator SH Shaper PL Plant RI Resource Instigator ME Monitor Evaluator TW Team Worker CF Completer Finisher Very Low 0-5 0-3 0-3 0-1 0-2 0-2 0-3 0-1 Low 6-8 4-5 4-6 2-3 3 3-4 4-5 2-3 Mid-Range 9-12 6-9 7-14 4-7 4-7 5-9 6-10 4-8 High 13-15 10-13 15-18 8-9 8-10 10-11 11-13 9-10 Very High 16+ 14+ 19+ 10+ 11+ 12+ 14+ 11+ Courtesy of Belbin (1981; 1994) BELBIN SELF PERCEPTION INVENTORY EXERCISE DT360 From the results shown above, it is clear that absolute coordinating and team worker roles are best avoided as I had very low scores on them, although on average I am capable of assuming shaper and resource instigator roles with relative ease. Some may argue that a more objective and rational method of executing this model would have been to rank each statement in order of preference with the highest rank being made on a statement that best described ones behaviour/personality rather than being confined to 10 points where it is inevitable that some statements would be unaccounted for even though one may have a degree of response for them. Surely it would be fairer in distribution and unbiased if all statements were accounted for to some degree, although keeping the key hidden among the statements and not revealed until ones completed the survey does account to an extent for objectivity. The model can also seem quite daunting and complicated for participants with poor numeric skills; (as a total of 10 points has to be maintained for each number), to the extent that they may be easily confused, put off or end up providing a false reflection due to inaccuracies or poor calculations. Additionally, the fact that Belbin (1981; 1 994) defines an ideal team as consisting of 4 members and anything over this constitutes of a group. This implies that the model is best applicable to teams than groups, but in practicality teams in the workplace and in most cases than not are usually exceeding 4 members. The contradiction of this is that the total number of team roles being tested are 9 (far excessive than 4), although one may argue that depending on the overall goal/objective/activity/event at hand, it may not be an imperative to have all 9 roles present in your team, but perhaps the best/most suitable 4 selections from the 9 that would best serve the overall task at hand. JOHARI WINDOW Initiated by Luft and Ingham (1955), a Johari Window is usually used as a heuristic activity in an attempt to assist people to comprehend interpersonal relationships and communication much better and is seen as a cognitive psychological tool. In terms of input and facilitation, in comparison to the other models aforementioned, this model tends to be less individualist and more interactive (imperatively requiring others input). As revealed by Luft (1969), in practice, a list of 56 adjectives is provided (to both the subject and peers) and utilised by both in the same way but independently input (picking 5 or 6 adjectives), to describe the subjects personality, which are then sieved and mapped onto a grid similar to the one found below (relevant to myself and completed for this module): 2. BLIND SELF Warm Sympathetic Warm Proud Self-conscious OPEN SELF Happy Kind Nervous Adaptable Friendly Known to self Not known to self Known to others 3. UNKNOWN SELF Reflective Observant Logical Adaptable Organised 4. HIDDEN SELF Complex Independent Loving Modest Dignified Not known to others Handy (2000) describes this concept as a house with 4 rooms; moving in a clockwise direction: Room 1; represents traits of my personality that I share in common with peers in terms of awareness. These adjectives were selected by both me and peers. Room 2; represents traits of my personality that I am unaware of, but revealed by peers. These descriptions were selected by my peers only without my input. Room 3; represents traits of my personality that were oblivious to both me and my peers. These were in effect selected by the other aforementioned models revelations and indications; these adjectives that best described my found learning preferences/styles. Handy (2000) describes this room as the most mysterious where the unconscious or subconscious part of us noticed by neither ourselves nor others. Room 4; described as confidential; the part of us known only to us and not others. These adjectives were selected by only me. The limitation with this window is that the number of adjectives does not always tally with what is required; and an uneven distribution of selections would have to be made more often than not; which may invalidate findings to an extent in terms of bias. However, this only tends to be an issue if a requirement is made to ensure an even distribution of adjectives across all 4 rooms is achieved. There is nothing to suggest in the theory that an uneven distribution across the rooms is unacceptable or invalid, rather the main emphasis is actually only made on an even independent selection of adjectives between subjects and peers. The problem with this is, if I did not select any adjective that matched my peers selection, would mean room 1 would remain empty. There is also some ambiguity on the frequency of selection required for each participant; is it confined to once or are multiple frequencies of selection allowed to offset such limitation? CONCLUSION PLANNING This was part of the group activity that I enjoyed the most and quite rightly so as indicated by the learning cycle/preferences models. I was proactively involved in this part of the session and my confidence in doing so was mostly thanks to completing most of the learning style/preferences models in precedence to the actual activity. I made the most of knowing where my learning preferences, strengths and skills lay by maximising my potential input/contribution to the group activity. Demonstrating traits of a reflector, theorist, plant, monitor evaluator, completer finisher, in a visually orientated dimension meant this role and stage of activity was performed naturally. One of my most productive and influential contributions at this stage of the activity was the highly imaginative idea to suggest that we considered raising money for charity as this seemed feasible under the circumstances considering our limited resources in terms of lack of funding (a concession from which the idea to submit a funding request stemmed from; although this attempt ultimately proved futile), and limited capacity to produce a lucrative venture under such confinements such as limited timeframes and manpower. Deciding on actually which charity (in this case red nose) to support/represent came from another team member. I must admit that I did not pay much interest or attention on the ins and outs involved in seeing through, although I was quite passionate about the idea. Moving forward perhaps I should develop my pragmatism on this aspect a bit further in order to be more specialised on hands-on experience. IMPLEMENTATION It is obvious that this was not my strongest point and as opposed to the brainstorming phase of the activity, I was not too much involved in this part of the procedure. My main input in this stage of the process was merely driving to picking up the cakes from a group members house (who happened to be more involved with liaising with the producer and negotiating on a price) setting up the stalls and a passive participation in selling on the day of sale. During this time I was better at observing spanners at work, how they work and generating ideas from gone wells and not gone wells. I was more committed to tracking our progress on sales projecting sales based on current sales ad how long we may be expected go on for. It was my idea that we always made sure we had spare change available, which required for each of us to bring coins along on the day. This highlighted preferred passion for the evaluation sides of things as similarly expressed for the planning stages. There is a lot that I have learnt from the implementation process and there is also a lot more to learn provided I am more involved in this stage, the realisation that theories do not always work in reality for instance would more easily verifiable and assessable. EVALUATION I did enjoy the evaluation stage other than the aspects of implementation involved in this process. My evaluation skills contributed toward the drive that was derived from projected findings on sales that led to us completing sales three hours ahead of schedule whilst generating a healthy profit of 64.5% and a total contribution of pou

Report on Arcadias TOPMAN Essay -- Arcadia Business Management Essays

Report on Arcadia’s TOPMAN Introduction On the following pages you will find a formal report investigating Arcadia’s TOPMAN. It is a detailed report looking into several different areas of TOPMAN. In this report you will find information about: - The businesses legal status - The businesses objectives - The different department within the business and what they do - The management style the business uses - The culture the business has - The ICT used in the business - The types of communication used in the business There are at several different types of business the main ones being sole trader, partnership, private limited company, public limited company and franchise. All of the above company types are slightly different from each other. A sole trader is a company that is owned by one person. They are their own boss, they make their own decisions, all the profit that the business makes they have, they have the freedom that you don’t get when you are working for someone and a sole trader business is easy to set up. Also being a sole trader has disadvantages, the owner has to deal with all of the loss of the company (unlimited liability), they have to work long hours because they have to run the business them selves, they have fewer holidays than you would working for someone because they have to do everything them selves, getting money to start up a sole trader business can sometimes be hard because if a loan was needed banks hesitate when giving sole traders a loan because a very few amount of sole trader business succeed, they usually go out of business in the first year of trading. A partnership is a company that has to be owned by between two and twenty people. Investors in a partnership company can decide to join the company as a sleeping partner which is a person who invests money into the business but takes no part in the running, because there are lots of people running the business all the experience that every member of the workforce can be shared, all of the workload that needs to be don’t can also be shared, all of the loss or expenses can be shared between all of the partners therefore there would be a less amount to pay, the money that is needed to start the business can be made easier because there is a lot more people to combine there money together, also getting a... ... in higher profit turnover. Not only was the version 5 till system a strength but it also created a weakness, when the till system was first introduced for the first 4 weeks there were a lot of problems with them, they started, working extremely slow, declining most cards that customers wanted to pay with, freezing. All of the above problems caused TOPMAN to loose a lot of customers, when these problems happened the till had to be re-booted which took on aerage 10-15 minutes and customers used to get fed up and leave. Communication in TOPMAN is highly important when it comes to meeting there objectives, because TOPMAN has so many departments that are spread out all over England it is extremely hard to communication with everyone, but it is important. TOPMAN has developed several ways to effectively communicate with all of them departments whether it’s through e-mail, or telephone TOPMAN has a way to communicate with every person in the business at any time. So the communication in TOPMAN is very effective and helps TOPMAN achieve all of its objectives by providing every member of staff with the option to communicate with anyone they need at any time.

Community Service Project Reflection Essay -- Volunteer Work, Service

The thought of community service was a bore to me before I began my volunteer work. I dreaded starting my community service although I knew I had to do it. Where I earned my hours did not even matter to me. I just wanted to get it over with. To my surprise it was not what I expected. Community service was not a painful experience; it was a very enjoyable and beneficial experience. I performed my community service with Habitat for Humanity. The non†profit organization chooses the applicant that purchases the house and Habitat only charges them the cost of the materials. Almost every worker is a volunteer so Habitat for Humanity does not have to pay a high amount of wages. I felt good about myself being one of those volunteers. The future owner of the house had to work on it too. They are...

Financial Ratio and Costco

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