Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Essay

Today we will be discussing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 or HIPAA. As some or most of you may know HIPAA was enacted by the federal government in 1996 and by definition is a federal law that mandates insurance portability and sets up procedures for electronic data exchange (Austin & Wetle, 2012). This law’s purpose is to protect patients privacy, none of a Patient’s Health Information (PHI) is to be used or released without the patient’s consent. HIPAA is superior to state laws, so that no matter where the patient lives they are protected. The only time HIPAA is not superior to state law is if the state law has a higher standard, as in keeping an account of disclosures for eight years rather than the six required by HIPAA law we would follow the state law in this case. Key factors that all health care employees should know about HIPAA are as follows. Who is covered by HIPPA? Health care providers, clearinghouses, and health plans that are compelled to protect PHI for oral, paper, and electronic communications (Harman, 2005) are all covered by HIPAA. Another key factor about HIPAA is, knowing what information is protected and what is ok to be disclosed. PHI is not to be disclosed unless the patient gives their consent, anything with personal identifiers is off limits, demographic data, past, present and future health conditions, provisions of care and past, present, or future payment information (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, n. d. ) are all protected. Information that can be disclosed is called de-identified health information, information without any identifying factors. The only required PHI disclosures are to the patient if they request it. If a facility fails to abide by the laws they will be fined. Any person who obtains or discloses identifiable PHI can face a criminal penalty of up to $50,000 and up to one year in prison (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, n. d. ) the person will likely be terminated from their position as well. These regulations effect the management of employees, patients, resources, and ealth care because everyone needs to be trained in HIPAA practices and know the laws and regulations. Patients need to understand and sign consent forms and be made aware of what their rights are through the policy. One could say HIPPA makes for more paperwork; however it is crucial to protect our patient’s privacy and the relationship with our outside resources. Once completely understood by all of the staff, and patients everyone will understand how valuable HIPAA really is.

The History of Caklempong

Caklempong traditional music is said to have brought to Malaya by the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra settled in Negeri Sembilan as early as the 14th century. Minangkabau society call the caklempong as talempong. (Source: Abdul Samad Idris, 1970) In the earlier tradition, other than the purpose for fun, caklempong was also played as an important role in everyday life, such as integrating the Minang community residents besides being played during the ceremony of the coronation of the Sultan.Today, caklempong is famously being played for various purposes including the wedding ceremony, opening, entertainment, music accompaniment silat martial, dance and more. Music of caklempong has now been received by the plural society in Malaysia as the nation's musical heritage. Caklempong is now being taught at institutions across the country with a view to inculcate the spirit of love of traditional music in Malaysia THE MUSIC OF CAKLEMPONG Caklempong is included in the group Idiofon (Idiopho ne) that is in the category of musical instruments made of metal, wood, bamboo and coconut shells.It is usually played by hitting, impacting, shaking and pounding. Among the instruments included in this classification are gong, saron (gamelan) bonang (caklempong) kenong (gamelan) angklung, and xylophone. Bonang caklempong has a shape like a small gong made of bronze, 16cm in diameter, 8-10 cm high and 2. 5cm in height cembol midst. Originally, caklempong is played in a pentatonic scale of notation C, D, E, F and G, but it has now include all of the other notations that are A, Bb and B. The complete set of caklempong consists of the following: GeretehGereteh consists of 15 Bonang was written in the tone one octave C Major, including seven not options in the two parallel lines with the 1st line having 8 bonang, while the 2nd line having 7 bonang. Gereteh plays the role of playing the main melody. There are two sets Gereteh in a complete set caklempong. Gereteh Tingkah Tingkah consists of eight pieces that begins with E, F, G, A, Bb, B, C and D. Tingkah focuses on controlling the pace and rhythm produced by the beating of drums. Saua Similar to tingkah, saua consists of eight pieces of bonang. The only difference between tingkah and saua is the way they are played.Saua is played by Ostinato rhythm patterns and moving melodies in the code. Ostinato the notation of saua starts from the note low E. Tingkah / Saua Drum Tambor drum or timber usually made of jackfruit. Leather used is the skin of cattle or buffalo skin. Drum vibration have low (bass) sound. One is known as gendang ibu and the other is known as gendang anak. The role of gendang ibu is to control the tempo whilst the gendang anak creates the dynamic of a certain arrangement. Drum Wooden Armatur The wooden pounder of caklempong is about 22 centimeters long.One third of the wooden pounder is wrapped with rope to the top so that when the sound not too loud when knocking. Wooden Armatur ELEMENTS OF MUSIC Mus ic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. Rhythm is the flow of music through time. Rhythm has several interrelated aspects: beat, meter, accent and syncopation, and tempo. Beat: is a regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time.When you clap your hands or tap your foot to music, you are responding to its beat. A note may last a fraction of a beat, an entire beat, or more than a beat. More specifically, rhythm can be defined as the particular arrangement of note lengths in a piece of music. The rhythm of a melody is an essential feature of its personality. Meter: In music we find a repeated pattern of a strong beat plus one or more weaker beats. The organization of beats into regular groups is called meter. A group containing a fixed number of beats is called a m easure.There are several types of meter, which are based on the number of beats in a measure. When a measure has 2 beats, it is in duple meter; we count 12, 12, The first, or stressed, beat of the measure is known as the downbeat. A pattern of 3 beats to the measure is known as triple meter. All waltzes are in triple meter, we count 123, 123, etc. Another basic metrical pattern is quadruple meter, which has 4 beats to the measure. As usual, the downbeat is strongest; but there is another stress on the third beat, which is stronger than the second and fourth beats and weaker than the first: 1234, 1234.Upbeat: It is an unaccented pulse preceding the downbeat. Sextuple meter contains six rather quick beats to the measure. The downbeat is strongest, and the fourth beat also receives a stress: 123456. Quintuple meter, with 5 beats to the measure, and septuple meter, with 7 beats to the measure, occur frequently in twentieth-century music and are found occasionally in earlier music. Each of these meters combines duple and triple meter. In quintuple meter, for example, the measure is subdivided into groups of 2 and 3 beats: 123/45 or 12/345.Accent and Syncopation: An important aspect of rhythm is the way individual notes are stressedhow they get special emphasis. A note is emphasized most obviously by being played louder than the notes around it, that is, by receiving a dynamic accent. When an accented note comes where we normally would not expect one, the effect is known as syncopation. A syncopation also occurs when a weak beat is accented, as in 1234 or 1234. Tempo: is the speed of the beat, the basic pace of the music. A fast tempo is associated with a feeling of energy, drive, and excitement.A slow tempo often contributes to a solemn, lyrical, or calm mood. A tempo indication is usually given at the beginning of a piece. As with dynamics, the terms that show tempo (at the left) are in Italian. largo| very slow, broad| grave| very slow, solemn| adagio| slow| anda nte| moderately slow, a walking pace| moderato| moderate| allegretto| moderately fast| allegro| fast| vivace| lively| presto| very fast| prestissimo| as fast as possible| Qualifying words are sometimes added to tempo indications to make them more specific. The two most commonly used are molto (much) and non troppo (not too much).We thus get phrases like allegro molto (very fast) and allegro non troppo (not too fast). A gradual quickening of tempo may be indicated by writing accelerando (becoming faster), and a gradual slowing down of tempo by ritardando (becoming slower). An accelerando, especially when combined with a rise in pitch and volume, increases excitement, and a ritardando is associated with less tension and a feeling of conclusion. Metronome, an apparatus which produces ticking sounds or flashes of light at any desired musical speed. The metronome setting indicates the exact number of beats per minute.Melody: After hearing a piece of music, we usually remember its melody best. melody is a series of single tones which add up to a recognizable whole. A melody begins, moves, and ends; it has direction, shape, and continuity. The up-and-down movement of its pitches conveys tension and release, expectation and arrival. This is the melodic curve, or line. -A melody moves by small intervals called steps or by larger ones called leaps. A step is the interval between two adjacent tones in the do-re-mi scale (from do to re, re to mi, etc. ). Any interval larger than a step is a leap (do to mi, for example).Besides moving up or down by step or leap, a melody may simply repeat the same note. -A melodys range is the distance between its lowest and highest tones. Range may be wide or narrow. -Melodies written for instruments tend to have a wider range than those for voices, and they often contain wide leaps and rapid notes that would be difficult to sing. How the tones of a melody are performed can vary its effect, too. Sometimes they are sung or played in a smoo th, connected style called legato. Or they may be performed in a short, detached manner called staccato.Spiccato: it is a technique used only by string instruments to performe very short notes. -Many melodies are made up of shorter parts called phrases. -A resting place at the end of a phrase is called a cadence. Incomplete cadence: Â  sets up expectations; the second phrase ends with a Complete cadence: Â  gives an answer, a sense of finality. Often the highest tone of a melody will be the climax, the emotional focal point. -A repetition of a melodic pattern on a higher or lower pitch is called a sequence. This is an impelling device of varied repetition that gives a melody a strong sense of direction.Frequently, a melody will serve as the starting point for a more extended piece of music and, in stretching out, will go through all kinds of changes. This kind of melody is called a theme. When folksingers accompany themselves on a guitar, they add support, depth, and richness to t he melody. We call this harmonizing. Most music in western culture is a blend of melody and harmony. Harmony: refers to the way chords are constructed and how they follow each other. -A chord is a combination of three or more tones sounded at once.Essentially, a chord is a group of simultaneous tones, and a melody is a series of individual tones heard one after another. Consonance and Dissonance Some chords have been considered stable and restful, others unstable and tense. -A tone combination that is stable is called a consonance. Consonances are points of arrival, rest, and resolution. -A tone combination that is unstable is called a dissonance. -A dissonance has its resolution when it moves to a consonance. When this resolution is delayed or accomplished in unexpected ways, a feeling of drama, suspense, or surprise is created.In this way a composer plays with the listeners sense of expectation. -Dissonant chords are active and move music forward. Traditionally they have been cons idered harsh and have been used in music that expresses pain, grief, and conflict. Now that consonance and dissonance have been defined, be aware that they can exist in varying degrees. Some consonant chords are more stable than others, and some dissonant chords are more tense than others. Dissonant chords have been used with increasing freedom over the centuries, so that often a chord considered intolerably harsh in one period has later come to seem rather mild.The Triad A great variety of chords have been used in music. Some chords consist of three different tones; others have four, five, or even more. Depending on their makeup, chords sound simple or complex, calm or tense, bright or dark. The simplest, most basic chord is the triad (pronounced try-ad), which consists of three tones. The bottom tone is called the root; the others are a third and a fifth above the root. -A triad built on the first, or tonic, note of the scale (do) is called the tonic chord. The triad built on the fifth note of the scale (sol) is next in importance to the tonic.It is called the dominant chord (sol-ti-re). The dominant chord is strongly pulled toward the tonic chord. This attraction has great importance in music. A dominant chord sets up tension that is resolved by the tonic chord. A progression from dominant chord to tonic chord is called a cadence. The word cadence means both the resting point at the end of a melodic phrase and a chord progression that gives a sense of conclusion. Broken Chords (Arpeggios): When the individual tones of a chord are sounded one after another, it is called a broken chord, or arpeggio.Arpeggios may appear in the melody or in the accompaniment. -The central tone is the keynote, or tonic, of the melody. When a piece is in the key of C, for example, C is the keynote, or tonic. The keynote can also be E, or A, or any of the twelve tones that fill the octave in western music. Key: involves not only a central tone but also a central scale and chord. A piece in the key of C has a basic scale, do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do, with C as its do, or tonic. Key, then, refers to the presence of a central note, scale, and chord within a piece.Another term for key is tonality. After 1900, some composers abandoned the traditional system, but even today much of the music we hear is built around a central tone, chord, and scale. Practically all familiar melodies are built around a central tone. The other tones of the melody gravitate toward this central one. Since the central tone is especially stable and restful, a melody usually ends on it. Modulation: Change of Key Shifting from one key to another within the same piece is called modulation. A modulation is like a temporary shift in the center of gravity.When the music starts out in the key of C major, for instance, C is the central tone, and the C major scale and chord predominate. With a modulation to G major, G temporarily becomes the central tone, and the G major scale and chord are now the main ones. Though modulations are sometimes subtle and difficult to spot, they produce subconscious effects that increase our enjoyment of the music. Texture: homophonic, Polyphonic, Monophonic Polyphonic Texture Simultaneous performance of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest produces the texture called polyphonic, meaning having many sounds.In polyphony several melodic lines compete for attention. (When several jazz musicians improvise different melodies at once, they produce polyphony. ) The technique of combining several melodic lines into a meaningful whole is called counterpoint. The term contrapuntal texture is sometimes used in place of polyphonic texture Polyphonic music often contains imitation, which occurs when a melodic idea is presented by one voice or instrument and is then restated immediately by another voice or instrument.Homophonic Texture: When we hear one main melody accompanied by chords, the texture is homophonic. Monophonic Texture: When we hear one main melody without accompaniment, the texture is monophonic. Form: in music is the organization of musical elements in time. In a musical composition, pitch, tone color, dynamics, rhythm, melody, and texture interact to produce a sense of shape and structure.

Developing Management Skills Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Developing Management Skills - Assignment Example The management style may end up frustrating the manager’s efforts in relation to deriving support from employees. Psychological resiliency is the ability to endure psychological risk factors/ stressors without exhibiting psychological dysfunction (such as post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD). On the other hand, social resiliency is the ability to withstand stressors that emanate from the social and environmental spheres. In addition, social resilience is an analytical framework that emanates from the concept of social vulnerability whereas psychological resilience emanates from psychological stressors. Individuals can manage personal stress from the work-life balance by adopting the analytical framework that forms the foundations of social resiliency. The work-life balance entails the coping, adaptive, and transformative capacities that represent social resilience. Stress levels are significantly reduced when the work-life balance is approached with the three ‘pillars’ of social resiliency. Psychological resiliency is the best possible mechanism to respond to an experience of personal failure. For example, an individual may set performance benchmarks in his or her area of expertise. Such benchmarks could be accompanied by rewards. The benchmarks and rewards would act as intrinsic and extrinsic motivators of success in an attempt to erase the previous experience of personal failure. The analytical problem-solving approach commences with defining the problem. This step involves differentiating objective and subjective opinions while specifying the underlying causes of the problem. It is at this step that all the relevant parties are tapped for information to identify whose problem it is. In addition, this step avoids ambiguity on how the problem is presented. On the other hand, the creative problem-solving approach commences with preparation. This stage is simple and is limited by scope.  

Chapter 6 Motivation Case Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter 6 Motivation Case Assignment - Essay Example As indicated in Figure 6.7, it could be assumed that both the boss and Joe agree that his performance needs to be improved; therefore, in analyzing his situation, his problem actually stemmed from inadequate subordinate motivation (rather than inadequate subordinate ability). Case facts revealed that he has previously exhibited good performance, he was reported to have worked hard, have consistently produced high quality results, have manifested volunteering for special projects, made suggestions for improvement, and even demonstrated in-depth practical knowledge of the architecture and construction business (Whetten and Cameron 363). Therefore, analyzing further, the lack of motivation was apparently the result of rewards not being linked to performance and not being fairly distributed (Whetten and Cameron 362). From the complaints he expressed through an officemate, it was evident that his performance and efforts were not duly recognized, acknowledged and rewarded. 3) Based on your conclusions in question # 2, how could you use the nine steps and three strategies - reprimand, redirect, reinforce (Table 6.5 page 341-342) to reshape Joe’s behavior? Using the nine steps and three strategies therefore to reshape Joe’s behavior would require management to do the following: Reprimand would necessitate confronting Joe to specifically identify his inappropriate behavior; point out the impact to others; and determine the causes of his low performance and suggestions to remedy this. Redirect would mean accurately stating to Joe the expected behavior, standards and goals to be achieved within a defined schedule; determine from him if he would comply; and be supportive by praising his previous level of performance and telling him that he could achieve these and even excel, if needed. Reinforce guidelines would require management to design appropriate rewards and sanctions; and to regularly monitor the

The Ethical Decision Making Process within the Law Enforcement Thesis Proposal

The Ethical Decision Making Process within the Law Enforcement Organization.An Examination of Inappropriate Unethical Behavior from Law Enforcement Officers while Working within the Communities - Thesis Proposal Example Ethical decision-making was to be treated as an essential area of concern among the local law and security enforcement agencies. One would be left to ask a number of questions that may lack a readymade answer. Why do law enforcement officers and security personnel engage in the unethical behaviour? What is the role of ethical decision making in addressing the vices of corruption and abuse of power among the police force? Is there a relationship between training and behaviour? What perception do the communities hold toward the conduct of law enforcement officers? These and many other frequently asked questions require answers that may only come along through a detailed study of the subject matter. Corruption, abuse of power, assault of women and other vulnerable groups during times of calamities have been manifest features of almost every law enforcing agency in the world. The security and other law enforcing groups have severally been reported to have used more force on the ordinary people than stipulated in the law (Caldero, Crank & Crank, 2014). The result of the tainted name of the law enforcement officers has been the fear and resentment by the communities that have fallen victims of circumstances in this regard. One would wonder the ethical picture manifested when ordinary people express their distrust and lack of confidence in a group that should perform a role that is paramount to peaceful human existence. Is it because of lack of proper training on the ethical standards and codes of moral conduct in the course of discharging their duties or is it a culture that has gradually made its roots in the system? Corrective measures are urgently needed to redeem the tainted r eputation and public image of the law enforcement and security agencies. The problem that has been identified is an increase of activity in unethical decision making by law enforcement officers on duty while serving within designated communities

AS Unit F911- Communication in care settings Coursework

AS Unit F911- Communication in care settings - Coursework Example The receiver must then respond to the message given to them. As an example, when the practitioner wants to convey information about a particular health situation, they may first tell the patient the condition that they have found through testing and other means. They may next send the family to a website that gives more information about the disease or condition, and they would probably provide written handouts about the disease or condition. These are all effective ways of communicating to the patient. Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication, also known as body language, is a type of communication that people convey to one another on an unconscious level. This level of communication goes back and forth between two people who are talking to each other all the time. As an example, an individual may be sending a verbal message to another person. Person one is conveying the information and person two is listening. If person two does not like what person one is saying, or they ar e feeling uncomfortable with what is being said, they may cross their arms. This is a signal to the other person that something is going wrong with how person two is receiving the message. If person one recognizes the body language, they can ask the individual if they are feeling uncomfortable and they can talk more about the issue so that person two finds a better comfort level. Nonverbal communication is a system of cues from one person to another and there are fiver roles they can play (Segal, 2011): 1. Nonverbal communication can repeat a verbal message or add emphasis to it. Often, people will use hand gestures as they are trying to make a specific point which can add emphasis to what is being said. 2. Noverbal communication can contradict what an individual is trying to say. For example, the individual may be saying that they are happy about a situation when in fact, they are feeling nervous. Their eyes or the fact that they are fidgeting may show that they are uncomfortable w ith what is being said. 3. Nonverbal communication can substitute for a verbal expression. As an example, when sending a message of empathy, showing empathy with the eyes, or with a warm smile can convey more than stating how someone feels about a situation. 4. Nonverbal communication can compliment what is being said. A caregiver who rubs the back of someone who is feeling depressed while they are telling them not to worry can be comforting to the individual hearing the message of bad news. 5. Nonverbal communication can also add an accent to the communication. As an example, someone pounding their fist on the table while conveying anger would accent the message that was given. Nonverbal communication is essential to an understanding in patient care because the practitioner must understand how to read the body language of their patients and/or the family so they can better serve their needs. Verbal Communication Most people are familiar with verbal communication because it is how w e talk to each other. Verbal communication can be quiet or loud and it can serve the purpose of getting information across to a patient and/or their family members. When verbally communicating in care settings it is important to use simple language, make sure that the pace of the conversation is not too fast or slow and it is important to use short sentences (NVQ Made Simple, 2010). The reason these things are important is

Special Interest Tourism Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Special Interest Tourism Report - Essay Example Furthermore, the site defines tourism in various concepts in order to evaluate the preferences of the travellers. Moreover, the three prime elements associated with tourism, namely, consumer, product and supplier are discussed and classifications are provided where relevant. In addition, the site provides certain measures which should be taken care of by the tour operators especially while conducting adventurous tours such as wildlife tourism. Thus, the discussion can provide valuable insight to certain pertinent aspects related to wildlife tourism. Reference details: Allman, T. L. & et. al. 2009, ‘Exploring the motivations of base jumpers: extreme sport enthusiasts’, Journal of Sport & Tourism, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 229-247. Source: Journal article. Access to item: Easy – Journal held on campus. Relevance to this form of Special Interest Tourism: The article will evaluate the motivational factors which persuade an individual’s desire to participate in advent urous sports. The researchers approached the participants of ‘Base jumping’ for evaluating the motivational factors. The sport includes activities such as parachuting from buildings, bridges and high cliffs, in which the participants’ lives are at risks. In other words, they voluntarily take risks in performing the activities. The study will thus evaluate the tendencies of the participants in taking such life-challenging risks. Furthermore, due to the nature of the sport, the findings will help to analyse the factors which influence people to take up wildlife tours which are also adventurous. Reference details: Bentley, T. A. & et. al. 2010, ‘Adventure and ecotourism safety in Queensland: operator experiences and practice’, Tourism Management, vol. 31, pp. 563-571. Source: Journal article. Access to item: Easy – Journal held on campus Relevance to this form of Special Interest Tourism: Although, wildlife tourism is adventurous and thrilling, c ertain amount of risks is involved with regards to safety. Therefore, the article focuses on identifying the probable injuries and safety management practices which could prevent the travellers. The authors have collected valuable information from the tour operators in order to implement safety practices in the future from preventing injury. The survey revealed that a low level of incidents occurred compared to slips or falls which are common in these types of wildlife tours. However, the tour operators stated that risk factors were not associated with physical injury, fluctuating climatic conditions and behavioural skills are the most considered risks factors. Thus, the article will provide a clear understanding of the safety practices which are useful in wildlife tourism. The safety measures will help to evaluate effectively the risk management practices which can be utilised to prevent physical injuries to the travellers. Reference details: Buckley, R 2009, Adventure tourism mana gement, Routledge, United Kingdom. Source: Book. Access to item: Easy – Book available on Internet. Relevance to this form of Special Interest Tourism: The study will identify the results attained by ecotourism in respect of environmental issues. Furthermore, the article consists of a framework which includes four types of mechanism; firstly, which has the ability to generate positive effects, secondly, factors reducing negative effects, thirdly, which have the potentials for increasing negative effects and lastly, the challenging issues that include scaling and mainstreaming. Moreover, the

Management in Middle East and North Africa Essay

Management in Middle East and North Africa - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the service industry is the fastest growing segment in the world and is the highest contributor to global output and employment among all the global business sectors. The increase in the level of privatization and urbanization along with more demand for final and intermediate consumer services have been the major drivers of the increasing importance of the global service sector. The availability of high quality of services is critical for the overall development of an economy. In the developed economies, the growth of both primary and secondary sectors is based on the growth of the main industries in the service sector like banking, trade, tourism, entertainment, education, insurance, hospitality, transport, retail etc. Both developed and developing countries are focusing on setting up a profitable and sustainable services sector in order to remain competitive in the evolving economic world. The changing demands and preferences of the global consumers have made service industry a necessity as well as an opportunity for different countries in order to develop their economies and position themselves as strong nations in the world. The increasing number and levels of cross-border transactions driven by globalization and liberalization have increased the demand for highly functional and beneficial service industries in different countries. The countries in the Middle East are competing on a global level through effective innovation and impotence given to the services sectors in these countries. The Middle Eastern countries like Qatar and Morocco have identified the importance of developing their service sectors to maintain sustainability in the evolving global world. The North African countries like Lebanon are seeing an increase in the investments and trade practices. The North African countries are developing after the advent of globalization. In this respect, they are focusing on improving the service sectors in the regions. Unlike ot her economies, Lebanon does not focus on a wide array of service industries. The country thrives mainly on commerce, tourism, and banking industries in the services sector. Morocco and Qatar, on the other hand, have multiple high performing industries in their services sector. International trade is a major service sector in Lebanon whereas other service industries like Information technology, retail, and utilities have not been established stringy in the country.

Richard Nixon Essay Example for Free

Richard Nixon Essay Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974, when he became the only president to resign the office. Nixon had previously served as a Republican U.S. representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. He graduated from Whittier College in 1934 and Duke University School of Law in 1937, returning to California to practice law. He and his wife, Pat Nixon, moved to Washington to work for the federal government in 1942. He subsequently served in the United States Navy during World War II. Nixon was elected in California to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950. His pursuit of the Alger Hiss case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist, and elevated him to national prominence. He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election. Nixon served for eight years as vice president. He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and lost a race for Governor of California in 1962. In 1968, he ran again for the presidency and was elected. Although Nixon initially escalated Americas involvement in the Vietnam War, he subsequently ended U.S. involvement in 1973. NixonsRichard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974, when he became the only president to resign the office. Nixon had previously served as a Republican U.S. representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. He graduated from Whittier College in 1934 and Duke University School of Law in 1937, returning to California to practice law. He and his wife, Pat Nixon, moved to Washington to work for the federal government in 1942. He subsequently served in the United States Navy during World War II. Nixon was elected in California to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950. His pursuit of the Alger Hiss case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist, and elevated him to national prominence. He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election. Nixon served for eight years as vice president. He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and lost a race for Governor of California in 1962. In 1968, he ran again for the presidency and was elected. Although Nixon initially escalated Americas involvement in the Vietnam War, he subsequently ended U.S. involvement in 1973. Nixons

Restorative Justice and the Criminal Justice System Essay Example for Free

Restorative Justice and the Criminal Justice System Essay Mennonites and other practitioners in Ontario, Canada, and later in Indiana, experimented with victim offender encounters that led to programs in these communities and later became models for programs throughout the world. Restorative justice theory developed initially from these particular efforts [ (Zehr, 2002) ]. The restorative justice movement originally began as an effort to rethink the needs which crimes create, as well as the roles implicit in crimes. Restorative justice advocates were concerned about needs that were not being met in the usual justice process [ (Zehr, 2002) ]. The criminal justice system’s approach to justice has some important strengths. Yet, there is also a growing acknowledgment of this system’s limits and failures. Victims, offenders, and community members often feel that justice does not adequately meet their needs. Justice professionals, who make up the core components, such as: judges, lawyers, prosecutors, probation and parole officers, and prison staff frequently express a sense of frustration as well. Many feel that the process of justice deepens societal wounds and conflicts rather than contributing to healing or peace [ (Zehr, 2002) ]. Interdisciplinary study and research in public safety and restorative justice is very important. Restorative justice at this day in age will not replace the current court system, but it offers an alternative resolution service for people who want to try another approach. For example, some places are offering mediated victim and offender community conferences. These conferences provide facilitators to help victims and offenders seek reconciliation and resolution. Restorative justice seeks alternatives to continue to put more and more people in jail. Restorative justice seeks sentences that make amends to the victim of crime and to the community as a whole [ (Zehr, 2002) ]. Restorative Justice 3 My related feel of study is criminal justice. The criminal justice system is not a perfect system by far. The criminal justice system is concerned about holding offenders accountable, but that means making sure offenders get the punishment they deserve. The restorative justice approach focuses on the harm that has been done to people, individually and as a community. Restorative justice recognizes that crime is wrong and should not occur and also recognizes that after it does, there are dangers and opportunities. Restorative justice has brought an awareness of the limits and negative byproducts of punishment. Beyond that, however, it has argued that punishment is not real accountability. Real accountability involves facing up to what one has done. It means encouraging offenders to understand the impact of their behavior, the harms they have done, and urging them to take steps to put things right as much as possible [ (Zehr, 2002) ]. Restorative justice and the criminal justice system are two systems that have different views. Restorative justice focuses on harm that has been done to people, individually and as a community. It recognizes that crime is wrong and should not occur, and also recognizes that after it does, there are dangers and opportunities [ (Kelly, 2001) ]. The criminal justice system has three core components, police, courts, and corrections. Each core component has a different function in the criminal justice system. The police functions are to enforce specific laws, investigate specific crimes, earch people, vicinities, buildings, arrest or detain people. The police function is primarily a function of cities and states (Overview, 2008). The courts functions are broken down into prosecutors, judges and magistrates. The prosecutors file charges or petitions for adjudication, seek indictments, drop cases and reduce charges. Restorative Justice 4 The judges and magistrates set bail or condition s for release, accept pleas, determine delinquency, dismiss charges, impose sentences, and revoke probation (Overview, 2008). The corrections components are correctional officials and paroling authorities. Correction officials assign to type of correctional facility, award privileges, and punish for disciplinary infractions. The paroling authorities determine date and conditions of parole and revoke parole. Corrections are a primary function of the state and government (Overview, 2008). Throughout the United States the criminal justice system is in a state of crisis. The public is fearful and angry. Practitioners are weary and frustrated. Criminal justice policy is driven more by anecdote than systematic information. Costs of current policies are not sustainable over long periods. Victims are often re-victimized in the process.

Human Resource Management Strategy Business Essay

Human Resource Management Strategy Business Essay Strategic Human resource management is a plan that facilitates the way an organization is being ran. The Human Resource Management strategy and the business strategy must be totally integrated. (Kearns, 2008). In today ¿Ã‚ ½s modern world, they are different ways in which HRM within an organization operates but then they focus their attention on three main areas of management which are; staffing, employee compensation and defining or designing work. The target of every HRM departments in any organization will be to optimize the effectiveness of its employee in order to maximize productivity and increase profit. According to Edward L. Gubman as observed in the journal of business strategy,  ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½The basic mission of human resources will always be to acquire, develop and retain talent; align the work force with the business; and be an excellent contributor to the business. Those three challenges will never change. ¿Ã‚ ½ The back bone of any successful company is the HR de partment. The HR department must provide executive management with fundamental ideas that will help to not only gain market share, but entice and retain talent. Once the HR strategy of an organization is in place then its management ¿Ã‚ ½s responsibility sees that company goals are embraced and there are several ways they can do this which includes; communication, input, feedback, positive reinforcement, values etc. In recent year, observers have cited a decided trend towards a fundamental reassessment of HR structures and positions.  ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½A cascade of changing business conditions, changing organizational structures, and changing leadership have been forcing human resource departments to alter their perspective on their role and functions almost-overnight, ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ wrote John Johnston in Business Quarterly. Figure 1 Strategy Implementation in an HR Environment Emergent strategies The SHRM functions can be known of having six (6) menus of HRM practices, from which organizations can choose the ones that is most appropriate for implementing their strategy. The Strategies of organizations varies depending on the level and structure of that organization and there is no know strategy which is the best suitable. The company I will be looking at to see how its HRM operates in the Organization is Barclays Group PLC. 1.2. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BARCLAYS GROUP PLC Brief history of Barclays Barclays plc is a major global multinational financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking. Barclays has two geographical concentrations in the financial industry: global retail banking and corporate investment banking wealth management with operations in more than fifty countries with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays has got approximately fifteen thousand six hundreds colleagues internationally and it moves, lends, invests and protects money for over forty-eight million customers and clients. Barclays plc has a global network of more than one hundred and fifty-five thousand people working across a range of businesses thus makes the HR team of Barclays face a unique challenges. In such a diverse and internationally spread company, HR experts work with every business unit to help Barclays stay ahead of the competition by attracting and retaining the best people available and make sure that they are all in the right jobs and do the best work that will create sustainable benefits for the works, customers and shareholders, all over the world. But it ¿Ã‚ ½s not all about new recruit that the HR management team of Barclays focuses on. It is also committed to nurturing its established colleague and the HR team play a vital role in monitoring performances and monitoring a host of training programmes. The HRM of Barclays Group is divided into different professional Job titles that deal with the Human resource related issues and plays an important part in every business unit of co mpany. The purpose of SHRM in Barclays The purpose or importance of SHRM in Barclays cannot be over emphasized, the success and failure of any organization depends solely on its HR management. The Primary purpose associated with human resource management in Barclays includes Job analysis and staffing (recruitment), organization and utilization of workforce, measurement and appraisal of workforce performance, implementation of reward systems for employees, professional development of workers and maintenance of workforce. I. Job analysis and recruitment: The HRM in Barclays has the responsibility of recruiting people for various employment positions in the company; they determine the skills, and experience necessary to adequately perform in a position, identification of job and industry trends and anticipation of future employments. They provide valid information about jobs that is used to hire and promote people, determine wages, determine training needs, and manage the flow of personnel into and out of Barclays. II. Organization, maintenance and utilization: The HRM dept of Barclays maintains the workforce of the company. The duty here involves designing an organizational framework that makes maximum use of an enterprises human resources and establishing systems of communication that helps the organization to operate in a unified manner. Other responsibilities in this area include health and safety and worker management relations. Maintenance task related to worker-management relations primarily entails: working with labor union; handling grievances related to misconduct, such as theft or sexual harassment; and devising communication systems to foster cooperation and shared sense of mission among the employees. III. Performance appraisal: The HRM of Barclays assesses employees ¿Ã‚ ½ job performance and provides feedbacks to the employees on both their positive and negative performance. The performance appraisal is important because it is used to determine the salary increase and promotions and in the case of a negative performance, dismissal might follow. IV. Reward systems: This system is managed by the HRM in Barclays. This aspect of management is important because it provides the mechanism by which company provide their worker with a reward for past achievements and incentives for high performance in the future. They also use this system to address a problem within the work force through institution of disciplinary measures. V. Employee development and training: The HR is responsible for identifying the training needs of Barclay ¿Ã‚ ½s employee and initiates and evaluates developments programmes designed to address those needs. These training programs ranges from orientation programmes, which are designed to acclimate new hire of the company, to ambitious education programmes indented to familiarize workers with a new software systems. 1.3 Contributions of SHRM to achievements of Barclay ¿Ã‚ ½s objectives Meaningful contributions to the business processes of Barclays processes are increasingly recognized as within the purview of active human resource management practices. The HRM of Barclays disseminates guideline for and monitoring employee ¿Ã‚ ½s behaviors and ensuring that the company is obeying worker-related regulatory guidelines. The HRM professional are aware of the fundamentals of learning and motivations and carefully design and monitor training and development programmes that has helped in achieving the aim and objectives of the company by increasing the quality of products and services delivered and increased growth and profit that benefits the whole organization. The HRM of Barclays has been deeply involved in reshaping of the company ¿Ã‚ ½s structure under increased external and internal complexity and in managing other aspect of strategic change in Barclays Group. The role and importance of SHRM in Barclays cannot be over emphasized, the success and failure of the company depends solely on its HRM and they can only succeed when the right strategy is applied. Having the company ¿Ã‚ ½s mission in mind at all time has been a driving force to the achievements of HR team of Barclays Group and technological changes with the help of SAP (enterprise resource planning tool) helps Barclays to succeed in today ¿Ã‚ ½s tough business climate. Figure 1.2 This table below show how the SHRM add value to an Organization. Source: CIPD, The case for good people management, 2001. 2.1. The business factor that underpin the HR planning in Barclays Strength of the company Barclay ¿Ã‚ ½s group has a widespread of global presence allowing it to spread its risk and enjoy economic of scale. The Barclays brand is well-established historically and has become ingrained in the psyche of the consumers and continually promoted, for example, through sponsorship of Premier league football. Barclays is particularly associated with innovation, it brought out the first debit and credit card and most recently the one plus card combining Oyster, cashless and credit functions for London-based customers. The opening of new flagship branches along with a refurbishment programme can be seen as an attempt to refocus on customers demand for a strong presence on the high street. The opening of new flagship branches along with a refurbishment programme can be seen as an attempt to refocus on customers demand for a strong presence on the high street. There is an increased online growth and online security to combat fraud and they enjoy a robust financial performance. The business growth Barclay ¿Ã‚ ½s business strategy is to achieve good growth through time by diversifying its business base and increasing its presence in markets and segments that are growing rapidly. This is driven by the Group ¿Ã‚ ½s ambition to become one of a handful of universal banks leading the global financial services industry, helping customers and clients throughout the world achieve their goals. The strategy is based on the principles of earn, invest and grow. Supporting this are four strategic priorities; Build the best bank in the UK, Accelerate the growth of global businesses, Develop retail and commercial banking activities in selected countries outside the UK, Enhance operational excellence. Barclay ¿Ã‚ ½s five guiding principles are key to the way the business operates:  ¿Ã‚ ½ Winning together: Achieving collective and individual success  ¿Ã‚ ½ Best people: Developing talented colleagues to reach their full potential, to ensure Barclays retains a leading position in the global financial services industry  ¿Ã‚ ½ Customer and client focus: Understanding customers and serving them brilliantly.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Pioneering: Driving new ideas, adding diverse skills and improving operational excellence.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Trusted: Acting with the highest integrity to retain the trust of customers, external stakeholders and colleagues. To continually compete internationally, Barclays must strive to perform customer service at an utmost level of excellence which will promote the company worldwide as a organization that can be relied upon time after time for small individual accounts as well as huge corporate accounts. To accomplish this, Barclays must identify their customer groups and the needs associated with each particular group and develop products and services that will be of great value to their customers. The practices that have worked in the past must be reconfigured to work for years to come and keep Barclays updated with the high changing IT world. This will call for new investments into new levels of technology that can help offer higher levels of service to its customers. Along with the apparent increase in speed that IT will allow Barclays to accomplish routine tasks, technology will also reduce risk of errors and fraud. (www.thebanker.com). IT will allow up to date information to be at the fingertips of Barclays managers, giving managers a huge advantage when it comes to making decisions and in pin pointing groups of customers that can have a high added value to Barclays. The fine-tuning of IT will also eliminate weaknesses within Barclays practices, preventing failures that effect customers and thus reducing excessive and unnecessary costs. In recent years, Barclays has been very successful in carrying out its desired tactics. Huge investment strategies that have led to this increase in profits include the acquirements within its Barclaycard card business. With growth on its mind, Barclays has set out to create an international business that if forecasted correctly, the income generated in its Barclaycard division will be of equal value internationally as well as domestically by 2013. Barclays has also placed strategic action in growing throughout Europe up to sixty percent in the near feature. 2.2. Human resource requirement to open new technology center in Johannesburg, South Africa In order to successfully open a new technological center in South Africa, Barclays will require having a structure (accommodation), the need the right number of staff, at the right place and the right time and equipped with the right technical skills to design, implement, manage projects and be able to develop new technological innovation. To assess the capacity required to do this research has to be carried out to derive the quantitative and qualitative data about the human requirement in this sector. The operations and activities in this center will range from upgrading ATMs, hosts the applications for the regions markets, credit card transfer, looking after all the net work and infrastructure applications and re-plat forming a country ¿Ã‚ ½s banks. The HR also needs to put in place a career development programmes for the staffs that will be working in this center and rewards and benefit packages. 2.3. The human resource plan in Barclays Resourcing Manager: The resourcing managers partners with each of the business unit of Barclays in order to help them attract and retain the best people for every job. They produce a schedule that deals the recruitment programme for the various types and levels of services. HR Operations Advisor: The HR operation advisor of Barclays supports the internal and external clients to ensure that the logistic affecting new starters, movers within the business and people leaving the company are dealt with smoothly and efficiently. Benefits Administrator/ Pension Administrator: The duty of the people here is to assist a pension administration Team Leader, the Benefits Administrator reconcile pension calculations, answer members ¿Ã‚ ½ queries and help with correspondence. HR Business Partner: HR Business Partners work alongside business leaders in a specific area of the Group to improve performance, advertising on recruitment, retention and development issues for that sector. Compensation and Benefits Analyst: Compensation and Benefits Analyst will set salaries for job roles to ensure that proposed compensation and reward packages are benchmarked and competitive. 2.4. Contribution of human resources to Barclays objectives HR professional take a strategic approach to human resource management. Human resource management seeks to proactively provide a competitive advantage through the company ¿Ã‚ ½s most important asset: its human resources. Human resources has a great impact on the implementation of plan by developing and aligning HRM practices that ensure the company has a motivated employee with the necessary skills. Human resource management in Barclays interacts between people, technology and the task to be performed in context with the objectives, goals and strategic plan of the company. HR plays a central role in such key area activities like attracting, selection and recruitment, employee orientations, retaining talent, promotions and termination process, and performance management including individual assessments, measuring and improving work performances, all these have significant impact on the employee turnover. The HR in Barclays sees to employee and the organizational development programm e to maintain and improve skills as well as reward systems, benefits and compliance available for staffs also laws, policies, health and safety. The HR of Barclays gives a detailed job description and hires the right skills for a particular job and draws up programme for the professional development of the employee for e.g. learning to operate a new technology, this makes Barclays a leader in terms of new innovation thus providing a competitive advantage. They also plan effectively ahead with the number of staffs required to reduce cost to an optimum and ensure working processes are running smooth, this provides effective performance, thus increasing financial performance as indexed by productivity and market share value. The HR of Barclays also uses system such as incentives to achieve a specific goal. The reward system affects the company ¿Ã‚ ½s performance through increasing the quality of products and services. The company ¿Ã‚ ½s HR cares about the need and well being of the ir employees and provides a comfortable working environment; this increases the employee ¿Ã‚ ½s motivation and enhanced productivity performance. 3.1. The purpose of human resource policies in Barclays The Human Resource Policy is simply a set of documents that describes an organization ¿Ã‚ ½s policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the practices for its managerial, supervisory staff, and all employees. This documents sets out the policy for all the human resource related issues in the company including some policies from the government that relates to the company business activities. The purpose of this policy is to help the organization to maximize return on investment in the organization ¿Ã‚ ½s human capital and maximize financial risk. The policy sets the standards of operations compliance, effective internal management control systems compliant with regulation standards and processes of all the business unit of Barclays. The HR policy provides a clear guidance to the employees as to what their responsibilities and obligations are, and their behavior that last beyond the residency of a particular business unit or executive. An HR policy also helps Bar clays to avoid liability for their employees ¿Ã‚ ½ actions and helps protect against legal claims. HR policies promote consistency approach to meet their needs as they develop continuity with regards to flexible working and general understanding of the management strategy within the Barclays business environment. An HR policy also helps Barclays to keep up with competitors: e.g. policies are may be review in order to attract or retain employee. Policies are set in line with the company ¿Ã‚ ½s strategy and planned to suit the culture, circumstances and size of the company. HR policies need to be reviewed with changes to the environment and growth with the company. So without these policies there will be no sense of direction within the company and it will be difficult for such an organization to achieve it aims and objectives. 3.2 The impact of regulatory requirements on human resource policies in Barclays. The regulatory requirements are the licenses, restrictions and laws that are applicable to a business product or services, imposed by the government. The regulations go a long way from protecting the environment to ensuring work place safety. Such regulations includes; legal and regulatory requirement related to pay, equality, employment rights and responsibilities, data protection, discrimination, etc. The cumulative burden of the regulation requirements by the law can have a positive or a negative impact on a company ¿Ã‚ ½s aims and objectives and can easily overwhelm businesses. The Employment Act 2008 sets out the laws on employment rights and welfare of the employee. The HR managers must now plan the employment package under this employment Act which is very expensive to implement. For e.g. the law makes provision about the procedure for the resolution of employment disputes; to provide for compensation for financial loss on cases of unlawful underpayment or non-payment, to make provision about the enforcement of minimum wages legislation. Barclays manages health and safety at a local level under the requirement and any mistake done can cause the company thousands of pounds on compensation. There is continuing political and regulatory scrutiny of the operations of the retail banking and consumer credit industries in the UK, EU, US, South Africa and elsewhere. For example, in the United States, Barclays Bank PLC and certain US subsidiaries and branches of the bank are subjected to a comprehensive regulatory structure, involving numerous statutes, ruling and regulations, including the International Banking Act of 1978, the Banking Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, the foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act of 1991 and the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001. Such laws and regulations impose limitation on the type of businesses, and the ways in which they may be conducted, in the United States and on the location expansion of banking business there. Non compliance to these regulations could lead to fines, public reprimands, damage to reputations, enforced suspension of operations or, in extreme case, withdrawal of authorization to operate. The new government has taken up deci sions to step up regulatory pressures on banks; it introduced a bank tax and is appointing a commission on banking to decide whether or not the banks should be broken up. Barclays has hinted it may move its operations overseas if the commission decides to force it to separate its retail and investment banking sectors. 4.1 The impact of organizational structure on the management of human resources in J Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s In an organization where different people works together, they need a defined system through which they relate to each other and through which there can be a coordination of their efforts. The defined relationships among the elements of an organization, namely people, tasks, structure, and information and control processes that characterize all organizations is referred to as organizational structure. Brief Business review of J Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s J. Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s plc is the parent company of Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s Supermarket Ltd, commonly known as Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s or Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s and JS, the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.6%. The group head office is in the Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s Store Support Center in Holborn, city of London. J Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s plc was founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s and his wife Mary Ann, in London, and grew rapidly during the Victorian era and today operates a total of 872 stores comprising 537 supermarkets and 355 convenience stores. It jointly owns Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s bank with Lloyds Banking Group and has two property joint ventures with Land Securities Group and The British Land Company PLC. The Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s brand is built upon a heritage of providing customers with healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food. Quality and fair prices go hand-in-hand with a responsible approach to business. The store employs over 150,000 colleagues that serve over 19million customers a week and their largest store offers around 30,000 products. Read full story, available on jsainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s.co.uk/businessreview [assessed 27 Jan 2011]. 4.1.1 Organization structure of J. Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s 4.1.2 The operation mechanism 1. David Tyler (Chairman): He joined the Board on Oct 1 2009 and became the Chairman on Nov 1 2009. He is non executive chairman of Logica plc and a Non-Executive Director of Experian plc and Burberry Group plc, where he also chairs the Remuneration Committee. He was previously Group Finance Director of GUS plc (1997-2006) and has held senior ?nancial and general management roles with Christie ¿Ã‚ ½s International plc (1989-96), County NatWest Limited (1986-89) and Unilever PLC (1974-86). He was also Chairman of 3i Quoted Private Equity plc (2007-09) and a Non-Executive Director of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc over the same period. 2. Justin King (Chief Executive): Appointed Chief Executive Officer on 29 March 2004 and is also Chairman of the Operating Board. He has been a NonExecutive Director of Staples, Inc. since September 2007 and was appointed to the board of the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympics Games in January 2009. He was formerly Director of Food at Marks Spencer plc and from 1994 to 2001 he held a number of senior positions at ASDA/WalMart in Trading, HR and Retail. Justin was previously Managing Director of H ¿Ã‚ ½agen Dazs UK and spent much of his early career with Mars Confectionery and Pepsi International. 3. Darren Shapland (Chief Financial Officer): Appointed Chief Financial Officer on 1 August 2005 and is also Chairman of Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s Bank plc. Darren was appointed a Non-Executive Director of Ladbrokes plc in November 2009. He was formerly Group Finance Director of Carpet-right plc (2002-05) and Finance Director of Superdrug Stores plc (2000-02). Between 1988 and 2000, Darren held a number of financial and operational management roles at Arcadia plc including Joint Managing Director, Arcadia Home Shopping; Finance Director of Arcadia brands; Finance Director, Top Shop/Top Man (Burton Group); and Director of Supply Chain Programme (Burton Group). 4. Mike Coupe (Trading Director): Appointed an Executive Director on 1 August 2007 and has been a member of the Operating Board since October 2004. He joined Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s from Big Food Group where he was a Board Director of Big Food Group plc and Managing Director of Iceland Food Stores. Mike previously worked for both ASDA and Tesco, where he served in a variety of senior management roles. He is also a member of the supervisory board of GSI UK. 5. John McAdam (Senior Independent Director): Appointed a Non-Executive Director on 1 September 2005. He is Chairman of Rentokil Initial plc and United Utilities plc. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Rolls-Royce Group plc and Sara Lee Corporation. John joined Unilever PLC as a management trainee in 1974 and went on to hold a number of senior positions in Birds Eye Walls, Quest and Unichema, before the sale of the Specialty Chemical Businesses to ICI in 1997. He was Chief Executive of ICI plc, until its sale to Akzo Nobel, and was formerly a Non-Executive Director of Severn Trent plc (2000-2005). 6. Anna Ford (Non-Executive Director): Appointed a Non-Executive Director on 2 May 2006. She retired from the BBC in 2006, after 32 years in News and Current Affairs. Anna is a Non-Executive Director of N Brown Group plc and has been a Trustee of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, London; a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; a Trustee of Forum for the Future; Chancellor of Manchester University; and an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple. 7. Mary Harris (Non-Executive Director): Appointed a Non-Executive Director on 1 August 2007. She is a member of the supervisory boards of TNT NV and Unibail Rodamco S.E. Mary previously spent much of her career with McKinsey Company, most recently as a partner, and her previous work experience included working for PepsiCo in Greece and the UK as a sales and marketing executive. 8. Bob Stack (Non-Executive Director): Appointed a Non-Executive Director on 1 January 2005. He was a Director of Cadbury plc until December 2008. He joined Cadbury Beverages in the US in 1990 and was first appointed to the Board of Cadbury Schweppes plc in May 1996 as Group Human Resources Director. In March 2000 he was appointed Chief Human Resources Officer and took on responsibility for communication and an external affair in addition to HR. Bob is Trustee and Non-Executive Director of Earth watch International and also a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee of IMI plc. 9. Gary Hughes (Non-Executive Director): -Appointed a Non-Executive Director on 1 January 2005. Gary is Chief Financial Officer of the Gala Coral Group and a Director of the Scottish Exhibition Centre Limited. Formerly he was Chief Executive of CMP Information Limited, a division of United Business Media plc (2006-08), Group Finance Director of Emap plc (2000-05), Group Finance Director of SMG plc (1996 ¿Ã‚ ½2000), and Deputy Finance Director of Forte plc (1994-96). Prior to this Gary held a number of senior management positions with Guinness plc in the UK and in North America. 10. Val Gooding (Non-Executive Director): -Appointed a Non-Executive Director on 11 January 2007. She was formerly Chief Executive of BUPA (1998-2008), which she joined from British Airways, and is a Non-Executive Director of Standard Chartered Bank plc. Val is a member of the BBC ¿Ã‚ ½s Executive Board and the Advisory Board of the Warwick Business School. She is a Trustee of the British Museum and a Non-Executive Director of the Lawn Tennis Association. She was formerly a Non-Executive Director of Compass Group plc and BAA plc. 11. Neil Sachdev (Commercial Director): Joined Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s in March 2007 as Commercial Director following 28 years at Tesco, where he worked in a range of different business areas including: Stores Board Director UK Property/Operations (2000-06); Supply Chain Director (1999 ¿Ã‚ ½2000); Director, Competition Commission (1998-99); Support Director (February 1998-September 1998); and Retail Director (1994-98). Neil is Non-Executive Director and a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees of Capital Shopping Centers Group PLC. 12. Matt Brittin (Non-Executive Director): Appointed a Non-Executive Director on 27 January 2011. Matt is Managing Director of Google in the UK Ireland. Before joining Google at the start of 2007, Matt spent much of his career in media and marketing, with particular interests in strategy, commercial development and sales performance. This included Commercial and Digital leadership roles in UK media. Matt has an MBA from London Business School and an MA from Cambridge. In 2010 he was voted wired magazine ¿Ã‚ ½s  ¿Ã‚ ½Most Influential Person in the Digital World ¿Ã‚ ½. The organizational structure of Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s is fit with the imperatives defined by needs to keep costs down, provide operational excellence and help to develop the potential of the human capital inside the organization. The organizational structures of the company allows the human resource department to smooth co-operation among employees, create effective communication among the employees, provide a clear defined roles, responsibility and processes. Organization structure is used for choosing the plan that utilizes minimal resources and achieve maximum returns. From Human Resource perspectives, it is the organizational structure that drives the employees to their full capacities and capabilities. The organizational structure will enable the Human Resource department to classify all the employees of the organization into achievers and non-achievers. 4.2 The impact of organizational culture on the management of human resources The cultures of an organization are thought of as those that evolve in conversation and is influx, constantly changing. It is the culture of an organization that defines what things mean, whether they are valued as good or bad, right or wrong, and how things are to be done when answers can ¿Ã‚ ½t be fixed by formal structure, policy or procedures. There are two aspect of organizational culture: the culture within an organization and the culture outside and organization especially hen company operates its business globally, it has to adapt to local cultures. Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s have their strong organizational culture along with their corporate strategies. Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s introduced the self checkout system in 2002; this helped the organization to save cost on s

Loss of Innocence in Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Literature Coursework

Loss of Innocence in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚   Hamlet is a character that we love to read about and analyze. His character is so realistic, and he is so romantic and idealistic that it is hard not to like him. He is the typical young scholar facing the harsh reality of the real world. In this play, Hamlet has come to a time in his life where he has to see things as they really are. Hamlet is an initiation story. Mordecai Marcus states "some initiations take their protagonists across a threshold of maturity and understanding but leave them enmeshed in a struggle for certainty"(234).   And this is what happens to Hamlet.    Although Hamlet is a little old to have this experience of coming to be a man, we have to realize that his circumstances are not typical. He has lived as the son of a king. He is a scholar who has spent his life studying. He has lived in a world that is not the typical world. And the extraordinary and horrible circumstances that lead him to his manhood break his will and his spirit and eventually cause him to lose his life. Hamlet has experienced a significant change of knowledge and this change does lead him into an adult world, although this is a world that Hamlet cannot live in. Hamlet, through the relationships with his mother, father, and Ophelia, does become a man. But Hamlet's disposition is so fragile, and he is so idealistic that this new world that he faces is not a world that he would ever be comfortable in, and it is not a world that he can live in.    In the beginning of the play, Hamlet's father comes to him as a ghost from the grave. He tells Hamlet of his uncle's betrayal of him and tells Hamlet that he must kill Claudius to set things right. Through this event, Hamlet... ...became a man, he is still left with uncertainty that ultimately results in his death. Unfortunately, this uncertainty of Hamlet's is one that cannot be overcome. Hamlet is a story of realizing that the world is not what we thought it was, that everything is not good, and that there are bad people in the world. It is a story about searching for the meaning behind it all and about trying to figure out how to make a decision. It is a story about becoming a man and Hamlet is the kind of character that keeps us enthralled until the very end.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Works Cited Berman, Allison. "We Only Find Ourselves." Hamlet reaction papers. Wynnewood: FCS, 2000. Lugo, Michael. "Thus Conscience Does Make Cowards of Us All." Hamlet reaction papers. Wynnewood: FCS, 2000. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. 1600? Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Signet Classic, 1998   

The Prime Minister of Canada Essay -- Politics, Government

The Prime Minister of Canada is given much power and much responsibility. This could potentially create a dangerous situation if the government held a majority and was able to pass any legislation, luckily this is not the case. This paper will argue that there are many limitations, which the power of the prime minister is subject too. Three of the main limitations, which the Prime Minister is affected by, are; first, federalism, second the governor general and third, the charter of rights and freedoms. I will support this argument by analyzing two different types of federalism and how they impact the power of the Prime Minister. Next I will look at three of the Governor Generals Powers and further analyze one of them. Last I will look at the impact of the charter from the larger participation the public can have in government, and how it increased the power of the courts. Frist, federalism is the division of power between the provinces and the federal government (Cutler 2010, 3). As well, Federal systems tend to be made up of multiple parts, which do not necessarily work together (Brock 2008, 3). There has been an increase on the study of federalism in recent years, which has created a more in-depth look at how federalism impacts the government. (Farfard Rocher 2009, 294). There are two aspects of federalism and both of them put limitations on the influence of the prime minister. The first is called political asymmetry; this encompasses the various attitudes of the different provinces such as the culture, economic, social and political conditions and how it shapes the relationship between the provincial and federal governments (Brock 2008, 4). This can create a problem for the federal government because it means that they may ha... ...ratic process but it at least protects the rights of Canadians and prevents all out domination the majority. This essay has argued that there are many limitations that the Prime Minister is subjected too. The three most important are federalism in Canadian society, the role of the Governor General, and the charter of rights and freedoms. I used two different views of federalism and illustrated how both of them put boundaries on the Prime Minister’s power. Next I explain the powers of the governor general, and explained the ability to dissolve parliament in greater detail. Last I analyzed how the charter of rights of freedoms has limited the Prime Minister’s power with respect to policy-making, interests groups and the courts. The Prime Minister does not have absolute power in Canadian society, there are many infringements on the power that they have to respect.

‘On the Road’ by Jack Kerouac

When first set this assignment I was mildly exited. Although I usually choose quiet good books to read, I thought it might give me a different literacy experience. Having had faith that all the books on the list are reasonably good I didn't spend much time choosing. I picked one my cousin had and launched into it with enthusiasm. It was called ‘On the Road' and was written by Jack Kerouac. Basically the book is about a young fairly innocent young aspiring writer who gets captured I the ideology of the American dream. Like many people after the great depression Sal Paradise gets caught in to urge to break out and experience adventure. He felt that his life was not sufficient to the visions and expectations he had. So he left his home where he lived with his auntie and with fifty bucks decided to go to the west coast, hitchhiking most of the way. His first stop was his mates house Remi Boncour, who similarly to him also waiting foe his big break. During his hitchhike he meets ‘a middle aged woman' and a ‘tough truck driver with popping eyes', ‘two boys from the university of Iowa'. The fundamental thing bout these characters is that they all seem to know where they are going not jut literarily to their destination but also metaphorically in their lives, all these people have cars and are picking Sal Paradise up, pulling him to his destiny. One of the characters he encounters on his way to the west who is in the same position as him is Eddie who is also looking for a new life and heading to meet a ‘girl and a new girl'. Eventually he gets a ride two brothers who are picking up everyone they see on the road. He spends a few nights drinking talking to the unhopeful crew. All these characters have a hope of a better life and what Jack Kerouac, the writer, does is put them all together because collectively they keep each other's dreams alive. Following this he meets a Mexican girl who surprise, suprise is also running away from something (an abusive husband). This particular portion of the book I think should be and perhaps Kerouac intended it to e significant. However, his style of writing which is very chronological and minimally descriptive takes away the importance of Sal's and Terry's meeting. He spend a good few months with her and her young son, we are told of the hardship he goes through to support them but the writer failed to touch me whit it. I feel this is because once they part they arrange for her to follow him to New York. However despite this the writer adds ‘But we both knew she wouldn't make it'. This line takes away the wonder and hope from their time together and I think it wipes out any feeling the characters had for each other that the writer was trying to implant earlier in the reader. Maybe its because I am a romantic, but I didn't believe they loved each other enough if it was so easy for the author to wipe it away. Sal Paradise is an example of the youth at that time. Jack Keurack wants us to see through Sal the feeling and expectations of the youth. To fulfil the lack of fulfilment the youth searched for their personal freedom in sex drugs and jazz. This book was described by some as ‘makes the reader want to go out there seize the day and live, live, live'. Personally it makes me want to slam it shut. When I mentioned that I had faith in the list, well I was very wrong. Apart from making me go to sleep this book did absolutely nothing for my imagination. Kerouac's writing annoys me tremendously there is nothing worse that telling a story completely chronologically. When I read the book it felt like I was reading boolet-points. I think this might be because the writer must have had similar experiences and so the excitement for him was drained and no matter hoe hard one tries to regain the enthusiasm it is impossible because once experienced the magic is taken away. I understand the concept of the story and what the author is trying to achieve but it feels like his missed out on writing what potentially could be a great book. Compared to classics that I read this book is not predictable, usually this should be the exiting and fun but in this case it just seems to annoy me and I know exactly why? Simply, deep down, like the lone characters in the book, I to am an idealist.

Starbucks CSAs and FSAs

Their lifestyle, fashion nd actress activity would be preference for people who are really fanatic with their culture. Besides that, their military equipment and technology always make other nation worried and respect to this country. Lastly, coffee addicted among American people and society. Starbucks firm specific (FSAs) advantages are location of their coffee house. Most of Starbucks coffee house are located in strategic area like urban area. This location has high traffic that can be easily reach and access by customer.Then, Starbucks offer high quality of facility and convenience to their customer. The mbience in the coffee house can make people relax and enjoy having a meeting and doing their work. Furthermore, the brand name of Starbucks itself is their FSA. When enter in the coffee house, we feel like in American style and perception that people that drink Starbucks coffee are wealth people. The chain's success of Starbucks for those advantages is because of the strong cultur e of drink coffee for American and Italian people.This culture gives an opportunity for Starbucks to increase their chain success. Then, convenience that they offer to their customer. Starbucks usually would e destination point for doing a meeting and doing homework. The ambience inside the coffee house really comfortable and encourage people to visit their shop. Besides that, location of the Starbucks coffee house really strategic that place in high traffic area. This area can be easily reach and access by customer. As a result, Starbucks increase their chain success in the U.S. market. Question 2 How internationally mobile is the Starbucks concept? Any barrier to entry? Starbucks Corporation is an American global coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world. The first Starbucks opened in Seattle, Washington, on March 30, 1971 by three partners that met while students at the University of San Francisco: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegl, and writer Gordon Bowker.The three were inspired to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment by coffee roasting entrepreneur Alfred Peet after he taught them his style of roasting beans. Originally the company was to be called Pequod, after a whaling ship from Moby-Dick, but this name was rejected by some of the co-founders. The company was instead named after the chief mate on the Pequod, Starbuck. From 1971-1976, the first Starbucks was at 2000 Western Avenue. It then moved to 1912 Pike Place Market; it then was sell.During their first year of operation, they purchased green coffee beans from Peet's, then began buying directly from growers. The first Starbucks location outside North America opened in Tokyo, Japan, in 1996. Starbucks entered the U. K. market in 1998 with the $83 million acquisition of the then 65-outlet, UK-based Seattle Coffee Company, re-branding all the stores as Starbucks. In September 2002, Starbuc ks opened its first store in Latin America, at Mexico City. In 1999, Starbucks experimented with eateries in the San Francisco Bay area through a restaurant chain called Circadia.These restaurants were soon â€Å"outed† as Starbucks establishments and converted to Starbucks cafes. In October 2002, Starbucks established a coffee trading company in Lausanne, Switzerland to handle purchases of green coffee. All other coffee-related business continued to be managed from Seattle. In April 2003, Starbucks completed the purchase of Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia from AFC Enterprises for $72m. The deal only gained 150 stores for Starbucks, but according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer the wholesale business was more significant.In September 2006, rival Diedrich Coffee announced that it would sell most of its company-owned retail stores to Starbucks. This sale includes the company-owned locations of the Oregon-based Coffee People chain. Starbucks converted the Diedric h Coffee and Coffee People locations to Starbucks, although the Portland airport Coffee People locations were excluded from the sale. In August 2003, Starbucks opened its first store in South America in Lima, Peru. In 2007, the company pened its first store in Russia, ten years after first registering a trademark there.In March 2008 they purchased the manufacturer of the Clover Brewing System. They began testing the â€Å"fresh-pressed† coffee system at several Starbucks locations in Seattle, California, New York and Boston. In early 2008, Starbucks started a community website, My Starbucks Idea, designed to collect suggestions and feedback from customers. Other users comment and vote on suggestions. Journalist Jack Schofield noted that â€Å"My Starbucks seems to be all sweetness and light at the moment, which I dont think is possible without quite a lot of censorship†. The website is powered by the Salesforce software.In May 2008, a loyalty program was introduced for registered users of the Starbucks Card (previously simply a gift card) offering perks such as free Wi-Fi Internet access, no charge for soy milk ; flavored syrups, and free refills on brewed drip coffee or tea. A store in Seattle known for its use of the corporation's new ideas reopened in the fall 2010 with a modified interior design in which the espresso machines were placed in the middle of the store. On November 14, 2012, Starbucks announced it will purchase Teavana for $620 million ollars in cash and the deal was formally closed on December 31, 2012.Question 3 Franchising would seem a natural entry mode for Starbucks, but the chain sometimes arrangement where one party (the franchiser) grants another party (the franchisee) the right to use its trademark or trade-name as well as certain business systems and processes, to produce and market a good or service according to certain specifications. The advantage of franchising that Starbucks would receive is easy to control. Starbuc ks can reduce their difficulty to control their coffee house at around the world by franchising method. Then, can standardize their product or service to all franchise.This will help to maintain and standardize their high quality of product and service that will increase customer loyalty. Besides that, rapid expansion for Starbucks company to increase their market. In todays marketplace, the window of opportunity for a new or unique business concept closes very quickly. Franchising permits multiple units to be opened simultaneously, gaining a foothold over would-be competitors. The disadvantage of franchising is the cost of maintaining and developing company owned units is very expensive and often difficult to obtain. There are also many potential problems associated with the franchising system.The franchisor will lose freedom of operation unless they establish a franchise system. The franchise agreement or contract will become a legal document binding the franchisor and the franchi see to specific business codes and conducts. The franchisor will also be faced with recruitment in signing of good franchisees. One of the most difficult situations a franchisor will also face is how to deal with disgruntled franchisees. Then, a problem associated with franchising is simply the communication which must exist between a franchisor and franchisee. Question 4 Do Illy and Starbucks compete or not?How likely are they to compete in the future? No, Illy and Starbucks not compete with each other. It is because both are in different business mode although both sell coffee. For Illycaffe, they enter the U. S market mainly through 82B. Most of their products are sell to hotel, cafes, restaurant and coffee house. They are focusing on b2b business that is different with Starbucks. So, for customer that really want to purchase and taste the true coffee from Illycaffe product they need to purchase it either from hotel, restaurant or cafes that cooperate with Illycaffe brand. For th e other side, Starbucks entered U. S. arket mainly through retail market and dominates the market. Starbucks product can be directly purchase by customer from their coffee house because of their focusing on B2C business. Starbucks sell their product directly to end user that is different from Illycaffe. As a result, both company are not directly compete in the market although sell almost same product. In the future, Starbucks and Illycaffe are going to compete about their product for example new innovation in coffee taste. Then, service offering would be the element that they compete in the future. Besides that, loyalty from the ustomer will differentiate between both companies.If you were Andrea Illy, what strategic plan would you develop? The strategic plan that should be considered must be perform internal and external analysis of the company. The company would be affected by political, economic, social and technological changes. The strategic plan should be concern about all of those factors. In order for the company to maintain their competitive edge, it has to remain the innovative skills and continue offering new differentiated products. Besides that, investing in its partners and its ethical values towards the environment would be a ood plan.Furthermore, Illycaffe also need to strengthen their distribution channel to access and reach all potential customers. Then, Illycaffe also should involved and compete in the retail market. This retail market has a large opportunity to expend their business and territory area. Understand and adapt their product with local culture and taste of their market needs. Then, making the export coffee more suitable for the market region to ensure their product can be accepted by local people. Lastly, increase their service offering and high quality of convenience to attract customer enter their coffee house.

Opression in a Thousand Splendid Suns Essay

Taslima Nasrin once said: â€Å"Those religions that are oppressive to women are also against democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression. † This quote also applies to a book called a thousand splendid suns by Khaled hosseini and Deepa Metha’s Film Water. A thousand splendid suns in a book about two women in Afghanistan with an abusive husband. They struggle for survival and for their human rights that have been overlooked by the Taliban and a patriarchal society. Water is a movie about widows living in India. They are sent to the country side to live with other widows supposedly so they can live pure lives. In actuality they are cast aside and denied the basic respect all humans deserve. Ironically, the only way they can make enough money to survive is by committing acts as impure as it gets. They are forced to turn to prostitution. These two stories show that a cultural society’s refusal to change religious practices causes the oppression of women. The characters Mariam, kalyani, and chuyia demonstrate this. Mariam is a woman living in Afghanistan from the book A Thousand Splendid Suns. Mariam grew up very poor living in a small hut excluded from society. As a child she was taught only to endure and was never given the opportunity to stand up for herself. Mariam was the daughter of a maid that her father Jalil had an affair with and he was very ashamed of this. To solve this â€Å"problem† he got rid of her. Jalil married her off to a much older man named Rasheed. Shortly after the start of their marriage, Rasheed rapes her. He justifies it with the Quran. â€Å"‘It’s what married people do. It’s what the prophet himself and his wives did. There is no shame. ’† (Hosseini, 77). In this quote Rasheed refers to the prophet Muhammad in the Quran. This shows how Rasheed perverted the events Quran, the sacred Islamic text, to justify the rape of a young girl who hadn’t even turned 16. Marrying young girls still in their teens is an old custom that is embedded in Islam and the Afghan culture. Society’s refusal to change this practice caused the ruthless humiliation of a young girl and in the long run made the oppression of all women an accepted practice. Kalyani is a character in the movie Water. She is a widow most likely in her 20s who never met her husband. Her husband died shortly after her marriage and was sent to the ashram as a young girl. Since she is the only young widow in the ashram she is forced to turn to prostitution to bring in extra money so the widows can at least have enough money for 1 meal a day. Her entire life story shows the subjugation of women. She was married at around the age of 10 because of religious traditions that have not changed in hundreds of years. This tradition has given men the power to oppress women. This oppression is shown through the death of the husband. If the husband dies before the wife, the wife is sent away. If the opposite happen the husband is free to remarry as he pleases. This happens because of the religious belief that when a husband dies, half of the woman also dies. This makes it easier to mistreat women because it makes them seem less than human. It is also believed that the death of a husband is punishment for something done in a previous life. Society’s refusal to change theses Hindi beliefs and practices create the oppression of women by making their mistreatment seem justified and by making them seem less than human. Chuyia is a young girl who was married at the age of 8 and was widowed the next day. She doesn’t even remember getting married but is forced to suffer the same fate as Kalyani. She is young and innocent and her innocence causes her to question practices that everyone else simply accepts. Deepa Metha uses this character to point out inconsistencies in the Hindi religion and traditional society. At one point in the story she asks why there isn’t a place for men to go if they are widowed. She is quickly ridiculed by both men and women. This event shows that the refusal to change religious practices has brainwashed both men and women to accept and even endorse the oppression of women. Taslima Nasrin words are clearly tied to the theme of these two stories. She explains in her quote that a religion cannot be providing people basic rights if it discriminates against women. The theme reiterates the same message by declaring that religion can sometimes cause oppression of women. These three characters show how traditions and old religious practices have made the oppression of women possible all over the world. By displaying this message in the authors’ books and movies, the authors hope to encourage all people around the world to not follow blindly old traditions and practices. They want people to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. When people fail to do this, bad things start happening such as the oppression, humiliation, and subjugation of women who are actually just as intelligent, strong, and able as any man.

Culinary art Essay

1. Executive Summary This report is a discussion about a bad review posted by John Trevallin on The Morning Post after his disastrous dinner at the Abbey Restaurant. John had some serious expectation from The Abbey as is considered a premier restaurant with great location and world renowned chef Marcus Vesty who owns the restaurant. This report consists of firstly the immediate stakeholders, who are answerable for the bad review, secondly analyzing the issues that led to the bad review, thirdly suggestions and recommendations on how to tackle the issue so as to live up to the expectations of the owners and saving the Radicor Hotel Darling Harbour as the owners are planning to divert its interest from one of the hotels in this chain. Later in the report discussions on how to live up to the expectations of the loyal guests as well as how to attract new customers after this bad review is considered and finding possible solution to maintain the glory of Radicor as well as The Abbey. 2. Introduction The Radicor Hotel Darling Harbour Sydney is a premier hotel in the heart of the city. Darling Harbor is one the most visited place in Sydney and is the key area of which has a convention center, an exhibition center and many other tourist attractions such as shops cafes. The major attractions for tourists are the Sydney Aquarium and the Chinese Garden. According to the video the total number of visitors in darling harbor last year was 27.9 million out of which 3.8 million visitors is on transit and the remaining 24.6 million are from interstate or overseas. The location of the Radicor hotel attracts both business travelers as well as tourists. Considering the number of visitors it is comprehensible that competition between hotels, cafes and restaurant would be very high. Hotels have to go beyond excellence to attract customers as in such a location with so varied visitors it is a challenge to meet the expectations of everyone and maintaining the customer service level. The Radicor Ho tel takes pride in providing quality and excellence to its guests and stakeholders. Marcus Vesty the world renowned chef runs the Abbey restaurant located on the ground floor of the Radicor Hotel and is considered the leading restaurant in Sydney providing a fusion of flavors from east and west. Marcus leases the restaurant from the Radicor Hotel on a profit share basis. There are a number of issues that the Radicor Hotel is facing and to top that up John’s shocking feedback about The Abbey is now really a knock on the door for them. To make things worse the parent company Simcom Group is certain about selling off one of the Radicor chain Hotels as a result of global financial crisis and Radicor Darling Harbour is on the list. 3. List of Stakeholders The stakeholders that are concerned with this case are Marcus Vesty – the executive chef and owner of Abbey restaurant, Mr Loyd Chan – major shareholder of the Simcom , John Trevallin – The morning post reviewer, Tom Mc Laren – General Manager Radicor Hotel Darling Harbour, the devoted customer’s of Radicor and Abbey restaurant as well as the restaurant team members both front of house and kitchen. 4. Analysis and Recommendation The key issues that need some highlight in this case can be categorized in terms of front of house and kitchen that are not living up to the expectation of customers and shareholders. Firstly we will discuss about the problems in the kitchen which lead to such a bad review. 4.1 Absence of Marcus: One of the major reasons to this is the absence of Marcus in his own restaurant. He being involved too much in doing TV shows, promoting his cookbook and other media appearances is undoubtedly affecting the quality of food served in the restaurant. Marcus coming to the restaurant once or twice fortnightly is not acceptable. Marcus needs to be more involved in the restaurant. He is required to sit with the General Manager, Maitre-d hotel, and sommelier to discuss about the issue and find effective ways to get the reputation of the hotel and the restaurant to its glory. He needs to have a through training session where he is required to clearly convey the target they desire to achieve. Being the executive chef he needs to motivate his employees by providing training, recognition, and bonus(Carroll, 2012). 4.2 Menu planning: Menu planning is a process of creating a menu that suits both management as well as customers taking into account all the characteristic of food service system. Menu in a restaurant for a guest is not just the list of available food but it’s an representation of the procedure and contributes to the overall dining experience by creating a mood and excitement about the experience(Gordon-Davis and Van Rensburg, 2004). The balance between all the food items on the menu is very important so that each course or dish suits the palate(Mc Vety et al., 2008). In the case study as highlighted by John that the some of the dishes were too fragrant and some have an odd after taste. This shows that the menu was not properly balanced and the composition of menu was not up to the mark. 4.3 Standards Recipe not followed: Though Marcus is a very renowned chef and is known for its amazing cooking there could be various other reasons why the food was not up to the mark such as it could be the chefs employed by Marcus that are not doing their job properly. Standard recipe for each dish not being followed by the chefs. So the chefs need to follow the standardrecipe and every time a particular dish comes should be the same. This leads us to the next problem which is lack of staff training. 4.4 Lack of training: It’s clear from the review that there is a lack of training in the kitchen. It’s surveyed that the most important issue the hospitality industry is facing is the training of staffs. Employee training is a vital necessity to generate quality experience for both staffs as well as guests as well trained employees are more likely to deliver high quality service(Kusluvan, 2003). As per the review the food provided was not up to the standards that should be in such a premier restaurant. Clearly the chefs at the Abbey need more training on how to follow the standard recipe and maintaining the consistency. This will eradicate the problem of food being not up to the mark and as a result avoid the negative reviews from guests about food. This will rather help for both the restaurant as well as Marcus to get back the reputation and glory back. Also catering to the guest requirement as much as possible can be taken into consideration to go that extra mile and meet the guest expectation. 4.5 Uniformity of staff: According to the video the front of house staff is employed by the Radicor Hotel except the chefs, sous chef, maitre-d hotel and sommelier which are employed by Marcus himself. This leads to deficiency of control of operational aspects such as training, staff selection, and lack of dedication among staff(Mull et al., 2009). Since Marcus does not have much authority to choose the front of house staff for his restaurant he cannot do much about training and selecting his employees. Since the front of house staff are a part of Radicor Hotel they lack dedication towards the restaurant and don’t take much effort in doing things right. 4.6 Lack of Menu Knowledge: The front of house staff according to the review has very less knowledge about the food. This again is a serious issue of lack of training and dedication of the staff. The knowledge about the menu is a ver y important aspect of a food and beverage staff as they are the ones who are actually dealing with guests and are in direct contact with them. It is expected from every food and beverage staff to know the menu and also about the food (Swanson and Toledo, 2008). The above issues may not be that big when we talk about restaurant failing as a whole but in terms of a fine dining restaurant with such a goodwill these things do matter a lot. As said earlier as well the expectations of guest become so high that it isdifficult to meet them unless each and every detail is looked after. This issue can be easily solved by training the staff; the best way to train the front of house staff about the menu is to have session with chefs. Conducting tasting sessions for staffs and asking them to comment is a very effective way of gaining knowledge about the food (Andrews, 1980). 4.7 Poor ambience of the restaurant: Though the restaurant is located in the famous hotel Radicor Darling Harbour which is in the heart of the city, the ambience inside the restaurant according to John is not like a fine dining restaurant should be. The reasons of this could be overbooking(Gagnon and Gagnon, 2011), location in terms of where the restaurant is in the hotel as well as its in the busiest area of Sydney. In a fine dining restaurant overbooking the location could lead to some very unhappy customers as they expect a quite place so that they can e njoy the experience of high quality service and food and can relax while dining. In fine dining restaurants only that number of booking should be taken which suits the ambience and may be the restaurant could be made partially soundproof so that outside noise does not bother the guests(Baraban and Durocher, 2010). Conclusion The Radicor Hotel Darling Harbour being a reputed hotel with a world class restaurant needs to focus on maintaining their reputation. It’s not only the restaurant that has received a bad review but the hotel as a whole has a lot of loopholes that needs some serious and immediate action so as to stay in the hunt in such a location. The review by John Trevallin is just a mere wake up call for the hotel and the restaurant as the customer satisfaction track record clearly states the failure to meet the targets and shows the downfall of the hotel. The General Manager of Radicor Tom Mc Laren and executive chef Marcus Vesty with the other managers of the hotel needs to start from the scratch and analyse each and every issue and take necessary steps in getting the lost glory back in track and ensuring Mr Lyod Chan that Radicor still has the potential to be the best in the market which as a result will save the hotel from getting sold off. References I. ANDREWS, S. 1980. Food and Beverage Service Manual, McGraw-Hill Education (India) Pvt Limited. II. BARABAN, R. S. & DUROCHER, J. F. 2010. Successful Restaurant Design, John Wiley & Sons. III. CARROLL, C. 2012. Leadership Lessons From a Chef: Finding Time to Be Great, Wiley. IV. GAGNON, R. & GAGNON, E. 2011. Appetite for Acquisition: The We Sell Restaurants Guide to Buying a Restaurant, Tate Pub & Enterprises Llc. V. GORDON-DAVIS, L. & VAN RENSBURG, L. 2004. The Hospitality Industry Handbook on Nutrition and Menu Planning, Juta. VI. KUSLUVAN, S. 2003. Managing Employee Attitudes and Behaviors in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Nova Science Publishers. VII. MCVETY, P. J., WARE, B. J. & WARE, C. L. 2008. Fundamentals of Menu Planning, Wiley. VIII. MULL, R. F., BEGGS, B. A. & RENNEISEN, M. 2009. Recreation Facility Management: Design, Development, Operations, and Utilization, Human Kinetics. IX. SWANSON, N. L. & TOLEDO, T. U. O. 2008. Knowledge and Beliefs of School District Superintendents and Food Service Managers in Michigan Toward Childhood Obesity and the Wellness Policy, The University of Toledo. | Assessment feedback | Assignment no. and Title Name: Rudranil Das ID: 110129132| Key components of this assignment| Performance on this component| Comment| | Excellent| Good| Fair| Poor| Very Poor| | Content: clear understanding of the topic and concepts; adequate coverage of the topic and relevance of the material; application of material| | | | | | | Research: evidence of adequate depth and breadth of research| | | | | | | Reasoning: a logical argument and discussionNote: In an academic essay you are expected to demonstrate to your reader that you have a position and perspective on the topic.| | | | | | | Presentation: Essay format and structure only, with Harvard (Author Date) style referencing and correct Reference List. (An additional Bibliography is not required but a Reference List is essential.)| | | | | | | Summary comment| The Graduate qualities being assessed by this assignment are indicated by an X:| | GQ1: operate effectively with and upon a body of knowledge| | GQ5: are committed to ethical action and social responsibility| | GQ2: are prepared for lifelong learning| | GQ6: communicate effectively| | GQ3: are effective problem solvers| | GQ7: demonstrate an international perspective| | GQ4:can work both autonomously and collaboratively| | | Assignment grade/mark|