Statistics Essay Example for Free

Statistics Essay 1. Age, income, length of labor, return to work and number of hours working per week 2. Mean and standard deviation were used to describe the length of labor. These were appropriate since mean and standard deviation can be calculated on an interval level of measurement. 3. Range could also be used to describe the length of labor since this statistic can be used on interval data with no natural zero point. 4. The distribution of scores was similar for the experimental and control groups for length of labor. The experimental group had a mean of 14.63 hours and the control group had a mean of 12.79 hours which is a difference of less than 2 hours with a SD of 7.78 for experimental and 7.2 for control. 5. The experimental and control groups were similar in the type of feeding. More people fed with a bottle than breast or breast and bottle in the experimental and control group. The percentages in both were lowest for breast and bottle with 6.3% for experimental and 5.6% for control. 6. Married was the marital status mode for the experimental group and control group since it was the largest group. The frequency and percentage are 25 and 78.1% for the experimental group and 31 and 86.1% for the control group who are married. 7. Yes a median can be determined for the educational data. The median for the experimental and the control group are the people in the some college group. The median is the â€Å"middle† category and can be determined for ordinal data like education. 8. The findings from this study cannot be generalized to Black women since the sample size is so low in the experimental group and there are no Black women in the control group. Black women might have different self- care interventions to manage post- partum fatigue than white women. 9. There is a note at the bottom of the table that mentions that there is missing data. Perhaps some mothers did not reveal that data. 10. The sample was adequately described. However, adding information about any complications before or during birth, the type of delivery for example C-section vs. natural, or if the women had any help such as a nanny would add to the description.

The Effectiveness of Project Team Development

The Effectiveness of Project Team Development There is no doubt that project teams is playing increasingly important role in most of the successful project. To achieve this, building an effective team is basically start from the first day of the teams existence. Project manager plays important task that carries responsibilities to manage and develop commitment of every team members. It is important for project manager to have adequate knowledge to manage teams as it is a complex mix of human resources management, people skills, technical understanding and process facilitation. It is crucial for every project management to have dynamic project teams which are not static and unchanging. There are also several barriers exist in building a project teams that need to be concerned as this will affect the results of the project and the effectiveness of team development. This paper is critically emphasizes on the team building with project team development stage model, characteristic of effective team members and case study in regard to project adaption and success. The structure of the paper will begin with the introduction, terminologies section, characteristics of effective team members, team development stage, case study and review if the case studies as well as conclusion as the summarization of the whole topic. Keywords: project team, team building, project manager, team development stage model, effectiveness 1.0 INTRODUCTION Initially, a team is highly necessary to run a project. Without an effective project team, it is hardly to achieve projects goals. In fact, one of the hardest aspects of project management is managing the individuals on the project. There are various formal and informal roles that team members play in creating successful projects and also the potential for a single person to play more than one simultaneously on smaller projects (Cooke and Tate, 2005). In short, every team in project has their own responsibilities that carry both formal and informal task and sometimes they are also assigned to run in big or small project concurrently based on the project requirements to achieve project successfulness. Besides, to manage a project team, it is highly necessary to have a good leadership or a project manager to control project by leading, inspiring and motivating all project team to greater heights for project success. As stated by Bubshait and Farooq (1999), successful project managers recognize the importance of people because they know that without people, no project would exist in the first place. They also indicated that people or team are the initiators, developers and users of project. It shows here, team is plays an important role in completing quality and innovative project in order to produce a good result within the budget and on time. 2.0 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS: TEAM, PROJECT TEAM AND TEAM BUILDING Numerous case studies and articles have been written about team and team building in the project management. There are various definitions of team from many authors with different point of views. According to Harodyski (1995), team is a group of people that cooperate and work together to achieve a given set of objectives or goals. As suggested by Bennett (1994) that written by Ingram et al., (1997), team is special types of group that voluntarily ties the members towards held objectives. For Baca (2007), the people who will create the product of the project is called team member. While Bushait and Farooq (1999), defined team as a collection of individuals with different needs, backgrounds and expertise. Both of these authors also stated that team is cross functional which is a matrix and project management organizations characteristic. Based on Eskerod and Blichfeldt (2005) article as taken from Katzenbach and Smith (1993), team is a small number of individuals that have complementar y skills and they are committed to a common purpose, performance goals as well as approach for which they hold themselves accountable. Based on the above definitions, basically team term brought similar concept, where it carry out defined, a group of people with specific skills and knowledge and is assigned to run a specific task in achieving goals and objectives. Every author has their own point of views to describe it based on their different areas of expertise and experiences. Project teams are essential in performing for both big and small project. The definition of project teams as pointed by Zwikael and Unger-Aviram (2010) are unique type of teams. Project teams are now seen as a popular organizational form under environments where coordinated actions directed towards a non-routine goal are needed (Rikards and Moger, 2000). Project teams who work well together are able to contribute and focus on the work and also lead to the production of work on time, meet a budget and of course achieve projects goals. In addition, project team is a group of people that is responsible and assigned to perform task and producing deliverables based on the project strategy. Team building is acceptable by the belief that there is a family life bond within working groups that can be used for the companys benefit (Beyer and Trice, 1987). In addition, team building is the process of identifying members in project. This process is significant to select appropriate people to handle and perform the project plan. In a certain circumstances, sometimes the team building process will starts before project approval, however full team only can be developed after the project is formally approved and organizational and contractual pattern are identified (Diwan, 1999). For Johns (1995) team building is the action taken by project manager, team members and line management to enables a group of people to perform a good job, to think and act together. 3.0 CHARACTERISTIC OF EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBERS The people side of project management is very important for project success and in order for project to be successful, every individual including team leader or project personnel need to be properly managed. This aspect is crucial because it will lead them to contribute towards the achievement of the project goals. In the other hand, with good team members, it brings benefits including increased involvement, development and empowerment of employees, expand the use of employee skills and capabilities, helps in decision making process, growing in creativity and work processes and performance may improve. Creating effective team members is crucial. They are several characteristics of the effective members that are normally contributes to the successful of project. Have ultimate goals and plans A clear defined mission and goals encourage the team members to share purpose and common goals and willing and strive to achieve the goals and plans. Besides, team members are willing to put on their head the teams goal with their goal are basically same. Listen to everyone in the team Be an active listening, attempt to understand and concentrate to other teams point of views. Think and make a best option before making a decision. This criteria help team to identify and clarify the alternative ay to overcome problem arises. For team leader this criteria is very crucial because it is the aspect where the project can be perform without any unsatisfied matter occurs. Have positive relationship among team members By having good relationship with other team mates, the team will easier to perform their job as this can assist them in contributing ideas such as brainstorming process and run the project together with easily and effectively. This characteristic is applied for both team project and project manager or team leader. Overcome problems and make decision on time To be an effective team member, he or she is required to solve a problem and make a decision on time. With the knowledge and skills, they should have a capability to identify the best solution for any problem arises and able to rectify the problem and also faster make decision to prevent any project delays and cost overrun. Able to manage conflict An effective team is able to identify and resolve to any problems exist in timely during the project running. They also are capable to minimize conflicts as much as can to ensure the project will be completed on time. To achieve this criteria, the organization is suggested to provide a training program to all the teams. This will assist them in managing conflict effectively and efficiently. Facilitate productive meeting Team leader is efficiently, productively and has the skill in well managed meetings that efficiently use team members time. The productive meeting is important in identifying any potential risk and problems that may occurs during the implementation project. Besides by having meeting, all the team members may share and contribute ideas pertaining to achieve successful project. In addition through meeting, team members can develop plan and generate recommendations to stay on project track or schedule. Know roles of team members An effective team member also understands the roles of every team members in the project. By understanding every responsibility of every team members, it will assist the team to clarify other team members job and assist them to search a respective team according to a specific skills and knowledge if any problems occur that required other teams skills and knowledge. Operate in productive manner This criteria means, team members have the resources and skills to success and they are able to complete their works on time and facilitate quality and quantity measures to evaluate overall efficiency and effectiveness as well. 4.0 TEAM DEVELOPMENT STAGES There are number of models that describe the stages that teams go through on the way to be productive. One of the most famous ones has self-explanatory tittles for the stages. This team development stages model was developed by Bruce Tuckman in the 1970s. This model can be as levels of guideline for every project manager in managing their project team effectively. Other than that, by understanding and applying this practice into project management, it assist the team leader or project manager to have a better preparation to detect any changes or problem and take appropriate action to help the team. This model can be applied in order to see how teams are emerging and explain how behaviours and feelings of each team members at any given time. At first the Tuckmans model in 1965 consists of four (4) important stages, there are, forming, storming, norming and performing. After subsequent review by Tuckman and Jensen (1977), the stages have added to another important element known as adjourning as represented in Figure 1. C:UsersIJAPicturesTuckmans model diagram_0.JPG Figure 1: The stage model of team development by Tuckman and Jensen (1977) Source: Joanne Leith. The importance of team. Retrieved on 9 August, 2010 from http://www.teamworkspacific.com.au/article/importance_of_teams 4.1 Forming Stage Forming is the stage where all the team members meet and begin to work with each other for the first time. In this stage, teams are concerned to study the boundaries of acceptable team behaviour. This is a platform where the team come together with a sense of anticipation and commitment (Bubshait and Farooq (1999). In the other hand, this is a stage of transition from individual to become project member status and they look to the leader or other individual that are responsible to give them some clear picture in order to assist them get started (Lewis, 2007). This can be considered as a one way communication which is from leader to team member. Forming stage is quite stressful since everyone is new in the project and sometimes they even did not know each other. Due to this fact, team effectiveness is actually moderate and their motivation is high because they are being selected to be part of the team (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). This will become more stressful if the project manager is not suitable with the project teams and this will automatically impact the process in performing and producing efficient work. Forming stage consist of several feelings and behaviours as represented in the Table 1. Table 1: Feelings and behaviours in forming stage Feelings Behaviours Excitement, anticipation and optimism Pride in being chosen for the project Initial, tentative attachment to the team Suspicion, fear and anxiety about the job or if they will be accepted by others Attempts to define the task and decide how it will be accomplished Attempts to determine acceptable group behaviour and how to deal with group problems Decision on what information need to be gathered Lofty, abstract discussions of concepts and issues; or for some members, impatience with these discussions Discussion of symptoms or problems not relevant to the task; difficulty in identifying relevant problems Complaints about the organization and barriers to the task Posturing, external and internal behaviours Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.2 Storming Stage Storming stage is challenging compare with the forming stage where this stage involves views and disagreement from team members instead of listening only to the instruction from the team leader. Based on Mackintosh (2007), storming stage sometimes will cause conflicts or problems among the team members even the forming stage was run and planned well. While for Rickards and Moger (2000), storming is the stage that involves personal conflicts. During this stage, team leader is holding heavy task where their leadership quality is tested (Mackintosh, 2007). As point of view by Bubshait and Farooq (1999), this stage involves various views by team members and they are dispute each other and this factor causes fail to the motivation and effectiveness of the team. However, even the arguing among team members emerges through this stage; it is also a beginning for them to know each other. Table 2 shows the feelings and behaviours occur during the storming stage. Table 2: Feelings and behaviours in storming stage Feelings Behaviours Resistance to the task and to suggested approaches different from what they know Sharp fluctuations in attitude about the team Powerlessness. Arguing among members even when they agree on the real issue. Defensiveness and competition; factions and choosing sides. Questioning the wisdom of those who selected the project and appointed the other members of the team. Establishing unrealistic goals; concern about excessive work. A perceived pecking order, disunity, increased tension, and jealousy. Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.3 Norming Stage This stage where the team is starting to work well together and the goals, roles, strength and weaknesses are identified. The team members are unite and agree on the principles cooperation, even though there are several opinions from many team members. During this stage the level of motivation and effectiveness start to increase (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). According to Mackintosh (2007), norming stage is the stage that covers rules and regulations where through this stage, all team members are aware each other and it produce strong relationship among them. Besides, conflicts on emotion are also reduced and team members become more cooperative instead of having competitive relationship. As shown in Table 3, it listed the feelings and behaviours that might be occurred during norming stage. Table 3: Feelings and behaviours in norming stage Feelings Behaviours A new ability to express criticism constructively Acceptance of membership in the team Relief that it seems everything is going to work out. An attempt to achieve harmony by avoiding conflict. More friendliness, confiding in each other, and sharing of A sense of team cohesion, a common sprit and goals. Establishing and maintaining team ground rules and boundaries (the norms). Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.4 Performing Stage The fourth stage is performing, which all team members are focus on the team goals and they are begin to create strong relationship and built trust each other. Due to this fact, they may reach a high level of motivation and effectiveness (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). Through this stage, all team members are aware and concern on the strength and weaknesses of the project and they are also work towards on that as they know rewards will be given after completion of project. According to Mackintosh (1997), the team members are comfortable in this stage compared with the storming stage where this stage is a platform that leads for the personal growth among the team members. During performing stage, project managers role become easier because the team members understand what their roles are and they are complete self-directed. The table 4 shows, the feelings and behaviours in performing stage. Table 4: Feelings and behaviours in performing stage Feelings Behaviours Members having insights into personal and group processes, and better understanding of each others strengths and weaknesses Satisfaction at the teams progress Close attachment to the team The team is now working effectively as a cohesive unit. You can tell when your team has reached this stage because you start getting a lot of work done Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.5 Adjourning Stage In other different team development model, adjourning term is also known as mourning. Adjourning is final stage where team reaches some kind of termination level which is through accomplishment or membership disruption (Rickards and Morger, 2000). In this stage, team members are brief and share the improved process and successful project as well. They also may feel a sense of loss. In a certain circumstances, if a new team is join the project team, the whole team will regress from the beginning and they have to act faster to get back on track. 5.0 CASE STUDIES This section will be presented two cases studies about project team members with adaption of team development stages model in regard to project success. 5.1 Case study 1 Team moving through five stages: A case study This case study is about the project to improve the performance of company in managing and supporting their client base. The project was leaded and guided by a leader from Chicago office that has 15 years experience as a project manager or team lead managing process improvement projects. This case study was performed by five individuals with different skills, abilities and experiences from various of large service organization. The project was conducted in virtually by using SharePoint site as a medium to interact each other. However, the team leader also has preferred to meet face to face initially. This case study was used the Tuckmans model (1977) as a guideline for the team leader to understand how to build an effective team and also to continue to manage and motivate them in order to achieve project goals. The findings of the case study will be discussed further. The project was begun with the initial meeting as a first stage in Tuckmans model known as forming stage. In this stage, all the team members were assembled and the meetings covered all essential aspects before the project get started. Based on first stage, it was found out that all team members were excited and ready to get work together. They were agreed to every task which has been assigned to them. Overall the first stage was in charged successfully by the team leader. The project work were begins in the storming stage. During this stage, arguments and conflicts between team members were emerged. This was happened due to unsatisfied of job assigned and issues of seniority or experiences for particular job aspect. For this reason, the team leader was initially taken a side role to overcome these conflicts. She managed to solve the problems with a win win situation for every of her team members by selecting the best options. During the norming stage, everything was going smoothly. There were still have some arguments and disagreements but they were managed to overcome it without relying on the team leader to make decision for them. They were also become a teamwork and enjoy working with each other. After the completion of norming stage the fourth stage was taken place, which is performing stage. By this stage, the team has reached high performing team. It was discovered some of the team members have developed their skills and leadership roles with the support of others. The project was completed on time within the budget. Besides, the team leader was rewarded by the team because of her good performance in managing the project. Finally the project was achieved it goals where their internal customer was pleased and there is improvements in how the company supports its clients. The team has united together to do some evaluation on the project done that including documenting best practices and way to improve any mistakes done during the implementation of project. 5.2 Case Study 2 Diamonds in the rough: A case study of team development across disciplines, distances and institutions The purpose of this case study is to explore team building strategies by describing reactions of every respective faculty to their participation in a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional team project which performed via distance. The team members of this project consist of five different universities and from various agriculture disciplines. The teams were gathered to develop online educational resources. The results of the case study that adapted into team development stages are presented in Figure 2. C:UsersIJAPicturesteam development stages.jpg Figure 2: Integration of Tuckmans (1965) Small Group Development Model into One Teams Experience Source: Susan Fritz et al., Diamonds in the rough: A case study of team development across disciplines, distances and institutions. Retrieved on 9 August, 2010 from http://www.joe.org/joe/2005october/a4.php From the findings also, they have pointed out several important elements that engaged during the execution of project. There are motivation for collaboration, timeline, evaluation and rewards, team leader, cohesion, interaction, trust and some miscellaneous findings. In the forming stage, it was discovered that two of team members were inspired to sharpen their skills and motivated to further their knowledge in Web-based instructions. While there were some questioning of team objectives occurs during the storming stage due to the progressed and deadline of project were frequently unmet. There were also an issue pertaining to the evaluation and rewards where they were concern over little support from their team mates and administrators as well. During this stage, the team leader was strict to ensure the team members keep on track. In the norming and performing stages, the trust and friendship were built. It was found out that there were distances separating them in running the project but the team grew from a mere work group into a synergistic individual. Finally the website containing lesson was completed. As overall, the teams were satisfied with their job as well as the supervisory of their team leader. However the lack of supporting from home departments was still remain major issue. 6.0 REVIEW OF TWO CASE STUDIES The findings for both case studies almost the same where the results appear the same meaning. In case study 1, Tuckmans model (1977) was used while for case study 2, Tuckmans model (1965) without adjourning stage was applied. Basically, team leader is plays important role in developing an effective team member through team development stages. Table 5 presents comparison with several key elements that engaged in both case studies. Table 5: Key elements KEY ELEMENTS CASE STUDY 1 CASE STUDY 2 Motivation level The project motivated the team members and the team members were developed their skills and applied a leadership roles during the implementation of project. The team members were inspired and motivated to collaborate with each other. Timeline pressures Project schedule issue was emerged due to the decision made by only two team members. Timeline of the project was questioned by the team members due to the project progressed and deadlines were seldom unmet. Evaluation and rewards The team were acknowledged by project sponsor and other executives. The team felt little support from their colleagues and administrator. Leadership style Team leader has encouraged and brought the team together for a face to face meetings on monthly basis Team leader has created a working environment conducive to collaboration. Cohesion and interaction The team members communicate each other via communicating on email, via instant messaging, on Twitter or over the telephone. Many team members still missed the interaction of face to face meetings. However, the scenario changed slowly as team reached the norming and performing stages. Trust The team share knowledge with other team members The team members felt comfortable with others to be honest about their opinions and ideas 7.0 CONCLUSIONS It can be concluded that effective team members only can be developed through considerable structure (Lewis, 2007). This structure known as team development stages, where these stages represents the team members are working together, strengths and weaknesses of each team are tested, compliant to the rules and behaviours of the team, working as a unit while working independently and shifting onto other teams (Ruppert, 2009). While developing an effective project team members, the team leader also need to have multiple skills in managing those people in the project management. According to Tan (2004), due to multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional of project management, a good manager is an individual that can wear multiple hats and work in any discipline of development to plug up any shortcomings. For team members, it is necessary for them to fulfil the effective team member characteristic in order to achieve project goals on time and within the budget besides preventing a conflict w ith others in the same project.

Smart objectives of bp

Smart objectives of bp Task Three SMART Objectives of BP BP Objectives are prepared according to SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed).That means it should be particular about what we are going to achieve and should quantify about the objectives. There are a several types of objectives that all can be done in the SMART format. Process objectives Impact objectives Outcome objectives Personal objectives BPs five year plan objectives are, Increase profitability by 20% Increase production Financial gain by serving to the increasing demand Build brand value that was affected by the oil spills Five year development plan for BP Business plan is a statement about companys future goals and plans to achieve those goals. This can be externally focus or internally focus. BPs Strategies in progress can state as, Upstream growth Downstream turnaround Alternative Energy: focused disciplined Corporate simplification In the upstream will focus on cost and capital efficiency to deliver profitable growth. In the downstream will drive further efficiencies and a focus on quality and integration. They will maintain their disciplined approach to alternative energy and will continue to unlock corporate efficiency through a culture of continuous improvement. Five year development plan for BP # Objective Strategy Actions Performance Indicators Time Period 1 Increase profitability by 20% Research and development Hire most qualified researchers Innovative ways of doing things One year 2 Increase production Acquisition of north sea area. Negotiations with governments and agreeing for a joint profit sharing. Coming into an agreement with relevant governments Two years 3 Financial gain by serving to the increasing demand Sales and Marketing approaches to increase market share Recruiting experienced sales and marketing people and objective training Acquiring new market opportunities, increase the market share One year 4 Build brand value that was affected by the oil spills Communication and promotion strategy Using new media opportunities of social media to build brand name again, invest in CSR activities in Go Green. Reduce the black mark 3 years Evaluating and implementing the plan In corporate strategy, Johnson, Scholes and Whittington present a model in which strategic options are evaluated against three key success criteria Suitability (would it work?) Feasibility (can it be made to work?) Acceptability (will they work it?) (Source-: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_management) # Objectives Time Line 1 year 2 year 3 year 4 year 1 Increase profitability by 20% X 2 Increase production X X 3 Financial gain by serving to the increasing demand X 4 Build brand value that was affected by the oil spills X X X Conclusion When it is mention about the strategic management and the leadership strategic planning is a major part of it. Strategic planning can divide in to three stages as strategic Analysis, Strategic Options and Evaluation and Implementation. The British petroleum Corporation is a well established organization in petroleum industry and here it is mentioned about the strategy and competitive advantages of the BP and the technical tools which could they can use to analysis situations. The porters five forces investigation helps identify the competitive environment BP analysis their market for Quality production. There are so many competitors like Solar, sharp in the market and BP establish with mass production. By doing the SWOT analysis its helping company to identify the internal and external environment of the company. BP is focused on customers and they believe in their productions. They used the oil plus solar power combination and they used product segmentation, improve cost efficiency and some more strategies to increase their profits. They have created value through technology and this is a barrier for their competitors. Company can use strategy clock, Ansoff growth matrix tools to analysis their position in the market. To develop strategic options first it should identify the external context and priorities and clusters. Then it should develop the strategic options. SOP matrix is best tool to identify the strategies of the company.

What Role Should The Government Play in Gun Control? Essay -- Second Am

What Role Should The Government Play in Gun Control? A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gun control is a real issue with Americans today. Many people have different opinions about how to handle our growing dilemma concerning guns. There are those who believe we should ban guns altogether and those who believe we should not ban or restrict the people's right to own guns at all. Both sides have valid arguments, but neither side seems to know how to compromise because of their very different opinions. I personally believe guns should be banned. However, those against gun control have very good arguments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Second Amendment was written because of the colonists' fear of an all-powerful central government taking over, but there are many interpretations of how the Second Amendment reads. The court has never found the Second Amendment to clash with the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process clause which states that, "No state shall...deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law" (McClenaghan 522). This gave each state the right to set up their own rules and regulations, which I believe, is one reason why we have the problems that we do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There have been four major cases heard by the Supreme Court which found that the fire-arm control laws are constitutional; United States v. Cruikshank (1986), Presser v. Illinois (1886), Miller v. Texas (1894), and the United States v. Miller (1939) (Strahinich 41). United States v. Miller was the most important. It supported a section of the National Firearms Act of 1934, basically stating that it is a crime to ship sawed off shotguns, machine guns, or silencers across state lines unless registered with the Treasury Department (McClenaghan 522).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The United States already has more than twenty thousand gun laws, but they do not seem to be making an impact. The first American gun control laws were written before the Revolutionary War. The most effective and more recent laws have been the Gun Control Act of 1986 and the Brady Law. The Gun Control Act of 1986 has a lot of impact on our rights concerning firearms today. It requires federal licensing and inspection of dealers with new and stricter guidelines. It restricted the sale of ammunition and firearms betwe... ...on of law enforcement officials and military. We might not be able to stop all of this gun violence but at least we can close loopholes that control the sale and distribution of guns in America. Next to automobiles, guns are the second most deadly consumer product on the market. There are over two hundred million guns in circulation today, compared to the mere fifty four million in 1950 (Roleff 142). Works Cited Dolan, Edward, Margaret Scariano. Guns in the United States. New York, New York: Moffa Press, Incorporated, 1994. pp.. 29-30, 55. Lott, J.R. More Guns Less Crime. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1998. pp.. 1-2. McClenaghan, William. American Government. Needham, Massachusetts:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prentice Hall, 1993. pp.. 489, 522. Netzley, P.D. Issues in Crime. Sandiego, California: Lucent Books Inc., 2000. pp.. 32 Roleff, T.L. ed. Gun Control, Opposing Viewpoints. Sandiego, California:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Greenhaven Press Inc., 1997. pp.. 22-23, 25, 45, 47, 65-67, 76, 85, 117, 142. Strahinich, Helen. Guns in America. United States: Walker Publishing Company,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1992. pp.. 41, 48, 51. http://www.alphadogweb.com/firearms/gun_control_is_a_nice_phrase.htm

Airport Security and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) E

Abstract Through the history of aviation the importance of airport security has steadily increased. Since the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, many changes have taken place at airports to prevent such an attack from occurring again. The purpose of this paper is to: outline airport security procedures, discuss the different technologies involved with airport security, as well as examine the components of airport security. In addition I will also discuss the Transportation Security Administration’s role in our nation’s airport security. Airport Security   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Airport Security is a necessity of Life both in America and through out the world. Without airport security our airports would not be able to function and terrorist attacks resembling those of September 11th, 2001, would be more common place. Passengers would be afraid to fly in fear of such a terrorist attack happening again. The airline industry would lose more revenue from lost ticket sales. Then the airports themselves would lose money from the lack of passengers boarding through their gates. Finally this lack of security would trickle down to the entire economy not only in the communities surrounding the airport and aviation industry, but to the nation’s economy as well. To keep this economic failure associated with another terrorist attack from happening, our nation must take the appropriate measures to prevent it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Airport security procedures are designed to deter, prevent, and respond to criminal acts that may affect safety and security of the traveling public† Wells and Young (2004, p. 280). In order for this to happen, airports must become more proactive instead of reactive to possible threats such as: hijacking, explosive devices on aircraft or any other possible criminal act that could happen aboard an aircraft. To accomplish President George W. Bush signed into effect the Aviation and Transportation security Act, on November 19th, 2001. This act was a result of the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks, and from this act the Transportation Security Administration was formed. Transportation Security Information   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The purpose of the TSA is to protect all of the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce. Commercial aviation has been a long-standing target for terrorists. Since the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001, subst... ...om key entry to combination locks, to advanced identification authentication machines. Security lighting may also be used to aid in perimeter security. It is located and around heavy traffic areas, aircraft service areas, as well as other operations and maintenance areas. Patrolling by airport security and staff as well as local law enforcement agencies may also be used to secure the perimeter around an airport.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This paper has covered the many different aspects of airport security. It is important to keep in mind that procedures, regulations, and technology associated with airport security are in a state of constant change. However, it is through these changes that our nation’s airports will show a steady improvement towards the safety and security of the passengers that visit them. References Transportation Security Administration. (2004, February 20). Capps II at a glance. Retrieved from Transportation Security Administration Web Site: http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=5&content0900051980088d91 Wells, A. T., & Young, S. B. (2004). Airport Security ch. 8. In L. Hagar (Ed.), Airport Planning and Management (5 ed., pp. 279-307). New York: McGraw-Hill.

How male/female relationships are portrayed in Macbeth and poems

Male/female relationships are portrayed differently in the poems ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, ‘Havisham’, ‘Cousin Kate’ and the play ‘Macbeth’. They all surround the themes of love, hate, jealousy, betrayal, guilt and obsession. However, the love versus hate theme is most dominant because all of the poems and the play have a melancholy mood, showing how the key characters have been hurt by love through their relationships and how afterwards, the way they feel has also been affected.Shakespeare’s characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are initially united by their mutual ambition for power and their relationship is strong. However, over time, they become haunted by the brutal deeds that they have carried out to achieve their aims. They are driven apart by their inner feelings, secrets and guilt. In Act 1 Scene 7 of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a woman in control over her man, a very odd situation in Jacobean times where t he man would most often be in control of the woman.She is shown as being in control by persuading Macbeth into murdering Duncan, the king. She says, â€Å"Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem,† to Macbeth, telling him he could have all his desires and the crown, but he is a coward and won’t achieve it. This makes the audience see her as a much less sensitive and respectful woman, compared to the typical Jacobean lady, being restricted and controlled by male dominance in society. At the time the play was written, women had no power or control over anything, and all decisions were made by men.However, Lady Macbeth is the opposite of this, and challenges Macbeth to murder Duncan. While Lady Macbeth is shown as having more power at this point in the play, they aren’t hiding their thoughts or secrets from each other. The audience are shown this by the couple plotting the murder together as a united team and by them d iscussing â€Å"what cannot you and I perform upon the unguarded Duncan†. The effect of this on the audience is very powerful, as it shows how they would plan such a horrible deed together as a team, and don’t hide any of their secrets from each other.Although planning the murder is horrific, they are shown as having a very close relationship at this point in the play, due to the fact that they don’t keep secrets from each other and are willing to plan a murder together. Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 7 is shown to the audience as being quite demanding and persuading towards Macbeth about murdering Duncan. She uses different techniques to try and persuade Macbeth to murder the king, for example, using flattery when she says â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man: And, to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man.†The techniques she used eventually managed to convince her husband to kill Duncan. The effect of Lady Macbeth using th ese techniques on the audience makes them portray her as quite desperate for Macbeth to kill Duncan and that she acknowledges as a woman she can’t do the deed herself, she does not have enough power to do so. The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is shown to the audience as being quite tense at this point, due to Macbeth not wanting to neither murder the king nor disappoint his wife.Another technique she uses as well as flattery is guilt, to make Macbeth feel bad for breaking his promise to her and for not murdering Duncan, allowing Lady Macbeth to become the Queen of Scotland. Lady Macbeth is shown as not acting how a typical Jacobean lady would, calm, innocent and clean, but instead as manly, aggressive and dark-minded. When she is persuading Macbeth to murder Duncan, she says to him, â€Å"I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done this† .This quote has a very powerful effect on the audience and shows to them how heartless, ruthless and insensitive she is. The symbol of a mother and her baby represents the closest bond of love, yet Lady Macbeth would have been willing to destroy it if she had made a promise to Macbeth. This reveals to the audience that Lady Macbeth is determined to see Duncan murdered. She says she will do anything for Macbeth, and challenges him to do the same for her by murdering Duncan, against his will.In Act 3 Scene 2, after Macbeth has been crowned King of Scotland following the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth is no longer portrayed as powerful and dominant. Instead, Macbeth is now in control in their relationship. Lady Macbeth says to one of her servants, â€Å"Say to the king, I would attend his leisure for a few words,† instead of approaching him directly, suggesting that they are becoming more distant from each other. This shows the audience that Lady Macbeth recognises Macbethâ€⠄¢s power as king and is conscious that she should be more reverent towards him.In this scene, Lady Macbeth behaves less aggressively and more sensitively towards Macbeth’s feelings, like a traditional Jacobean wife would towards her husband. She says, â€Å"Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks; be bright and jovial among your guests to-night. † From this quote the audience can see that she is trying to calm and soothe Macbeth, suggesting that she feels guilty about convincing him to kill Duncan. She is shown as being quite caring, the opposite of her earlier personality.This makes the audience believe that although she was has been a very strong character, she is able to adjust the way she behaves according to the situation she is in, in this case Macbeth starting to become paranoid and delirious. On the contrary, their relationship at this point is being driven apart; they are keeping their feelings and secrets away from each other. Macbeth, while planning to kill Banquo and Fleance, says to Lady Macbeth, â€Å"Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, Till thou applaud the deed.†This quote shows the audience that Macbeth doesn’t want Lady Macbeth to know about his plan for killing Banquo and Fleance until he has done it. It shows that Macbeth is isolating himself from everybody else including Lady Macbeth, driving their relationship further and further away. Macbeth, in this scene, becomes overwhelmed by paranoia and the guilt of murdering Duncan. â€Å"We have scorch’d the snake, not kill’d it: She’ll close and be herself, whilst our poor malice Remains in danger of her former tooth. † In conclusion, Macbeth is both a victim of persuasion from his wife and fate, as prophesised by the witches.Lady Macbeth is a very strong influence of his actions in the first part of the play. In the later scene, however, he is in control of her instead and even approaching their deaths, the relationship bet ween them remains intact. The poems ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, ‘Havisham’ and ‘Cousin Kate’ are all based around three key themes; love, betrayal and jealousy. These poems all have a gloomy mood about them and unlike ‘Macbeth’ the central relationship in each of the poems are destroyed by the end of the poem. The relationships in the poems are broken apart by the actions of the male character.Robert Browning’s ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is very interesting as the mood of the poem changes quite quickly. At the start of the poem, Porphyria is quite controlling of her lover. The reader is shown this by her lover saying, â€Å"She shut out the cold and storm And kneeled and made the cheerless grate Blaze up and all the cottage warm†. This quote shows that as soon as Porphyria has entered, she is adjusting the conditions to suit her, in this case making the cottage warmer. This suggests to the reader that Por phyria likes to be in control, and that she is most dominant in the relationship between her and her lover.The quote â€Å"She sat down by my side And called me. When no voice replied, She put my arm about her waist† shows how when her lover ignores her, she controls his body so that he notices her more. This makes the reader portray her as having quite a forceful and vigorous character and that Porphyria’s lover allows her to control him, suggesting to the reader that he is a weak character. Later on in the poem, Porphyria’s lover is portrayed as being quite obsessive of her. He thinks Porphyria adores him and remarks â€Å"That moment she was mine, mine, fair†.He is deluded about their relationship and believes â€Å"Porphyria worshipped me†. The reader is shown how her lover wants to possess Porphyria as if she is an object of desire, making them question whether he truly loves her. This makes the reader portray the relationship between them as quite tense, since he is very possessive of Porphyria and makes the reader believe he doesn’t truly love her. Porphyria and her lovers’ relationship changes at this point, and instead of loving each other as the audience believes at the start of the poem, Porphyria decides she does not want to be with her lover anymore.Porphyria feels that her pride and class is more important than her love and is believed by her lover to be â€Å"Too weak for all her heart’s endeavour, To set it struggling passion free†. The reader views Porphyria as being quite conscious of her dignity and status in society, and is shown that she believes she is too good for him. This makes the reader question whether she truly loves him or if she doesn’t at all. The relationship at this point in the poem is shown to the reader as being quite tense, due to the fact that Porphyria doesn’t want to be with her lover anymore and wanting to leave him.Porphyria’s lover be lieves that Porphyria wanted to be with him and convinced himself that by killing her he has fulfilled her wish to be with him. â€Å"Porphyria’s love: she guessed now how, Her darling one wish would be heard†. This quote shows to the reader that her lover wishes for her happiness, suggesting that her does truly love her. Their relationship at this point ends, yet they have both achieved their dreams; Porphyria has been able to leave him through death, yet he is happy to have her body as an object of his desire. ‘Havisham’ by Carol Ann Duffy contrasts to ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ in many ways.Firstly, the key character has already been hurt by her lover before the poem has started, unlike ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ where she is hurt at the end. The reader is shown that Havisham has been hurt by her saying â€Å"not a day since then I haven’t wished him dead†. This quote has a very powerful effect on the reader, as i t shows them Havisham’s feelings towards love after she has been hurt by it, and the affect it has had on her, making them empathise with her. The relationship in this poem compared to ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is very different yet mysterious, due to the fact that the reader is left to guess what has happened previously before the poem.Another reason for why ‘Havisham’ differs from ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is that the poet has written the poem from the women’s perspective, instead of the man’s like in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’. The key character from ‘Havisham’ is portrayed to the reader as being left heartbroken by her lover and psychologically scarred. She spent â€Å"Whole days in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall†, which shows the reader that she is depressed and has chosen to isolated herself from the rest of society.This suggests that she now feels alone and possibly worthless, the op posite of ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ where Porphyria believes her pride and high class in society is more important than her love. This has an interesting effect on the reader because it shows them the vast effect love can have on people, and how it can change them altogether, just like how Havisham has changed. Furthermore, Havisham says â€Å"beloved sweetheart bastard†, showing the reader that she used to adore her lover, but now hates him and thinks poorly of him. This quote is very effective and Duffy has used oxymoron to express how Havisham feels about her lover to the reader.This is a similar technique to the pathetic fallacy used by Browning in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ when it says â€Å"The rain set early in tonight, The sullen wind was soon awake†, referring to Porphyria coming to visit her lover. These techniques that the poets use are very effective and hint different messages to the reader about the poems, in the case of Ã¢â‚¬Ë œHavisham’, showing how she used to love him but now despises him. Christina Rossetti’s ‘Cousin Kate’ is similar to ‘Havisham’ by the main female character being hurt by her lover.This is shown by the quote â€Å"He lured me to his palace home, Woe's me for joy thereof, To lead a shameless shameful life, His plaything and his love†. This quote shows the poem is similar to ‘Havisham’ because it shows how the woman was led by the key male character to believe that he loves her, which is different to ‘Porphyria’s Lover’. It is also similar because it uses oxymoron when it says Also in ‘Cousin Kate’, the main character is empathised with by the reader due to the fact that the Great Lord, who she truly loved, left her for her own cousin. â€Å"O cousin Kate, my love was true, Your love was writ in sand†.This quote shows that the key character believes that Kate never loved the Great Lord, and it suggests that she is jealous of her. This is similar to ‘Havisham’ where the key male character leaves her heartbroken and distressed. However, this is different to ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ as the central relationship in ‘Cousin Kate’ doesn’t last until the end of the poem. In conclusion, ‘Macbeth’, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, ‘Havisham’ and ‘Cousin Kate’ are all similar how they are all based upon the love versus hate theme. In my opinion, the relationships in all three of the poems are very similar, how they have all been hurt through love.However, the relationship in Macbeth is different because the key relationship is shown to the audience as still being intact even through death. All four pieces are linked by having a central relationship between male and female characters, which ends tragically. This is a reoccurring theme throughout the pieces as well as the themes of je alousy, love versus hate, obsession and guilt. The love versus hate theme is very significant, as it is an example of oxymoron itself, as used in the poems. All these pieces are very effective examples of this love versus hate theme represented throughout.

Business Policy & Strategic Management

BUSINESS POLICY & STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Objective: This course in Business Policy and Strategic Management is framed to help the students to learn the concepts related to Business Policies and Strategic Management so as to understand how a successful Business Policies and Strategies are framed at different levels of Management for organizational success and smooth functioning of an organization in today’s dynamic environment. I Introduction to Business Policy & Strategic Management: [9%] – Definition, Concept, Objective and Significance The levels at which strategy operates – Characteristic of Strategic Management – An Overview: Strategic Management Process – Concept of Strategic Decision Making II Strategy Formulation: [20%] – Understanding Strategic Intent: Vision, Mission, Business Definition, Goals and Objectives – Concepts of Strategic Stretch, Leverage & Fit – Environment Appraisal: Concept & Environmental Sector; PEST Anal ysis – Organizational Appraisal: Concepts & Capability Factors ; Porter’s Value Chain Model – Framework for developing Strategic Advantage SWOT Analysis as a Tool for assessing Organizational Capabilities and Environment Opportunities – Type of Strategies: Corporate Level (Concept of Grand Strategies) , Business Level and Functional Level. – Guidelines for Crafting Successful Business Strategies III Strategy Analysis and Choice: [22%] – Corporate Level Strategy Analysis: BCG Matrix & GE 9 cell Matrix, – Business Level Strategy Analysis: Life Cycle Analysis, Porter’s Five Forces of Industry Analysis – Concept of Strategic Decision Making. Subjective Factors in Strategic Choice and Process of Strategic Choice IV Strategy Implementation: [18 %] – Interrelation Between Strategy Formulation and Implementation – Aspects of Strategy Implementation – An overview of Project, Procedural Implementation, Resourc e Allocation – Structural Implementation: An overview of: Structural Consideration, Structure for Strategies. – Behavioral Implementation: An overview of: Leadership, Corporate Culture, Corporate Politics and Use of Power, Personal Values and Business Ethics. Functional /Operational Implementation: An overview of: Functional Strategies. V Strategy Evaluation and Control : [13%] – An Overview of Strategic Evaluation and Control – Strategic Control and Operational Control – Techniques for Strategic Evaluation and Control – Role of Organizational Systems in Evaluation – Mc Kinsey’s 7s Framework. VI. Cases in Strategic Management: [18%] – Minimum five cases encompassing the above topics to be analyzed and discussed in the class. Cases to be incorporated in Question Paper