Organisation Behaviour Essay

Expolanka Bangladesh Limited is a group companies in Bangladesh . It has several sister concern who are holding different airlines General Sales Agent (GSA) in Bangladesh. Wings Classic Tours and Travels Limited is one of the sister concern who is holding General sales Agent of Virgin Atlantic Airlines. The Accounting Manager in the accounting department prepares different types of report to assist management with decision. The Manger plays a vital rule for decision making in this organisation. This analysis revealed including the requirements of this managerial job ,how a manager interact with inside and outside group or individual who are important, principle characteristics of these individual or groups, A job task analysis provides a basis for establishing the knowledge, skills, and abilities to work in a managerial position . It determines what job tasks manager performs on a daily, fortnightly, monthly, and yearly basis . These job tasks are separated into different stages based on duties, responsibility, type of job task and so on. ? Accounting Manager’s job description : The Accounting Manager is responsible for all areas relating to financial reporting. This position is responsible for developing and maintaining accounting principles, practices and procedures to ensure accurate and timely financial statements. Financial statements include Income statement, Balance sheet and Cash flow statement, changes of equity and notes to the accounts. Accounting standard (International Accounting Standard),Corporation Act, company law ,taxes rule must be maintained and complied by him to prepare that reports . The Accounting Manager supervises staff accountants and is responsible for managing the team to ensure that work is properly allocated and completed in a timely and accurate manner . He interacts with top management, corporate team and other departments e. g. sales department, marketing department and operation department within the organization. He deals different type of reports and data with them. This position involves a multitude of accounting activities including general ledger preparation, financial reporting, year end audit preparation and the support of budget and forecast activities. The Accounting Manager contacts with senior-level and the firm’s Managing Director ,Executive Director and Corporate Finance Controller which requires strong interpersonal communication skills both written and verbal. He represents all the financial activities in the board meeting. He monitors and collects outstanding payment within stipulated credit duration from clients , makes the payment to the principal that is virgin Atlantic as per terms and condition , takes necessary action about financial transactions and deals with financial institutions and leasing companies as well. Corporate Finance Controller is assisted by him in the daily banking requirements. This position collaborates with the other department’s managers to support overall department goals and objectives. Managing Director , Finance Controller, and other wide managers get respond regarding financial results, special reporting requests from this position. He handles personnel issues relating to staff conflicts, absenteeism, performance issues, etc. Monitoring and analysing departmental work to develop more efficient procedures and use of resources while maintaining a high level of accuracy also include under manager duties and responsibilities. This position requires to follow any other job-related duties required by the management. This job description in no way implies that these are the only duties to be performed. (Accounting job description, n. d) Individuals/groups who are important to this job : The Accounting manager interacts with different groups and individual inside and outside the organisation. The Managing Director, Finance controller and Human Resources Manager are the most important to his job inside the organisation. He has lots of routine tasks with them. Besides that other department’s Manager e. Sales manager ,marketing Manager and operation Manger is also important for his job position. Other accounts executives inside the organisation play important rule to assist the Accounting Manager requirements. In addition to that Financial institution (bank ,leasing company )and the principal (Virgin Atlantic Airlines) and the clients are important to carry out his job. (Accounting job description, n. d) Main characteristics of these groups /individual : Managing Director: Mr. Mahbubul Anam is the Managing Director of Expolanka Bangladesh. His esponsibilities is to manage, monitor and guide the working of the organisation. He involves of controlling all important departments such as finance, sales, human resource, marketing etc. He also supervises and monitors the work these entire departments. Decisions ,advices and recommendations are also taken by him to achieve the organizational goal. He conducts meeting with respective department in the company to find out business strategies for growth of the company in terms of sales figures and net profit. She involves to taking right decision in favor of the company’s interests and satisfies of the shareholder. Managing Director job description n. d ) Finance Controller : The main job responsibility of the Finance Controller is to manage all financial issues. This includes : †¢ The first task of the Finance Controller is to manage and conduct financial resources. So that he plans for future needs and support regarding finance to run the business smoothly. †¢ Preparing and monitoring of financial budget and submit that report to the board of directors of the organization. †¢ Where any inconsistencies to reconciliations , He takes action or refer to relevant personnel as appropriate Statutory authority and audi t requirements are complied . †¢ Ensure compliance all taxation and legislative requirements at all times. †¢ Provides monthly and weekly report to the head quarter, monthly financial statement, fortnightly and daily different reports to the management . (Accounting job description n. d) Human resource manager: Human resource manager plays important role to recruit employee in this organization. His duties includes : †¢ Compensation, benefits and performance management systems, and safety and recreation programs are administered by him. Identify staff vacancies and recruit, interview and select applicants. †¢ Allocate human resources and ensuring appropriate matches between personnel. †¢ Provide current and prospective employees with information about policies, job duties, working conditions, wages, and opportunities for promotion and employee benefits. (Human Resources Manager n. d ) Sales Manager: †¢ Develops a business plan and sales strategy for the market that ensures attainment of company sales goals and profitability. †¢ Prepares action plans by individuals as well as by team for effective search of sales leads and prospects. Initiates and coordinates development of action plans to penetrate new markets. †¢ Assists in the development and implementation o f marketing plans as needed. †¢ Provides timely feedback to senior management regarding performance. †¢ Provides timely, accurate, competitive pricing on all completed prospect applications submitted for pricing and approval, while striving to maintain maximum profit margin. †¢ Maintains accurate records of all pricings, sales, and activity reports submitted by Account Executives. †¢ Controls expenses to meet budget guidelines. ( H. Rob n. d ) Marketing Manager : †¢ manage and coordinate all marketing, advertising and promotional staff and activities †¢ conduct market research to determine market requirements for existing and future products †¢ analysis of customer research, current market conditions and competitor information †¢ develop and implement marketing plans and projects for new and existing products †¢ manage the productivity of the marketing plans and projects †¢ monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and results (Sample Marketing manager job description n. d) Principle characteristics: Name |Position |Age |Gender |Personality |Pattern of interaction |Efficiency |Effectiveness |Satisfaction | |Mr. Mahbubul Anam |Managing Director |50 |Male |Negotiable |Face to face Telephone E-mail Fax |Efficient |Effective |yes | |Mr. MH khusru |Finance Controller |40 |Male |Friendly |Over the telephone E-mail Face to face fax |Efficient |Effective |yes | |Mr. Bahauddin Ahmed |Human Resources Manager |42 |Male |Extroversion |Over the telephone E-mail Face to face fax |Efficient |Effective |Yes | |MS. Naima Imam Roy |Sales Manager |38 |Female |Agreeable |Over the telephone E-mail Face to face ax |Efficient |Effective |Yes | |Mr. Shahidul Islam |Marketing Manager |42 |Male |Openness to experience |Over the telephone E-mail Face to face |Efficient |Effective |yes | | Nature of interdependency: The Accounting manager is independent in this organization. Even though he collaborates with other department for various issues like credit duration, credit realisation within stipulated ,cost minimise , more profit and increase revenue. He is also part of mid management to achieve the organisational goal. Managing director: Accounting Manger always expects to support from managing director. In this situation Accounting Manager propose to finance controller and he conducts with Managing director. This is sequential way to communicate. He also assumes major decision for financial issues and approval for strategy from managing director. On the other hand, Managing Director expects cost minimization, increase net profit , efficiency of financial information and effective time management from Accounting Manager. Finance controller: In this regard, Accounting Manager requires all financial support from finance controller manager to carry out the business. However, Financial controller also assumes to minimize operational cost, proper utilization of resource and increase the net profit by efficiency. Sales Manager: He also expects accuracy of the financial support, various financial report and information to achieve his departmental goal and organisational goal as well. In the same way ,Accounting Manager require sales target, financial requirement to implement that sales from sales manager. Marketing Manager: He manages and coordinates all marketing, advertising and promotional staff and activities. He determines and manages the marketing budget by submitting the budget to the Accounting Manager. Accounting Manager prepares at a glance report with appropriate supporting then forwards to the management for approval. Diagram of interdependency: Evaluation of the interdependent of group: Effectiveness: Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result. All the Manger in this organisation are doing well their task effectively by systematic way. All kind of tasks are assigned by the management to achieve the organisational goal. For example Accounting Manager has ceiling to access his financial power. He is entitled to access up to that finance power. If the transaction is more than that ceiling then he needs to get approval from managing director. In this way, all Managers perform their activities with effectively to run their business. Efficiency: Efficiency means to do right things in right time. If Accounting Manager can get the financial decision form Finance controller instead of Managing director then it would be more efficient. However, they have finished their work more efficiently what we have assigned to achieve the goal and target. Satisfaction: All managers and employee are satisfied in this organisation. They practise and follow multinational culture. Every employee works as a team member with their satisfaction not like superior or subordinate. Recommendations: Airlines industry is a high competitive industry. it has a positive image in the market due to its high service level , wide market coverage and at a reasonable rate with fast service; †¢ All department managers should be more helpful and cooperate to each other to achieve the goal †¢ All manager should get free mobile for better communication. Management should arrange the transport facilities for their employee because of transport problem in Dhaka city. †¢ They have to build up strong communication network from lower level to top level for perform their job efficiently. †¢ Try to introduce more motivational workshop for employee training. All department managers become friendlier to their subordinate; looks like a family member. 01. Accountin g job description (n. d) Retrieved on August 10, 2012 from http://www. accountingjobstoday. com/cm/Job-Descriptions/accounting-manager2. tml 02. Expolanka (Bangladesh) Limited (n. d) Retrieved on August 11 , 2012 from http://www. expolankafreight. com/regional_offices/bangla. htm 03. Managing Director job description (n. d) Retrieved on August 13, 2012 from http://www. buzzle. com/articles/managing-director-job-description. html 04. Human Resources Management (n. d) Retrieved on August 13 , 2012 from http://www. burtoncontractors. com. au/files/Financial%20Controller. pdf 05. H,Rob( n. d) Sales Manager job description example Retrieved on August 13, 2012 from http://www. alescareersonline. com/articles/article_08132006_2. html 06. Sample Marketing Manager job description (n. d) Retrieved on August 13, 2012 from http://www. best-job-interview. com/marketing-manager-job-description. html 07. Human Resources Manager (n. d) Retrieved on August 13, 2012 from http://job-descriptions. care erplanner. com/Human-Resources-Managers. cfm [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] ———————– Managing Director Human resource manager Accounting Manger Finance controller Director Marketing Manger Sales Manager

Nirma University CSR Activity Essay

Nirma is one of the few names – which is instantly recognized as a true Indian brand, which took on mighty multinationals and rewrote the marketing rules to win the heart of princess, i.e. the consumer. Nirma, the proverbial ‘Rags to Riches’ saga of Dr. Karsanbhai Patel, is a classic example of the success of Indian entrepreneurship in the face of stiff competition. Starting as a one-man operation in 1969, today, it has about 14, 000 employee-base and annual turnover is above Rs. 25, 00 crores. India is a one of the largest consumer economy, with burgeoning middle class pie. In such a widespread, diverse marketplace, Nirma aptly concentrated all its efforts towards creating and building a strong consumer preference towards its ‘value-for-money’ products. Now, the year 2004 sees Nirma’s annual sales touch 800,000 tones, making it one of the largest volume sales with a single brand name in the world. Looking at the FMCG synergies, Nirma stepped into toilet soaps relatively late in 1990 but this did not deter it to achieve a volume of 100,000 per annum. This makes Nirma the largest detergent and the second largest toilet soap brand in India with market share of 38% and 20% respectively. It has been persistent effort of Nirma to make consumer products available to masses at an affordable price. Hence, it takes utmost care to provide finest products at the most affordable prices. To leverage this effort, Nirma has gone for massive backward integration along with expansion and modernization of the manufacturing facilities. The focal objective behind modernisation plan is of up gradation with resource-savvy technology to optimise capabilities. Nirma’s six production facilities, located at different places, are well equipped with state-of-art technologies. To ensure regular supply of major raw materials, Nirma had opted for backward integration strategies. These strategic moves allowed Nirma to manage effective and efficient supply-chain. Nirma has always been practiced ‘value-for-money’ plank. Nirma plans to extend the same philosophy in categories as commodity food products, personal care products and packaged food. Distinct market vision and robust infrastructure allowed Nirma to have cost leadership. Apart from this, lean distribution network, umbrella branding and low profile media promotions allowed it to offer quality products, at affordable prices. The man behind the success of Nirma phenomenon – Dr. Karsanbhai Patel is a recipient of various awards and accolades. He has been bestowed with various awards like†¦ COMPANY VISION Nirma is a customer-focused company committed to consistently offer better quality products and services that maximise value to the customer. This customer-centric philosophy has been well emphasised at Nirma through: Continuously exploring & developing new products & processes. Laying emphasis on cost effectiveness. Maintaining effective Quality Management System. Complying with safety, environment and social obligations. Imparting training to all involved on a continuous basis. Teamwork and active participation all around. Demonstrating belongingness and exemplary behaviour towards organisation, its goals and objectives. Nirma is a phenomenon and synonymous with Value for Money. The brand transcends the specific dynamic of any particular product category, which is best captured in its above mission statement – a statement of sustained innovation, an unceasing effort to deliver better value to consumers, through better product quality. OBJECTIVE To know what is Corporate Social Responsibility To know wearies CSR by NIRMA To know effect of CSR by NIRMA on society. CSR ACTIVITY BY NIRMA Nirma’s vision visualizes itself as a vibrant, pro-active and widely admired, ethical corporate citizen. Nirma believes that exemplary achievements on the business points are not enough in the making of a good corporate citizen. In fulfillment of this role as a responsible part of the society and environment in which one operates, Nirma has undertaken a host of activities in the educational and social development areas. Realizing the significant role of education – especially technical and managerial in socio-economic development of the nation, Nirma played a vital role by establishing the Nirma Education & Research Foundation (NERF) in 1994. Recently, this Foundation has been awarded University status. This status gives way to shape up and expand into a body providing education in other courses like medicine, nursing, biotechnology, etc. along with the existing courses under a single roof of Nirma University. Today, this state-of-the art academic infrastructure runs various institution bodies such as Institute of Technology, Institute of Management, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Institute of Diploma Engineering. These all institutions are located in a disciplined, serene and pleasant environment. The campus blends beautifully with the green landscaping, aesthetic elegance of arches and the vibrant pursuit of knowledge by the young aspirants. The environment gives full scope for gr oup activities, which are plenty, as also to individual pursuits for development on preferred tracks. Education Institute of Management Institute of Technology Institute of Diploma Studies Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences Nirma Labs Another contribution of Nirma with an objective to nurture, promote and facilitate potential entrepreneurs in their pursuit of knowledge based large-scale wealth generation for stakeholders and society. The prospects will undergo the program of grooming and incubation at Nirma Labs, and will then be supported to build the incubated ventures with appropriate support. Nirma has already contributed Rs. 350 million for the development of these institutes, an amount, which is likely to rise further to Rs. 500 million. The infrastructure facilities created here are of international standards and they have already become models for similar institutes. Plans are underway to start Post Graduate & Research Courses in Management and Technology, as well as an IAS training center and a programme in Masters of Computer Applications. Nirma Memorial Trust and Nirma Foundation Nirma Memorial Trust looks after deprived women in Gujarat. It builds Ashrams and guesthouses for pilgrims and the elderly. The Nirma Foundation, set up in 1979, contributes towards the running of schools, colleges, temples and social institutions, within the state and outside. Chanasma Ruppur Gram Vikas Trust In Mehsana of which Mr. K. K. Patel is the founder trustee and President provides education, maintenance of public health and related facilities in rural areas. The trust has started several institutions in Ruppur, including the Arts & Commerce College, and an ITI training institute and a ladies hostel REFERENCES http://www.nirma.co.in/images/comimg/corp_presentation.swf http://www.nirma.co.in/social_responsibilities.htm http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/definition.php http://www.nirma.co.in/images/comimg/corp_presentation.swf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp http://mhcinternational.com/articles/definition-of-csr

Decision making in business Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10250 words

Decision making in business - Scholarship Essay Example Such studies indicated that successful organisations exhibited all of Indeed, as Drucker (2003) contends, decision-making is of such unique importance to organisations that the performance of managers and executive is largely, although not exclusively, evaluated in accordance with their decision-making capacities and abilities. While not intending to obscure the many other responsibilities assigned to managers or undermine the importance of any, the aforementioned is intended to highlight the fact that decision-making is, by far, one of the most important of the many managerial responsibilities. The significance of managerial decision-making stems from the fact that decisions ultimately influence and alter both management itself and the organisational as a whole. Accordingly, managerial decision-making functions as the criteria for the evaluation of management performance and for the determination of the likelihood of an organisation are satisfying its strategic objectives (Agarwal & Malloy, 2000; Lippitt, 2003). In order to further clarify this, and in so doing, defend and support the contention that decision-making is the most important of the managerial/leadership responsibilities, the componential and definitional elements of decision making shall now be analysed. The decision-making process consists of six primary elements that are the functions of decision making in implementing manage... A set cycle is completed once the objective that initiates this cycle is attained. Searching for alternatives is the second primary element. Searching consists of scanning both internal and external environment for pertinent information that to identify and develop a set of options for the likelihood of fulfilling the objective. Third is comparing and evaluating alternatives by using applicable techniques and criteria relevant to the objectives. The fourth primary element is the act of choice, in which a selection is made by the decision maker for a specific course of action from the various options and scenarios compared. Implementing the decision is the fifth primary element. In this element, a transformation of the decision from an abstract conceptual framework to operational reality occurs. Finally, the sixth primary element is follow-up and control, which ensures that the outcome of the implemented decision is compatible and in balance with the managerial objective starting the whole process. Figure 1: Managerial Decision-Making Process Several critical areas comprise the dimensions of management decision making (Harrison & Pelletier, 2000): organization, level, significance, rationality, strategy, outcome, and uncertainty. Some experts included intuition as an additional dimension featured in the decision-making process (Miller & Ireland, 2005). Each separate dimension and all dimensions combined affect how managers assume decision making responsibility and also how others assess whether a manager is being responsible. All dimensions have equal importance and significance in their contribution to the evolving and continual managerial decision-making process. Figure 2 highlights the

Marketing in Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing in Canada - Essay Example The proposed research paper will attempt to analyze the predominant themes in American marketing, and determine to what degree those themes continued to be used in the Canadian context. As a tentative thesis, this paper presumes that marketing strategies in Canada will, to a great extent, largely resemble marketing strategies that would be used in similar situations in America, and that firms that have both American and Canadian wings do not significantly alter their marketing strategies when advertising similar products or services on both sides of the border, an indication that such marketing strategies retain much of their effectiveness. OVERVIEW OF EARLY FINDINGS As a preliminary step to research, the author evaluated several marketing campaigns launched across both the United States and Canada, from companies with similar placements. At this stage apples-to-apples comparisons of marketing campaigns within a company (the way Ford markets a truck in the United States vs. Canada, f or instance), to attempt to control for the fact that a single company might choose to use similar marketing strategies simply as a cost-saving measures. Research was also conducted into marketing theory, looking into publications that de facto target a US audience as well as explicitly Canadian marketing publications. Throughout this process, some major themes in American marketing have become apparent: gender, patriotism, and technology. Most major marketing campaigns include one of these things to some degree or the other. GENDER Gender plays a major role in many marketing campaigns. Marketers try to connect many different products to the proper performance of gender. This is most clearly demonstrated through explicitly gendered products, such as Dove's normal line versus it's â€Å"Dove for Men† line, which promotes cleanliness as a masculine virtue rather than a feminine one, as is normally shown through marketing in their traditional line. This pattern is also apparent in non-gendered products: beer advertisements for men and for women will be very different from each other, despite being the same product and having many of the same benefits. Gender performance in the United States and Canada are very similar to each other, and one would expect marketing campaigns to feature gender in a similar way. PATRIOTISM Patriotism is rarely expressed explicitly, e.g. â€Å"it is the right thing for your country to buy this product,† - more often patriotism is invoked through connecting the product with demonstrated values of the country, such as strength or constancy, or it is made of products originating in the country. TECHNOLOGIES Technology is the area that might feature a stark difference between Canadian and American strategies. Though the United States, like most developed countries, is increasingly technology heavy, Canadians have proven to be more adept at adapting to social media than Americans. There is a higher percentage of Canadians who have adapted to social media, especially Facebook and Twitter, and they incorporate both of those technologies into their life faster. This might mean that companies need to put greater importance to social media in their

Customer Relationship Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Customer Relationship Management - Essay Example According to the research findings learning relations should mature for positive results to be achieved; the use of IDIC enables customization of customer relationship. According to Peppers & Rodgers, IDIC involves several tasks, which can assist an organization to build learning relationship. Identifying customers is very important for a company, since it is easier to know the preferences of that specific customer. Differentiating customers involves identify customers of different levels, and their different needs; indeed, interacting with customers is vital. Therefore, organizations must improve their interaction, which enables the company to identify the needs of customers. Customizing customer treatment involves engaging the customer in a learning relationship, which includes adjusting the company’s behavior to meet the needs of a customer. In addition, use of ICTs enables an organization to research on effective CRM tools, which can foster learning relationships, and as a result, attracting and retaining customers. An organizational chart clearly shows the structure of an organization. As a result, these charts aid in organizing the place of work, by providing managers with departmental information. Therefore, a well-organized structure will definitely boost the customer relationship management through prioritizing on customer needs and fostering healthy interaction with such customers. Below is the Imperial Limited’s organizational chart; this organization interacts with customers daily, as it provides decoration services for weddings and other events. Figure 1: imperial decoration company, organizational chart How should that chart be changed in order to facilitate customer management and to make sure people are evaluated, measured, and compensated for building the value of the customer base? Currently, the company comprises of the chief executive officer, a vice president, and managers in all the respective departments. Generally, managers ’ responsibility involves co-coordinating activities in their respective departments and reporting to the vice president, who reports to the chief executive officer. However, in order for the organization to foster customer value through managing relationships, it must be ready to identify, differentiate, and interact with customers. According to Day (N.d, p.2), organization structures include coordinating mechanisms; however, they should be more customer-focused. Imperial Decoration Company is a service rendering company, where the human resources department deals with employees’ welfare, which includes training, salaries, and annual leaves among others. The marketing department markets the company through advertising, good customer services, and promotion. The accounts department handles all the returns of the company. Competition is increasing and the company needs to

Digital Channels and Social Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Digital Channels and Social Media - Essay Example The most important part of business is advertising your products and services and social networks have made it very easy. The success of your business depends on more public relations you make. This was not easy some years back but now the world has shrunk into a global village and making social relations is easier than ever before. Finding your target market and serving them, sharing of information and ideas, updating your data details of sales and taxes, and following the market trends; these all tasks are now just as easy as that. Getting the feedback from your customers is of vital importance in every type of business. This job can be done through communicating with your customers; social media and digital channels provides us this valuable facility and use of this facility can take your organization to the height of success. Use of digital channels and social media in marketing: Digital marketing is a term defining upraise of your business by the use of different digital tools l ike emails, social networks and cellular services. The marketing of your business can be done very effectively by using digital technology and internet services. There are many uses of digital channels in marketing field some of them are discussed here. There are wide uses of digital marketing and social media networking. The most important use is your direct link with your customers this facility is provided to business organization and they can use it to increase their sales. The records of your customer and deals with them can be saved and reviewed at any time. You can save your time and efforts by addressing many of your customers at same time. The level of ease will increase and you... This essay approves that social media is another mean of interaction between people; social media is defined formally as the set of different online technology implements that make people to communicate easily through internet and share their information, ideas, views and resources with people of interest. It includes text, audio, video, images, podcasts, and some others. Different social networks like Facebook, twitter, and blogs are used presently for the convenience in every aspect of life. Social media are differentiated from other old fashioned media in many ways frequency, reach, quality, immediacy, usability, and permanence. The most appropriate use of social media is in the field of marketing, advertisement and public relations. Social media has affected the businesses; it has taken them from ground to higher levels. Social media is used as powerful tool for marketing of different products and services, different people have started their own small business and marketed their products of Facebook, tweeter, and other internet based social media. This report makes a cocnlusion that the first and top most ethical issue that can badly affect the repute of any business is use of social media and digital channels for customers’ feedback. When you place your product on a social media website for sake of market it may harm your business. Many people will comment and claim negatively and your product will lose the market. To build trust and credibility regarding the use of social networks and digital channels certain steps must be taken. Avoiding spam emails, popup windows, deceptive marketing and advertising to keep the trustworthy relationship with your consumers and satisfy their needs.

Management (in general) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management (in general) - Essay Example The leader must communicate to its members so that as a group, they will know what to perform in order to achieve their goal. The leader will give a group of instructions that will guide the members of the organization. The instructions must be clear enough to understand well by the members. Decision theory is a general approach to decision making when the outcomes associated with the alternatives are often in doubt. It helps managers with decisions on process, capacity, location and inventory, because such decisions are about an uncertain future. Managers in other functional areas can also use decision theory (Lundy). According to Lundy, "Management is principally a task of planning, coordinating, motivating and controlling the efforts of others towards a specific objective".1 This definition covers the three major functions of management, viz., planning, implementing and controlling. It points out management is what management does, i.e., planning, executing and controlling group activities. Thus, managing is an art of creating favorable performance environment enabling the group to attain stated objectives and management is the body of organized knowledge, i.e., science which underlines the art. "Management is what management does" - points out the functional approach to management and emphasizes the importance of distinctive managerial functions which together give us unified concept of the process of management. Functions of management are also called elements of management. An analysis of the functions of management points out what management does. It also provides the basis for defining precisely the word 'management' (Drucker). Broadly speaking, a manager is called upon to perform the following managerial functions: 2.1 Planning When management is reviewed as a process, planning is the first function is to be performed by a manager. The work of a manager begins with the setting of objectives of the organization and goals in each area of the business (Sherlker). This is done through planning. A manager proves the present to find where he is and he then forecasts future objectives which will indicate where he wants to be. The alternatives to achieve the objectives are evaluated and the selected alternatives become the plan of action. 2.2 Organizing Managing a business is not just planning. It includes putting life into the plan by bringing together the executive personnel, workers, capital, machinery, materials, physical facilities and other things or services to execute plans. When these resources are assembled the enterprise comes to life. Organizing involves determining and noting activities needed to fulfill the objectives, grouping these activities into manageable units or departments, and assigning such groups of activities to managers (Sherlker). Delegation of authority creates an organization. It determines authority - responsibility relationship. These relationships must be properly coordinated to secure unity of organization. 2.3 Staffing Staffing involves filling the positions needed in the organization

Assign 5 mjtjm Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assign 5 mjtjm - Assignment Example he author demonstrates the questions remains unanswered by stating that there is the absence of accepted viewpoints as the existing hypothesis were mainly on qualitative considerations that allowed different interpretation. The author chooses to use quantitative factors to answer the questions. The author mentions prior research carried out by Humphreys (1929 and others). The researcher considered that the variation of direct radiation was determined by the change in atmospheric transparency due to dust emitted during volcanic eruptions. However, the author disagrees with the findings arguing that the variation of the radiations could also be caused by increased atmospheric dust emitted by human activities1. The author uses observational images from the meteorological satellites, data from geological investigations on the level of volcanic activity and results of calculations of monthly mean values of radiation. There are no sampling issues involved in the research. The dependent variable in the study is that the changes in Earth’s temperature. The independent variables are the variations in the transparency of the atmosphere that depends on the level of volcanic activity. The hypothesis to be tested is precise as temperature change is related to change in solar radiations2. The author uses inferential statistics which is an appropriate approach based on the data available. The assumption is that the change in temperature and transparency in the atmosphere are linear. The author’s findings are that human activities influence the climate as the activities produce energy that produces heat that is an additional to the heat generated by the solar radiations. The author has an expectation that one of the glaciers expansions could reach the critical latitude that would result in complete glaciations of the Earth setting in. The author borrowed the conceptual definition from a piece of prior research3. The author concludes that human activities should be taken

Econ ON OLIGOPOLY & SOME GAME THEORY IDEAS WITH OLIGOPOLY Assignment

Econ ON OLIGOPOLY & SOME GAME THEORY IDEAS WITH OLIGOPOLY - Assignment Example In the contestable market the evaluation of dealings among current firms and prospective entrants is investigated more critically. The market incumbents maintain an oligopoly through the determination of price levels in the market in their favor. Again the oligopoly is maintained by the government favor and creates a barrier for other firms from venturing in the market. 2) Suppose there are two firms operating in an oligopoly (termed a â€Å"duopoly†), where the firm 1 cost function is given by C1 = 18Q1, for C1 = total cost, and Q1 = firm 1 output. The cost function for firm 2 is given by C2 = 21Q2, and C2 = total cost of firm 2, and Q2 = output of firm 2. The inverse demand for the product, Q, being sold by the oligopolist firms is given by P = 127 – 3Q, where Q = Q1+ Q2, and Q1 and Q2 are the same product (vats of toxic solution for breaking down chemical components to be used in downstream plastic manufacture). Taking into the consideration the Cournot model in regard to the duopoly that is two firms where both firms concurrently decide a quantity to produce. Designating the quantity q1 as the amount produced by firm 1 and q2 as the corresponding amount produced by firm 2. Therefore the total quantity The firm production choices are strategic substitutes. That is, an increase in the amount produced by firm1 (holding fixed the underlying amount produced by the corresponding firm 2) will considerably lower the market price and thus resulting in lesser profits for firm 2. Thus, every firm ought to take into consideration the prevailing the production decisions of the other supplementary firm in the process of undertaking its individual production decision Firm 1 possess a marginal cost of production equivalent to c1 accompanied by firm 2 which possess a marginal cost of production equivalent to c2. The corresponding Nash equilibrium is computed through the employment tow

The elephant and the blind man Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The elephant and the blind man - Essay Example one might reasonably expect them to approach the topic in much the same way; however, as was the case with the blind men and the elephant, this is not the case. Whereas policy makers approach the elephant (healthcare) within the perspective of attempting to create policy decisions which will provide a greater benefit to the highest number of shareholders, the economic costs of some of these policies are often not considered. In this way, the economic policy makers have a firm grasp and understanding concerning the elephant’s tail; however, they lack a complete grasp of the entire animal as a function of what parts they are not realizing exist. In this way, those that focus too intensively on a specific aspect of the issue will oftentimes miss the overall broader application. Similarly, those specialists that approach the elephant (healthcare) from the economic standpoint are trying to find the most viable ways to provide the level of care that is needed while still doing so under an economically viable and reasonably fiscal model. This is oftentimes an impossibly difficult process due to the fact that treatment options are almost never easily determined to be perfectly economic as well as exhibiting a high level of care for the patient in question. In this way, the health economic analyst will likely be examining the micro application of the policies put in place by the economic policy makers (macro approach). The problem lies in the fact that one particular approach is examining the â€Å"wall† of health care policy and trying to make sense out of it; whereas the other economic approach is dealing with explaining how the tail must function with relationship to the larger entity. In this way, understanding both approaches is necessary for creating a more efficient and better healthcare policy; however, appreciating the fact that both the â€Å"wall† and the â€Å"tail† have their own unique functions is vital towards gaining a more complete understanding of

Ap Us History Outline Essay Example for Free

Ap Us History Outline Essay General Information: Use your review text, other history text books, and/or reliable internet sources to complete each of the five (5) outlines over U.S. history from exploration through the Civil War. Be sure that all terms are defined and specific information is added under each topic. We will use this work in class over the first several weeks of school. All of this work should be placed in a folder and turned in by the designated date. This should be typed. You will need much more space than provided below. Adjust the spacing when you type your work. Native Cultures Early Exploration Do you remember this topic from elementary or middle school? Brainstorm any information that you remember. In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue The first people to discover the land were the nomads that traveled over the â€Å"land bridge† from Asia The Mayflower brought the first British pilgrims The Native Americans showed the pilgrims how to grow maize Pilgrims introduced the plague to Native American When/where for first arrivals— Christopher Columbus and his crew landed on the Canary Islands on October 12, 1492. List regions of North America and the Native groups living in each— Southeast- Cherokee,Seminole, Apalachee, Catawba Chickasaw, Choctow, Coushatta, Creek, Houma, Lumbee, Miccoukee, Timacu Mid Atlantic/Northeast- Piscataway, Lenape, Powhatan, Yaocamico, Algonquin, Iroquios, Narrangansett, Nipmuc, Peqet, Pokanoket, Wampanog Great Lakes- Cippewa, Fox, Shawnee, Huron, Kickapoo, Menominee, Miami, Oneida, Onondaga, Ottowa, Potawatomi, Winnebago Great Plains- Sioux, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Comanche, Arapoho, Crow, Dakota, Kiowa, Mandan, Osage, Pawnee, Wichta Califrornia/Mountains- Paiute, Shoshone, Cahuilla, Chemihuevi, Chumash, Costanoan, Diegueno, Hupa, Luiseno, Maidu, Pomo, Ute Pacific Northwest- Spokane, Aleut, Athabascan, Chinook, Colville, Coos, Nez Perce, Puget Sound Salish, Quileute, Quinault, Tlihgit, Tulalip Southwest- Navajo, Apache, Pueblo, Hopi, Keres, Maricopa, Mojave, Tohono Oodham, Pima, Yaqui,Yuma, Zuni Columbus the Columbian exchange- The Columbian Exchange refers to the transcontinental movement of animals, foods, plants, and diseases after 1492. II.Age of Exploration (1420 – 1620) What developments/changes BEFORE this time that had an impact on exploration? Political—the unification of small states into larger ones with centralized political power Technological— compass, astrolabe, cross staff, hour glass, the Spanish galleon Religious— the Protestant Reformation as a result of The Renaissance Military— The change in the way people payed for wars and the sudden need for a strong military was western Europe’s response to the challenges of warfare in the new age of gunpowder weapons Economic—The rise of capitalism created a largely urban middle class committed to expanding markets. As more people looked to buy products and goods, national and international trade interests grew . Nations/ Their explorer(s)/Major Reasons Motives for Exploration/Location/Success Portugal— Treaty of Tordesillas Ferdinand Magellan- first voyage around the world Christopher Columbus- discovered the New World; landed in Bahamas on first voyage Bartholomeu Dias- lead voyage around Cape of Good Hope (southern tip of South Africa) Pedro Alvarez Cabral- first European to see Brazil The Treaty of Tordesillas was created to settle disputes between Spain and Portugal over land discovered by Columbus. Motives: Wealth gold, silver and spices Power Increasing opportunities for Portuguese trade Spreading the Catholic Religion Spain— Christopher Columbus- financed by Spain and claimed much of the New World in the name of Spain Vasco Nunez de Balboa- crossed the Isthmus of Panama and claimed the Pacific Ocean for Spain Juan Diaz de Solis- landed in Uruguay Hernan Cortes- founds Veracruz in Mexico Motives: Wealth Power Prestige Increasing opportunities for Spanish trade Spreading the Catholic religion Building a Spanish Empire France— Jaques Cartier- landed in Newfoundland Samuel de Champlain- established Port Royal in present day Nova Scotia, founded Quebec Sieur de Bienville- founded New Orleans Motives: Gold Expand French Empire To capture and sell American animals furs in France 4. England— Sir Frances Drake- circumnavigates the world Sir Walter Raleigh- The Discovery of Guiana and establishing the Virginia colony of Roanoke Island Sir Humphrey Gilbert- established St. Johns, Newfoundland Motives: Wealth (failed) Competition with Spain and France Spreading Christianity C. Other European powers exploring the New World/Areas Claimed/Goals of Colonies Dutch- Henry Hudson was an Englishman who was sent by the Dutch; he landed in Labrador and headed south, down the coast. Colonized New Netherlands and New Amsterdam II.English Colonization in North America 1 Motives of English immigrants: escape religious prosecution  economic (business investments overseas)  place to work for unemployed  more political freedom 2 Types of Colonial organization Royal- owned by the King Proprietary- land grants from British Government to colonists Self-governing- set up ongovernment seperate of the crown (King at any time could revoke  privillage and declare the colony a Royal Colony) Thirteen English Colonies (complete chart in detail) Be able to compare/contrast. The Thirteen English Colonies |Region |Date of Founding|Founder or People associated with Early History of Colony |Environment, Economy, and Labor of the Region;| | | |Notes on the Early History of the Colony: Why it was founded, |the role of religion in these colonies | | | |significant characteristics, terms, and/or laws | | |New England | |Plymouth and |Plymouth – 1620 |101 colonists left England to head for the Virginia Colony in 1620. |It was very cold in the New England colonies, | |Massachusetts |Mass. Bay – 1630 |However, the Mayflower was blown off course and landed in |but this helped prevent the spread of deadly | | | |present-day Cape Cod and the town they established on December 21, |diseases (although it did not stop it). The | | | |1620 was named Plymouth. |harsh winters killed many. The land was | | | | |covered in hills and rocky soil. There was a | | | | |short growing season, so the natural resources| | | | |such as fish, whales, trees, and fur became | | | | |the most reliable so urces for survival. The | | | | |towns were to support the religion of the | | | | |Puritans, who did not tolerate other religious| | | | |views. | |Connecticut |1636 |John Winthrop, Thomas Dudley, and other non-separatist Puritans | | | | |founded the colony. The first Governor, John Endecott, was a staunch| | | | |Puritan who percecuted anyone with opposing views. | | |Rhode Island |1636 |Roger Williams was a Protestant minister who sought separation from | | | | |the Church of England. Eventually he was tried in Salem and banished| | | | |for his views. He purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and | | | | |founded Providence, Rhode Island. | | |New Hampshire |1623 |In 1623, under the authority of an English land-grant, Captain John | | | | |Mason sent David Thomson, a Scotsman, and Edward and Thomas Hilton, | | | | |fish-merchants of London, with a number of other people in two | | | | |divisions to establish a fishing colony in what is now New | | | | |Hampshire, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River | | |Middle Colonies | |New York |1625 |Originally call ed New Netherlands, was so named in honor of the Duke|These colonies are politically, socially, and| | | |of York to whom the territory was granted on its conquest from its |economically diverse. The rich land in | | | |first settlers, the Dutch who came for trade and furs. |Pennsylvania and the easy access to the ports | | | | |are the reason the Middle Colonies are | | | | |agricultural and industrial. This region | | | | |experienced the most religious pluralism. | |New Jersey |1664 |New Jersey was sold by the Duke of York to George Carteret and Lord | | | | |Berkley. It was colonized majorly for farming and trade. | | |Pennsylvania |1681 |The King granted the land to William Penn, who set sail from England| | | | |August of 1682 with Captain Greenway and the soon-to-be colonists, | | | | |who were mostly Quakers. | | |Delaware |1638 |Peter Minuit was Dutch and formed New Sweden as part of New | | | | |Netherland. When Charles II, King of England gave his brother James,| | | | |the Duke of York, New Netherland, James demanded and received its | | | | |surrender. He renamed New Sweden to Delaware | | |Southern Colonies | |Maryland |1632 |The territory was named Maryland in honor of Henrietta Maria, the |The founders of the se colonies came for the | | | |queen consort of Charles I. It was founded by Lord Baltimore, |sole purpose of making money. The area is | | | |because he had attempted to settle in Virginia and was rejected for |almost entirely agricultural, so there was a | | | |being a Catholic. |high need for slaves due to the increasing | | | | |demand for labor. The most common religion was| | | | |Anglican. | | Jamestown and Virginia |1607 |Virginia was founded by John Smith, who is remembered for his role | | | | |of establishing the first permanent English settlement in America, | | | | |Jamestown. This was the first successful English colony, which did | | | | |very well. With all of its exports and imports, it was able to | | | | |sustain itself very easily | | | | | | | |North Carolina |Carolinas – 1663 |The Carolinas were settled by proprietors, who were successful due | | | |NC – 1712 |to the rich soil for farming and the available wildlife for fur | | | | |trading. | | |South Carolina |Carolinas – 1663 |The Carolinas eventually split into the modern day North and South | | | |SC 1712 |Carolinas because of general cultural differences. | | |Georgia |1732 |James Oglethorpe was a British general from London, who joined the | | | | |army when he was 18, in 1714. After he had become successful in the | | | | |army, he was assigned to establish a new colony, Georgia, in 1732. | | | | |This was the last English colony to be founded in America. | | | | | | | General Social/Cultural Information Problems of early settlement – Jamestown, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay: Jamestown- difficult to produce harvest in the virginian soil spent all of their time looking for gold when they should have been preparing for survival had disputes with natives over land Plymouth- the settlers arrived at the very beginning of winter there was such a severity of food shortage that people resorted to cannibalism. Massachusetts Bay- most succumbed to disease or starvation Religion – ideas, important people and events: The colonies were mostly that of Puritans, Quakers, and Anglicans. Social ideas: If a man was absent from church, he would not be given his provisions for the week. For multiple offenses he could be whipped, or even hanged. Major cities: Philadelphia, New Amsterdam (changed to New York in 1674), Albany, Boston, Newport, Jamestown, Williamsburg, Annapolis, Charleston, Savannah, Providence, Baltimore, and Alexandria Labor: Law/politics/major steps toward democracy: Economic issues/relations with Britain: (define mercantilism) Problems a.Health: people often died of starvation or malnourishment. Disease also spread rapidly in the colonies. b.Cities: settlers had to develop their own form of government that was acceptable to the people of the colony. Indians (New England Indian Wars of 17th century): Both the Europeans and the Native Americans had a sense of superiority over  each other. This of course resulted in many disputes over things such as land. The New England Indian Wars of the 17th century include the French and Indian War of 1688-1763. These battles were a struggle for land and power, and resulted in the near-death of the indigenous tribes of eastern North America. Rebellions against authority: (Bacons, Leislers, Paxton Boys, Regulators, Popes) Bacon: In the New England Indian Wars of the 17th century, Nathaniel Bacon, Jr. rebelled against the authority of Governor of Virginia Sir William Berkley. After Bacon began his own group of volunteer Indian fighters and raiding a couple Indian camps, he was taken by Berkleys men and made to appologize to Berkley and the council for his actions. After immediately being pardonned, Bacon demanded to be named a General in the forces against the â€Å"hostile natives†. Reluctantly, Berkley gave in. The Enlightenment/Great Awakening: French and Indian War/Seven Years War (1754 – 1763)—For any war that we study, you should gather the following information. This will NOT be repeated on each outline. Major cause(s) (incl. â€Å"spark†): The French and Indian War resulted from ongoing frontier tensions in North America as both French and British imperial officials and colonists sought to extend each countrys sphere of influence in frontier regions. Major people/heroes (and what they did): William Johnson- He was one of the most successful negotiators with the Native Americans. Later he would lead the British to victory in the Battle of Lake George in 1755. William Pitt- Pitt assumed leadership of the British ministry in December 1756. His aggressive new policies for the war were a crucial part of turning the tide in Britains favor in the latter half of the war. James Wolfe- Major British general who led the British to victory in the Battle of Quebec. Major events (incl. turning point concluding battles): May 28, 1754 George Washington lead a successful surprise attack on the French. His troops retreat and establish Fort Necessity. July 3, 1754 The French take Fort Necessity June 17, 1755 The British seize Acadia May 8, 1756 Britain declares war on France August 8, 1757 The commander-in-chief of the French forces, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm takes Fort William Henry. The infamous massacre occurs. The turning point began when William Pitt took over wartime operations Advantages/disadvantages of each side: France had the support of most of the Native American tribes. New Frances government was more uniform, and was able to communicate to different areas more efficiently. While the colonies were more separate and had issues with communication, their navy was much stronger and had a population 15 times that of New France, so it was easier for the British to defend attack. Major strategies/plans: The French kept most of their forces in Europe, hoping a victory closer to home would be more beneficial. They sent barely any troops or supplies to their colonies. The British were almost always able to effectively blockade ports and prevent the trade and distribution of French trade and supplies. Costs (casualties/financial): In The French and Indian War there were 13,000 casualties and 40 million Pounds were spent. G. Results (treaties, land changes, PERMITS): The French and Indian War resulted in The Treaty of Paris.

Our Definition And Personality Theology Religion Essay

Our Definition And Personality Theology Religion Essay Earth is a mere planet in our thought to be an ever expanding universe. Many scientists have been able to identify some of the codes that build our universe and give it an identity based on laws of physics, chemistry and biology. Moreover, we humans are part of that space and time, and each one of us can resemble his own universe and act according to his own laws. Nevertheless, what factors govern the way we act or who we are? In addition to that, what are the factors that we build our character and personality on? A persons personality can be defined as his/her identity that is comprehended by the way we act, speak, think and believe. Ones identity is a result of numerous factors that can be categorized under sexual decisions, personal experiences, impact of travelling, participation in society and religion, and connection to origins. The factors of identity are many, but sexual beliefs have almost the most powerful effect on a persons identity. As we saw in The Diaries of Adam and Eve, ones gender reflects much on the character and personality of oneself (Twain 363-78). Since the beginning of the human race, the first aspect that determined each persons identity was his/her sex. Sex is a broad topic and has maintained much attention since Eve came into Adams world. The way we perceive life truly depends on our gender. Girls tend to view life in a loving and soft manner in contrast to males that believe in being tough and masculine. Our gender plays an important role also because of the way society looks at each gender. A female is required to act in certain ways as Mai Ghoussoub describes in her text Missed Opportunities: Me and My Gender: you play with boys, you enter their classrooms, obtain better grades than many of them and then you are asked to obey them or accept the inequality that places them above you ( 396-401). Moreover, today possibly the most talked about subject in the Arab world is sex before and after marriage. Starting with males, sex before marriage is encouraged and counts as a plus on a mans CV for marriage. Since it is impossible to know if a man has had sex before marriage, he has been granted that privilege and is free to do what he wants. However, a woman having sex becomes marked. Before marriage, she becomes a social outcast and viewed as a shame to society, but after marriage she is honored to be giving her husband that special gift called virginity. These gender discriminations most definitely affect ones identity since we are all free to do what we feel is right. Ones decision about choosing to confer to the inequality of genders or rebel against it or having sex before or after marriage is highly anticipated in the society we live in, and as soon as we decide what to do, we would add one more building block to our character or more importantly to our identity. We grow up in different environments and are introduced to different things at different times and conditions. Our story is similar to that of Eves as described in The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain (363-78). We are all born in to this world clear of thoughts and ambitions, but as we grow up we get acquainted with our surroundings and discover the world around us. Being newly introduced to this world, we tend to question everything and formulate our own understanding of the nature we are brought into. According to the empiricism theory, our entire knowledge depends on the experiences we undergo, but there is a question on the table today; do our genes determine our personality and identity? Berkeley, a British empiricist, believes that The mind operates upon the ideas given to it, comparing or contrasting them; it does not merely record what is there (Hamlyn). Hence, we can observe that ones identity is strongly related to the experiences he/she witnesses in life. In addition to that, a person is influenced by other people as well. Furthermore, ones actions are in a relation to the surrounding environment and depend on the conditions found in it (Hamlyn). The people we encounter in life influence our thoughts and the experiments that we base our hypothesis on. As we saw before, personal experiences have a major effect on a persons identity and travelling is one of the most impacting experiences one can witness. Travelling around the world introduces the individual to all the different cultures and traditions that define others identities. This creates a wider range of knowledge on which we construct part of our identity. People who travel often try to go back to their origins in a later time in their life; the farther they are from their homeland the more they feel the need to connect to it. In House of Stone, Introduction: Bayt we witness how the author developed a deep connection with his grandfathers old house although he has travelled far away. He still appreciates the presence of the house and shows passion and regret to how he left his town and his roots. To him, the house is his identity, and had he not travelled, he would not have realized its great importance (Shadid 95-99). In Shadids text we see how travelling can make one reali ze his own identity, but there is a downside to everything. In Downtown Beirut- A City of Ghosts? the Lebanese people are invaded by new ideas and cultures to the extent that their land has lost its identity. Beirut became a place for everyone except the Lebanese people (Mohsen 117-22). From what the article states, identity is related to the land where a being expresses his self in, by creating memories in it and a place to call home. Religion can be counted as the highest rank in personal experiences and due its major impact it can be considered a category of its own in defining identity. The true meaning of identity is rendered useless in a vacuum world. The answer to Fearons question what is your identity? may vary according to the situation and the surrounding factors. An example of multiple identities is the duality of light characteristics which is considered wave or a particle depending on its current situation in nature. Therefore identity is the definition of the characteristics of an object associated with its surrounding (Fearon). By comparing light to humans we can clearly see that each persons identity is defined by his relation to other people. What we do in society is the true meaning of our identity. Society has many situations that affect us, and religion has been around for more than a century. It is a path that everyone has to take at some point in his life and it imposes its own identity on the person by managing to take control of his decisions and actions. Since we already saw how personal experiences and our decisions affect our identity, it is obvious that religion is a major factor that plays a role in each part of the identity equation. Ones participation in society is the key to developing his identity relative to it and to the world; however, religion imposes restrictions that guides the person to a certain position in society and gives him a predefined identity. Our identity is not only related to the present time we live in, but also to the past that lead to our being. What our elders left for us or what is called our heritage is yet another factor of identity because it marks the objects that we begin to build our thoughts on and narrows down the possible paths we take in life. An example of heritage identity is observed in Anthony Shadids text House of Stone: Bayt where the house of Isber samara becomes the symbol of Shadids original identity and his homeland (95-99). Traditions also count as a subset of ones origins where they interfere with an individuals experiences and thoughts by guiding them along the track of their elders identities. Identity is a word used to describe an object whether it was a living human being or bloodless hard rock. It is a very general word with a very specific meaning and effect on the universe. Nothing is created to just fill space in this galaxy, and everything has a certain job it has promised to fulfill. We have categorized some factors of identity to be able to understand the concept more clearly, but after this analysis we can conclude that our identity is what we want it to be. In the end, identity is basically who we are and its factors build up in a chain reaction that we can control most of the times. We can choose to have sex, to travel, to experience what we want, to follow religious paths or not and whether or not to maintain a connection with our familys and societys past.

Visual cryptography

Visual cryptography Introduction One of the popular solutions for image encryption is visual cryptography. Secret sharing concepts are used to encrypt a secret image into the shares (customized versions of the original image) which can be transmitted over an undeveloped communication channel and by overlapping shares, the secret message is obtained Visual cryptographic solutions are based on binary or binaries inputs. Due to this, natural images must be first transformed into halftone (this is a technique which uses different density of dots to display the image) images to simulate the original gray or colour levels in the target binary image To create the shares, the halftone version of the input image is used instead of the original image. The decrypted image is made by stacking the shares together. Because binary data can be displayed in an apparent form when printed on transparencies or viewed on the screen and overlapping shares that contain apparently random information can expose the secret image. However, the decrypted image is darker, contains a number of visual damages due to the algorithm that is used for the process and the resolution of secret image is increased by most of visual cryptography solutions (Lukac at el,2005) and(Lukac 2006). 1.1 Objectives The base of protected communication among users using insecure channel is known as cryptography. In order for cryptographic security to take place, an algorithm is involved for the practice of encrypting and decrypting messages In its basic form, one image is split into two separate images called shares. When the shares are stacked on top of each other, the unique image is retrieved A general n out of n visual cryptography scheme involves n participants in which a secret image is split into n random looking shares and all n shares are required to recover the original image. 1.2 Aims The important idea behind Visual Cryptography is to encrypt information in the form of images in a secure and flawless way The information must be encrypted before it is sent, so that it cannot be illegally read or modified in the middle of transmission. Suppose 4 persons have deposited their money in a bank account. These persons obviously do not trust each other. In particular, they do not want a single member of themselves to withdraw the money. However, they assume that withdrawing money by two members of the group is not considered a conspiracy; rather it is considered to have received authorizations Therefore, they decided to set the bank code (with a trusted computer) into 4 partitions so that any two or more partitions can be used to reconstruct the code. Since the persons representatives will not have a computer with them to decode the bank code when they come to withdraw the money, they want to be able to decode visually: each thief gets a transparency The transparency should yield no information about the bank code (even implicitly). However, by taking any two transparencies, stacking them together and aligning them, the secret number should pop out. How can this be done? (Naor and Shamir, 1994) proposed a solution and introduced a simple but perfectly secure way that allows secret sharing without any cryptographic computation, which they termed as Visual Cryptography Scheme. The simplest Visual Cryptography Scheme is given by the following setup. A secret image consists of a collection of black and white pixels where each pixel is treated independently To encode the secret, the original image is split into n customized versions (referred as shares). To decode the image, a subset S of those n shares is picked and display each of them onto a transparency In this project, a new visual cryptography scheme is intended for shadow images. The proposed scheme will be flexible, easily implemented, and more secure for shadow images. Moreover, shadow image structure is augmented to reduce the chances for an attacker to guess the secret. Literature Survey 2.1 introduction Visual Cryptography was introduced by (Naor and Shamir, 1994) at Eurocrypt, an annual conference sponsored by the International Association for Cryptographical Research (IACA) to encourage discussions and seminars among cryptologists all over the world In that, the description is about a new cryptographic scheme that encodes a black and white image into n shares. Decoding is done with the human visual system when the n shares are placed on transparencies and stacked on top of each other. They included several schemes to implement a visual cryptography system in their presentation Since that time, the paradigm of visual cryptography has attracted wide attention all over the world. Several papers and projects have been presented to extend visual cryptography. Schemes have been invented for a general k out of n sharing scheme and to cover gray scale and colour images as well(Jim Cai and Zhou,2000) Even today, research continues in the field of visual cryptography and papers regarding contrast, extended schemes are being published regularly This research addresses the few questions concerning visual cryptography, and will attempt to answer these questions in the context of the research by using experimental approach into the problem of visual cryptography, these questions are: what is cryptography? What set of features should be used in visual cryptography? How to reduce chances for attackers to get the secret of shadow images? 2.2 Theory This section will attempt to explain the basic theory behind visual cryptography. Consider a black and white image (not gray scale). It is made up of black pixels and white pixels grouped such that when viewed with the human eye, the picture (or word, symbol etc.) can be seen. To encrypt this image, each pixel from the original image is taken and converted into sub pixels. For sake of this discussion and for simplicity, let us assume that each pixel will be converted into two sub pixels and there will be two shares If a pixel is white, then one of two combinations of sub pixels will be randomly chosen to represent the pixel on each of the shares. When the shares are stacked and properly lined up, the sub pixels for the white pixel produce the result In both sets of sub pixels for the white pixel, it can be seen the result is one black sub pixel and one white sub pixel next to each other. When viewed with the human visual system, the result appears to be gray (combined effect of white and black next to each other) On the other hand, if a pixel is black, then one of the two combinations of sub pixels will be randomly chosen to represent the pixel in each of the shares (same idea as the white pixel). However with black pixels gives two sub pixels next to each other. To the human eye, this appears as a share by itself gives no visible information from the original image because the sub pixels are evenly distributed on each share (one black sub pixel and one white sub pixel for each pixel in the original image). These combinations (black/white and white/black) occur with probability 1/ 2 providing a share with randomized pixels and thus not revealing any hint of the original image. When the shares are stacked, the white pixels are seen as gray, while the black areas remain black (Naor at el, 1994 ,Lee at el,2003 and Voyatzis,1996) (Naor and Shamir, 1995) thought about the problem of encrypting material such as: printed text, handwritten notes, pictures, etc in an absolutely secure way which can be interpreted directly by the human visual system Furthermore, they have explained that the basic model includes a printed page of cipertext (which can be sent by mail of faxed) and a printed transparency. The system they developed can be used by anyone who lacks knowledge of cryptography and without performing any cryptographic commutations. Moreover, they noted that the best way to visualize the visual cryptographic scheme is to consider a concrete example In cryptography, the process of transforming data (referred to as plaintext) where the process uses an algorithm (called cipher) is called encryption. The encrypting process make the information unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The encrypting process results encrypted data (in cryptography, referred to as cipher text). To read encrypted data, the encrypted data should be made readable. So the reverse process is called decryption. In real world, the software for encryption can typically also perform decryption to make the encrypted information readable again (ElGamal,1985 and Rivest,1978) Encryption has long been used by militaries and governments to facilitate secret communication. Encryption is now used in protecting information within many kinds of civilian systems, such as computers, storage devices (e.g. USB flash drives), networks (e.g. the Internet, e-commerce), mobile telephones, wireless microphones, wireless intercom systems, Bluetooth devices and bank automatic teller machines. Encryption is also used in digital rights management to prevent unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted material and in software also to protect against reverse engineering (Encryption) Encryption, by itself, can protect the confidentiality of messages, but other techniques are still needed to protect the integrity and authenticity of a message; for example, verification of a message authentication codes (MAC) or a digital signature. Standards and cryptographic software and hardware to perform encryption are widely available, but successfully using encryption to ensure security may be a challenging problem. A single slip-up in system design or execution can allow successful attacks. Sometimes an adversary can obtain unencrypted information without directly undoing the encryption. (Maurer,1994 and Diffie,1976) Moreover, The optimality of VC is determined mostly by its pixel expansion and the relative contrast and, the relative contrast needs to be as large as possible to ensure visibility (Alvarez at el,2005). In the scope of this research, the works related to contrast optimization will be explored. Works related to deriving lower bound of pixel expansion m can be found in (Naor and Shamir, 1995), (Rivest at el,1984) etc. The research on contrast optimization was motivated by the problem of extra graying erect introduced to decoded image. This occurs because the decoded image is not an exact reproduction of the original image, but an expansion of the original, with extra black pixels. Research methods -Doing a thorough investigation into basic visual cryptography -Careful study of algorithms used in visual cryptography -Checking out a suitable development environment and a suitable frame work that can ease the image processing tasks -investigating shadow image structure for visual cryptographic practices such as pixel expansion and the relative contrast -This project emphasizes, intends and evaluates a computer-based system using appropriate processes and tools, as follows Front End :Java Back End :Microsoft SQL Server OS : Windows XP and Windows vista IDE : net beans 6.7 The net bean IDE is used for following features: In this project, net beans Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is used because its tools, debugging and performance monitoring. Net bean IDE for developing applications saves the time by managing windows, settings, and data. In addition, an IDE can store repetitive tasks through macros and abbreviations. Drag-and-drop features make creating graphical user interface (GUI) components or accessing databases easy and highlighted code and debugging features alert to errors in the code The application is developed by java because of following features Java is a graphical user interface programming language Java supports to platform independent mechanism Java is a general purpose and object oriented programming language The most striking features of the language are that it is platform neural language Java program is under the control of JVM; the JVM can contain the program and prevent it from generating side effects outside the system. Thus safety is included in Java language. Java is mainly adopted for two reasons Security Portability These two features are available in java because of the byte code. Byte code is a highly optimized set of instructions to be executed by the Java run time system called JVM. The features of Java which are adopted for the network system explore are Multithreading Socket programming Swing Multithreading Users perceive that their world is full of multiple events all happenings at once and wants their computers to do the same. Unfortunately, writing programs that deal with many things at once can be much more difficult than writing conventional single threaded programs in C or C++. Thread safe in multithreading means that a given library functions is implemented concurrent threads of execution Swing Swing refers to the new library of GUI controls (buttons, sliders, checkboxes etc). Swing is a rapid GUI development tool that is part of the standard Java development kit. Swing is a set of classes that provides more powerful and flexible components. Swing components are not implemented by platform specific code. Instead they are written in Java and therefore are platform independent (java doc).

A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay -- essays papers

A Good Man is Hard to Find Virtue and â€Å"the grandmother† If you were to ask someone what their definition of a happy life would be, they would probably give you an answer like, â€Å"having fun.† This is completely untrue in Aristotle’s terms. According to Aristotle, for a man to lead a happy life he must learn each of the intellectual virtues, and practice each of the moral virtues throughout his life. These moral virtues are justice, courage, temperance, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence, and wisdom. With so many virtues to constantly abide by, a man cannot know if he has led a happy life until his life is nearly finished. In the story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† by Flannery O’ Connor, the question is raised whether the grandmother has achieved a state of happiness according to Aristotle’s terms at the time of her death. The answer is no, because she is a person who is dishonest, cowardly, and unwise. Of all the virtues, honesty is practiced the least by the grandmother. Honesty is defined as â€Å"The capacity or condition of being honest; integrity; trustworthiness† (Honesty). There are several examples of the grandmother’s dishonest and untrustworthy actions. In the beginning of the story, â€Å"The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida† (O’ Connor 1106), so she made up false excuses to try to persuade her family to take her to Tennessee. â€Å" his fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida. I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it’† (O’ Connor 1106). On the way to Florida, the grandmother notices an old house she visited as a child. When she wants to stop and re-visit the house, the grandmother tells the... ...n the story, (honesty, courage, and wisdom) none of the virtues are abided by. Although there are six other virtues, all of the virtues must be abided by in order to achieve happiness. Besides, if the grandmother doesn’t abide by the three virtues represented in the story, this leads one to believe that she doesn’t abide by any of them. In conclusion, the grandmother does not lead a happy life in accordance to Aristotle’s theory of happiness. Bibliography: Works Cited â€Å"Courage.† The American Heritage College Dictionary. 3rd ed. 2000. â€Å"Honesty.† The American Heritage College Dictionary. 3rd ed. 2000. O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's 1999, 1106-1117. â€Å"Wisdom.† The American Heritage College Dictionary. 3rd ed. 2000.

Skin Cancer :: essays research papers

Skin Cancer Cancer is a word used to describe a group of diseases. Each has its own name, its own treatment, and its own chances of being cured. Each is different from the others in many ways, but every cancer, whatever its called or whatever part of the body it is located in, is a disease of the body’s cells. The millions of tiny cells that make up the human body are so small that they can be seen only by looking through a microscope. There are different kinds of cells, but they all make new cells by dividing into two. This is how worn-out, old cells are replaced with strong new ones. When a cell changes and doesn’t do the job it should do for the body, it divides into more cells like itself, then these cells keep dividing into more cells. A group of these cells is a tumor. There are two kinds of tumors. A benign tumor is not cancer. The cells of a benign tumor can crowd out healthy cells, but they cannot spread to other parts of the body. A malignant tumor is cancer. Like a benign tumor, it can take over other healthy cells around it, but it can also spread to other parts of the body. To do this, a cell or group of cells from the tumor breaks away and moves, usually though the blood, to other parts of the body. There they divide and start tumors made of malignant cells like the ones that made up the first tumor. When this happens, it is called metastasis. Skin cancer is the most prevalent of all cancers, and it’s increasingly common. About a million Americans will develop skin cancer this year. It is a disease in which cancer cells are found in the outer layers of skin. Skin protects the body against heat, light, infection, and injury. It also stores water, fat, and vitamin D. The skin has two main layers and several kinds of cells. The top layer of skin is called the epidermis. It contains three kinds of cells: flat, scaly cells on the surface called squamous cells, round cells called basal cells, and cells called melanocytes, which give skin its color. The inner layer of skin is called the dermis. This layer is thicker, and contains blood vessels, nerves, and sweat glands. The hair on skin also grows from tiny pockets in the dermis, called follicles.

A Global Language Essay

As a Untied States citizen, English is the first language of any American citizen. If we add another foregin language to the criteria of our nation, The United States would not be a mixed diversity of race anymore. The Ethnicity would be the same, but our race would be different. For example, The United States of America has been a diverse country with many races such as, American, African American, Hispanic, Chinese, etc. As the generation ages, the country should be open to learning a new languages. When a language acquires a global identity as English has done, many unexpected things can happen. The two main conflicting issues that have come out as a problem are identity and internationalism. Internationalism here means the ability for a language to be understood. It calls for a standard that is agreed in terms of grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuations and the conventions of its use. There is no doubt whatsoever about English being a global language in these times we are leaving in. It has become the language of communication and technology and any one who does not want to be left behind in all this has no option but to learn it and eventually English speakers in the coming years will increase extremely. This in itself will disadvantage the native English speakers as they will be outnumbered by the non-native English speakers. They will be the only ones speaking one language as they will see no reason in learning a second language. With time the English language will be controlled be the many non-native speakers who will have become competent in it. The language will then diversify into many versions that will then bring about a lesser understanding than it was initially intended. Communication is the most phenomenal factor in the live of human beings and this has been greatly advanced by the existence of global language. This is language that is used beyond the borders of a single country and this has created understandings among the countries. A global language is sometimes known as ‘lingua franca’ and includes French, English, Latin, and German among others. Having such a language is sometimes beneficial and may also be detrimental to those who are using it. This discussion will explore the instances where English as a global language is overridden by disadvantages. It is important to note that most of people use English as their second language besides their native language. People whose English as their mother-tongue language have an advantage over the other group of people since they easily develop the ability to manipulate the language. This will however be disadvantageous to the other speakers who have English as their second language and will have many problems and waste most of their time trying to master the language. Dominance of English as a language also creates the notion in the minds of many people that their native language is not important and unnecessary. This will create a room of discrimination of the minor groups in the society and further enhance it because language in most cases is used as an identity. This may make the threatened individuals to abandon their language thus enhancing extinction.

Interview with President of Medela Corporation

For this interview, I was so fortunate to have President of Medal Corporation Dry. Quickens with me on Monday. Dry. Quickens as a guest speaker for course ASSESS operation management invited by Professor Burger. Medal Corporation is a company provides quality products like breastplate and breastfeeding accessories for the needs of nursing mothers around the world. Medal is a Swiss privately held company; it based in Machinery, IL, has more than 600 of employees with about $400 million revenue last year.They are business-to-business based company have about 6,000 customers around 35 countries worldwide. He mentioned their product flow process, the first two steps kind like the Chapter 3 in the textbook. First, they will do Forecasting which also means estimate how many PANS retail customers will order so their supplier â€Å"MINCE† can buy parts to build product for them. The reason for that is because Medal products only when they get an order, also known as â€Å"make-to-ord er†, not â€Å"make-to-stock†.Second step is Demand Planning; elect all PANS' forecast by all departments, retailers, hospitals and hundreds of MINCE Stock keeping units as well. Then is Supply Chain using lead times ERP software calculates parts to order and when, also the pre-step of purchasing. After that they Purchasing, taking Customer orders, making Production Planning, then having Warehouse ready and finally they start Production process and shipping them to customers around nationwide.Then Medal realized getting breast milk from mom to baby is not enough for them from the marketing point of view. As its target market evolves, they should continue to stay relevant to their customer's needs, which is mom. Mom nowadays is very different from any pried of time with different values, behaviors and media habits. The things like social media and smartness. These Moms are true digital native people. So, in order to truly connect their special needs, Medal come up the id ea to build a social media system.By using this way, they not only could give mothers' access to the information and education about the benefits o proper use their feeding system, but also as part of company's social media strategy, it also essential for facilitating their brand relationship with mothers' values and trusts. Medal's development plan is focusing on helping mothers meet their breastfeeding goals, and support their efforts, which is to breastfeed longer. Mothers can communicate their experiences to each other through this software. Also by providing this software 2417 all day ability support and available for all the mothers.The benefit from the marketing point of view on the one hand could attracted more mothers using this, on the other hand could help them to build a biggest and activist mother social communities ever. Mothers actually get points according to how active they are on the site. By reaching certain points Medal will send they some coupon online. And for the company later could use this to lunch their new products with low cost of advertising all thanks for this brilliant system. Dry. Quickens mentioned â€Å"its not about price for our products, its about the products experiences and what can do for all their customers. †

The Garden

I remember my first day of finishing school clearly. Nightingale finishing school for Girls was buzzing with pupils, ready for the new school year ahead of them, and telling tales of their . I felt out of place. It might have been that I had the wrong hairstyle, or that my shoes were not the right style, maybe it was the fact that I had nobody to talk to, maybe it was all of these. I know now that it was something much stranger than that, a power that repelled certain people away from me – it was like trying to attract wrong ends of magnets together. I saw a group of girls and decided they must have been the â€Å"popular† clique. There was a buzzing air around them, as well as a larger crowd. They were all stunning; with not a hair out of place. They looked over to me as I stood alone. The look was icy, and I presumed this was just because I was the â€Å"new girl†, an outcast. I turned away and found a place to sit alone, when I felt a sharp tap on my back. It was one of the girls from the corner. She had waist-long, wavy butter-coloured hair. Some of her hair was secured with a very ornate cameo pin. Her fluttering eyelashes curled upwards in the most graceful fashion. Even her drab school uniform seemed to suit her perfectly. She had the elegance and beauty of an exotic white tiger. I turned around and said nothing; I was far too intimidated to answer. It seemed as if the tiger was ready to pounce. â€Å"Who are you?† There was a sharp pause. â€Å"You must be the new girl then.† I tried to reply but simply couldn't. It was like trying to talk when under the pressure of deep water. She looked at me as if I were a leper. Offended, she mumbled something inaudible and snarled like a dog, â€Å"What's the matter with you? I want to warn you not to get in the way here. Don't mess with us and you might just get along here.† All eyes seemed to be on me as she hurried back to her crowd, to regain her place as â€Å"queen bee†. Her friends laughed and then went back to their conversation as if nothing had happened. Half way through my day, I knew that I wouldn't fit in very well; I was frustrated at the fact that I might not find any friends at all. As soon as we were allowed a free period and retire to the hall again, I escaped to the great library. It was a large, magnificent room, which looked as if I could blend in and not be noticed by anyone. The walls, books and floor were my only company. I reflected over my day and what had happened. Nobody understood what I was going through, and how difficult it was for me to speak to them. This triggered thought about my late mother. She died at the tender age of 33. Mostly, I'm over the death of my mother. At the time of her death, I didn't understand what was happening. I thought that I was too young to be wearing a black dress; only older women seemed to wear them. It was more uncomfortable than my normal dress and I didn't want to wear it at all. I didn't understand at my young age that it would have been unacceptable, and disrespectful to my dead mother, for me not to. The clothes my mother dressed me in were much more comfortable, and they smelt of her scent wherever I went. The week after her death, I started to wonder where she had gone. I missed her greatly after a few weeks, because my father was much stiffer and stricter, if he was there for us at all. He seemed more into his work and gambling than caring for his children. My personality, as well as my brothers', changed at this point. I became much more reserved, unwilling to talk to anyone other than my brothers. I didn't particularly feel like talking to them either; I only talked to them when it was necessary. Nobody seemed to worry about me, either. I spent most of my time in our luscious garden. I enjoyed the cool shade of the willow tree in the summer; there I could hear the sweet birds chirping. I could smell the blooming flowers, their rich colours like confectionery to the eyes. Here was the only place I could find peacefulness, and shut myself out from the rest of the uncaring world. I disliked my father for what he had done; he was responsible for sending me here†¦ â€Å"Hello.† My quiet thoughts were interrupted. â€Å"I wondered if you knew where the gardens were.† I looked up at my intruder, confused. There were no gardens, as far as I knew, at this school. He was a tall boy, of about fifteen years. I noticed that he wasn't very handsome, but there was a mysterious air about him which made him seem attractive. I wondered what he was doing here; this was a girls' finishing school after all. I attempted to say that I was new here, and didn't know where it was, but all that came out was a muffled squeak: â€Å"No, sorry.† He started to walk away. He turned around and said â€Å"Oh, okay. Good night. And may I say that you have the prettiest eyes I have ever seen.† I blushed violently, and went back to my book about wild animals. * That night I had a spectacularly vivid dream. I could see luscious green grass and fragrant flowers filled the space. I saw the beautiful colours of the wildlife; exotic birds and unidentifiable mammals. There was a small spinney which caught my eye; the branches were waving slowly in the cool breeze, and a pool of sparkling water beside it. The landscape was truly beautiful; it was like being in a different world. I saw my mother reflected in the water where I leant over. She looked as beautiful as ever, as beautiful as a rose. She was slightly different from what I remember, as if she had bloomed further. Her face was a little more blushing and her nose was slightly more pointed. Her strawberry-blonde locks looked just like mine, as well as her beautifully deep blue-green eyes. I realised after a few seconds that this was not my mother, but I. I was truly taken aback by how much I looked like my mother; I suppose I had not before looked into my own reflection properly. That was the day that changed my life. I had not experienced such a vivid dream before, but they started to happen much more often. They started to affect my concentration in the school; I longed to be outside, free, with no cares and responsibilities. I thought that it was just my imagination running wild, and longing for my comfortable past back. Having an appearance like my mother's helped my self-confidence. I was sure that she was extremely beautiful. I knew that I could never look as dazzling, as striking as her, but I knew that I was certainly not ugly. I noticed that my voice was coming through once again; no longer a muffled squeal. However, I still felt like hardly anyone liked me. I spent my evenings in the library, my secret hideaway. I was starting to get used to this school; life wasn't as bad as it used to seem. * A year later, and my evenings were still as normal, uninterrupted and peaceful. I felt a wave of sleep come over me, so I closed my book and curled up into a ball. I didn't realise at the time that this was not in a most ladylike fashion; my tiredness seemed to take over. It was not unusual to feel tired after a long day, so thought nothing of it at the time. Whilst in my sleep, I had another vivid dream. It was pleasant, the season in my world seemed to have changed to winter, but it was still beautiful. A soft blanket of snow covered the grass, and sparkling ice covered the pool of water where I often sat and thought about my mother. The leaves had left the trees in the spinney, and a layer of frost covered them. It was quite spectacular, everywhere sparkled and dazzled in the midday sun. I stumbled over a root in the spinney, but a striking evergreen bush broke my fall. â€Å"I'm sorry for my impoliteness,† I was awoken. It was a boy, the same boy that I had come across on my first day at this school. â€Å"But I wondered if I could talk to you?† I felt shy, but also warmed by his presence. Something about him made me feel slightly more comfortable than usual. This feeling was similar to the one I had when my mother was still alive. I was daydreaming, and didn't realise; there was a pause in the conversation. â€Å"It's just that†¦ I feel as if we are in the same situation.† He said, and sat down on the couch next to me. As I was slightly taken aback by this, I said nothing. My face asked the questions. â€Å"My mother died when I was young. I came here because I sensed that someone with the power was near.† He said, gently. â€Å"I know that you've had trouble fitting in, just like I did. People like me and you don't, generally. People can sense that you have something different, which wards them off.† I was slightly confused, so I decided to ask him what the power was. Was it the power to enter a secret garden in my sleep? â€Å"What is the power?† â€Å"It is when you have the ability to enter a supernatural world, full of peace and harmony whenever you wish. I gained mine a few years after my mother died; she passed the power on to me. That is why I asked you last year whether you knew the way to the gardens.† I began to understand. This boy truly knew what I was feeling, and I could talk to him, as if I were a normal girl and my feelings mattered to him; he could empathise with me and vice versa. We instantly connected and I felt at ease. I couldn't believe that I had met someone who knew how I felt, and what my life was like! We had been talking for two hours before I noticed that I was late to my dorm room. â€Å"I have to go†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I said. He asked me if I could stay for just a little while longer. I knew that inside, I wanted to stay. I wanted to stay with him forever, but simply had to go. I left after a couple of minutes. I was ecstatic; I couldn't have asked for more than a friend at that point in my life. I don't know what I would have done without somebody to understand me, at least for one day. I never did ask what he was doing at our girls' school that day; the thought never crossed my mind whilst our conversation was flowing. It flowed like a river, never ending, and as we continued to meet it stayed that way. We shared our secret desires and passions, as well as sharing the stories of our past. Together, we also discovered that we could enter the garden with each other. I don't know how it happened, but as we held each other in a warm embrace, the light appeared. We did so more and more, and over the days, weeks and months, the garden appeared to bloom – just like our friendship. The garden's wildlife became more and more stunning. Even the non-living pool appeared to be spilling with life. He was my only friend, and I wanted it to stay that way, forever.