Key Players: Decision Making in Terrorist Incidents

Decision making is defined as â€Å"simply the act of choosing among available alternatives about which uncertainty exists† (Mingst, p. 457). However, decision making is not an easy process especially with the participiation of individuals within the government.   Individual elites or the â€Å"key players'† decisions and actions greatly affect the course of events as well as the situation of the country when one of various factors are present and one of which is during time of crisis like terrorist incidents (Mingst, p. 133).The decisions made by these elite individuals are influence by politics within the government which eventually affect their actions (Mingst p. 460). The effects of the choices that they make are not always advantageous as sometimes it have its adverse consequences in the situation of the ccountry. A good example to exemplified such idea is the aftermath of President George W. Bush's decision to attack Iraq. Three imporatnt areas were badly affect ed by it, the country's domestic cohesion, the international standing of the United States of America and the insecurity felt by those immediately affected by the decision.The domestic cohesion of the United States of America has been greatly affected by Pres. Bush's decision . Many citizens especially the ones leaning towards the democratic side did not agree with his reasons of doing such in the name of U.S. battle against the war on terror. Moreover, the domestic consensus became much harder to achieve with the issue of personal gain.Opening   Iraq's oil economy would greatly benefit the Bush family, being a member of one of the largest American oil company the Washington's Carlyle Group (Chenoy, p. 23 ). A clear   indication of which is the drop in the approval ratings of the president after his speech that ordered the deployment of more troops in Iraq. Sixty percent of those who were surveyed expressed their disapproval in Pres. Bush's performance (Iraq drives Bush's rating to new low, 2006).Another area that is adversely afftected is the international standing of the country. Many states as well as international organizations are not in favor of the U.S. president's course of action. This immediately put the country in a bad light especially its leader because the non-approval of these states emphasizes the illegitimacy of this action. A good example is the European Union (EU) that has been the country's partner in economic activities but they didn't support Bush's action against Iraq. EU believes that America's unilateral strategy would not benefit their multi-polar interest (Chenoy, p. 25 ).Lastly, is the effects of this decision to the citizens of Iraq as well as to the U.S. soldiers.  Ã‚   The war has left numerous casualties in terms of death tolls, damage to property, as well as the over all security of the country (Chenoy, p. 27). According to the Iraq Body Count Project (IBC), there were 947 civilian deaths reported between 1st and 27th of February this year (Enforced security: solution or stopgap?).The weight of an elite individual's decisions and actions is greatly felt in crisis situation like terrorist incidents. The choices they make could have numerous effects in the country of their leadership and to others as well. Unfortunately, the politically driven decision of these â€Å"key players† could have adverse consequences in the lives of many people.Works CitedChenoy, Anuradha. Demystifying Terrorism : a War Against Terror & The Terror Of War, US   Ã‚  Ã‚   Hegemony & Militarism. ARENA, 1997.â€Å"Enforced security: solution or stopgap?†. 28 February 2008. Iraq Body Count. 12 May 2008..â€Å"Iraq drives Bush's ratings to a new low†. 14 March 2006. CNN. 12 May 2008.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ;http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/13/bush.poll/;.Mingst, Karen. Essentials of International Relations. Norton, 2001.

Ben Franklin and Thomas Paine Essay

From the end of the 1700s and through the early 1800s, America was beginning to see a change in civilization. People were moving from Puritan thoughts and ways towards a new way of a less superstitious, more scientific and intellectual interchange. This movement called the Age of Enlightenment influenced the styles and writings of those like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine. The Age of Enlightenment was a period of questioning and appliance of reasoning to explore many subjects, such as civil rights, often left untouched. People were leaving behind their Puritan pasts and advocating the use of scientific method instead of superstitious beliefs of religion. The Enlightenment takes its name from those who wanted to contribute to a brighter future and society. According to Henry Clark, â€Å"Paine’s importance rests on the fact that he was an idealist, a man who envisaged a happier way of life for all men in the future, who thought in the light of first principles such as the equality and sacredness of all souls before God, and who, since he believed that in the past the life of the common people had been miserable, demanded a sharp break with the past, with tradition† (Clark). He wrote â€Å"Common Sense† even though he was acting in treason because he held firm to his beliefs that America should be independent.. He uses many techniques while writing, one being the overall patriotic and simple tone. Staying away from Latin phrases or philosophical arguments, Paine wrote â€Å"Common Sense† in simple terms, referring to the Bible and making the overall tone similar to that of a sermon. For example, he writes, â€Å"In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments and common sense† (Paine 335). He wanted to make sure that all Americans could understand the idea of independence, and that independence from England could be achieved. Paine also uses a number of aphorisms to introduce his argument. By doing so in â€Å"The American Crisis†, he captures the readers, allowing them to understand these small, witty statements on a personal level. For example, Paine writes, â€Å"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph† (Paine 345). By using aphorisms, he was able to hint the audience of what is to come throughout his writings. In another example he writes, â€Å"These are the times that try men’s souls† (Paine 345). These aphorisms make the reader think and ask themselves questions that are later answered through the text. The Age of Enlightenment was also evident in Benjamin Franklin’s writings. The Autobiography† establishes in literary form the first example of the fulfillment of the American Dream. He writes of the possibilities of life in America through his own rise from the lower middle class as a youth to one of the most admired men in the world as an adult. Furthermore, he states that he achieved his success through a solid work ethic. For instance he writes, â€Å"It was about this time that I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection† (Franklin 307). He wants have that American dream, so he comes up with the thirteen virtues to help him. He proved that even undistinguished people can, through industry, become great figures of importance in America in his writings. His â€Å"The Autobiography† also reflects idealism. He somewhat writes of intellectual flourishment and political thought and during part two, he is trying to live them out. According to Betsy Erkkila, â€Å"while the Revolution is not present as part of the manifest content of Franklin’s narrative, it is present as the political or narrative unconscious of Franklin’s â€Å"Life†Ã¢â‚¬â€œas a scene of social crisis, bloody contest, and challenge to traditional structures of authority in family, society, church, and state† (Erkkila). This meaning that even though it wasn’t spoke of directly, the revolution was desired by Franklin so others could have the American dream and achieve as he did. In conclusion, the Age of Reason, or The Enlightenment was a good period for the New World. Through the literary works of those such as Paine and Franklin, they helped create and mold the definition of America and the American dream. Franklin and Paine used numerous styles of writing such as aphorisms, themes like the American dream to help America succeed.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

War, by its very nature, is an act that is a display of horror, violence, terror, suffering and most of all death (William Einwechter, 2004). But the question is, can the engagement of a nation in a war be considered just? What exactly is a just war? By definition, a just war is a conflict that is engaged by two nations with a fixed set of rules for combat (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006). But this exception applies if the two combatants possess similar traits (Philiosophy, 2006). In the Christian perspective, war, or the engagement in it, is bound by certain qualifications to make the war devoid of sin (Einwechter, 2004).God Himself has depicted Himself as a warrior, waging wars on the unrighteous (Einwechter, 2004). It would be understood that if warfare is inherently evil, then warfare would not be a correct and accurate depiction of God's character (Einwechter, 2004). And second, God directly ordered his people to engage in war, to annihilate threats to their country a nd people (Einwechter, 2004). But to better get a grasp of war, we must include in the two views that are inherent in the decision to see if a war is right or wrong.The pacifist belief holds that all war or the engagement in war is inherently wrong, while the realist belief states that in war, all is fair and right (John Buell, 2002). But the concept of engaging in war cannot be deduced to the superiority of one party over the other in terms of military might (Paul Ramsey, 2002). To Christians, what is made as the case for declaring a war unjust is when the commandment against killing is viewed in a legalistic manner, precluding all other interpretations (Ramsey, 2002).The war on terrorism cannot be viewed therefore as a just and correct conflict (Dale Snauwaert, 2002). Terrorism is not an identifiable enemy, just as what God commanded in the ordering of wars against certain and specific people (Einwechter, 2004). As President Bush's statement attests, the war is on terrorism, not o n a single threat of a nation or alliance (Snauwaert, 2002). The President's â€Å"war† is not with a terrorist nation, but an ideology, a strategy (Snauwaert, 2002). Secondly, in the Bush war, the threat is not imminent (Snauwaert, 2002).It is what the government calls â€Å"pre-emptive action†, an attack against a perceived, not an actual, threat (Snauwaert, 2002). The mandate for the use of violence, such as in engaging in war, is the prevention of violence, not the spread of it (David Nils Gyllenhaal). Citing from law enforcement, if a criminal will do more harm if he is not killed, then the actions in war is to stop the incidence of a nation's actions in spreading its violence, and that will take force to accomplish (Gyllenhaal).ReferencesBuell, J. (2002). Just war theory and the wars of the 20th century. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from http://www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2002/3/02. 03. 01. x. html Einwechter, W. (2004). A Christain Perspective on just war. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from http://www. visionforumministries. org/issues/ballot_ box/a_christian_perspective_on_jus. aspx Gyllenhaal, D. (n. d. ). Just war theory: a new church perspective. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from http://www.newphilosophyonline. org/journal/data/111a/Gyllenhaal_Article– New_Philosophy_January-June_2008. pdf. Ramsey, P. (2002). The Just War: Force and Political Responsibilty. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield 2002 Snauwaert, D. T. (2002). The Bush doctrine and just war theory. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from http://www. trinstitute. org/ojpcr/6_1snau. pdf. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2006). Just war theory. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from http://www. iep. utm. edu/j/justwar. htm

How does the military lifestyle affect the social development and Research Paper

How does the military lifestyle affect the social development and academic motivation of adolescents in high school raised in military families during a time of war - Research Paper Example orted on their nature of adapting new places or rather new environment, control exertions, and how fast they adjust to new environment through institutionalized report toward oneself measures. For the ones who were deaf, there was a questionnaire with the same questions as those asked verbally.The results shows that adolescents living in military families reported hoisted levels of behavior issues as indicated by settled clinical standards. Be that as it may, ponder findings likewise show that control endeavors and maternal help act as critical defensive elements against the improvement of behavior issues and enthusiastic symptoms, whereas to abstain from adapting is related to more prominent enthusiastic symptoms (Marting, et al. 2000). It also shows that, those who are affected directly during the times of war are depressed and they are performing poorly in school. Descriptive statistics are utilized to portray the fundamental gimmicks of the data in a study. They give straightforward rundowns about the specimen and the measures. Together with straightforward graphics investigation, they structure the premise of essentially every quantitative examination of data. They are typically extracted from inferential statistic. It is the idea of one number that summarizes the whole measurement. Taking the gender and age as our demographic variable of the adolescents, let X denote the number of boys who were in the sample of adolescents and Y denote the number of girls in that sample. X +Y equals to the whole sample which was taken randomly as per the rules of random sampling. In central tendency, the median is the number that is at the middle of all the measurements or rather is the number at which half the measurement are exceeding that number and the other half are less than that number. The sample has to be arranged in ascending or descending order, then the number at the middle is the median. The descriptive statistics brings out the behavior of the variables

Difference and effect between chinese and american parenting Research Paper

Difference and effect between chinese and american parenting - Research Paper Example These two approaches are different but the same cannot be said of the effects that emanate from them. As puzzling as this may sound, the Americans who handle their children with gentleness and the Chinese who tend to be somewhat harsh eventually achieve a similar goal. According to Yates (p.3), the Chinese adapt to the culture of shaming and manipulating children and many times the children adapt to the environment. Similarly, the Americans apply their own tactic of encouraging a child even when there is evident disappointment. In both cases, the parents are aiming at the same goal, which is to improve the student, but applying differing tactics. Worth distinguishing at this point is that manipulative parenting is not similar to authoritarian since the latter tends to motivate a child with fear while the former with challenges. Whereas some have argued that children brought up through authoritarian tend to be well behaved, Porter (p.543) claims these children tend to be less-resourceful and poor self-image. The American parent hardly uses this approach but some Chinese parents have applied. Instead, it is recommended that parents apply either the authoritative or permissive. These two approaches allow parents to set standards for children but in the permissive case, the parent avoids enforcing the standards. An authoritative parent will set standards enforce them but portray a very high level of nurturing the child (Oreilly & Candida p.4). Upon failing to meet a certain task, a Chinese mother will most likely insult or deny the child perceived rights. In contrast, the American will give the child, appreciate first before commenting on the need to improve. A recent book by a renowned author, Amy Chua, seems to suggest that children tend to respond more to threats and denial of what they consider luxurious. The effect of this approach by the Chinese parent

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS - Essay Example A Brief History of Monopoly Law in the United States Monopolies came into being in the United States during the colonial administration. The public sector wanted to make some new world and old immigrants changes. Most companies were provided with exclusive contracts by the colonial administrations. Even after the colonial handovers, the American nation functioned effectively to ensure that the contracts and the land were held. Since then, the federal Government usually implements the antitrust laws. The laws seek to protect consumers from companies that tend to become monopolies and abuse the market. These laws include the Sherman Antitrust Act, which prevents the formation of a monopoly. If a company decides to operate in a monopolistic manner, the Act seeks to remove it from the market. In case there are any antitrust laws, the government takes charge through the office of the U.S or through the respective Attorney in the States. In this case, the United States Government and the 1 9 States filed a suit against Microsoft for operating as a monopoly. The Sherman Act forms the basis of modern-day Anti-trust legislations whose mandate is to protect consumers from wayward corporate practices that aim to exploit them. In essence, the Act tries to promote integrity in the market and for companies to operate in a competitive environment. Monopolies together with their subsidiaries or acquired companies can lead to great developments though the only downside is their control on the market. Unless monopolies prove a threat to national security, they can be embraced for the provision of certain products and services (Yao and Loo 34). Monopolization has a downside, since it is the sole supplier of certain goods and can decide to produce substandard and low quality goods (Boldrin and David 36). Monopolies create barriers to entry in the market due to large economies of scale among other factors (Yao and Loo 34). This reduces the marginal costs in producing additional unit s since the price is increased. Therefore, it is better to remove monopolies and promote competition, which will ensure good quality goods at affordable prices. This eliminates price fixing and the exploitation of end users (Boldrin and David 33). Firms may collude to operate as one in distribution of products. This is possible where the companies are involved in a similar business operate producing related products. Collusions lead to the formation of oligopolies, which reduces competition in the market. The firms can be involved in the price fixing that disadvantages the buyer. If the large firms collude, they gain the market and result in imperfect competition between the large and small firms. The firms obtain market power and thus determine prices to the disadvantage of the smaller firms. An example of oligopoly is the internet where few firm control the internet. These are shaw, Telus, Bel and Rogers. Government monopolies are usually involving in distribution of products, whi ch if left to the private sector would undergo exploitation. An example is the armed forces and the military (Lynn 22). In my opinion, Google is a monopoly company facing many criticisms most of the prompted by Microsoft. The main question has been whether Google is abusing its monopolistic position. Studies reveal that the company has been encrypting traffic for many years, and the recent changes were prompted by the USA over Kerfuffle as they attempt to force people to

Music and I Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Music and I - Assignment Example Essentially, the playlist motivates me to be comfortable with who I am, not to succumb to fear, to have a positive outlook towards life, and to be thankful of the people who make my life worthwhile. The process of creating this playlist was informed by songs that have helped me overcome different types of challenges in life. The songs are arranged according to the importance they have played in my life in as far as my making me a better person and my overall wellbeing is concerned. Bob Marley’s â€Å"Redemption Song† is a solo recorded acoustic song with very interesting aspects. The beat in the intro is quite unique in that it seems disposable and is not repeated again throughout the song. The rhythms seem syncopated. The song ends on an unusual beat. The limited use of instruments in the song, considering that only an acoustic guitar is used further enhances the mood of the song. Bob’s tempo increases towards the bridge as if he is trying to really force a message on the listener. According to Sylvan (2002), although some songs are not religious in nature, they contain somewhat spiritual and religious messages. This song is one of those songs that helps me to identify with my inner self and focus on aspects of my spirituality thus improving my wellbeing. According to White (2010), the ability of people to achieve wellbeing usually depends on their geographical settings. Labi sang this song as a protest to apartheid and in a bid to encourage black people in South Africa not to give up despite the oppressive political environment. The vocals in this song are simply amazing. Labi has such a wide vocal range that it is difficult not to be drawn to the song even as a first time listener. The song serves as a form of encouragement to me whenever I feel like certain conditions are inhibiting my personal growth. I sing along to the song and I learn how to derive strength from my inner self and not to rely on other

Platos Republic and Modern Day Totalitarian Politics Term Paper

Platos Republic and Modern Day Totalitarian Politics - Term Paper Example In the contemporary society, every individual identifies themselves to political legitimacy while, elected leaders believe their election provides them with a political mandate, and also legitimacy. Conversely, authoritarian leaders or politicians believe their decisions are in line with citizen’s interest and suggest their rule only prevails until the citizens can take over. Hence, when viewed in popular discourse, it can be said that authoritarians too claim that their legitimacy is depended on a popular mandate. Most leaders, and especially dictators often reiterate that their acts are not against the popular legitimacy. Plato is viewed as being anti-democracy, and among the originators of the school of thought of totalitarianism. Plato himself believed it is ideal to appoint one supreme guardian also referred to as, the philosopher king (Michels 522). This according to Plato should be individuals withholding proper education and is competent to implement legislative polici es. Further, as reiterated by Plato, the philosopher king needs to be someone incorruptible as a result of his own desire being, knowledge. The Republic described by Plato presents various dialogues between Socrates and other observers in regard to political theory resonating with a just state. Plato never believed in democracy and focused on a perception that not every individual in the society had the ability to make wise choices or decisions. As stated by Socrates, the Platonic principle revolves around a few people within a just city considered possessing wisdom. Further, the Platonic principle suggests that the majority should place their trust in the few people whose desire is truth and wisdom, to provide leadership. In addition, such people are considered to be rational, and as a result, provide a ruling cadre that is just, and ensure the city that they rule is also just (Michels 526). According to Plato, Justice is not a tenet for the ruling within a capitalist society, and contribute minimally within a democratic republic. Plato never admired or believed in money since he regarded its power as corrupting the mind. Plato believed the society would exist in harmony without the presence of money. When a question was raised in the Republic of how the city could protect itself, yet there is no money, Socrates responded that the neighbouring cities would come to their aid if promised what remains after a war. In the world today, as part of advancing democratic principles, war is seen as a source of amassing national wealth. In essence, leaders who are motivated, not by justice often find means for rationalizing their immoral actions and use the ends for purposes of justifying the means. As a result, The Republic advocated for a view where morality should outweigh rationality (Brooks 51).The Plato’s assertion of leaving power into the few chosen who have the wisdom and desire to make the right choice can be associated with the emergence of totalitaria nism in the modern world. Individuals gain power today and form a belief system that power is a reserve for a few and establishes a dynasty, as a result. A number of governments across the world that today practice a totalitarian rule push their way into power as a result of popular consent from the population believing in their ability to make wise choices for the benefit of the entire population.  Ã‚  

Theory of Managing and Leading Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Theory of Managing and Leading Change - Essay Example The evaluation of this decision rests solely on the shoulders of the decision makers at AEGON who were doing their best to expand their business realms within different international markets. Since comprehending the environment was mandatory on their part, their next step was to get familiarized with the key issues that they shall be getting used to as far as managing operations were concerned. This is a certain aspect that reduction of uncertainty will come about as a positive step for the sake of managing and leading a positive change, in line with the AEGON case. The theory of managing and leading change is essentially the inherent basis for the sake of AEGON since it wishes to move towards the UK market and explore the market there. Since the people have a diabolical and confusing perspective regarding the life insurance and pensions industry in general, AEGON is marred with such viewpoints on the part of the people and this is where leading a positive change comes into the equat ion. It shall resolve the ambiguities that exist within the related domains and create a room of optimism all around. Appointing a new CEO for the UK market is a step in the right direction as it will set the basis for bringing in a new thought process into the fray. Also instituting audit committees would resolve the issues which have sprung up for all the wrong reasons within AEGON for a specified period of time. Essentially speaking, leading and managing change is a difficult process which once undertaken can only rein in positive results for organizations and their top management realms. Hence it would be a good option for AEGON to enter the UK market and make a name for its own self which will be the basis of its success in the years to follow (Marshak, 2004:112). Â  

The Disaster at New Orleans Essay Example for Free

The Disaster at New Orleans Essay The city of New Orleans is one of the most culturally diverse urban centers in North America. It was founded in southeastern Louisiana on the banks of the Mississippi River some 180 km away from the Gulf of Mexico. It was built in 1718 on the east bank of the river and south of Lake Pontchartrain. The city was named for Philippe II, Duc d’Orleans, the regent of France during the era of Louis XV. It soon became one of the most active commercial port centers of the country. Its diverse culture later turned it into an international tourist destination (Hass, 2006). Unfortunately, New Orleans was built on a strip of land on the Mississippi Delta that experiences constant sinking of the land. This coupled with rising seas presents a great danger to the city. Floods and storm surges are the most feared natural disasters that could occur. To prevent this, Billions of dollars worth of levees, sea walls, pumping systems and satellite hurricane tracking have been set in place to allow for the protection of the residents of New Orleans. However, it seems, the problem of New Orleans became even bigger with these remedies (McQuaid and Schleifstein, 2002). In 2002, New Orleans Times-Picayune released a five-part report on what could possibly happen if a major hurricane reached the city. As the world would see in 2005, all the speculations and predictions of this report became painfully true. The situation back then up to 2005 grew only worse. New Orleans was already 3 feet below sea level a century ago. This means the effect of storms is amplified against the city. Furthermore, coastal erosion of barrier islands and destruction of the marshes present a big threat because hurricane winds and flooding could go inland undeterred. The city is surrounded by water and has areas that are below sea level. The levee system built to protect the city made the city a huge bowl ready to receive water that reaches past the levee but unable to drain it somewhere else. The levees also prevent the continued growth of the delta through silt build-up coming from up the river. Huge structures built on the strip of land contributed to the sinking of the land (McQuaid and Schleifstein, 2002). Models way back in 2002 of the possible scenarios if a hurricane did hit the city were already grim at best. Most of the city would be underwater and the levee system that was built to protect New Orleans would be its own undoing. These pushed scientists to try to find ways to avert disaster. One proposed solution was to build a flood wall of up to 30 feet high bisecting New Orleans and Jefferson Parish to create a community haven on the river side of the wall where they could retreat and also protect buildings from invasion of floodwaters from the lake. In 2002, government agencies and other leaders supposedly mobilized themselves to try and address the rising risk from hurricane strikes. The Federal Emergency Management Agency prepared new responses to the flooding of the New Orleans bowl. Some of the findings were that the levees be raised and lost marshes and barrier islands be rebuilt but the efforts would have been worth at least $14 billion (McQuaid and Schleifstein, 2002). In August of 2005, the feared category 5 hurricane finally came. Hurricane Katrina began as a category 1 hurricane in August 25 when it passed southern Florida. It moved west on August 26 to straight to Louisiana. The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico strengthened it turning it into a category 5 hurricane by early Sunday, August 28. The National Hurricane Center had predicted the second landfall for August 29. By then, around a million people had already been evacuated from the affected areas of southeast Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin had already ordered mandatory evacuation of the city on August 28. However, 100,000 of the 469,000 citizens of New Orleans did not leave either because they were too poor or were too sure that they would not be affected by the impending disaster (Drew, 2006). Katrina suddenly weakened to a category 3 storm just before making landfall and shifting a bit thus sparing New Orleans from the strongest winds. However, the disaster that had long been predicated came still came to pass. Tidal surges of six to eight m or 20 to 25 ft came in from the gulf and destroyed the 18-m or 11 mi long earthen levee system that protected St. Bernard Parish. The tide also surged further inland into the Industrial Canal destroying the concrete floodwalls and making large breaches that flooded one of the poorest neighborhoods, Lower Ninth Ward, by up to four m or 12 ft of water. The strong winds also pushed water from Lake Pontchartrain back up the drainage canals north of the city. Although the city was spared from the worst doomsday scenario predicted, damage that had long been predicated came to pass (Drew, 2006). As New Orleans found out later, the worst was yet to come. After the storm, only eastern sections of the city were flooded and the most obvious damage was to the glass panels of high rise buildings and rips on the skin of the roof of the Louisiana Superdome which also was used as the main evacuation center of the city. After the storm, floodwaters from Lake Pontchartrain poured through huge breaches in the walls of the 17th street and London Avenue drainage canals which were supposed to carry out rainwater from the city. These drainage canals, instead, brought more of the water into the dry center of the city (Drew, 2006). The wealthy and middle-class neighborhoods in the northern side of the city were flooded with the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by nightfall of August 29. Emergency communications that were supposed to be used for rescue and relief operations came down and looting became widespread across the city. The Superdome, that lost power during the storm, was surrounded by flood waters, trapping 25,000 evacuees in a dank sweatbox reaching temperatures of up to 100oF or 38oC by morning of August 30. Although the flood waters did not affect the historical French Quarter of the city, by evening of August 30, the city’s residential areas were inundated with 200,000 homes damaged 50,000 of which were severely damaged. The scenario developing was grim and terrible but much of it was predicted before the actual event. Corpses were trapped inside flooded homes but some floated out the water-filled streets. Thousands were stranded on the interstate, the only evacuation point for New Orleans residents, without food or water (Drew, 2006). Perhaps the most frustrating part of the experience was that the decision-makers were apparently unable to handle the situation properly. As in all disasters, when city and state officials become outmatched and overwhelmed, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must step in to address the problems. It was obvious that despite the early predictions given by scientists, the city did not have evacuation protocol for the 100,000 people who did not have cars and the preparation of the shelter that could hold the people for a day or two. The buses that could have been used for the evacuation should have been staged at the Superdome but were trapped in flooded garages. The police force that was supposed to respond after the storm was trimmed to only 249 instead of 1,600 further delaying the rescue operations (Drew, 2006). The decision-making structure included the mayor of New Orleans, the governor of Louisiana and the head of FEMA and its ground commander. As was later seen, the structure was ineffective in delivering aid to the city and only resulted in bickering among the many officials. This led to more damage to life and property and made the situation even worse. The governor took two days to commandeer buses around the state to evacuate the city. FEMA did not even begin calling in other buses until two days after the storm. One third of the Louisiana National Guard was apparently in Iraq and it was not until September 1 and 2 that help from the Guard troops from other states came. Though FEMA and the Guard provided food and water to trapped evacuees at the Superdome, the 20,000 people inside the New Orleans Convention Center were given very little aid (Drew, 2006). He flooded areas of the city became infested with molds and water became murky from oily sludge and other chemicals. Months after the storm, only less than 100,000 people returned to New Orleans. Many did not leave the metropolitan areas of much safer cities where they decided to find new jobs and start new lives. All this made Hurricane Katrina the costliest natural disaster in American history and the third deadliest. The cost was estimated at around $125 billion and rebuilding of the levee systems to handle category 5 storms was estimated at $30 billion and would take up to five years (Drew, 2006). More than the hurricane itself that was inevitable, the decision-making structure was extremely flawed. FEMA was unprepared to handle the situation and differences between the state and city officials aggravated the situation. This obviously had huge effects on the private sector especially in New Orleans were everyone found themselves as victims and evacuees. Damage to the city was unprecedented and extensive and resident population declined drastically. The private sector except tourism was inevitably affected by the disaster. Some of the most important lessons include the fact that the levee system must be reexamined to become more effective in its function of preventing flooding inside the city. Decision-making must become more efficient and coordinated among city, state and federal officials to provide quick response to any disaster. It was a disaster made by both natural and man-made causes. It is imperative that the man-made part be solved before the next big hurricane hits the city. Bibliography Drew, Christopher. Hurricane Katrina Disaster. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2006. Haas, Edward. New Orleans. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2006. Katrina Timeline (n. d. ) Retrieved 7 June 2007 from http://thinkprogress. org/katrina-timeline. McQuaid, J. and M. Schleifstein. (2002). Special Report: Washing Away. Retrieved 7 June 2007 from http://www. nola. com/hurricane/indexQS. ssf? /washingaway/index. html.

Aerobic Bacteria Associated with Septic Abortion

Aerobic Bacteria Associated with Septic Abortion Aerobic bacteria associated with septic abortion among Sudanese women Yagoub Hamadt Allah Elhaj Abd Elseed1*, Mohamed, A E.M. Ibrahim2 Waled Amen Mohammed Ahmed3 Abstract Background: Septic abortion is a common health problem with short- and long-term complications that affect the quality of life of those fortunate enough to avoid mortality. Both spontaneous and induced abortion may result in septic complications. Objective: This study aimed to isolate and identify aerobic bacterial causative agents of septic abortion in Sudan. Method: A descriptive study was conducted in the period from March 2013 till June 2013 in Gynecological Unit in Khartoum Teaching Hospital, Sudan. Thirty women with vaginal bleeding in the unit were included in the study. Thirty high vaginal swabs and cervical swabs were collected from the selected ladies admitted to the hospital with bleeding. Results: The prevalence of abortion was as fallows, in age group(20-25) abortion cases were (13.3%), in group(26-30) abortion cases were (33.3%), in group(31-35) cases were (20%), in group(36-40) cases were (33.3%) (P > 0.05). Isolated bacteria from those cases were; Staphylococcus epidermidis (86.2%), Klebsiella ozaenae (6.9%), Proteus mirabilis (3.4%), Escherichia coli (3.4%) and Staphylococcus aureus (3.4%). The present study showed that induced abortion (73.3%) was insignificantly more than habitual abortion (26.3%), (P=0.07). Conclusion: The major isolated organism was Staphylococcus epidermidis (86.2%), which was isolated from both complete and initial cases. But aerobic pathogenic bacteria isolated were Klebseilla ozaenae, Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Keywords: Septic abortion, vaginal swab, pregnant women, Stahpylococcus epidermidis. Introduction: Septic abortions contribute significantly to maternal morbidity and mortality. Improving literacy rate in the female population and effective family planning should reduce its incidence [1]. In 1900, the rationale of therapy of the incomplete septic abortion was divided into a medical or surgical approach. Medical therapy comprising oxytocic, bed rest and supportive measures theoretically decreased the incidence of sepsis, while increasing the problem of blood loss and prolonged hospitalization. The surgical approach classified by some as controlled blood loss but theoretically increased the incidence of sepsis [1]. In 1973, a report described an adolescent admitted to a large Boston Teaching Hospital with what proved to be incomplete septic abortion [2]. Deaths from illegal abortion are mainly due to infection[2,3].Additional to that At 1990 a review of deaths due to abortion in the united states noted that 62 percent of the deaths from illegal abortion and 51 percent of deaths from spontaneous abortion were due to infection, as compared which only 21 percent of death from legal abortion [4] . Mccormick (I944) estimated that 3,500 women died annually in America from this complication of pregnancy and a recent estimate in Turkey suggested that 10,000 women a year died from this cause in that country[5]. A recent publication by Sedgh et al. (2007) estimated that a total of 42 million abortions were performed in 2003, down from 46 million estimated for 1995 using the same methods. The same study showed that 20% of all pregnancies, including miscarriages and stillbirths, terminate in abortion each year. This means that one out of every five pregnancies worldwide is voluntarily terminated annually, a statistic that illustrates its enormous dimensions. Expressed another way, the worldwide rate of induced abortion was approximately 29 per 1000 women between ages 15 and 44 years in 2003, down from 35 per 1000 in 1995. This means that globally one out of every 34 women within that age range has an abortion each year [6]. On the basis of verbal autopsy data and hospital records it is estimated that approximately 25% of maternal deaths are caused by hemorrhage, 15% by infection,12% by pregnancy-induced hypertension, and 8% by obstructed labor[7]. At the last years it has been observed that there is an increase in the prevalence of septic abortion among pregnant women, and its complication upon community. Septic abortion is considered nowadays one of the most important issues concerning Maternal health .There are not much studies traced in Sudan investigating the septic abortion prevalence and its causative agent. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate and identify aerobic bacterial causative agents of septic abortion in Khartoum, Sudan. Material and Method This is a descriptive study. It had been conducted among pregnant women in age of (20 – 40 ) years, who are being admitted to the Gynecology bleeding emergency room of Khartoum Teaching Hospital, Sudan, in the period from March 2013 till June 2013. High vaginal swabs: After the introduction of the speculum, the swab should be rolled firmly over the surface of the vaginal vault. The swab should then be placed in Amies transport medium with charcoal or/and Stuarts transport medium. Cervical swabs: After introduction of the speculum to the vagina, the swab should be rotated inside the endocervix. The swab should then be placed in Amies transport medium with charcoal or Stuarts transport medium. Then all collected specimens were inoculated on Blood agar (aerobic 370c), chocolate agar (aerobic 370c and 5-10% co2) and Macconkey agar (aerobic 370c). Incubated for overnight based on report done by Fawad A. et al 2008[8], when puerperal sepsis or septic abortion is suspected inoculate the specimen on two plates of blood agar and incubate aerobically at 35–370C overnight. Inoculate the specimen on Macconkey agar and incubate the plate aerobically at 35–370c overnight [8]. Examine the colonies for Gram stained smear: It is done to examine the smear for pus cells and bacteria (8). Identification tests: done to identify the pathogenic bacteria include Catalase test, Coagulase test, Deoxyriboneuclease test, Kligler iron agar, Citrate utilization test, Simmons citrate agar, Urease test, Indole test, Sugar fermentation test and Methyl Red test. Results: The total number of 30 samples were collected from pregnant women suffering from bleeding, out of these 11 specimens (36.67%) were collected after complete abortion, whilst 19 (63.33%) samples were collected at initial time of bleeding, as indicated in Table (1) . Table (1): The collected specimens time from women with bleeding in Khartoum Teaching Hospital. Parameter Number Percentage Specimens collected after complete abortion 11 36.67% Specimens collected at initial time of bleeding 19 63.33% Total cases 30 100% According to demographic characters, septic abortion appearing more frequently at the age of 26-30 and 36-40 and most cases were induced abortion (73.3%) as shown in Table (2). Table (2): Demographic characteristics of women attending with bleeding Khartoum Teaching Hospital: Demographic character Frequency Percentage Age categories 20-25 4 13.34% 26-30 10 33.33% 31-35 6 20% 36 40 10 33.33% Total 30 100% Type of abortion Habitual 8 26.67% Induced 22 73.33% Total 30 100% Types of aerobic bacteria isolated from specimens collected at complete stage of abortion were Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebseilla ozaenae, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis. Staphylococcus epidermidis was isolated from both initial stage and complete stage of abortion. It was isolated from 14 specimens out of 19 specimens, Table (3). Table (3): Number of different bacteria isolate from septic abortion cases from women attending to Khartoum Teaching Hospital. Parameter Organism isolated Frequency Percentage Organism isolated from complete stage of abortion Staphylococcus epidermidis 6 54.5% Klebsiella ozaenae 2 18.2% Staph. aureus 1 9.1% Escherichia coli 1 9.1% Proteus mirabilis 1 9.1% Total 11 100% Organism isolated from initial stage of abortion Staphylococcus epidermidis 14 73.68% No growth 5 26.32% Total 19 100% Table(4): Relationship between the age of women, and type of abortion and the time of specimens in Khartoum Teaching Hospital Demographic character Complete abortion n(%) Initial abortion n(%) p-value Age categories 20-25 1 (9.1%) 3 (15.8%) 0.08 26-30 4 (36.3%) 6 (31.6%) 31-35 2 (18.2%) 4 (21.1%) 36 40 5 (45.4%) 5 (26.3%) Type of abortion Habitual 3 (27.27%) 5 (26.32%) 0.07 Induced 8 (72.73) 14(73.68%) Discussion: Out of 30 cases involved in this study 11 (36.67%) cases were caused by aerobic bacteria which may indicate that abortion may be caused by other causative agents than aerobic bacteria. The Percentage of septic abortion have been notably decreased , this is mostly because health care provider contribute significantly to reduce the expose of woman to septic complication by providing surfaces in a safe environment, this is un consistent with other published reviews[9]. The highest incidence were in age group 26-30 also in group36-40 (P > 0.05) the incidence were high , which is in inconsistent with other published reviews in other countries [9] ,but its consistent with the research of (Fawad, et al 2008) who found that the majority of patient were of middle age[8]. Also habitual abortion occupied about (27.3%) (P > 0.05) and induced abortion about (72.7%) (P > 0.05). Earlier published review showed that most isolated organism was Escherichia coli (20%) ,either alone or in combination with other bacteria ,which is inconsistent with our study (9.1%). Also the reviewer isolate Proteus mirabilis in combination with Escherichia coli (6%), in our study we found Proteus mirabilis (9.1%) [5]. The percentage of Klebsiella ozaenae isolate was (18.2%) which is higher than pervious study (Isibor, et.al 2011) with percentage of (4.4%) among pregnant woman [10] Staphylococcus aureus isolate percentage was (9.1%) in disagree with study done by (Isibor, et al 2011), which found that Staphylococcus aureus occupies about (26.7%). this may be attributed to immune status of the individual, personal hygiene and the proximity of the vagina to urethra [11]. References Atrash H.K., Lawson H.W., Smith J.C., Legal abortion in the US : trends and mortality . Contemp Ob/Gyn, 1990;p35(2);58-69. jewett J.F., septic induce abortion . N Engl J Med,1973,p289:9-748. Cates W .Jr. , Rochat R.W. , Smith J.C. , Taylor C.W. Jr., Trends and national abortion mortality ,United State,1940-1974:implification for prevention of future abortion deaths .Adv Plann Parent 1976,11:106-13. Cates W.Jr. , rochat R.W., Ilegal abortion in the united states:1972-1974.Fam Plann perspect1976;8:86-92. Botes M., The Parameters of Septic Abortion, S.A. Journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 11 September 1971, p4 ;37-41. Sedgh G., Henshaw S., Singh S., Ahman E., and Shah I.H.,Induced abortion: estimated rates and trends worldwide. Lancet ,2007 ,p370: 1338–1345. Sedgh G., Henshaw S., Singh S., Ahman E., and Shah I.H.,Induced abortion: estimated rates and trends worldwide. Lancet ,2007 ,p370: 1338–1345. Fawad A., Nazk H., K. Anisa , Septic induced abortion , J. Ayub Med. Coll. Abbottabad ,2008,20. Osazuwa H., Aziken M., Septic abortion: a review of social and demographic characteristics , Arch. Gynecol. Obstet. ,2007,p 275:117–119. Isibor J. O., Samuel S. O., Nwaham C. I., Amanre I. N., Igbinovia O., and Akhile A. O., Prevalence of bacterial and Candida albicans infection amongst women attending Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Nigeria, African Journal of Microbiology Research, Vol.30 ,September, 2011, p 5(20),. 3126-3130 Rosenow E. C., Studies in Elective Localization, Jour. Dent. Research, vol. 1, No. 3, September, 1919,52.

Development of a Retail Leader: Wal-Mart

Development of a Retail Leader: Wal-Mart One of the known industries all over the world is Wal-Mart. Wal-mart is considered as a retail giant due to the companys successful business over the years. With good management practices and unique marketing strategies, Wal-Mart was able to operate successfully not only in the United States but also in international market (Hayden et al, 2002). ÂÂ  Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was first established and founded by Sam Walton at Rogers, Arkansas in 1962. The business growth of the retail store was momentous that within a span of seventeen years in operation, Wal-Mart had already topped annual sales at one billion US dollars. By the end of January in 2002, Wal-Mart has been recognized as the largest retailer in the world a sales record of 218 billion US dollars. With this huge and continuous development, it is no wonder the retail store was able to operate at the global level. The global operation of Wal-Mart was marked by the establishment of its first international store in 1991 at Mex ico City (Govindarajan Gupta, 2001). Through its international reach, an estimate of one hundred million customers are said to visit a Wal-Mart store found somewhere in the world. A total of 1.3 million associates worldwide are employed by the company and are distributed within its 3,200 stores in the United States as well at over a thousand other stores in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Puerto Rico, China, Germany, Korea and in the United Kingdom (Govindarajan Gupta, 2001). The retail stores of Wal-Mart are operated in different formats worldwide. In general, the business is divided into three main segments: Wal-Mart Stores, Sams Club and International Stores. The Wal-Mart stores are further subdivided into Discount Stores, Supercenters and Neighbourhood Markets. Sams Club on the other hand, is a business segment that consists of membership warehouse clubs. According to the New York Stock Exchange (2005), Wal-Mart Stores operates about 1,478 Discount Stores, 1,471 Supercenters, 538 Sams Club and 64 Neighbourhood Markets within the United States as of January 31, 2004. In addition to this huge local operation, Wal-Mart and its international segment conducts retail operation within eight countries and Puerto Rico. Wal-Marts international segment is made into several formats, which include retail stores, restaurants, discount stores, Sams Club and Supercenters. Aside from these operations, Wal-Mart also owns a 37.8% unconsolidated minority interest in one of Japans retailers, The Seiyu, Ltd. (New York Stock Exchange, 2005). Strategic marketing Management Techniques of Walmart Wal-Mart dominates the American retailing industry due to number of factors like its business model which is still a mystery and its effectiveness in not letting the rivals let know about the weaknesses. Wal-Mart made strategic attempts in the its formulation to dominate the retail market where it has its presence, growth by expansion in the US and Internationally, create widespread name recognition and customer satisfaction in relation to brand name Wal-Mart and branching into new sectors of retailing. It is learnt that Wal-Mart strives on three generic strategies consisting of Focus Strategy, the Differentiation Strategy and overall cost leadership.ÂÂ  Managers strive hard to make their organizations unique, distinctive and identify key success factors that will drive the customers to buy their products.Thus, firm specific resources and capabilities are crucial in explaining the firms performance. The Resource Based View (RBV) explains competitive heterogeneity based on the premise that close competitors differ in their resources and capabilities in important and durable ways. The companys capability can be found through its functionality, reliable performance, like Wal-Mart superior logistics. (Helfat, 2002)ÂÂ  Wal-Mart has firm infrastructure, well equipped in human resource with management professionals and technologically too. Any organizations thrive hard to be successful for which it needs to have better resources and superior capabilities. Wal-Mart has strong RBV with economically and financially very strong enough to stand still in the time of crisis. Pereira states that dominating the retail market is its key strategy. Wal-Mart operates on low price strategy which is operated as every day low prices (EDLP) which builds trust among the customers.(Brunn, 2006)The strategy lies in purchasing the goods at lower prices and selling the goods to customer at much lower prices, cutting the price as far as possible and increasing the profit by increasing the number of sales. This ferociously increases the competition in the market and Wal-Mart competes with all its competitors till it is dominant it the market. Wal-Mart is expanding seriously and rapidly which is also its strategic goal. Wal-Mart employs over 1.3 associates, owns over 4000 stores out of which 3000 are in US and serves around 100 million customers weekly.ÂÂ  Wal-Mart has acquired many international stores and merged with some super stores like ASDA in UK. Wal-Mart far flung network of retail outlets has ensured that Wal-Mart interacts with and has impact on virtually every locality within US. (Helfat, 2002)ÂÂ  The expanded strategy has led the hunger of Wal-Mart to many European Countries. It is learnt that three countries with no Wal-Mart stores became part of corporations international presence wherein the domestic retail chains were taken over by Wal-Mart including 122 Woolco stores in Canada, 21 Wertkauf stores in Germany and 229 ASDA units in United Kingdom. The takeover strategy by Wal-Mart keeps the company at forefront when entering into the new market and the number of competitors is also minimized. The st rategies have helped the Wal-Mart to rein in number one position in international countries making it the largest retailer in the world. It is seen that Wal-Mart has significantly the Porters five force model wherein through proper strategic planning and strategic implementation has led to removal of barrier entry, rivalry from competitors and pricing norms. In regard to substitutes, Wal-Mart in order to achieve its aim of customer satisfaction has selling goods under its own legal brand. ÂÂ  Wal-Marts big box phenomenon has changed the retailing industry in the United States which is often considered as discount stores and makes profit through high volume of purchases and low markup on profits.(Parnell, 2008)Wal-Mart with its low cost and ever expanding strategy has made a dramatic impact since 1962 when Sam Walton first started his business. With this strategy, Wal-Mart has now over 4000 stores and outlets in US and other countries through acquisition and mergers. Marketing Performance management Marketing performance management (MPM) is a term used by marketing professionals to describe the analysis and improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing. This is accomplished by focus on the alignment of marketing activities, strategies, and metrics with business goals.[2] It involves the creation of a metrics framework to monitor marketing performance, and then develop and utilize marketing dashboards to manage marketing performance.[3] This strategy is used by several companies such as IBM, Intel, and Citrix.[3][4][5] Performance management is one of the key processes applied to business operations such as manufacturing, logistics, and product development. The goals of performance management are to achieve key outcomes and objectives to optimize individual, group, or organizational performance. MPM however, is more specific. It focuses on measuring, managing, and analyzing marketing performance to maximize effectiveness and optimize the return of investment (ROI) of marketing.[6] Three elements play a critical role in managing marketing performance-data, analytics, and metrics. Conclusion Walmart has done a lot in the past in order to secure its position as a retail market leader. These include offering low prices, offering good customer service and constant innovation. However, lately the company has grappled with low customer traffic. Market saturation in the middle income market segment, poor international performance and bad public relations as a result of their employee practices. The company should adopt the following strategies in order to ensure future growth; adopt penetrative strategies international markets, introduce good product packages for products favored by affluent clients and improve health insurance plans within the company. These will go a long way in sustaining the companys positions as the USs retail leader. And as the animosity against Wal-Mart becomes more widespread, here and in foreign countries, Wal-Mart is going to have to work harder to maintain their good reputation.Wal-Marts foundation will become increasingly more important for giving things back to the community. In order for Wal-Mart to stay at the top of their game and follow the company strategy and achieve their key policy goals, they are going to have deal better with their stakeholders and make sure they guard their reputation well.

Paradise Lost Essay -- Analysis, Milton

The seat of faith resides in the will of the individual and not in the leaning to our own reasoning, for reasoning is the freedom of choosing what one accepts as one’s will. In considering the will was created and one cannot accuse the potter or the clay, Milton writes to this reasoning, as â€Å"thir own revolt,† whereas the clay of humankind is sufficient and justly pliable for use as a vessel of obedience or disobedience (3.117). The difficulty of this acceptance of obedience or disobedience is inherent in the natural unwillingness in acknowledging that we are at the disposal of another being, even God. One theme of Paradise Lost is humankind’s disobedience to a Creator, a Creator that claims control over its creation. When a single living thing which God has made escapes beyond the Creator’s control this is in essence an eradicating of the Creator God. A Creator who would create a creature who the Creator would or could not control its creation is not a sovereign God. For who would not hold someone responsible for manufacturing something that could not be controlled and consider it immoral to do so? To think that God created a universe that he has somehow abdicated to its own devices is to accredit immorality to the Creator. Since the nucleus of Milton’s epic poem is to â€Å"justifie the wayes of God† to his creation, these ‘arguments’ are set in theological Miltonesque terms in his words (1. 26). Milton’s terms and words in Paradise Lost relate the view of God to man and Milton’s view to the reader. Views viewed in theological terms that have blazed many wandering paths through the centuries to knot up imperfect men to explain perfect God. To justify the ways of God is a well-trodden path, but there is more to only one path. For if... ...o tensions. Paul the apostle wrote by the same Spirit that Milton claimed that the Potter has the power over the clay and by the riches of God’s mercy he shall show mercy upon who he wants to show mercy. Theologians of history, Augustine, Wyclif, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and others all held this doctrine of predestination and taught it with vigor. With vigor predestination stands in Scripture and the challenge for Milton was to demonstrate the Father is reasonable, but at the same time God is the Almighty. So where does Milton’s views stand in relation to a perfect God? As others before "of Providence, Foreknowledge, Will and Fate, Fixt Fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute," in the Apostle Paul’s reply "O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus" (2.559,560- Romans 9:20 K.J.V.)?

Essay --

The main questions addressed in this research were based on the Medicago Truncatula- Sinorhizobium symbiosis that form indeterminate (non-reproducing bacteria) nodules. a) to see whether M. truncatula displays partner choice in picking the most efficient rhizobia between nitrogen fixing and non fixing bacteria in both pre- infection and post- infection scenarios. b) the authors also wanted to see if legumes can alter their allocation of carbon photosyntates to each nodule depending on how efficient the rhizobia is in each nodule. Authors of this article did this research because this symbiotic relationship is widely studied, but all the research done so far have been on determinate (bacteria is able to reproduce) nodules1 rather than indeterminate nodules. In previous research it was found that determinate nodules show both partner choice and allocation differentiation between efficient and non- efficient rhizobia. Answer2: Authors hypothesized that in Medicago Truncatula- Sinorhizobium that form indeterminate nodules will show partner choice in both pre infection and post infection scenarios and select for the most efficient rhizobia partner. They also hypothesized that the legume will show differential allocation of carbon photosyntates in each nodule depending on the number of nitrogen fixing and non fixing rhizobia in each nodule. Answer3: Figure # What method(s) gave this data? What do these data show? Figure1a The authors performed a split- root experiment to obtain data based on three different parameters and then used MANOVA analyses to compare the three parameters used in the experiment. They used Post hoc on all the measurements to use it to graph the differences. ANOVA to compare the mean of the two strains used... ...thors hypothesis. However, they were not able to show difference in the resource allocation to each nodule depending on the efficiency of bacteria in each nodule. Therefore they concluded that sanctioning is not present is not present in all legume unlike the partner choice. Answer5: The authors think that the discrepancy in the results of the previous researches and theirs regarding allocations by the legume to nitrogen fixing and non- fixing bacteria is that the authors used M. truncatula- sinorhizobium indeterminate nodules whereas other researchers used either soybean or yellow bush lupin determinate nodules. Since this is the first time such model is presented I think that there should be more researches focusing only the sanctions by legumes to the bacteria to better understand the symbiosis between M. truncatula - Sinorhizobium and sanctions in general.

Projected Total Sales of Sundance Direct Sales Essay

Introduction Billboards, signage and eye-catching advertisement paraphernalia of different direct selling companies are sprouting everywhere, either local or international. Many companies established names and compete to prolong their standing in the business world. Defined in businessdictionary.com, direct selling is a face to face presentation, demonstration, and sale of products or services, usually at the home or office of a prospect by the independent direct sales representatives. Direct Selling contributes greatly on the economic development of the country; it manifests the Filipino spirit of enterprise and self-reliance. This industry gains greater popularity today than its early years. One of the popular direct selling companies in the Philippines is Sundance Direct Sales (Footworks Marketing Corporation). It was established on August 1999. Before they came with the business’ name, they first thought of fancy Italian names but they had decided on an original and easily remembered name- SUNDANCE. It was originated from the Hollywood movie, Butch Casedy and the Sundance Kid. Mr. Peter Yu is the managing director of Sundance Direct Sales. It is a fashion clothing and shoe retailing company with wide expertise in manufacturing industry. This company is engaged in selling of clothes, shoes, bags, cosmetics, accessories and infant and children lines. Currently, it is partnered with Maybelline New York, Afficionado and I2I eyewear. In its 12 successful years of existence, it has approximately 500,000 dealers and continuously increasing. It produced 16 branches and 400 local outlets nationwide. The mission of Sundance Direct Sales in helping fellowmen is to bring standard of excellence to all parts of the world. In lieu of their mission, they have reached and served international countries such as HongKong,  Dubai, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Singapore. Sundance Direct Sales is an industry that continuously progressing, competing and creating new styles of fashion, awarding them as the Best Direct Selling brand of Apparel. Methodology Many business organizations used tools or techniques, like quantitative forecasting, that helped them determine the possible result of the business operation in the future. Quantitative forecasting technique bases its forecast from past data. This tool helps the manager or the decision maker to accomplish their organizational goals. Specifically, if a company has the record of its past 30-year sales, then it can project the sales for the next year and this may help him to determine the inventory levels, scheduling of production and the like. However either quantitatively or qualitatively, forecasting is not 100% certain; it has uncertainties so we need to measure the accuracy of the forecast. Forecast accuracy can be measure by MAD (mean absolute deviation) MSE (mean square error) and MAPE (mean absolute percentage error); the best model depends on the measure. The goal of this study is to project the total sales for one of the Sundance branches –Calamba -2011 so that the branch manager can have preparations in their inventory levels. In order to get the projected total sales of Sundance Direct Sales Calamba branch in 2011, time-series regression and smoothing linear trends were used. Time-series regression is the process of estimating the relationship between two variables- in our case time and sales per month. Smoothing linear trends is just the same with simple smoothing however the intercept and the slope of the trend line are continually adjusted in each period. Two methods were used for comparative purposes. The data were also tested for occurrence of seasonality. MAD was used to evaluate the forecast accuracy since most of the errors were too large. It weighted the errors equally. MSE is not advisable for this kind of problem because it will result to a very large number. The data collected was a 3-year monthly sales of the Sundance Direct Sales Calamba branch for the years: 2008, 2009 and 2010. The sales representative allowed the author to have the data with proper and legal consent. A hard copy of the data is handed down to the author (Appendix A). To analyze the data for occurrence of seasonality, the data were graphed first. In figure 1 is an illustration of the comparison of the sales in the three years of operation of Sundance Direct Sales –CALAMBA. Figure 1.Monthly Sales of Sundance Direct Sales – Calamba in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Seasonal time series repeats over a specific period such as day, monthly, quarterly or yearly. According to Levin, to determine seasonality two questions must be satisfied. First, are the peaks and troughs consistent? Looking back to Figure 1, there are peaks and troughs in year 2009 and year 2010 that are consistent but if you look at year 2008 it did not follow those peak and troughs. Second, there is an explanation for the seasonal pattern? Since there is no consistency in the trends of the data points, then we will not answer this question anymore. Both questions were not satisfied so we can say that the data didn’t exhibit seasonality. We can now proceed in forecasting the sales using the two methods mentioned earlier. Forecasting models are evaluated by dividing the samples into two parts: warm-up samples and forecast samples. Warm-up samples are used to fit the forecasting model while forecast samples are for testing the model. In a long time series, data are divided into half. Using time-series regression, warm-up samples – periods 1-18 –was used to get the equation the best-fitting trend line. Using the data in Appendix B, it was determined that the equation for the best-fitted line is  Ft = 2340883.46 + 3800.51(t) .

The Security Investigation

Part I. The availability of the personal computer or PC at every home and every office desktop, and the dawn of the Internet brought to focus not only the benefits derived from these technologies but abuse and to a greater extent, crimes as well. Suddenly, cybercrime is at an all time high and ways and means of detecting and making these criminal hackers pay became a forefront competence in information technology and law enforcement. One of the best deterrents to computer crime is to catch those who commit the dastardly acts (Solomon & Prosise, 2001)! Of all the types of criminal hackers, the worse is the â€Å"insider† – a current employee or a former â€Å"disgruntled employee† – since they are or were in a â€Å"trust relationship† with their employer, and they demeaned that trust by attacking the information systems of the company. When this type of crime, or cybercrime, occurs, the recourse is to call in computer forensics and incident response professionals to remedy the situation. Solomon et al. (2005) describes computer forensics as, â€Å"Computer investigation and analysis techniques that involve the identification, preservation, extraction, documentation, and interpretation of computer data to determine potential legal evidence.† Once there is a probable determination that a cybercrime was committed, the computer forensics and incident response experts follow a well-choreograph methodology to successfully document evidence and prosecute a cybercrime. Robbins (2002) lists down the basic but critical procedures to computer forensics: 1.Protect the subject computer system during the forensic examination from any possible alteration, damage, data corruption, or virus introduction; 2.Discover all files on the subject system including existing normal files, deleted yet remaining files, hidden files, password-protected files, and encrypted files; 3.Recover as much as possible all of discovered deleted files; 4.Reveal to the extent possible the contents of hidden files as well as temporary or swap files used by both the application programs and the operating system; 5.Access, if possible and if legally appropriate, the contents of protected or encrypted files; 6.Analyze all possibly relevant data found in special and typically inaccessible areas of a disk including but not limited to the ‘unallocated' space on a disk, as well as ‘slack' space in a file; 7.Print an overall analysis of the subject computer system, including listing of all possibly relevant files and discovered file data, then provide an opinion of the system layout, the file structures discovered, any discovered data and authorship information, any attempts to hide, delete, protect, encrypt information, and anything else that has been discovered and appears to be relevant to the overall computer system examination; and 8.Provide expert consultation and/or testimony, as required. While the experts are doing the investigation, it is important to liaise and coordinate, depending upon the legal parameters of the crime, with local or federal cybercrime units. In some states in the U.S., it is a federal crime not to report computer crimes and soon, reporting of cybercrimes will be federally mandated. But the key point in cybercrime investigation is ensuring that the evidence gathered will stand up to legal scrutiny. Part II. A common story heard about cybercrimes is the use of â€Å"social engineering techniques.† Social engineering basically is playing the â€Å"con man† to elicit information from gullible or unknowing victims. A Help Desk employee for example can call a secretary and ask for her password since he needs it to diagnose her PC remotely. Since there is a â€Å"trust relationship† already, the secretary gives her PC password. The Help Desk employee then accessed the secretary's PC and downloaded confidential memos and reports. He then sells these documents to competitors and the competitors ended up gaining advantage on the Help Desk employee's company because they already have insider information. A case like this could have been prevented if the company, or even any government agency, had good security policies in place. Part of the security policies would have been user education training and if the user's had been properly trained, they would have known that nobody needs to know their passwords but themselves. In securing the information systems, the baseline or starting point is having good security policies in place and these policies should and must be based on globally accepted standards and industry best practices. The ISO 17799 or Code of Practice for Information Security Management (ISO/IEC, 2005) is always one of the best standards to adapt whether small, medium or large enterprises – even government agencies for that matter! Shaurette (2002) stated that, â€Å"Information security is not just about technological controls. Security cannot be achieved solely through the application of software or hardware. Any attempt to implement technology controls without considering the cultural and social attitudes of the corporation is a formula for disaster.† Once this has been taken into mind, mitigation of risks to the information systems will be achieved and prevention of cybercrimes, whether from malicious insiders or external criminal hackers, will be tempered.

The Effects of War

For almost 50 years, the world war was one of the most talked about destruction of war. The wars break out for various reasons. There are world wars in the world, and they made every countries became the fighting area. Whenever, wars have happened there are always destruction everywhere and destroyed everything in each country by dropping bombs and using powerful explosive weapons. The most effects of war is that people are died, destroyed the infrastructure, economic, and separated from families. War killed many people. As a result of ending of the World War I, an estimated 10 million soldiers were killed.â€Å"Those averages about 6,500 deaths a day, every day. Plus, millions of civilians were also killed,† according to www. history1900s. about. com/od/world-war-I. html. World War I was especially remembered for its slaughter for it was one of the bloodiest wars in history. Moreover, World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. â€Å"Over 60 million people w ere killed, which was over 2. 5% of the world population,† according to www. en. wikipedia. org/wiki/world_war_II. After the war, it always left many problems to the people and society. The main point is the separate of families and cause three major points.First, it has many widows so it is very difficult for all widows to try hard to live without helping from other people. Second, the war left many orphans and all of the orphans faced many bad situations such as feel lonely and lack of love from parents. Moreover, orphans could not go to school and could not get knowledge that why they became illiterate person. Third, the war left many people lost their relative became during the war some relative were separate and some were death. By this problems, some people live without knowing that their relatives were dead or still alive as a result it make them lived with unhappy and lonely also.Another factor that war effected, was infrastructure. Ask you that infrastructure is so im portant things include building, roads, bridges, and so on. But after the war everything was gone, many buildings such as industries buildings, houses, hospital, schools were collapsed and also most of the roads were damaged by weapon that used during the war. So the war is really effected to infrastructure as mention above. A somewhat different effect of War has made the deficient economic. Particularly, the war always destroy everything not only the infrastructure, but also the cause many bankrupt companies.Many large companies and small companies could be bankrupt of the war; especially, there is no foreign investor will invest in your country anymore. As the result of bankrupt, it will increase the unemployment and make less productive which cause the inflation that all the products are high price. For example, â€Å"In France during the World War II, the currencies of France are worthless mean that you needed 726, 000, 000 francs to buy what you’d been able to get for o nly 1 franc in 1918,† according to the book of lecture Seng Tith at National Institute of Business.As the result, the war cause the economic fell down that made difficulty for people to live. In conclusion, the effects of war destroyed many things for countries such as: the death of people, destroyed infrastructure, affected of economy, and people separated from their families. Because of the effected of war, people lived hardly and badly that they feel hurt after the war. War is never good for each country all over the world and for citizens as well. The Effects of War For almost 50 years, the world war was one of the most talked about destruction of war. The wars break out for various reasons. There are world wars in the world, and they made every countries became the fighting area. Whenever, wars have happened there are always destruction everywhere and destroyed everything in each country by dropping bombs and using powerful explosive weapons. The most effects of war is that people are died, destroyed the infrastructure, economic, and separated from families. War killed many people. As a result of ending of the World War I, an estimated 10 million soldiers were killed.â€Å"Those averages about 6,500 deaths a day, every day. Plus, millions of civilians were also killed,† according to www. history1900s. about. com/od/world-war-I. html. World War I was especially remembered for its slaughter for it was one of the bloodiest wars in history. Moreover, World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. â€Å"Over 60 million people w ere killed, which was over 2. 5% of the world population,† according to www. en. wikipedia. org/wiki/world_war_II. After the war, it always left many problems to the people and society. The main point is the separate of families and cause three major points.First, it has many widows so it is very difficult for all widows to try hard to live without helping from other people. Second, the war left many orphans and all of the orphans faced many bad situations such as feel lonely and lack of love from parents. Moreover, orphans could not go to school and could not get knowledge that why they became illiterate person. Third, the war left many people lost their relative became during the war some relative were separate and some were death. By this problems, some people live without knowing that their relatives were dead or still alive as a result it make them lived with unhappy and lonely also.Another factor that war effected, was infrastructure. Ask you that infrastructure is so im portant things include building, roads, bridges, and so on. But after the war everything was gone, many buildings such as industries buildings, houses, hospital, schools were collapsed and also most of the roads were damaged by weapon that used during the war. So the war is really effected to infrastructure as mention above. A somewhat different effect of War has made the deficient economic. Particularly, the war always destroy everything not only the infrastructure, but also the cause many bankrupt companies.Many large companies and small companies could be bankrupt of the war; especially, there is no foreign investor will invest in your country anymore. As the result of bankrupt, it will increase the unemployment and make less productive which cause the inflation that all the products are high price. For example, â€Å"In France during the World War II, the currencies of France are worthless mean that you needed 726, 000, 000 francs to buy what you’d been able to get for o nly 1 franc in 1918,† according to the book of lecture Seng Tith at National Institute of Business.As the result, the war cause the economic fell down that made difficulty for people to live. In conclusion, the effects of war destroyed many things for countries such as: the death of people, destroyed infrastructure, affected of economy, and people separated from their families. Because of the effected of war, people lived hardly and badly that they feel hurt after the war. War is never good for each country all over the world and for citizens as well.

360 Degree Feedback

Abstract As today’s businesses continue to expand, workers are expected to perform well on their jobs. This is what truly happened to management who has a tendency to measure how well they are doing on their job. The job done in a certain period of time is frequently evaluated by performance appraisal. Performance appraisals lead to enhancing employee’s performance, internal communication (relationship), and quality improvements as well. Some experts argue that formal performance appraisal is somewhat useless and many of them contemplate performance appraisals can be detrimental to quality improvement and convey some negative perceptions to the management (David Law, 2007). Albeit many professionals pointed out disadvantages associated with using performance appraisal, I contemplate that its benefits outweigh drawbacks. As such, a 360-degree feedback is one of the numerous examples of performance evaluation methods. Performance appraisals can be used to measure one’s job performance with feedback from subordinates, peers, and managers in the organization, so that everyone in the particular organization knows what and where he or she needs to improve. In addition, well-scheduled 360-degree feedbacks lead to positive changes in worker’s job satisfaction and enhance the company’s effort to attain its own interest. The stable encouragement of the effects of performance appraisal has a variety of short-term and long-term consequences including improved job performance, harmonious interpersonal relationships (superiors and subordinates), and as well as advanced quality management (continuous improvement) within organizations. History The 360-degree feedback was initially used by the U. S. Armed Forces to support development of its staff in the 1940’s. Later on Clark Wilson from the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut) developed the first 360-degree feedback survey instruments for management development and it has been used and studied since 1973 (www. erformanceprograms. com). Valuable factors A 360-degree feedback offers a variety of remarkably potential benefits. According to Stephane Brutus et al. (2006), all of the following benefits have been applied to six different countries in distinct functions, such as: accounting, finance, manufacturing, and many other primary departments. â⠂¬ ¢Individuals get a broader perspective of how they are perceived by others than previously possible. It indicates that awareness of and relevance of competencies in workers’ psyche will continue to increase over time. At this point, management should be aware that they too have development needs that are crucial for the whole organization. Once this step has been applied, employees would next give more reliable feedback to managers about their performance. I believe this method could be seen as a win-win situation which is beneficial for both workers and management. †¢Encouraging more open feedback — new insights. It indicates that reinforcing the desired competencies of the business requires a clearer picture to senior management of individual’s real worth. A 360-degree feedback clarifies the employee’s critical performance aspects because open feedback gives people a more rounded view of performance than they had previously. †¢Identifying key development areas for the individual, a department and the organization as a whole. Individuals’ strengths can be used to the best advantage of the business. A rounded view of the individual’s/ team’s/ organization’s performance determines appropriately strengths and weaknesses in business environment. Therefore, the self-awareness of managers will have personally impact upon subordinates. †¢Supporting a climate of continuous improvement. Starting to improve the climate/ morale will be measured through the survey. Management should focus on agenda and discuss for development based upon the collected 360-degree feedback. Goals and objectives of 360-degree feedback Applying 360-feedback requires that both recipients and reviewers are involved in confidential feedback. The negative effect of transparent feedback can negatively affected by emotions and peer conflicts. This issue can lead to impaired job performance and adverse interpersonal relationship among the employees. Patricia Angelucci (2000) states the desired objectives of a 360-degree feedback are increasing professional accountability, motivating staff, and increasing employee morale and satisfaction (Angelucci, 2000). Importantly, she claims that 360-degree appraisal given to employees provides for constructive feedback and employee recognition by objectively measuring performance, and gives the employee the responsibility to contribute information (Patricia Angelucci, 2000). It is clear that using 360-degree feedback can necessarily improve labors’ job performance as long the evaluations are delivered honestly, openly, and objectively to the targets in every aspect of management including superiors and subordinates. Process of 360-feedback Robert Garbett et al. (2007) suggest several recommendations to optimize the usefulness of the process in preparing 360-degree feedback: 1. Thorough preparation. It is remarkably crucial to all members involved about the purpose and criteria used to identify role set members. Preparation indicates key to achieve successfulness in implementing 360-degree appraisal. 2. Suitability. Methods used in gathering information need to reflect what is convenient and appropriate to the colleagues one is working with. 3. Anonymity. Anonymity and openness were found to be useful. Open approaches offer more detailed information for the development of expertise and workforce effectiveness. Further, Garbett et al. (2007) add that the characteristic useful to ensure quality on 360-degree feedbacks is self-assessment based on critical reflection using an evidence-based framework of field expertise (Garbett, 2007). This method will prevent employees from mistakenly giving feedback to coworkers, and it should be based on observation of practice and experience in the past. The implementation of 360-degree feedback has been widely used across the globe since its benefits to the every sector of management. Metcalfe (1998) and Swain et al (2004) says, â€Å"The concept of 360-degree feedback has been extensively used, examined, and adapted in business and increasingly in healthcare as a developmental tool† (As cited in Garbett et al. , 2007, p. 343). Ten steps to conducting 360-degree feedback Chris Pearce (2007) suggests there are ten steps to help companies conduct 360-degree appraisal: ? Preparing for appraisal interviews. This step includes agreed performance objectives and reviews that have been applied at any given times. ?Planning appraisals Imperative interviews held by the management have to be relaxed and solemn will be covered on this step. ?Conducting appraisals The third step involves placing situation of the prolific substitutes thoughts, demonstrating the ability of comfort and prevention due to interruptions during the interview, and pioneering the basic regulation for appraisals and the concerns by appraisees. Reviewing achievements Next, this step explains about assessing appraisees’ accomplishment and detecting where the appraisees’ position. ?Sharing views on progress Offering responses on appraisees’ accomplishment, ensuring appraisees’ aggrement on the responses, and creating the improvement if needed are covered on this st ep. ?Considering ratings This step is concerned with contributing the appraisees’ beliefs by rating the conclusions before the last result comes up. ?Plans for improvement Expanding and accentuating the further progression of the failings must be applied in the conformity and conversation should be involved in this step. ?Dealing with development plans This step deals with sincerity and factuality that must be concerned with the appraisees’ objectives and profession ambition. ?Agreeing new objectives With regards to SMART which stands for specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, and timed, appraisses’ goals and time spent should be involved in this step. Asking for feedback In the last step, questioning about appraisees’ responses to them, abridging the essential points of evaluation, and ending with conclusion should be applied for the last action. Discussion Every country has been fascinated with Japanese industry for decades and it became recognized as the world’s most competitive nation in the 1970s and 1980s. Nowadays, many small and big companies all over the world attempt to apply the Japanese system to their sys tem in every aspect of management. Several experts explain why Japan can compete well to attract its target market albeit the rivalry among the competing sellers is high in the country. It is simply a distinctive approach to Japanese management has brought remarkable impact in today’s practices such as total quality and continuous improvement (Porter, Takeuchi, & Sakakibara, 2000). With regards to improvement initiatives, Pryor, White, and Toombs (1998) point out that performance appraisal is one of the strategic quality management tools which use continuous improvement as a strategic weapon (http://www. 12manage. com). In addition, Bracken and Timmreck (1999) also agree that performance evaluations are essential for developing managerial behaviors in every level that provide data in its strategic efforts when they say, â€Å"As results of 360-degree feedback are used in conjunction with HR systems, such as staffing, succession planning, compensation, performance management and even, in some cases, downsizing† (As cited in Treena L. Gillespie, 2005, p. 363). In establishing 360-degree feedback, I contemplate there is another aspect affects people’s judgment relating to leaving feedbacks to coworkers. Coaching is one of the critical components of stimulating interpersonal relationship in conjunction with feedback results. Wright states, â€Å"The coaching component in management is a two way street. There needs to be open communication in order for successful coaching to take place† (Robert F. Wright, 2000). As such, I would like to emphasize that two-way interaction between subordinates and superiors is required in order to affect feedbacks and indeed, better feedbacks will generate better relationship. This component could cover poor communication problem which can lead to unpleasant feedbacks to employees within an organization. Nowadays, big companies such as British Airways, AT&T, Alberto Culver North America, and General Electric are increasingly using 360-degree feedback (Huet-Cox, Nielsen, & Sundstrom, 1999). According to Evans (2001), using 360-degree feedback can potentially provide a fuller, more realistic picture of the employee’s overall performance since every employee receives performance feedback from four sources: the supervisors, subordinates, peers and coworkers, and self-ratings (Evans, 2001). Effective appraisals usually lead to better performances from appraisees, and feedabcks should be jointly solving problems as long appraisees always focus on the future not the past. Several characteristics of 360-degree feedback at firms may have considerable advantages of implementing TQM, and â€Å"One survey showed that more than 20 percent of firms are tying 360-degree appraisal directly to their Total Quality Management efforts† (Laabs, 1994, p. 17). Applying the 360-degree feedback compliments the implementation of TQM in businesses since it has faster communication line (superiors to subordinates) and uncomplicated system that meets customer needs and expectations. Glover (1993) argues that there is a five-stage implementation framework that could be applied in enterprises: awareness, education, structural change, necessary activities, and outcomes or expected improvements (as cited in Yusof & Aspinwall, 2000, p. 281). Appropriate design of the 360-degree feedback will absolutely provide a strong basis for the path to successful TQM implementation. A systematic procedure such as ISO 9000 is the first-most effective way that can solve the quality problems in many businesses. Take for instance, the 360-degree feedback is used to measure the effectiveness of Just In Time (JIT) inventory system in plant department within company. Consequently, an integrated JIT inventory model generated through 360-degree system can minimize the sum of the ordering/ setup cost, holding cost, quality improvement, and crashing costs (Yang & Pan, 2004). Once those procedures have been established, the next step is to plan for improvement. If the need for change is highly needed, some methods suggested by Asher (1992) could encourage the renovation process of the implementation: investigating cost of quality, conducting customer perception surveys, collecting data on employees’ perceptions, and establishing system and procedure (as cited in Yusof & Aspinwall, 2000, p. 289). This type of approach in context of management will escalate the job performance as it will result in improved productivity in workers. I agree with Wright’s (2000) standpoint saying that 360-degree feedback can be seen as result-oriented concerned with focusing on the goals rather than the process (Robert F. Wright, 2000). More importantly, such a evaluation should lead the employees to work together attaining the company’s goals, as Wright (2000) says, â€Å"It is critical for a good manager to be more concerned with the results and less with the process of how those are achieved† (Robert F. Wright, 2000, p. 363). As long as the process is performed well, managers should be more concerned about the results not necessarily the technique. With regards to labors’ skills, through evaluations management should encourage its workers give feedback about what needs to change and where to change, as Loup and Koller says,† Listening and speaking from the heart about what people think, feel, and believe about the change will keep the change process moving forward† (Loup & Koller, 2005, p. 77). As we can conclude, utilizing well-scheduled 360-degree feedbacks as a performance appraisal is the management’s responsibilities for introducing, applying, and maintaining the practice punctually once it has started. Some companies consider a 360-degree feedback and other appraisals are attributable to adverse quality, and ironically the process in implementing those techniques seem to be time-consuming and convey some negative perceptions to the management. Management should contemplate that the company’s goals will not be successfully attained if employees do not notice whether or not they are performing well on their job as Senge (1990) concludes that yet the primary threats to our survival today come not from events but from slow gradual processes to which we are 90 percent blind (Peter M. Senge, 1990). In conclusion, all the suggestions by experts above regarding quality improvements mostly explain the importance of the 360-degree feedback within companies. Therefore, 360-degree assessment can assist the management on track and measure employee’s performance and leadership which could contribute to overall organization performance (Marcie Levine, 2003). Finally, if the 360-degree appraisal is not applied soon, I believe companies will experience a problem which can be looming ahead for the company itself in the years to come. References Angelucci, Patricia. 2000). Cultural diversity: health belief systems. Nursing Management Journal, 7-8. Brutus, Stephane et al. (2006). Internationalization of multi-source feedback systems: a six-country exploratory analysis of 360- degree feedback. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1888-1906. Evans, A. (2001). From every angle. Training, 38 (9), 22. Garbett, Robert. (2007). Developing a qualitative approach t o 360-degree feedback to aid understanding and development of clinical expertise. Journal of Nursing Management, 342-347. Gillespie, Treena L. (2005). Internationalizing 360-degree feedback: are subordinate ratings comparable? Journal of Business and Psychology, 361-382. hands of people to effect change. Organizational Development Journal, 23(3), 73-81. Huet-Cox, G. D. , Nielsen T. M. , & Sundstrom, E. (1999, May). Get the most from 360-degree feedback: put it on the internet. HR Magazine, 92-103. Laabs, J. J. (1994). TQM Efforts to Rewards. Personnel Journal, 17. Law, David R. (2007). Appraising performance appraisals: a critical look at an external control management technique. International Journal of Reality Therapy, 35-47. Levine, Marcie. (2003). 3600 assessments-where do I start? Survey Connect Inc, 1-4. Loup, R. , & Koller, R. (2005). The road to commitment: Capturing the head, hearts and Pearce, Chris. (2007). Ten steps to conducting appraisals. Nursing Management Journal, 21. Porter, Michael E. , Takeuchi, Hirotaka & Sakakibara, Mariko. (2000). Can Japan compete? Cambridge: Perseus Publishing. Pryor, Mildred G. , White, J. Chris & Toombs, Leslie A. (1998). Strategic Quality Management. Thomson Learning. Senge, Peter M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art & practice of the learning organization (1st ed. . New York: Doubleday. Wright, Robert F. (2000). Strategies for avoiding the micro management trap. Journal of Management Decision, 362-364. Yang, Jin-Shan, & Pan, Jason Chao-Hsien. (2004). Just-in-time purchasing: an integrated inventory model involving deterministic variable lead time and quality improvement investment. International Journal of Production Research, 853-863. Yusof, Sha’ri M ohd & Aspinwall, Elaine. (2000). Total quality management implementation frameworks: comparison and review. Journal of Total Quality Management, 281-294. www. 12manage. com www. performanceprograms. com 360 Degree Feedback Abstract As today’s businesses continue to expand, workers are expected to perform well on their jobs. This is what truly happened to management who has a tendency to measure how well they are doing on their job. The job done in a certain period of time is frequently evaluated by performance appraisal. Performance appraisals lead to enhancing employee’s performance, internal communication (relationship), and quality improvements as well. Some experts argue that formal performance appraisal is somewhat useless and many of them contemplate performance appraisals can be detrimental to quality improvement and convey some negative perceptions to the management (David Law, 2007). Albeit many professionals pointed out disadvantages associated with using performance appraisal, I contemplate that its benefits outweigh drawbacks. As such, a 360-degree feedback is one of the numerous examples of performance evaluation methods. Performance appraisals can be used to measure one’s job performance with feedback from subordinates, peers, and managers in the organization, so that everyone in the particular organization knows what and where he or she needs to improve. In addition, well-scheduled 360-degree feedbacks lead to positive changes in worker’s job satisfaction and enhance the company’s effort to attain its own interest. The stable encouragement of the effects of performance appraisal has a variety of short-term and long-term consequences including improved job performance, harmonious interpersonal relationships (superiors and subordinates), and as well as advanced quality management (continuous improvement) within organizations. History The 360-degree feedback was initially used by the U. S. Armed Forces to support development of its staff in the 1940’s. Later on Clark Wilson from the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut) developed the first 360-degree feedback survey instruments for management development and it has been used and studied since 1973 (www. erformanceprograms. com). Valuable factors A 360-degree feedback offers a variety of remarkably potential benefits. According to Stephane Brutus et al. (2006), all of the following benefits have been applied to six different countries in distinct functions, such as: accounting, finance, manufacturing, and many other primary departments. â⠂¬ ¢Individuals get a broader perspective of how they are perceived by others than previously possible. It indicates that awareness of and relevance of competencies in workers’ psyche will continue to increase over time. At this point, management should be aware that they too have development needs that are crucial for the whole organization. Once this step has been applied, employees would next give more reliable feedback to managers about their performance. I believe this method could be seen as a win-win situation which is beneficial for both workers and management. †¢Encouraging more open feedback — new insights. It indicates that reinforcing the desired competencies of the business requires a clearer picture to senior management of individual’s real worth. A 360-degree feedback clarifies the employee’s critical performance aspects because open feedback gives people a more rounded view of performance than they had previously. †¢Identifying key development areas for the individual, a department and the organization as a whole. Individuals’ strengths can be used to the best advantage of the business. A rounded view of the individual’s/ team’s/ organization’s performance determines appropriately strengths and weaknesses in business environment. Therefore, the self-awareness of managers will have personally impact upon subordinates. †¢Supporting a climate of continuous improvement. Starting to improve the climate/ morale will be measured through the survey. Management should focus on agenda and discuss for development based upon the collected 360-degree feedback. Goals and objectives of 360-degree feedback Applying 360-feedback requires that both recipients and reviewers are involved in confidential feedback. The negative effect of transparent feedback can negatively affected by emotions and peer conflicts. This issue can lead to impaired job performance and adverse interpersonal relationship among the employees. Patricia Angelucci (2000) states the desired objectives of a 360-degree feedback are increasing professional accountability, motivating staff, and increasing employee morale and satisfaction (Angelucci, 2000). Importantly, she claims that 360-degree appraisal given to employees provides for constructive feedback and employee recognition by objectively measuring performance, and gives the employee the responsibility to contribute information (Patricia Angelucci, 2000). It is clear that using 360-degree feedback can necessarily improve labors’ job performance as long the evaluations are delivered honestly, openly, and objectively to the targets in every aspect of management including superiors and subordinates. Process of 360-feedback Robert Garbett et al. (2007) suggest several recommendations to optimize the usefulness of the process in preparing 360-degree feedback: 1. Thorough preparation. It is remarkably crucial to all members involved about the purpose and criteria used to identify role set members. Preparation indicates key to achieve successfulness in implementing 360-degree appraisal. 2. Suitability. Methods used in gathering information need to reflect what is convenient and appropriate to the colleagues one is working with. 3. Anonymity. Anonymity and openness were found to be useful. Open approaches offer more detailed information for the development of expertise and workforce effectiveness. Further, Garbett et al. (2007) add that the characteristic useful to ensure quality on 360-degree feedbacks is self-assessment based on critical reflection using an evidence-based framework of field expertise (Garbett, 2007). This method will prevent employees from mistakenly giving feedback to coworkers, and it should be based on observation of practice and experience in the past. The implementation of 360-degree feedback has been widely used across the globe since its benefits to the every sector of management. Metcalfe (1998) and Swain et al (2004) says, â€Å"The concept of 360-degree feedback has been extensively used, examined, and adapted in business and increasingly in healthcare as a developmental tool† (As cited in Garbett et al. , 2007, p. 343). Ten steps to conducting 360-degree feedback Chris Pearce (2007) suggests there are ten steps to help companies conduct 360-degree appraisal: ? Preparing for appraisal interviews. This step includes agreed performance objectives and reviews that have been applied at any given times. ?Planning appraisals Imperative interviews held by the management have to be relaxed and solemn will be covered on this step. ?Conducting appraisals The third step involves placing situation of the prolific substitutes thoughts, demonstrating the ability of comfort and prevention due to interruptions during the interview, and pioneering the basic regulation for appraisals and the concerns by appraisees. Reviewing achievements Next, this step explains about assessing appraisees’ accomplishment and detecting where the appraisees’ position. ?Sharing views on progress Offering responses on appraisees’ accomplishment, ensuring appraisees’ aggrement on the responses, and creating the improvement if needed are covered on this st ep. ?Considering ratings This step is concerned with contributing the appraisees’ beliefs by rating the conclusions before the last result comes up. ?Plans for improvement Expanding and accentuating the further progression of the failings must be applied in the conformity and conversation should be involved in this step. ?Dealing with development plans This step deals with sincerity and factuality that must be concerned with the appraisees’ objectives and profession ambition. ?Agreeing new objectives With regards to SMART which stands for specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, and timed, appraisses’ goals and time spent should be involved in this step. Asking for feedback In the last step, questioning about appraisees’ responses to them, abridging the essential points of evaluation, and ending with conclusion should be applied for the last action. Discussion Every country has been fascinated with Japanese industry for decades and it became recognized as the world’s most competitive nation in the 1970s and 1980s. Nowadays, many small and big companies all over the world attempt to apply the Japanese system to their sys tem in every aspect of management. Several experts explain why Japan can compete well to attract its target market albeit the rivalry among the competing sellers is high in the country. It is simply a distinctive approach to Japanese management has brought remarkable impact in today’s practices such as total quality and continuous improvement (Porter, Takeuchi, & Sakakibara, 2000). With regards to improvement initiatives, Pryor, White, and Toombs (1998) point out that performance appraisal is one of the strategic quality management tools which use continuous improvement as a strategic weapon (http://www. 12manage. com). In addition, Bracken and Timmreck (1999) also agree that performance evaluations are essential for developing managerial behaviors in every level that provide data in its strategic efforts when they say, â€Å"As results of 360-degree feedback are used in conjunction with HR systems, such as staffing, succession planning, compensation, performance management and even, in some cases, downsizing† (As cited in Treena L. Gillespie, 2005, p. 363). In establishing 360-degree feedback, I contemplate there is another aspect affects people’s judgment relating to leaving feedbacks to coworkers. Coaching is one of the critical components of stimulating interpersonal relationship in conjunction with feedback results. Wright states, â€Å"The coaching component in management is a two way street. There needs to be open communication in order for successful coaching to take place† (Robert F. Wright, 2000). As such, I would like to emphasize that two-way interaction between subordinates and superiors is required in order to affect feedbacks and indeed, better feedbacks will generate better relationship. This component could cover poor communication problem which can lead to unpleasant feedbacks to employees within an organization. Nowadays, big companies such as British Airways, AT&T, Alberto Culver North America, and General Electric are increasingly using 360-degree feedback (Huet-Cox, Nielsen, & Sundstrom, 1999). According to Evans (2001), using 360-degree feedback can potentially provide a fuller, more realistic picture of the employee’s overall performance since every employee receives performance feedback from four sources: the supervisors, subordinates, peers and coworkers, and self-ratings (Evans, 2001). Effective appraisals usually lead to better performances from appraisees, and feedabcks should be jointly solving problems as long appraisees always focus on the future not the past. Several characteristics of 360-degree feedback at firms may have considerable advantages of implementing TQM, and â€Å"One survey showed that more than 20 percent of firms are tying 360-degree appraisal directly to their Total Quality Management efforts† (Laabs, 1994, p. 17). Applying the 360-degree feedback compliments the implementation of TQM in businesses since it has faster communication line (superiors to subordinates) and uncomplicated system that meets customer needs and expectations. Glover (1993) argues that there is a five-stage implementation framework that could be applied in enterprises: awareness, education, structural change, necessary activities, and outcomes or expected improvements (as cited in Yusof & Aspinwall, 2000, p. 281). Appropriate design of the 360-degree feedback will absolutely provide a strong basis for the path to successful TQM implementation. A systematic procedure such as ISO 9000 is the first-most effective way that can solve the quality problems in many businesses. Take for instance, the 360-degree feedback is used to measure the effectiveness of Just In Time (JIT) inventory system in plant department within company. Consequently, an integrated JIT inventory model generated through 360-degree system can minimize the sum of the ordering/ setup cost, holding cost, quality improvement, and crashing costs (Yang & Pan, 2004). Once those procedures have been established, the next step is to plan for improvement. If the need for change is highly needed, some methods suggested by Asher (1992) could encourage the renovation process of the implementation: investigating cost of quality, conducting customer perception surveys, collecting data on employees’ perceptions, and establishing system and procedure (as cited in Yusof & Aspinwall, 2000, p. 289). This type of approach in context of management will escalate the job performance as it will result in improved productivity in workers. I agree with Wright’s (2000) standpoint saying that 360-degree feedback can be seen as result-oriented concerned with focusing on the goals rather than the process (Robert F. Wright, 2000). More importantly, such a evaluation should lead the employees to work together attaining the company’s goals, as Wright (2000) says, â€Å"It is critical for a good manager to be more concerned with the results and less with the process of how those are achieved† (Robert F. Wright, 2000, p. 363). As long as the process is performed well, managers should be more concerned about the results not necessarily the technique. With regards to labors’ skills, through evaluations management should encourage its workers give feedback about what needs to change and where to change, as Loup and Koller says,† Listening and speaking from the heart about what people think, feel, and believe about the change will keep the change process moving forward† (Loup & Koller, 2005, p. 77). As we can conclude, utilizing well-scheduled 360-degree feedbacks as a performance appraisal is the management’s responsibilities for introducing, applying, and maintaining the practice punctually once it has started. Some companies consider a 360-degree feedback and other appraisals are attributable to adverse quality, and ironically the process in implementing those techniques seem to be time-consuming and convey some negative perceptions to the management. Management should contemplate that the company’s goals will not be successfully attained if employees do not notice whether or not they are performing well on their job as Senge (1990) concludes that yet the primary threats to our survival today come not from events but from slow gradual processes to which we are 90 percent blind (Peter M. Senge, 1990). In conclusion, all the suggestions by experts above regarding quality improvements mostly explain the importance of the 360-degree feedback within companies. Therefore, 360-degree assessment can assist the management on track and measure employee’s performance and leadership which could contribute to overall organization performance (Marcie Levine, 2003). Finally, if the 360-degree appraisal is not applied soon, I believe companies will experience a problem which can be looming ahead for the company itself in the years to come. References Angelucci, Patricia. 2000). Cultural diversity: health belief systems. 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