Racism in football Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Racism in football - Essay Example In Cashmore’s book Black Sportsmen, he identifies many factors which have influenced blacks and contributed to their decision to enter the field of sport. Firstly, Cashmore attempts to illustrate and empathise with the tendency for black families to be unstable. How many African/ Caribbean children have been raised in a broken home by a lone parent, typically the mother? By the age of 13 or 14, the child tends to seek out a father figure. In many cases, this results in them building a relationship with their coaches. This relationship/bond usually lasts until the child becomes an adult and is ready to face the real world on their own. â€Å"The surrogate father guides his protà ©gà © through his turbulent teens into his twenties when he develops into a mature and secure sportsman with an abundance of technique and conviction challenging enough to take him to success † (Cashmore, 1982: 79). The majority of afro/Caribbean children did enter sport through the encouragement and support received from coaches and trainers. However, it was only a small proportion that became successful as they held the vital physical assets such as strength and speed. In essence, black parents tended to neglect their child’s development in sport. They generally offered no encouragement and at times made it obvious that they had no interest in sport. Carlos Francis (black footballer) commented on the influence of his parents: â€Å"They’ve never even seen me play. They gave me no encouragement at all and didn’t even realise I was so into football. Even now they don’t take an active interest† (Cashmore, 1982:81). As Cashmore goes on to explain the reasons behind the lack of support, he elaborates on the fact that black parents tend to be pre-occupied in maintaining a material existence, and trying their very best to make ends meet. Most parents were uneducated; when they migrated over they had taken up the work that was made available to them. These

Starbucks Coffee Marketing Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Starbucks Coffee Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example From the discission it it clear that the company aspires to provide an extraordinary service. The company has used several strategies, including increasing the size of its workforce so that it can increase the speed of serving its clientele. Although many view, the focus on the quality of service delivery may ruin the business because the company may end up producing low-quality products. However, this is a shallow analysis of the operations underlying service orientation. This is because, apart from focusing on methods of how to present the service better to the clientele, the concept includes ways of making a satisfactory product. In essence, the service-oriented operations at Starbucks equate the operations and components of a working marketing strategy. The following is Starbucks Coffee marketing plan.As the study stresses the main target market for Starbucks is people of all genders aged between 18-40 years. The fact that Starbucks products are relatively expensive means that mo st of its clientele are people of medium to upper class although the company has tried to bring down its prices. Starbucks Coffee is a brand that is synonymous with higher status social groups. This was the focus of the company for many years. This implies that the company targeted the young people who cared about their image and status. Although this supposition is still present when one utters the name of Starbucks, the company marketing strategy is changing. These are the main target markets for Starbucks Coffee.

Comparing The End of the Imagination and The Redfern Speech Essay

Comparing The End of the Imagination and The Redfern Speech - Essay Example Arundhati Roy and Paul Keating, to convince the audience to believe in what they are saying, used the strategy of adding emotional appeal to their evidence, and by doing so, has struck the deepest cord of their heart. It is not only the evidence, but the emotions and imagination attached to the evidence, which helps Roy and Keating to win the hearts of the audience, and hence, it will not be wrong to say that it is the emotions, and not just the evidence, that helps person to convince others in the process of communication. Arundhati Roy In her essay â€Å"The end of the imagination,† Arundhati Roy has expressed her strong views against the nuclear tests conducted by Government of India in 1998. Roy has taken aid of strong evidence, through facts, reasoning and future possibilities, to convince the audience about her disapproval towards the nuclear tests. The evidence that Roy has used to convince the audience are discussed below. The consequences of nuclear war The first stra tegy that Roy has used to prove her stand against the nuclear testing by Indian government is the description of the consequences of the nuclear war. Roy has described the horrors of nuclear war in a vivid language. Instead of just using the words ‘destructive’ or ‘harmful,’ she has clearly described how the villages, rivers, wind and human body will be affected by the nuclear war. This vivid description gives a ‘feeling’ of the horrors of nuclear war and creates a clear picture of its consequences. The picture of what really happens after the nuclear war, and how it affects the environment and human beings, shocks the reader. Hence, the clarity of the effects of nuclear war on human body, the atmosphere, on future generation through poisonous radiations and the effects on environment, works as a strong evidence to prove why she is against the nuclear testing. The second evidence Roy uses is by questioning the sanity of men who can get access t o the nuclear weapons. Suicide bomber psyche Indian government had given ‘deterrence’ as a reason for their decision to go ahead with nuclear testing. However, Roy has argued that the theory of deterrence has flaws in it. She has questioned Indian Government’s understanding of the enemy. Roy feels that one cannot consider the enemy to be similar to self. That is, she has expressed her concern over the terrorist groups who are not ‘deterred’ by the nuclear capacity of the enemy as they have a different psyche. She discusses the psychology of terrorists who are ready to die in order to kill. She calls this a ‘suicide bomber’ psyche. Terrorists are so strongly brainwashed to believe in their cause that they do not hesitate even a bit to destroy themselves in order to prove their point. They are ready to perish, and are insane enough to destroy millions of lives. Roy says that if the nuclear bomb gets in hands of such people, then the Ã¢â‚¬Ë œtheory of deterrence,’ proves baseless. To convince this point, she has provided the evidence of death of Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, was assassinated by suicide bomber. Using his assassination as evidence, Roy questions the Indian Government’s understanding about the enemy psyche. Roy questions that when even a man of premiere stature like Rajiv Gandhi was not saved by the

Satisfied and Motivated Employees Create Satisfied and Loyal Customers Essay Example for Free

Satisfied and Motivated Employees Create Satisfied and Loyal Customers Essay Abstract In Corporate America, organizations vie to maintain their competitive advantage within their perspective industries. In the current economic downturn, organizations have come to rely heavily on the competitive advantage they receive from their employees, or human capital. Organizations are investing more of their funds towards satisfying and motivating employees in the hopes that these employees will create satisfied and loyal customers. To ensure employees are satisfied and motivated, organizations may recognize employee contributions with pay and a package of employee benefits. These forms of compensation work to ensure increased employee satisfaction and motivation, decreased voluntary turnover, and, therefore, the overall success of the entire organization. In Corporate America, organizations vie to maintain their competitive advantage within their perspective industries. In the current economic downturn, organizations have come to rely heavily on the competitive advantage they receive from their human capital. Human capital is defined as â€Å"an organization’s employees, described in terms of their training, experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 3). Highly skilled and developed employees are an organization’s most valuable resource in the fight to maintain their competitive advantage. Therefore, organizations are investing more of their funds towards satisfying and motivating employees in the hopes that these employees will create satisfied and loyal customers. In an effort to satisfy and motivate employees, organizations may recognize employee contributions with various forms of compensation including pay and an employee benefits package, and through recognition pro grams. These forms of compensation and recognition work to ensure increased employee satisfaction and motivation, decreased voluntary turnover, and, therefore, the overall success of the entire organization. â€Å"If we take care of our employees, they will take care of our customers.† During the current economic downturn, many organizations have experienced decreased sales and profits. Many of those organizations responded with spending cuts, which included layoffs and decreased investments in employees. The restaurant chain, Texas Roadhouse, was not immune to the economic downturn and also experienced decreased sales. However, the chain did not respond with spending cuts aimed at employees. In fact, the chain continued its existing spending relative to employee satisfaction and motivation. The text indicates, â€Å"Spending to promote job involvement and organizational commitment remained intact† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 319). The decision to maintain spending relative to employee satisfaction and motivation reflects the chain’s commitment to their employees. The chain’s commitment to their employees has been best expressed by Texas Roadhouse Chief Executive Officer (CEO), G. J. Hart. Hart, who realizes the value his employees bring to the organization, has stated, â€Å"If we take care of our employees, they will take care of our customers† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 319). Hart’s phrase may seem like a common clichà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ in Corporate America; however, organizations focused on satisfying and motivating employees are actually gaining the competitive advantage that only their employees can provide. The text indicates, â€Å"Every organization recognizes that it needs satisfied, loyal customers. In addition, success requires satisfied, loyal employees† (Noe et al., p. 293). Texas Roadhouse is not alone in its commitment to its employees. SAS, a privately owned software company, is also highly committed to its employees. Bev Brown, who works in the company’s external communications department, indicates â€Å"People do work hard here, because they’re motivated to take care of a company that takes care of them† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 385). More organizations are beginning to realize the advantages associated with satisfying and motivating their employees. And, as the realization becomes more prevalent in Corporate America, more organizations will begin to demonstrate their commitment to their employees by offering generous rewards and recognition programs. Alternative Motivation Methods Their Effectiveness Texas Roadhouse uses money as a primary motivator for its employees. The chain holds a yearly competition to identify its best meat cutter, who is awarded $20,000. The chain’s managers are allotted $500 to host barbecues or outings for their employees. The chain also holds an annual motivational conference to recognize and reward its top performers. The text indicates, â€Å"The company invites about a thousand employees, managers, and vendors to bring their spouses to a four-day conference as a way to recognize and reward its best people† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 320). The retreat was costly; and, the chain’s CEO, Hart, was publicly criticized for such lavish spending. The text indicates, a reporter â€Å"†¦ criticized Hart for wasting $2 million on luxuries during lean times† (Noe et al., p. 320). However, Hart stood firm in his commitment to his employees as he replied that â€Å"†¦ the effort to inspire employees was precisely the kind of investment that enables his company to succeed† (Noe et al., p. 320). Texas Roadhouse’s strategy is certainly effective in ensuring they retain their top talent. The text indicates, â€Å"†¦ turnover among the company’s on-site recruiters tumbled by two-thirds after the company put in place a program to recognize and reward these employees† (Noe et al., p. 320). Pay is certainly a motivator for employees; however, organizations may also utilize employee benefits as a means of motivating employees. Employee benefits are â€Å"†¦ that part of the total compensation package, other than pay for time worked, provided to employees in whole or in part by employer payments† (Milkovich Newman, 2005). The text indicates that benefits serve functions similar to pay in that benefits â€Å"†¦ contribute to attracting, retaining, and motivating employees† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 384). For instance, SAS offers a generous employee benefit package as a means of ensuring their employees are satisfied and motivated. The company’s benefit package includes access to the on-site recreation and fitness center, a subsidized day care center and summer camp, and a subsidized cafeteria. The company has established an on-site lactation room for nursing mothers, and an on-site health care center for employees and their family members to have medical concerns addressed at no cost. The text indicates that these generous benefits are â€Å"†¦ part of a strategy to hire and keep the best people without paying top dollar in salaries† (Noe et al., p. 385). The SAS strategy is certainly effective in regards to ensuring the company retains its top talent. The text indicates, â€Å"Compared with 22 percent employee turnover in the industry, SAS reports turnover of just 2 percent† (Noe et al., p. 385). The SAS strategy is also effective in ensuring the company remains profitable. The text indicates that every year the company has been in business â€Å"†¦ it has turned a profit† (Noe et al., p. 385). Transferring the Texas Roadhouse Motivational Methods The Texas Roadhouse method of using pay to motivate its employees is certainly transferrable to other organizations in Corporate America. Organizations should demonstrate their commitment to their employees by offering competitive and rewarding pay and recognition programs. Doing so will ensure the organization has the ability to attract and retain top talent, which will provide the organization with a definite competitive advantage in their perspective industry. References Milkovich, G., Newman, J. (2005). Reward systems: Theory and administration. (8th ed., p. 400). Mc-Graw-Hill. Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., Wright, P. M. (2011). Fundamentals of human resource management. (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Evolution of the Ipod Essay Example for Free

Evolution of the Ipod Essay Personalized music took a big leap towards what we call the Ipod generation today , way back in 1979 when Sony introduced its audio cassette player Walkman. When we see the original Walkman today it does seem outdated and for many a piece of junk. But 30 years back it was a breakthrough in terms of technological advancement and an instant sensation worldwide which continued for decades. WALKMAN: Walkman is a portable audio cassette player which introduced a change in listening habits and providing people an opportunity to listen to the music of their own choice, which seemed a distant dream before its inception when transistor radios were the only option for the masses. Origin and History: The first original Walkman was launched by Sony that went on sale on 1st July 1979, in Japan. It was launched subsequently under different names in many countries for instance, In US it was launched under the name Soundabout . In Sweden it was launched under the name Freestyle.. In UK it was launched under the name Stowaway. The device was built in 1978, by an audio division engineer Nobotushi Kihara who worked for Sony. Sony’s co-chairman Morita who wanted to listen operas during his frequent plane trips requested for such a device and therefore Nobotushi came up with the Walkman. Although Morita hated the name Walkman and insisted on changing it , but accepted later on when junior executives told him that a campaign had been started and changing the name now would cost the company dearly. (Sony History) Cassette-based Walkman: The first and original Walkman was a blue and silver cassette-based model TPS-L2. It came with one set of headphones and had limited features of play, stop and forward with no record function. In 1984, Sony presented its memorable model Walkman Professional WM-D6C. It was comparable in audio quality with most non-portable audio cassette decks.. Among the standard play,stop functions it also introduced the record function which made it famous. Later on, Toshiba’s Walky , Aiwa’s Cassette Boy and Panasonic’s Stereo-To-Go were giving stiff competition to the Walkman. Therefore in 1989, Sony launched its famous and unique playback only model WM-DD9, this model attracted a niche following with hardcore Walkman fans making it a must in their collection. It featured auto-reverse and had improved power consumption requiring only 1 AA battery with optional AC adapter input. Moreover it had superior sound quality as compared to its predecessors. Although the cassette based walkman had started losing its appeal probably due to increasing competition from Sanyo and emergence of CDs as a better storage medium in all respects, Sony still kept launching new models every 5 years uptill 2000, these models not only continued to represent features of previous models but also had some new ones of their own for intance, WM-701S which also came out in 1989 was more user-friendly as it came with a remote control and slim silver plated body. After which cassettes had reached technological obsolence and any future production of cassette-based models had to be stopped. (Sony Design- 1980s) PORTABLE CD PLAYERS: Portable CD players took personalized music to a further new level from portable cassette players. These players used audio CDs instead of cassettes , not only CDs were lighter than cassettes but they could store considerably more than multiple cassettes could or could record in a much better audio format which would give a superior sound quality than cassettes. History: CDs as a storage medium were introduced in the early 1980s. Once again Sony created history in 1984 when it launched its CD-based Walkman (which was a first of its kind portable CD player) D-50. Although it was also known as D-5 in some markets but its official name was Discman. Discman was considered a marvel , its size was just a little more than that of a CD case which made it very handy. Moreover it had additional features and better sound quality as compared cassette-based walkman but still they managed to gain momentum till the late 1980s because CDs were quite expensive prior to that and CD players didn’t had anti-shake protection feature which caused CDs to damage since they were delicate. (Discman) Evolution of CD Players: Portable CD players had the basic features of a cassette player besides that it also had some new features for instance hold, toggle in later versions and portable CD players in the present age are capable of supporting numerous audio formats as well . In the mid-nineties these players also featured a LCD display also. Since Sony was continuing to face increasing competition from Panasonic in the late 1980s, it improved its own design of Discman and came up with a new model D121 which had additional features from its predecessors. The competition is still ongoing with Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Bose, Coby etc. coming up with new portable cd players after every few months. Although Ipods are the in thing these days but still portable cd players continue to survive probably because CDs haven’t gone into obsolence like cassettes did. However they don’t enjoy the same popularity they did in late 1980s and mid 90s. MINI-DISC PLAYERS: Mini disc was a magneto-optical disc. It could store upto 80 minutes of digitized audio almost that of CD quality. Mini-disc players were capable of playing these storage media. The reason MD was launched was because they had the anti-skip feature which prevented disc-skipping even under the most extreme conditions and was unlike CDs which used to skip on the slightest of vibration and shocks and used to annoy users. History: Sony launched its first MD Player in 1992 named MZ1 along with the Mini-disc itself. However many other companies for instance JVC, Sharp, Pioneer and Panasonic launched their respective mini-disc players as well. MD Players were initially launched as an alternative to Philips analogue cassette system which was quite popular at that time. Moreover till the mid-nineties MD players were popular in Japan and Asia but largely unknown elsewhere. (Music on the move: Minidisc) Evolution of the Mini-disc and the Mini-disc player: nitially when Sony introduced the Mini-disc it was based on ATRAC audio data compression but later it was based on linear PCM inorder to give CD quality audio. Although MD Walkmans when launched by Sony were multi-featured i. e. they could play and record on MDs from both digital and analogue sources for example, live audio from their microphone inputs ; but were somewhat large and couldn’t be placed in a pocket. Therefore, Sony released a new model MZ-R2 which was quite compact. MD Walkmans gradually improved over the years for instance, when MDLP(Mini-disc Long Play) was introduced in MDs in 2000 which allowed MDs to record 4 times of what they initially could MD Players were enabled with this feature and many in the following years for example, Net MD, Hi MD. (Sony MZ RH1) MP3 PLAYERS: MP3 players are also technically known as Digital Audio Players. It is a device that stores, organizes and plays audio files. MP3 players were a breakthrough in their own right since they didn’t require CDs or cassettes to be inserted into them , common features of an MP3 player were a flash memory drive or a miniature hard drive, an embedded processor and an audio codec microchip which would convert digitally compressed sound into analogue form which was then played through the speaker jack. The user can store hundreds of songs on the flash memory drive/mini hard drive. History: The first MP3 player came from a Korean company SaeHan Information Systems which in collaboration with Eiger Labs US launched in 1998 the first solid state digital audio player named MPMan . It featured 32 Mb of RAM which could hold 8 average length of tracks( i. e. 32 minutes of music). (World’s 1st MP3 Player) The same year Diamond Multimedia lauched its version of MPMan named Rio PMP300. However its sales were better than expected initially but later had a fall from grace probably due to lawsuits. (Collecting MP3 Portables) In 1999, Compaq developed the first hard-drive based mp3 player in collaboration with HanGo Electronics and named it PJB-100(Personal Jukebox). The player had a capacity of 4. 8 GB and it was extensively advertised that it could hold 1200 songs! (Net Audio) Evolution Of MP3 Players: Initially MP3 players supported only the . mp3 format but in the following years MP3 players started supporting multiple formats for example , AAC, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis. Flash-based MP3 players: These are solid state devices that store audio files on internal flash memory. Initially internal memory of these players was in a few MBs and users couldn’t store any more than on a CD but soon makers got notice of this and today we see internal memory in GBs which is capable of holding hundreds of songs. (World ‘s 1st 32 GB Flash based PMP) Similarly, internal memory couldn’t be extended by users however in a couple of years removable flash memory was made available better known as memory cards. Moreover with the passage of time , these players became more resilient and required less power consumption as compared to portable CD player or a hard-drive based mp3 player. Hard-drive based Players: These devices are also known as Digital Jukeboxes. Initially their capacity was 4-5 GB but these days players are available with capacity upto 250 GB. This loosely means that thousands of songa could be stored on a single player. (Wolverine ESP 250 GB) MP3 CD Players: With the growth in popularity of MP3 players and mp3 format itself . Many portable CD players started supporting playback for CDs which had MP3 files stored on them. iPOD REVOLUTION: iPod is a popular brand of portable media players which are designed by Apple Inc. Apple has produced a number of models over years iPod Classic, iPod Nano to name a few. iPods have become a sensation for this generation and seems to be for the following ones too just like Walkman was in the 1980s. As per stats upto September 2008, 173 million iPods have been sold worldwide which has made it the best selling portable music player ever. History: In early 2000, Apple had started making software for the growing market of digital audio players. The company found that the MP3 players were either too big (those that were hard-drive based) or too small (those that were flash-drive based) and had mediocre user-interfaces. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs took the initiative, he decided that Apple would make their own PMPs(personal music players). Therefore Apple’s hardware engineering head Jon Rubinstein assembled a team including hardware engineers Tony Fadell and Michael Dhuey and a design engineer Jon Ive, however Apple didn’t make the product completely on in-house instead they used Portal Player( a semi-conductor company) platform based on 2 ARM cores. Nevertheless the product within an year and was unveiled on 23rd October 2001, it was a Mac-compatible product with 5 Gb hard-drive and could hold upto 1000 songs. The name iPod was suggested by Vinnie Chieco a freelance copy-writer. iPod Models: iPod Classic: It was the iPod that was launched originally. Uptill now six generations have been produced of this model and is the only model that is hard-drive based. iPod Mini: Its first generation was launched in 2004. However it was discontinued after its 2nd generation. Its storage medium was based on mini hard-drive. iPod Shuffle: iPod Shuffle was first introduced in January 2005. Due to it smaller size and sleeker look it became an instant hit. Its flash-drive based PMP. Uptill now 2 generations have been produced of this model. iPod Nano: iPod Nano was also a flash-drive based model. It was also launched the same year Shuffle was launched . What separated Nano from Shuffle was its greater storage capacity and coloured display. iPod Touch: It is the latest in the iPod family and was launched in 2007. It was also a flash drive based model similar to Nano and Shuffle . But Touch is way ahead of all of its predecessors. It was the first iPod with Wi-Fii and Multitouch interface. Moreover it featured the Safari browser and wireless access to iTunes Stores and YouTube. (Identifying Ipods) Software: Initially when Apple introduced its iTunes software it was only compatible with Mac OS but later on Apple a Windows version of it as well. iPod first generation models although various audio formats, image formats and video formats but only worked with Mac-OS. However when Apple launched its second generation models the software within those models was compatible with MS Windows. Apple developed alternatives for various formats which were previously not supported by it for example, Microsoft’s WMA audio format was not supported earlier so they provided a converter along with their Windows version of iTunes. Adding further open source formats like Ogg Vorbis, FLAC were previously not supported however these formats can be played now on installing a firmware onto the iPod for example, Rockbox User-Interface: All iPods have colour displays which incorporates anti-aliased graphics and text with sliding animations. Moreover except iPod shuffle and iPod Touch all other iPods have 5 buttons and second generation onwards buttons have been integrated on the click wheel. Click-wheel is an innovation that brings refineness and clarity to the interface. The buttons given perform the basic play,stop etc. functions as for scrolling the click-wheel is used in a rotational manner. In its later models Apple made some changes for instance, iPod Touch doesn’t have a click wheel instead it has a 3. 5 inch touchscreen and in addition to it a home button , a sleep/wake button and volume up/down button. Hardware: A typical iPod comprises of the following chipset and electronics: Microcontroller Audio Chip Storage Medium Batteries Different iPods have used different microcontrollers along their different generations for example, iPod Nano used a variable-speed ARM in its first generation model however it has continued to use Samsung System-On Chip second generation onwards. iPod Classic has a hard-drive based storage medium and has been since first generation however the capacity has increased considerably i. e. from 10 GB in its first generation model to 160 GB in its sixth generation model. Similarly, iPod Mini was based on the Mini Hard-drive however Apple discontinued it after its 2nd generation model. Moving on iPod Nano, Shuffle and Touch are flash-drive based and there capacity has also increased considerably with newer models. Connectivity: Originally Apple used a Firewire connection was used to the host computer and for charging battery. Third generation onwards, Apple allowed both Firewire and USB connectivity. This allowed for better compatibility with PCs. Therefore 5th generation onwards Apple dropped Firewire for data transfer and made complete transition to USB 2. 0 in an attempt to reduce cost . CONCLUSION: From Walkman to iPod people have seen a great advancements in personal music players. Walkman ruled 1980s which continued till the mid-nineties. However , after that advancements were made very speedily and we saw MD players, MP3 players and finally the iPod in 2001. iPod completely redefined infact revolutionised portable entertainment. Infact in these 8 years since its inception it has made record breaking sales and won several awards for engineering excellence , it has acheived much more than what the Walkman in a decade and a half. But then again, Walkman has its own place in history and iPod is making its own. ? REFERENCES: Sony Global, n. d. , â€Å"Sony History† retrived from : http://www. sony. net/Fun/design/history/ Sony Gobal, n. d. â€Å"Sony Design- History 1980s† retrieved from: http://www. sony. net/Fun/design/history/product/1980/wm-2. html Walkman Central, n. d, â€Å"Discman† retrieved from: http://www. walkmancentral. com/list/discman Minidisc Org, n. d. â€Å"Sony MZ RH1† retrieved from : http://www. minidisc. org/manuals/sony/Sony_MZ-RH1_user_manual. pdf Van Buskrik, Eliot, n. d. â€Å"Introducing the World’s first MP3 Player† retrived from: http://reviews. cnet. com/4520-6450_7-5622055-1. html Menta, Richard, n. d. â€Å" Collecting MP3 Portables-Part 1† retrieved from: http://www. antiqueradio. com/Dec04_Menta_mp3pt1. html Yoshido Junko, n. d. â€Å"OEMS ready to roll on jukeboxes for Net audio† retrieved from: http://www. eetimes. com/story/OEG20000818S0035 Creative, (2007-12-03), â€Å"Creative inroduces World’s 1st 32 GB Flash based PMP† retrieved from: http://asia. creative. com/corporate/pressroom/releases/welcome. asp? pid=12867 Wolverine Data, (2008-01-02), â€Å"Wolverine ESP 250 GB† retrieved from: http://secure. serverlab. net/shop/merchant. mvc? Screen=PRODProduct_Code=5250Category_Code=ESPStore_Code=T00107 â€Å"Identifying Ipod Models† retrieved from: http://docs. info. apple. com/article. html? artnum=61688

The Bahamian Work Ethic Management Essay

The Bahamian Work Ethic Management Essay I propose to study the work ethic of Bahamian employees as it relates to job performance in the Bahamas Electricity Corporation. My particular interest in this study is because I am an employee of BEC and it is a general belief of the public that work performance is poor and degrading in the company. If this is in fact true, could the performance of these employees be related to how Bahamians believe work performance should be. because this is what they are used to? There could be a way to change the culture of job performance with education and willingness to change. Work ethic is all about being diligent and hard working at any task assigned. There are not only are those values associated with it, but also knowing that there is a moral gain from it and a sense of improving ones character on the whole. Persons that exhibit a character of hard work and dedication are more likely to get better tasks and promotions wherever they work. And those who do not show a good work ethic are often labeled lazy and are said to be making more money which is not equal to the amount of work they are performing. Some individuals believe that idea of having good work ethic and working hard is a delusion set up to have employees working for harder than they should for their employers. Criticisms about work ethic, like the one mentioned, have always been a part of the work industry. Andre Gorz, a French philosopher, wrote In actual fact the work ethic has become obsolete. It is no longer true that producing more means working more or that producing more will lead to a better way of life (1989). However, when an individual is working below minimum or not working at all and if he or she is fully capable of performing, it causes others to work harder to fill in the productivity gap. Bahamians have always been associated with when the spirit moves them attitude towards work especially in the civil servant sector as opposed to the private sector. In 2007, there was a survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism entitled Bahamian Resident Survey which provided some information stating, Bahamian workers are perceived to project a lack of work ethics (Gibbs, 2012). High school students are being prepared now from the 12th grade to be ready for the work force and to perform at their best even when others are not doing so. The focus of this study is to evaluate the relationship that exists between the Bahamian work ethic and work performance. The study will assess documentation in the context of work ethics and employee work performance. By studying this relationship, it will hope to bring some light to this area of study in work performance left untouched in the Bahamas. Statement of Problem In order to understand the rationale behind the degrading Bahamian work ethic, its relationship with employee work performance is tested. Additionally, attitudes and behavior are involved in the process. With the degradation happening as such, customer satisfaction levels are falling and productivity could come an all time low. While addressing the problem in this study, ways to improve job performance and work ethic in Corporations will be looked at. Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to determine whether an employees work ethic is related to the way that individual performs on the job. Also, this study hopes to find a difference in the work ethic of age generations in the Corporation. The unit of analysis is the employees by department. The topic and study is particularly important because future generations of Bahamians can benefit from understanding that certain beliefs and attitudes towards general working and employment are unwarranted. Research Questions For the purpose of this study, the following question will be addressed: Question 1: Can the work ethic (attitudes and beliefs) of Bahamians be associated with employee performance? Question 2: What is the Bahamian work ethic? Question 3: How can work ethic in the Corporation be improved? Significance of the Problem This research study needs to be conducted because it can help Bahamian employers to understand how to motivate their employees to perform better on the job in terms of attitude, beliefs and behavior towards work. By getting to the root of the problem with the research results, solutions recommended could help to improve the customer satisfaction levels and the day to day work habits of employees. Delimitations With more time, the research study could have encompassed all staff (technical and clerical) of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, Water and Sewerage Corporation and Bahamas Telecommunication Corporation for a full study of corporations in the Bahamas. Also, there was not enough money in the budget to perform an outer island study for the Family Island branches. The female population, where the sample is being taken, is very low to the males. So this sample will be pre-dominantly males which will only show their prospective on the matter. Review of Related Literature On the job performance is evaluated in a number of ways. An assessment of an employees tasks and how well it is realized is known as a performance appraisal (Rotundo, 2009). This review is planned for the discussion and understanding of the Bahamian attitude towards working and how it relates to work performance. The link between performance and work ethic It is believed that there could be links between certain behaviors on the job and how this might prevent good performance from employees just like it would make the performance better (Carter, Murray and Gray, 2011). There are attributes that an employee should have as a part of their individualism such as trust, interpersonal sensitivity, altruism and perspective taking. Psychological well-being in turn predicts improved job performance and reduced turnover stated Peterson, Park, Hall and Seligman (2009). The research offers that few studies have explicitly examined the linkage between HRM practices and service quality. Schneider et al. (1998) proposed that service quality rests on a set of organizational foundation issues that support and facilitate front-line employee service delivery, which include internal service provided by support staff, efforts to remove obstacles to work, and employee participation and training. Ishak, Mustapha, Mahmud and Afriffin commented on decreased productivity in the workplace stating that, The inability to manage and communicate emotions effectively can lead to unresolved and repetitive conflicts among employees and in the long run that can cause severe burnout and diminished productivity (2008). Many employees do not know how communicate properly and this could be tie to a lost in real work ethics training. Quality of work and high performance The majority of studies investigating the outcomes of ethics on employee performance look at the matter from the side of management. In their paper Do They See Eye to Eye? Management and Employee Perspectives of High-Performance Work Systems and Influence Processes on Service Quality, Liao, Toya, Lepak and Hong explore the notion of how different perspectives on service can be between management, employees and even customers of the banking sector. In their paper High Performance Work Systems in the Paper Industry, Parsons and Necochea offer that Though there is not a single definition, HPWS can be described as work systems that maximize the fit between the social (employees and structure) and technology systems. Fit or alignment between employees, technologies, and organizational strategy is seen as a key factor in the competitive advantage of an organization. While this definition and most models seem more easily aligned towards the production sector of industry, the service is no less accounted for as this study demonstrates. The researchers engaged 292 managers, 830 employees, and 1,772 customers of 91 bank branches. As mentioned before, perspectives differed between management and line staff and while an issue like having standard operation procedures was important from a management perspective, customers noted a positive experience when line staff appeared to have the latitude to make decisions that was specific to accommodating their needs as opposed to having to follow management guides. Employees felt a degree of empowerment from the same process. This empowerment allowed employees to perform greater and feel better about what tasks they were assigned. Work ethics history Wang (2008) summarizes that in earlier decades in the age of Christianity, doing work was looked at as being punishment for doing something wrong. Because of the Reformation Age, people were taught that working was something good and honest to do. Further on, it was told that if you were not doing work, it was a bad idea as opposed to working which was good. It is also understood in China after the change of government to communism, the people were given a cultural boost to ensure that their indoctrinate work ethics would remain and no external forces combat their natural hard working attitudes to improve China. This same cultural boost can be used in other areas to improve the output of hard workers in the Bahamas. Bahamian Work Ethic During the later part of the year, Junkanoo band practices and costume making are taking place. Junkanoo parades take place around Christmas while schools are closed. Bahamians put a lot of effort into competing in these parades for just those two days of the year. Storr (2006) asked the question, What does Junkanoo teach Bahamians about themselves and their abilities?.. Certainly, the most important lesson that Bahamians learn from Junkanoo is that success and hard work are inextricably linked (p.301). What is being said is that there is no lack of work ethic in the Bahamas, it is just focused in certain areas. The same way the participants in Junkanoo can spend long hours pasting costumes and practicing dancing they can spend performing well on the job. Research Hypothesis: H0: Bahamian work ethic is related to employee performance Ha: Bahamian work ethic is not related to employee performance Methodology Participants During the later half fall season of 2012, 65 employees of the Blue Hills Power Station (BEC) of ages 19 and above will be asked to participate in the study by completing the surveys. The employees at the station are pre-dominantly men and are separated by day and shift works. There are three departments: Electrical and Mechanical (Day workers) and Operations (Shift workers). Posters will be put up around the station in the respective departments to remind the employees to the study. Instrument Design For the purpose of this study, a survey design was chosen as the best instrument for this quantitative study because it can provide trends in behavior and opinions from a sample of the population. The first part of the survey used questions that were taken from the study entitled, A Chinese Work Ethic in a Global Community by Victor Wang of California State University. The second part of the survey was created by the researcher to appropriately fit the work lifestyle of the employees at the power station. There are 21 questions in all; with Part 1 headed Work Ethic and Part 2 headed Job Performance. The survey uses a Likert Scale with range from 6 to 1 in Part 1; Six (6) being strongly agree and (1) being strongly disagree. However, in Part 2, Six (6) was changed to strongly disagree and one (1) to strongly agree to prevent participant overlook. Because the items in the survey will assess the content that was used to measure before (survey has been used by different researchers in ma nagement and education studies), there will be no need to demonstrate validity except for Part 2 which was created by the researcher. The instruments reliability of Part 2 will be tested by an alpha of 0.95, N of participants = 65, N of questions = 21. Procedures / Data Collection The letter of consent (in an email) will be sent two weeks ahead of the schedule date for the survey. All of the employees that are willing to participate will reply to the email address given to them. The mechanical and electrical staff that have agreed to participate will be taken in groups of 5 or 6 to the Mess Hall (Blue Hills Power Station) to be administered the survey. One group a day during the lunch break so that none of the employees are kept from their lunch. For the consenting participants of the Operation department, each of the shifts have a rotation into the 8am to 4pm shift every three days. At this time, the shift team that is on will be asked to accompany the survey administer to the Mess Hall where they will sit and be given pencils to begin filling out the questionnaire. After that shift teams three days are over, the next shift team taking over the 8am to 4pm shift will be administered the survey and so on until all the shift teams have completed it. All of the p articipants will be asked by the administers not to hold conversations while filling out the survey. Data Analysis Minitab 16 Statistical Software for the Windows operating system will be used to evaluate the data collected for this study. The responses to Part 1 and Part 2 Likert questions of the instrument will be summed up. The mode of each question will be used to find the most frequent response. The best approach to analyze the responses will be to use the Mann Whitney. The Kruskal Wallis test can be used also to analyze the difference in responses from the three departments (Operations, Electrical and Mechanical). Further analysis can be done by converting the responses into two groups of agree and disagree. This way a chi square test can be used to test if the null hypothesis is true. The hypotheses will be tested at a minimum of the .05 level of significance. Projected Findings Part 1 (Work Ethic) Mode Statements 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Strongly Disagree 5 12 20 25 8 26 18 15 6 28 1 17 Disagree 5 10 15 15 6 15 12 18 7 18 3 8 Somewhat Disagree 10 5 10 12 10 7 10 12 9 12 5 2 Somewhat Agree 20 15 10 7 10 8 15 10 10 5 11 6 Agree 18 10 8 6 17 8 5 7 20 2 25 18 Strongly Agree 7 15 2 0 14 1 5 3 13 0 20 14 n = 65 Part 2 (Job Performance) Mode Statements 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Strongly Disagree 3 1 4 10 7 9 3 0 1 Disagree 5 4 3 4 12 7 2 9 1 Somewhat Disagree 8 16 10 12 14 9 7 4 2 Somewhat Agree 17 11 8 15 16 15 20 14 10 Agree 14 20 22 11 14 20 22 26 18 Strongly Agree 18 12 18 13 2 5 11 12 33 n = 65 Timeline **Please see attached in Appendices. Proposed Budget Cory K. Bain Proposal Cash Budget For the month ended December 30 2012 December Cash Receipts Allowance $500.00 Total Cash Receipts $500.00 Cash Payments Posters $15.00 Papers $10.00 Pencils $5.00 Folders $5.00 Refreshments $20.00 Pens $8.00 Researchers Salaries $300.00 Total Cash Payments $363.00 Ending Cash Balance $137.00

Cultural Media Watch :: essays research papers

Cultural Media Watch A few common assumptions would offer some very general stereotypes which most Americans are probably subjected to each time they tune into their favorite program. The problem with making assumptions based on stereotypes, racism, and bias maybe considered two-fold. Of primary concern should obviously be the narrow-minded and over generalized prejudice which exists in mainstream media culture. Then, of only slightly less distress, would be the willingness of society to accept such demeaning norms. However, within the ‘high definition’ world of television, some prime-time shows are shattering overused typecasting. Although, some are not, also. For instance, one such common immoral stigma would be that only men of European heritage may hold positions of authority; at home and more importantly, in an office. Furthermore, African, Spanish-speaking, and other ethnic Americans will be depicted as second-class citizens. Additionally, women of all races may not hold any high positions of a profession as do their male co-stars. Luckily, most of these false accusations were proven wrong. For this analysis of television diversity, or lack there of, a look at the portrayal of African American men as in their position within a working environment, the dynamics of their family structure, and the overall social implications of such position(s) will be explored. Then, in reflection of the growing population of Spanish speaking people, a look at the near absence may reveal a certain ethnocentric standard of mainstream television. In such culturally dynamic shows as, The Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Afro-American men held such high positions as judges, doctors, and lawyers. Although, these two shows are directly linked to such positive portrayals, that is, almost all characters of the show are Afro-American, they offer an enlightening depiction of ethnic justice. Besides, Euro-American dominated T.V. shows have conquered most major networks since the first picture tube was created. Also seen on these were other non-white characters whom hold an array of savvy jobs and social ranks. As an example, last week, on The Cosby Show, an African-American and a Spanish-American woman sat side by side with a panel of aristocrats while debating about some common social topics, namely women’s liberation. As the show progressed both women seemed to be disregarded through most of the program. However, the show ended when both women eventually became fed-up with the insulting arrogance of their male-coun terparts and verbally reprimanded their ignorance and specifically pointed to such behavior as to why women have become so imbued to eradicate their years oppression.