Women in Combat Essay - 1249 Words

Women in Combat Women have played a tremendous role in many countries armed forces from the past to the present. Women have thoroughly integrated into the armed forces; all positions in the armed forces should be fully accessible to women who can compete with men intellectually and physically. Yet, many argue that the distinction between combat and non-combat becomes blurred in the context of women warfare (Ladin; Holm, Hoar). In actuality, many women are assigned to jobs that will expose them to enemy attack, and this has been openly acknowledged by the top Pentagon officials. The United States Army has also recognized that women would be deployed in combat zones as an inevitable consequence of their assignments. This was†¦show more content†¦There are many grounds on which this argument could be disputed, but women have contributed greatly in past wars. They have served in combat in many skills during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam (Holm). One study (Binkin Bach) found that many NATO and several WARSAW PACT countries employed women in combat roles during World War II. Russia was reported as using military women on the front lines. In Israel, where they are actually conscripted, women have also experienced armed combat. (Binkin Bach) found that in the first phase of Israel’s war of Liberation, one out of every five soldiers was female and they shared equality in both offensive and defensive battle situations. Holm found that some 7,500 military women served in S.E. Asia during the Vietnam War. She maintains that these women proved the modern American military woman is fully capable of functioning effectively in a military role in a combat environment, even under direct hostile fire. The United States Army has even conducted its own tests to examine the performance of individual units with women in the field, under simulated combat conditions (Hoar). The first test, labeled MAX-WAC (Women Content in Units Force Development Test) studied women in three-day field exercise, and assessed their effect on unit performance. The second test, REF-WAC, studied women in thirty-day sustained combat related exercises during the NATO annual REFORGERShow MoreRelatedWomen in Combat1883 Words   |  8 PagesWomen in Combat Women in combat is an issue that I believe should be given a little more thought and attention. I personally feel that women should be allowed to be in ground combat operations if they desire to do so. I do not feel that it is fair to exclude someone from performing a job within the military simply due to their gender. I do feel that women who want to go to combat should be able to perform the same physical tasks as the men currently in those positions. This issue hits closeRead MoreWomen in Combat1316 Words   |  6 PagesI m an American soldier too Can a woman handle fighting in combat? Should women be able to come face to face with the enemy? Will women be able to control their emotions and take the horror that war inflicts? Should women be grateful that they are not included in such a terrible thing as combat, or is it wrong to exclude them just because they are women? I say if a woman chooses this kind of challenge, then she is more than capable. During the daring rescue of prisoner of war Jessica LynchRead MoreEssay on Women in Combat1560 Words   |  7 PagesTherefore, the standards for enlisting in military combat positions are as high as possible to ensure that we can create soldiers that are effective as these â€Å"perfect-world† soldiers. There are obviously men and women who are not able to meet these standards, but there are definitely also men and women who are highly capable of meeting and/or exceeding these standards. While some individuals feel that the biological differences between men and women in combat would put our military at a disadvantage, evidenceRead More Women in Combat Essay1217 Words   |  5 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Women in Front Line Combat When it comes to combat assignments and the needs of the military, men take precedence over all other considerations, including career prospects of female service members. Female military members have been encouraged to pursue opportunities and career enhancement within the armed forces, which limit them only to the needs and good of the service due to women being not as â€Å"similarly situated† as their male counterparts when it comes to strengthRead MoreEssay On Women In Combat1782 Words   |  8 Pages316 October 22, 2017 Women in Combat Since before time, women have always had less power compared to men. Men have always been the ones who have had the power to make decisions, the power to incorporate new ideas, and have a powerful role within society. Unfortunately, in some countries, women are not valued enough nor respected. There have been many cases within some cultures that women live a life of misery because they don’t have freedom. However, in some countries women have gained the rightRead MoreEssay Women in Combat1323 Words   |  6 PagesThe United States military views its diverse force as one of its greatest assets. Senior Air Force leaders recognize the monumental contributions both men and women make in support of their country daily. Americans serving in any branch of service know it is not a nine-to-five job but rather a calling. It is about being a part of the Profession of Arms. Airmen are warriors. The third verse of the Air Force Airman’s Creed states, â€Å"I am an American A irman, Guardian of Freedom and Justice, My Nation’sRead MoreWomen In Combat Essay1777 Words   |  8 Pagespart of humanity almost as long as humanity itself. However, women at war have not been. History has many stories about exceptional women serving honorably on the battlefield. In many cases Women on the battlefield are liabilities. During World War II both the Soviets and Germans tried placing women on the front lines when they were desperate for fighting soldiers. Male troops forgot their combat responsibilities in order to protect the women fighting beside them. This made their units less effectiveRead MoreWomen Should Be Legal For Combat977 Words   |  4 PagesWomen should be allowed to serve in combat roles in the military Some argue that women should not serve in combat because; they have never served in any type of combat operations in the history of the American military. Positions in the military have been designed specifically for women and how they perform their duties. No evidence can be produced that women have the abilities, physical strength, or motivation to engage in combat operations, the physical differences from their male counterpartsRead MoreWomen in Combat Roles in the Military851 Words   |  3 PagesPhysical differences between men and women come up in careers such as the military. The military career requires great responsibility, dedication, and sacrifice. The key to achieving a good performance in this field is to have an excellent physical ability. Women with physical training can exceed men without physical training. In addition, women have to have great value to develop this type of careers. The equality and teamwork are two fundamental reasons too. Over the years, it has be en thoughtRead MoreWomen Serving For Combat Positions1464 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction/Objective: Women serving in combat positions has been a highly controversial topic and is openly criticized by many. The push for equality by allowing women to serve in combat positions is not just isolated to a few military branches of service. Secretary Carter stated, â€Å"For the first time in U.S. military history, as long as they qualify and meet specific standards, women will be able to contribute to the Defense Department mission with no barriers at all in their way.† (Pellerin

How to Write an Effective Thesis for a Comparative Essay Free Essays

No matter what your major, there’s usually no escape from English literature and composition classes and a compare-contrast essay assignment. Many students get nervous when their professors ask them to write an essay about the similarities and differences between two or more texts or ideas, especially when writing the thesis for the essay; however, writing a thesis for a compare-contrast essay is not as difficult as you may think. Instructions Read the assignment sheet carefully before you begin so you can follow the professor’s instructions exactly. We will write a custom essay sample on How to Write an Effective Thesis for a Comparative Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Each professor usually has his own idiosyncrasies, so underline everything the professor expects you to include in the thesis. While writing the thesis, refer back to the underlined notes. 2 Make a list of similarities and differences between the texts, ideas or events. Sponsored Links Simple Project Template Yes. It’s easy. Nothing to install. Try it Free! www.smartsheet.com Narrow down similarities and differences to specific ideas to avoid writing a compare-contrast thesis that is too broad. For example the compare-contrast thesis, â€Å"The media depict people in different roles compared to the realities of the general population,† is too general. Begin your statement with words like whereas, while, even though, and although to suggest a contrasting element will follow. For example: Although the media depict most women as housewives and stay-at-home mothers, in reality many women work full time and put their children in daycare. Make sure the thesis for a compare and contrast essay compares and contrasts two or more ideas. One of the most common basic ways to write a thesis statement for a compare contrast essay is as follows: While Jane Austin’s novel â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† underscores themes of pride, prejudice and women and marriage, and Mary Shelly’s story â€Å"Frankenstein† reveals themes of madness, the sublime, and justice, it is apparent by juxtaposing these two novels that most women during the early 19th century felt trapped in a patriarchal society that restricted the roles of women, especially in marriage. 6 Familiarize yourself with literary devices other than theme for compare and contrast essays. Rhetorical devices such as allegory, characterization, climax, symbolism, foreshadowing, figurative language, simile, imagery, irony, metaphor, motifs, personification, tone and other devices can add interest to a thesis statement for a compare-contrast essay. Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_5012335_write-statement-compare-contrast-essay.html#ixzz2rPnmEClT How to cite How to Write an Effective Thesis for a Comparative Essay, Essays

Complexity of Organizational Behaviour and Management

Question: Discuss about the Complexity of Organizational Behaviour and Management. Answer: Introduction: With the increasing complexity of business, managing human resource has emerged as one of the prime challenges for the organization. In this study, the focus has been provided on the human resource challenges that Qantas have to face in achieving sustainable growth in Australian market. The case study has highlighted the kind of strategic challenges that Qantas is facing in handling their human resources effectively. The case study has highlighted different factors including increasing competition, unavailability of low-cost carriers have created major impact on both external and internal business environment. Moreover, the study has emphasizes on the least efficient and most effective repair technologies that Qantas will have to focus on handling business circumstances in an efficient manner. It has influenced Qantas to focus on the development of different strategies to handle all the barriers associated with the business processes in an appropriate manner. The strategic choices by Qantas can be described through different models and theories. Chang et al. (2014) have highlighted rational persuasion that organizations utilize to transform logical arguments in reality. The study has highlighted different types of challenges associated with the maintenance staffs. It has mentioned the fact that Civil Aviation Safety Authority has formulated specific rules and regulations that will bring Australian aviation services in line with the recognized European technologies. Now, effective utilization of rational persuasion will allow Qantas to identify different strategies that can allow increasing the effectiveness of the operational process. The speech by Qantas CEO Alan Joyce highlighted the fact that employees associated with the engineering union have not accepted restructuring process. However, the Alan Joyce also has emphasizes of the fact that effective utilization of restructuring process has become necessary in order to achieve competiti ve advantage in the market (Homsombat, Lei and Fu 2014). On the other hand, engineering union has expressed their concern regarding the job security perspectives after the utilization of restructuring process. Thus, it actually highlighted the significance of rational persuasion perspectives in order to create maximum impact on the market. Moreover, rational persuasion has helped CEO of Qantas to understand the fact that initiating checking from the licensed engineers to minimize the gap in the global airline competitiveness. In fact, it will allow Qantas to catch up with the best practices initiated by the global companies. However, Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association have expressed their thought that Joyce is actually looking to utilize inspection engineers outside the Australia, as the developed restructuring process is associated with different types of risks (Oum and Yu 2012). For that reason, it has actually induced management of Qantas to focus on the effective utilization of rational persuasion technique to counter the global challenges in an effective manner. On the other hand, the case study has also highlighted the fact that Alan Joyce has warned employees from engineering unions to follow the provided restructuring guidelines. In fact, they were threatened to follow the norms and guideline of the check-in staffs. The CEO has mentioned that maintenance and repair cost of Qantas is extremely expensive and close to ineffective. The prime reason for such barriers is that Qantas is still utilizing 40 years old machinery and technologies for repairing aircraft technologies in an effective manner (qantas.com 2017). As a result, it is creating challenges for the organization to utilize low cost activities in an appropriate manner. For that reason, Alan Joyce has enforced entire repair management team to go through the restricting process. Thus, this type of forced implementation strategy can be described through the force-coercion practices. As highlighted by Shaw (2016) coercion reflects the practices of pressurizing other parties in an invol untary way by the use of threats and intimidation or some other type of pressure. Now, Alan Joyce approach of warning employees or inducing them to go through the challenges associated with the restructuring process is easily associated with the force-coercion approach. Now, force-coercion includes different types of forceful activities for creating desired impact on individual or organizational activities. It includes different types of psychological and physical pressure that can affects the present form of activities (Nair et al. 2013). Now, Alan Joyce has initiated warning for all the employees associated with the engineering union or maintenance group so that all the planned activities associated with the restructuring process can be utilize effectively. Thus, it has actually created psychological pressure among the employees, which has influenced them to perform all the activities in an appropriate manner. On the other hand, the case study has also highlighted the fact that CEO of Qantas Alan Joyce has tried to initiate his thoughts and perspective to the fellow employees or subordinates in order to reduce any challenges efficiently. For instance, during the global crisis situation, The Flying Kangaroo has minimized the number of annual leaves provided to the pilots to handle the requirements of the operational process (Wu 2012). Therefore, it has influenced Alan Joyce to focus on the strategic reviews regarding the overall future investment, corporate alignment strategies and cost cutting techniques in order to remain competitive in the global market. The case study has highlighted the fact that Alan Joyce is more focused on establishing his thoughts and beliefs that are best suitable for the business. Thus, strategic choices of Qantas can also describe through the top-down approach. As mentioned by Graham (2013) it is essential to break the entire change or restructuring process into different parts so that it can able to counter the challenges associated with the business process. From the above discussion, it can be assessed that Alan Joyce has tried to utilize combination of theoretical or practical perspectives for handling the international challenges in an appropriate manner. For instance, Qantas has focused on the effective utilization of the rational persuasion techniques in order to analyze differences in opinion efficiently. It has also helped Qantas to understand the best possible strategies for the organization to counter all the challenges like maintenance and repair, which is important for achieving competitive advantage in the market. On the other hand, Alan Joyce has also focused on force-coercion so that all the employees give their best effort towards the restructuring process. Moreover, force-coercion can also help Qantas to minimize the impact of negative thought process among the employees, which eventually help to create positive organizational behaviour. Moreover, top-down approach has helped Qantas to establish leadership or management p ower in an effective manner. It has helped management to utilize proper communicational channel for countering the issues. The case study has highlighted the fact that Alan Joyce has tried to initiate restructuring process within a very short span of time. As a result, not all employees do able to receive in-depth information about the necessity of the changing operational procedure. Therefore, regardless of the expected outcome, the initiated strategy of Alan Joyce has created immense negative impression among the specific group of employees (Auguste 2013). For that reason, Alan Joyce will have to focus on analyzing theoretical perspective of initiating changes in the business procedure. Over the years, several theories have been developed on the change management process within the organizational structure. For instance, Lewin three steps model has provided a specific guideline for the management to implement change in the operational procedure (Shirey 2013). The initial step of Lewin model has focused on the unfreezing process, where management of Qantas will have to understand the needs of implementi ng change in an effective way. As per the article by Burnes and Cooke (2013) it is necessary for the organizations to identify actual reason of initiating change management process so that it can able to develop strategies to eliminate any type of resistance against the change. Now, the case study has mentioned the fact that Qantas is using 40 years old technologies for maintaining and repairing aircrafts. As a result, it has not only increased the operational costs in a huge way but also has reduced the effectiveness of the repairing process. For that reason, Qantas is facing immense challenges in maintaining its position in the global market. Therefore, it has become necessary for the organization to implement changes in the present operational process (Hornstein 2015). However, the change implementation approach of Alan Joyce has not provided in-depth information to the employees. As a result, it has directly enhances the resistance level of the employees to the change process. On the other hand, Lewin model has emphasizes on providing proper level of knowledge and training facilities to the employees so that they can handle the changes in the operational process in an effective way (Shirey 2013). However, Alan Joyce has tried to utilize force-coercion approach where employees are forced and warned to describe their opinion at working places. Moreover, the initiated strategies of Alan Joyce has not considered the challenges that employee will have to face at the time of initiating restructuring or change process. The management have highlighted that it actually creating negative environment on the operational process. As a result, it has not created desired impact on the overall business procedure (Nordin et al. 2012). Therefore, Qantas will have to focus on providing necessary training and development facilities to the employees to ensure that they can handle the business challenges in an appropriate manner. Finally, last step of Lewin change model has foc used on refreezing process where all the changing factors started to find their equilibrium. Thus, the theory has emphasized on the effective utilization of the outcomes of predicted data to educate employees regarding the kind of positive impact it will make on the overall business procedure (Hayes 2014). However, Alan Joyce has not provided any type of predicted data or expected outcome related information, which has increased the level of resistance that organization will have to face at the time initiating change process. As highlighted by Appelbaum et al. (2012) Kotters 8 steps change model can also help to handle the challenges associated with the change management process. In fact, it will provide detail information about the best possible way to maintain the motivation level of the employees at the desired level. The first step of the model focuses on the development of sense of urgency about the implementation of the change process. Therefore, Qantas will have to focus on providing significant amount of information to educate them the necessity of implementing restructuring process. Secondly, the model emphasizes on the development of collation among the employees. Here, Qantas will have to maintain all the employees on the same page regarding the impact of change management process. Otherwise, it might create confusion among the employees. Thirdly, Qantas will have to focus on the effective development of vision regarding the change. Thus, it will have to focus on formulating clear aim regarding the restructuring process so that all employees can also perform towards a particular objective. The fourth step of Kotters change model focuses on communication of the change processes among the employees so that they remain motivated towards their provided roles and responsibilities (Cameron and Green 2015). Fifthly, Kotters change model has focused eliminating obstacles from the business processes so that it can able to create necessary impacts. Therefore, Qantas has to analyze implemented leadership styles, job description of the employees and organizational structure in an effective way. For instance, the case study has already mentioned that Qantas is looking to transform the way repair and maintenance department perform their responsibilities completely. Otherwise, Qantas will not able to remove all the obstacles among the business processes effectively. Sixth step of the model focuses on the development of short-term goals and objectives, which is necessary to estimate the kind of impact new implemented strategies can have on the business processes (Goetsch and Davis 2014). Therefore, Qantas also have to focus on formulating goals to convince employees from engineering union regarding the significance of implementing change procedure. Seventhly, Qantas will have to focus on maintai ning the speed of change for a specific span of time so that employees can able to adjust appropriately. In addition, it will also allow Qantas to cover all possible aspect of the change processes, which will create positive impact on the business strategies (By, Burnes and Oswick 2012). Finally, Kotters change model will influence Qantas to focus on formulating strategies so that the new operational process can be adjusted with the operational procedure. Conclusion: The case study has highlighted the fact that motive of Alan Joyce was right in moving organization forward. However, the implementation approach of Joyce can be questioned. Specifically, as Joyce has not provided enough opportunities for the employees associated with the maintenance department, it has created more barriers over the initiation of change in the business process. Therefore, Qantas need to provide proper information regarding the necessity of implementing change in the operational process for creating maximum impact. References: Appelbaum, S.H., Habashy, S., Malo, J.L. and Shafiq, H., 2012. Back to the future: revisiting Kotter's 1996 change model.Journal of Management Development,31(8), pp.764-782. Auguste, J., 2013. Applying Kotters 8-step process for leading change to the digital transformation of an orthopedic surgical practice group in Toronto, Canada.J Health Med Informat,4(3). Burnes, B. and Cooke, B., 2013. Kurt Lewin's Field Theory: A Review and Re?evaluation.International journal of management reviews,15(4), pp.408-425. By, R.T., Burnes, B. and Oswick, C., 2012. Change management: Leadership, values and ethics.Journal of Change Management,12(1), pp.1-5. Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015.Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers. Chang, Y.T., Park, H.S., Jeong, J.B. and Lee, J.W., 2014. Evaluating economic and environmental efficiency of global airlines: A SBM-DEA approach.Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment,27, pp.46-50. Cui, Q. and Li, Y., 2015. Evaluating energy efficiency for airlines: An application of VFB-DEA.Journal of Air Transport Management,44, pp.34-41. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014.Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Graham, A., 2013.Managing Airports 4th edition: An international perspective. Routledge. Hayes, J., 2014.The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. Homsombat, W., Lei, Z. and Fu, X., 2014. Competitive effects of the airlines-within-airlines strategyPricing and route entry patterns.Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review,63, pp.1-16. Hornstein, H.A., 2015. The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity.International Journal of Project Management,33(2), pp.291-298. Nair, S., Paulose, H., Palacios, M. and Tafur, J., 2013. Service orientation: Effectuating business model innovation.The Service Industries Journal,33(9-10), pp.958-975. Nordin, N., Deros, B.M., Wahab, D.A. and Rahman, M.N.A., 2012. A framework for organisational change management in lean manufacturing implementation.International Journal of Services and Operations Management,12(1), pp.101-117. Oum, T.H. and Yu, C., 2012.Winning airlines: Productivity and cost competitiveness of the worlds major airlines. Springer Science Business Media. qantas.com, 2017. Fly with one of Australias most popular airlines | Qantas US. [online] Qantas.com. Available at: https://www.qantas.com [Accessed 28 Jan. 2017]. Shaw, S., 2016.Airline marketing and management. Routledge. Shirey, M.R., 2013. Lewins theory of planned change as a strategic resource.Journal of Nursing Administration,43(2), pp.69-72. Sutherland, K., 2013. Applying Lewin's change management theory to the implementation of bar-coded medication administration.Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics,8(1-2). Wu, C.L., 2012.Airline operations and delay management: insights from airline economics, networks and strategic schedule planning. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Love Calls Us to the Things of This World free essay sample

Wilbur is a poem about our reason for living. The reason we get up every morning and go about our day according to Wilbur is love. The title of this poem clearly is making that statement. The title however is not quite enough to portray exactly what it is that we are being called back from. When we are sleeping, our souls become part of a peaceful and pure realm. In contrast the waking world is full of stress and undesirable challenges, a world in which the soul has no desire of being part of. Using highly refined diction and structure, Wilbur portrays the contrast between the two worlds and our souls reason for accepting the return to reality. The structure of the poem can be separated in to two parts. The first half describes the souls perception of the surrounding world as its body first begins to wake up. We will write a custom essay sample on Love Calls Us to the Things of This World or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This is set during the period between true consciousness and the dream world. In this moment reality becomes pure and timeless. In the third line, the author describes the soul â€Å"hanging bodiless and simple. Using this kind of diction to set the tone as a sort of mock-seriousness and creates a sense of suspension and detachment from the world. Still within the beginning of the poem, the tone seems to sway between humor and spirituality. As an example of the humor used, the author writes â€Å"The morning air is all awash with angels. † Still conveying a strong sense of spirituality, this line also serves as a pun towards the angels being described through the hanging laundry just outside of the open window. It also gives the spiritual world a likeness of heaven, full of angels. The humor is in the word choice â€Å"awash† because it serves a double meaning. The first meaning is that the air is â€Å"full† of the angels, and the other meaning is the fact that people â€Å"wash† their laundry to make it clean and fresh again. The first half of the poems diction is well used to describe this spiritual realm. Using such words as, â€Å"calm swells† and â€Å"halcyon† which is a very strong word meaning a peaceful and happy period of the past. The author focuses on giving laundry the personification of angels. Angels being one of the most distinct symbols for spirituality and purity. Throughout the first two stanzas, a strong sense of whimsical and somewhat frail tranquility is given to the reader. The laundry is also a symbol for cleanliness and softness. By the end of the first half the spiritual world is vivid and alive in the readers mind. In the third stanza, there is an abrupt transition from the spiritual world into the physical reality. All of a sudden the author describes â€Å"The terrible speed † in which the angels go back to being just laundry, as if the sleeping person is rapidly pulling out of a dream state. At the end of the stanza the author is using clever diction to describe how sudden reality sets in. The very last line of this half of the poem is very important. It marks the point in which the physical word takes over. Using only three words â€Å"The soul shrinks† the author is setting more of a disappointing tone. This line describes the â€Å"soul† and its reluctance to fade back into the physical realm, as well as a transition to the other side of Wilburs contrasting poem. In the last four stanzas Wilbur uses creative diction to convey the souls hesitation to wake up from the peaceful angelic world, and into the contradicting reality of the real world. Line seventeen in a very strong way to portray this ill-received reality. By using the lineâ€Å"The punctual rape of every blessed day † as a view of the real world, and its unpleasant formality, social pressures and everyday responsibilities. How the roles we must fill take away any sense of wonder and spirituality, leaving our souls â€Å"shrunken†. The author gives the mans soul personification in the second stanza. As the soul cries out how it wishes there to be nothing but the simple spiritual side that the sleeping realm offers. These few lines make it as though there is no reason to become part of such a world. However, as the man fully becomes lucid, â€Å"the soul descends once more in bitter love. † Though the the physical world is harsh and unclean compared to spiritual realm of sleep. No matter how â€Å"bitter† it is, love has become the souls one true purpose for returning. By the last stanza the soul seems to be brimming with compassion and love. Even though the spiritual world has been left to sleep, there are other ways to bring that sense of peace to such a contradicting reality and its inhabitants. In the last stanza, each line describes love and mercy, setting a hopeful tone. The author is combining the two worlds with love, by clothing the unworthy and letting people go â€Å"fresh and sweet†. This shows that there is still hope for the dreary souls of humanity, as long as we try our best to have love. The fact that the spiritual world was strongly associated with laundry is important because this offers a chance for the physical world to have a sense of connection with the spiritual world. To solidify the comparison of the spiritual soul and the physical world. Wilbur ends the poem with the line â€Å"Keeping their difficult balance. † Meaning that each side would not be able to exist without the other. This poems ability to bring such a descriptive comparison between spirituality and physical reality is based on the authors use of diction and structure. The journey the soul takes in this poem from one realm to the next is very moving. Making one think about what our true purpose on this earth is and how we can keep our souls from shrinking. This poem by Richard Wilbur sheds a whole different light on the simple act of waking up.

Battle of Moscow - World War II - Operation Barbarossa

Battle of Moscow - World War II - Operation Barbarossa The Battle of Moscow was fought Oct. 2, 1941, to Jan. 7, 1942, during World War II (1939-1945). After months of attacks and counterattacks as German forces attempted to overrun Moscow, Soviet reinforcements and a severe Russian winter took a toll on German forces, helping to thwart Germanys plans and leaving its forces exhausted and demoralized. Fast Facts: Battle of Moscow Dates: Oct. 2, 1941, to Jan. 7, 1942, during World War II (1939-1945)ï » ¿Soviet Union Armies and Commanders:Marshal Georgy ZhukovMarshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky1.25 million menGerman Armies and Commanders:Field Marshal Fedor von BockCol Gen. Heinz GuderianField Marshal Albert Kesselring1 million men Background On June 22, 1941, German forces launched Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union. The Germans had hoped to commence the operation in May but were delayed by the campaign in the Balkans and Greece. Opening the Eastern Front, they quickly overwhelmed Soviet forces and made large gains. Driving east, Field Marshal Fedor von Bocks Army Group Center won the Battle of BiaÅ‚ystok-Minsk in June, shattering the Soviet Western Front and killing or capturing over 340,000 Soviet troops. Crossing the Dnieper River, the Germans began a protracted battle for Smolensk. Despite encircling the defenders and crushing three Soviet armies, Bock was delayed into September before he could resume his advance. Though the road to Moscow was largely open, Bock was forced to order forces south to aid in the capture of Kiev. This was due to Adolf Hitlers unwillingness to continue fighting large battles of encirclement which, though successful, had failed to break the Soviet resistance. Instead, he sought to destroy the Soviet Unions economic base by capturing Leningrad and the Caucasus oil fields. Among those directed against Kiev was Col. Gen. Heinz Guderians Panzergruppe 2. Believing that Moscow was more important, Guderian protested the decision but was overruled. By supporting Army Group Souths Kiev operations, Bocks timetable was further delayed. It wasnt until Oct. 2, with the fall rains setting in, that Army Group Center was able to launch Operation Typhoon, the code name for Bocks Moscow offensive. The goal was to capture the Soviet capital before the harsh Russian winter began. Bocks Plan To accomplish this goal, Bock intended to employ the 2nd, 4th, and 9th armies, supported by Panzer Groups 2, 3, and 4. Air cover would be provided by the Luftwaffes Luftflotte 2. The combined force numbered just short of 2 million men, 1,700 tanks, and 14,000 artillery pieces. Plans for Operation Typhoon called for a double-pincer movement against the Soviet Western and Reserve fronts near Vyazma while a second force moved to capture Bryansk to the south. If these maneuvers were successful, German forces would encircle Moscow and compel Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to make peace. Though reasonably sound on paper, plans for Operation Typhoon failed to account for the fact that German forces were battered after several months of campaigning and their supply lines were having difficulty getting goods to the front. Guderian later noted that his forces were short on fuel from the outset of the campaign. Soviet Preparations Aware of the threat to Moscow, the Soviets began constructing a series of defensive lines in front of the city. The first of these stretched between Rzhev, Vyazma, and Bryansk, while a second, double-line was built between Kalinin and Kaluga dubbed the Mozhaisk defense line. To protect Moscow proper, the capitals citizens were drafted to construct three lines of fortifications around the city. While Soviet manpower was initially stretched thin, reinforcements were being brought west from the Far East as intelligence suggested that Japan didnt pose an immediate threat. The two nations had signed a neutrality back in April 1941. Early German Successes Storming forward, two German panzer groups (3rd and 4th) quickly made gains near Vyazma and encircled the 19th, 20th, 24th, and 32nd Soviet armies on Oct. 10. Rather than surrender, the four Soviet armies tenaciously continued the fight, slowing the German advance and forcing Bock to divert troops to aid in reducing the pocket. Ultimately the German commander had to commit 28 divisions to this fight, allowing the remnants of the Soviet Western and Reserve fronts to fall back to the Mozhaisk defense line and reinforcements to rush forward, largely to support the Soviet 5th, 16th, 43rd, and 49th armies. To the south, Guderians panzers (tanks) rapidly encircled the entire Bryansk Front. Linking with the German 2nd Army, they captured Orel and Bryansk by Oct. 6. The encircled Soviet forces, 3rd and 13th armies, continued the fight, eventually escaping east. The initial German operations, however, captured over 500,000 Soviet soldiers. On Oct. 7, the first snow of the season fell and soon melted, turning the roads to mud and severely hampering German operations. Grinding forward, Bocks troops turned back numerous Soviet counterattacks and reached the Mozhaisk defenses on Oct. 10. That same day, Stalin recalled Marshal Georgy Zhukov from the Siege of Leningrad and directed him to oversee the defense of Moscow. Assuming command, he focused Soviet manpower in the Mozhaisk line. Wearing Down the Germans Outnumbered, Zhukov deployed his men at key points in the line at Volokolamsk, Mozhaisk, Maloyaroslavets, and Kaluga. Resuming his advance on Oct. 13, Bock sought to avoid the bulk of the Soviet defenses by moving against Kalinin in the north and Kaluga and Tula in the south. While the first two fell quickly, the Soviets succeeded in holding Tula. After frontal attacks captured Mozhaisk and Maloyaroslavets on Oct. 18 and subsequent German advances, Zhukov was forced to fall back behind the Nara River. Though the Germans made gains, their forces were badly worn down and plagued by logistical issues. While German troops lacked appropriate winter clothing, they also took losses to the new T-34 tank, which was superior to their Panzer IVs. By Nov. 15, the ground had frozen and mud ceased to be an issue. Seeking to end the campaign, Bock directed the 3rd and 4th panzer armies to encircle Moscow from the north, while Guderian moved around the city from the south. The two forces were to link up at Noginsk, 20 miles east of Moscow. German forces were slowed by Soviet defenses but succeeded in taking Klin on Nov. 24 and four days later crossed the Moscow-Volga Canal before being pushed back. In the south, Guderian bypassed Tula and took Stalinogorsk on Nov. 22. His offensive was checked by the Soviets near Kashira a few days later. With both prongs of his pincer movement bogged down, Bock launched a frontal assault at Naro-Fominsk on Dec. 1. After four days of heavy fighting, it was defeated. On Dec. 2, a German reconnaissance unit reached Khimki, only five miles from Moscow. This marked the farthest German advance. With temperatures reaching -50 F and still lacking winter equipment, the Germans had to halt their offensives. Soviets Strike Back By Dec. 5, Zhukov had been heavily reinforced by divisions from Siberia and the Far East. Possessing a reserve of 58 divisions, he unleashed a counteroffensive to push the Germans back from Moscow. The beginning of the attack coincided with Hitler ordering German forces to assume a defensive stance. Unable to organize a solid defense in their advance positions, the Germans were forced from Kalinin on Dec. 7, and the Soviets moved to envelop the 3rd Panzer Army at Klin. This failed and the Soviets advanced on Rzhev. In the south, Soviet forces relieved pressure on Tula on Dec. 16. Two days later, Bock was sacked in favor of Field Marshal Gà ¼nther von Kluge, due largely to Hitlers anger over German troops conducting a strategic retreat against his wishes. The Russians were aided by extreme cold and poor weather that minimized the Luftwaffes operations. As the weather improved in late December and early January, the Luftwaffe began intensive bombing in support of German ground forces This slowed the enemy advances and by Jan. 7, the Soviet counteroffensive came to an end. Zhukov had pushed the Germans 60 to 160 miles from Moscow. Aftermath The failure of German forces at Moscow doomed Germany to fighting a prolonged struggle on the Eastern Front. This part of the war would consume the vast majority of Germanys manpower and resources for the remainder of the conflict. Casualties for the Battle of Moscow are debated, but estimates suggest German losses of 248,000 to 400,000 and Soviet losses of 650,000 to 1,280,000. Slowly building strength, the Soviets would turn the tide of the war at the Battle of Stalingrad in late 1942 and early 1943.

Without a Paddle Amazon and Hachette and Us

Without a Paddle Amazon and Hachette and Us Without a Paddle: Amazon and Hachette and Us Hi. At Reedsy we live, sleep, and all but photosynthesise self-publishing news and discussion. Even if you were living under a rock, a massive rock, like a boulder, you wouldn’t have been able to avoid the suddenly very loudly proclaimed views of authors both traditionally published and self-published over the whole Amazon-Hachette blood war that’s been happening for over a month now. So we had to say something. In fact, we said two things. Below you can find Dave’s take, and you can find Ricardo’s perspective over here.–Well, that was a hell of a week.The Amazon/Hachette cold war is now into its second month. Hachette’s books continue to suffer difficulties on Amazon’s store, including availability issues and price increases.On Wednesday Douglas Preston released an open letter to readers. Previously it had been quietly circulating amongst authors, collecting signatures including Robert A. Caro and Stephen King. Preston et al asked Amazon to â€Å"resolve its dispute with Hachette without hurting authors and without blocking or otherwise delaying the sale of books to its customers.†Self-published author Hugh Howey responded almost immediately on change.org petitioning Hachette to â€Å"stop fighting low prices and fair wages It’s almost absurdly comic, by the way, that this whole conversation has continued without a real, firm context of what exactly Amazon are asking for. The issue driving this could be anything from Amazon demanding discounts and charging for pre-order buttons to Jeff Bezos personally demanding Hachette deliver a plump firstborn male infant every Summer Solstice in unholy tribute. If I were a betting man†¦

History of Japanese Literature golden age Essay

History of Japanese Literature golden age - Essay Example Though there has been a great influence of China on the Japanese literature in the very beginning, that made use of Chinese words in it. The Heian period lasted from the 8th to the 12th century in Japan. This period, that ran over the span of 794 – 1185, is termed as the Golden age for the literature and arts in Japan. â€Å"The Heian period is considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art and especially in poetry and literature.† (www.jref.com, 2010). Also, the meaning of the word â€Å"Heian† is â€Å"peace†, that should mean that the Golden age in the literature of Japan is considered as a period of peace. The Japanese imperial court also enjoyed its height in the same reign. Since its end, no other period has been appreciated more by the Japanese nation than the famous Heian period. In the same period, the Samurai class surfaced that later gained rule and helped the commencement of the feudal system in Japan. Since the Heian period was preceded by a strong influence of the Chinese and Korean languages on the Japanese literature and writings, the official lang uage of the official documents and the imperial court continued to remain Chinese in the start of the Heian period, but this was not all. Besides the Chinese language, another language â€Å"Kana† surfaced and started to rule the Japanese literature and all forms of written texts. Besides, another system of writing referred to as Hiragana was identified in the Heian period that was phonetic in nature. The special feature of Hiragana was that it did not need an understanding of the characters of the Chinese language, and was also considered much simple and quick for writing. One of the biggest achievements of the Heian period is that Japanese literature was relieved of the rule of Chinese language. Instead, the major use of Kana in the Japanese literature projected an innovative approach and

An Evaluation of Enterprise Risk management value to banking sector of Assignment

An Evaluation of Enterprise Risk management value to banking sector of Zimbabwe - Assignment Example Population and Sample 20 7.3. Data collection instruments, sources and procedures 21 7.4. Data analysis and procedure 23 8. Time Frame and Budgetary Consideration 24 References 26 Bibliography 29 1. Introduction and Background to the Research The Zimbabwean economy has faced tremendous challenges in the banking sector after the liquidity crisis of 2003. The consequences of liquidity crisis declined the purchasing power of Zimbabwean currency at the level of 1953. As a consequence, the people who were extremely poor had to pay with their lives due to inability to cope with persistence economic shock. The Government of Zimbabwe has often been found to make the drought or the macro-economic factors responsible for the liquidity crisis. According to the Reserve Bank the main causes that triggered solvency and liquidity crisis were poor corporate governance, inadequate risk management, rapid expansion, overstatement of capital, creative accounting, speculative trades, high level of non-pe rforming assets, and unsustainable earnings. At the beginning of the year 2009, the multi currency system was adopted by the Government of Zimbabwe that preferred Pound, US$, and Rand as means of transaction by business entities and public. This was mainly because the local currencies had become almost useless since the year 2008. The gradual shift from local currencies to convertible currencies brought more stability in business with the financial statements and budgeting. But these changes have also been found to create severe implications in the field of accounting. The most important business implication is conversion of Zimbabwean Dollar in US$. These challenges of opening of economy for trading in convertible currencies would require adoption of global accounting standards such as need of consulting IFRS or IAS. Other issue including revenue recognition and measurement, financial instruments, and impairment of assets makes the business enterprises vulnerable to significant ris k. The concept of Enterprise Risk Management and its value addition will help the researcher to reveal as to why and how much important is evaluation Enterprise Risk Management value to banking sector of Zimbabwe in today’s competitive and globalised markets. The purpose of the study will be evaluation of Enterprise Risk Management value to banking sector of Zimbabwe which can be achieved by conducting online based questionnaire and interviews through video calls in case the face to face interview is not possible. The researcher may choose appropriate representatives of sample companies and hence conduct the interviews. The most desirable target interviewee is probably the senior management of the sample companies representing banking sector of Zimbabwe. This is because all strategic decisions are implemented at the top level of management. The three basic reasons for which the study topic can be considered as important are as follows: The concept of traditional risk manageme nt has evolved during the years and it is necessary for every academician and professional to be acquainted with the current changes that are applicable The multi-currency system of Zimbabwe and implications in the banking sector after adapting convertible currency for business transactions The impact of gradual shift from local currency to globally convertible currencies in the banking sector of Zimbabwe The study will help the researcher to address all the motivating factors listed above that created an interest for the research. It will further help the

Fraction Operations Essay Example for Free

Fraction Operations Essay To facilitate assessment of the class, I observed the class for several session to develop insights on the behavior, class dynamics and teacher-student response. The current lesson of the class involved and math operations using fractions, requirements for Concept 1 PO 10 and PO 11 as well as Concept 2 PO 7 and PO8 of the 2006 Arizona State Education Standards. I was very happy to observe that the class was very active and receptive to instruction and needed little reinforcement with skills or concepts learned. However, I felt that there was some difficulty in application of learning to practice: number sense was high but performance in operations was lower. Using these observations, the children’s response to different activities and the Education Standards related to the are of study, I felt that play activity was the best strategy to use as reinforcement. I had chosen baking of no-bake cookies to be simple and effective activity for the children, allowing not only to practice their fraction and math skills but also to have a venue where they can interact and collaborate with one another. The children’s interaction during the sharing of the cookies also will allow them to experience fractions in rewarding manner such as in sharing snacks with their friends. As an educator, I feel strongly that there is a real need for classroom activities that designed to engage students in practical applications of fractions. By developing the activity into a non-instructional setup, emphasizing group and play activities which they have already shown a high degree participation, reinforcement would be more effective. The activity will also serve to reinforce the value of concepts of application of the concepts and allow for students to practice cooperative learning and allow teachers to interact with students better (Gillies et al, 2000). This will also allow for the identification of special intervention or supplemental activities for children who may not have been able to participate actively without them having to feel that they are being singled out of the group Implementation and Evaluation I divided the children divided into five groups and were given uniform recipes, Chocolate No-Bake Cookies . Each of the group was instructed to multiply the recipe to various yields: ? , ? , ? , 1 ? , and 2. Each group will then have to compute for the correct ratio of ingredients and proceed to create their cookies which they shared with the other group members. At the end of the activity, while sharing all the cookies with the calls, I encouraged the children to share their experience and develop their own realizations of the applications of fraction skills they had learned.

The Farce of the American Dream in Hawkes’ Original Film, Scarface :: Movie Film Essays

The Farce of the American Dream in Hawkes’ Original Film, Scarface In film, many times the auteur often uses the medium to convey a moral or make a social commentary. In the case of Howard Hawkes’s original version of Scarface, there is more being portrayed through the characters then merely the story. Hawkes makes a statement about the faà §ade of organized crime, and the farce of the American Dream. Organized crime has developed a stigma regarding its power and influence, especially during its hay day in the 1930’s. The mob has always been viewed as a powerful â€Å"family-like† organization. In Scarface, Hawkes brings the mafia into a seemingly more realistic light. By overturning Lovo’s position of power, Tony represents the idea of â€Å"every man for himself,† within a supposed organized group. The viewer steps into a cut-throat world of power hungry men, all trying to get rich quick. In this world, Hawkes asks, how can you organize men towards any goal if they all seek personal gain? One might say that they are attempting to cheat the American Dream. â€Å"The World is Yours,† symbolizes the true nature of the American Dream. The idea that you could come to a free world with nothing, and build yourself up, is the essence of what Tony and his gang are driving towards. However, at the climax of the film, the spectator perceives Tony to have everything he claimed he wanted throughout the film. He obtains power, wealth and privilege, yet he is invariably alone. Perhaps, Hawkes in commenting on the disappointment that this country was for many immigrants who heard tales of a place with endless possibilities for their family. However, when they arrived, found the endless hours of labor only took them further away from what was most important: the family.

Managers Can Create Satisfied Employees

Employee satisfaction is the key to the economic success of any company. Research has shown that a satisfied employee does his job well and in return the company’s performance is greatly improved. Employer and employee relations are very important in ensuring that a company realizes its mission. In fact, it has been researched and found out satisfied employees usually translate to satisfied customers. Hence, with proper policies and administrative skills, managers can create satisfied employees. The following tips help to illustrate the various methods and ways by which employers can achieve this. These are; Job security The primary driving force an individual centers on while working, is the ability to retain the job for as many years as possible. Personal organization and family budget go in line with job security concerns. When an employee is confident of his or her job security at the workplace, his performance is far much better than a case where he or she is not sure of being retained in the next year. Pay satisfaction People don’t work unless they receive pay work done. It is therefore the key to employee satisfaction. Managers normally use financial rewards to improve their worker’s performance. Good salaries equally translate to better work. Every worker would want to continue working for an organization which pays him or her well. [1] Language and communication Communication is notably the most important factor and step required for the achievement of improved degree of satisfaction among various groups of employees. Managers who use simple but powerful words usually win the hearths of most employees. How a manager expresses himself while communicating the company’s principles determines the mode of reception from the e employees themselves. Words such as ‘please’, ‘you are doing a good job’ and ‘thank you’ demonstrates that a manager values the employees. It is also a sign of respect directed to the junior workers. Benefits Certain benefits help motivate workers. Such benefits include; Provision of insurance cover not only to the employees but also to their families as well. Allocation adequate time for one to be with his or her family. This can be provided in terms of structured leave periods, off-work times, weekends and time schedules for leaving work places daily Promotion and career advancement Departments such as the military have a well organized promotion channels that go in line with the performance of an individual. Promotion is usually proportional to the amount of money and benefits that one receives. House allowances for example are given according to ones job scale in many countries. To be promoted from a deputy supervisor to a full supervisor indicates that the administration of a particular company is appreciating an individual’s effort. This will lead to the development of self confidence and hard work among all the employees so that one could be promoted. [2] Safety in the work environment People who feel safe in their working environment tend to perform better than those who don’t. Safety can be in the form of human-machine relations and human-human relations. Military personnel working in war thorn countries like Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan work in fear and this greatly affects their overall performance at work. Flexibility to balance life and work issue Proper coordination between the work issues and personal life is necessary to balance both. Overworking and work stress usually affect human healthy both in social, mental and physical terms. Rewards and gifts Rewards should not be very big inducements but the small gifts given to anybody is well appreciated. A handwritten thank you note is normally appreciated and cherished. Everybody loves chocolate, and provision of such kind of rewards especially at the weekends and special days like Christmas and Valentine days, helps to build positive relationships between the company and the employees. Gift certificates such as birthday wishes are a morale booster to self-confidence of the employees. Some companies offer their logo merchandizes in form of t-shirts, caps, mugs, pens, jackets and computer mouse pads. In addition, motivational posters could be strategically drafted for individual recognition for job well done. In most cases, people would want to know if their work has made some difference. Provision of such rewards is encouraged. [3] Conclusion As a manager, your impact on employee satisfaction is great and immeasurable.   It is therefore important that managers look for convenient, cost-conscious and appreciated ways of motivation in order to build a dynamic, committed and workforce that will result in better productivity and profitability of the organization. References Dale, M. (2001): The Art of HRD: Developing Management Skills  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   , Vol. 3, Crest Publishing House, New Delhi Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave Sparrow, P. and Hilltop, J. (1994): European Human Resource Management in Transition: Prentice Hall, New York Thomson, C. and Rampton, L. (2003): Human Resource Management. Melbourne press, New York [1] Sparrow, P. and Hilltop, J. (1994): European Human Resource Management in Transition: Prentice Hall, New York [2] Dale, M. (2001): The Art of HRD: Developing Management Skills, Vol. 3, Crest Publishing House, New Delhi [3] Thomson, C. and Rampton, L. (2003): Human Resource Management. Melbourne press, New York   

Gbmt Cilantro Cafe

Global Business Environment 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Introduction & History Changed by the revolution SWOT Vision Strategy & Implementation Reasons of success Success of the communication strategy The smart and innovative strategies 7. Recommendation Introduction ? An Egyptian coffee shop company based in Cairo. ? First modern-culture coffee shop in Egypt. History 1999 2000 Two young Egyptian entrepreneurs begin to think about the idea of Cilantro Cafe. Establishment of Delicious Inc. with â€Å"Cilantro† as a trade name. Launch of the first Cilantro Cafe. Within 4 years, the company opened 8 shops in Egypt.Rise of competition. 2004 2005 2008 January, 25th of 2011 End of 2011 El-Sewedy, an Egyptian local group, won the bid against Starbucks chain to make the acquisition of Cilantro. Beginning of the internationalization of the company with the opening of the first outlet abroad in London, UK. Beginning of a popular uprising which became the Egyptian revolution. The company owns aroun d 70 outlets in Egypt. Changed by the revolution ? Breaking away from the government ? Self Concepts ? Belonging to Egypt ? Cilantro Cafe provided values for customer ? Knowledge ? Health ConsciousnessTransition from local to Global process 1 2 Choice of country for franchise Selection criteria for franchisee Contract negotiation 3 4 5 6 Operational preparations Outlet Opening Continuous monitoring & feedback SWOT analysis – Internal Strengths ? Creation of the concept of a modern-culture coffee shop ? Diversified customers ? Value of knowledge and value of health-consciousness. ? Communication strategy: differentiation while creating add ? Value added services. ? Good marketing team ? Maintenance of the company’s key performance indicators SWOT analysis – Internal Weakness Hardly to control the franchise. ? Time consuming for the transition from local to Global process SWOT analysis – External Opportunities ? Domestic development ? A lot of potential pro spects ? Egypt revolution with the merge of Egypt 2. 0 whom new values clearly fitted with cilantro’s ones. SWOT analysis – External Threats ? Rising competition and global competitors. ? The country-of-origin effects and cultural symbolism for an in ternational brand are critical ? Adaptability to globalization Vision Delicious Inc. ? To build new and creative food service concepts ?Maintain & up-grade uniqueness in the products ? Positioning of the brands Strategy ? Increase the brand recognition ? Defend its home market by constantly up-grading what is offered to customers ? Adhering high quality standards and a unique Cilantro Spirit. ? Become an important contributing member of its community. Strategy ? Offer a positive environment for its internal family while ensuring the long-term business goals. ? Provide the â€Å"Cilantro Experience†. Implementation ? Decorations and layouts of the outlets can provide cozy, modern and fresh atmosphere ? Offering a rea ding corner and Online red book Providing healthy, fresh and tasty choices The smart and innovative strategy ? I & U Models ? I-Model ? Makes use of the export / sales ratio of a firm, which is said to reflect the dependence of the firm on international markets ? More suitable for SMEs The smart and innovative strategic ? I & U Models ? U-Model It assumes that a firm gradually increases its Internationalization operations in stages, at first starting small and low risk, building up experience incrementally to take on larger international roles ? PESTEL ? Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal.Success of the communication strategy ? Franchising department stays in continuous contact with the franchisee brand manager and conducts monthly regular audit for each of its outlets Main Reason of Success ? Drastic change in the Egyptian coffee house concept ? Introduced a new category of leisure in Egypt ? Post-revolution ? Strategy of differentiation -Provide a unique Cilantro spirit Further capitalize ? International Bank ? Issue Stocks ? Venture capital Recommendation ? A mix between I and U model is the most valuable strategy be cause it would provide multi-dimensionality. The End.

Free Essays on The Saints And The Roughnecks

The saints and the roughnecks One of the most interesting theories that are on connection to this article is the labeling theory. This theory states that people tend to focus more on a label that a person has rather than the people themselves. It also states that the labeling becomes a part of the entire self-concept. If a person thinks that they are a saint or a roughneck they will expect to be treated that way. If a society or a town for instance sees you as a liar, they will wonder if you are telling the truth every time they are talking to you. According to this theory the saints and roughnecks paths we already laid out for them to take. Just because of their label they were able to get into, or out of trouble more easily or not. The differential association theory states that people learn deviance from society. It also states that you learn your boundaries. In this article the saints knew that they were thought of as saints and therefore figured out just what they could and could not get away with. The roughnecks, however, learned to deviate because of their label. The roughnecks knew that they were always looked at as the wrong- doers, so they learned to deviate. In this theory it states that there are possibly subcultures that teach deviance. In this article they subcultures were the saints and the roughnecks. Both of these groups had to learn how to deviate, just on different levels. There is a mention in the book about bureaucracies. Bureaucracies are defined as a formal organization with a higher form of authority, a clear division of labor and rules. In this article both of the groups were part of individual bureaucracies. The saints of one, who was assumed by all to follow all the rules, do what they are told and respect authority. The roughnecks were of one whom all assumed did not follow the rules, did not respect authority figures and were a nuisance to society. This article is completely true. In high school I... Free Essays on The Saints And The Roughnecks Free Essays on The Saints And The Roughnecks The saints and the roughnecks One of the most interesting theories that are on connection to this article is the labeling theory. This theory states that people tend to focus more on a label that a person has rather than the people themselves. It also states that the labeling becomes a part of the entire self-concept. If a person thinks that they are a saint or a roughneck they will expect to be treated that way. If a society or a town for instance sees you as a liar, they will wonder if you are telling the truth every time they are talking to you. According to this theory the saints and roughnecks paths we already laid out for them to take. Just because of their label they were able to get into, or out of trouble more easily or not. The differential association theory states that people learn deviance from society. It also states that you learn your boundaries. In this article the saints knew that they were thought of as saints and therefore figured out just what they could and could not get away with. The roughnecks, however, learned to deviate because of their label. The roughnecks knew that they were always looked at as the wrong- doers, so they learned to deviate. In this theory it states that there are possibly subcultures that teach deviance. In this article they subcultures were the saints and the roughnecks. Both of these groups had to learn how to deviate, just on different levels. There is a mention in the book about bureaucracies. Bureaucracies are defined as a formal organization with a higher form of authority, a clear division of labor and rules. In this article both of the groups were part of individual bureaucracies. The saints of one, who was assumed by all to follow all the rules, do what they are told and respect authority. The roughnecks were of one whom all assumed did not follow the rules, did not respect authority figures and were a nuisance to society. This article is completely true. In high school I...

Business Model and Strategic Plan Essay Example for Free (#3)

Business Model and Strategic Plan Essay Coffee (372) , Starbucks (158) , Strategic Plan (66) , Business model (48) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints Why do businesses need innovation is simple, the world is changing at a rapid speed and no one can predict what is coming in the future. Organizations are facing many new types of vulnerabilities everyday. Innovation helps to determinate the strategic management within an organization and prepares organizations for the unforeseeable change and to make the change. Although very organization have different priorities, or balance the unique issues of their own, ignoring the innovation, or implementing the strategic plan inefficiently can bring risks of losing key employees, inefficiency of the operation, and lose competitive advantages to the competitors. This paper will create a new division for Starbucks Coffee Co. Using this division as an example to explain the importance of the innovation in company’s vision, mission, and values, and how it related to strategic management. Starbucks Corporation, doing business as Starbucks Coffee, is an American global coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Today, with more than 21,000 stores in 65 countries, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. And with every cup, the company strives to bring both their heritage and an exceptional experience to life. (Starbucks.com) Since the first Starbucks opened in 1971, the company has a goal to share great coffee with friends and help make the world a little better place. (Starbucks.com) To better server Starbucks Coffee’s customers, and provide quick and easy coffee for the people who have to fight the morning or anytime traffic, Starbucks coffee co. has purposed a new business model of Self Severed Coffee Machine. This new Machine will be located outside of Starbucks stores, shopping centers, and large office buildings to better server the consumers who does not have time to wait in line and get their favorite cup of coffee. In this tough economic climate, Starbucks needs to compete smart, this means to stay a step head on ensuring the best response to customers’ need and demand. It is often to see a line of customers either inside the store or in the drive through. While we appreciate the their patience to wait in line, we also share their frustration. It is our intention to ensure everyone loves his or her coffee. While we are proud that every cup is made to earn our customers’ satisfaction, we are also spending a considerable amount of time on making them. The Self Served Starbucks machine has an ability of produce majority flavors of the coffee, which our customer likes. Simply pay the cash, wipe the credit card, or scan the mobile Starbucks App on your smartphone, the machine will make a fresh brew cup of coffee in just 45 seconds. With this machine outside of store or mall, our customer can save time on waiting in line. Even more convenient, the machines outside of the office building not only can save our customer a trip to the coffee shop in the morning, also be able to enjoy a hot fresh coffee when they sat down by their desk. This new machine can ensure the competitive advantage by its product differentiation, more focused group on customer service, and operational efficiency. Starbucks’ mission is a reason for the company’s existence. With the unique style of combining both, our vision and mission statement is â€Å"to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.† (Starbucks.com) To align with this mission statement, our new division’s mission statement is to † bring the best quality coffee and convenience to our customers on the go, one machine at the time† This mission statement reflected the company value and beliefs to show our costumers that we care, it will also guide our employees on understand and establish what the company truly does. A good mission statement inspires employees and provides a focus and direction for strategic planning. While mission statements vary from organization to organization and represent the distinctness of each one, they all share similar components. (Mission and Vision Statements, 2010) The new division’s mission statemen ts include descriptions of Starbucks’ target market, the geographic domain, and concern for survival, growth, and profitability. Being the giant leader of the coffee and snacks industry, Starbuck coffee company needs to develop a strong strategic plan through the analysis of SWOTT. SWOTT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and trends. A SWOTT analysis identifies strengths and weaknesses within a company, and outside opportunities and threats. The most important parts of a SWOT analysis specify the actions that correspond to the elements the company identify. By using the results of the analysis to improve the situation of the new division, we can reduce the likelihood of developments that negatively affect the business while improving performance. (Smallbusiness.Chron.com) Starbuck is currently in the retail coffee and snacks industry. The  self-serve coffee machine will be able to satisfy customers not just a cup of coffee but also tea, water and juice, which Starbuck currently provide in the store. The loyal based reward programs provide customers with convenience, giving presents, and increasing frequency of the machine visit. Although there will not be any customer service involved, but the efficiency of leveraging technology with the capability of mobile App will still attract customers. The machine will provide extra ideas on the screen related to recycling and reducing waste; this is a great way to communicate with people about the social responsibility initiatives of the company. Due to the economic crush in 2008, this industry has experiencing a major downfall in sales. Because of the sensitivities to the macroeconomic factors, most of industry consumers have to give up extra expenses such as over priced drinks, snacks, and food. However, with economy slowly recover, consumers will start feeling the relaxation of the financial situation, it is safe to say, this industry will has a considerable amount of growth in the near future. With Starbuck having the most of market share in the industry, they have a monopolistic competition. By far the biggest threat the company face is the mature stage of the industry. Dunkin donuts, McDonalds, or Pete’s coffee are all the main pressure on Starbucks. Starbucks brand recognition and the convenience of the self-severed machines differentiates itself, the brand and the machine will draw more customers’ attention, gain competitive advantages for the company. The self-served Starbucks coffee machine will be located in some of the most prime and strategic location across the city such as universities, office buildings, and grocery stores. They will primarily targeting mid-income individuals and students. This strategy will gain competence due to the customer convince factor. The Starbuck coffee-pricing factor does pose a weakness to some targeted consumers; however, the self-severed machine will be 5% cheap because there are no labor costs involved. Expansion into a global market is an opportunity for these machines. Starbucks has a great growth potential in further expanding into the emerging and developing  markets. The company can leverage their size, experience, financial prowess and efficiencies to make new market share. (Forbes.com) Starbuck has putting significant amount of time and money on training their employees. Their employees are known for highly knowledge and experienced. They are the main assets of the company and they are provided with great benefits like stock option, retirement accounts and a healthy culture. This effective human capital management translates into great customer services. It was rated 91st in the 100 best places to work for by Fortune Magazine. (CNN.com) The internal threat for Starbucks currently is the change of life style and taste choices of consumers. More and more customers are shifting towards healthy foods and drinks; this treading can hurt the coffee culture of the company, even to industry in the future. The Balanced scorecard is a management system that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. It also provides an organization with feedback of both the internal business processes and external outcomes, which allows for continuous improvement of strategic performance and results. Develop the strategic objectives for the new division of the Starbuck in the balanced scorecard format in the context of key trends, assumptions, and risks. The strategic objectives are measures of attaining the new vision and mission. Below are the three strategic objectives for each of the four balanced scorecard areas identified (Financial, Customer, Process, Learning and Growth). How to gain the market share is the objective in financial perspective. This is aggressive strategy the new division can use to power our organization and weaken the competitors. The new † Self served coffee machine† can gain market shares by: One: New technology. This market has always been a high growth market, and high growth markets has less competitors, it means they will not fight our  efforts as fiercely. Two: Innovation. This new machine is absolutely a breakthrough innovative idea once it is release into the market. Innovation can help the new division obtain large market share. Three: Strategic Alliance. The new machine can advertise other products, which is great choice when drinking coffee. If the alliance company can help with founding, we can lower our coffee price. This is efficient way to lure customers from competitors. How do we create value for our customers are the objective for the customer perspective? Customers are the key factor to an organization success. Creating value for our customers in three ways: One: New Value. This is the most challenging way to impress customers. By setting new machines by the office buildings or school parking lots will be most convenience for people do not have time to stop for coffee in the morning, or anytime during the day. Two: More value. The machine will provide the same product as in a Starbucks coffee store, but cheaper. Three: Better Value. To expend on the existing value, the customer will be able to purchase snake from the machine. The addition product provided will simply delivering more powerful impact to consumers. PROCESS OR INTERNAL OPERATIONS PERSPECTIVE How we measure the new division performance? The new division will have its own survey attached to the machine. Customers are the top choice for us to know what does the new division do to make them come back for more. Also, customers can leave feedbacks and advice via Facebook, Yelp, or preferred  social Media. Our new division will make huge impact on the organization, because it will release the busy traffic in the morning for the store location. LEARNING AND GROWTH (EMPLOYEE) PERSPECTIVE There is no employees’ turn over or retention involved with the â€Å"Self served machine† However, the mechanics are needed for the daily maintenance and refill. The new technology will notify the mechanic department if the machine needs any attention or checkups. While having a strategic plan, mission and vision Statement is crucial for the new division, but crafting and developing this plan is only the half of the battle. To have a communication plan is one of the most important factors after the plan and analysis is finalized. Although the new division will not have any human operating the machine, there are still the needs of new policies and procedures to be carried out. The effective of these policies and procedures are most likely effect the success of the plan. For example, machines maintenance schedule, or refill of the machine. Failure to take communication plan into account can cause disastrous. Our new business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines key elements of how we going to operate this new division. The plan typically includes an assessment of the market and the competition, operating budget breakdown, and short and long-term business goals. (smallbusiness.chron.com) There are three suggest way to monitor and control our new plan: Any new business plans within an organization needs to be reviewed on a regular basis, especially the expectancy of the busy traffic with the new  self-served machine. The new division management needs to set a date, this can be quarterly or annually, to review the long-term and short-term goals. Conducting the comparative analysis will help to ensure the strategic plan is on the right path. The management team of new division needs to develop a new tracking system to assess how the sales are doing regularly. For example, if the target sales goal is 5000 cups per month, then track the sales weekly or twice a month to monitor and control the process. Monitor key elements frequently. Key elements of the business plan include research on the market and competition as well as revenue projections. Each of these elements is subject to rapid change, and the management team should remain aware of where you stand with regard to these issues. (Smallbusiness.chorn.com) COORDINATE BUSINESS AND MARKING PLANS Our new division will have both business and marketing plans. Sometimes, they overlap in several ways. For example, if the Marketing plans calls for a major launching campaign with the media, but the business plan’s revenue prediction rejects that plan, then the managers needs to revise the plan to stay on track. Ethical behaviors and organization social responsibility is one of the key factors to bring large benefits for the business. With the new self-served coffee machine, it attracts customers with Starbucks signature products, thereby to boosting sales and revenue. It will create more jobs, therefor, help with unemployment. It will also attract more investors and keep the company’s share price high, therefor, protecting the business and employees’ benefits. The fact is brutally simple: the accelerated change within the business world is unavoidable. Evidence shows in current business world, customers are changing their needs and interest each day, markets are relentlessly unstable, and competitors are more aggressively capture any chance possible at new ideas. With technology advances faster and faster, and modifying the traditional strategic management that it touches, Innovation has become what shapes the current strategic management trends, and the right strategic management is the key to business success. http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/our-heritage Mission and Vision Statements. r Business Plan. We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

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Gold investment: An overview

Gold investment: An overview Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Overview Since prehistoric time, human are using the gold in trading and value keeping asset. Even current financial activities are always surrounding by the gold issue. The ancient treated the gold as the true form of wealth. Gold has been using early in 4000 B.C as a fashion decorative object in where today Eastern Europe is centred. In 1500 B.C the gigantic gold-bearing regions of Nubia made Egypt a wealthy nation (National Mining Association). By the time the gold has widely recognize as the standard form of medium of exchange for international trade. Gold is represented the royal and honourable in different religious and cultural area. Its aesthetic appearance is the finest ornament above all other metal. Gold play the role in all aspect around us, such as religious customs, reward system, ornament, jewellery, and even the component of industrial product. 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In Malaysia, there are several ways to participate in gold investment and this will be studied in chapter two. 1.2 Benefit of gold investment In portfolio management, prudent investor will have different sort of investment vehicle. The reason for holding diverse investment is to safeguard the portfolio against fluctuations or uncertainty that occurs in the economy system. Gold investment has been studied by many of professional toward its ability to protect the wealth of investors against the overwhelming global financial crisis and economic uncertainty. Generally, the group of similar asset will react correspondingly among each other during the transformation of the economy and financial system. Diversification will reduce investors risk in portfolio investment. Besides the common investment vehicle like company share, bond, and mutual fund, gold investment is an option for investor to diversify their investment portfolio. Portfolio that contains gold investment is generally more robust and less risky as compared other investment vehicle. The inflationary hedging ability of gold is prominent especially during the economic uncertainty period. Gold price react quickly that other commodities when there is any change in the market condition. Conversely, price of the CPI-basket is adjusted slowly to the change of market condition ((Mahdavi Zhou, 1997). Risk factors that may affect the gold price are quite different in nature from those that affect other assets. Purchasing power of gold is maintain even the transformation of the era is remarkably significant (Greer, 2005). In addition, gold is one of the examples of safety investment instrument that have very limited amount of risk associated with it. The credit risk is the possibilities that the debtor unable to repay the loan. Gold is unique which do not involve such repayment relationship. The profitability of gold investment is operating in the accrual basis. The liquidity risk which means the possibilities that the asset cannot be sold as the buyer in the market may not be available during the time of reselling. However the gold market has high demand rate from the individual consumer, jewellery sector, financial institution and manufacturing of industrial product. Thus its liquidity risk of gold investment is very low (World Gold Council, 2009). 1.3 Problem statement Gold investment in Malaysia is less well known by investor, even though it is a superior investment vehicle. Generally, most of the elderly will save their money in fixed deposit. Some of them may invest their money into mutual fund and government bond. The rate of return from the fixed deposit is very low and the intrinsic value of the saving will be overwhelmed by the wave of inflation during financial crisis or recession. The purpose of this study is to find out what are the reasons that affect the intention to adopt gold investment in investors portfolio. In early 2008, the inflation rate surge high, most of the investor who invests in share market suffers a huge loss in the market. The collapse of Lehman brother and many giant corporations in 2008 raised the vigilance of the investors. Many of investors seek for the immunity to keep their capital away from the threat of inflation and downward movement of stock prices. According to World gold council (2009) stated that there is significant increase in the demand of gold investment. Current financial recession and anxiety toward future uncertainty have urge the political and finance officer unearth the solution to withstand the inflation problem. Some professors have suggests the gold investment to investor as the safe haven to protect their wealth against the inflation shock. Gold investment has the special feature of inflationary hedge which have been study by a number of researchers and professionals. Malaysian investors should add the gold investment into their portfolio and hence reduce the risk of investment. However, gold investment in Malaysia is still not widely adopted as compared to other counties such as Singapore, Thailand, China, United state and India. Some investors are eager to make the quick profit from the speculating activities such as short-selling the share and the commodities future. However the speculating activities will create the bubble in the market and finally it will turn into another financial turmoil. The gold price seen not stable in short and is more volatile than other commodities. However the gold price in long-run shown an upward shifting trend and the value of gold is appreciated over the past 30 years. In Malaysia, the gold investment opportunity is very limited and the public are hard to find the advertisement of the gold investment account or the gold investment seminar. The lack of public awareness toward the gold investment is one of the problems in Malaysia. It is imperative to enhance the public awareness to the gold investment and adoption of gold investment in the investors portfolio. Gold investment is very popular in other country such as china and India during the recent years. Based on the statement from the World Gold Council (2009) the investment demand hit high at 656 tones which account for 16 per cent of total gold demand. James Burton, the CEO of the WGC has announced the investment demand for the gold market has a striking increase in the last six years. The rising demand of gold investment is due to the investors seek to further diversified their portfolio and safeguard against economic uncertainty and political instability. However this tide is not yet hit the Malaysia Investment market as compared to other country. As we can see the method of gold investment in Malaysia is enormously limited. This thesis may help the local investment institution to identify the factors that affect the adoption of the gold investment. Thus the local institution can come out with the absolute plan special cater for the local investor. It may help to establish the sound financial investment structure in Malaysia. Besides, investors are furnished to more options of investment and enhance the ability to diversify their investment portfolio. Development of a country required the liberalization of the Malaysia market so that to attract the multinational corporation expand their business locally. Generally, Malaysias local investment institution is lack of competitive advantage as compared to giant foreign investment institution. Hence government always exercise its authority to prevent the foreign institution enter into Malaysia financial market. This will be an obstacle to the government in their liberalization plan. In order to increase the competitiveness of the local investment institution, the research on perception of local investor is indispensable. It would assist the local investment institution to compete with the strong forces from overseas. In the evolution of the world monetary system, the gold is increasingly been esteemed as the new form of currency after the abandoned of the Bretton Woods System in year 1973. The loss of confident towards the paper notes and some professionals have pointed out gold as a true form of medium of exchange. Greer (2005) has defined the money is backed by nothing other than the confidence that its holders place in the issuing bank. The paper notes will be able to exchange for goods and as way to store their wealth. However, it depends on the ability of that government to keep inflation under control. The problem of the fiat money have cause the Zimbabwe nation suffer from the hyperinflation due to the excessive money supply. Malaysian should employ some inflationary hedging instrument to avoid the unwanted event. The rising demand for gold in the countries such as china, India, United state and Australia in gold investment have significantly drive the gold investment as part the portfolio investment tools worldwide. Malaysia is still on the developing stage of this form of investment instrument. Thus we are rarely seen the Malaysian investors holding their portfolio with the portion of gold investment. Even gold is superior and have been widely adopted in other countries. 1.4 Objective of study The General objective of this research is to examine the perception of Malaysian toward gold investment. Investor perception toward gold investment is extremely important when come to the promotion of the gold investment. Here is to study what is investor view on the gold investment. What investor perceive the gold investment and what is image of gold investment that in the eye of investor. Special objectives: 1. To determine the adoption of gold investment in Malaysia There some relevant cause and effect relationship of the low adoption of the gold investment. Why gold investment is not popular and widely adopt by the investor as compare to other investment or saving plan. One of the objectives of this thesis is to discover the factors that associate with the degree of espousal to gold investment. 2. To determine the factor affect the gold investment among Malaysian Gold investment is prominent investment vehicle and is widely embraced. The factors affect the gold investment adoption in Malaysia provide insight to the investment institution to cater local investors need. 3. To determine the relationship between perception and adoption of gold investment Is the Malaysians perception toward gold investment having significant relationship with the adoption of gold investment? The perception is the behavioural aspect of human thinking and the adoption is the actual action takes by the Malaysian. Hence, the relationship will be examined in this research. 1.5 Significant of study Based on the investor perception toward gold investment, bank and the investment institution can formulate the gold investment plan to gratify the local investor needs. Malaysia is gradually moving to the liberalization era in different area especially banking area. Due to the open forces from the foreign financial institution, local banks and investment branches are increasingly focus on the customer services and their facilities improvement. By understanding the local investor perception toward the gold investment, local banks or other local investment institution will be able to compete with other foreign giant finance and investment institution. The local investment institution professionalism and customer service is improved if the research and development are increasingly focused on the development of facilities. In addition, government will be eased when implementing the liberalization plan if the local financial institutions are employed with the strong competitive advantages . Malaysia evolves to a resilient nation as we moving deeply into the liberalization era. Thus the local banking system needs to have more inputs to renovate the investment structure in Malaysia. This research enhances the ability to attract the foreign direct investment due to the liberalization of the market. The demand of Malaysia currency is indirectly driven by the foreign direct investment. Hence it will strengthen the Malaysia currency to other nations currencies rate. This research contributes to the Malaysia financial market stability and development while the losses of the investors had been minimized due to the â€Å"safe haven† protection of gold investment. It enhances the resiliency and stability to country financial market, because the losses of investor is been reduced. In addition, local consumers and market players are given the opportunity to variety of choices and enjoy the privilege in term of banking products and services from the open force of the liberalization. Hence it boosts the local investor and market player confident toward the local banking and finance institution. Gold investment in Malaysia is not well known investment vehicle to investors even though there are rising demand of the gold investment from the global perspective. Thus, analyze Malaysia perception toward the gold investment is a vital driver which directly influences the gold investment demand in Malaysia. During the economy difficulties, the consumer are generally suffer from the rising price of the necessities. The decrease of the consumer spending will detain the recovery of the local economy system. If Malaysians engage in some sort of inflationary hedging instrument, the situation will be ease. The inflation problem will not distress the nation seriously as the investors are protected against inflation. From the gold investment facilities provided in Malaysia, we can draw the conclusion of the Malaysia gold investment industry is not well-crafted as compared to other foreign country. There is the need to produce more research topic related to the Malaysia gold investment industry. The research can extend the investor knowledge toward Malaysia gold investment market and also create the awareness to the gold investment opportunity. Malaysia aims to establish a knowledge-based society which is stated in the National Vision Policy (NVP). Hence, in order to consistent with National Vision Policy the extension of the knowledge in gold investment is one of the significant of study in this research. Diversification enables investor to minimize their risk in their portfolio. Investors are given more option to diversify their investment portfolio instead of the current common type of investment vehicle. The inflation rate surge high every year, the real wealth of the investor is diminish over time if they do not involve in the inflationary hedging activities. Among the inflationary hedging activities, gold investment is the safer form of instrument. It is because gold have the high demand and high intrinsic value instead of the legal tender given by the authorities. In addition, the gold is durable and imperishable even for thousands of years. Thus, it acts as a superb value storing asset among others. Risk adverse investors such as elderly will be able to keep their wealth more efficiently and withstand the uncertainty in future. This study provides the important feature of the gold investment which can benefit investor especially during the economic uncertainty period. 1.6 Organization of study In this research project, there are total of five chapters and the title for this research is â€Å"the perception of Malaysian toward gold investment; an empirical study. In chapter one, the overview of the gold investment and benefit of gold investment is included in this research. Besides, the problem statements give an illustration of the problem of gold investment in Malaysia. After that objective of study and significant is study is developed and explained briefly. Chapter two is the literature review; the information is obtained from various sources such as the, research journal, bank catalogue, newspaper, book, and website. In this chapter, the variables are studied clearly and the independent variables are further justified. Chapter two included the study of gold supply and demand, characteristics of gold and gold investment opportunity in Malaysia. After that, the independent variable is studied accordingly. In chapter three, the Research Framework and model specification is developed. Theory of reasoned action has been employed in this study. After that, the hypothesis is established for ten independent variables. Research design is stated in this chapter and it provides detailed information for the method of study. Research sample, questionnaire design, data analysis method is included in this chapter. Chapter four is about the result analysis which the data will be analyzed and interpreted. Finally, chapter five is the recommendation and conclusion of the study. Chapter 2: literature review 2.1 Gold supply and demand Precious metal has the feature of the currency and it possesses the intrinsic value besides the legal tender given by government (Greer, 2005). Hence, investor tend to put their money in gold during time of uncertainty and when they loss confident toward the paper currency (Rusell, 2009). Recent years, there is an increase demand in this real asset due to the loss of confidence toward the paper currency (Willie, 2009). Gold price is demand on the demand and supply mechanism in short-run. Gold demand is high in the country such as East Asia, India and Middle East. In addition, China, India, USA, Italy, and Turkey accounted 55% of the total gold demand of the world. The gold demand can be divided into the jewellery demand, investment demand and industrial demand (Lutter, 2009). Jewellery demand has a highest percentage to the total gold demand. India is the largest jewellery demand due the cultural and religious tradition which is independent to the economic variable. The investment demand which is the primary consideration in this research mean the gold is been traded over-the-counter market. The investment demand has a dramatically increase over last five year which shown a 412% in term of value (World gold council, 2009). More investors seeking gold as protection against the instability of numerous macro-economic variables such as inflation, currency exchange rate, and interest rate (Levin and Wright, 2006). In industrial demand, gold has been use as the thermal and electrical conductor, the demand arises from the use as an electrical components. On the supply side, it is come from the mine production, central bank holding, recycled gold and gold production. The mine production is inelastic to the changes in price and demand due to the long mining process. Recycled gold is from the process of extract and melt down of the jewellery and electrical components (World Gold Council, 2009). 2.2 The characteristic of gold Gold have variety of characteristics besides the independent variable stated in this research. For example, gold possess the characteristics of liquidity, store of value, durability, unit of account and Malleable. The characteristics of the gold provide strong foundation of the demand for the gold especially during the recession or economic uncertainty period. According to world gold Council (2009), the liquidity risk of the gold is relatively low as compare to other investment vehicle especially during the economic hardship. Murray (2004) said that the gold market provide high liquidity to investor when they are in the need of the fund. According to Sathye (2003), the collateral is a second source of repayment to the loan. The Marketability of the asset is an important consideration to the lending decision. The Marketability of the asset depends on the acceptability of the particular asset. Gold has the characteristic of acceptability. Levin Wright (2006) stated that gold is widely acceptable and investor can sell the gold whenever they need the liquidity of the fund. The According to Harmston (1998), gold can uphold its real purchasing power in long run. He claim that gold have consistent value storing ability even at the economic instability. Sjaastad, Larry and Scacciavillani (1996) claimed that when world inflation is surging higher, gold is performance its remarkable function as a value storing instrument. Dubey, Geanakoplos Shubik, (2003) said that gold is a form of commodity money and it can store the value. However gold is durable as compare to other commodities. Besides, the durability of the gold is prominent as a value storing asset. In chemical term, gold is a chemical element with symbol Au and atomic number of 79. This metal has the high thermal and electrical conductivity, resistance of corrosion and malleable characteristics (Wikipedia, 2009). Gold has an atomic number of 79 and atomic weight of 196.967. Gold has high melting point which at 1064.43 °C. Beside, gravity of gold is 19.3 and can be explained as 19.3 times weight than equal volume of water (National Mining Association, 2004). 2.3 Gold investment prospect in Malaysia Gold is an efficient investment vehicle for preservation of wealth and a store of value during the economy volatility especially the high inflationary period. The special features of gold such as diversifier, safe haven, inflationary hedge, universal acceptance, and transportability have make the gold demand the superior choice for investment purpose. In Malaysia, investors have some ways to participate in the gold investment market either physically and non-physically holding of gold. Firstly, we discuss the physically holding of the gold in Malaysia. The Commercial bank investment branches have contributes some fine-tuning gold investment account such as Maybank, Public Bank, Standard Charter Bank, and Bank Negara Malaysia. Maybank offers their gold investment account which called Gold Savings Passbook Account (GSPA). The minimum first purchase is 5 grams only. The weight of gold holdings can be converted to Ringgit Malaysia at the prevailing market gold price and the selling price will be update at the Maybank website from time to time (Maybank, 2008) Public Bank provides the Public Bank Gold Investment Account for investor to participate at the gold market. Public Bank Gold Investment Account having the similar concept with the Maybank Gold Saving Passbook Account. The only difference is the minimum first purchase is 20 gram. Bank can make available the physical gold upon customer require physical withdrawal of gold. A minimum quantity of 2 grams of gold should be maintained by the customer as an assurance of the account is in active mode (Public Bank, 2008). Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad offered its retail investment gold to investor with the launch of Premium Currency Investment Gold (PCi Gold). PCI Gold is a dual currency investment which means that contain both USD and gold. However the minimum amount of 250,000 is required to operate the account with the possession ranging from one week, two week and one month (Standard Chartered Bank). For the gold investment passbook provided by the Public Bank and Maybank is quite similar, the trading record for the gold investment is recorded in a passbook provided to investor. This type of gold investment in generally back by the real gold. However the disadvantage of the gold investment passbook is the investor will not be given any interest and dividend. Investors just make a profit when they sell the gold at higher price. In addition, the bank will charges the gold investment passbo ok holder when the convert or sell their gold holding. When investor buy the gold through the gold investment passbook the price will be slightly higher that the prevailing world gold price. Bank Negara offers the Kijang Emas Gold Bullion Coins. By issue the Kijang Emas Gold Bullion Coins, Malaysia become the 12th country issue its own gold bullion coins. The Kijang Emas Gold Bullion Coin purchase and reselling price is determined by the prevailing international gold market price (BNM, 2002). Investor can buy other bullion coins in some international company such as the Canadian Maple Leaf, American Eagle, and Australian Kangaroo Nugget. The gold investment that involve in non-physically holding of the gold in Malaysia includes gold fund, gold related fund and units trust that involve gold as a core element. The exchange trade fund (ETFs) which is trade similarly as stock or bond. ETFs track the index movement and performance and it is listed on stock exchange (Bursa Malaysia, 2009). Gold exchange trade fund (ETF) is another option for investors and it is listed and traded just as the stock exchange. ETFs enable investor to take part in gold market without investors physically own the gold because it tracks the price performance of the gold bullion. However gold exchange trade fund is still not available in Malaysia. Investor can invest in ETF in Singapore through foreign trading account offered by a local securities firm and investor is subject to the currency risk Gold fund and gold-related funds can be defined as unit trust funds that pool investor fund for investment in gold and other precious metals and investor vary from individuals, corporations to government institutions with common investment objectives. Investor can benefit from the expertise of fund manager who administer the pool fund investment rather that do internal data collection by themselves. There are only one gold fund is available in Malaysia with the minimum investment set at US$150,000 which equivalent to RM513, 000. For gold related fund, investor can just invest minimum of RM 1, 000 to diversify their investment portfolio. (New Straits Times, 2009) The above information provides an insight and general idea to the way to participate in gold investment industry in Malaysia. Investors need the timely information to make their decision on selecting the proper way go investment and investment instrument. According to Lutter (2008), investor will search for the particular investment vehicle before they add the instrument into their investment portfolio. Investor will normally seek information for these four categories, individual, salesperson and advertisement, public communication instruments and personal observation. 2.4 The independent variables of the intention to adopt gold investment among Malaysian In this chapter, the independent variables that are expected to have significant relationship toward the intention to adopt gold investment will be examined. The dependent variable is the intention that Malaysian investor employ the gold investment as part of their investment portfolio. The potential independent variables are the inflationary hedge, currency rate, diversifier and safe haven, time horizon, third party influences, cultural influences, risk averse, advertisement, and professionalism. The independent variable is grouped according to Maheran, Nursuzila and Aspiyati (2008) which adopt the theory of reasoned action. Besides, some mortification is made to tally with this research special requirement. The advertisement and professionalism is common type of independent variable that influences the adoption of some products or services. Advertisements play an important role to persuade consumer intention to accept the products and services. Professionalism is needed especially for the investment sector; investors are generally employs less information than the agent and the professional in the field. 2.5 Economic Factor and gold investment Purchasing power of gold is maintain even the transformation of the era is remarkably significant and the purchasing power of the contemporary currency is diminished gradually (Greer, 2005). In year 1945, Breton wood agreement which endorse by the United States Congress was set the gold exchange standard. The standard involves setting par values for currencies in term of gold and the member countries is required to convert foreign official holdings of their currencies into gold at the prevailing par value. Breton wood system had fixed the 35 US dollar equivalent to 1 ounce of gold to establish the global currency standard (Dammasch, 2005). According to world gold council (2009), the current gold price is increase sharply and currently one ounce of gold is approximately equivalent to 1079 US dollar per ounce. From the above , we can notice that the purchasing power of US currencies has generally declined due to the impact of rising prices for goods and services. Consequently, gold is always in pursuit by the investor when there is fluctuation in the currencies and economy. According to World gold council (2006), the robust growth of the gold investment demand recent year can be attributed to the factors such as macro-economic and the political instability. Economic factors have high contribution to the gold investment demand and the US dollar plays a crucial role in this aspect. According to Levin and Wright (2006), gold is prominent for its inverse relationship with the US dollar. During the drop in the currency rate of the US dollar recently, the gold price had shown a robust upward shift in the price. The currency factor contributes to investor decision making framework in adoption of gold investment (Boye, 2005). The inflationary hedging ability of gold and currency rate volatility is the key independent variable in this research and it is widely study by many of the professors (eg. Lutter, Sjaastad, Larry Scacciavillani, Worthington Pahlavani and Greer) 2.5.1. Inflationary hedge and gold investment Under the overwhelming financial emergency in 2008, investors are alert to the predictable inflation in the coming future; they realize the advantage of possessing gold, this drive the gold investment demand in China (China research and intelligence, 2009). In consistent with the china research and intelligences finding, world gold council researcher shown that the gold price remains high and stable at around US$ 989/oz in the first quarter of 2009. The scenario is driven by the anxious of investors toward the stability of the financial system, risk aversion, future possibility of inflation and as well as deflation (WGC, 2009). The World gold Council and China researcher predict the gold demand increase during the late 2008 is driven by the inflation and economy uncertainty. In Lutter (2008) study he shown that investor treat gold investment as the superior investment instrument and belief it will give the return which is higher that the inflation rate. Thus investor will demand gold during the inflationary period. According to Worthington and Pahlavani (2007), they claimed that commodities are the best way to hedge against rising prices which reduce the returns of purely financial assets like stocks and bonds. Worthington and Pahlavani point out that gold is special which unlike most commodities; gold is durable, relatively transportable, universally acceptable and easily authenticated. The commodities hedging ability is supported by Ranson and Wainwright (2005)