Madness in Hamlet

DRAFT- NOT MLA-LACKS FORMATTING/REFERENCES Hamlet-Melancholy, Madness and Sanity Hamlet, a play by William Shakespeare, is as much a mystery as a tale about depression, madness and sanity. Shakespeare reveals how the scourge of corruption and decay rapidly spread; and the emotional consequences that follow. Insanity, madness and depression are as intolerable as corruption and deceit; and just as intertwined. The play makes one ponder if it is possible to be sane in an insane world full of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption?By examining the themes of melancholy, madness and sanity in Hamlet, Shakespeare details his character’s descent from depression to madness. Additionally, Hamlet’s psychological state can be analyzed by utilizing modern psychological diagnoses, in order to understand his mental state. Throughout the story, Hamlet exists in a melancholy state, â€Å"essentially not in madness, / But mad in craft† (3. 4. 204-205). Hamlet states to H oratio â€Å"as I perchance hereafter shall think meet/ To put an antic disposition on† in order to deceive the king that he is insane (Act I, Scene V, Line 190).However, was Hamlet acting or was he already mentally disturbed? Did Hamlet go mad in the end, or was Hamlet insane from the start of the play, and his mental condition only worsened as the play unfolded? The world in which Hamlet existed appears hostile. The king is a murderer; his mother the queen lusts after her deceased husband’s brother; friends spy and deceive one another; and Hamlet’s lover Ophelia literally loses touch with reality. Hamlet believes that only suicide can free him from his misery. Hamlet is not the only person struggling with depression.From the beginning, Francisco says, â€Å"’Tis bitter cold, / And I am sick at heart†. Marcellus states that â€Å"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark† (). Fear is spread by the ghost of King Claudius wandering the city streets. Reoccurring themes of corruption result in Hamlet stating â€Å"The dram of evil / Doth all the noble substance of a doubt / To his own scandal† (Shakespeare 51). One evil person can contaminate an entire kingdom. As the kingdom decays, emotional trauma increases. Hamlet concludes that the world â€Å"’Tis an unweeded garden / that grows to seed.Things rank and gross in nature / Possess it merely ( ). The weeds represent decay in a world of evil and sin. The â€Å"things† are symbolic of man and his temporary dominance over himself, his fellow man and nature. Pessimism permeates the screenplay and the reader is led to connect the dysfunction with the resulting mental states of depression that infect Hamlet. Hamlet’s psychological status can also be analyzed from a modern perspective. Today we have the diagnostic tools to identify and treat the disorders that afflicted Hamlet.Though Hamlet presents as melancholy throughout the play, there are th ree additional disorders that afflict Hamlet including post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar depression. Three traumatic events contribute to Hamlet’s descent into madness: the death of his father, the incestuous marriage between his uncle and mother, and the discovery of his father’s murder by Claudius. These emotional traumas contributed to Hamlet suffering from what we would now diagnose as Post-traumatic stress disorder.Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by the inability to properly construct emotional appropriate responses to situations and an emotional blunting. Throughout the play, Hamlet had issues with people in his social circle. Hamlet becomes enraged with Laertes because of his dramatic sorrow over the death of Ophelia (Act V, Scene I). Soon thereafter, Hamlet realizes his reaction to Laertes was inappropriate and later apologizes to Laertes. Hamlet demonstrates impulsive behavior and lashes out at people without con sidering the ramifications.In addition to Laertes, Ophelia, Hamlet’s beloved, is also not immune to his rage. Hamlet is susceptible to highly reactive emotional responses, and suicidal ideation is mentioned throughout the play. Symptoms of PTSD often include changes in self-perception, relationship stressors, and frequently revenge fantasies. Hamlet’s emotional state deteriorates over the duration of the play. These changes include increased helplessness and the inability to make decisions as he becomes more ill. Hamlet exhibits other PTSD symptoms. Hamlet feels inferior to Fortinbras and Horatio, and in his attempts to kill Claudius.Hamlet also isolates himself and becomes more paranoid as the play progresses. Not that being paranoid would be an inappropriate emotional response to the environment he is in, but his paranoia takes over. Eventually Hamlet becomes obsessed with revenge after he is compelled by his father’s ghost to avenge his death. Symptoms of sch izophrenia also present in Hamlet. The symptoms of schizophrenia can include hallucinations, isolation from others, a loss of reality and paranoia. While berating his mother about her rapid remarriage, suddenly Hamlet begins addressing an invisible specter. â€Å"What would your gracious figure? [QUEEN] Alas, he’s mad! † (Act III, Scene IV, Line 116-117). Hamlet has visions, or hallucinations, of his dead father’s ghost. The ghost was seen once by Horatio and some guards at the start of the play, but not by anyone else. The appearance of the ghost may have been reality or a hallucination. However, the second ghost to appear, that only Hamlet could see and hear, was confirmation of Hamlet’s insanity. Schizophrenia is often symptomatic with visual, but more commonly auditory hallucinations. After the death of Hamlet’s father, Hamlet began to withdraw and became reclusive in nature.He didn’t combat be forced to leave to boarding school, he spen t less time with Ophelia, and he became very isolated. Hamlet appears to have been in the initial stages of schizophrenia where the real and unreal become blurred, but he is not yet incapacitated by his disorder prior to his murder. Perhaps if he didn’t die young the disease would have progressed. Even Polonius questioned Hamlet’s state-of-mind when he said, â€Å"How pregnant sometimes his replies are – a happiness that often madness hits on† (Act II, Scene II, Lines 213-215). Throughout the play, evidence of bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression) is identified.It is hard to distinguish if Hamlet is bipolar or having a schizophrenic break since both diseases have common behavioral features. Bipolar disorder is known for manic or escalated behaviors coupled with severe depression when the mania recedes. Manic behaviors include pressured (or rapid) speech, grandiose beliefs, insomnia, and hyper or frantic behavior, followed by periods of extreme anergic depression that is emotionally and physically debilitating. Hamlet escalates between periods of excitement and kinetic activity to states of absolute misery and unproductivity.Hamlet procrastinates, but it may be due to the depressive period he cycles in and out of. Hamlet’s soliloquies all contain themes of suicide and hopelessness (depression), but his manic states are more difficult to define. Hamlet creates a plan to prove Claudius’s guilt while justifying his own rage and revenge. When Hamlet discovers that the players are coming to the castle, he rapidly goes from melancholy to a state of over-excitement. He becomes highly focused and implements a detailed plan to kill Claudius. Hamlet quickly abandons his plan and slips back into his depression (sparing Claudius).If Hamlet was able to execute all of the schemes and plans he devises, the play would be chaotic. Another incident suggests another bipolar episode when Hamlet, on the boat to England, facilita tes the execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; and also plans an attack on a pirate ship for revenge. Grandiose thoughts are a common feature while in a manic phase. Hamlet quickly forgets or fails to follow through with his plan and falls back into a depressive state. Hamlet’s manic depression is referred to as rapid cycling because the mania and depressive states change quickly.Ultimately, Hamlet may not be procrastinating at all like is assumed throughout the play. Hamlet may be incapable of fulfilling his grandiose plans while in a depressive state. In Hamlet’s time people had no concept of mental illness or mood disorders. People believed that behavior was deliberate and labeled unacceptable behaviors as character defects. Hamlet was a deeply disturbed individual. Author Gertrude Morin suggests that a cognitive approach be used to understand Hamlet. Hamlet, Morin says, is â€Å"a portrayal of a tortured, depressed young man who loses his way in the labyrinth of his negative thoughts. He not only suffered from negativity, mania and depression; the environment in which he lived was highly dysfunctional for anyone’s mental health, let alone an ill man. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet is depressed but the events that develop during the play exacerbate his descent into madness. Not many people in the Kingdom of Denmark escape the toxicity of the world in which they lived. Ophelia may have suffered the most, and was also tormented by Hamlet’s illness, and eventually by saw no other option but to end her life. Depression and despair seemingly became as contagious as the small pox- and just as untreatable.Hamlet’s mental state and the events in his life may have finally drove him to madness. The reader may first believe that Hamlet is faking his dementia, when in fact, his mental dysfunctions were both organic (of biological origin)and very real. Among the mentally ill it is common to see a mentally vulnerable individu al succumb to the pressures of his environment. That person may have been able to keep their illness in check in a stable environment, but when external stressors mount- they may not have the coping behaviors to cope and they escalate out of control.Suicide, in our modern world, is often a result of life stressors the vulnerable person could no longer manage. Had Hamlet not been murdered, his suicidal impulses may have caused him to self destruct. Psychiatry was just emerging as a science during the time Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. Robert Burton, the most famous author on melancholy from the Renaissance, first published his Anatomy of Melancholy in 1621. Burton, who was afflicted with melancholy himself suggested treatments â€Å"from taking hellebore to boring a hole in the skull to let out the ‘fuliginous vapours,’† while adding his consolations (Burton ).Had Hamlet received the services of Burton, it is probable that if the hellebore didn’t work, the hole in the skull would have left Hamlet disabled or dead. In conclusion, the question persists: Is it possible to be sane in an insane world full of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption? It appears that the majority of people is somewhat resilient and can cope with adversity to a certain degree. However, there are people like Ophelia and Hamlet who are vulnerable to chaotic conditions. These people tend to internalize the trauma and don’t have the coping mechanisms to deal with intense emotional situations.It is fascinating that Shakespeare had the insight to connect intolerable conditions with states of mental vulnerability. ‘Madness’ was a catch-all term for all mental disorders in Shakespeare’s time, but through his dialogue and scenery, he was able to identify numerous mental states of dysfunction- centuries before we had terminology to describe these illnesses in diagnostic terms. Shakespeare’s acuity in describing a mentally-ill princ e is why Hamlet has endured over time. The issues, diseases, desires, fears and dreams remain constant over time among humanity. To be, or not to be’ will always be relevant in more ways than life and death. Our views on mental illness and physical ailments that relate to Melancholia are endless, and therefore so is our application of each possibility to Shakespeare’s work of Hamlet. Sources: Diagnostic Manual DMV-IV Burton, Robert. The Anatomy of Melancholy. Ed. Floyd Dell and Paul JordanSmith, NewYork: Tudor Publishing Co. , 1941. Morin, Gertrude. â€Å"Depression and Negative Thinking: A Cognitive Approach to Hamlet. † Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 25. 1 (1992): 112.

Ujian Matematik Tambahan

Sekolah Menengah Sains Muzaffar Syah Melaka 75450 Air Keroh Melaka Ujian 2 2007 Additional Mathematics Form 4 Time : 75 Minuets INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES 1 This question booklet consists of three parts, Section A and Section B. and Section C Answer All Question in Section A and B and two Question of section C 2 Give only one answer/ solution to each question. 3 Show your working . It may help you to get marks. 4 The figures/diagrams given in a problem in this question booklet would provide useful information to solve the problem. However, it might not be drawn to scale. 5 Write the answer in the answer sheets provided. All solution methods must be clearly shown. You may loose marks if important working steps are not properly shown. 7 The marks for each question or part-question are shown in brackets. 8 You may use a non- programmable scientific calculator. The following formulae may be helpful in answering the questions. The symbols given are the ones commonly used . 1 x = ?x N 6 Ar c length, s = r ? 7. Area of sector , A= 1 2 r ? 2 2 x = ? = ? fx ? f ? (x ? x ) N 2 8. = y=uv, 3 ?x N 2 dy dv du =u +v dx dx dx ?x 2 9 2 4 ?= ? f ( x ? x) ? f = ? fx ? f 2 ?x 2 du dv v ? u u y = , dx = dx 2 dx , v dy v dy dy du = ? dx du dx 10 5 ?1 ? ?2N? F? M = L+? C ? fm ? ? ? ? ? Section A 1 Answer all questions The mean of x+ 3, 2x – 5, x + 7, x and 3x + 7, is 12 . Find (a) the value of x (b) median [ 4 marks ] Answer : (a) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (b) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2. A set of examination marks a1 , a2, a 3, a 4, a5, a6, has a mean of 5 and standard deviation of 1. 5 Find (i) the sum of the marks, ? a , (ii) the sum of the squares of the marks, ?a 2 [ 3 marks ] Answer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. The mean of a set of four positive integers is 6. When a number y is taken out from the set, the mean becomes 5. Find the value of y. [ 3 marks ] Answe r †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. The mean of the set of numbers 2. 5, 3. 6, 4. 3, 5. 8, x is 4. . Find the standard deviation of the set of data. Give your answer correct to three decimal places [3 marks] Answer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ________________________________________________________________________ 5 Marks Number of student 1 -20 2 21 – 40 1 41- 60 5 61 – 80 14 81 – 100 8 Table above shows the marks obtained by a group of students I a monthly test. Find the standard deviation of the marks. Give your answer correct to two decimal places. [ 4 marks ] Answer :†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ __________________________________________________________________________ _ 6 (a) Convert 231 o 11 ‘ to radian (b) Convert 1. 455 to degree and minutes [ 2 marks ]Answer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 Diagram 1 shows a sector AOB with centre O . A 5c m O 0. 5 rad 5c m B DIAGRAM 1 Find the area of the shaded segment [ 4 marks] Answer :†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 r A O 63 o B Diagram 2 shows a circle with centre O. Given that the length of the major arc AB is 62. 21 cm, find the length of the radius, r , in cm. [3 marks ] DIAGRAM 2 Answer :†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Diagram 3 shows two arcs, AD and BC, for two circle with centre O and radius OA and OB respectively. 12 cm ? 10 cm 10 cm DIAGRAM 3 Given that the length of arc BC is 12 cm , OD is 10 cm and OD : DC = 5 : 2 Find , a) ? , in radian b) the are of the shaded region ABCD. 4 marks] Answer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ __________________________________________________________________________ _ Section B Answer two question only [ 20 marks ] 1 Table 1 shows the marks of 80 students in an examination. Marks No of Students 50 – 59 8 60 – 69 25 TABLE 1 (a) Calculate the mean marks of the student. [ 3 marks ] 70 – 79 22 80 – 89 18 90 – 99 7 (b) Draw a histogram and estimate its mode [ 4 marks ] (c) Without drawing an ogive, calculate the median marks of the students [ 3 marks ] 2 Diagram 4 shows sector AOB and sector OED with centre O and E respectively . OCE is a right angle triangle. A cm C BO D ? RAJAH 6 E Given that ? AOB is 500 , OA = 10 cm , OE = 8 cm and OB : BC = 2 : 1. Calculate (a) (b) (c) ? and radian, [2 marks] perimeter of the shaded region in cm, [4 marks] area of the shaded region in cm2. [4 marks] 3 a) Find the value of 4 3 i) limit x ? 3x + 2 x x>4 x 2 ? 64 ii) limit n >8 x ? 8 [3 marks] b) Find dy of y = 3Ãâ€"2 by using first principle dx [2 marks] c) Differentiate the following with respect to x 1 i) y = x + ? 5 ii) y = 2Ãâ€"3 ( 3x -5)4 x 128 d) Given that f(x) = 2x – 3 find f ? (2 ) x [ 3 marks ] [ 2 marks ] END OF QUESTION PAPER Prepared By †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Pn Saripah Ahmad Approved by,

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Business game modified assignmen - Essay Example This company has gained great praise due to its ability to maintain its name in Europe as a car-manufacturing corporation. The corporation has endeavoured to produce high quality cars by using high technology. The company has also managed to remain stable in the competitive European market. In order to fit in the market, the company created an initiative of assessing its target customers, with the aim of acquiring maximum profits from their business initiative. Effective marketing ensures competitive advantage by appealing to consumer values and preferences (Porter 1985; Porter, 1987). At the commencement of the project, our team embarked on a mission to maximise the company’s profits by weighing the shareholders’ investment. At the end of Round 4, our group had managed to acquire about four percent of the market share inclusive of the City and Large car. Our company is keen to check the profit and losses incurred by VICA. Focus on the workers’ demands is among t he company’s major concerns, which it does in order to develop a rapport between the management and the workers, as well as to keep the company on its toes. The target group of the company’s City car falls below 25 years of age while the Large car is aimed at persons between the ages of 41-55 years. In terms of the City car the vehicle is suitable for short distances and is affordable for young people. On the other hand, the Large car is suitable for older people who need to carry luggage of varying sizes and move over longer distances. The forecast for Round 1 can be summarised in the table on the following page. The table is inclusive of sales, profits and balance. The forecast for the City car stood at 53300b while that of the large car was 40950b. CASH FLOW FORECAST Cash In Cash Out Opening Bank Balance ?500,000,000.00 Sales Income ?1,628,805,750.00 Total Material Cost ?1,211,774,167.50 Total Labour Cost ?47,000,000.00 Total Overheads ?242,508,062.56 Factory Cost ? 650,000,000.00 Automation Expenditure ?17,500,000.00 Tax Payment ?38,392,055.98 Net Interest Payment ?0.00 Bank Balance before Loan -?77,918,536.04 Loan Requested ?200,000,000.001 Closing Bank Balance ?122,081,463.96 Company Performance Round 1 Forecast Model based on production, sales and bank balances pre- and post-loan Production 94,250 Sales ?1,630 m Post-Tax Profit ?86.9 m Bank Balance Before Loan ?- 77 m Bank Balance After Loan ?123 m The process of launching the cars into the European market was a complex task that needed to consider elements of establishing an appropriate pricing model, determining manufacturing capacity, the volume of labourers required, and profit/loss projections based on cost recognition. Strategies for launch included first identifying key market characteristics associated with lifestyle and preferences for small/large cars along with environmental attitudes. Market Share Analysis, Gross Margin and Post-tax Profit Round 1 Overheads Overheads Income Cost Fixed Overheads ?128,958,062.56 Market Promotion ?55,000,000.00 Research & Development ?48,700,000.00 Training Cost ?940,000.00 Total Overheads ?233,598,062.56 Budget capabilities, which maintained oversight related to loan procurement as a failure to include loan capital in the figures, dictated limited production capabilities due to overhead and other associated factors related to economies of scale and capital availability. The first production run for Citzen cars was 53,300 whilst larger cars were to be produced

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Tort Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Viper's Den v. Jim Morriston Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Do Animals Feel Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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American Minorities and Sports Essay Example for Free

American Minorities and Sports Essay Sports have always had an enormous impact on American society and culture. People use sports at all levels, whether it’s youth, high school, college or professional, to help build an identity, connect with others and grow as individuals. Even though American is a diverse country made up of different races, nationalities and ethnicities, discrimination has been in issue throughout America’s history. Sports took on an even greater meaning for some minorities during the 20th Century, especially Europeans and blacks. They used sports as a means of vertical mobility in order to advance themselves socially in America. The idea of social mobility was one concept that originally drew many immigrants to the country. Between 1880 and 1915, around 26 million immigrants moved to the United States, and about half came from several areas of Europe (Moore, 2011a). America offered the chance for people to better themselves and someone from any background could become successful and rise above their parents. During this time, Americans were already viewing sports as an important and democratic part of life, because it judged people on their talent and skill alone (Reiss, 1980). Competition was an opportunity to prove and show off your â€Å"manliness† and power. Sports were also seen as a way to gain vertical mobility, and for Europeans, it was a way to become more accepted into the American culture. Although they received more respect than blacks, they mostly were not considered truly â€Å"American† (Moore, 2011a). Boxing was a popular sport among young immigrants. Boxing was a sport that proved â€Å"manliness† and toughness, and turning professional meant chances to earn prize money. Most immigrants from Europe lived on the East Coast in cities that quickly became crowded and poor, and fighting was a functional skill to learn while living in the ghetto neighborhoods (Reiss, 1980). Boxing became a social ladder for ethnic groups since one group seemed to dominate until another group became better. Whoever were better boxers at the time were viewed as the tougher race. In the 1800’s and early 1900’s the Irish held most of the Heavyweight Championship titles, with boxers like John L. Sullivan, Jack Kilrain and Gene Tunney (Sowell, 1983). In the 1920’s and 30’s Jews began to have success in the ring, with 1913 being the only year in since the start of the century that there was no Jewish champion. In the two decade span they held 18 titles (Moore, 2011a). These champions were important to the Jewish in proving their worth to the country and countering the discrimination that the Nazis in Germany were trying to spread. Boxing for European ethnic minorities served as a way to prove their race’s toughness, and prizefighting was a way to leave the poor ghettos and make a decent life for themselves. Italians were slower than other groups in their involvement with sports. Between 1899 and 1924 about 4 million immigrated to the United States and settled in the crowded East Coast cities (Reiss, 1980). The Progressive movement was gaining popularity at the time, but because of their past in Italy, many Italians mistrusted governments telling them what to do and what their children should do (Moore, 2011a). However, 2nd generation Italian-American children were given opportunities to play sports through the creation of the Public School Athletic League. In 1905 historian Camillo Cianfarra tracked the Italian youth development in sports and observed: â€Å"In our public elementary school competitions, our children are not inferior to the children of other nationalities, in the lists of gymnastic [track and field] winners the Italian names appear quite frequently as they appear in the rosters of teams involved in inter-high school competition† (Reiss, 1980). Baseball soon became a popular sport with the Italians, and they became very successful with the sport. By the time of the Depression, Italians were becoming a majority in the Major Leagues (Moore, 2011a). Italians success in baseball gave them social mobility, but they were also still discriminated against. Some of the best players in the league in the 1930’s were Joe DiMaggio, Tony Lazzeri, Frank Crosetti and Ernie Lombardi (Baldassaro, 2005). Joe DiMaggio helped Italians gain more exposure and respect when he became the best player in the league and an American celebrity (Moore, 2011a). Blacks in the United States had similar involvement as the Europeans with ports and social mobility, although they faced much more discrimination and rejection than the other minorities. Blacks used sports as a main way to try and prove their equality to the rest of the country. They viewed successful black athletes as heroes and passionately supported them, and used them as a more subtle channel to showcase their fight against the discrimination and hate that they faced daily. Boxing featured several black champions and was a popular sport, just like it was with the European minorities. One of the earliest black champions was Peter Jackson, an Australian who won the Heavyweight Championship over there in 1886. He traveled to America in 1988 to fight John L. Sullivan, who held the Heavyweight Title, but Sullivan refused to fight him because he was black. Besides that setback, he was considered one of the best boxers of the time, and blacks loved him because he was a respectable man and proved black equality with his victories. Frederick Douglass at the time said, â€Å"Peter is doing a great deal with his fist to solve the Negro question† (Moore, 2011b). He was also respected within the white community because he never bragged or belittled an opponent (Moore, 2011b). People around the country of any race looked up to him as a role model. Although Peter Jackson helped gain some respect for blacks in white America, it wasn’t until Joe Louis that Americans found a black athlete that was embraced as an American hero. Louis was born in Alabama in 1914 as the son a sharecropper and great grandson of a slave. His family moved to Detroit in 1924 where he soon took up boxing. After ten years of hard work he won the Golden Gloves as a light heavyweight and his career took off from there. One of his biggest victories was against former heavyweight champion Primo Carnera in front of a crowd of 62,000 at Yankee Stadium (Official Site, n. d. ). Louis’s symbol as an American hero though didn’t fully happen until he avenged his loss against German champion Max Schmeling with a first-round knockout in 1938, during the time of the Nazi’s dominance in Europe. It was this victory that caused the American people to see him not as just another black fighter, but as an American hero. It helped to counter the impression of successful black athletes that Jack Johnson, the previous black heavyweight champion, had left, and in a way almost transcended his race (Schwartz, n. d. ). â€Å"What my father did was enable white America to think of him as an American, not as a black,† said his son, Joe Louis Jr. â€Å"By winning, he became America’s first black hero† (Schwartz, n. d. ). In the 1960’s, black athletes used the world’s biggest sporting stage to fight racism and show their protest against the discrimination that they were still facing. In October 1967 the Olympic Project for Human Rights was established by sociologist Harry Edwards and others, mainly athletes. The goal of the organization was to protest segregation and racism in sport and society. A boycott of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics was suggested but never happened, yet several members still used the Games as an opportunity for the organization. Many on the US Track and Field team wore black socks as support of the black community, or badges of the OPHR (Henderson, n. d. ). The most famous act of protest however was from sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who finished 1st and 3rd in the 200m final. On the medal podium, they each raised a fist while wearing a black glove. The act led to the International Olympic Committee president, Avery Brundage, suspending them from the rest of the competition and forcing them to leave (Moore, 1991). Although the protest had negative consequences for the sprinters, it was another key moment in sports that showed how the black community rallied around its athletes and used sports as a way to come together and fight for civil rights. Sports and competition were important in minorities efforts to advance in 20th century America through vertical mobility, although the reasons were different for each race. Europeans struggled with adjusting to a new country and culture, and sports helped serve as a way to assimilate more with the American culture and be accepted. Because of the large numbers of immigrants in the late 1800‘s and early 1900‘s, most lived in poor, crowded urban areas. Being successful in sports meant a chance to become professional, leave behind poverty, and make a life for yourself. It was essentially the â€Å"American Dream. † Sports had a slightly different meaning for black Americans. The United States was still a country of discrimination and oppression, and black society used their successful athletes to empower and unite them. Through heroes like Joe Louis, they fought against the discrimination and tried to prove their equality to whites. Both minorities in the 20th century viewed sports as a key tool in their struggle for acceptance in American society.

Speech Variation In Restaurants Essay Example for Free

Speech Variation In Restaurants Essay There are three different dialects in Pennsylvania that will give away where you reside. Why is there so much contrast in speech among the residents of the city and country? The culture where I am from has molded my speech, attitude, and actions; it also has created who I am today. The â€Å"city life† is exceptionally different from the â€Å"country life,† I know this because of my expedition to the middle of nowhere, Lock Haven, PA. Somewhere on the four-hour car ride from Philadelphia to Lock Haven, the residents begin to talk a little stranger with a different dialect then the east coast. For the last five years, I have been employed at a corporate owned Mexican-grill restaurant, Chili’s. When I came to school at the beginning of the Fall 2011 semester, I took on a job at the local corporate restaurant, Ruby Tuesday. By working in restaurants, it forced me to communicate with thousands of people from all over the world. Not only did I encounter the behavioral differences of the â€Å"townies† in the Lock Haven area, but also I found it extremely difficult to converse and understand the costumers and employees at Ruby Tuesday. Going out to eat is something you do for relaxation and pleasure, but when a new employee is thrown into the stressful world of the restaurant industry, the â€Å"new fish† is quickly exposed to words that may seem like a foreign language. Although the syntax in the restaurant business is the same as the English language, the function words vary. There are countless restaurant terms that are used by every position in the establishment. These function words also change through out the country. Not only are you dealing with regional accents, you are dealing with different terminology that is dependent on the location of the business. In the city, it is usually assumed that slang would be more present in the restaurants. This is a true statement for the costumers going out to eat, this is a false statement for the employees that have to represent a corporation that is located in an area of high population, where most of the income is coming from. I have seen more employees get fired in the city for being unprofessional and using slang then I have seen in Lock Haven. At Ruby Tuesday, I have found myself baffled countless times by some of morphology my costumers use. It’s frequent that the costumers have to repeat themselves because of the language barrier. A speech community is a group of people who set norms and expectations regarding the use of language, and being from the city makes any Philadelphia aborigine an outcast. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_community]. There are different words for the same thing, synonyms, which vary around the state of Pennsylvania in restaurants. For example the seating area around the bar is called the â€Å"lounge† in Philadelphia. The seating area around the bar in Lock Haven is still known as the dinning room area. [http://blog.etundra.com/in-the-restaurant/glossary-restaurant-terms/]. Pennsylvania is divided into roughly three different dialects, The Atlantic midland, East midland, and Pittsburg. [http://aschmann.net/AmEng/]. After watching videos of citizens such as City Councilman Frank Rizzo, Jr. who resides in Philadelphia, Rick Gray, mayor of Lancaster, and U.S. representative Michael Doyle of Pittsburg, it’s is evident that Pennsylvania has distinct native accents. After watching all three videos of these men talking, the accent and dialect that I can most relate to would be Frank Rizzo Jr., the accent that affiliates the most with Lock Haven dialect is Michael Doyle. The way Frank Rizzo pronounces his vowels are very distinct. You can tell in the way he says â€Å"bad, had, and dad,† the IPA sound |à ¦| is pronounced as the IPA sound |I| is pronounced, this is a sign that he is a native of Philadelphia tongue. By having different accents in the restaurant industry, it could get confusing because of the constant screaming and communication in the BOH (Back of the House, or kitchen). [http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/phoneticsymbolsforenglish.htm] Just in Pennsylvania, there are at least three contrasting dialects. There are multifarious clues that can give away where a costumer or fellow employee is from. If one pays attention to the sound of the use of their vowel pronunciations, behavior, actions and use of slang, it is effortless. It is a phenomenon how just a few hours can exaggeratedly change the way someone talks. Next time you go out to eat, try to figure out where your server is from using these clues!

MIS implementation at AC Ltd | Analysis

MIS implementation at AC Ltd | Analysis A PROJECT REPORT On Management Information System of AC Ltd. TABLE OF CONTENTS S. NO. PARTICULARS PAGE NO. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 1 INTRODUCTION – DEFINITION OF MIS 5 2 COMPANY PROFILE 6 3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 7 4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 7 5 TYPES OF MIS AND USES 8 7 ROLES OF MIS 8 8 DESCRIPTION NATURE OF INFORMATION SYSTEM 12 9 Description and Analysis use of Information Systems MIS STUDY AT AC LIMITED 9.1 General Information 9.2 Need For Integrated MIS 9.3 MIS Functions Provided by Current MIS 9.4 Architecture of MIS at AC Limited 9.5 Inventory Management Module Of Current MIS 12-24 11 ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT USE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS, identification of problems 24 12 RECOMMENDATION for future developments in use of IS 25 13 GANTT CHART 28 14 REFERENCES 29 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Making decisions is an integral part in the functioning of any organization. To facilitate Decision making in this ever-competitive world it is imperative that managers have the right information at the right time to bridge the gap between need and expectation. For better flow of information an adequate Management Information Systems (MIS) is the need of this age. Thus it is important to have an understanding of the MIS followed in an organization by all levels of management in order to take effective and appropriate decisions. A management information system collects and processes data (information) and provides it to managers at all levels who use it for decision making, planning, program implementation, and control. The MIS has many roles to perform like the decision support role, the performance monitoring role and the functional support role. To get a realistic view of the MIS, I’ve gone through the MIS of AC Limited. For the purpose of getting in depth understanding of particular functions of the company, I focused the needs, uses and benefits of MIS with respect to the Material Department of the company. For the preparation of this report, Inventory Management has primarily been focused. AC Limited is one of the first Pakistani companies to realize the potential and importance of information technology and to adopt automation and IT infrastructure. The preliminary computerization took place in 1986. The organization has traveled a long way from the days in 1986 when it was using simple keypunching machines. Significant improvements were made in the application systems and infrastructure. From Batch processing to on-line systems, from IBM1401 to the latest UNIX and Windows XP and 2003 based machines organization has made timely transitions determined by the available technologies. Throughout this evolution the MIS remained synchronized to the information flow in the organization and the management felt that it has played a role in the overall growth and increased performance of the organization. INTRODUCTION DEFINITION OF MIS Management Information Systems (MIS) is a system consisting of people, machines, procedures, data bases and data models, as its components. The system gathers data from Internal and External sources of an organization; processes it and supplies Management Information to assist managers in the process in decision making. Thus it is safe to conclude that an information system is a system consisting of the network of all communication channels used within an organization. There are many potential benefits of MIS investments Investing in information systems can pay off for a company in many ways. It can support a core competency. Enhance distribution channel management. Builds brand equity. IT investment can boost production processes Information systems allow company flexibility in its output level. An information system comprises of all the components that collect, manipulate, and deliver data or information. It usually includes hardware, software, people, communications systems such as telephone lines, and the data itself. The activities involved include inputting data, processing of data into information, storage of data and information, and the production of outputs such as management reports. COMPANY PROFILE – THE ACC LIMITED AC (AC Limited) is Pakistans foremost manufacturer of cement and concrete. ACs operations are spread throughout the country with 14 modern cement factories, 13 Ready mix concrete plants, 19 sales offices, and several zonal offices. It has a workforce of about 9000 persons and a countrywide distribution network of over 9,000 dealers. ACs research and development facility has a unique track record of innovative research, product development and specialized consultancy services. Since its inception in 1936, the company has been a trendsetter and important benchmark for the cement industry in respect of its production, marketing and personnel management processes. Its commitment to environment-friendliness, its high ethical standards in business dealings and its on-going efforts in community welfare programs have won it acclaim as a responsible corporate citizen. AC has made significant contributions to the nation building process by way of quality products, services and sharing its expe rtise. In the 70 years of its existence, AC has been a pioneer in the manufacture of cement and concrete and a trendsetter in many areas of cement and concrete technology including improvements in raw material utilization, process improvement, energy conservation and development of high performance concretes. AC’s brand name is synonymous with cement and enjoys a high level of equity in the Indian market. It is the only cement company that figures in the list of Consumer Super Brands of India. The companys various businesses are supported by a powerful, in-house research and technology backup facility the only one of its kind in the Indian cement industry. This ensures not just consistency in product quality but also continuous improvements in products, processes, and application areas. AC has rich experience in mining, being the largest user of limestone, and it is also one of the principal users of coal. As the largest cement producer in India, it is one of the biggest customers of the Indian Railways, and the foremost user of the road transport network services for inward and outward movement of materials and products. ACC has also extended its services overseas to the Middle East, Africa, and South America, where it has provided technical and managerial consultancy to a variety of consumers, and also helps in the operation and maintenance of cement plants abroad. ACC demonstrates the practices of being a good corporate citizen undertaking a wide range of activities to improve the living conditions of the under-privileged classes living near its factories. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The objective of this report is to study the MIS implementation at AC Ltd. and with the help of this domain, to get an insight into the needs of MIS in business setups on a big scale, various functions performed by the MIS, benefits derived out of such a system and the risks involved. I intend to aim my study at analyzing the business needs of the organization, key challenges or desired functional requirements of the MIS, the IT solution that is currently implemented and the outcome of such a system. AC Ltd. requires MIS to map internal processes and interaction with the external environment to the technology and ensure the solution delivers real benefits to the business. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The scope of this study is to understand the reasons behind the need of MIS in AC Ltd. This study leads to the MIS support to the Company as a whole with special emphasis on Inventory Management practiced in the Material Stores Department of the company. Through the interaction with the executives of AC Limited, we get an insight about the effectiveness of the MIS in place at the organization. TYPES OF MIS AND USES MIS CLASSIFICATION MIS is a concept, which is a matter of degree rather than an absolute one. In management there are perhaps few other areas other than MIS which gas created so much controversy. We would make an attempt to try to look into different types of MIS as they have evolved during the course of time. Transaction Processing System Management Information System Decision Support System Executive Support System Office Automation System Business Expert System FUNCTIONAL USES AND ROLES OF MIS THE PERFORMANCE MONITORING ROLE MIS are not just statistics and data analysis. They have to be used as an MBO (Management by Objectives) tool. They help: to establish relevant and measurable objectives to monitor results and performances (reach ratios) to send alerts, in some cases daily, to managers at each level of the organization, on all deviations between results and pre-established objectives and budgets. THE FUNCTIONAL SUPPORT ROLE Business processes and operations support function is the most basic. It involves collecting, recording, storing, and basic processing of data. Information systems support business processes and operations by: recording, storing and processing sales data, purchase data, investment data, payroll data and other accounting records recording, storing and processing inventory data, work in process data, equipment repair and maintenance data, supply chain data, and other production/operations records recording, storing and processing personnel data, salary data, employment histories, and other human resources records recording, storing and processing market data, customer profiles, customer purchase histories, marketing research data, advertising data, and other marketing records recording, storing an processing business intelligence data, competitor analysis data, industry data, corporate objectives, and other strategic management records use of all the above to implement, control, and monitor plans, strategies, tactics, new products, new business models or new business ventures. THE DECISION SUPPORT ROLE The business decision making support function goes one step further. It is an integral part of making decisions. It allows users to ask What if†¦? questions: What if we increase the price by 5%? What if we increase price by 10%? What if we decrease price by 5%? What if we increase price by 10% now, then decrease it by 5% in three months? It also allows users to deal with contingencies: If inflation increases by 5% (instead of 2% as we are assuming), then what do we do? What do we do if we are faced with a strike or a new competitive threat? ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE ACC LTD. Description and Nature of Information System INVENTORY MANAGEMENT A product that is in excessive demand is usually extremely difficult to manage. Supplying the right amount of products implies that an accurate demand forecast is essential. This holds the impact on the entire supply chain to facilitate efficient consumer response based on consumer demands it becomes imperative that such companies consider inventory management seriously. Making accurate demand and supply predictions is an ideal situation that anyone in the supply chain management arena could dream off. By providing timely accurate information pertaining to inventory location, movement and valuation, receipt of goods, sale and return of goods and profits you can make sure that your inventory is visible throughout a network. With inventory management you can set your product catalog to hide products that are not in stock, or change prices based on the amount of products available in the warehouse. The quantity available can be displayed to the shopper and this can prevent unnecessary confusion when the shopper adds items not available to a shopping cart. The store buyer can be automatically notified about low inventory levels. IT (Information Technology) is a key enabler in the transformation of purchasing into a strategic business function. The challenge is to find a way to put these technologies to use and create value and competitive advantage. The Main Objectives in Inventory Management are: Improved customer service Reduced inventory investment Increased productivity Benefits of inventory management applications Complete control of inventory. Complete information about the value of the inventory Complete visibility on Quantities on hand, Quantities committed and Quantities sold Response time to demand changes reduced Increased sales Knowledge of the exact size of merchandizing inventory Taxes and insurance premiums paid on excess merchandize inventory avoided. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS AC is one of the first Indian companies to realize the potential and importance of information technology and adopt automation and IT. The organization started computerizing its systems as early as 1986. The organization has traveled a long way from the days in 1986 when it was using simple keypunching machines. Significant improvements have been made in the application systems and infrastructure. From Batch processing to on-line systems, from IBM1401 to the latest UNIX and Windows 2003 based machines it has made timely transitions determined by available technologies and business requirements. AC has made a quantum jump from in-house developed systems using Oracle 9i and Developer 6i to an ERP based solution. This decision was solely based on its strategic objectives and the business benefits that are expected to follow. With this move people, business processes and technologies across the country are aligned. The implementation of ERP solution for process control is shown in the figure below. Fig.1 The ERP implementation for process control at AC Ltd. IT department is still continuously working on improving the functionality and removing the errors of the system. As a result system is becoming better day-by-day, thus improving the productivity of the company. NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED MIS The benefits associated with an integrated MIS are Better processing of the large volume of data in an organization. Reducing the Redundancy of Data that occurs in case of separate packages. Availability of all the required information about any department through a common system. Making the system capable of supporting the managers in making decisions. Facilitate the communication between the various regional offices of the company and the corporate office along with the main plant. Use of online data to speed up the information flow of the organization and facilitate decision-making FUNCTIONS PROVIDED BY CURRENT MIS Plant (Manufacturing Maintenance) Production Break down and Plant performance Module MIS Reports and stoppage Module, Stock position Raw Materials Management System Integration with Weigh Bridge and Security Gate Daily stock, issue position and bill passing Transport Freight Payment Systems Weigh Bridge Integrated with Security Gate Stopped one mechanical weigh bridge 500 trucks can weigh for gross and tare in single day 5002 = 1000 Time Management Reports, Truck Movement reports Weighment is integrated with invoice cum challan freight Payment Truck position inside and outside the plant. Computerized Preventive Maintenance Software Both plant are using this module Preventive Maintenance and Break down Module Shutdown module and integrated with inventory Forecasting of spares and skills usage module Inward Outward Materials Security Control on returnable goods Work Order and analysis Work Order will be prepared by authorized person Provided to all departments. Integrated with Rate Master And budget. Labour Deployment and accounting System Daily supply of Contractor Labour deployment Against regular, adhoc and shutdown requirements Daily/monthly/yearly analysis reports Contractor labour Bill passing system Commercial Applications Marketing Accounting and analysis System Excise module and Sales Tax Module Transport Bill passing module Order Confirmations and Dispatch Instruction Free Market Requirements, Railway Receipt Commercial Invoice, Debit Note, Credit Notes. Stores Inventory Non Inventory On Line indent, Issue and Receipt Materials Delivery Schedule Controlling the inventory Controlling the increased inventory Stores Ledger, consumption Summary MIS reports, Budget V/s Actual Consumption. Integrated with financial Package Repair maintenance inventory, Department Wise Expenses. Purchase Management System Purchase Order integration with indent On line enquiry, Party wise information Pending list of purchase order MIS reports, Purchase / Indent Register Payment Advice System (Advance, regular) Financial Accounting System All types of voucher feeding Purchase and freight bill passing Other Expenses bill passing and TDS Module General Ledger, Sub Ledger and Trial balance of two Financial years Auto payment advice, Bank forwarding letters, payment System, Overhead Analysis reports. Integrated with inventory and Payroll module MIS Reports Cash Budget, Vehicle Movement Controlling on Taxi, Car etc On line General information System Information provided to Users about On line Leave status I.e. opening, availed and closing status Electricity Deduction Employee wise, Quarter wise Over time Status department wise Welfare rules and Regulations, Telephone list, accidental etc Actual Consumption against budget, Welfare information Human Resource Development Topic Courses, General Awareness Programme, TNA of Workmen, TNA of LCW, Individual record of ext/int Training, Pending Training etc. Payroll PIS Module Payslips of Staff, Worker, School, Badli Casual Worker PF, VPF, Bonus, Gratuity Module LIC, CTD, Thrift Society, Co-operative advances Module. Recovery Deduction, PIS and Income Tax Employee wise Integrated with Financial Package Over Time, C-off Module Payroll of Marketing Department (Transferred from HO) Sales Accounting Systems Sales Accounting Systems, Rent Payment System Data loading, Expenses Payment System, Freight Payment, MIS, Transferring in FAS Gate Pass System (Returnable Non-returnable goods) All goods send through Computerized Gate Pass Integrated with Gate System. Pending repair items information Architecture of MIS at AC Limited Current MIS of the company is basically a In-house developed system, also comprising of few specialized readymade software packages bought from outside developers. It comprises of 11 main modules covering all the main functions of the company. Inventory Management Module is one of the most important parts of the system. It is highly integrated with the other modules and capable of functionalities like Auto Alarming when inventory is low. It is capable of generating more than 200 different types of reports to help managers in different required ways. Its main parts include Inventory issue, purchase, bill passing, other OER passing, freight passing, stock updation etc. DFDs and Data processing diagrams: Inventory Package Context Level Diagram (CFD): Inventory Package Issue DFD: Inventory Purchase DFD: Data Processing (Full Inventory Module) Application used for Work order Preparation at The ACC Ltd. 1. ITEM CODE CREATION There are 9 types of item group in Non Catalogue Item Medicines 806 Stationary 807 Repair Order 808 Transportation Order 809 Raw materials 810 Capital Orders 811 Job Orders 812 Laboratory Items 813 Direct book orders 814 2. Indent Posting 3. Indent Sanctioning 4. Indent Type Updation[image] 5. Order Preparation 6. Order Printing[image] ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT USE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS After analyzing the system properly, we came to a basic conclusion that system is working fine at an overall level and consisting of very minimal problems. These problems can’t be stated as such problems and instead can be stated as future path. Still we tried to jot down the few of them, which are as follows: Still lack of system integration after a level. Though inventory management module is integrated well with all the other modules like financial system, thus reducing the redundancy. But still there is need of paper work and manual intervention when reordering is required. System cannot be configured to reorder automatically, even for the fast moving raw material. Lack of Web Integration. AC hasn’t still employed the concept of taking orders or ordering through web and have no integration of its system to its website. Legacy Network Support. Backbone network used by AC is still the same, which they used in 1993. They haven’t upgraded the network support from then, which has started creating problems for them already. As MIS of the company is improving day-by-day including more and more functionalities, the network has already become very slow. Lack of training to managers to effectively use the decision support functionalities of system. This is another problem that we felt at the company. IT department is basically making the improvements in the system continuously with new added functionalities, but there is lack of training to managers to effectively use these functions in way that can support them to make better decisions. For example, on an average, a manager uses only 10-15 types of reports out of more than 200 types of reports available. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT Considering the given problems, their analysis and research on comparative MIS systems used in the similar kind of industries, our group is presenting following recommendations for the company. IT department of the company should now work towards integrating the system on a higher level and making the company Paper-Less Office. This should be done by integrating the system in a way that the manual intervention be minimized in the day-to-day process. The company should also start Web-Based ordering and selling, so that to be able to catch up with the growing industry. As more improvements in MIS would be done, and Web-support to be also incorporated, it is more than sure that current Network available is going to crash. To cop this, company needs to upgrade its network. For this purpose, we suggest the tie-up of company with some outside contractors like IBM or CISCO to continuously upgrade and maintain their network. With each up gradation, we suggest training to the managers of the company about effectively using the added functionalities and use of them in a better way. This can be also done by providing a handbook along with each up gradation. REFERENCES Officials Contacted from: Mr. Sam Joseph (Deputy Manager, IT Department), AC Limited. Secondary Sources Management Information Systems – A Managerial Perspective, D.P. Goyal www.tcs.com www.sap.com

A Sociological view of Divorce Essay -- essays research papers

They were the family you always wish you had†¦ The Cleavers. Wise and wonderful Ward. A pal as well as a Dad. June. The perfect wife and mother. Big brother Wally. Popular, smart and athletic – one tough act to follow. And last but definitely not least, hapless, irrepressible Theodore, a.k.a. â€Å"the Beaver,† just a regular kid trying his best to stay out of trouble while finding a thousand ways to place himself at trouble’s doorstep. Leave it to Beaver. It was the television hit in the ‘60s that hallmarked the phrase, â€Å" The American Family† and made it its own. Introduction: Here we are, 40 years later, in the midst of social turmoil, where the values and principles such as the family unit that were once our nation’s bedframe, are now the very same values and principles we are starting to question. Needless to say, the family structure is riding the wave of a rapidly changing society and changing right along with it. More adolescents are growing up in a wider margin of family structures than ever before in history. Divorce is not only personal trouble dividing households, but it has become a developing Social issue sweeping the nation. The number of adolescents growing up specifically in broken families is mounting everyday. Divorce has become an epidemic among our nation invading one in every two marriages in this country (Patz 59). In fact the United States has the highest percentile of single – parent families, compared to all other countries (Santrock 167). And by age 18, approximately one fourth of all American children will have lived part of their lives in a step-family unit (Santrock 167). I knew that adolescents of divorced families were put at a greater individual risk and vulnerability to adjustment problems later in life, however I was not aware of the particular areas that such a division in the family structure could have an affect on. Evidence shows however that not only does divorce permanently weaken the child/parents relationship, but has also been found to be behind lowered academic performance, destructive ways of handling conflict, a poorer self-image, greater engagement in delinquent activities and the root of pessimism towards future relationships and goals in life. These things only perpetuate the rapid downward spiral of family breakdown (â€Å"How Might Divorce Affect My Child’s Behavior?† 2000). Theoretical Fr... ...ot just on TV? As long as families follow the trend that divorce is setting, more and more children will be the victimized and left to fend for themselves whether it be physically with unstable custodial parents or mentally without any role models and structure in their lives to keep them on the straight and narrow. I think divorce acts as its own indicator that it disrupts peoples lives, especially adolescents as they are more impressionable in this stage. Divorce has been shown to adversely affect academic performance, and personal characteristics as far as social skills and self presentation, it erodes the parent-child relationship and takes away structure and replaces it with a consequence free environment. And when you take a child, an adolescent none-the-less at the height of confusion and insecurity and remove boundaries such as parents, rules, and regulations, that’s trouble. If children are our future, maybe we should be equipping them with more than freedom. To a ppropriately prepare for the future, I think we should take a step back into the past and watch a few Leave It to Beaver episodes and maybe we can come up with a better game plan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Situated Cognition Essay -- Learning Cognition Essays

Situated Cognition Learning and Knowledge Relates to Situated Cognition "Learning and knowing are integrally and inherently situated in the everyday world of human activity" (Wilson, 1993, p.71). Learning is situated in the context in which it is taught. In other words, the context in which something is learned is very important. The activity in which the learner is engaged in at the time of learning is also important (Griffin and Griffin, 1996, p.293). If the goal of a learner is to solve day-to-day life experiences, they must engage in such opportunities. In order to understand and gain knowledge, learning theories stress the importance of creating a relationship between all pieces of information, the learner, and the environment. It is the responsibility of both the teacher and the learner to link the appropriate information together. If students can develop a relationship for the "underlying reasons for ‘how’ and ‘why’ to use specific procedures, they will be able to store this information as part of their knowledge network," and develop links with other pieces of information (Gersten and Baker, 1998, p.24). On the contrary, if learners learn facts of information that are isolated from a meaningful context, their understanding is often incomplete and meaningless. As a result of these linked relationships between individuals and environments, knowledge is the prevailing outcome. In summary, "knowledge is situated, being in part a product of the activity, context, and culture in which it is developed and used (Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989, p.32). What is Situated Cognition? Situated Cognition is a way to "address difficulties students have in retention and generalization" (Gersten and Baker, 1998, p.23). It ... ...or Well-Structured and Ill-Structured Problem-Solving Learning Outcomes. ETR&D, Vol. 45, No. 1, 1997, pgs. 65-94, SSN 1024-1629. Moore, Beverly. Situated Cognition Versus Traditional Cognitive Theories of Learning. Education, V119, N1, pgs 161-171, Fall 1998. Moore, Joyce L.; Lin, Xiaodong; Schwartz, Daniel L.; Petrosino, Anthony; Hickey, Daniel T.; Campbell, Olin; and Hmelo, Cindy. The Relationship Between Situated Cognition and Anchored Instruction: A Response to Tripp. Educational Technology, October, 1994. Wilson, Arthur L. The Promise of Situated Cognition. New Directions for Adults and Continuing Education, No. 57, Spring, 1993 Wisner, Alain. The Etienne Grandjean Memorial Lecture: Situated Cognition and Action-Implications for Ergonomics Work Analysis and Anthropotechnology. Ergonomics, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1995, Vol. 38, No.8, Pgs. 1542-1557.

Reaction Paper: Global Food and Beverage Industry Essay

As years go by, population rises, not just here in the Philippines but also in other regions of the different continents. And when the number of people multiplies so does their needs when it comes to providing food in their tables. Of course, for a very long time the Global Food and Beverage Sector has become part of the everyday lives of each person. No one can say that they can live without what can be provided by the said sector because most of us find profit in the jobs that can be provided for/come from the Food and Beverage Industry and that may be the reason why year after year the Food and Beverage Market boosts up in every corner of the world. But as the industry continues to rise so does the consumption of packaged food in many houses. Packaged Food may be convenient, enticingly packaged and for some people they’re so addictively tempting that indulgence is a constant, uncontrollable urge. But packaged foods are a collective Trojan horse of bad health just waiting to rear its nasty head when you least expect it, sometimes immediately and sometimes later on down the road, which means they’re definitely something you want to cut out of your diet for good. While it is true that it may help us save more and put less effort in preparing food to be served in our tables, it is something that we need to watch out for because we might not see the effects right now but when the consequence strikes back it might not be pleasant. Even if packaged food contributes to the growing impact on the Food and Beverage Industry, we must remember to prioritize our health first before anything else. We must help develop healthy packaged food that can be less in preservatives/additives to prevent the disease it causes to the ones who consume it.

Job Negotiation

Job Negotiation Analysis Research on The Job The job that I am looking for is full-time accountant and many companies have openings for staff accountant. Though I have Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and will gain Graduate Diploma, my shortage is that it is my first time to find full-time job and I have little work experience. So I set my career level as entry level and find relative jobs that only need less than 2-year work experience or that have no requirement on years of work experience. Under this situation, I can highlight my unique education, skills and intern-experience.According to my research on Monster. com, there are now 162 jobs matched my requirement in the latest 15days. The industries that need accountants range from education to Energy and Utilities, from Insurance to Transport and Storage. Based on the result, we can see that accountants are greatly needed in the market. About the job, different companies have different specific requirements but generally speaking, responsibilities are almost the same, such as reconciliation of accounting subjects, preparing periodic reports and supporting accounting and financial analysis.All jobs require at least Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. The majority companies give a range on salary and the overall salary range for the job is between 30,000-77,000 annually, depending on education background and experience. Except basic salary, some companies also have profit share projects. Benefit packages also vary from companies and companies. Ideal one covers health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, paid time off, housing allowance, transportation allowance and etc.For instance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, a Fortune 100 company, provides a comprehensive benefits plan. Based on historical statistics, first-year accountants earned a median salary of 43,660, according to Salary Wizard. The middle 50 percent of entry-level accountants earned between 39,737 and 48,257. The bottom 10 percent earned below 36,166, while the top 10 percent earned above 52,442. Accountants who have received a master’s degree in accounting are offered 49,786 as a first-year offer. Other issues such as location of the job, scale of the company also decide the salary.For example, the salary of Associate Accountants in Liberty Mutual Insurance is between 42,400 and 58,300. Other than competitive pay, the company also provides comprehensive benefits packages and outstanding advancement opportunities. Furthermore, the job location is Boston. This job is an ideal option for me. But at the same time, I also realize that I have to face reality. The economy in US is not prosperous and some companies just hire US citizens. Thus, during the negotiation, I will make some concession and try to build relationship with employers.PLANNING DOCUMENT FORM 1. Issues that are most important to me (1). Salary. Salary is of the most importance for me. I want salary above the average level and if recruiters can rai se my salary, I can make concession on other issues. (2). Annual bonus. For new employees who work less than one year, most companies will just provide half annual bonus, based on the performance. For me, the biggest difference is whether I can or cannot have annual bonus. I do not care the actual percentage of annual bonus, because after one-year work, I can renegotiate about this issue. 3). Benefits packages (insurance, housing allowance and etc. ) Different companies have different regulation on benefit packages, but most companies will cover at least several issues, such as health insurance, retirement plans. Thus, this issue may be not significant for recruiters because the majority companies have regulation on benefits packages and the plans must cover several issues I raise. (4). Vacation time For a new employee, I do not care much about vacation time. In other aspect, paid-off vacation time increases employee’s salary.During the negotiation, recruiters want to decreas e my vacation time and I can use this item to exchange other important issues. (5). Location As an international student, I am flexible about the location of job. It is perfect if I can go to big cities, but I cannot, it is also fine. But for recruiters, the cost about jobs in different location can vary a lot. 2. My BATNA, Reservation Price and Target Back in China, I have a good job offer. Also, I may get another job offer at a similar firm and I can choose from different offers.My reservation price is 40,000 and any job below that salary will not be accepted even though the job has good benefits package. And my target is to get an accountant job in a well-known company with about $52,000 salary per year, which covers annual bonus plan and basic benefits package. 3. My sources of power I will get my Graduate Diploma in summer. Since accountants are in great need in the market, I can have more choices and change decision during interview or pre-hire. I can go to Career Center to ta lk to professionals and get information and advice on this kind of job.Also, career center can provide historical statistics about a company, such as average salary. Moreover, alumni who work in this field also can give me valuable advice, such as the salary, bonus they get. Last, I have a good job offer in China. If there is no satisfied offer here, I can go back. 4. Issues that are most important to recruiter (1). Salary (2). Annual bonus (3). Vacation time (4). Location (5). Benefits coverage 5. My opponent’s BATNA, Reservation Price, Target The recruiters can hire another candidate.For recruiters, their reservation price is giving me the highest salary and bonus they set and providing me good work location, the most days of vacation and a comprehensive benefits package. For example, there is a salary range for Liberty Mutual Insurance and its reservation price is the highest , which is 58,300, at the current situation. But in fact, employers want someone who can meet all their demand at a low or reasonable cost. 6. My opponent’s sources of power First, the recruiters can get information about me from the school or on Internet (such as Facebook and Twitter).The greatest power for them is that they can choose from different candidates. They know conditions rose by different candidates and can make comparison. For me, I have no idea about other candidates, which is my disadvantage. 7. My opening move/first strategy My biggest weakness is that I do not have enough work experience in this field, so I want the other side to make first offer. Based on the information provided by recruiter, I can choose making concession or raising my own demand. Scoring System Issue| Weight| Options| Option Value| W*V|Salary| 35%| $60,000| 1000| 350| | | $55,000| 800| 280| | | $52,000| 600| 210| | | $48,000| 570| 200| | | $43,000| 500| 175| | | $40,000| 300| 105| Annual Bonus(For the first year)| 25%| 5%| 800| 200| | | 3%| 700| 175| | | 2%| 500| 125| | | 0%| 0| 0| B enefit Package| 20%| 401K| 800| 160| | | Health Insurance| 800| 160| | | Housing Insurance| 600| 120| | | Disability Insurance| 400| 80| | | Transportation Allowance| 300| 60| | | None| 0| 0| Vacation Time(For the first year)| 10%| 15 days| 800| 80| | | 12days| 700| 70| | 10days| 600| 60| | | 7days| 500| 50| | | 5days| 400| 40| Location| 5%| DC,NY,Boston area| 1000| 50| | | Chicago,San Francisco,Houston| 800| 40| | | Other| 400| 20| The score of my target package is 1075 and my BATNA package score is 815. I will let the other side make first offer. On one hand, I can get information about the employer and consider my response. On the other hand, I can avoid being aggressive. During the negotiation, I will try to highlight my education background and inter-experience and fade my work experience.Also, it is important for me to ask question and through the answers, I can verify whether their preference and priorities are the same as I estimate. Moreover, I can provide multiple equivale nt packages to determine the other side’s preference and priorities. For me, salary and annual bonus are more important than other issues and I will not make huge concession on the two issues. I can exchange vacation time and location for the first two issues. I am not worried about benefits package because every company has its own regulation and I certainly can have several items.Being a candidate, I also have to avoid behaving aggressive because building relationship with the other party is important. Reference 1. http://www1. salary. com/Accounting-Salaries. html 2. http://blogs. payscale. com/salary_report_kris_cowan/2012/05/most-us-workers-dont-use-vacation-days. html 3. http://www. glassdoor. com/Salary/KPMG-Salaries-E2867. htm 4. http://www. glassdoor. com/Salaries/accountant-salary-SRCH_KO0,10. htm 5. The Average Salary of First-Year Accountants | eHow. com 6. http://www. ehow. com/info_8271661_average-salary-firstyear-accountants. html#ixzz2LBOGC4OR

Management Consultancy Services Essay

Following the Enron case and others, the place and role of professional advisers within corporate governance was thrown into public focus and as a result the professional management bodies across the world revisited their policies on various regulatory mechanisms. The policies formulated by ‘Institute of Management Consultancy’, United Kingdom is taken as a reference in the discussions below. The general principles are summarized. – Self-regulation is best delivered through a modern, professional approach, i.e. through standards backed by disciplinary arrangements that are supported by external validation and a Code of Professional Conduct and Ethical Guidelines that apply to all members. – A framework is required at the organizational and individual level to ensure that clients are able to make an informed decision about their choice of consultancy advice. – A sector-wide definition of management consultancy should be developed that will assist in a number of ways, including the debate around self-regulation, and be sufficiently flexible to accommodate new providers of consultancy. – The sector-wide definition should be â€Å"Management consultancy is the provision to management of objective advice and assistance relating to the strategy, structure, management and operations of an organization in pursuit of its long-term purposes and objectives. Such assistance may include the identification of options with recommendations; the provision of an additional resource and/or the implementation of solutions.† – The definition of a management consultant should be â€Å"Management consultants are those organisations and/or individuals that participate in the process of management consultancy within a framework of appropriate and relevant professional disciplines and ethics designed for the activity of management consultancy.† – The principle of detailed technical regulation of management consultancy should be rejected and that the essential skills of consulting are primarily behavioral, stressing the importance of competences and ethical standards. – Any regulatory regime requires a significant element of independence from the profession in terms of membership and operation. – The option of a regulatory system that provides easily accessible information from clients on the performance of firms and individuals should be considered carefully. – The global nature of consultancy means that the complexities of jurisdiction and applicable law need to be taken into account and the dangers of regulatory systems being used as restraints on trade or for the furtherance of the interests of trade blocs recognized. – The question of the interaction of parallel regulatory systems needs to be explored thoroughly with a wide range of professional and trade bodies. – Management consultancy is immensely competitive. Any self-regulatory regime must not fetter the ability of management consultants to compete for business, with the opportunities for other companies that they may bring. – The Government does not have a formal role in regulating the profession of management consultancy. Its role is to encourage and support stakeholders in management consultancy, including clients and other institutes, to develop a system that protects users and enables the UK profession to compete in a global market. 2. PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANCY ORGANIZATIONS & CHALLENGES â€Å"Traditionally the state has awarded associations of professionals the privilege of self-regulation in return for an assurance that members abide by a set of standards and an ethical code of conduct to ensure protection of the public interest. As increasing levels of education and social awareness give rise to greater expectations†¦ traditional structures, rules and regulations are challenged and justification for privilege is questioned†. The position of trade and professional bodies is also made more complex by the increasing demand from members for such bodies to defend them from these pressures. This representational role has to be balanced carefully against the public protection responsibility. The regulatory function itself is not without its pitfalls. They are cent red on â€Å"†¦ensuring that everyone in the market is covered, how any regulations are to be enforced and also possibly ensuring that restrictive trade practices legislation is not used again st them. All such arrangements are potentially unstable and perhaps are held together predominantly by the fear of more onerous statutory regulation†. But these difficulties are compounded in an international environment. The increasing globalization that result in emergence of a single market mean that â€Å"†¦the developments of rules and regulations concerning two issues – competition amongst professionals and standardization of qualifications – are of particular concern†. But the profession is also global in nature and regulation has also to be seen in against a shifting pattern of international trading and political structures. One driver for change is seen as â€Å"..deregulation and privatization, combined with a gradual shifting of policy-making to the global level†. If regulation is the key, what form should it take? It can be introduced at a number of levels, i.e. the activity (technical regulation); individuals (standards and qualifications); firms (the trade association model) or the profession as a whole (ethics and principles). All of them have their difficulties. Some believe that the accounting profession in the USA had the wrong approach, i.e. â€Å"Based on strict adherence to rules, it inadvertently encouraged innovations of the worst kind; creative accounting†. 3. SHOULD MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY BE REGULATED? There is, equally, the view that regulation is not needed at all. The market will regulate itself. This, of course, ignores that fact that business takes place within a societal framework and the view that the market is the ultimate regulator is, surely, flawed. It is based on the notion, sound in theory but questionable in practice, that the market is a perfect mechanism. Others suggest that the secret lies in the education of the client to make it an informed marketplace. It also has to balanced with the view that, if management consultancy wishes to be seen as professional, â€Å"Professional awareness and behavior come when the early juggling with a little knowledge gives way to skilled application of a generally accepted body of knowledge according to accepted standards of integrity†. It is also the case that the development of partnerships between clients and professional service firms (including investment by the latter in the former) may well limit the willingness of c lients to ‘shop around’. The key question then is what is regulation for. In essence of course it is to ensure that the customers or stakeholders receive the goods and services that they need and that the suppliers claim to provide. In the case of management consultancy this must mean that clients receive the best possible advice to help them in taking their organizations forward. In a market dominated by a few global brands, it is about extending the transparency and extent of choice to enable clients to choose on the basis of expertise, quality of delivery and cost. It is also about balancing the need to extend these principles down from the firm to the individual and the costs of any system. The government view has been that good self-regulation coupled with demanding industry and people standards help companies compete in a global marketplace. When combined with effective self-regulatory systems and where appropriate supporting mechanisms exist to encourage good practice and resolve cross-border disputes, this development will reduce barriers and realize a single market worldwide. 4. STEP 1 IN REGULATAION – WHO ARE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS? A number of definitions have been developed in recent years. The following is a small selection: Management consultants are used first to provide wider additional expertise than is available within a single organization. Thus a change in production or marketing may require expertise in designing and implementing a new system. Secondly, management consultants are used to provide objective appraisals where it is often easier for the expert outsider to see the broader picture and recognize the long-term requirements. Thirdly, the management consultant may be needed to provide additional assistance where there is a temporary increase in the management workload. This may be to cope with a major change or new development in any area of management responsibility.† The rendering of independent advice and assistance on management issues. This typically includes identifying and investigating problems and/or opportunities, recommending appropriate action and helping to implement those solutions. Management consulting is an independent professional advisory service assisting mangers and organizations in achieving organizational purposes and objectives by solving management and business problems, identifying and seizing new opportunities, enhancing learning and implementing changes. The term â€Å"Management Consultancy† applies when a firm is engaged for a definitive duration to undertake specific enquiries, conduct studies, identify options and make recommendations or give advice of a strategic nature relating to the organization, management and operation of [the organization] for consideration/implementation. These definitions or descriptions have a number of threads in common. They are concerned with management issues of a significant, although not necessarily strategic, importance. Secondly, they are concerned with the role of the expert outsider. Finally, they extend the role of management consultants beyond advice and into implementation. Taking these threads into account the Institute believes that the sector-wide definition should be â€Å"Management consultancy is the provision to management of objective advice and assistance relating to the strategy, structure, management and operations of an organization in pursuit of its long-term purposes and objectives. Such assistance may include the identification of options with recommendations; the provision of an additional resource and/or the implementation of solutions.† Some have raised the issue of whether, if the professional activity is defined, the role of the individual management consultant also needs to be placed within a definitional framework. 5. REGULATION – WIDER ISSUES Conversely, it is likely to be the case that others, even if introduced for the best of reasons, may see any system of regulation, as a restraint of trade. The danger is that the introduction of any self-regulatory system may also require an accompanying increase in bureaucracy and industry overheads and that the perceived failure of any such system may provoke a call for statutory intervention. The potential costs of any regulatory regime, however light its touch, are also of concern when Government does not seem to appreciate the costs, whether financial or opportunity, that may arise. Additional administration for practices and activity by professional bodies require resourcing and, in many cases, it is practitioners who have to bear the burden. The reality is that management consultancy, like every other business, is immensely competitive. Any regulatory proposals must take into account the need for the consulting profession to retain flexibility to adapt to a new global and technology-driven world. While global practices dominate the market, internal consultancies within domestic companies are turning to external – and, hence, foreign – markets, for business and small practices in niche markets are also competing on a global stage. The key is responding to the needs of clients rather than a regulatory regime that will always be behind developments in the marketplace. 6. CODE OF ETHICS – INSTITUTE OF MGMT CONSULTANTS, USA All IMC USA members pledge in writing to abide by the Institute’s Code of Ethics. Their adherence to the Code signifies voluntary assumption of self-discipline. The Code specifies: Clients * Members will serve their clients with integrity, competence, and objectivity, using a professional approach at all times, and placing the best interests of the client above all others. * Members will establish realistic expectations of the benefits and results of their services. * Members will treat all client information that is not public knowledge as confidential, will prevent it from access by unauthorized people, and will not take advantage of proprietary or privileged information, either for use by them, their firm or another client, without the client’s permission. * Members will avoid conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such, and will disclose to a client any circumstances or interests that might influence their judgment and objectivity. * Members will refrain from inviting an employee of an current or previous client to consider alternative employment without prior discussion with the client. Engagements * Members will only accept assignments which they possess the expertise to perform, and will only assign staff with the requisite expertise. * Members will ensure that before accepting any engagement a mutual understanding of the objectives, scope, work plan, and fee arrangements has been established. * Members will offer to withdraw from a consulting engagement when their objectivity or integrity may be impaired. Fees * Members will agree in advance with a client on the basis for fees and expenses, and will charge fees and expenses that are reasonable, legitimate and commensurate with the services delivered and the responsibility accepted. * Members will disclose to their clients in advance any fees or commissions that they receive for equipment, supplies or services they could recommend to their clients. Profession * Members will respect the individual and corporate rights of clients and consulting colleagues, and will not use proprietary information or methodologies without permission. * Members will represent the profession with integrity and professionalism in their relations with their clients, colleagues and the general public. * Members will report violations of this Code to the Institute, and will ensure that other consultants working on behalf of the member abide by this Code. The Institute of Management Consultants USA, Inc. (IMC USA) adopted its first Code of Ethics in 1968. Since that time IMC USA has modified the wording of the Code for additional clarity and relevance to clients. The current Code was approved February 22, 2002. It is consistent with the International Code of Professional Conduct published by the International Council of Management Consulting Institute (ICMCI) of which IMC USA is a founding member. Members who apply for the CMC (Certified Management Consultant) designation must pass a written examination on the application of the IMC USA Code of Ethics to client service. The CMC mark is awarded to consultants who have met high standards of education, experience, competence and professionalism. 7. CODE OF ETHICS – THE GROUND REALITY This paper is based on an Ethics Survey conducted by the Institute of Management Consultants among American business consulting clients of IMC members who are Certified Management Consultants (CMCs). Results * Over-promising expected results and/or benefits (Nearly half of the respondents-46%) * Not serving the best interest of the client (32%) * Under-delivering results vs. commitment (31%) A high percentage of respondents–40%–indicated that they believe professional service firms would lie to protect themselves. Thirty-nine percent (39%) also indicated that they think employees would lie to protect themselves. Counterbalancing this, however, was the expression of 54% of the respondents who indicted that in a difficult situation, they believe employees will behave honorably. Half of the respondents also believe that professional service firms do place a high value on the welfare of the client’s organization. It can therefore be concluded that while business executives believe that both employees and professional service firms do have an interest in the success and welfare of the organization/enterprise, they also feel that both groups would be inclined to act to protect their own interest or enhance their own position-an action which could inevitably be to the detriment of the enterprise. Two additional issues in which professional service firms can be faulted by business executives included: * Allowing the project’s scope to expand/creep. (One-fourth of the respondents indicated this was happening frequently.) * Being imprecise or non-specific when setting expectations. (Only 19% indicated that this happens frequently, yet 68% indicated this occasionally happens.)