Othello Literary Essay

Critical Infrastructure Protection Essay

The strategic the Department of Homeland Security is stop demonstrations of psychological oppressor inside the United States, not have the United States be powerless against fear based oppressor assaults, and diminish the harm to the United States if there would be a fear monger assault. Since this office beginning in 2003, the Department of Homeland Security has a segment set up to help its crucial has been an individual from the U.S. Insight Community. In July of 2005, the DHS was revamped and called the Second Stage Review or â€Å"2SR†. The previous Secretary of DHS, Michael Chertoff, started a fortified office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) and made the Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis the Chief Executive Officer for that office. He likewise entrusted I&A with guaranteeing that insight is composed, intertwined, and examined inside the Department to give a typical operational picture; give an essential association among DHS and the IC all in all; an d to go about as an essential wellspring of data for state, neighborhood and private area accomplices. The Homeland Security Act of 2002, doled out the first DHS knowledge componentâ€the Directorate of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protectionâ€with obligation to get, dissect, and coordinate law implementation and insight data all together to†â€Å"(A) recognize and evaluate the nature and extent of fear monger dangers to the country; (B) distinguish and distinguish dangers of psychological oppression against the United States; and (C) see such dangers considering real and potential vulnerabilities of the homeland.† Congress additionally focused on data sharing of the new DHS insight association, requiring it â€Å"to scatter, as fitting, data broke down by the Department inside the Department, to different organizations of the Federal government with duties identified with country security, and to offices of State and neighborhood government and private part substances, with such obligations inâ order to aid the discouragement, counteraction, appropriatio n of, or reaction to, fear based oppressor assaults against the United States (Randol, 2010)†. A basic framework is characterized as any office, framework, or capacity which gives the establishment to national security, administration, monetary imperativeness, notoriety, and lifestyle. So, basic framework is by definition fundamental for the endurance of the country. The US Patriot Act characterizes it as â€Å"systems and resources, regardless of whether physical or virtual, so imperative to the United States that the insufficiency or annihilation of such frameworks and resources would debilitatingly affect security, national financial security, national general wellbeing or wellbeing, or any mix of those matters.† FEMA characterizes basic foundation as â€Å"personnel, physical resources, and correspondence (digital) frameworks that must be flawless and operational 24x7x365 so as to guarantee survivability, congruity of tasks, and mission achievement, or at the end of the day, the fundamental individuals, gear, and frameworks expected to prevent or relieve the calami tous consequences of disasters.† Basic Infrastructure Protection (CIP) comprises of every single proactive action to secure crucial individuals, physical resources, and frameworks (particularly interchanges or digital frameworks) which are guided by a precise and dependable dynamic procedure which helps pioneers to decide precisely what needs insurance, where, and how. It is proactive in a similar sense that relief in crisis the board is proactive and goes past ordinary security, protective stances. The essential strides of CIP comprise of: recognizing the basic frameworks, deciding the dangers against those foundations, breaking down the vulnerabilities of compromised frameworks, surveying the dangers of debasement or loss of a basic foundation, and applying countermeasures where hazard is inadmissible (â€Å"The Safety†, 2014). Inside the Department of Defense, a smoothed out order and control structure and development of the digital power in size and aptitudes, including hostile abilities, are required to adequately work just as to give some obstruction to assault. In the interim, lawful code for cybersecurity has not stayed up with innovative turns of events. Extensive cybersecurity enactment is requiredâ€beginning with obligatory support of basic foundation proprietors and administrators in government data sharing projects in a way that fuses suitable protections for industry risk and resident privacyâ€in request to completelyâ bridge the present open private division of duties regarding aggregate safeguard. Cybersecurity has become a key issue for the organization and to be sure for the country over the most recent quite a long while despite the fact that worry for the uprightness of Critical Infrastructure (CI) capacities was apparent during the 1990s. For CI, which incorporates a scope of delicate information and performs important capacities that help the wellbeing, security, and monetary essentialness of our cutting edge country, the development of arranged associations in the internet has implied the acquaintance of new danger ve ctors with frameworks that were not intended to safely interface with today’s Internet. Since improving the cybersecurity of CI envelops such a huge assortment of work, generally conveyed across government and private area elements, solidarity of exertion is hard to accomplish. President Obama concedes that â€Å"when it comes to cybersecurity, government organizations have covering missions and don’t facilitate and impart about just as they ought to †with one another or with the private area (La Bash and Landis, 2013)† The vulnerabilities that should concern IS experts who secure the U.S.’s basic framework isn't having a framework that would instruct them regarding current, present, and future vulnerabilities. An arrangement of this would have the option to educate you with respect to early pointers of defenselessness In request to achieve this errand, a review of all activities ought to be embraced. The overview ought to include: General Administrative Information, Management Awareness and Control Programs, Identification of Hazards/Potential ascents; and Business Characterization. A definitive advantages to be picked up from this kind of review are as far as recognizing zones needing consideration, building up a rundown of potential emergency circumstances, figuring out what responsibilities your association is alright with and recording current endeavors. When the review program has been created and actualized, it must be assessed and stayed up with the latest. This can be practiced by surveying real reactions and by directing an itemized review of every component of the business. The study program is the underlying advance, toward lessening powerlessness. Next, you should arrange the activity. The administration tie is basic to this procedure. You should guarantee that all degrees of the executives become some portion of the program. (Sikich, 1998). Make a ranking director st raightforwardly mindful to top administration and the top managerial staff. The proper task of a ranking director to the situation of â€Å"Crisis Management Projects, Director,† or some other fitting title, can achieve the underlying part of this thing. Put in a safe spot explicit time for provides details regarding emergency the board readiness issues. This can be cultivated by setting up a motivation for ranking staff and leading body of chief gatherings that incorporates a conversation of emergency the board readiness as a compulsory thing. You need to give it more than empty talk however. Likewise, you should make the conversation considerable. Give more than the dull and tiring insights on reportable mishaps, and so on. Convey consistence through all degrees of the association through organization arrangement and methods. This can be practiced through conventional reception of strategy at the most elevated levels of the organization. The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, was presented last June by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and reexamined in December by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. It requires the development of a National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications (NCCC) inside the U.S. Branch of Homeland Security (DHS) that would be liable for ensuring both government PC systems and basic framework claimed by the private area against digital assaults. Despite the fact that the White House as of now has wide wartime powers, making parts of the proposed demonstration excess, restriction to the bill has focused on its arrangement to give the central government the position to characterize what is implied by â€Å"critical infrastructure.† According to the bill the administration can â€Å"take measures to ensure any PC framework whose annihilation or interruption of solid activity would cause national or provincial disastrous effects.† This could incorporate removing the framework from the Internet. Proprietors of offices named as basic foundation would be told when this assignment is made. A proprietor could bid this assignment be that as it may, as the bill is as of now composed, the legislature would settle on an official choice to disengage, which isn't dependent upon legal survey (Greenemeier, 2011). References Greenemeier, L. (2011). What is the Best Way to Protect U.S. Basic Infrastructure from a Cyber Attack? Recovered from http://www.scientificamerican.com La Bash, M. what's more, Landis, C. (2013, August). Lawful, Policy, and Organizational Impedients to the Protection of Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Threats. Recovered from http://www.cmu.edu/mits/documents/mits2-paths.com Randol, M. (2010, March). The Department of Homeland Security Intelligence Enterprise: Oper-Rational Overview and Oversight Challenges for Congress. Recovered from http://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R40602.pdf Sikich, G. (1998). Basic InfrastructureVulnerability. Recovered from http://www.disaster-resour

How To Set Up An Optimal Sales Training For Sales Representatives

How To Set Up An Optimal Sales Training For Sales Representatives If you’re running a business in retail or sales, a huge bulk of your operations will rely largely on people skills, specifically the skills that help your employees relate well with people. You might have the best products in the market, and you may even have the most elaborate and ambitious advertising campaigns, but, if your sales staff is weak, do not expect those sales figures to go up any time soon. At least, not in the way that you expect them to.I guess what I’m trying to say is that much of the success of your retail enterprise is hinged on the skills of your sales representatives. But what steps are you taking to ensure that your sales representatives are at the top of their game? After all, no one is born with skills in sales or, even if they were born with a “gift” for it, there is still a need to hone it to perfection, so that they can actually bring in the sales.MEET THE SALES REPRESENTATIVEBut let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let us first acquaint ourselves with the Sales Representative. Who is he, and what does he do? And why is he a very important member of the organization?Snagajob put it in a pretty straightforward manner: a sales representative sells retail products, goods and services to customers. This usually involves working closely with end consumers in order to facilitate the whole sales process, which begins from finding sales leads and understanding customers’ wants and needs, all the way to the point where the products, goods or services are delivered to the customers who, in turn, pay for them.That sounds very broad, doesn’t it? It makes sales representative seem like they do everything that we know of in sales.Well, that’s because, essentially, they do. That’s why they are an integral part of a retail business’ organizational structure. If you see someone from a retail company or store doing any of the following, then you have just come across a sales representative. Usually, a sales representative does the following tasks:“Cold-calling” clients, or making unsolicited calls to clients, to sell goods or services.Going on-site, or visiting prospective and existing clients to talk to them about the products or services being sold.Showcasing or selling products or services directly to clients or customers, often by conducting product demonstrations and long and detailed lectures or explanations about what is being offered.Going through various sources to find new sales leads, such as poring over business directories and ramping up possibilities of generating or increasing client referrals.Depending o n the industry where the business belongs to and the nature of the business (and products or services) being offered by the business, a sales representative may make anywhere between $38,750 and $153,940 annually. The Occupational Employment Statistics report of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of May 2015 pegged an average annual wage of $76,190 for sales representatives in wholesale and manufacturing of technical and scientific products. Sales representatives in industries that are highly technical and scientific are obviously getting paid more than those in less technical fields.This explains why many are looking to get a job as a sales representative, especially in the electronic and chemical industries. But for businesses and organizations, quality trumps quantity. In the long run, having a large number of sales representatives will not do the business any good if they don’t have the premium skills that will allow them to perform their functions well.Most businesses wil l then prefer to have a “lean and mean” sales force, composed of sales representatives that may be few in number, but are highly qualified and trained to do the best job they can.And what should companies focus on in order to ensure that? From the get-go, they should be hiring only those with high potential as sales representatives. But it doesn’t stop there. Once they are on board and already employed, it is important for the company to have in place a mechanism aimed at improving and honing its human resources. In this case, we’re talking about initiatives to make sure that your sales representatives are always in top form.One way to do that is by conducting sales trainings that are aimed at developing and improving on the various skills of your sales representatives.SKILLS THAT SALES REPRESENTATIVES MUST POSSESSBriefly, let us go over the core skills that a sales representative must have in abundance, and must be the focus of your sales trainings.Customer service skillsAs a sales representative, you’d be mostly working with customers or clients, or the people you are selling the product or service to.This interaction is often up close and personal, which means you have to be able to connect to your customers in a comfortable and friendly manner. Otherwise, they won’t even give you the time of day, and you won’t be able to go past the 1-minute mark of your sales pitch.Communication skillsSales representatives are seen to be naturally possessed with the gift of gab. Meaning they can talk in great detail and at great length and, often, for prolonged periods. You’ll basically be convincing potential customers to buy your product, so you’d have to be very informative and descriptive.They are bound to have several questions, and you are supposed to field these questions and answer them accurately, all while convincing them to buy your product. ResilienceYou’ve probably been approached by sales representatives several times before. Do you remem ber how you reacted, or even treated, them? Depending on the circumstances that time, you may have entertained them and listened to what they have to say. But there may have also been times when you were in such a rush that you openly ignored them or, worse, rudely brushed them off. Well, it also takes great skill to deal with being treated in that manner.Imagine yourself in the shoes of the sales representative you just told off because you weren’t interested in what he had to say. How would you have reacted? As a sales representative, you should have persistence, with the ability to bounce back even after an unsavory experience with a client, and maintain an optimistic attitude as you move on to the next client to make your pitch to.AdaptabilityOften, the job of a sales representative is similar to that of a doctor. There may be regular work hours, but the nature of his job basically means he’s on call at any and all hours of the day. After all, sales is not restricted from 9 to 5. The hours of a sales representative can be quite long, extending late into the night and to the next day. Sometimes, even the weekends aren’t spared, anything to ensure that he makes a sale, or he reaches his quota for that period.These skills may be acquired initially through education and other formal trainings. Sales representatives with backgrounds in marketing and economics are expected to at least have the basics down pat. It’s just a matter of honing the basics and improving on them, and much of that responsibility is left in the hands of the company, via its human resource management and development programs.SALES TRAININGS FOR SALES REPRESENTATIVESSales trainings are developed with one primary goal, and that is to make sure that the company’s sales representatives are at the top of their game every single time. This is to ensure that they will be more effective as they go about their work of generating sales for the company.But you do not randomly gather your sa les representative in one place, call up an expert, and make them listen to hours and hours of lecture by that expert, and immediately conclude that you are conducting a sales training for your sales representatives. To a certain degree, that approach might work, but are you achieving the objectives that you have previously set?But here’s a better question: do you even know what those objectives are?To make sure you get a return on your investment â€" both on your sales representatives and on the sales training â€" you want to have an optimal sales training â€" one that will give the most favorable results. One way to ensure that sales trainings are optimal is to have a sales representative training program in place.Large companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on their sales training programs for their sales representatives. According to Training Magazine, an average of $30.2 million is allocated to the training budget. Granted, we do not know how much of that estimate is devoted specifically for sales trainings of sales representatives, but even if it were just 10% or less, it’s still a significant amount, which indicates the weight that companies put on the importance of continuously training their sales representatives.Training Magazine also ranked the top 125 organizations that excelled at training and developing its employees for 2016 and the top-ranked company happens to be in retail/sales. It is Jiffy Lube International, a provider of automotive preventive maintenance service in the United States and Canada. For sure, a huge chunk of the training budget of Jiffy Lube was spent for its sales representatives.But how do you set up an effective sales training for your sales representatives? That’s what we’re going to talk about next.SETTING UP SALES REPRESENTATIVES’ TRAININGSWe’re going to divide it into three phases: pre-training, during the training, and after the training.I. Pre-TrainingIt all begins with a plan. If you al ready have a Sales Representative Training Program in place, this part should not be all that complicated. In fact, most of the activities conducted during the pre-training phase will largely be lifted from the guidelines set forth in the Training Program, with only a few tweaks here and there, if necessary.The pre-training phase covers the planning stage and setting up the stage for the sales training. What are the activities conducted in this phase?Set the objectives.You can hope to get the results you want from conducting the sales training only if you know what you want to achieve. Therefore, it is important to be as specific as possible with the objectives, so you can target it better when planning and conducting the training.Usually, the objectives of sales trainings include:To improve sales representatives’ knowledge about the company. Whenever sales representatives go out there, they are basically the face and voice of your company or your brand. Therefore, every move they make and every word they say will reflect on your company or brand. If they are asked a question about your brand and your sales representative is unable to give a ready reply, what impression will that make? The credibility of the sales representative will go down. The customer will have a hard time believing everything else he says when he doesn’t even know the first thing about the company he is working for.To improve sales representatives’ knowledge about the products and services they are selling. Your sales representatives must know what they are selling or offering. Otherwise, they will do poorly trying to convince customers to buy. Customers feel more assured and comfortable buying a product that the sales representative is obviously very familiar with, so if your sales representative is just reading off a flyer or product brochure, or constantly peeking at a product manual, that does not inspire any confidence in the customer. It is imperative that your sales represent ative knows the product like the back of his hand. More importantly, he should also believe in the product or service, so that he does a better job at getting other people to believe in it as well. It goes without saying that the sales representatives should also know more â€" and keep learning â€" about the systems and processes of the company, especially those that are directly related to the product and service they are selling.To enhance key sales skills of sales representatives. Earlier, we enumerated the core skills that must be possessed by sales representatives. Every now and then, there are new techniques and tools introduced on how to sell or market products. Make sure that your sales representatives are also updated about these so they can utilize them fully and effectively. This is one way to keep your sales representatives fresh and current. They already have the basic skills; your job is to let them improve on these skills.To boost the morale of sales representatives. If your sales representatives see that you are dedicated at keeping them on top of their game, then they will feel more motivated to do better at their job. If you just set them loose and expect them to bring in the sales, but you do not do much else, then they will feel neglected. Neglected employees will definitely feel as if they are not getting the respect they deserve, and so they will only do what is expected of them, even if they have the capacity to go above and beyond that, and bring in better results.To reiterate the duties, roles and responsibilities of the sales representatives. It is a given that newly hired sales representatives have to undergo requisite trainings before they can be sent out on field to do their work. What about the other, older, sales reps? Well, they, too, should also undergo trainings.Sometimes, there is a need to remind sales representatives about their role in the organization, and what is expected of them. They may have clarifications about their tasks and duties, especially if there are new rules or policies introduced. For example, a change in sales targets or quotas is bound to raise a lot of concerns, and these could be grounds to conduct a sales training, mostly for clarification purposes.Outline the core areas of development that will be addressed during the training.The areas of development that will be identified will depend on the objectives you previously set.If your objective is to improve the knowledge of sales representatives about the company, the areas that must be focused on during the training include the company’s history or background, its mission and vision, as well as its various business policies and procedures.If your objective is to improve their product knowledge, your focus during the training is on the product itself. Perhaps you’ll have them witness firsthand how the product is created, or allow them to experience how the product works.If you want to motivate them or enhance their skills, you ’ll be bringing in motivational speakers and other resource speakers who can teach them a lot about improving their sales skills.Identify the training methodology and plot the timeline.The training methodology must be aligned with the goal or objective, and the need you are trying to fill with the sales training you are going to conduct.The great thing about conducting trainings is that there are a lot of training methodologies that can be employed. Trainings are not limited to seminar- or lecture-type formats, where the sales representatives are virtually strapped to their seats and simply listening to someone speak for hours and hours in front. There are other, more interactive and definitely more fun and creative ways to encourage learning in a training setting.The methodology also involves identification of the resource people or those who will conduct the training. You may have to invite experts from outside the organization, or you may choose to do everything in-house. The i mportant thing is to make sure that they are all qualified to conduct or lead the training.It is also during this stage that you have to establish a training timeline, addressing issues such as the duration of the training and when you should conduct it. Again, depending on the objective, the focus areas and the methodology, the training can go from one day to several days or, for some, even weeks.II. Conducting the TrainingThis is where you will fully implement the training plan you prepared during the pre-training phase. The success of the implementation will depend on how solid your planning was.Here are some tips that may help you during the conduct of the training.Use practical instructional design. The mode of instruction must be practical and encourage learning. It should engage their interest, instead of just letting them soak in all the information passively. As much as possible, make sure there is a hands-on element to it, so they can actually apply what they are learning. Facilitate the training by using tools and technology that will make the learning process more interesting and the information being delivered bring more impact.Encourage involvement of sales representatives. In fact, rep to rep trainings are highly encouraged, since its hands-on nature makes the experience more personal and, therefore, more effective. This will also allow you early on to identify the sales representatives with potential leadership and managerial skills.Utilize experts and professionals. If your objective is to improve their product knowledge, the best people to talk about the product are the developers and the ones involved in the manufacture of the product. If it is a service, the person in authority is the one who actually provides the service. In that area, there shouldn’t be a problem looking for persuasive mentors or teachers.It becomes tricky when it’s about improving their sales skills. It’s a good thing that there are a lot of agencies and profession als offering sales training program development services.You just tell them what you need and what you hope to achieve with your sales representatives, and they will come up with a training program, which they will also implement. Examples of such training programs include sales coaching training and sales negotiations training.Of course, this is bound to cost more, so you have to be prepared for that.III. Post-TrainingPost-training evaluations are always conducted every time a company wraps up trainings. Mainly, this is to check whether all the plans set out during the pre-training phase were carried out. However, there is a more important point of concern in this phase, and that is to evaluate whether the desired results, or the objectives of the sales training, were achieved.But that cannot be seen or evaluated in one, two, or even three weeks. Definitive results will come in once the sales figures come in, and only then will you be able to tell whether your sales training worked . Does this mean that the post-training phase will take a very long time?Yes, that is exactly what it means. To be honest, training for sales representatives is really never finished. When the numbers came in, and they show that the sales representatives did a good job finding more sales leads and increasing sales, you’d be more motivated to conduct another training, this time, to keep their morale up. If the numbers aren’t what you expected, you may set another one on enhancing their sales skills.So you see, it is a continuous learning process, and that is what you should incorporate in your sales training program.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 589 Words

Seventy-five years later, John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, and the film adaptation, are still relevant to life now, because there are several relatable themes running through the book and movie. The novel depicts the about the economic inequality of the 1840s and 1930s. Yet still today, there is economic inequality. The wealthier people with jobs also look down on the poorer, unemployed people. Perhaps there is a fear that the jobless will come in and steal jobs. However, the American dream is clearly present in the novel and has been throughout history. There has always been, and will continue to be, economic inequality. The novel shows the economic struggle and disparity between different classes, the better-off â€Å"haves† and the poorer â€Å"have-nots.† The book shows the contrast between the Mexicans and the Americans in the 1840s and between the Californians and the Midwesterners in the 1930s. The Mexicans and were, economically, better off than the poor, hungry Americans traveling west. The Californians were also better off than the Okies, who desperately needed jobs. The novel and movie feature countless labor camps and Hoovervilles filled with dispossessed migrant workers from the Midwest. There is still economic disparity between different groups. Currently, there is unequal wealth distribution in America. According to the video â€Å"Wealth Inequality in America,† eighty percent of Americans collectively have only seven percent of all the wealth in America. OnShow MoreRelatedThe Grapes Of Wrath By Jo hn Steinbeck Essay1622 Words   |  7 Pages The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck, widely viewed as one of the most finest and powerful American writer, born to a middle-class family in 1902 in the Salinas Valley of California. Steinbeck is a writer who often spoke for the people. The Grapes of Wrath is a great movie, published in 1939, filled with many universal truths and views on human nature and society, especially where class is concerned. In the article, John Steinbeck The Grapes a wrath: A Call to Action says, â€Å"Steinbeck’s novel showcasedRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck1075 Words   |  5 PagesKirsten Lloyd Mr. Eldridge AP Junior English 21 August 2014 Grapes of Wrath â€Å"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.† (Seneca), In the 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the reader accompanies the Joad family as they struggle to escape the crippling Dust Bowl of the mid- 1930’s. In hopes of establishing a new life for themselves after being forced off their land the family embark on a journey from Oklahoma to California in search of fruitful crops and steady work alongRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck1563 Words   |  7 Pages John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, depicts a migrant farming family in the 1930s. During this time, life revolved around the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, making circumstances difficult for almost everyone involved, especially those who had little. This time of drought and despair caused people to lose hope in everything they’ve ever known, even themselves, but those who did not, put their hope in the â€Å"promised land† of California. Here, the grass was thought to be truly greenerRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck1189 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Grapes of Wrath† Shortly after being released John Steinbeck’s book â€Å"The Grapes of Wrath† was banned because many critics viewed the novel as promoting communist propaganda, or socialist ideas. The ideas that many of these critics point to is Steinbeck’s depiction of the Big Banks/ Businesses as monsters, the comparison of Government camps to a utopia in contrast of the makeshift â€Å"Hoovervilles,† and the theme of the community before the individual, In his novel â€Å"The Grapes of Wrath† John SteinbeckRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck1093 Words   |  5 Pages In John Steinbeck s The Grapes of Wrath, Tom Joad and his family are forced from their home during the 1930’s Oklahoma Dust Bowl and set out for California along with thousands of others in search of jobs, land, and hope for a brighter future. The Grapes of Wrath is Steinbeck’s way to expound about the injustice and hardship of real migrants during the Depression-era. H e utilizes accurate factual information, somber imagery, and creates pathos, allowing readers connections to the Joad’s plightRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck1190 Words   |  5 PagesThe Grapes of Wrath April 14th, 1939, John Steinbeck published the novel, The Grapes of Wrath. The novel became an immediate best seller, with selling over 428,900 copies. Steinbeck, who lived through both the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, sought to bring attention to how families of Oklahoma outdid these disasters. Steinbeck focuses on families of Oklahoma, including the Joads family, who reside on a farm. The Joad family is tested with hardship when life for them on their farm takesRead MoreThe Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck702 Words   |  3 PagesJohn Steinbeck’s use of the intercalary chapters in The Grapes of Wrath helps weave the reader’s sympathy of the Joad family into a more broad sympathy for the migrant farmers as a whole, in the hopes that the readers would then be compelled to act upon what they have read. During the Great Depression, people had a big disconnect about what was happening in various parts of the country. People often struggle to find sympathy for events when they can’t even visualize a person who is suffering throughRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck2144 Words   |  9 PagesThe Grapes of Wrath is a well-known beloved novel of American Literature, written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. Whoever said a road is just a road has not read The Grapes of Wrath. From the time we read when Tom Joad, novel’s protagonist, returns home after four years in prison; the meaning of roads changed. Route 66, also known as the mother road the road of flight, was a lifeline road, which allowed thousands of families to pursue their hopes and dreams. This road is also the road thatRead MoreThe Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck1014 Words   |  5 PagesJohn Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, was first written and later published in the 1939. Fr om the time of its publication to date, the exemplary yet a simple book has seen Steinbeck win a number of highly coveted awards including Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and later on Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. Set at the time of the Great Depression, the book most remarkably gives a descriptive account of the Oklahoma based sharecropper Joad’ poor family in the light of economic hardship, homelessnessRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck1064 Words   |  5 PagesThe Grapes of Wrath, originated from a John Steinbeck’s book, a legendary film that focus on a major point of American history. The story follows the Joad family on their journey to California trying to survive the hardships. This film, focus on the social problems of America like the Dust bowl, The Great Depression, and industrialism. The Grapes of Wrath was filmed in a journalistic-documentary style, which displayed the realism of the epidemic in the thirties. The thirties the period The Grapes

Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Essay - 971 Words

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas presents ideas about World War 2 and the holocaust. The movie shows what fear and Punishment and the innocence of childhood would have been like during WW2 and the holocaust. During World War 2 and the holocaust, fear within the Jewish race was created by the soldiers. Soldiers had the power and right to abuse and attack the Jewish people â€Å"when it pleased them.† Under Hitler, the soldiers had the next amount of ultimate power and used it to their advantage to pressure the Jewish people under the influence that if they misbehave they will be punished. In the movie ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ this fear is seen when Lieutenant Kotler walks into the dining room and sees Schmuel eating a pastry and Bruno†¦show more content†¦A Jew could be punished for looking at a guard the wrong way or making a small error that would be considered insignificant in any other situation. Punishments could vary from a beating, to a bashing to the death chamber. In the movie ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ punishment on a Jew is seen when Lieutenant Kotler bumps the servant Pavel while he is pouring red wine. It’s not P avel’s fault but because he is Jewish he is be blamed for the soldier’s mistakes. The Lieutenant drags the servant into the hall way and begins to bash him while the family are in the next room eating in silence, listening to the punishment that Pavel is enduring. Another Example of Punishment in ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is when Lieutenant Kotler find Schmuel and Bruno talking in the dining room. The Lieutenant see’s Schmuel eating a pastry a questions the boys. When he finds Schmuel ‘guilty’ of stealing food he is taken away. The next day when Bruno goes on his adventure to the camp the audience can see that Schmuel has been punished for his actions. Schmuel is shown to have had a beating and as a result he has a swollen eye with cuts and bruises all over his body. The Punishment that seen throughout â€Å"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas† displays what it would have been like during the holocaust and World War 2 for the J ewish race. During World War 2 and the Holocaust children were put through a living nightmare, being exposed to killings, torture and punishment for somethingShow MoreRelatedThe Boy in Striped Pyjamas1080 Words   |  5 Pagesliterature about the Holocaust. Hitler and his struggle for power and dominance are infamous. Novels and films set in World War II often examine the issues of power in terms of race, age, gender and social class. One such novel is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. An Irish novelist, Boyne is acutely aware of the issues of power and dominance as he grew up during the time of The Troubles between the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Boyne uses the narrative conventionsRead MoreThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas1558 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"More than anything else, belonging is about finding a sense of our own place in the world† The book tells a story seen through the innocent eyes of an 8 year old boy, Bruno, who is unsure of his place in the world. The most evident concept of belonging is his hitch in his transition from childhood to adulthood. Throughout the book, he faces the conflict between accepting the harsh Jew-killing reality of the world or stay immersed in his fantastical world filled with adventure. Bruno also feelsRead MoreBoy In striped pyjamas764 Words   |  4 PagesThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - Fun Facts, Questions, Answers, Information Quizzes Games Other Team Welcome to our world of fun trivia quizzes and quiz games: Me ? New Player Page 1 of 2 Register New Player - Log In Play Now! Fun Trivia: B : Bj - Bq Movies Special Sub-Topic: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Click Here To Play: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas In the movie The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , which character uses the harsh line stating, They reRead MoreThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas1685 Words   |  7 PagesThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas The use of language in texts inspires emotional reactions in readers. A particular theme that impacts the reader is the World War II Holocaust when Germans killed the Jewish race. The holocaust is confronting as it demonstrates the horrors of war which conflicts with the values of the reader. From this point on many people acted and wanted equality throughout the world. One particular novel that has a deep effect on the reader is John Boyne’s novel, The Boy in theRead MoreThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas752 Words   |  4 PagesENGLISH ESSAY | The Boy In The Striped Pyjama’s | Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows- John Betjeman. | Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows- John Betjeman. This idea is quite evident throughout The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas as it shows that children perceive things through their senses rather than in a more sophisticated adult-like way based on the opinion of society. BrunoRead MoreThe Boy In The Striped Pyjamas Analysis1091 Words   |  5 Pagesare fundamental themes of the novel, â€Å"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas†, which was written by John Boyne. The era in which this heartwarming yet heartbreaking novel is written is during the Nazi control of most of Eastern Europe, with the setting of the novel predominantly located in Auschwitz, Poland. The story unravels as Bruno, 9 year old son of the Commandant, after moving from his beloved Berlin to Auschwitz, strikes up an unlikely friendship with a boy on the ‘other side of the fence’, ShmuelRead MoreThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Essay1746 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Boyne’s novel, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, concerns human brutality. Courage, loyalty and love, however, are more important as themes in the novel. Do you agree? John Boyne’s novel, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, is a touching story, based on real events that have happened in the past. Although it concerns aspects of human brutality, in the end it shows us that courage, loyalty and love are far more important themes in this story. In this novel, examples of courage, loyalty and love areRead MoreBoy in the Striped Pyjamas Essay771 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Boyne has created a sophisticated and meaningful novel in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas through his thematic analysis of power which explores society’s perception of authority; his symbolic representation of the fence which starkly exposes Bruno’s ignorance of cultural divisions; and ï ¬ nally, his characterisation of Mother revealing the fraught atmosphere during the Holocaust. The theme of power is explored in this novel through authoritative ï ¬ gures and their presentation in society.TheRead MoreThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ and ‘the Book Thief’1430 Words   |  6 Pages‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ and ‘The Book Thief’ In novels, the author creates a focus on a relationship - between enemies or friends, a parent and child, or husband and wife. In the two texts, The Book Thief, and The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas this is a aspect that is featured in both, the relationship between children. The Book Thief focuses on the relationship between Liesel and Rudy, two of the characters. In The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas the relationship that is focused on is betweenRead MoreEssay on The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas808 Words   |  4 PagesTHE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS Essay Question: â€Å"Books that engage directly with contemporary concerns and issues will always involve a reader† Through the study of the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, it is clear that the concerns and issues, as well as the style and structure of a text, are what determines the reader’s involvement. In addition, the issues of the past (particularly those about war) still remain concerns today. The issues amplified within The Boy in the Striped

Analysis Cambodias Health System Health And Social Care Essay Free Essays

Cambodia is one of the poorest states in South-east Asia, with about 34.7 % of its entire population life below the poorness line. Cambodia is still emerging from decennaries of civil war and political instability, which had lay waste toing effects on Her wellness systems, and although there has been steady betterment in Her wellness indexs in recent old ages, the wellness position of its populates is among the worst in the Asia and Pacific part, with high baby, kid and maternal mortality rates. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis Cambodias Health System Health And Social Care Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now The wellness sector reform which occurred after the war has resulted in singular successes in the national wellness system, nevertheless despite these successes, several challenges and issues still exist in the wellness system which could be addressed with executable schemes. Critical Analysis of cardinal challenges and successes within Cambodia ‘s wellness system: Administration agreements concentrating on organisation and direction of the wellness system: The administration agreement originated from the wellness sector reforms which lead to the formation of a three tier system-Central, Provincial and District degrees. The Central degree is being managed by the Minister of wellness as the main executive, and comprises of three directorates-Health, Finance and disposal, and Inspection, with their several board of directors generals who supervises and monitors the assorted subordinate sections and offices. The Provincial degree is being managed by the provincial managers who supervises service bringing and ensures effectual use of resources in their several operational territories. The territory degree is being managed through public-private partnership by territory wellness attention troughs and in-between degree troughs from the non-governmental Organizations who supervise wellness service bringing in their several territories. The public-private partnership in the direction of the territory degree by the ministry of wellness and non-governmental organisation has showed important success in accomplishing dramatic addition in wellness service coverage and decrease in out-of-pocket outgos. A survey done in Mamut state showed an betterment in the direction of wellness installations in footings of handiness of 24 service, handiness of equipments and supplies, supervisory visits and presence of wellness staffs when they are scheduled to be on responsibility. However, despite these successes, the wellness system administration and direction capacity at the provincial degree is limited therefore ensuing in the in-between degree directors at the territory degrees being supervised adequately by their several provincial managers. Resource coevals, allotment and direction: Cambodia ‘s wellness sector is being financed by Government grosss, external giver assistance and private ( out-of-the pocket payment ) .Government ‘s budget for wellness has increased significantly in recent old ages making $ 9.4 per capital in 2009, which is rather high in South-east Asia. External giver assistance is twice authorities gross, with the wellness sector extremely dependent on giver support. However despite the increasing investing in wellness finance from authorities budget and other external givers, private ( out-of-the pocket ) outgo still accounts for the largest part of wellness outgo which is spent on uncontrolled private wellness attention. Furthermore despite entire increased wellness outgo, cardinal wellness indexs are still weaker than in neighboring states that spend less money on wellness, the challenge nevertheless is more of allotment and effectual usage of financess instead than unequal fundss. Budget executing have improved in recent old ages with timely releases, nevertheless allotment of financess to the provincial and territory degrees tend to be really slow at the beginning of the twelvemonth due to the figure of blessing stairss that have to be met before the financess are disbursed. When the financess are eventually disbursed, wellness installations below the provincial degree do non hold a elaborate budget program and are non accountable for the usage of finance taking to uneffective usage of resources. The measure of wellness professionals is low with a low staff to population ratio of 1:1000 ; half of WHO ‘s recommendation. However compared to Sub-Saharan Africa, Cambodia has about twice the figure of physicians per population. However the chief challenge is deficit of wellness staffs in the rural countries particularly accoucheuses and nurses due to hapless staff reimbursement and besides the inadequate accomplishment and competency of wellness workers ensuing in uneffective bringing of wellness services. Main national and international influences and their effects on equity: The many old ages of war and political convulsion resulted in the limited wellness installations and wellness workers particularly in rural countries. However after the war, several wellness reforms were enacted in the countries of wellness funding, wellness coverage program and wellness direction which aimed at advancing equity, increasing coverage and cut downing urban-rural disparities in accessing wellness attention services. The wellness equity fund is being financed by the authorities and non -governmental organisations and has provided the hapless entree to liberate and quality wellness attention services. In a survey done in Kampong Cham the biggest state in Cambodia, the figure of bringings in wellness installations had increased by 28 % after the debut of the fund strategy and this accounted for 40 % of bringings among the hapless, therefore enabling hapless adult females who used to present at place with the aid of an unskilled traditional birth attender deliver in a wellness installations under the attention of a skilled birth attender. The wellness coverage policy resulted in the development of the territory based wellness attention system with the Reconstruction of wellness installations and territory, which were distributed harmonizing to population coverage ensuing in increased geographic entree to wellness installations particularly in the rural countries. However, due to the hapless wages and rewards of wellness workers, most of the wellness installations in the distant countries remain short-handed and under-utilized, ensuing in people seeking wellness services from traditional therapists and unqualified private service suppliers despite the available of the financess and wellness installations taking to high out-of the pocket disbursement and hapless wellness position of the people. External giver assistance plays a important function in funding wellness attention services, accounting for approximately 50 % of the entire wellness outgo. Donor ‘s support has contributed significantly in heightening wellness sector development taking to an betterment in the wellness of people of Cambodia particularly female parents and kids, which has resulted in decreased maternal and child mortality rates, reduced entire birthrate rates, improved nutritionary position among adult females and kids and a more effectual wellness system. However this support has been provided in a disintegrated mode which is ill aligned with authorities precedences despite attempts made with the Sector broad direction ( Swim ) procedure. Furthermore donor bureaus tend to work independent of each other, taking to disintegrated support of the wellness sector which is controlled by the giver ‘s precedences: which focus on four chief areas-HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Maternal and Child wellness. Consequently ill aiming the demands of the hazard population and therefore pretermiting other facets of the wellness system where it is most needful. The wellness sector of Cambodia is extremely dependent on Donor support, ensuing in the non-governmental organisations playing a important function in policy devising and execution and act uponing the precedences of the heath sector which are curative- based with less accent on public wellness practises. Resulting in preventable diseases such as diarrhea, dandy fever febrility and vaccinum preventable diseases being the major causes of decease in Cambodia. Schemes for bettering administration agreement: The administration and direction capacity at the provincial degree should be improved through wellness system beef uping and capacity edifice attempts therefore increasing the capacity of the provincial managers to publish, design and supervise the activities of the assorted several territories. This would be implemented through edifice effectual co-ordination and coaction procedure between the provincial managers and private suppliers for effectual bringing of wellness attention services through regulative mechanisms. Schemes for bettering funding and human resource coevals, allotment and direction: The allotment and direction of fiscal resources to provincial and territory degrees should be improved through decentalisation of budgets and beef uping the system for tracking budgets and outgos. The decentalisation of budgets would ensue in the decrease of the figure of blessing stairss therefore bettering the eternity of budget allotment to provincial and territory degrees. Efficient direction of fiscal resources would be done through the formation of an efficient budgeting and scrutinizing system therefore doing wellness installations account for their usage of resources. The distribution of wellness professionals should be improved through deploying wellness professionals particularly accoucheuses and nurses to remote countries on contracts footing with inducements and bettering staff wage through rural allowances and installation based salary supplementation from user fees. In a long tally, the figure of wellness professionals in distant countries can be increased by acknowledging more pupils into schools and universities and deploying them to function in distant countries as a requirement to being for good registered, this scheme has worked with good consequences in Nigeria. The professional expertness and proficiency of wellness attention workers particularly accoucheuses and nurses should be improved through pre-service and in-service preparation which should be done quarterly with more accent on clinical and public wellness practises. This would ensue in improved public presentation and distribution of wellness attention workers therefore cut downing the inequalities in the wellness position of the people of Cambodia. Schemes for turn toing national and international influences and their effects on equity: The coordination of giver ‘s support should be improved through the sector broad attack procedure ( SWAP ) by alining the giver ‘s precedences and funding with the wellness sector precedences and beef uping the co-ordination of giver ‘s support and activities through pooling agreement therefore ensuing in efficient usage of resources towards accomplishing the National wellness sector ‘s marks. However strong authorities leading, political committedness, efficient direction organic structure and doing a policy to its consequence will be indispensable in doing the scheme accomplishable. The sector broad attack procedure would be implemented by doing it a constituent of the Health sector strategic program, which would be endorsed by all external givers, with a set of indexs which would be used for measuring the execution of the policy and the wellness sector ‘s advancement, set uping a codification of behavior which would be signed by the authorities and development spouses and organizing a sector co-ordination commission who would urge and inform the external givers of cardinal determinations related to the policies and precedences of the wellness sector. This attack has worked in Mozambique ; who has a similar context like Cambodia in footings of fragmented support by external givers, heavy trust on external giver assistance and station -conflict state of affairs with much success. The hapless wage and rewards of wellness attention workers particularly in distant countries should be improved through the usage of equity financess and user fees to supplement the wages of wellness workers. This would be implemented through the allotment of 60 % of the financess to be used in supplementing the rewards of wellness workers with conditions attached: which would include public presentation and figure of hours worked. This attack has been piloted with important success in Vietnam ensuing in wellness workers gaining more money by working in public rural wellness installations ensuing in an addition in the figure of wellness workers in those installations. Decision: The wellness position of the Cambodians has improved significantly since the post-war period. Two of the measurings used for specifying the quality of the wellness system-Infant and Child mortality rates have improved significiantly, nevertheless Maternal mortality has non improved significantly, staying a greater concern, though important advancement have been made in child wellness, maternal and generative wellness. Consequently beef uping of the wellness system in Cambodia is really important in bettering the efficiency and effectivity of wellness service bringing. How to cite Analysis Cambodias Health System Health And Social Care Essay, Essay examples

What does it mean Does anythi... free essay sample

What does it mean? Does anything truly exist? Is the world something we have made up? All valid questions of doubt we tend to believe anything that is put in frint of us. Most of us dont think beyond the white pickett fence. Nagel makes us think and question reality in a sense. He explains everything as a question and it is your choice to believe what he is saying or doubt his reasons. It is all our choice to think and believe in what we choose to. We must do soul searching to come across all the things we may have never even began to think of in this life. In the second chapter, Nagel states that the world around us is the reality because we can study it and substantiate it, and similarly all the constituents of the world and all the theories are true only if they can be studied and substantiated for their content. We will write a custom essay sample on What does it mean? Does anythi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thomas Nagel poses the question How do we know anything? and begins his argument by introducing the possibility that there is nothing beyond our own consciousness and that the real world that we perceive with our 5 senses is nothing but an illusion. He compares this to a kind of dream-state. Nagel does not want us to forget everything we know but to change our thinking. Open our eyes to something different we have yet to think about.Is The World We Live in Real If there is truly nothing in existence outside of your own consciousness, then your actions and decisions affect no one but yourself, because nothing else exists. It would throw almost all conceptions of ethics completely out the window. However, the problem that we always come back around to we come to is the fact that we cannot possibly know for certain whether the world around us does or does not. What then are we to do? Will we assume, as the few Solipsists do, that the world does not exist, and live solely for our own enjoyment, or peace of mind? Will we, since there is no evidence to the contrary, assume that it does, and just go on living our lives as if we had never asked ourselves the question? Skepticism is the idea of doubting something other people believe to be true. For example, Nagel has a skeptic v iew towards the reality of the actual world. He believes that even though we can sense everything around us it may not be necessarily the truth. Everything we sense is due to our minds. Our minds are the one that allows us to sense and believe there is a real world but it does not necessarily prove there is a real world. Nagel goes on communicating this view throughout the entire chapter and shares a more radical view, solipsism. This is view is that the only real thing that exists is the mind.If we die in our dream we wake up and we cant perceive what happens after we die but we dies so what comes after death in real life we could wake up in the world that we never knew was here the whole time.He believes that even though we can sense everything around us it may not be necessarily the truth. Everything we sense is due to our minds. Our minds are the one that allows us to sense and believe there is a real world but it does not necessarily prove there is a real world. Nagel goes on communicating this view throughout the entire chapter and shares a more radical view, solipsism. This is view is that the only real thing that exists is the mind. If something cannot be proven it does not mean it cannot be true or that it does not exist. For example, the idea of a higher power known as God. God is something you cannot see or touched but, people believe there is a God. There is no real evidence of a God. Although there is no real way to know if God is real, then why do people believe in God? The answer is simple, sometimes we do not need all our doubts to be answer. Greedy or Free Will Nagel argues upon the free will that we exercise and whether or not our will actually is independent and if it is of any actual significance. Nagel begins to talk about free will by giving us an example of cake and peach. He starts off by saying that you are in a cafeteria line and you chose a piece of cake instead of peach. In your mind you already made up your mind on which item you were going to choose, you were open to have both but you chose to indulge yourself in a piece of cake.

The Iliad and Song of Roland essays

The Iliad and Song of Roland essays The Iliad by Homer and Song of Roland are two enjoyable novels that both deal with the basic nature of war. They are set in different eras of history, but they both manage to depict the image of war and conquest very well. With that said, they do indeed share obvious plot characteristics. However, the manner of which the subject of war is portrayed in both novels is considerably different. The Iliad leans toward a more graphic and honest depiction whereas Song of Roland illustrates a more glorious and honorable view of battle. In The Iliad, Homer tells the tale of the war between the Achaeans and the Trojans. They are fighting an intense and gruesome battle with each other. The two warriors that stand out the most in the novel are Achilles, who is fighting on the side of the Achaeans, and Hector, who is the great Trojan warrior. They fight back and forth in many battles, asking the gods to help them with different tasks. In Song of Roland, the story is told of Charlemagne and his army, who are fighting the Muslims in Spain. Their conquest proves to be a success. This success has much to do with the mighty and skillful warrior Roland, who is the hero of the novel. He ends up dying a martyrs death and is held with the highest regard amongst his people. As you can see, these two stories both have heroes in them, and they both deal with war and battle. Song of Roland seems to glorify the attitude of war by using more of a bold and egotistical tone when describing its conquests. Charlemagnes army is off to rid the world of pagans and convert as many of them as possible into Christians. They feel themselves to be superior to the pagans due to their Muslim belief. They will stop at nothing when it comes to pushing their belief of Christianity on them; the pagans only other option being death. This self-righteous attitude prevails through ...

When Is the PSAT 2019 PSAT Test Dates

When Is the PSAT 2019 PSAT Test Dates SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’re coming up on your sophomore or junior year, you’re probably wondering when you’ll be taking the PSAT and how you should prepare. In this article, I’ll tell you when the PSAT is offered this year, how to get ready, and how this relates to your future plans for the SAT. 2019 PSAT Test Dates The PSAT will be offered in October 2019 to 10th and 11th graders. There are threepossible PSAT test dates this year. (These aren't yet confirmed by the College Board, but they expect to offer the PSAT on these dates.) Primary: Wednesday, October 16 Alternate: Wednesday, October 30 Saturday: October 19 The PSAT is administered by each high school on an individual basis (rather than at designated test centers like the SAT). This means that high schools get to decide which date to offer to students. The College Board recommends that schools choose October 16thfor administering the PSAT. October 19th is the Saturday option and October 30th is a secondary date that schools might use in circumstances where they can’t hold the test on the 16th.You will have to take the test on the date offeredat your school. How Should You Prepare for the PSAT? The PSAT was redesigned in 2015 to accord withthe 2016 redesign of the SAT. Here are some practice materialsto help you prepare for the PSAT. You can also read this article to get more information about practice tests you can use and this article for an overview of the changes to the PSAT. Since the PSAT test date is at the beginning of the school year in October, you will have the summer to prepare for the test.Preparing for the PSAT shouldn’t be as intense as for the real SAT, but if you’re looking to potentially get high enough scores to be eligible for a National Merit Scholarship, you should think about doing some studying. Take a practice test and see how you fare- then you can focus on improving in any weak subject areas. For the PSAT, one of the best things you can do to prepare is just pay attention in your classes and do some challenging outside reading.Developing your logical reasoning and reading comprehension skills as well as basic math knowledge will be key to doing well on this test and on the real SAT. Learning these things over time organically will make them stick in your brain much better. You’ll find that skills that were once difficult become second-nature with accumulated practice.This is much better than cramming right before the test, which might help a little but won’t give you the same level of confidence. Don't let your brain get too overwhelmed. Want to get a head start on the PSAT NMQST? We have the industry's leading PSAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today: How Much Time Do You Have Before the Real SAT? If you take the PSAT in 2019, you will be a sophomore or a junior. Depending on which grade you're in now, you might have more or less time between the PSAT and the SAT. For Sophomores It depends on how early you want to get started with taking the SAT.You could decide to take it in the spring of 2019 to become familiar with the test format and have plenty of time to study based on your weak areas before retaking.You could also waituntil your junior fall to take it for the first time, if you are hoping to avoid a retake and want to get some studying in over the summer. You may have up to a year between the PSAT and the first time you take the SAT, depending on your preferences about when you want to get started and how many times you plan on taking the test.Generally we recommend taking the SAT for the first time your junior fall. If you decide to wait until then, you’ll still have plenty of time to improve your scores! For Juniors If you’re taking the PSAT as a junior, you have less time before the SAT.It can be advantageous to take the PSAT as a junior, however, because you will have learned more material in school by then and will have a more solid grasp on all the concepts that are tested. A couple of months between the PSAT and the SAT should be enough time to study and achieve a modest bump in your scores.If you don’t do as well as you hoped, you can take the SAT again in fall of your senior year. October exams: A Very Special Spooky Scary SAT Test Date Predicted Future PSAT Dates in 2020, 2021, and 2022 If you’re a sophomore or younger, you might be wondering when the PSAT is offered in future years.Based on past dates, here are some predictions about when the PSAT will be held in 2020, 2021, and 2022: Year Regular Date Alternative Date Saturday Date 2020 Wednesday, October 14 Wednesday, October 28 Saturday, October17 2021 Wednesday, October 13 Wednesday, October 27 Saturday, October 16 2022 Wednesday, October 12 Wednesday, October 26 Saturday, October 15 What's Next? Do you have more questions about PSAT scores? Find out what a good PSAT score is and what your scores might mean. If you're aiming for a top score, learn what it takes to win a National Merit Scholarship. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

THE SUCCESS OF A COMPANY DEPENDS ON HOW TO WHAT DEGREE EXERCISES ITS Essay

THE SUCCESS OF A COMPANY DEPENDS ON HOW TO WHAT DEGREE EXERCISES ITS MARKETING STRATEGY - Essay Example ether or not LVMH has sound marketing strategy, and whether or not the extent to which the strategies apply, has implications on company’s performance. Literature will be reviewed to seek evidence from published documented articles on marketing strategies. Specifically in this case, literature will be reviewed on marketing strategy-types, theoretical models and other relevant information based on the case study of LVMH. The study will concentrate its arguments on the 4Ps of marketing model: product, price, promotion and placement; it will also seek to explain why some companies are leaders in business market and others followers; or rater, why some companies remain forever successful while other enter the market but have no solid results to show. Business market is rapidly globalizing. As a result, there is increasing competition in the market environment. Large and small businesses are battling in the same markets to ensure profits; only the smartest in this survival-of-the-fittest game can make it. Therefore, it needs companies to have smart business strategies in marketing as it is the core of customer satisfaction. â€Å"A marketing strategy is a summary of your companys products and positions in relation to the competition; your sales and marketing plans are the specific actions youre going to undertake to achieve the goals of your marketing strategy† (Ward, 2011). Therefore, concerning to the defined values, this study will focus on LVMH’s international marketing strategy and how it has turned the company into a leading luxury brand. Marketing ensures that a customer gets to know the products and services a company offers on numerous prices. Therefore a company that has to maintain its competitive edge amidst the stiff competition has to have a smart marketing strategy. A marketing strategy simply ensures that marketing plans are effectively rolled out. In this study, the first chapter will present an overview of marketing strategies as background

The Waco Crisis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

The Waco Crisis - Case Study Example The objectives of the research are to be able to access views of different groups on the issue as well as on the beliefs of David Koresh and his followers. The social context that deals with the logic of the government during that time specifically the fact that no individuals or organizations have the intent for arsenal and harm of terror and destruction to the people, is also one of the main constraints in the study undertaken and presented. In addition, the analysis of the research revolves around the conflicts of the different parties that are involved specifically the government, members of the religious organization of David Koresh and the different agencies of the government that are involved in the crisis. The event is composed of a siege on the 28th day of February in 1993. The said incident transpired due to the aim of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to investigate the Branch Davidian ranch in Mount Carmel, Waco, Texas. The members of the group of the Davidians resisted the investigation. The authorities then found the need to pursue with other modes of action. The even then escalated to an exchange of gunshots. The result of the exchange of gunshots left four dead agents and six Davidians (Anthony & Robbins, 1997). The said event that was considered as the firs... From the prior event, the siege had been undertaken through April 19. The fire that concluded the attack killed sixty-six people and destroyed the compound. Included in the victims were 21 children and 2 pregnant women as well as the leader of the Davidian group Vernon Wayne Howell who is popularly known as David Koresh. The whole event is what had been known as the Waco Siege (Anthony & Robbins, 1997). The Waco Crisis can be considered as one of the most important examples that can be sited in terms of conflict analysis. To be able to determine and analyze the situation it is important to consider different background information related to the Waco City and the event. A. The History of the Davidians in the Waco City The main focus is related to the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Church which was led by David Koresh. The said group had been established in 1930 in Los Angeles, California which is a group that separated from the Seventh Day Adventist. The site located in the Waco City has been chosen due to the significance of Mount Carmel in the Bible. The main structure that housed the group is composed of a wooden edifice that functions for the different needs of the group such as administrative and storage (Anthony & Robbins, 1997; The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004). The group is living in the area on the belief that the apocalypse is about to take place and for that matter they are getting themselves ready. Basically that time, those who had not establish a home in the area stayed on temporary shelters and even different forms of vehicles. The properties that the member owned are sold prior to the believed apocalypse. The background of the Waco City can be considered essential in the determination of the events that had

Obesity an Escalating Problem Essay -- Health, Diseases

Recent research done by The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) showed that more than 64% of the US adult population is overweight (BMI >25 and 30) (Obesity, 2008). This result has got people afraid of what would happen in the future if people don’t change their habits. An excessive storage of fat due to lack of physical activity and high calorie intake that often leads to other diseases is known as obesity. Obesity is an escalating problem, because people consume more calories and aren’t physically active; this could result in health problems, yet people can resolve this issue by consuming a healthy diet and regularly exercising, or consulting a doctor for medication or surgery if other solutions weren’t effective. People are consuming too many calories and aren’t physically active, because of changed lifestyles and technology advancement, in the last 20 years. Both adults and children pass a lot of time watching the television, playing video games and researching or chatting on the computer. These lifestyle changes encourage sedentary behavior. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that in their study to calculate obesity across the nation. In 2010 â€Å"no state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%† compared to a maximum of 15% to 19% in 15 to 20 states in 1994 (CDC, 2011). Physical inactivity and high calorie intake from processed food has made big changes to our health. Now days people don’t even cycle or walk to the grocery store, or at least walk to the nearest bus station to go to school or work. Every year people’s physical inactivity increases while our eating habit become worse. Children are also becoming obese at a very... ...artiatric surgery and gastric bypass are most effective. People can’t lose enough weight by just doing the surgery; they need to continue exercising a dieting to reach a healthy weight in one to two years. Side effects include nausea and nutrient deficiencies. Women can also have problems during pregnancy due to lack to nutrients, hence need to be more careful. Obesity can become easy to overcome if people are patient have the will power to keep going and lose weight to become healthy for themselves and the next generation. Overcoming obesity can take a lot of time depending upon a person ideal weight compared to their current weight. If people use these small tips and work their way to healthy lifestyle, the next generation will be healthier and less likely to become obese. All people need to do is work hard and give it time to reach their preferred body weight.

A Brief Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

A BRIEF SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS  SUMMARY†¦ October 16, 2010 A reasonable summary of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in its tractable form is that different cultures interpret the same world differently and this has an impact on how they both think and construct meaning in language; in fact, language shapes or influences thought to some degree. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis combines  linguistic relativity  and  linguistic determinism. Adherents of the hypothesis follow these two principles to varying degrees producing gradient interpretations from weak to strong versions of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.Cognitive linguists are among the only linguists to take this â€Å"mentalist† position seriously, and most linguists of any orientation reject a strong version of the hypothesis. The linguistic determinism portion of the original hypothesis stated that language  determined  thought, and this is the rejected strong version. The linguistic relativity portion asserts that bec ause language determines thought and there are different languages then the ways that those languages think will be different to some degree.Part of the controversy surrounding the hypothesis is the lack of empirical data, or at least appropriate empirical data. This has caused a number of researchers to begin considering how the ideas of linguistic determinism may affect judgment. For instance, in 2008 Daniel Casasanto performed a series of experiments with time, quantity and distance to determine whether or not speakers of Greek and speakers of English would have their judgments affected by the type of metaphors preferred by the language.The language did affect judgment to some degree, but it is not a causal claim about the Whorf-Sapir Hypothesis. Other empirical research has looked at linguistic relativity as a shaper of thought as opposed to a determiner of thought. This hypothesis is important to linguistics because it acknowledges the relationship between thought and language, which may partially give stability to the cognitive claim that language use reflects conceptualization and that different conceptualizations are reflected in different linguistic organizations.This reminds me of a situation I once participated in where a rhetorical question was being translated from one language to another but the source language structure of the rhetorical question would have implied the exact opposite meaning in the target language had it been translated literally rather than in a manner that acknowledged the target language’s normal pattern of organization for rhetorical questions. Although this may be a simplified understanding of the importance of Sapir-Whorf, it at least seems to have vital implications in translation theory. The Sapir-Whorf HypothesisDaniel Chandler Greek Translation now available Within linguistic theory, two extreme positions concerning the relationship between language and thought are commonly referred to as ‘mould theoriesâ €™ and ‘cloak theories'. Mould theories  represent language as ‘a mould in terms of which thought categories are cast' (Bruner et al. 1956, p. 11). Cloak theories  represent the view that ‘language is a cloak conforming to the customary categories of thought of its speakers' (ibid. ). The doctrine that language is the ‘dress of thought' was fundamental in Neo-Classical literary theory (Abrams 1953, p. 90), but was rejected by the Romantics (ibid. ; Stone 1967, Ch. 5). There is also a related view (held by behaviourists, for instance) that language and thought are  identical. According to this stance thinking is entirely linguistic: there is no ‘non-verbal thought', no ‘translation' at all from thought to language. In this sense, thought is seen as completely determined by language. The Sapir-Whorf theory, named after the American linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, is a  mould  theory of language.Writing in 1929, Sapir arg ued in a classic passage that: Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection. The fact of the matter is that the ‘real world' is to a large extent unconsciously built upon the language habits of the group.No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached†¦ We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interp retation. (Sapir 1958 [1929], p. 69) This position was extended in the 1930s by his student Whorf, who, in another widely cited passage, declared that: We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages.The categories and types that we isolate from the world of phenomena we do not find there because they stare every observer in the face; on the contrary, the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which has to be organized by our minds – and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way – an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language.The agreement is, of course, an implicit and unstated one,  but its terms are absolutely obligatory; we cannot talk at all except by subscribing to the organization and classification of data which the agreement decrees. (Whorf 1940, pp. 213-14; his emphasis) I will not attempt to untangle the details of the personal standpoints of Sapir and Whorf on the degree of determinism which they felt was involved, although I think that the above extracts give a fair idea of what these were. I should note that Whorf distanced himself from the behaviourist stance that thinking is entirely linguistic (Whorf 1956, p. 6). In its most extreme version ‘the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis' can be described as consisting of two associated principles. According to the first,  linguistic determinism, our thinking is determined by language. According to the second,  linguistic relativity, people who speak different languages perceive and think about the world quite differently. On this basis, the Whorfian perspective is that translation between one language and another is at the very least, problematic, and sometimes impossible. Some commentators also apply this to the ‘transl ation' of unverbalized thought into language.Others suggest that even within a single language  any  reformulation of words has implications for meaning, however subtle. George Steiner (1975) has argued that  any  act of human communication can be seen as involving a kind of translation, so the potential scope of Whorfianism is very broad indeed. Indeed, seeing reading as a kind of translation is a useful reminder of the reductionism of representing textual reformulation simply as a determinate ‘change of meaning', since meaning does not reside  in  the text, but is generated by  interpretation.According to the Whorfian stance, ‘content' is bound up with linguistic ‘form', and the use of the medium contributes to shaping the meaning. In common usage, we often talk of different verbal formulations ‘meaning the same thing'. But for those of a Whorfian persuasion, such as the literary theorist Stanley Fish, ‘it is impossible to mean the same thing in two (or more) different ways' (Fish 1980, p. 32). Reformulating something transforms  the ways in which meanings may be made with it, and in this sense, form and content are inseparable. From this stance words are not merely the ‘dress' of thought.The importance of what is ‘lost in translation' varies, of course. The issue is usually considered most important in literary writing. It is illuminating to note how one poet felt about the translation of his poems from the original Spanish into other European languages (Whorf himself did not in fact regard European languages as significantly different from each other). Pablo Neruda noted that the best translations of his own poems were Italian (because of its similarities to Spanish), but that English and French ‘do not correspond to Spanish – neither in vocalization, or in the placement, or the colour, or the weight of words. He continued: ‘It is not a question of interpretative equivalence: no, the sense can be right, but this correctness of translation, of meaning, can be the destruction of a poem. In many of the translations into French – I don't say in all of them – my poetry escapes, nothing remains; one cannot protest because it says the same thing that one has written. But it is obvious that if I had been a French poet, I would not have said what I did in that poem, because the value of the words is so different. I would have written something else' (Plimpton 1981, p. 3). With more ‘pragmatic' or less ‘expressive' writing, meanings are typically regarded as less dependent on the particular form of words used. In most pragmatic contexts, paraphrases or translations tend to be treated as less fundamentally problematic. However, even in such contexts, particular words or phrases which have an important function in the original language may be acknowledged to present special problems in translation. Even outside the humanities, academic texts co ncerned with the social sciences are a case in point.The Whorfian perspective is in strong contrast to the extreme  universalism  of those who adopt the  cloak  theory. The Neo-Classical idea of language as simply the dress of thought is based on the assumption that the same thought can be expressed in a variety of ways. Universalists argue that we can say whatever we want to say in any language, and that whatever we say in one language can always be translated into another. This is the basis for the most common refutation of Whorfianism. The fact is,' insists the philosopher Karl Popper, ‘that even totally different languages are not untranslatable' (Popper 1970, p. 56). The evasive use here of ‘not untranslatable' is ironic. Most universalists do acknowledge that translation may on occasions involve a certain amount of circumlocution. Individuals who regard writing as fundamental to their sense of personal and professional identity may experience their written style as inseparable from this identity, and insofar as writers are ‘attached to their words', they may favour a Whorfian perspective.And it would be hardly surprising if individual stances towards Whorfianism were not influenced by allegiances to Romanticism or Classicism, or towards either the arts or the sciences. As I have pointed out, in the context of the written word, the ‘untranslatability' claim is generally regarded as strongest in the arts and weakest in the case of formal scientific papers (although rhetorical studies have increasingly blurred any clear distinctions).And within the literary domain, ‘untranslatability' was favoured by Romantic literary theorists, for whom the connotative, emotional or personal meanings of words were crucial (see Stone 1967, pp. 126-7, 132, 145). Whilst few linguists would accept the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in its ‘strong', extreme or deterministic form, many now accept a ‘weak', more moderate, or limited Whorf ianism, namely that the ways in which we see the world may be  influenced  by the kind of language we use.Moderate Whorfianism  differs from extreme Whorfianism in these ways: * the emphasis is on the potential for thinking to be ‘influenced' rather than unavoidably ‘determined' by language; * it is a two-way process, so that ‘the kind of language we use' is also influenced by ‘the way we see the world'; * any influence is ascribed not to ‘Language' as such or to one language compared with another, but to the use  within a language  of one variety rather than another (typically a  sociolect  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the language used primarily by members of a particular social group); * emphasis is given to the social context of language use rather than to purely linguistic considerations, such as the social pressure in particular contexts to use language in one way rather than another. Of course, some polemicists still avour the notion of language as a  strait-jacket  or  prison, but there is a broad academic consensus favouring moderate Whorfianism. Any linguistic influence is now generally considered to be related not primarily to the formal systemic structures of a language (langue  to use de Saussure's term) but to cultural conventions and individual styles of use (or  parole). Meaning does not reside  in  a text but arises in its interpretation, and interpretation is shaped by sociocultural contexts. Conventions regarding what are considered appropriate uses of language in particular social contexts exist both in ‘everyday' uses of language and in specialist usage. In academia, there are general conventions as well as particular ones in each disciplinary and methodological context.In every subculture, the dominant conventions regarding appropriate usage tend to exert a conservative influence on the framing of phenomena. From the media theory perspective, the  sociolects  of sub-cultures and the  idiol ects  of individuals represent a subtly selective view of the world: tending to  support  certain kinds of observations and interpretations and to  restrictothers. And this transformative power goes largely unnoticed, retreating to transparency. ————————————————- The Relationship between Language and Culture Jan 4th, 2010 | By  Emma  | Category:  Topic It is generally agreed that language and culture are closely related. Language can be viewed as a verbal expression of culture. It is used to maintain and convey culture and cultural ties.Language provides us with many of the categories we use for expression of our thoughts, so it is therefore natural to assume that our thinking is influenced by the language which we use. The values and customs in the country we grow up in shape the way in which we think to a certain extent. Cultures hiding in languages, examin es the link between Japanese language and culture. An Insight into Korean Culture through the Korean Language discusses how Korean culture influences the language. Languages spoken in Ireland, focuses on the status of the Irish language nowadays and how it has changed over time. In our big world every minute is a lesson looks at intercultural communication and examines how it can affect interactions between people from countries and backgrounds. ———————————————— Language, culture and thoughts: do languages shape the way we think? Apr 27th, 2011 | By  Teresa  | Category:  English Members of different cultures speak different languages. Does it mean that people who speak, let us say, English, see things differently than people who speak Chinese or Spanish? In other words, does language lead our way of thinking or is it the other way around? According to  Benjamin Lee Whorf  and his theory of linguistic relativity, language shapes the way we think, and determines what we think about. He believed that depending on the language we speak we see the world differently.His best example was the comparison between the idea of snow of an English person and an Eskimo person. The Eskimo has many words to describe snow, while the English only has one. An Eskimo has a specific word to describe the wet snow, the snow currently falling and so on. Therefore an Eskimo perceives the snow in a different way than an English person. Another example is the  Dani  people, a farming group from New Guinea. They only have two words to describe the two basic colors: dark and bright. Hence a Dani person cannot differentiate colors as well as an English person is able to. Although Benjamin's theory is not yet completely clarified, it is correct to say that a language could facilitate some ways of thinking.True or not, this topic is an interesting one to reflect upon. Linguists and people who speak many languages have come up with the same idea. Holy Roman EmperorCharles V  spoke 6 languages fluently and said the following: I speak Italian to ambassadors, French to women, German to soldiers, English to my horse and Spanish to God. What is the relationship between language and culture? Answer Language is the verbal expression of culture. Culture is the idea,custom and beliefs of a community with a distinct language containing semantics – everything a speakers can think about and every way they have of thinking about things as medium of communication.For example, the Latin language has no word for the female friend of a man (the feminine form ofamicus  is  amica, which means mistress, not friend) because the Roman culture could not imagine a male and a female being equals, which they considered necessary for friendship. Another example is that Eskimos have many different terms for snow†¦ there are nuances that make each one differ ent. Answer Language and culture are NOT fundamentally inseparable. At the most basic level, language is a method of expressing ideas. That is, language is communication; while usually verbal, language can also be visual (via signs and symbols), or semiotics (via hand or body gestures). Culture, on the other hand, is a specific set of ideas, practices, customs and beliefs which make up a functioning society as distinct.A culture must have at least one language, which it uses as a distinct medium of communication to conveys its defining ideas, customs, beliefs, et al. , from one member of the culture to another member. Cultures can develop multiple languages, or â€Å"borrow† languages from other cultures to use; not all such languages are co-equal in the culture. One of the major defining characteristics of a culture is which language(s) are the primary means of communication in that culture; sociologists and anthropologists draw lines between similar cultures heavily based o n the prevalent language usage. Languages, on the other hand, can be developed (or evolve) apart from its originating culture.Certain language have scope for cross-cultural adaptations and communication, and may not actually be part of any culture. Additionally, many languages are used by different cultures (that is, the same language can be used in several cultures). Language is heavily influenced by culture – as cultures come up with new ideas, they develop language components to express those ideas. The reverse is also true: the limits of a language can define what is expressible in a culture (that is, the limits of a language can prevent certain concepts from being part of a culture). Finally, languages are not solely defined by their developing culture(s) – most modern languages are amalgamations of other prior and current languages.That is, most languages borrow words and phrases (â€Å"loan words†) from other existing languages to describe new ideas and c oncept. In fact, in the modern very-connected world, once one language manufactures a new word to describe something, there is a very strong tendency for other languages to â€Å"steal† that word directly, rather than manufacture a unique one itself. The English language is a stellar example of a â€Å"thief† language – by some accounts, over 60% of the English language is of foreign origin (i. e. those words were originally imported from another language). Conversely, English is currently the world's largest â€Å"donor† language, with vast quantities of English words being imported directly into virtually all other languages.

Using Decision Trees In Financial Management - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 11 Words: 3428 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Decision trees are diagrams that show the sequence of interrelated decisions and the expected results of choosing one alternative over the other. Typically, more than one choice or option is available when youre faced with a decision or, in this case, potential outcomes from a risk event. The available choices are depicted in tree form starting at the left with the risk decision branching out to the right with possible outcomes. Decision trees are usually used for risk events associated with time or cost. Steps in decision tree analysis Main steps in decision tree analysis are as follows: 1. Identifying the problem and alternatives To understand the problem and develop alternatives, it is necessary to acquire information from different sources like marketing research, economic forecasting, financial analysis, etc. As the decision situation unfolds, various alternatives may arise which are to be identified. There would also be kinds of uncertainties in terms of market size, market share, prices, cost structure, availability of raw material and power, governmental regulation. Technological change, competition, etc. Recognising that risk and uncertainty are inherent characteristics of investment projects, persons involved in analyzing the situation must be encouraged to express freely their doubts, uncertainties, and reservation and motivated to suggest contingency plans and identify promising opportunities in the emerging environment. 2. Delineating the decision tree The decision tree represents the anat omy of decision situation. It illustrates decision points along with the alternative options available for experimentation and action at these decision points chance points where outcomes are dependent on a chance process and the likely outcomes at these points This decision tree diagrammatically reflects the nature of decision situation in terms of alternative courses of action and chance outcomes which have been identified in the first step of the analysis. If myriad possible future events and decisions are considered, it can become very complex and cumbersome. As a result, it would not be a useful tool of analysis. If many elaborate events are taken into account then it may obfuscate the critical issues. Hence it is necessary to simplify the decision tree so that focus can be given on major future alternatives. 3. Specifying probabilities and monetary outcomes After delineating the decision tree, probabilities corresponding with each of the possible outcomes at various chance points and monetary value of each combination of decision alternative and chance outcome have to be gathered. The probabilities of various outcomes can be defined objectively. For instance, based on objective historical data the probability of good monsoon can be defined. On the other hand, probabilities for real life outcomes are somewhat difficult and cannot be obtained. For example, one cannot determine the probabilities for success of a new automobile launch. These have to be defined subjectively and based on experience, judgment, understanding of informed executives and their intuition. Also, it is difficult to assess cash flows corresponding to these outcomes. So again judgment of experts helps in defining these cash flows. 4. Evaluating various decision alternatives The final step in decision tree analysis includes evaluation of various alternatives. This can be done as follows: starting with the right- hand end of the tree and then we calculate the expected monetary value at various chance points that come first as we proceed leftward. Given the expected monetary values of chance points in step 1, evaluate the alternatives at the final stage decision points in terms of their expected monetary values. At each of the final stage decision points, select the alternative which has the highest expected monetary value and truncate the other alternatives. Each decision point is assigned a value equal to the expected monetary value of the alternative selected at that decision point. Proceed backward (leftward) in the same manner, calculating the expected monetary value at chance points, selecting the decision alternative which has the highest expected monetary value at various decision points, truncating inferior decision alternatives, and assigning values to decision points, till the first decision point is reached. Wikipedia A decision tree is a decision support tool that uses a tree-like graph or model of decisions a nd their possible consequences, including chance event outcomes, resource costs, and utility. It is one way to display an algorithm. Decision trees are commonly used in operations research, specifically in decision analysis, to help identify a strategy most likely to reach a goal. Another use of decision trees is as a descriptive means for calculating conditional probabilities. When the decisions or consequences are modelled by computational verb, then we call the decision tree a computational verb decision tree[1]. In decision analysis, a decision tree and the closely-related influence diagram is used as a visual and analytical decision support tool, where the expected values (or expected utility) of competing alternatives are calculated. A decision Tree consists of 3 types of nodes:- 1. Decision nodes commonly represented by squares 2. Chance nodes represented by circles 3. End nodes represented by triangles Drawn from left to right, a decision tree has only burst nodes (splitting paths) but no sink nodes (converging paths). Therefore, used manually, they can grow very big and are then often hard to draw fully by hand. Analysis can take into account the decision makers (e.g., the companys) preference or utility function, for example: The basic interpretation in this situation is that the company prefers Bs risk and payoffs under realistic risk preference coefficients (greater than $400K in that range of risk aversion, the company would need to model a third strategy, Neither A nor B). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Using Decision Trees In Financial Management" essay for you Create order Uses in teaching This section requires expansion. Decision trees, influence diagrams, utility functions, and other decision analysis tools and methods are taught to undergraduate students in schools of business, health economics, and public health, and are examples of operations research or management science methods. [edit] Advantages Amongst decision support tools, decision trees (and influence diagrams) have several advantages: Decision trees: Are simple to understand and interpret. People are able to understand decision tree models after a brief explanation. Have value even with little hard data. Important insights can be generated based on experts describing a situation (its alternatives, probabilities, and costs) and their preferences for outcomes. Use a white box model. If a given result is provided by a model, the explanation for the result is easily replicated by simple math. Can be combined with other decision techniques. The following example uses Net Present Value calculations, PERT 3-point estimations (decision #1) and a linear distribution of expected outcomes (decision #2): [edit] Example Decision trees can be used to optimize an investment portfolio. The following example shows a portfolio of 7 investment options (projects). The organization has $10,000,000 available for the total investment. Bold lines mark the best selection 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7, which will cost $9,750,000 and create a payoff of 16,175,000. All other combinations would either exceed the budget or yield a lower payoff.[2] Decision Making Tools: Decision Tree Analysis and EMV Decision Makers Toolkit Decision-making is the cognitive process of selecting a course of action from among multiple alternatives. Every decision-making process produces a final choice. Thats what Wikipedia says anyway. What it doesnt say is that some decisions must be made for outcomes that will occur in the future. However, there are a couple of tools that can be put to use in helping make complex decisions, namely, Expected Monetary Value and Decision Tree Analysis. Expected Monetary Value (EMV) EMV is a balance of probability and its impact over the range of possible scenarios. If you have to make a decision between two scenarios, which one will provide the greater potential payoff? Scenario 1 Best case provides a 20% probability of making $180,000 BC = 20% X $180,000= $36,000 Worst case provides a 15% probability of loosing [-$20,000] WC = 15% X(-$20,000) =(-$3,000) Most likely case provides a 65% probability of making $ 75,000 MLC = 65% X $75,000 = $48,750 Total Expected Monetary Value 100% $81,750 Scenario 2 Best case provides a 15% probability of making $200,000 BC=15% X $200,000 =$30,000 Worst case provides a 25% probability of making $15,000 WC= 25% X $ 15,000 = $ 3,750 Most likely case provides a 60% probability of making $45,000 MLC=60% X $45,000 = $27,000 Total Expected Monetary Value 100% $60,750 Which scenario do you choose? Number one, because it has the highest EMV, or $81,750 Decision Tree Analysis In decision tree analysis, a problem is depicted as a diagram which displays all possible acts, events, and payoffs (outcomes) needed to make choices at different points over a period of time. Example of Decision Tree Analysis: A Manufacturing Proposal Your corporation has been presented with a new product development proposal. The cost of the development project is $500,000. The probability of successful development is projected to be 70%. If the development is unsuccessful, the project will be terminated. If it is successful, the manufacturer must then decide whether to begin manufacturing the product on a new production line or a modified production line. If the demand for the new product is high, the incremental revenue for a new production line is $1,200,000, and the incremental revenue for the modified production line is $850,000. If the demand is low, the incremental revenue for the new production line is $700,000, and the incremental revenue for the modified productio n line is $150,000. All of these incremental revenue values are gross figures, i.e., before subtracting the $500,000 development cost, $300,000 for the new production line and $100,000 for the modified production line. The probability of high demand is estimated as 40%, and of low demand as 60%. The development of a decision tree is a multi step process. The first step is to structure the problem using a method called decomposition, similar to the method used in the development of a work breakdown structure. This step enables the decision-maker to break a complex problem down into a series of simpler, more individually manageable problems, graphically displayed in a type of flow diagram called a decision tree. These are the symbols commonly used: The second step requires the payoff values to be developed for each end-position on the decision tree. These values will be in terms of the net gain or loss for each unique branch of the diagram. The net gain/loss will be revenue less expenditure. If the decision to not develop is made, the payoff is $0. If the product development is unsuccessful, the payoff is $500,000. If the development is successful, the decision is to build a new production line (NPL) or modify an existing production line (MPL). The payoff for the NPL high demand is ($ 1,200,000 $500,000 development cost -$300,000 build cost) or $400,000. For a low demand, the payoff is ($700,000 $500,000 development cost -$300,000 build cost) or -$100,000. The payoff for the MPL high demand is ($850,000 -$500,000 development cost $100,000 build cost) or $250,000. For a low demand, the payoff is ($720,000- $500,000 development cost $100,000 build cost) or $120,000. The third step is to assess the probability of occurrence for each outcome: Development Successful = 70% NPL High Demand = 40% MPL High Demand = 40% Development Unsuccessful = 30% NPL Low Demand = 60% MPL Low Demand = 60% Probability Totals* 100% 100% 100% *Probabilities must always equal 100%, of course. The fourth step is referred to as the roll-back and it involves calculating expected monetary values (EMV) for each alternative course of action payoff. The calculation is (probability X payoff) = EMV This is accomplished by working from the end points (right hand side) of the decision tree and folding it back towards the start (left hand side) choosing at each decision point the course of action with the highest expected monetary value (EMV). Decision D2: New Production Line vs. Modified Production Line high demand + low demand = EMV high demand + low demand = EMV (4 0% X $400,000) + (60%X -$100,000) (40% X $250,000)+(60% X $120,000) $100,000 $172,000 Decision Point 2 Decision: Modified Production Line with an EMV of $172,000 Decision 1: Develop or Do Not Develop Development Successful + Development Unsuccessful (70% X $172,000) (30% x (- $500,000)) $120,400 + (-$150,000) Decision Point 1 EMV=(-$29,600) Decision: DO NOT DEVELOP the product because the expected value is a negative number. When doing a decision tree analysis, any amount greater than zero signifies a positive decision. This tool is also very useful when there are multiple cases that need to be compared. The one with the highest payoff should be picked. Real options analysis: tools and techniques for valuing strategic ÂÂ  By Johnathan Mun https://books.google.co.in/books?id=X47bm9Etd7ICpg=PA649lpg=PA649dq=decision+tree+applications+oil+and+gassource=blots=W47wkDY2Xtsig=YwtNvZ8KEDJ-60CEK87Xhodouishl=enei=Bnz3TP7kMI-srAec-63vDwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=2ved=0CB0Q6AEwATge#v=onepageq=decision%20tree%20applications%20oil%20and%20gasf=false pgs.258,474 Remington: the science and practice of pharmacy https://books.google.co.in/books?id=NFGSSSbaWjwCpg=PA743lpg=PA743dq=decision+tree+applications+pharmaceuticalssource=blots=V64QMimyuosig=cdQYBEgEJSf_lON-Alkhv4E6B4Ehl=enei=8oT3TLOOLcS3rAfw1azvDwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=6ved=0CDYQ6AEwBTg8#v=onepageqf=false pg.740 decision tree analysis the project manager can use decision tree analysis when a decision involves a series of several interrelated decisions. The project manager computes the Expected Monetary value (EMV) of all strategies and chooses the strategy with the highest EMV. Assume that the project manager has four alternative strategies, S1, S2, S3, S4. The resulatant values for each strategy at different probability levels are R1, R2, and R3. Assume that the probability of occurrence of these results is 0.5, 0.2 and 0.3. the payoff matrix for this problem is given in table 18.4. Table 18.4. Payoff Matrix R1 R2 R3 S1 13 10 9 S2 11 10 8 S3 10 12 11 S4 8 11 10 P=0.5The project manager can also represent this problem as a decision tree. Figure 18.3. depicts the decision tree for the given problem. The project manager finally selects strategy S1 as it has the highest value. EMV (A) = 0.5 ( 13)+0.2(10) +0.3(9) = EMV (B) = 0.5(11) +0.2(10) + 0.3(8) = EMV (C) = 0.5(10) +0.2(12) + 0.3(11) = EMV (D) = 0.5(8) +0.2(11) + 0.3(10) = Review of literature 1. Introduction R and D management, by its very nature, is characterized by uncertainty since effective R and D requires a complex interaction of variables. It is important to balance strategic management (allocate resources and do the right R and D) with operational management (execution of projects) and at the same time take into account issues of people management (leadership, motivation, organisation and teamwork) (Menke, 1994). The strategic aspect of R and D management alone requires the resolution of some very important questions, namely Do we have the right total R and D budget? Are we allocating it to the right business and technology areas? Do we have the right balance of risk and return; of long- and short-term projects; of research vs development; of incremental vs innovation? Are we working on the right projects and programmes with the right effort? It is clear that for success in R and D it is critical to determine what is right for the particular company. The normal p rocess for doing this is through the development of a technology strategy. In practice, the approach used will be that which best fits the operating method of the company but, as Braunstein (1994) has pointed out, the approach is less important than the output, which has to link the corporate goals and strategy to the companys major functional units. Having defined what the business objectives should be for the R and D programme and the overall strategic framework that will define the technology plan, it is then possible to move on to what is probably one of the most problematic parts of technology management, the selection of individual R and D programmes. There is a comprehensive literature of potential methods which can be used (Baker and Pound, 1964; Gear et al., 1971; Souder, 1978). Many of these compare projects with different distributions of possible outcomes and risk, often using relatively complex quantitative methods. There are a number of interdependencies that have t o come good before the project finally produces value for the company and it has been argued (Morris et al., 1991) that because many of the major decisions (and many sub-decisions at intermediate milestones) can be taken singly, the overall process is less risky that might initially be thought. Not surprisingly, therefore, Morris goes on to propose that, when choosing R and D projects, there is merit in going for long shots since this is effectively the purchase of options which can be dropped later if the project does not look like bearing fruit. Moreover, the higher risk projects (almost by definition) tend to be the ones that have the highest payback if they are successful (see also Kester, 1984). 2. Decision making under uncertainty Uncertainty in a business situation is often expressed verbally in terms such as it is likely, it is probable, the chances are, possibly, etc. This is not always very helpful because the words themselves are only useful when they convey the same meaning to all parties. It is clear that different people have different perceptions of the everyday expressions which are often used to describe uncertainty. Uncertainty exists if an action can lead to several possible outcomes and an essential, but, challenging aspect of R and D management is to identify the likelihood or probability that these outcomes or events will occur. There are two main interpretations of probability. The first is grounded in the estimation of the probability of an event in terms of relative frequency with which the event has occurred in the past and is usually referred to as objective probability. The second views probability as being the extent of an individuals or groups belief in the occurrence of an event a nd is usually termed subjective probability. Subjective probability estimates are often included in the models suggested as useful for project selection in R and D planning. Such probabilities might be derived from past experience with similar research projects plus any special features that make the current effort unique or different and alter the past up or down from this base line. A number of tools have been proposed to help in the process of generating probabilities, though they are by no means perfect. Schroder (1975) draws attention to some of the problems that occur in deriving probabilities of technical success and concludes that subjective probabilities are a rather unreliable predictor of the actual outcome of individual success. He proposes a number of reasons for this which he categorises as either intentional or unintentional (conscious biasing). To decrease the unintentional errors he suggests the following actions: O ensure that risk assessors have sufficient e xpertise in their field and a comprehension of subjective probabilities. O improve the availability of information and particularly documentation. O fully exploit information systems and attempt to utilize incentive systems which reward accuracy and reliability. O analyse past performance in assessing probabilities to provide valuable insight into potential improvements. O utilise well-tried approaches to help in the subjective probability assessment. It is evident, however, that some confidence levels need to be established and perhaps the most obvious way of achieving this is by the collation over a period of time, of how prior assessments have compared with reality. For this to have genuine value will require a comparison of the assumptions that have been made at each assessment. 3. The use of financial methods for risk analysis Benefit/cost ratios have been popular for some time, since they are simple and are an attempt to understand the potential gain for the effort required. In performing even a simple benefit/cost analysis, it is necessary for the decision-maker to provide quantitative information in order to ascribe a value to a project. When this has been done, the project can be viewed as a relatively simple financial investment and therefore subject to more standard financial investment tools. The danger of this is that it gives no consideration to the fact that technical programmes are often aimed at a wide range of strategic objectives, a point made by Mitchell and Hamilton (1988) who made a separation into: O exploratory/fundamental type work which is aimed primarily towards the concept of knowledge building. For this type of work, the business impact of which is often poorly defined and wide ranging and here R and D is often best considered as a necessary cost of business. O well under stood technical programmes usually associated with incremental improvements of existing products which can be clearly defined. Here the R and D can be seen as an investment and treated accordingly. As usual with two extremes, the difficult part is the mid-ground where neither approach is particularly suitable. Authors have attempted to use techniques borrowed from the financial community which often has to deal with uncertainty. Risk analysis is a key area in financial markets and several of the approaches used in financial analysis are also found in the R and D management area; for example, decision trees and Monte Carlo analysis.