Tea Industry in Bangladesh free essay sample

Though our tea industry suffered a serious setback in 1971 but we could succeed in reversing with the help of the government, foreign assistance and hard work of our planters. It is hoping to increase our production to an average of over 1500 Kg per hal in a few years time. We have undertaken measures to improve our quality of tea by extending the area with new varieties of hybrid clone, modernizing factories and improving infrastructure. We now annually produce 60 million Kg of Tea and we hope to increase our production to 90 million Kg in the next 15 years.This paper attempts to devise a strategy to promote effective social dialogues between the tea plantation workers and their employers. It also attempts to determine the practicality of providing social protection to women workers through their own organizations and thereby enhances their labor productivity. Systematic training for the members of the workers organization has proved to be a breakthrough in terms of skill development, consciousness rising, and blossoming of self -confidence. We will write a custom essay sample on Tea Industry in Bangladesh or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Hence, the possibility of providing skill training to the workers, particularly women workers through their organization, has also been explored in this paper. The art of tea cultivation in Bangladesh began over a century and a half ago in the 1840s near the Chittagong Club. The first tea garden to be established was Malnicherra in Sylhet in 1854. Its commercial production began shortly thereafter in 1857. Today, the main tea-growing areas lie to the east of the Ganga-Jumma flood plain in the hill areas bordering Indias Cachar tea-growing district.Most of Bangladesh tea grows at only 80-300 ft. above sea level northeast of Sylhet in the country. During its initial stage, plantation in Bangladesh faced acute shortage of labor. No local workers were willing to do this job since it is very hard and labor intensive. The colonial British Government deployed indentured immigrants to meet this shortage. Tea plantation workers in Bangladesh came mostly from the backward class and tribal areas of central India and regions of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.The present work force in the tea plantation sector of Bangladesh is the fourth generation of those indentured immigrants. Indentured immigrants were in fact new forms of bonded labor. Their bonded nature revealed in their geographical confinement within the boundary of the tea estate. For more than a century they were confined within the same geographical boundary; most still are. Tea industry Tea industry is one of the most mature industries in Bangladesh and till today it is bearing its heritage.In Bangladesh tea cultivation began in 1857 and Malnicherra is the first tea garden in Bangladesh. Though globalization and economic liberalization contributed greatly to set up new industries in Bangladesh, a large portion of our national income comes from this industry. In our country huge amount of human resources are involved in the Garments industry and Tea industry. In Sylhet there is large number of T. E. that is why we select T. E. for our study and in this report we will try to cover one T. E from Moulavibazer, and two from Sylhet district and one from the sreemangle.In this report we give emphasis on the present practices of human resources in the some selected T. E of greater Sylhet and through this research we will make us acquainted with the real Human Resource Management operations in the tea garden of Sylhet, Moulavibazer. Some organizations are violating the human rights. Usually violation occurs at the bottom level- labors do not get sufficient wages, compensation, training facility, good working condition, and other facilities. As a result output or productions are not increasing according to expectation and the overall development is being sluggish.The owner, authority, and stakeholder should realize that neglecting the human resources in the work place a sustainable development is not possible. Tea Plantation in Bangladesh Bangladesh produces and exports a large quantity of high quality tea. Most of the tea plantations are situated in the northeastern areas of the country, around Sylhet and Srimongal. Sylhet is situated close to Bangladesh’s border with the Indian states of Meghalaya and Assam. This part of the country is covered by hillocks rising to moderate heights.The rainfall is higher than average, a fact which British tea planters realised in the 18th century to the advantage of tea cultivation. These conditions have provided rich tropical forests with many species of wildlife, scented orange groves and pineapple plantations. It is also the home of Khashia and Monipuri tribals. The waterfalls of Madhab Kunda are another very picturesque place to visit. Jafflong, where the river runs along the border between Bangladesh and India is especially beautiful. On the way there are number of haors or marshy wetlands, which are natural, depressed swamps holding water almost the whole year round.They are home to many fish and thousands of local and migratory birds. Srimongal is about 70 km south of Sylhet. It is ‘the capital of tea. Most of the tea plantations are centered here, which is the main attraction of the region. There is also a Tea Research Institute, which is open to visitors. A high percentage of tribal people add to this areas attraction. The other main attraction is the †Lawachara† forest, only few kilometers away from Srimongal, where you can see Hornbills, White-Browed Gibbons and many other animals. Tea Gardens in Bangladesh The area around Sylhet is traditional tea growing area.The picturesque Surma Valley is covered with terraces of tea gardens and lush green tropical forests. Srimangal is known as the tea capital of Bangladesh and for miles around one can see the green carpet of tea gardens on the hill slopes. The area has over 150 tea gardens including three of the largest tea gardens in the world both in area and production. Nearly 300,000 workers are employed on the tea estates of which over 75% are women. Employers prefer to engage women for plucking tea leaves since they do a better job and are paid less than the men.A visit to the tea plantation in Sylhet is a memorable experience. The gardens are relics from the days of the British Raj. The plantations were started by the British and the manager still live in white timber homes as they did in those days. The bungalows stand on huge beautifully maintained lawns and the service and lifestyle is pretty much unchanged. A relatively new area that has come under tea cultivation is the sub-Himalayan terrain of Panchagarh. The soil and climate is highly favorable for growing tea here. In fact this area is contiguous with Assam nd Bengal in India where tea has been grown for decades. Beginning with only 300 acres of land in 2000, the cash crop is now being cultivated on over 3,500 acres in Tentulia, Sadar and Atoari upazilas of Panchagarh. It can be expanded to ultimately cover about 60,000 acres. The humus content in the soil here is more than in the traditional tea-growing areas of Sylhet. The tea produced in Panchagarh is supposedly much better in quality than that of Sylhet. Several nurseries have been set up in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon to supply high quality saplings to the tea gardens.

Free Essays on Developing The Leaders Around You

Developing the Leaders Around You By John C. Maxwell Developing other leaders is what great leaders do. Every day you are having an impact on individuals, over time, will have an impact on thousands of others. You will have the most impact if you have a plan for developing leaders. The basic main point of this book is that you can multiply the efficiency of your organization by devoting time to developing the potential leaders around you. The idea is that once you commit to developing potential leaders, they become leaders who can develop other leaders, and as the number of leaders grows, productivity increases. The book provides guidelines as to how to identify those individuals who have the potential for leadership, and then gives instruction on how to develop them. The guidelines and instruction that author gives can be summarized; choose the individuals who are the most willing to grow and learn new things as your potential leaders, and grow them by investing time in them, empowering them for success by delegating wisely and pro viding counsel. Another aspect of the book looks at the effects of true leaders are able to attract potential leaders because; leaders think like them; leaders express feelings that other leader's sense; leaders create an environment that attracts potential leaders; leaders are not threatened by people with great potential. The author says what happens when strong leaders are not selected. They hire people with less leadership skills than they have. The organization as a whole suffers as a result of this domino effect. Leaders who mentor potential leaders multiply their effectiveness. While this sounds simple, it is rare. "There is no success without a successor" (Page 11). Leaders take others with them, or they are not true leaders but mere managers. Delegation is the most powerful tool a leader has. (Page 159) However, if delegation is so important then why do some leaders fail to delega... Free Essays on Developing The Leaders Around You Free Essays on Developing The Leaders Around You Developing the Leaders Around You By John C. Maxwell Developing other leaders is what great leaders do. Every day you are having an impact on individuals, over time, will have an impact on thousands of others. You will have the most impact if you have a plan for developing leaders. The basic main point of this book is that you can multiply the efficiency of your organization by devoting time to developing the potential leaders around you. The idea is that once you commit to developing potential leaders, they become leaders who can develop other leaders, and as the number of leaders grows, productivity increases. The book provides guidelines as to how to identify those individuals who have the potential for leadership, and then gives instruction on how to develop them. The guidelines and instruction that author gives can be summarized; choose the individuals who are the most willing to grow and learn new things as your potential leaders, and grow them by investing time in them, empowering them for success by delegating wisely and pro viding counsel. Another aspect of the book looks at the effects of true leaders are able to attract potential leaders because; leaders think like them; leaders express feelings that other leader's sense; leaders create an environment that attracts potential leaders; leaders are not threatened by people with great potential. The author says what happens when strong leaders are not selected. They hire people with less leadership skills than they have. The organization as a whole suffers as a result of this domino effect. Leaders who mentor potential leaders multiply their effectiveness. While this sounds simple, it is rare. "There is no success without a successor" (Page 11). Leaders take others with them, or they are not true leaders but mere managers. Delegation is the most powerful tool a leader has. (Page 159) However, if delegation is so important then why do some leaders fail to delega...

European causes of its 2012 economic crisis Term Paper

European causes of its 2012 economic crisis - Term Paper Example ased the political risks for EU governments and their leaders.6 The economic disaster was weakening the bond between the EU nations and challenging EU’s unity and shared goals. Rapid exhaustion of liquidity left the periphery with unsustainable shortfalls and monetary obligations larger than their GDP. In 2010, a sovereign debt catastrophe, particularly in Greece, stretched throughout the periphery and jeopardized any economic opportunity for the EU.  In 2011, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund took actions to rescue Greece, Ireland, and Portugal.7 Governments of Iceland and Latvia have disintegrated resulting from the public complaints over their administrations for mishandling their economies throughout the tragedy. Sparking the protests even more was the International Monetary Fund’s issuance of emergency loans to the following EU nations: Belarus ($2.48 billion), Bosnia and Herzegovina ($1.52 billion), Hungary ($15.7 billion), Iceland ($2.1 bil lion), Latvia ($2.35 billion), Moldova ($118.2 million), Poland ($20.58 billion), Romania ($17.1 billion), Serbia ($4.0 billion), and Ukraine ($16.4 billion). In February 2009, the World Bank in alliance with the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced a financial assistance grant amounting to $31 billion over two years to aid near-bankrupt banks and industries in Eastern and Central Europe.8 The economic turmoil caused a quick fluctuation in the Euro currencies of Eastern European countries and caused their government debits to climb, destabilizing the attempts of several countries to join the European Union. $1.5 trillion assets in EU banks were exposed in Central and Eastern Europe. In spite of the exposure of the major Western European banks for...This paper elucidates the real reasons behind The European debt crisis of 2012 and describes the effectual response of the EU to that negative economic situation. The five European co untries: Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain (GIIPS) that risked the future of the EU economy and caused various crises regarding the Euro are considered in the paper. Subsequent to the global downturn of 2007, the financial crisis in the peripheral states of the EU worsened: economic activity quickly dwindled; international trade plummeted; and prospects for Europe’s exportation industry diminished. Moreover, the rise of unemployment and distress over the economic chaos sparked protests and thus increased the political risks for EU governments. The response of the EU to the recession was fast and influential. Besides the intervention to steady, re-establish and restructure the banking sector, the European Economic Recovery Plan was commenced for re-establishing reliance and reinforcing demand by increasing the economy’s purchasing power through balanced tactical financial schemes and measures that would support the business and employment sectors. The entire economic incentive, as well as the outcomes of regulated fiscal stabilizers, totals 5 percent of European GDP. Greece, Ireland, and Portugal were given considerable financial supports by the IMF, the Eurozone and EU monetary institutions. Moreover, the generous contribution and dynamic mediation of the ECB to fiscal stability supported the European administration and banking system.

The Main Challenge of Intercultural Relations Essay

The Main Challenge of Intercultural Relations - Essay Example Every person belongs to a certain culture and, therefore, the qualities or characteristics in a given culture depend on the general characteristics of the people. This implies that the average strength and weakness of people in a given culture might be considered as the weakness or strength within the culture. Identifying personal weakness and strength is an important aspect of effective communication. Tolerance is the ability to give other people a chance to express themselves and their ideas. This course has enabled me to acknowledge tolerance as an important element in culture. I also realized that I am a very analytical person. In addition, I realized that I have good listening skills and this is my basic strength in intercultural interactions. Good listening skills enable to give people from different cultural backgrounds the chance to express their views and ideas (Lustig & Koester, 2010). Using this skill, I am able to learn other people and this contributes to effective inter cultural relation. Our culture promotes good listening and analytical skills. However, the culture has some few weaknesses that act as a barrier to effective communication. The course has enabled me to realize that members of our culture are very judgmental. I have also learnt this is the basis of having a negative attitude towards people from different cultures. If people from our culture improve in this area, I believe that we can become more competent in our intercultural interaction and communication.

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Journal - Essay Example Is it truly desirable to be free from the social bonds and obligations of a community? I am not convinced. I would argue that money, more than any good or service, has been commoditized in our economic system and created alienation. The last three decades have seen an explosion of money, commodity markets and communications which now beginning to bear the consequences. Whatever else this period of ‘globalization’ brings about, it represents a rapid society extension to a more comprehensive level than the 20th century norm which categorized society with a nation-state. So as to live in this world together, we must devise new ways of executing things for each other which go beyond our attempts on achieving local self-sufficiency (Holmes 13). I term this historical process ‘commoditization’. In history, commoditization has been closely related to the social extension by means of money and markets. Money is unique because its value is not inherent but ascribed. In a barter system absent of money there is obvious and immediate benefit for both parties in an exchange. When utilization of a fiat currency is employed, it means that benefits are not immediate (they are at least one step removed) and assumes that the currency will be recognized by future trading partners. In this system, money should function as a means to an end and be perceived as a proxy for goods and services. All value to money is ascribed – once a currency is no longer recognized as valid, it is useless or literally â€Å"not worth the paper it’s printed on† (Holmes 46). Since money must be widely recognized as legitimate in order to be useful, it also functions as a form of social control. The issuer of money implicitly offers a contract to users wherein the latter will follow the rules of the former. Participation in a nation’s economy is dependent on an individual’s willingness to use that nation’s form of currency. A few of my own journal works tie into this theme. The first pertains to the differences in lending that I have observed in my personal life and comes from a journal entry I wrote on September 24th. Specifically, if one friend lends another a good or service of relatively low value, there is no expectation of reimbursement. However, if the same value amount of money were to be exchanged between friends, an expectation of reimbursement would exist. This is an example of the commoditizing and alienating effects of money that Hyde discusses. It begs the question: why is the exchange of money an alienating and impersonal interaction? I believe part of the answer lies in the fact that money is not available for immediate consumption. It is instead a credit, or â€Å"IOU† that can be redeemed in a later transaction. Related to this is the fact that in the United States it is considered impolite to give money as a gift. Another journal entry was about an interesting news story I read on October 18th. The story, â€Å"Seizure of Ship From Argentina Forces Shake-Up,† by Emily Schmall, came from the New York Times. It was about a US hedge fund, Elliot Capital Management, which seized an Argentine ship that had docked in Ghana. The fund is owed $370 million by the Argentine government as a result of its 2001 default. I was struck by the fact that a private enterprise such as a hedge fund could find backing from courts in the US and Ghana to seize a government asset. Though Argentina is appealing their case to the

Anne Tyler Teenage Wasteland

Anne Tyler Teenage Wasteland This short story by Anne Tyler is about the trials and tribulations of a mother and son relationship. Donny is a seemingly normal teenage boy who is just going through a rough patch. After being called to a meeting Daisy, his mother, learns that Donnys grades are slipping and he is unresponsive in class. Thats where Cal comes in. Cal tries to help but ends up doing more damage than good. To help her teach us a lesson through her story she uses a specific point that shapes our opinion, an allusion that tell us that time is ticking, and a theme that shows us how important our parents are to who will be. The point of view in Tylers story is very important to the format. It is told in third person omniscient and this makes us, as readers, feel a certain way toward the family and Cal. Daisy is the only person in the story that we feel an actual connection with. We know how she is feeling and what she is going through. As the story progresses, our feeling are shaped by how Daisy is feeling. We can see how Daisy changed from powerful to confused to hopeless. We also start feeling a certain way toward the characters by her attitude towards them. We feel compassion and pity for Amanda as her mom brushes her away, anger towards Cal when he starts trying to take over Donny, and frustration towards Donnys refusal to conform. In contrast to us feeling everything Daisy is going through, we simply see the actions of the other characters instead of actually feeling their emotions. Tyler does this so we dont simply see just what the setting is. Instead, we see the emotions that are ever present in this story. The allusion to Peter Pan stood out very distinctly for me. Peter Pan was all about someone avoiding responsibilities, living in a fantasy, being lazy, and believing that having fun is the most important thing. In this story, Cal would be considered Peter Pan. He has no kids, not a care in the world, hes fully grown but wont accept it, and he will not let go of his old life. Hes too lax to be a real tutor. His goal is not to help this kids but to enjoy himself and help his students do the same thing. The example of this is in lines 15-19, The tutor told Donny to call him Cal. All his kids did, he said. Daisy thought for a second that he meant his own children, then realized her mistake. He seemed too young, anyhow, to be a family man. He wore a heavy brown handle bar mustache. His hair was as long and stringy as Donnys and his jeans just as faded. Peter Pan is also the confident leader of the Lost Boys, just like Cal is the leader of the hoodlums that hang out around his house. While Cal is Peter Pan, refusing to grow up and foolishly naÃÆ'Â ¯ve, Donny would be one of the Lost Boys. Hes growing up and easily influenced, he finds his responsibilities challenging, and dislikes his parents. When his mother is called to his private school to meet with the principal we learn how Donny connects to the Lost Boys, Clutching her purse, she sat on the principals couch and learned that Donny was noisy, lazy, and disruptive; always fooling around with his friends, and he wouldnt respond in class. It is also quite evident that Donny was matured on the outside, But his cheeks, of course, were no longer round, and a sharp new Adams apple jogged in his throat when he talked. But his identity on the inside had not matured quite as much. The last factor is Neverland where you never have to grow up, which would simply be Cals presence. He convinces Daisy and Matt to let Donny stay out later, told them not to call and see if parents were supervising parties, and they were not al lowed to ask one question about how school was going. Being around Cal even made Donnys grades drop lower than they already were. When Donny and the other students were with his, they didnt have to worry about parents, school, or simple responsibilities that were assigned to them. They found hopeless release in Cals presence and became almost infatuated with him. Cals presence being Neverland is show in lines 56-59, It was Cal this, Cal that, Cal says this, Cal and I did that. Cal lent Donny an album by the Who. He took Donny and two other pupils to a rock concert. In March, when Donny began to talk endlessly on the phone with a girl named Miriam, Cal even let Miriam come to one of the tutoring sessions. I believe that by adding this allusion to Peter Pan, his followers, and Neverland to her story, Tyler is trying to teach us a moral. I believe that she is telling us that everyone will grow up. Its simply a part of life that we cannot control. The theme of Teenage Wasteland is all about parenting. Its about how the mother and the father play a major part in how the child grows up. The parents are with the child more than anyone else and they are influenced by what they do. Even if it is true that people are born with inherent qualities they are still shaped, in some form or another, by the people who surround them on a day to day basis. We can see Daisy struggling with the fact that she knows she caused Donny to grow up unmotivated and lazy. She knew that she was the one who started the problem and had no one to blame but herself. At night, Daisy lies awake and goes over Donnys life. She is trying to figure out what went wrong, where they made their first mistake. Often, she finds herself blaming Cal, although she knows he didnt begin it. If you want successful children you have to learn to manage time. You have to know how to spend time with each one and remind them how important they are to the world and how they each ha ve separate amazing qualities that make them stand out. I believe that Daisy was a good mother before and after Amanda was born but eventually had a hard time handling both of them. She had good intentions but bad ways of doing it. Tylers story uses these literary devices to show how hard it is to grow up in this generation. Children have a hard time fitting in and finding out where they belong. Its all about trying to find out who you are in this crazy world. Unfortunately, there are more children like Donny, forming and festering into someone who is unhappy and confused. I believe that this shows that you do not have to rely on other people for your happiness.

Dreams Rem :: essays research papers

Dreams are a form of cognitive activity that occur during sleep. Like vivid memories and daytime fantasies, dreams involve visual images in the absence of external visual stimulation. Some dreams are so realistic and well organized that we feel as though they must be real-- that we simply cannot be dreaming this time. Dreaming has always been the subject of controversy. Egyptian papyrus documents dating back to 2000 BC discuss dreams and their interpretations. In ancient Greece the dreamer was believed to be in contact with the gods. In 1900, Sigmund Freud ushered in the modern age of dream research in his monumentally original book The Interpretation of dreams. According to Freud, dreams have a meaning which can be deciphered if one looks deeply enough. In his view, the dreams concerns the dreamers past and present, and it arises from unknown regions within. He saw the dream as significantly analogous to a hysterical symptom. On the surface, they both appear meaningless and bizarre, but they become understandable when understood as veiled expressions of an unconscious clash between competing motives. Freud developed an elaborate theory and how the mind works while asleep. In 1953 sleep researchers led by Nathaniel Kleitman made the important discovery of rapid eye movement--or REM-- sleep. Curious about the long-standing observation that the eyeballs of sleeping subjects in both humans and animals periodically move during sleep, they connected laboratory subjects to equipment that measured their brain waves, muscle tone, and eye movement. About 90% of the time when subjects were awakened during REM sleep, they reported a dream. Prior to laboratory REM research, it was unknown how frequently Humans dreamed. Some theories even held that dreaming was a signal of mental disturbance. With laboratory REM research, however, subjects can be awakened after each REM period in order for researchers to extensively sample most mental activity that occurs during sleep. It was discovered that humans, and all mammals--except the echidna or spiny anteater, and perhaps the duckbill platypus-- dream every night. In adult humans these dreams begin about 90 minutes after the sleep begins and recur about 90 minutes apart with increasing length, for a total of nearly 2 hours of REM dreaming per night. With approximately five dreams a night, humans will have about 136,000 dreams in a lifetime, spending the equivalent of six years in a REM dream state. For a newborn, REM sleep constitutes 50% of sleep.

Bag the Elephant: Book Review

In this book authored by Steve Kaplan the setting was focus on the current business situation where in order to overcome the challenges you have to be like â€Å"elephants† where being smart is not the only way for you to win these big companies but you also need to be strong, clumsy and slow and must have huge memory like elephants.In this book, it also provides a way on how a business can truly succeed in getting large companies rather than getting small ones, which for some it still in the present trend business do, because for them it is easier for them to do transaction, but in this book Steve explains that getting the â€Å"big elephants† provides a huge lift in your business because it does not only give your big profit but also helps you sustain for longer years and established stability in the long run.Bag the Elephant book does not just provide how important doing business with large companies, but also it gives a clear idea on how these big companies help est ablish other businesses also. Like take for instance if you work in big companies with their good financial standings and also partnership with other businesses, with that alone, it means that you could extend wider business connections and that would definitely give bigger opportunity for your business as well.In this book, Steve Kaplan also gives some advice on how to win big companies, like what attitude and character or right negotiations that are needed in order to win them and most especially how would you sustain this in the long period for your business to grow as well as how these companies would help sustain their business. II. Analysis and Evaluation In this book it provides why and how business people in particular focus on winning big companies rather than small ones, like the one that will put you over the top like improving sales and marketing strategy that can help you get that giant customer.How these Elephant helps you increase your revenue, profits and success. Mo re than a strategy book, Bag the Elephant is packed with proven tactics, tools, and techniques along with real-world examples from the author's vast experience that will demonstrate how you can put these powerful ideas to work. To prepare you for long-term success, this book â€Å"Bag the Elephant..† also provides the 6 keys for a successful big-customer focus †¢ how to map and use a big company's red tape to your advantage †¢ ideas and techniques for developing your own Elephant prospect list †¢ how to find champions who can become your inside sales reps †¢ how to build strong alliances that result in maximum sales †¢ secrets of negotiating with an Elephant without giving away your profit margins †¢ techniques for turning customer catastrophes into customer loyalty †¢ how to avoid the 5 killer mistakes that can put you out of business.This book also provides outlines on why getting big companies profitable rather than getting projects from small companies. The book Bag the Elephant is all about how smart and intelligent business owners can win and keep those all-important companies, make-or-break clients. This book also filled with dynamic advice and real-life examples, delivered in an energetic, straight-shooting fashion that gets right to the core of its powerful idea—how to land the account that will put you over the top.Here are six keys to achieving the elephant mindset and understanding the big customer. Mapping and using big company's red tape and irregularities to your advantage. This book also outlines how these big elephant needs you as much as you need it and how to do effective negotiations. In he first part, Elephant is Waiting, it shows how important and how business people must think that there is really high potential in doing business with them and these big companies are just waiting for them, if only they know what their needs are for them to have better business with them.On the second part, The Secret life of the Elephant, it somehow focuses on learning the ropes of big companies, the way they do business and how they actually do transaction. This is very important because knowing how to do business with big companies are far different than getting into small or medium sized companies. Like from the simplest knowing the discount schemes, red tape transactions, etc. this are vital because that is how business works for big companies and that must be well adhered in order to succeed.(Kaplan, S, 2005). Reading this book has provided better way of understanding the way how business works and how it should be applied in the real world. This book also explains that it is still very common these days that for some companies it is still important to maximize profit and reduce expense. But, this has been a little bit changed as the demand for innovation and technology and the need for process improvement are becoming an important factor for success of an organization.With thes e latest developments and trend in the business, companies with their top executives would always look intently what they need to improve or in other case needed to innovate. The main reason is that, in any case the managers with the executives of the company must carefully look on this need and should not give any drastic and not well-studied decisions. It is also where managers’ inputs are very important and they should not be just deciding for their own sake but it should be for the betterment of the whole company.This book also provides better discussion how big companies can be a big factor for profitability which is currently the main issue for companies to sustain their business. Secondly, it also focuses on competitiveness, how a company can be competitive in the midst of hardships in businesses. Competitive advantage, how does this become a very important motivating factor for some companies, particularly the global companies?Actually, there are two very common quest ions that are commonly address when it comes to competitive advantage and these are: is with regards to attractiveness of industries for long-term profitability, there is no company that does not want to have a long-term profitability. This is one factor that really drives company to continually be competitive. Strategies and efficient approaches are really well-focused and well desired activities that company needs to focus carefully.That is why there was no doubt that there are companies would even invest for research and development because that is one factor that contributes to long-term profitability and not just focusing on the customer satisfaction and efficient internal management. The second question why competitive advantage needs to apply by a company is in order for them to know their current status in the industry. In the second question it is simply carefully studying the current status of the company, is the company effective in what areas?Does the company established effective long-term plans and strategies? These types of questions would even help in establishing a sort of knowledge base or baseline before actual process improvement take place. This also provides a better reflection to current business situation that in order to really implement the right process for any competitive advantage that needed to be implemented in a company, there should be an effective long-term strategy that should be establish.And this strategy should focus mainly on operations management, this is very important that every company needs to start improving its own operation, there are other companies that fails to do this, the main focus here is that these companies needs to make sure that they improve first their own turf and that they are well prepared enough to work on for bigger challenges ahead.Some of the key factors and priorities that relates to operations management are the following: studying carefully what operation management style needs to be applied, secondly, understand the current demand and supply, third, the company’s current product and service offered, and lastly is what are the current consumer demand, variety of needs, diversity concerns, need for flexibility and other important issues that need to be address by the company.That is why with regards to operations management, it does not particularly focus on operations within the company but also more importantly is the external factors that affect it. III. Lesson, Thoughts and Experiences One lesson in this book is that for anyone, you should always strive hard into the top even though it is hard and sometimes seems impossible. Like for instance in school, it is important that we work hard in our studies because this will also be our main passport to our future career which would give us advantage against the competition someday.The most important lesson in his book is that, businesspeople must now be afraid of getting big companies, because this can provide long term success in the business. This does not just provide businesses long term stability but more importantly it provides much greater opportunity in the long run because their business also works with other big businesses and that alone can give you more opportunity to grow and that can help you sustain your business.Secondly, this book also gives business people an idea that learning the ropes of these â€Å"big elephants† must also be taken into careful consideration because this is not the same and really far different than going into transaction with small companies. Lastly, it also provides better explanation on how competitiveness and quality on the way you operate with these big companies is needed and much more expected because it is not just as simple as doing daily business with them, they desire better results and that is a growing challenge as you go along dong business with them.The longer you do business with them the more new and exciting ideas is needed that would also help them re-define their business and that would not just help them achieve their goal but more importantly help you attain your goal as well. Like it is also being said that if the company has been enhancing its capabilities on how they can serve their customers, it also makes the company creates its own distinctive competencies and this is now where innovations, efficiency, quality, and customer responsibilities form together as a leverage by the company to be competitive and work effectively in its operation.If the company continues to strive and maintain its vision of improving its competencies, it also brings the company in performing value creation in the organization. This value creation will also be the main ingredient for success on doing business for these â€Å"big elephants† in the business. So expect challenge in life and be ready to face it with all your mind and strength because that is the only way you can overcome it and for sure at the end of it you will win it. List of References Kaplan, S. (2005). Bag the Elephant!. How to Win and Keep Big Customers. US: Bard Press

Origins of the Ancient Mesoamerican Ballgame

Origins of the Ancient Mesoamerican Ballgame The Mesoamerican Ball Game is the oldest known sport in the Americas  and originated in southern Mexico approximately 3,700 years ago. For many pre-Columbian cultures, such as the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, and Aztec, it was a ritual, political and social activity that involved the whole community. The ball game took place in specific I-shaped buildings, recognizable in many archaeological sites, called ballcourts. There are an estimated 1,300 known ballcourts in Mesoamerica. Origins of the Mesoamerican Ball Game The earliest evidence of the practice of the ball game comes to us from ceramic figurines of ballplayers recovered from El Opeà ±o, Michoacan state in western Mexico about 1700 BC. Fourteen rubber balls were found at the shrine of El Manatà ­ in Veracruz, deposited over a long period beginning about 1600 BC. The oldest example of a ballcourt discovered to date was built about 1400 BC, at the site of Paso de la Amada, an important Formative site in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico; and the first consistent imagery, including ball-playing costumes and paraphernalia, is known from the San Lorenzo Horizon of the Olmec civilization, ca 1400-1000 BC. Archaeologists agree that the origin of the ball game is linked with the origin of ranked society. The ball court at Paso de la Amada was constructed near the chiefs house and, later on, the famous colossal heads were carved depicting leaders wearing ballgame helmets. Even if the locational origins are not clear, archaeologists believe that the ball game represented a form of social display- whoever had the resources to organize it gained social prestige. According to Spanish historical records and indigenous codexes, we know that the Maya and Aztecs used the ball game to solve hereditary issues, wars, to foretell the future and to make important ritual and political decisions. Where the Game Was Played The ball game was played in specific open constructions called ball courts. These usually were laid out in the form of a capital I, consisting of two parallel structures that delimited a central court. These lateral structures had sloping walls and benches, where the ball bounced, and some had stone rings suspended from the top. Ball courts were usually surrounded by other buildings and facilities, most of which probably were of perishable materials; however, masonry constructions usually involved surrounding low walls, small shrines, and platforms from which people observed the game. Almost all main Mesoamerican cities had at least one ball court. Interestingly, no ball court has yet been identified at Teotihuacan, the major metropolis of Central Mexico. An image of a ball game is visible on the murals of Tepantitla, one of Teotihuacans residential compounds, but no ball court. The Terminal Classic Maya city of Chichen Itz has the largest ball court; and El Tajin, a center that flourished between the Late Classic and the Epiclassic on the Gulf Coast, had as many as 17 ball courts. How the Game Was Played Evidence suggests that a wide variety of types of games, all played with a rubber ball, existed in ancient Mesoamerica, but the most widespread was the hip game. This was played by two opposing teams, with a variable number of players. The aim of the game was to put the ball into the opponents end zone without using hands or feet: only hips could touch the ball. The game was scored using different point systems; but we have no direct accounts, either indigenous or European, that precisely describe the techniques or rules of the game. Ball games were violent and dangerous and players wore protective gear, usually made of leather, such as helmets, knee pads, arm and chest protectors and gloves. Archaeologists call the special protection constructed for the hips yokes, for their resemblance to animal yokes. A further violent aspect of the ball game involved human sacrifices, which were often an integral part of the activity. Among the Aztec, decapitation was a frequent end for the losing team. It has also been suggested that the game was a way to resolve conflicts among polities without resorting to real warfare. The Classic Maya origin story told in the Popol Vuh describes the ballgame as a contest between humans and underworld deities, with the ballcourt representing a portal to the underworld. However, ball games were also the occasion for communal events such as feasting, celebration, and gambling. The Players The entire community was differently involved in a ball game: Ballplayers: The players themselves were probably men of noble origins or aspirations. The winners gained both wealth and social prestige.Sponsors: Ball court construction, as well as game organization, required some form of sponsorship. Affirmed leaders, or people who wanted to be leaders, considered ball game sponsorship an opportunity to emerge or reaffirm their power.Ritual Specialists: Ritual specialists often performed religious ceremonies before and after the game.Audience: All sorts of people participated as spectators to the event: local commoners and people coming from other towns, nobles, sport supporters, food sellers and other vendors.Gamblers: Gambling was an integral component of ball games. Bettors were both nobles and commoners, and sources tell us that the Aztec had very strict regulations about bet payments and debts. A modern version of the Mesoamerican ballgame, called ulama, is still played in Sinaloa, Northwest Mexico. The game is played with a rubber ball hit only with the hips and resemble a net-less volleyball. Updated by K. Kris Hirst Sources Blomster JP. 2012. Early evidence of the ballgame in Oaxaca, Mexico. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition. Diehl RA. 2009. Death Gods, Smiling Faces Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies Inc: FAMSI. (accessed in November 2010)and Colossal Heads: Archaeology of the Mexican Gulf Lowlands. Hill WD, and Clark JE. 2001. Sports, Gambling, and Government: Americas First Social Compact? American Anthropologist 103(2):331-345. Hosler D, Burkett SL, and Tarkanian MJ. 1999. Prehistoric Polymers: Rubber Processing in Ancient Mesoamerica. Science 284(5422):1988-1991. Leyenaar TJJ. 1992. Ulama, the survival of the Mesoamerican ballgame Ullamaliztli. Kiva 58(2):115-153. Paulinyi Z. 2014. The butterfly bird god and his myth at Teotihuacan. Ancient Mesoamerica 25(01):29-48. Taladoire E. 2003. Could we speak of the Super Bowl at Flushing Meadows?: La pelota . Ancient Mesoamerica 14(02):319-342.mixteca, a third pre-Hispanic ballgame, and its possible architectural context

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire The Giver Jonas's life is under control. There aren't any wars, no one is ever scared, and there is barely any pain. In Jonas's world people never worry about money, because there is none. The world is completely isolated. And worst of all, there is no love. Everyone lives like this except for one man, The Receiver of memory.When Jonas becomes an adult he is chosen as the new Receiver of memory. As Jonas learns what is the truth, he must run to it. He must find where this type of world might be. Now he must risk his life for the future of everyone. There is no turning back.I enjoyed the curiosity of this book very much.This book was an extremely interesting book. At first you barely understand anything, but as you go along in the book you learn things that are unimaginable. This book can be thought of as an extremely different type of novel.Fawkes flies in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Pr...

In the Lake of the Woods & The Story of an Hour Essay

In the Lake of the Woods & The Story of an Hour - Essay Example Comparison of writing style: Kate works for her story within the limitations of one hour. She uses short sentences and shorter paragraphs. Tim has a long canvas and a bigger plot to go about working out his themes and to describe the mind-set of his characters. His pen achieves that objective by using beautiful and haunting descriptions. Both the authors realize the role of the important literary devise of suspense and they use it effectively and that element, along with other subsidiary themes qualifies the stories to be categorized as creations of art. Protesting violence of war in In the Lake of the Woods by Tim: War efforts of John are linked to his overall ambition in life. Everything else is less important to him. All his thought processes are centered on strong ambitions and actions are directed to achieve pre-decided goals. Being an aspiring politician, he wishes to enter the hall of political fame as quickly as possible and therefore gives importance to the self-image seriou sly. His friend-soldier suggests that the massacre in Vietnam should be reported to a military officer, but John is unwilling as such an action would be a blot on his political career. Tim O’Brien argues, "Among the missing, among the dead, there is only the flux of possibility." (23) He goes a step further to falsify the records to remove the name from the gory events and engages in self-promotion to secure medals for his military career that will eventually help the political ambitions. He tries trying to create a false picture of the beautiful world around him. This reveals the negative trait of John. He cultivates a secret alternative agenda of escapement from relationships. The author writes, â€Å"First there, there was Vietnam, where John Wade killed people and where he composed long letters full of observations about the nature of their love. He did not tell her about the killing." (61) The author compares the massacre in Vietnam to that of the Indians at the hands o f Custer. He depicts marriage as a self-promoting career and to achieve name and fame. The professed ambition of John is to gain fame and O’Brien depicts how means are of no consequence to him. He employs dubious methods to secure future. He is willing to carry any number of secret ghosts in his pocket, so far as they do not hinder his career advancement. At every stage, he challenges life employing wrong means, adopts foul measures to corner fame. At no stage of life does he adopt honest methods for improving the prospects, always indulged in dubious reasoning as the driving force to get his ambitious plans cleared. Protesting marriages: As an oppressive /patriarchal institution and love marriages: Both the western and oriental meaning of the word marriage is--to flow together harmoniously. Two distinct individuals, to separate personalities, born, bred and brought up in two different set of circumstances try to come together to find a common identity, a common goal and to b e precise a common all. The Suppressed Joy of Independence is the main theme of Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour.† Louise has two types of reactions on hearing the news of death of her husband in a railway accident. One that of utter grief, for the consumptions of the public audience, friends and near and dear ones. The realization dawns within her about gaining independence and that thought process

Privacy and security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Privacy and security - Essay Example Similarly, on the home front, privacy and security issues are very important with vandalism, terrorism and conflict waiting to happen anywhere anytime. Telecommuting security has also been in focus recently (Boone and Kurtz, 2010; Subramanian, 2008, pp vi; Augusto and Nugent, 2006, pp 109). In this report the problems related to privacy and security threats are discussed. Privacy and security is indispensable in the modern globalized world. With the advent of the internet and rising e-commerce, consumers are getting more and more worried that personal information, pertaining to them might be leaked. Privacy has become an ethical issue, which people in general have the right to, but information technology has sneaked inside such boundaries. This single factor has been a major setback for internet transactions. These concerns have led to the introduction of more secure payment methods and standards. Surveys conducted have shown that more and more people would opt for internet transactions only if more security and privacy are ensured. Security focuses on the threat of information leak. Viruses and phishing are aspects which have become of major hindrance to internet trust and business in particular. Recent developments include the introduction of secure connections with data encryptions, trusted e-commerce transaction sites with security logos and stronger anti malware and anti viruses. These have proven and helped custo mers to trust and use the internet for transactions (Boone and Kurtz, 2010; Subramanian, 2008, pp 158). Telecommuting has been on the rise ever since the companies have endured work from home facilities for their employees. Thus the security and privacy issues have also increased manifold with this. More and more employees handle sensitive data and loss and theft of the same can be harmful the organization. Surveys conducted have shown that many employees work from their personal computers at home, and security and