Consumer in hospitality, leisure and tourism Essays

Consumer in hospitality, leisure and tourism Essays Consumer in hospitality, leisure and tourism Paper Consumer in hospitality, leisure and tourism Paper ABSTRACT This paper talks about consumer in hospitality, leisure and tourism. It details on the workings behind the consumer’s mind by going deep into consumer behaviour pertaining to only hospitality and the catering industry specifically. It starts off with adding to the entire document as an essay, an abstract to highlight the key elements that the paper has. It moves on to then introduce the topic at hand, with a brief introduction followed by a literature review covering pertinent secondary research. After that the methodology followed by the research this essay undertook before compilation of results is discussed followed by the findings themselves. The essay then further explores upon the topic by discussing the primary characteristics that the essay touches, and then concludes it with an ending paragraph. INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consumer behaviour is the focal point of this essay which is based on both primary and secondary research. Consumer behaviour, the definition hence stands out to be very essential for explanation henceforth. Consumer behaviour is a science that has everything to do with the art of understanding and assessing when, how, where, with who, and why do consumers buy certain products while they do not others. It has everything to do with the psychoanalysis of the consumer’s mind as seen from the marketer’s or researcher’s perspective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consumer behaviour, as a field has attracted a lot of attention in recent times owing to the excessive competition between companies calling for increased studies done on the topic. Much has already been said about the field which is now getting more and more attached to the field of psychology, and the significance the term now has in the marketer’s or the researcher’s mind is also gaining momentum as things get more and more competitive, with opening variety of choices that are now available to a regular customer. LITERATURE REVIEW To understand what customer behaviour really is in a general context it is important to analyse the functioning behind a normal processing in a brain. It is highly imperative hence that the term critical thinking is mentioned now. Critical thinking is the ability of people to assume responsibility of the thinking of their own. Hence, people who indulge in critical thinking use certain principles to incorporate these into the way they perceive things and form judgments about them. It is an entire process of thinking, and analyzing that involves asking questions also to reflect upon the matter at hand best (McMillan and Keller, 2007). Critical thinking is a grouping of various skills that include self-awareness, rationality, discipline, honesty, open-mindedness, and judgments (Kurland, 2000). Deduction is defined as a statement, the conclusion of which bears evidence in some form or another, in order to make the conclusion stand true. Induction statements, on the other hand are those w hose conclusions might be true, hence there is a chance involved there in the form of probability. (PhilosophyLander, 2004) There are in short words, a guarantee involved about the truth of the conclusion in a deduction, and it is almost impossible that it renders false. Induction statements have probability involved of the statement becoming true and it is said that if the induction statement is true then it is unlikely to be false. Hence, no surety is there of the truth in an induction statement (IEP, 2006). It can be hence established that general statements are not what â€Å"deduction† statements include, rather the opposite. In deduction a series of steps take place that form reasoning involving logic about the statement/s at hand and formulate a judgment about its conclusion. This conclusion after thorough reasoning is called true and logical in a deduction statement. Whereas the basis for the formulation of conclusions in induction statements is assumptions and not logical reasoning. In the case of consumer behaviour hence, the case of induction seems more attached and close to the topic. Critical thinking or scientific thinking is based on investigations and proper reflective thinking that has evidence or a series of proof facts at the back of the related theory. This dependable or trustworthy set of knowledge and ideas comes from the thinker’s own life and the society in general. Scientific thinking also, hence is based on ideas and theories that give the thinker such dependent information. Scientific thinking has the following three aspects: o  Ã‚   Empirical evidence (evidence that a person can hear, see, touch, smell, and taste) o  Ã‚   Logical reasoning or rationality (logic taking precedence over emotions and feelings etc.) o  Ã‚   Skepticism (questioning of own beliefs and the conclusions one has reached when doing scientific thinking). (Schafersman, 1994). Metaphysical thinking, on the other hand has no relation to evidence or proof based conclusions at all. Rather it is a formulation of the mind in a way that it appears absurd or vague to most people. An example could include beliefs of people about magic. Usually, the soul or beliefs about reality are the sources or aims of metaphysical thinking. Aristotle said that metaphysical thinking is the highest demonstration of human’s capability to think and express. This is because such thinking is basically related to the deep interconnections of a person’s mind and what his perceptions in life are, and what imaginations does he/she hold. (Rosengren, Johnson and Harris, n.d.) Meta-physics is often referred to concepts like materialism and dualistic beliefs. (Carrol, 2007). METHODOLOGY This research is a descriptive study that aims to identify the characteristics of a consumer’s mind and the behavior that follows when making decisions involving hospitality, and tourism. For this purpose employing a combination of Qualitative and Quantitative Research was used. (Creswell, 2008) Elements of brainstorming, critical thinking, questionnaire-aided interviews and observation studies were carried to follow through the research. Brainstorming Brainstorming was employed at multiple stages. Initially, the researchers required brainstorming for the open ended questions that were asked during the focus group sessions. The focus group sessions that followed took the form of unstructured, free flowing ideas coined by the respondents. Important ideas were then made to incorporate the â€Å"Funnel approach† of gradually narrowing down the scope of the relevant domain. Volleying such topics with the respondents helped gain a rudimentary understanding which in turn helped in drafting the questionnaire for detailed interviews. (Pacelli, 2006) Proactive Problem Solving and Critical Thinking During the course of this descriptive study the researchers resorted to proactive problem solving and critical thinking at all stages. (CareWeb, 2003) The researchers ensured, at all stages, that there was adequate amount of information before proceeding to the next stage. Additionally, an initial analysis of the qualitative exploratory research to unearth any trends and patterns the researchers based their hypothesis will be conducted. Once the initial exploratory data gathering completed, the researchers conducted the observation studies and interviews to critically understand the workings behind people’s brains (belonging to different cultures) when it came to the hospitality industry. (Tesch, 1990) Questionnaire-aided Interviews   Ã‚   Interviews were conducted to gain deeper insight into the perspectives of several different people belonging to different cultures about what they feel about the hospitality industry, brands etc. It helped the researcher’s draft a proper detailed findings document, henceforth and made data that was derived from observation studies more valid. Observation studies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Observation studies were also done in many restaurants and eateries in nearby places, catering to different age groups, different cusines and cultures henceforth. FINDINGS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was found that yes culture being a comprehensive element in a person’s personality has a great impact on the things that a consumer sees and considers buying/ consuming and does or doesn’t. Also, people belonging to the Asian region have more emotionally charges perceptions about brands, restaurants etc. People belonging to individualistic countries like America, England, Australia and Europe for instance were more adept at changing their choices when it came to eateries. They also felt that when it came to brands that involved mass appeal, like McDonald’s emotions was more of an element. It was found that intensity of culture does have an impact on consumers as well. Also it stands less strong as it was years back or previously sine it has become more flexible now. DISCUSSION The media today can be held responsible for the implicit force behind people’s actions since the hidden characteristics of mediums used by the media are powerful enough to move people into doing things they otherwise will not do. Manipulation can take the form of anything that uses media as a forum, therefore. Media hence being of many forms is often used as a manipulation tool to provide information that actually inflicts someone else’s opinions on people through the mass media. To many people, especially writer’s propaganda is an instrument through which a lot of â€Å"bad† persuasion is done. This according to them then includes the usage of half-truths and various other concealments so that data and information can be manipulated. This distortion is then used by these people for their own benefit by â€Å"fooling† the people who are being directed at by these propagandists. (What is Propaganda, n.d.) Sustainability Sustainability is the endurance that is needed. It is basically the push that is needed to use resources now the way that they are used while making sure that the needs of the future population or the next generation are however not compromised. Culture affects this dimension greatly too. For instance, where building a posh, un-atmosphere friendly restaurant is concerned; people belonging to individualistic societies and culture tend to ignore such characteristics while opting for greater refinement in terms of edible goods and eateries. Also, it was seen that the intensity of culture does have an impact on consumers as well. Also it stands less strong as it was years back or previously sine it has become more flexible now. This was particularly true for sustainability. Technology Many a times we hear arguments pertaining to how the world is moving towards employing a single customized strategy when handling technology; little do companies often realize is that throughout the world irrespective of the kind of industry one is in, thee have to be adaptations that need to be made to ensure that all explicit and implicit characteristics that one’s company is dealing with are all equally important to make it successful in the consumer’s mind. For this purpose, it is highly essential that regional differences are seen through while evaluating a company’s potential critically. Therefore, it highly essential that technological breakthroughs are implemented after customizing them to one’s own systems immediately. This was a characteristic that was seen to be exceptionally true for individualistic cultures or people belonging to the Europe region. However, the incidence of embracement of technology was seen to be higher in people with South Korean and Chinese roots. This was a finding that was derived through observation studies conducted in different parts. Brand Power Many researchers and marketers alike now have seemed to realize the importance of culture and differences in culture and the kind of impact that these have on perceptions that consumers have about specific brands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is the basic core reason why marketers hence go for region and culture based promotional and launch campaigns because this way the correct target group is hit with the kind of perceptions that the brand managers want to give off for their brand to the consumers. Marketers introduce many products but while doing so they ensure that the variety of ‘tastes’ that are being catered to are duly met. Likewise, the consumers too make up separate perceptions about the brands themselves based on the feel that the marketer gives off or is trying to give off. This, when is in alignment with the brand template itself, then we say that an effective culture transfer has taken place. For instance, in the questionnaire for interviews that was developed, it was asked of the respondent to talk about a brand that they felt connected to and a brand that they couldn’t link to at all even though the product was decent enough functionalit y wise. Respondents belonging to the South Asian region specifically claimed that the presence of Coca-Cola’s Coke Studio (a recently introduced initiative by Coke connecting eastern and western strings under one roof) was a product they felt close to and the perceptions about the brand were very emotionally charged. However, the existence of certain medicinal preventives or contraceptives was something that always linked with a taboo topic that of contraception is still considered a sin in certain religions. Therefore, people belonging to the Hindu religion in the interviews claimed to have had negative perceptions about such brands. They claimed that emotional aspects of brands like these should not be targeted towards this group of consumers. Sales Promotions There are many persuasion elements as follows: o  Ã‚   Emotional element: using emotions or inducing emotional sensations in people to make them act out the way the sender wants them to. o  Ã‚   Humorous element: by including a light element in the entire transfer of information process and thereby impressing people by the humor involved o  Ã‚   Rational: by setting out logical arguments and providing proof to whatever information is being imparted. This also is correlated directly with the credibility of the sender of the propaganda message in the first place. It is up to the person who is delivering to decide what element will prove to be the most effective and essential to the positivity of the success of the entire message or the propaganda itself. However, one thing that they have to be sure about is what sort of audience is being addressed and dealt with, so as to not harm anyone verbally or behaviorally. All in all, propaganda is a political process and in all the latter’s forms, it plays a huge role in the imparting of information that is used to persuade and influence the people in the audience that is being dealt with. (Welch, 1998) Advertising is transporting into common knowledge of a person or many people the existence of a product or service. These people would be the ones who would belong to the buyer’s class and will hence be called â€Å"customers†; the customers in the case of political advertising being political; candidate’s respective audience or target group. (McNamara, n.d.) There are howev er still many variations to the basic concept. Sales promotion and advertising are talked about in reference and replacement to each other. In many companies, the word and advertising when is used it is often meant that the mass is being communicated with to reach the end consumers within it. Hence there are many channels involved in distribution of this information. These are more specifically called the channels of distribution, which can in the political framework include:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Salesmen: candidates  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Distributors: members of the party  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dealers: immediate members along with a group or team of supporters Another characteristic very typical of advertising is that advertising constitutes of time, space and costs in using the media involved. Hence, we can say that a plan of action with respect to the type of seat a candidate is running for is important. Advertising is mass; it’s communication for which a price is paid. The main goal remains of imparting information, altering people’s stance towards what is being advertised and then persuading an action to be followed or taken by them that is to the advantage of the person who is advertising. CONCLUSION The type of â€Å"consumer†, in other words whether he is a rural person or a literate one or even an illiterate one, it depends on the way in which this advertising of the candidate is done. Hence, even one-to-one selling, also known as personal selling, user recommendations, publicity through famous other political or celebrity figures etc. can also induce voting behavior of people. The end goals remains the same: satisfaction of the end user, convincing him to â€Å"buy the product† that is going for this candidate over some other. And along the way, one other thing involves making sure that this behaviour is rationed through successive exposure to the candidate’s current status etc.   The aim of advertising is doing it with efficiency, speed and communication on a mass or on a whole level efficiently.   (Colley, n.d.) REFERENCES Care Web (2003) Proactive Problem Solving. [Internet] Available from: http://careweb.care.org/help/devplan/Proactive_Problem_Solving.htm Dan Kurland (2000). â€Å"What is Critical Thinking.† Critical Reading.Com. [Internet] Available from: criticalreading.com/critical_thinking.htm [Accessed 29 July 2009] IEP. â€Å"Deductive and Inductive Arguments.† The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006. [Internet] Available from:. iep.utm.edu/d/ded-ind.htm [Accessed 29 July 2009] Jordan Lieberman (2008) Advertising [Internet] Available from: campaignline.com/sections/?SectionName=advertising [Accessed 29 July 2009] Karen Brooks (2008) Web expands ad opportunities for campaigns. Journal of EBSCOHost. [Internet] Available from: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=nfhAN=2W62W63177396659site=ehost-live [Accessed 29 July 2009] Karl Rosengren, Carl Johnson, and Paul Harris. â€Å"The Development of Metaphysical Thinking†.   N.d. Immanuel Kant Research. [Internet] Available from: http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=dcr0WKw2IYICpg=PA179lpg=PA179dq=what+is+meta-physical+thinking%3Fsource=webots=TZaxUogS6Zsig=_nsGD7qcWMKIEo_JlTaphN7pJTYhl=ensa=Xoi=book_resultresnum=9ct=result#PPA183,M1 [Accessed 29 July 2009] Nora McMillan and Carol Keller. â€Å"Critical Thinking.† 2007. ACCD. [Internet] Available from: accd.edu/sac/history/keller/ACCDitg/SSCT.htm [Accessed 29 July 2009] Pacelli, L. (2006) The perfect brainstorm. Digital PhilosophyLander. â€Å"Deduction and Induction†. 2004. GFDL. [Internet] Available from: http://philosophy.lander.edu/logic/ded_ind.html [Accessed 29 July 2009] Robert T. Carrol. â€Å"Metaphysics†. The Skeptic’s Dictionary. 2007. Skepdic. [Internet] Available from:   http://skepdic.com/metaphysics.html [Accessed 29 July 2009] Steven D. Schafersman. â€Å"An Introduction to Science†. 1994. Steven D. Schafersman Copyrights. [Internet] Available from:   freeinquiry.com/intro-to-sci.html [Accessed 29 July 2009] Tesch, R. (1990) Qualitative Research. Paperback Welch, David. (1998) Germany, Propaganda and Total War, 1914-18: The Sins of Omission. [Internet] Available from: http://science.jrank.org/pages/10872/Propaganda-Defining-Propaganda.html [Accessed 29 July 2009] What is Propaganda? (n.d.) [Internet] Available from: historians.org/projects/giroundtable/Propaganda/Propaganda8.htm [Accessed 29 July 2009]

Information Sensitivity and Protection of Data Essay - 4

Information Sensitivity and Protection of Data - Essay Example More importantly, public access to information collected on patients is an instrumental component of the themes because all the organizations give recognition to the fact that people information are the private ownership of the patients, the information cannot be put out to public domain without necessary due course and procedure followed (Fielding., Teutsch and Koh, 2012). In some cases, the organizations even consider the possibility of the information being put on public domain as a last resort. Another important theme also has to do with the right to amend health records. This is an important theme to the organizations because they consider health state of patients as something that is not perpetual but periodically changes with time. As these changes take place, right is given for the amendment of the health records. Finally, the theme of privacy complaint reporting and tracking runs through almost all the organizations as the organizations use this as a medium for ensuring that there is an effective evaluation and monitoring system by which all forms of irregularities with information practices can be tracked and appropriately addressed (Mayo Foundation, 2002). In terms of aim and purpose, it would be said that almost all the organizations have a common objective to attain with protected health information. However, a line of significant difference is drawn when it comes to the mode of implementation of this all important goal of ensuring that health information of patients are protected. Between Mayo Foundation and Georgetown for instance, it would be observed that there is a clear cut different in the approach to ensuring that there is implementation whereby Mayo Foundation prefers the use of information security program, which is an integrated action plan, whereas Georgetown uses Privacy Complaint Reporting and Tracking to achieve the same goal. Between the two the

Social Psychology Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Psychology Paper - Essay Example We are to define the terms, map the terms to excerpts from the examples, and then correlate the reasons we selected those excerpts to those definitions. Terms to define and understand Confirmation Bias Balez (2008) defines confirmation bias as something that occurs when people project their expectations on one another and the other reacts in the way that person is projecting. This is commonly referred to as the "Pygmalion effect" (Overview section, para. 1). If one expects the best from another that is what one will receive. Conversely, if one expects the worst treatment, this is what one will receive. In the second scenario it was stated, â€Å"Though disappointed, he tried to hide it because at least she seemed to care for the students and it wasn’t really her fault that so many students showed up at the same time† (Example 2, 2011). Because Jonathan believed the best in Dr. Jones, he looked for ways to defend her behavior in cutting the advising sessions short. Addit ionally, Jonathan thought, â€Å"at least she seemed to care for the students† and â€Å"Dr. Jones was impressed with Jonathan’s maturity† (Example 2, 2011). External Locus of Control A person's perception of the source of his or her fate is termed locus of control. Those with an internal locus of control believe they are in control of their destiny or what may or may not occur in their environment. Treven & Treven (2011) describe those guided by an external locus of control as being guided by something outside him or herself. Externals faced with a stressor are more likely to be stressed, passive, and defensive. â€Å"She tried to disguise her disappointment and anger because her advisor cared too little for his students to allow enough time to meet every student for the time they needed† (Example 1, 2011). If Jessica had given much thought to the timing of their sessions, late in the term, a long wait, she may have realized that there would be concerns with the time frame. Both students were affected by the timing of the session being shortened and in being disappointed. However, Jessica was affected from an external standpoint and became angry and appeared â€Å"rude and incompetent† to her advisor (Example 1, 2011). Fundamental Attribution Error Per Changingminds.org (2011), the ability humans have to attribute the cause of events to one thing or another exists because humans have a need to explain the world, in their own mind and to those around them. This helps each of us to feel like we have some sense of control. When explaining behavior, it can affect the standing of people within a group. When another person has erred, we will often use internal attribution, saying it is due to personality factors. When we have erred, we will more likely use external attribution, attributing causes to situational factors rather than blaming ourselves. Antello, Prilipko, & Sheridan-Pereira (2010) define fundamental attribution error aaccording to Heider from 1958 as "observers attribute characteristics to actors on the basis of the actor's behavior" (Literature Review, para. 4). â€Å"Upon entering the room he was disappointed to hear Dr. Jones say she was running late with his student meetings and would have to get done in 10 minutes and there was only time for last minute checks of her schedule† (Example 1, 2011). â€Å"Because her advisor cared too little for his students† (Example 1, 2011). Jessica refused to take responsibility for her situation by getting angry. She

Library System Essay Example for Free

Library System Essay ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study. First and foremost, my utmost gratitude to Mr. Raquel V.desello the Brgy.Chairman of Street whose sincerity and encouragement I will never forget. Mr. Dominic Sales has been my inspiration as I hurdle all the obstacles in the completion this research work. My sincere thanks also goes Mrs. De Leon for offering me the summer internship opportunities in their groups and leading me working on diverse exciting projects. I thank my fellow comp.labmates in Trent Information First and other Group: Mr. Renz Paolo Cruz, Rochelle Dones for allow me to barrow her flash drive, and, for the stimulating discussions, for the rush hour we were working together before few minutes before defense, and for all the fun we have had in the last two years. Also I thank my friends in face book that gave me at least their effort to gave few sentence in my documentation Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family: my parents Mrs. Chanda Desello and Mr. Quemadge Desello, for giving birth to me at the first place and supporting me spiritually throughout my life. Same as my partner in case study Lienard Magno ABSTRACT This report describes our groups implementation of a library Management system. We used the Entity-Relationship model to design a database that will store and organize the librarys data. We have Created the database using vb6.0 and populated it with some sample Data. The system can keep track of library cards, customers, Librarians, library locations, books, videos, and the relationships Between them. Using vb6.0 and adodb, we have Created an Internet-based graphical user interface that allows Customers and librarians to access the system remotely A simple library management system that provides following facilities login, register, add category, add / remove book, search / issue book, return book. Language used is C# and vb is been used in code. One Admin user is already there once db is installed with user name admin and password admin. Admin user has extra functionalities like add category, add/remove books. These functionalities cannot be done by simple user that registers. Password encryption decryption has been used in project. It’s very simple project where in all the event of all forms has been handled in that acts as business and data access layer. All vB interactions are in this file only. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Now a day, in a highly technological society, human productivity is made more efficient through the development of electronic gadgets. Now, with the advent of such modernization in education, one way to globalize the process of research is to realize that technology is advancing at an incredibility fast place. Computers are not confined to being used for entertainment but its role in education is also vast. In School, reading materials are stored in libraries. Library is a place in which books and related materials are kept for use but not for sale. It is also organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution or a private individual. In addition, it is a place in which we get information in any format and from many sources. The librarian has to keep the room neat so that it is conducive for learning. The librarian is also the person who is liable for monitoring all the books that are borrowed and returned by the borrowers. The proponents will propose the Library Books borrowing and Returning System for Taytay Elementary School located at Taytay, Rizal, he Head Librarian, Ms. De Leon stated that they are currently using the Dewey Decimal Library System. They are still utilizing a manual system. The library users and the librarian still use card catalogues in searching for reading materials and use index card for the records of borrowed and returned books. The proponent’s study was what is which encounter to the Library by the user, Librarian and how the Owner or the Administrator of the said school will provide a good service to their clients to have a good feedback. The study will focus on transaction which done inside the Library like borrowing, returning of books by students, faculties and staffs. In this area, the usage of computerized library system is needed because it is easier and obviously it saves paper compare to the manual library based. Other countries such as South America and Middle East. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS library system in doing transactions with their clienteles. Specifically this study pourpost to answer the following questions: 1. How can the system helps the librarian? 2. What are the inputs needed in the system in order for the students/staff/visitors to be able to login/logout when entering and borrowing books? 3. What are the information and data needed to put up a computerized library system of (tes) Taytay Elementary School. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS SCOPE The system is create for the library except for easy way for librarian to make her work easy this is also for their customer to barrow books easy and to return also for data for clearly using it.. Delimitation The other way,this study is limits for the proposed enhancement computerized library system of Taytay Elementary School. System proposed to only one authorized person.

Essay Contrasing Gertrude and Ophelia of Shakespeares Hamlet

Contrast of Gertrude and Ophelia in Hamlet  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Queen Gertrude and Ophelia, the main female characters in Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy Hamlet, have a variety of contrasting or dissimilar personal qualities and experiences. This essay, with the help of literary critics, will explore these differences.    John Dover Wilson in his book, What Happens in Hamlet, discusses what is perhaps the greatest dissimilarity between Ophelia and Gertrude – their morality:    His [Hamlet’s] mother is a criminal, has been guilty of a sin which blots out the stars for him, makes life a bestial thing, and even infects his very blood. She has committed incest. Modern readers, living in an age when marriage laws are the subject of free discussion and with a deceased wife’s sister act upon the statute-book, can hardly be expected to enter fully into Hamlet’s feelings on this matter. Yet no one who reads the first soliloquy in the Second Quarto text, with its illuminating dramatic punctuation, can doubt for one moment that Shakespeare wished here to make full dramatic capital out of Gertrude’s infringement of ecclesiastical law, and expected his audience to look upon it with as much abhorrence as the Athenians felt for what we should consider the more venial, because unwitting, crime of the Oedipus of Sophocles (39).    Quite opposite the criminality of the king’s wife is the innocence of Ophelia, who might be called a â€Å"broken lily† (O’Donnell 241). In the Introduction to Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet, David Bevington enlightens the reader regarding this dissimilarity between the two ladies:    Characters also serve as foils to one another as well as to Hamlet. Gertrude wishfully sees in Ophelia the b... ...ffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Boklund, Gunnar. â€Å"Hamlet.† Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.    Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Lectures and Notes on Shakspere and Other English Poets. London : George Bell and Sons, 1904. p. 342-368. http://ds.dial.pipex.com/thomas_larque/ham1-col.htm    O’Donnell, Jessie F. â€Å"Ophelia.† The American Shakespeare Magazine, 3 (March 1897), 70-76. Rpt. in Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ed. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts. New York: Manchester University Press, 1997.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.    Wilson, John Dover. What Happens in Hamlet. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.      

Improving Performance of the Work Team Essay

1.1 My company has defined expectations of Team Members which are given to each employee in the form of a job description backed up with a work contract signed by each employee when they join the company. These expectations include, a timekeeping policy which requires the individual to be at work at the stated shift start times and to contact the Team Leader within 30mins of that start time with any reasons why this can’t be achieved. This will allow the Team Leader time to call in help to keep production on target. Absenteeism and sickness are also closely monitored using a system called the Bradford Scale. This concentrates more on the number of occasions when an employee is off rather than the number of days as regular short periods of time off are more disruptive to the working team. If the number of points on the scale reach a certain level then the disciplinary process is used. Personal conduct is also expected to be appropriate as disruptive or aggressive conduct will affect the performance of the work team meaning targets may be missed or team members will be in conflict. Employees are also expected to reach certain levels of performance depending on the job they do. Training needs to be completed and personal objectives which are set annually by the area manager during appraisals are used to keep a continuous improvement mentality within each employee. Completion of set objectives also help towards future promotion and possibly pay increases. All these expectations help the company keep well motivated work teams who are self driven with good moral. 1.2 The objective for my team is to ensure we supply our customers (the other departments in our company) with enough optical fibre to meet the order demand for all the different types of fibre laser we manufacture. To help us meet this objective we use a system of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to indicate to us the current level of various indicators throughout the manufacturing process. These Include stock levels against the stock plan, current fibre yields, amount of work in the process at any given time, fibre consumed, fibre in validation, validated fibre, number of man hours available, shipped fibre. All these indicators are passed down through the organization as Laser orders are placed with our company. On the shop floor we break them down to a weekly plan of work depending on the position of current fibre stocks and yields. Each Friday the next weeks plan will be decided at a joint meeting between the area manager and team leader. Once the plan is drawn it is communicated to all the team members and then checked daily during the following week to report progress and any concerns or adjustments that need to be made. In turn the departments we supply with fibre will also have been set there weekly targets and depending on the work that they have in process will determine what target is given to us to supply. Our company works on a Lean basis meaning that no work will be in the line that has not been already ordered and this keeps online stock costs to a minimum. Due to the nature of our production process However, optical fibre is only confirmed as good quality once it is built in product, so to keep supply of good (Validated) fibre between us and our customers my department has to go against the lean principles and hold a stock of fibre on the shelf waiting for Laser orders. This ensures if a fibre fails in build we have enough stock to react quickly and replace the fibre without holding up the laser build line. 1.3 Individual team member performance has a very great effect on a teams overall performance, especially if the Individual is under performing. For instance if a team member was not completing the required amount of work each day this would put extra pressure on the remaining members of that team to meet production targets. This puts the team in a position of possibly not meeting realistic targets which are set on the basis that all team members perform to a set level. Team targets are also set around the number of available man hours per week. If a team member is constantly late or sick this will also put the team under unplanned pressure to meet any set targets. A four man team with one man out sick is down 25% in man hours which usually means most targets will need to be adjusted or missed. This then has a knock on effect in the next department who will be only receiving 75% of the product that they were planning for, and that effect depending on the ability to catch up on lost hours may go all the way to a customer in the form of a late delivery of a promised order. This reflects badly on customer relations and could at worse mean lost or cancelled future orders. Also a team member who does not put enough effort into their work can cause ill feeling and conflict in the team possibly leading to arguments and low team moral. This will have a drastic effect on the capabilities of the team sometimes causing other team members to reduce their efforts also. Underperformance of team members is a serious issue in a target driven environment and needs to be taken seriously by team leaders. It may be the case that outside of work influences are causing a team member to under perform so a friendly chat and understanding approach may be all that’s needed to encourage the team member to improve. Team members who perform above expectations can also boost the performance of a team in a positive way. These team members can motivate others to increase there efforts also. This results in better overall team results against target, which brings praise from management, improving team moral. This then means happy customers, more orders and longer term job security. 2.1 My own team has many indicators that we use to measure under performance. These include, Product Yield Charts, Disruption Reports, Weekly Targets, Scrap Reports and annual appraisals. A disruption report can be raised against our department for any problems our customers have regarding our supply to their line. This could mean damaged fibre, incorrect paperwork, failure to supply parts on time, or any event that â€Å"Disrupts† them from achieving set targets. These reports are then discussed each morning and depending on the severity of the disruption immediate solutions are put in place or a process of problem solving is started and monitored until the problem is solved. Yield Charts give indications of process and operator performance. Product failure codes are recorded and investigated. Process detractors can be used to highlight improvement areas, and operator caused defects can be feedback to the team or individual concerned. Scrap reports are also used to put a financial value on product scrap allowing prioritizing of the most expensive problems first. An annual appraisal is given to each employee by the line manager. If a team member has been under performing, the reasons will be discussed and a plan will be drawn to encourage the employee to improve. 2.2 Underperformance needs to be constantly monitored in the manufacturing environment. It could just be that a team is not meeting targets because the target is set to high which puts to much pressure on them, causing mistakes due to rushing. Team moral is an important factor regarding Team performance. If you have conflict between certain team members it will cause them to take their mind off the workload resulting in reduced production and quality issues. This can have a knock on effect and eventually spread across all team members unless it is dealt with promptly. Poor training can also be a reason why an individual or Team are not able to meet targets. Inadequate training will not only increase scrap costs it can frustrate operators who cant do the work properly and even put them in harms way if Health and Safety measures regarding the work they do are not included in the training. Sometimes people may have domestic or personal worries regarding health problems which affect their performance at work. These need to be discussed with supervisors or managers and depending on the circumstances help may be given to the individual. 2.3 The different causes of underperformance require different actions to rectify them. If a team member is underperforming for no other reason than being lazy then a quiet chat from the Team Leader away from the ears of other team members usually helps re motivate them. If the poor results continue then a disciplinary route of verbal and written warnings may be needed. Re training or extra training will help someone who is falling behind due to lack of process knowledge. If a Team is underperforming they can have a meeting and discuss the reasons as a team, and with all the ideas on the table from all team members, come up with a plan of action to improve their results. In my place of work underperformance can come in the form of a disruption report. A disruption report can be raised against our department for any problems our customers have regarding our supply to their line. This could mean damaged fibre, incorrect paperwork, failure to supply parts on time, or any event that â€Å"Disrupts† them from achieving set targets. These reports are then discussed each morning and depending on the severity of the disruption immediate solutions are put in place or a process of problem solving is started and monitored until the problem is solved. 3.1 Motivated employees are more productive than those who are unmotivated. They enjoy their work more and are usually less stressed. Companies work hard to find ways to motivate their staff. Motivation is the driving force behind all people’s actions. Psychologists have developed various theories about motivation in an attempt to better understand and control human behavior. This theory of motivation is based on the idea that people have strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions. This is famously illustrated in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which presents different motivations at different levels. First People are motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, as well as those of safety, love and esteem. Once the lower level needs have been met , the primary motivator becomes the need for Self-Actualization, or the desire to fulfill one’s individual potential. Maslow believed employers would see better results from workers if they recognized the various needs of individual workers and if they varied the rewards offered to them.

Everyday Use by Alice Walker - 514 Words

â€Å"Everyday Use†: The Black Power Movement of the 1970’s In the short story â€Å"Everyday Use† by Alice Walker it is clear that she wants readers to see the cultural differences between three generations of women. The cultural movement that takes place during the time period of the story is also shown through two characters, Dee and Hakim. What they both represent is deeper than the common reader realizes. The character development of Hakim and Dee shows them as two young African-Americans who are in touch with their historical roots and background. The way they dress, their personalities and the way they talk, all represent an era and a movement that was taking place in the 1970’s. The cultural differences between Mama, Maggie and Dee are drastic. In the early 1970’s many movements and protests had broken out and to most African Americans it is known as the black power era. During this era it was very common for young men and women to follow in the path of Black Power Activist Malcolm X who was also Muslim. It is cle ar that Hakim and Dee too have joined the movement and that the author is using Hakim to symbolize the black power era. The introduction of Hakim-A-Barber represents the reason for the change in the character Dee. Without Hakims introduction it would be unclear as to why Dee has changed into the person that she is. It wasn’t until Dee met Hakim that she started to change into the woman both Mama and Maggie can hardly tolerate. They both held Dee high upShow MoreRelatedEveryday Use By Alice Walker852 Words   |  4 Pagescomes or belongs to one by reason of birth. In â€Å"Everyday Use†, by Alice Walker, the theme of the story can be considered as the meaning of heritage or even the power of education. Alice Walker uses many symbols and motifs such as the following: quilts, education, knowledge, Asalamalakim, and the renaming of Dee. In the story, African heritage and knowledge takes a major role. The African heritage plays a major role in the story, â€Å"Everyday Use†. Alice Walker emphasizes the meaning of heritage by havingRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1372 Words   |  6 PagesEverday Use† research paper In â€Å"everyday Use,† Alice Walker tells a narrative of a mother’s frustrating relationship together with her two daughters. At this facet, â€Å",Everyday Use†, tells that how a mom little by little refuses the cursory values of her older, successful daughter at the aspect of the useful values of her younger, much less lucky daughter. On a deeper outlook, Alice Walker takes on the theme of heritage and its norms as it applies to African-Americans. Everday Use, is set insideRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1102 Words   |  5 Pagespoem â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† can be read similar to Alice Walker s short story Everyday Use† both are compared by the women’s ways of showing their strengths and how they identify their values, expressions and strength. Advertised in the general outlines of the plot, both literary themes talks of a quest for freedom, the characters identity and self-expression. Adrienne Rich â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† Alice Walker â€Å"Everyday Use† Comparison Paper Analyzing the two types of literatureRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1372 Words   |  6 Pagessociety as a whole, but more specifically in the African American Community. Alice Walker gives slight insight into   what being forced   to assimilate is like. She says in her short story Everyday Use: She will stand hopelessly in corners homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. Statements such as these are a regular occurrence in her works. Walker often speaks on the ever so disheartening topic of cultural assimilation and theRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker996 Words   |  4 PagesIn the short story â€Å"Everyday Use† by Alice Walker, the author describes different ideas about one’s heritage. Culture and heritage is at the main point of the story â€Å"Everyday Use† by Alice Walker as symbolized by the quilt. The bond that Mother and Maggie share is brought by their common talent to make works of art like quilts. Dee does not have similar capacity because she does not appreciate manual labor nor believes in her heritage. The idea of pride in culture, heritage, and family is the mainRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1721 Words   |  7 PagesIn her short story â€Å"Everyday Use,† Alice Walker summarizes the representation of the beauty, the conflicts and struggles within African-American culture. â€Å"Everyday Use† focuses mainly between members of the Johnson family, consisting of a mother and her two daughters. One of the daughters Maggie, who was injured in a house fire and has living a shy life clinging to her mother for security. Her older sister is Dee, who grew up with a grace and natural beauty. â€Å"Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicerRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1655 Words   |  7 PagesIn â€Å"everyday Use,† Alice Walker tells a narrative of a mother’s frustrating relationship together with her two dau ghters. At this facet, â€Å",Everyday Use†, tells that how a mom little by little refuses the cursory values of her older, successful daughter at the aspect of the useful values of her younger, much less lucky daughter. On a deeper outlook, Alice Walker takes on the theme of heritage and its norms as it applies to African-Americans. Everday Use, is set inside the late ,60s or mid ,70sRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1735 Words   |  7 Pages â€Å"Everyday Use† by Alice Walker and â€Å"Brownies† by ZZ Packer are two different short stories with different lessons but both talk about the topic of race. Both stories talks about the time in the 20th century when slavery just ended but racism are still active between African Americans and Caucasians. Walker described a story about a single African American mother who is waiting for her daughter to arrive from college. Packer described a story about these African American fourth graders who are inRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1111 Words   |  5 Pagestheir culture. Alice Walker highlights and distinguishes the dissimilarities and clichà © of country African American women with the actualities that make up their lives. Characterized by short, compound sentences, with long adjectives and use of literary elements, her style is eloquent co nversational and authentic. Alice Walker’s short story, Everyday Use is stylistic, ironic and narrates profound interpretation of unique views and approaches to African-American culture. Walker’s use of characterizationRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1725 Words   |  7 Pages17 April 2017 Everything is Not What it Seems Sometimes people forget that heritage has to do with truly understanding their past. Many often misrepresent it, especially the younger generations who just accept its presence. Alice Walker’s short story, â€Å"Everyday Use,† revolves around an African American family that consists of three women, who are very different from each other. The story begins with Maggie and Mama waiting in the yard for Dee, the main character, to visit from Augusta. Dee is