The 17th-Century Preposition Rule - The Writers For Hire

THE 17TH-CENTURY PREPOSITION RULE If you are a stickler for correct grammar (or happen to know someone who is), then you have probably heard the rule about not ending a sentence with a preposition. But where did this rule come from? (Or, perhaps we should be asking, â€Å"from where did this rule come?†) And is it really a rule? Or is that just a myth? According to this article from Atlas Obscura, it all goes back to 17th Century England, when a writer named John Dryden criticized playwright, Ben Johnson, for ending a sentence with a preposition. Dryden later advised a young writer that â€Å"In the correctness of the English I remember I hinted somewhat of concludding [sic] your sentences with prepositions or conjunctions sometimes, which is not elegant, as in your first sentence.† And, while he is only documented to have stated this on those two occasions, for some reason his criticism stuck and turned into a well-known rule of â€Å"proper English.† So, next time your grammar expert friend reminds you to not end your sentence with a preposition, you will know who to thank (or blame).

World Environment Day Anchoring Script Essays

World Environment Day Anchoring Script Essays World Environment Day Anchoring Script Paper World Environment Day Anchoring Script Paper Thank you friends for praying the god for the success of the occasion. I feel Immensely rapture to handover this wonderful opportunity to to welcome all the dignitaries the audience on behalf of the Institution on this auspicious occasion. Thank you for welcoming the gathering Our physical world, respect and explore, Where water meets land: a beautiful shore. Mountains we conquer, look down in awe, If youre an artist, make sure you draw. Im sure that all of you like skits. They give us a fun also some knowledge. So to give you guys a fun with education are ready to present a skit. So I request the Hosannas to occupy this stage to present their skit. Thank you for your skit that urged us to inculcate some good habits of conserving the environment. The topic information about environment is never ending. So to give you some more knowledge about this day, I request to present her speech on this occasion. Thank you Nature exciting, adventurously new, Much more to see, than a sky that is blue. It offers so much, open your eyes, Hope of today, with every sunrise. For sharing your knowledge with us. I think you all had enough fun with education by the speeches, skit song. But now o all will be entertained again by the of our school. Because now they are here to occupy the stage to present their dance. So I request the Mourns to come over the dais entertain you all. Thank you for your wonderful performance. I am sure that the Mother Nature will be happy. As I had earlier said that knowledge about environment its uses are never ending. So now, to enlarge your encyclopedia of class 8th is ready to present her speech. So I request Anaphora to use this stage to present her speech. Thank you for your speech. We have heard that singing has a power to heal can also recover patients. So now I request the of our school to sing a song on this gracious occasion to bring a change In us to save the environment. Thank you for motivating us to save the environment. The environment the humans are Inter-related to each other. One cant sustain without the other. As environment Is required for us, even the environment also requires us. So we all should conserve the environment. So now, let to guide us by his oath. I also request all of you to stand up stretch your hands follow him to take the oath. Thank you sir for your words which will surely be the deadlines for all of us. I think I Just heard Mother Nature cry, Or was it one more broken, falling tree? Youd think wed learn as time goes speeding by. I think you all are aware of the drawing painting competition that was held in our school on account of the World Environmental Day. Many students had participated in the competition. I thank all of you for your active participation in the competition. Some of the artists have won prizes in the competition. So I request the to honor the winners by distributing the prizes to them. Thank you AMA for the distribution of the prizes. I heartily congratulate all the prize winners. Look Outside, see the trees Watch the flowers in the breeze Things wont be like this in a year or two If polluting is all we do Seize the night, seize the day, things wont always be You all had enough fun. But now its the time again to grab some knowledge. So I request_ to address the gathering on this occasion boost us to save the environment. Thank you AMA for your golden words. I am sure that all the students are encouraged inspired by your words. Sorry everyone, but the time to put a full stop for the event has arrived. This is my bounded duty to handover the responsibility to to vote her thanks to all the dignitaries audience on behalf of the institution. So I request Crowbars to take over the responsibility present her vote of thanks. Thank you for thanking all the dignitaries the audience. What we are doing to the forests is nothing but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves. By saying this I would like to end this event once again thank all of you whose presence has made this event a grand success.

BIO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

BIO - Essay Example Additionally, Barbara developed theories the suppression and expression of genetic information across generations. Walter Sutton greatly contributed to the theory of evolution. Sutton believed that it was possible to apply the Mendelian laws of inheritance to chromosomes at cellular level of living organisations (Lynch, Jay, and Derek 56). This led to the creation of Boveri-Sutton chromosome theory. This theory posits that chromosomes are the carriers of genetic materials. Walter Sutton, the proponent of this theory, believed that chromosomes are found in all dividing cells and are transmitted from generation to generation, thus forming the bases of inheritance. Herman Muller concentrated on the study of physiological and genetic impacts of radiation. According to Herman, radioactive fallout originating from nuclear war and nuclear testing posed a great risk the genetic make-up of living cells (Lynch, Jay, and Derek 11). Herman revealed that there was a cross correlation between radiation and lethal mutations, which were responsible for altering biological traits in populations. Corren’s primary focus was on botany and genetics. He independently discovered the principles of heredity, which contributes to evolution and natural selection. Corren restated Mendel’s results including his law of independent assortment and law of segregation. These are the fundamental laws used for understanding natural

Culture, Ritual and Religion, International Development in the Research Paper

Culture, Ritual and Religion, International Development in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone - Research Paper Example In Africa, countries have experienced recurrent and various forms of armed conflicts and violence due to power struggles and control over natural resources. Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo have bore the brunt of violence and armed conflicts in past decades, a fact that has led to development mishaps and stagnation. This paper examines the role of ritual, culture and religion in the shaping up of the social, economic and political stability of Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo. It further explores the role of violence and conflicts in the development process. Sierra Leone is located on the west Coast of Africa on the Atlantic Ocean and it is bordered to the North with Guinea, Liberia on the Southeast and Atlantic Ocean on the Southwest (Harris, 1992). Different ceremonies were held in Sierra Leone as part of the culture and religion of the people. One of the ceremonies that were more conspicuous was the movement in rings or circles during ceremonies to honor ancestors (Harris, 1992). The movement of people in circles during ceremonies defined the art and religion of most communities in Sierra Leone. It is reported that the culture and tradition was seen as heathen by the missionaries and as such, they searched for strategies of eliminating and eradicating the practice. The missionaries did not succeed in eradicating the practice due to the strong influence that culture had among communities in Sierra Leone. ... e purposes included story telling, singing of songs, drumming and dancing, pouring of libations, cleansing ceremonies, proper burials, respect for the dead and forgiveness (Kaarsholm, 2006). The traditional cultural practices and rituals have played significant roles in the development process of Sierra Leone. Modern development strategies have incorporated traditional cultural practices in various health and human welfare initiatives such as fight against HIV/AIDS, ending of harmful traditional practices such female genital mutilation, understanding of human rights and other initiatives that are associated with human welfare and development in Sierra Leone (Burnell, 2008). The uptake and use of various traditional cultural practices and rituals in modern human development initiatives in Sierra Leone has been premised on the notion that the use of culturally appropriate interventions that are drawn from the experience and knowledge of communities has the potential of increasing the l ong-term self-reliance of communities, families and children (Francis, 2006). In addition, the use of traditional practices and rituals encourages community members to take active roles in identification of development problems that affect them and formulation of strategies and solutions to mitigate such problems. The role of culture and traditions of Sierra Leone communities was relevant and instrumental in the truth and reconciliation process that paved way for political stability and tranquility. Most of the healing activities and initiatives were based on the culture and traditions of the people of Sierra Leone. The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone relied on the assistance and help from traditional and religious leaders in resolving conflicts and promotion of

American Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American Government - Essay Example Ferguson. The Brown v. Board of Education decision, however, found the unconstitutionality of Plessy v. Ferguson as praxis for racial segregation within the public education; the Opinion of the Court reversed the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine on the principle prominent in the Fourth Amendment. By and large, the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case significantly ruled in favor of the African American plaintiffs, arguing that racial segregation practiced by Plessy v. Ferguson is fundamentally unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren’s ruling concerning the Brown v. Board of Education is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court; such ruling is notably important especially in its social and historical contexts. In social purview, the decision made in Brown was essential considering the widespread racial discrimination against the African American or the â€Å"Negro† (in Warren’s word) prominent in the United States. Before the Brown ruling, many white Americans believed, consciously or not, that their race was superior to other races, which include the black race.

Impact of the European Paediatric Life Support Course

Impact of the European Paediatric Life Support Course Abstract Background: Even though anaesthetists do not resuscitate children on a daily basis, they need to perform paediatric life support regularly due to their different duties. As the knowledge of international guidelines varies widely, highly standardized European Paediatric Life Support (EPLS) courses have been introduced to improve standards of care. This national survey among Austrian anaesthetists and EPLS course participants evaluated the impact of this course at the end of the guideline period 2005-2010. Methods: After approval by the institutional review board an online survey about paediatric resuscitation guidelines was sent to EPLS course participants of the guideline period 2005 (EPLS group) and members of the Austrian Society of Anaesthesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (-GARI) two weeks before publication of the resuscitations guidelines 2010. Respondents without an EPLS course were assigned to the non-EPLS group. Results: Of 333 respondents 247 finished the survey. One hundred eighty five persons were assigned to EPLS group and 62 to the non-EPLS group. Members of the EPLS group performed significantly better than the non-EPLS group (76Â ±19% correct answers EPLS group vs. 63Â ±18% correct answers non-EPLS group, p

Globalization and Policy Concertation Essay -- Global Economics Global

Introduction My argument in this paper is that globalization is not leading to a decline in the incidence of policy concertation in Western Europe between governments, employers and trade unions, contrary to much accepted wisdom, and that this persistence of policy concertation can be best understood in terms of a configurational model of policy concertation in which the main variables are perceived problems, the degree of agreement on economic policy among the relevant political actors, and the perceived implementation capacity of these actors. I take my definition of ‘globalisation’ from that devised by David Held and his colleagues: A process (or set of processes) which embodies a transformation in the spatial organisation of social relations and transactions – assessed in terms of their extensity, intensity, velocity and impact – generating transcontinental or interregional flows and networks of activity, interaction and the exercise of power (Held et al 1999: 16). I focus in particular on economic globalisation, namely the increase in worldwide trade, the globalisation of financial markets and capital movements, and the multinationalisation of production. By ‘policy concertation’ is meant the making of public policy by means of national-level, intersectoral negotiations leading to agreements – as opposed to non-binding discussions - between government representatives and representatives of peak employer and/or trade union confederations about the formation of government policies. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as ‘corporatism’, but the term ‘policy concertation’ is preferred for the sake of clarity because the term ‘corporatism’ is also used to describe other types of phenomena: Schmitter’s o... ... Traxler, Franz (1995a), ‘Farewell to Labour Market Associations? Organized Versus Disorganized Decentralization as a Map for Industrial Relations’, pp.3-19 in: Colin Crouch and Franz Traxler (eds.), Organized Industrial Relations in Europe: What Future? Aldershot: Avebury. Traxler, Franz (1997), ‘The Logic of Social Pacts’, in Social Pacts in Europe, ed. Giuseppe Fajertag and Philippe Pochet. Brussels: ETUI. Treu, Tiziano (1992). ‘Tripartite Social Policy-Making: An Overview’, pp.1-25 in: Tiziano Treu (ed.), Participation in Public Policy-Making: The Role of Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter. Wallerstein, Michael, Miriam Golden and Peter Lange (1997), ‘Unions, Employers’ Associations, and Wage-Setting Institutions in Northern and Central Europe, 1950-1992’, Industrial and Labor Relations Review 50(3): 379-401.

Experiential Leadership Project Progress Report Essay

This paper is an experiential leadership project whose subject is, Sandra Ussery, my direct supervisor at work. Sandra’s title is Pricing Systems Supervisor, under FedEx National LTL. At present she oversees nine direct employees. Sandra’s boss is Diane Lia, the Pricing Systems Manager for FedEx National LTL. Diane has two direct employees and nine indirect employees. The main reason I have chosen to focus on Sandra is because she is in a newly created position. Good supervisors are people who, even when they must correct someone, can â€Å"step on your toes without messing up your shine. They give people a shot in the arm without letting them feel the needle. People seem to need encouragement most when they sense that they have really failed. Perhaps they failed the boss, or the organization or just failed themselves. In any case, it is at that moment that the leader needs to show her character—how she is able to help them along with the healing process. My supervisor, Sandra Ussery, is that kind of a boss and many more. This paper aims to gather an evaluation of her from those people under her. It shall also provide a copy of the questionnaire which I used in gauging the kind of leadership she implements with her staff. The process of evaluating an individual’s performance contains elements of positive and negative reinforcement. How well people perform is largely determined by whether their performance is evaluated or rewarded. Many organizations, especially smaller ones, do not have formal evaluation programs because they have survived without them in the past and they see no benefit for them in the future. Yet, performance management is essential even among supervisors because they upgrade the level of the human performance of organizations. They identify problem areas in the workplace when it comes to human resources. Although the situation does not appear to be in need of full attention right now, the implications will be felt later on by organization if they do not act consciously on the issue. There are adjustments that include minimum and accessorial charges, including additional adjustments in select lanes and service areas. The FedEx Freight Segment accumulated annual revenues of $3. 6 billion in fiscal year 2006. This includes FedEx Freight, a leading U. S. provider of regional next-day and second-day and interregional LTL freight services. The company is known for its high performance and exceptional service and reliability. FedEx Freight extends its service to all U. S. ZIP codes. It is supported by its principle of no-fee- money-back guarantee on all eligible continental U. S. shipments. It gives service to Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Holding corporate office in Memphis, Tennessee, the FedEx Freight Segment also includes FedEx National LTL, a leading provider of long-haul LTL services throughout North America. Looking at this description, this paper maintains that every organization needs to start where it should be rightly so—the individual. The FedEx National LTL, is a leading U. S. provider of long-haul LTL freight services. Federal Express purchased original employer, Watkins Motor Lines last June. Prior to this purchase, the pricing systems department, which was called the auto rate department under Watkins, had no supervisor. The supervisor position was created to have someone to train new employees as they were added to that department. Prior to four others and myself moving to the department in the span of a year, there had been no new additions to that department for seven years. After the acquisition, the supervisor job was created so that the manager of that department could focus on working with managers of other departments at our location and at other operating companies to integrate our systems together. FedEx National LTL, which is the operating company that I work for, specializes in providing low-cost transportation to our customers with slower turn around times. Our partner freight company, FedEx Freight, specializes on one to two day turnaround times at a higher cost. The main reason we were purchased was to add the long haul, low cost service to FedEx’s already quick turnaround customers. FedEx National LTL operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, but we can transport a shipment through the various operating companies anywhere in the world. The main factors affecting the companies operation at this time is the integration of our system into theirs. Our department takes pricing that is negotiated with our customers and we input it into our automated rating system. This system is designed to automatically apply pricing to freight bills so that no one has to manually rate them. This process is a huge cost saver to the company and is a highly focused on at FedEx. Federal Express has a mandate to input all pricing into this system, this way they have to pay few people to rate the bills. The problem we are facing is to integrate our automated rating program with theirs. Also, their operating systems are different than ours, but based on the same platform, so all the managers of the IT, IS, and Pricing Application departments are focused on integrating these systems. There is a comprehensive network of nearly 330 service centers and advanced information systems, FedEx Freight provides service to virtually all U. S. ZIP codes, including Alaska and Hawaii. The carrier’s regional and interregional LTL service is supported by a no-fee money-back guarantee on all eligible continental U. S. shipments. It gives service to Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Holding corporate office in Memphis, Tennessee, the FedEx Freight Segment also includes FedEx National LTL, a leading provider of long-haul LTL services throughout North America. In general, the company offers customers and businesses worldwide with services in transportation, e-commerce and business services. The annual revenue is a staggering $34 billion. It is known worldwide as having trustworthy and admired employers. It has more than 275,000 employees. Contractors employ positive safety with a high ethical and professional standard. As I said before, what I want to do with my project is collect feedback from my fellow coworkers, some of which have been there less than a year and others who have been there ten years or more. I have already discussed this project with my manager, supervisor, and coworkers and all of them have agreed to provide information and feedback, as I need it. Since, most of the senior people have worked with Sandra for at least five years, I will be able to get their impression of her and her leadership abilities. Sandra did not train many of the seasoned people, so I will discuss with the four new people how effective they feel she was as a trainer. I also plan to evaluate her based on the leadership styles I learned in the course. I want to see if Sandra tends to focus on one style or varies in styles and approaches depending on the employee and the situation. She has agreed to let me observe her a few times a week during the course of this project so that I may see her leadership style at work. I believe the best way to determine a particular style is to observe her actions towards me and other members of the department. I have contacted Human Resources to see if I can get a Job Description for her position in order to see what is required from her and her assigned tasks. While I am observing her I will use these criteria to see if she is confident in completing these tasks. I will use these criteria to evaluate her leadership ability and her ability to meet the needs of the company. I plan to be as objective as I can with this report, especially since I have only been with the company for two years, and in this department for about seven months. I plan to use the leadership styles outlined in the book as a guide to determining her style or styles of leadership. I want to gather as much data from coworkers and my manager on Sandra, since I have spent little time working with her. I want to see how the perceptions of those employee’s that have worked with her for a long time differ from those of us that are new. I believe that using the information outlined in our book, the job description qualifications and expectations, and the observations and information collected from coworkers and myself will help to determine if she is an effective leader. According to Dennie Carey, senior vice president, marketing, FedEx Freight, â€Å"Whether operating fast cycle logistics or planned distribution, shippers have told us they require a high degree of certainty, shipment integrity and actionable information. † The company meets customer needs by continuing to invest in their people, equipment, facilities and technologies. FedEx Freight has improved service in 3,000 lanes. Add to this is the safety features to its tractors and this ushered the easy access to its regional and long-haul service via the internet. It has also taken over the operations of Watkins Motor Lines in September, FedEx National LTL. It now focuses on the market with a highly engineered network. Sandra Ussery is a manager with faith in her staff. Part of any working day is given over to tracking and checking the progress that has been delegated throughout her staff. This is not about looking over the shoulders of her staff, but about monitoring the progress of the given program of the moment. Most people need reminders and her staff finds her as the ultimate â€Å"reminderer† in the organization. The people who most enjoy working with her are those who are self-starters, self-disciplined individuals who bring her the results of their projects before she ever has a chance to check on their progress. After a while, she learns whom she needs to remind and whom she can count on to follow through without reminders. She is able to encourage empowerment of all staff since she recognizes that this is very important in making changes more effective. The more involved people are in the process of change, the more effective the change will be and the more lasting it will be for the company (Coyle and Kossek, 2000). Definitely, Ussery enhances her staff’s ability to influence other subordinates in order to facilitate efficient decision making process within the organization. Those directly under her like and who worked with her within a year or so like Jessica, Jane, David, Daniel, Jerri, Sheila find that she exercises authoritative leadership ith them. This may be so because she trained them directly and she knows that these people would understand her when she wants things done perfectly. Authoritative leadership is the most effective in terms of generating changes for the company. Authoritative leaders as she is, she is very clear on what she wants to accomplish. She also has the ability to invoke to her staff the significance of their job in the accomplishment of the company’s goals. This means therefore, that employees or the team knows their roles in the grand goal of the company. Through the strategic positioning of a vision, an Ussery provides standard on which the results of the team can be evaluated. The other staff like Scot, Cathie, Penny, and Diane, who is also Sandra’s manager, find her diversifying her leadership style to ensure that they are applied appropriately to certain situations. These people say that Sandra balances her authority and democracy in her leadership styles. They evaluate her as having the sensitivity and emotional capacity to recognize what would be the most appropriate leadership strategy that is being called for by the situation. In many cases using just one strategy cannot generate effective results. One of the important components in leadership is also recognizing the potential of an assigned leader. Characteristics of the leader have been known to be very important in the achievement of goals. This is very important in the context of the FedEx where implementations of projects are assigned to specific leadership and utmost excellence is needed. According to many psychological studies, which aim to recognize the character behind some of the effective leaders in successful organizations, emotional intelligence is very important for many leaders (Goleman, 2000). This has been widely reviewed in many literatures. According to Goleman (2000) this emotional intelligence can be reflected on the ability of leaders to have the necessary social skills. This means that they must be able work well with their people under different circumstances to ensure that there are no barriers to communication. This would help the problem to be resolved immediately and for improvements of the programs be initiated efficiently. They must also have high levels of motivation, which would allow them to do things through initiative and exceed the expected results. These are all seen in Sandra, as evaluated by her people and they especially find that she is really flexible as well to the call of the times and the moment. Finally she knows her limitations and admit that she cannot possibly do everything without the able help of her staff likewise. Ms. Sandra Ussery is a good manager because she taught me through her example how to get the job done. I started taking notes and wondering what I would do if I were in charge. I looked and listened and collected a catalog of what people liked and disliked and collected a catalog of what people liked and disliked about management. She would often come up to me and say, â€Å"Here’s what we are going to do,† and made us believe we could do it. From that moment on, I was ready. Are you ready? You’ve got to take stock and honestly answer the question. It requires huge amounts of time and effort. Not everyone is willing to make the commitment and the sacrifices. She often would say that she gets a high watching people succeed. Making people’s actions visible by publicizing and recognizing their work strengthens others. It opens doors to potential new relationships because people are more aware of one another’s contributions. Success is an attractive magnet for pulling people together and increasing their attachment to the project. Ms. Ussery points out that building stable political coalitions is often based on making certain that participants’ involvement is publicized. She notes that good press is an essential political currency. While publicizing other people’s actions heightens people’s sense of personal power. It builds commitment because it makes it more difficult for people to dissociate themselves from the actions and activities that they were recognized for. There is also a rising literature today on leadership that emphasizes the need to inspire collaboration. This is the emerging mainstream form of leadership where power in the process of decision making is more decentralized. There is now a present emphasis on the ability of group collaboration to actually facilitate the achievement of the goals. Collaborative leadership is practiced by Sandra as an effective means of communication that could actually imbibe greater productivity and greater creativity for the achievement of the goals of the department she is in.

Free Essays on Internal Dissent

Anti-War Movement The antiwar movement actually consisted of a number of independent interests, often only vaguely allied and contesting each other on many issues, united only in opposition to the status quo. Attracting members from college campuses, middle-class suburbs, labor unions, and government institutions, the movement gained national prominence in 1965, peaked in 1968, and remained powerful throughout the duration of the conflict. (DeBenedetti) Encompassing political, racial, and cultural spheres, the antiwar movement exposed a deep schism within 1960s American society. But widespread opposition within the government did not appear until 1968. The antiwar movement became both more powerful and, at the same time, less cohesive between 1969 and 1973. Most Americans pragmatically opposed escalating the U.S. role in Vietnam, believing the economic cost too high; in November of 1969 a second march on Washington drew an estimated 500,000 participants. (Garfinkle) At the same time, most disapproved of the counterculture that had arisen alongside the antiwar movement. The clean-cut, well-dressed SDS members, who had tied their hopes to McCarthy in 1968, were being subordinated as movement leaders. Their replacements deservedly gained less public respect, were tagged with the label "hippie," and faced much mainstream opposition from middle-class Americans uncomfortable with the youth culture of the period-long hair, casual drug use, promiscuity. (DeBenedetti) The movement regained solidarity following several disturbing incidents. In February 1970 news of the My Lai massacre became public and ignited widespread outrage. In April President Nixon, who had previously committed to a planned withdrawal, announced that U.S. forces had entered Cambodia. Within minutes of the televised statement, protesters took to the streets with renewed focus. Then, on 4 May, Ohio National Guardsmen fired on a group of student protesters at Kent Sta... Free Essays on Internal Dissent Free Essays on Internal Dissent Anti-War Movement The antiwar movement actually consisted of a number of independent interests, often only vaguely allied and contesting each other on many issues, united only in opposition to the status quo. Attracting members from college campuses, middle-class suburbs, labor unions, and government institutions, the movement gained national prominence in 1965, peaked in 1968, and remained powerful throughout the duration of the conflict. (DeBenedetti) Encompassing political, racial, and cultural spheres, the antiwar movement exposed a deep schism within 1960s American society. But widespread opposition within the government did not appear until 1968. The antiwar movement became both more powerful and, at the same time, less cohesive between 1969 and 1973. Most Americans pragmatically opposed escalating the U.S. role in Vietnam, believing the economic cost too high; in November of 1969 a second march on Washington drew an estimated 500,000 participants. (Garfinkle) At the same time, most disapproved of the counterculture that had arisen alongside the antiwar movement. The clean-cut, well-dressed SDS members, who had tied their hopes to McCarthy in 1968, were being subordinated as movement leaders. Their replacements deservedly gained less public respect, were tagged with the label "hippie," and faced much mainstream opposition from middle-class Americans uncomfortable with the youth culture of the period-long hair, casual drug use, promiscuity. (DeBenedetti) The movement regained solidarity following several disturbing incidents. In February 1970 news of the My Lai massacre became public and ignited widespread outrage. In April President Nixon, who had previously committed to a planned withdrawal, announced that U.S. forces had entered Cambodia. Within minutes of the televised statement, protesters took to the streets with renewed focus. Then, on 4 May, Ohio National Guardsmen fired on a group of student protesters at Kent Sta...

standard costing Essays

Benefits of the variance analysis/ standard costing Essays Benefits of the variance analysis/ standard costing Paper Benefits of the variance analysis/ standard costing Paper There are several benefits of the variance analysis; the variance analysis compares actual costs against budget. If actual performance is better than standard there is said to be a favourable costs variance. E. g. If standard labour cost is 36 but actually works out to be   32 theres a favourable difference of   4. This means that the costs are lower than expected. However if actual performance is worse than standard this is said to be an adverse or unfavourable variance. Variances are a method of control and can show if the firm is running efficiently. Variances can also be a motivating factor for the staff as if an adverse exists staff must work hard to change the adverse into a favourable in the future. Variance analysis is also classed as a method of appraisal as staff can easily know if they have done well when the variance is favourable. Staff can monitor their progress and assess how well they are performing. Variance analysis helps and is a tool of, Planning function. Control function. Motivating function The variance analysis can be used on any expenditure of the business. There are a number of advantages of using this techniques. By calculating variances a firm such as JCC can identify areas of weakness and inefficient practice. If a variance appears to be too high than it can be investigated using an approach called management by exception. This can allow tolerance in the control system. Some firms only investigate variances if they are more than 5 to 10% different from the standard . Disadvantages of the variance analysis/ standard costing It can be difficult sometimes to forecast as obtaining the numbers can be difficulty and costly. Variance analysis can also de motivate staff as it could restrict permanent improvements as the worker might achieve goal and not do more. Variances could also restrict the idea of continuous improvement as just meeting targets and not doing more could de motivate staff and company performance. In some cases to carry out standard costing it can require a business to gather large amount of information. The process can be time consuming and in some cases expensive. Most firms use standards costing as an ongoing process so the costs are ongoing. There are some unforeseen consequences with standard costing. A member of staff in order to achieve a favourable variance might purchase cheap poorer quality materials. This would bring the costs down but it could effect sales as product made with poor material. This could damage the reputation of the firm and losses as low sales. The variances have occurred due to many factors such as the decline in sales, material costs, labour costs and even the marketing of the product. The variances have occurred as the market is in decline and the firm is only aiming its product at the older segment and not at the younger age as they are more interested in computer games. The product is not targeted at the new market but only for those in there 40 60s. Another cause that I believe has resulted in the poor variances is the special order being lost probably due to the firm not meeting production deadlines so as a result the variance has occurred. I believe is the main reason why the variances have occurred and this is because of the machinery is said to be old and not reliable and also the variance targets could be set too high or even too low so this must be investigated to a further extent. The material variance resulted in an adverse this is probably due to the price of the material, the price of the materials could have increased so firm should of searched out for a new cheaper supplier. The budgeted amount was 490 whilst the actual amount was 342 so there was an adverse of 58. More material was used than predicted this I think was probably due to a lot of wastage or even workers making mistakes and wasting materials. Another reason for this variance could be the theft of the material. I think the firm did not take advantage of bulk buying so major discounts were lost and could have resulted in the adverse variance. The material costs could also have been budgeted too low and the firm did not realise the increase in prices, wastage so this could have also hindered the variance. The labour variance also showed an adverse, as the budgeted was 96 whilst the actual came to 105 meaning an adverse of 9. This is another adverse in the firms variance analysis and is caused by the ageing workforce I feel. Most of workers are in their later age and could suffer form illnesses. The main reason I feel the variances have occurred is due to the old machinery the firm owns as it could have broken down and valuable man-hours had been lost whilst the machinery was being fixed. Labour time management and training could also have occurred the variances as the workers could be poorly trained and could not carry lout the tasks in the required times. The power variance is shown to be a favourable in the analysis as budgeted was 4. 8 and actual was 4 so a favourable of 0. 8. This is a positive variance but it is only achieved as the firm has only produced fewer goods as machinery kept on breaking down. The variance could also have been set too low so even as this is a positive variance it musty still be investigated as why it has occurred as a positive. The fixed production cost variance is a favourable by . The budgeted amount was 50 whilst the actual came to 48. This has occurred probably due to good management or even a reduction in fixed costs. If a firm keeps its fixed costs too low they might be emitting vital functions of the business that could reduce the firms efficiency and in return could suffer high costs to the business in the loss of productive efficiency and sales by keeping fixed costs deliberately low. On the bases of my variance analysis I will recommend the following suggestions to the firm so the variances could be minimised. In order to minimise the variances the firm must recognise its operations. The sales variance was relatively high so the firm needs to concentrate and improve the marketing effect. The firms could take such actions as an increase in its advertising campaign, so it is increasing the knowledge of its product. To improve the variance the firm could target a new segment the younger generation with newer model cars and benefits. By effective marketing research and approach the firm should target new customers who would want these benefits. The firm main aim should be effective marketing especially at the newly identified 40 to 60 year olds. Ongoing marketing will increase potential sales thus higher profits can be achieved. The firm is selling nostalgia so variances could be achieved through effective management and by improving standard costs and the overall efficiency of the business. The firm must ensure that the budget costs are equal to actual costs and this can by done effective market research and planning that will result in a efficient firm. All extensive favourable variances that have occurred I feel must be investigated as they could have been set too low and the firm did not budget effectively. The firms number one aim should be to enforce accurate budgets and team working, training and also investment into new machinery and the results will show up in profits. Cellular production could also be used to create job deepening and widening as a result the average work day will became more interesting and worker will work more effectively and also less absentees. By training workers and working effectively the firm would benefit from correct budgets and profit. Bulk buying and extensive market research is vital to successful and must be fully met. I will now construct a sales forecast for the next year. Jan Feb March April May June Low low increase 10000 10000 15000 18000 20000 30000 July Aug September October November Decline high 20000 25000 25000 51000 80000 Dec Total 388800 for year predicted are. High 84800 I came to the above sales forecast conclusions that I have created y referring to the appendix 2 in case study that I had. By using the sales variance I have predicted that that sales will fall. The sales forecast above are my predictions but I have also taken into account the declining market, as children are less interested in toys and more in computer games. So I have decided to have a 10% decline in the sales predictions. I have taken 10% of the original sales prediction of 432000 from last year. The new total I have come to is 388800. A 10% decline. Later on sales that I have predicted should increase as the firm has identified the new market of 40to 60 years olds who are interested in model cars and also the exporting form Taiwan could help the increase of sales. Ensuring that the above recommendations made by me are taken into account. Of effective marketing and management, the control of budget, thus the sales should increase. I must reiterate that marketing should be an ongoing process so the consumers can be informed of what is new and available. The highest sales will be made at Christmas due to the festive season. This is the time of the year where JCC needs to get its marketing policy precise as most firms take advantage of the holiday season and launch many products. At the beginning of the year the sales are very low but gradually they will increase this would be due to the firm employing effective marketing and attracting a new segment. Based on the figures presented in appendix 1 I will calculate the monthly profit using marginal costing.

Sociology Finance Project Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sociology Finance Project - Term Paper Example I learned what I was spending my money on. Now that I know what I am spending money on I can take corrective actions in order to lower my expenses and begin to have a budget in which each month I obtain a surplus of money. During the last two months I have kept track of my monthly expenses. I categorized my monthly expenses in the following 13 accounts: gasoline, food home, fast food, snacks & candy, school supplies, rent, utilities, insurance, hygiene products, entertainment, clothing, miscellaneous, and cellular. The average monthly expenses for the last two month are illustrated in the budget below. My monthly expenses during the last two months amount to $1300 a month. Currently my income sources to pay for those expenses are a part time job, family contributions, and money left over from a scholarship and student loans. I was amazed to find out that I spend that much money each month on my living expenses. Since I did not keep track of my expenses in the past I was never able to save money. My largest expense account is my monthly rent. In reality despite the fact that I pay $275 a month I consider that my rent expense is low in comparison with other housing options available in my region. The second largest expense I have is my utility bills which consist of electricity, water, internet, and cable. I am currently paying $225 on utilities. Food is also a major expense in my life. I subdivided my food expenses into three categories: home food, fast food, snacks & candy. I spend each month $126 on home food, $107 on fast food, and $25 on snacks & candy. The total monthly expenditure on gasoline during the last two months was $123. My entertainment expense amount to $86 a month. Some of the things that I do for entertainment are going to the movies, playing miniature golf, and playing video games at the arcade. Since I usually buy most of my clothes during Christmas season my monthly expense on clothing was only $62 a month. I do not have

Home Depot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Home Depot - Essay Example Home Depot operates with contracts, establishes credits with the bank, which provides it opportunities to work effectively in the long run (Magretta). In home improvement industry, it is prior for companies to anticipate with the changing market trends and knowledge (Harrison and John). Home Depot is effective to anticipate with the changing trends in the market and retains their customer. For the new entrant lack of knowledge and experience in the field makes it difficult to maintain its supply chains and customer retention. In addition; Home Depot has maintained an absolute cost advantage in the industry (Harrison and John). The pricing offered by the company is low cost pricing which makes the competition tough in the in the industry. Home Depot has maintained an exclusive control on the costing by developing strong relations with its exclusive sellers and suppliers. One of the major advantages Home Depot experience is the brand image, as customers are more inclined to approach co mpanies having strong brand names (Harrison and John). Home Depot has served over years, it is known as for the best quality and service provider in the industry. This eventually declines the dilemma for the existing companies like Home Depot and Lowies from the new entrants. Constantly, it can be concluded that Home Depot has an edge in the market and has restrained others from entering as new threats. 3.3.2 – Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers in the home improvement industry is a low force. Home Depot’s expense controls and cost initiatives are its core competencies. Prominent companies in the industry like Home Depot and Lowe’s are dependent on well recognized brand name suppliers (Harrison and John). These firms maintain strategic alliances and exclusive relationship with certain suppliers; they maintain their market image in the industry, which eventually secures the bargaining power of suppliers. Home Depot maintains exclusive relationship with its suppliers, as it is depend upon products that are well recognized and brand suppliers. This is because of the reason that if these firms are unable to maintain strong relationship with its suppliers the may lose their product variety and quality (Harrison and John). Furthermore Home Depot eliminates the reliance upon third parties and middle man; this is because of the reason that if these third parties run into financial or regulatory difficulties it may caste negative impacts on the company in the industry (Harrison and John). Therefore, home depot has centralized its purchases operations through making direct purchases (Harrison and John). The online centers of the company aid company to minimize the control of suppliers. Home Depot also maintains websites to maintain and to strengthening the relationship with its suppliers, these measures limits supplier’s bargaining power to a low force. 3.3.3 – Threat Of Substitute Products or Services The threat of substitution in the home retailing industry is relatively low, because the substitution for the home product like hammers, nails, and paint etc. can be the similar products bought within the industry which are also sold by the same vendors (Harrison and John). It is true that the demand of products, their supplies and prices are interrelated in a market, which