Organisational Development Plan Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organisational Development Plan - Coursework Example The paragraphs below will be looking at how the organizational structure and its development are fitted within the overall organizational development agenda of the force as it performs its security functions. As stated in the foregoing paragraph of this essay, one of the responsibilities of the Port Authority is to secure the nation’s leading airports, consequently the main ports under the security watch of the Port Authority are the John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and the LaGuardia Airport. Judging by the sensitivity of these entry points to national security the role of the Port Authority Police Department is very important. They carry out duties spanning from checking security details of all human and vehicular movements in and around the airport, in addition to offering special security detachment service to diplomats and other high profiled personalities traveling through the airport. Operating from Jersey City in New Jersey, the headquarters of the Port Authority Police Department’s headquarters has a complex network of personnel and equipment that are constantly working around the clock to collate crime related information, analyze the information and proceed to transmit the information to the relevant task force for onward action to be taking to this effect. The New York and New Jersey Intelligence and Crime Information Systems and the National Crime Information Centre headquartered in Washington DC are working in close partnership to make the campaign against crime a living reality. In many ways this essay is intended to present a lucid procedure for carrying out a comprehensive analysis scheme that will adequately fit the within the boarders of the changing dynamics of organizational development in contemporary justice and public safety institutions. It addresses the pivotal place to embrace the process of transformation,

Major Factors for a Successful Exhibition Essay Example for Free

Major Factors for a Successful Exhibition Essay Exhibitors expect to meet visitors so they can do business with. Organizers need visitors to visit their exhibitions’ so they can encourage exhibitors to join their exhibitions, therefore making positive financial returns. On the 28-31 October this year, the HKTDC will organize an international furniture fair at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition centre. The most successful companies in this exhibition will be the ones that take advantage of the knowledge the event organizers have to offer, and then successfully communicate that knowledge to the project team that will design all the elements that will be present within the display booth. Other factors for a successful exhibition in the eyes of the exhibitor include but not limited to the following †¢Establish meaningfully goals, and come up with a strong and reliable strategy that will achieve your goals. †¢Put into practice powerful and unforgettable marketing initiatives before, during, and after the exhibition. Choose the best type of exhibit display booth that meets your goals and promotional needs as well as your budgetary requirements. †¢Effectively make use of display accessories, banners, graphics, lighting, booth design, and materials to heighten visibility and drive sales. †¢Hand out Promotional products that complement your company image. †¢Ensure those working the show are well trained to fully represent your company, generate leads, and secure sales. Through the eyes of the organizer the key factors of a successful exhibition is when all the exhibition goals have been achieved or completed. Some of those goals I have listed below †¢Pre-promotional strategy as meet it objectives by providing enough interest in the exhibition †¢All the allocated floor space as been taken up by exhibitors †¢Visitors count by surpassed the expected amount †¢Feedback from exhibitors is good and bookings are taken for the following year †¢Nothing unexpected happens †¢When organizers receive recognition for their exhibition A well organized event will enhance awareness, help to capture new business leads and advance customer relationships

Essay --

an’s Sexual Theme Throughout subsequent editions of Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman introduces and revises his controversial theme of sexuality. Whitman wanted to celebrate sexuality and did so with homosexual overtones. Any work will be considered controversial if it contains sexuality, but up until the mid-18th century homosexuality was yet to be coined a sexual identity. Throughout Whitman’s eight editions of Leaves of Grass (1855-1891-92), controversy arouse, stating his poetry contained trashy and obscene sexual language. Whitman argued the public was placing too much emphasis on the sexual content and not fully embracing his work as a whole. He held too much pride to blatantly change or censor his work but over time did make subtle alterations and omission of lines (Killingsworth). Early on, Whitman was inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1843 essay, The Poet (â€Å"Author Profile.†). Emerson called for an American poet to also celebrate the spirit and nature of man, to celebra te individualism instead of embracing the social order of things (Willcox). Whitman, optimistic with the new changes in American literature, set out to answer Emerson and embarked on a journey of becoming a very unique and great American poet (â€Å"Author Profile.†). Whitman experimented constantly with his editions of Leaves of Grass. Although the more blatantly obvious changes included his design through binding, paper size, and font style, the more thought provoking changes occurred overtime through revision. Upon completing, he sent out numerous review copies of his first edition receiving a notable response from Ralph Waldo Emerson welcoming him, â€Å"at the beginning of a greet career.† (Baym 22). Besides Emerson’s quick, uplifting response it was considere... ...ge in poetic style was difficult for his contemporaries to overcome, especially deriving from Whitman himself. His bolder topics and greater focus on nature and man is what fueled his poetry. Besides his written poems, Whitman gave off this sense of everyday life through his frontispiece and title page of the first edition of Leaves of Grass. An image of Whitman himself is the frontispiece, bearded, one arm â€Å"akimbo,† hand in pocket, workingman’s hat on his slightly cocked head, shirt unbuttoned at his collar, looking directly at the reader (Baym 21). His self-presentation of a rough working man was seen as absurdly unconventional for an artist. But that’s just what Whitman wanted, he wanted to stir the pot and make people think differently. This frontispiece provides a very powerful lead-in to how Whitman was reshaping poetry to a more naturalistic perspective. Essay -- an’s Sexual Theme Throughout subsequent editions of Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman introduces and revises his controversial theme of sexuality. Whitman wanted to celebrate sexuality and did so with homosexual overtones. Any work will be considered controversial if it contains sexuality, but up until the mid-18th century homosexuality was yet to be coined a sexual identity. Throughout Whitman’s eight editions of Leaves of Grass (1855-1891-92), controversy arouse, stating his poetry contained trashy and obscene sexual language. Whitman argued the public was placing too much emphasis on the sexual content and not fully embracing his work as a whole. He held too much pride to blatantly change or censor his work but over time did make subtle alterations and omission of lines (Killingsworth). Early on, Whitman was inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1843 essay, The Poet (â€Å"Author Profile.†). Emerson called for an American poet to also celebrate the spirit and nature of man, to celebra te individualism instead of embracing the social order of things (Willcox). Whitman, optimistic with the new changes in American literature, set out to answer Emerson and embarked on a journey of becoming a very unique and great American poet (â€Å"Author Profile.†). Whitman experimented constantly with his editions of Leaves of Grass. Although the more blatantly obvious changes included his design through binding, paper size, and font style, the more thought provoking changes occurred overtime through revision. Upon completing, he sent out numerous review copies of his first edition receiving a notable response from Ralph Waldo Emerson welcoming him, â€Å"at the beginning of a greet career.† (Baym 22). Besides Emerson’s quick, uplifting response it was considere... ...ge in poetic style was difficult for his contemporaries to overcome, especially deriving from Whitman himself. His bolder topics and greater focus on nature and man is what fueled his poetry. Besides his written poems, Whitman gave off this sense of everyday life through his frontispiece and title page of the first edition of Leaves of Grass. An image of Whitman himself is the frontispiece, bearded, one arm â€Å"akimbo,† hand in pocket, workingman’s hat on his slightly cocked head, shirt unbuttoned at his collar, looking directly at the reader (Baym 21). His self-presentation of a rough working man was seen as absurdly unconventional for an artist. But that’s just what Whitman wanted, he wanted to stir the pot and make people think differently. This frontispiece provides a very powerful lead-in to how Whitman was reshaping poetry to a more naturalistic perspective.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter One

Dear Diary, I'm so scared. My heart is pounding, my mouth is dry, and my hands are shaking. I've faced so much and survived: vampires, werewolves, phantoms. Things I never imagined were real. And now I'm terrified. Why? Simply because I'm leaving home. And I know that it's completely, insanely ridiculous. I'm barely leaving home, really. I'm going to college, only a few hours' drive from this darling house where I've lived since I was a baby. No, I'm not going to start crying again. I'll be sharing a room with Bonnie and Meredith, my two best friends in the whole world. In the same dorm, only a couple of floors away will be my beloved Stefan. My other best friend, Matt, will be just a short walk across campus. Even Damon will be in an apartment in the town nearby. Honestly, I couldn't stick any closer to home unless I never moved out of this house at all. I'm being such a wimp. But it seems like I just got my home back – my family, my life – after being exiled for so long, and now I suddenly have to leave again. I suppose I'm scared partly because these last few weeks of summer have been wonderful. We packed all the enjoyment we would have been having these past few months – if it hadn't been for fighting the kitsune, traveling to the Dark Dimension, battling the jealousy phantom, and all the other Extremely Not Fun things we've done – into three glorious weeks. We had picnics and sleepovers and went swimming and shopping. We took a trip to the county fair, where Matt won Bonnie a stuffed tiger and turned bright red when she squealed and leaped into his arms. Stefan even kissed me on the top of the Ferris wheel, just like any normal guy might kiss his girlfriend on a beautiful summer night. We were so happy. So normal in a way I thought we could never be again. That's what's frightening me, I guess. I'm scared that these few weeks have been a bright golden interlude and that now that things are changing, we'll be heading back into darkness and horror. It's like that poem we read in English class last fall says: Nothing gold can stay. Not for me. Even Damon†¦ The clatter of feet in the hal way downstairs distracted her, and Elena Gilbert's pen slowed. She glanced up at the last couple of boxes scattered around her room. Stefan and Damon must be here to pick her up. But she wanted to finish her thought, to express the last worry that had been nagging at her during these perfect weeks. She turned back to her diary, writing faster so that she could get her thoughts down before she had to leave. Damon has changed. Ever since we defeated the jealousy phantom, he's been †¦ kinder. Not just to me, not just to Bonnie, who he's always had a soft spot for, but even to Matt and Meredith. He can still be intensely irritating and unpredictable – he wouldn't be Damon without that – but he hasn't had that cruel edge to him. Not like he used to. He and Stefan seem to have come to an understanding. They know I love them both, and yet they haven't let jealousy come between them. They're close, acting like true brothers in a way I haven't seen before. There's this delicate balance between the three of us that's lasted through the end of the summer. And I worry that any misstep on my part will bring it crashing down and that like their first love, Katherine, I'll tear the brothers apart. And then we'll lose Damon forever. Aunt Judith cal ed up, sounding impatient, â€Å"Elena!† â€Å"Coming!† Elena replied. She quickly scribbled a few more sentences in her diary. Still, it's possible that this new life will be wonderful. Maybe I'll find everything I've been looking for. I can't hold on to high school, or to my life here at home, forever. And who knows? Maybe this time the gold will stay. â€Å"Elena! Your ride is waiting!† Aunt Judith was definitely getting stressed out now. She'd wanted to drive Elena up to school herself. But Elena knew she wouldn't be able to say good-bye to her family without crying, so she'd asked Stefan and Damon to drive her up instead. It would be less embarrassing to get emotional here at home than to weep al over Dalcrest's campus. Since Elena had decided to go up with the Salvatore brothers, Aunt Judith had been working herself up about every little detail, anxious that Elena's col ege career wouldn't start off perfectly without her there to supervise. It was al because Aunt Judith loved her, Elena knew. Elena slammed the blue-velvet-covered journal shut and dropped it into an open box. She climbed to her feet and headed for the door, but before she opened it, she turned to look at her room one last time. It was so empty, with her favorite posters missing from the wal s and half the books gone from her bookcase. Only a few clothes remained in her dresser and closet. The furniture was al stil in place. But now that the room was stripped of most of her possessions, it felt more like an impersonal hotel room than the cozy haven of her childhood. So much had happened here. Elena could remember cuddling up with her father on the window seat to read together when she was a little girl. She and Bonnie and Meredith – and Caroline, who had been her good friend, too, once – had spent at least a hundred nights here tel ing secrets, studying, dressing for dances, and just hanging out. Stefan had kissed her here, early in the morning, and disappeared quickly when Aunt Judith came to wake her. Elena remembered Damon's cruel, triumphant smile as she invited him in that first time, what felt like a mil ion years ago. And, not so long ago, her joy when he had appeared here one dark night, after they al thought he was dead. There was a quiet knock at the door, and it swung open. Stefan stood in the doorway, watching her. â€Å"About ready?† he said. â€Å"Your aunt is a little worried. She thinks you're not going to have time to unpack before orientation if we don't get going.† Elena stood and went over to wrap her arms around him. He smel ed clean and woodsy, and she nestled her head against his shoulder. â€Å"I'm coming,† she said. â€Å"It's just hard to say good-bye, you know? Everything's changing.† Stefan turned toward her and caught her mouth softly in a kiss. â€Å"I know,† he said when the kiss ended, and ran his finger gently along the curve of her bottom lip. â€Å"I'l take these boxes down and give you one more minute. Aunt Judith wil feel better if she sees the truck getting packed up.† â€Å"Okay. I'l be right down.† Stefan left the room with the boxes, and Elena sighed, looking around again. The blue flowered curtains her mother had made for her when Elena was nine stil hung over the windows. Elena remembered her mother hugging her, her eyes a little teary, when her baby girl told her she was too big for Winnie the Pooh curtains. Elena's own eyes fil ed with tears, and she tucked her hair behind her ears, mirroring the gesture her mother had used when she was thinking hard. Elena was so young when her parents died. Maybe if they'd lived, she and her mother would be friends now, would know each other as equals, not just as mother and daughter. Her parents had gone to Dalcrest Col ege, too. That's where they'd met, in fact. Downstairs on top of the piano sat a picture of them in their graduation robes on the sun-fil ed lawn in front of the Dalcrest library, laughing, impossibly young. Maybe going to Dalcrest would bring Elena closer to them. Maybe she'd learn more about the people they'd been, not just the mom and dad she'd known when she was little, and find her lost family among the neoclassical buildings and the sweeping green lawns of the col ege. She wasn't leaving, not real y. She was moving forward. Elena set her jaw firmly and headed out of her room, clicking off the light as she went. Downstairs, Aunt Judith, her husband, Robert, and Elena's five-year-old sister, Margaret, were gathered in the hal , waiting, watching Elena as she came down the stairs. Aunt Judith was fussing, of course. She couldn't keep stil ; her hands were twisting together, smoothing her hair, or fiddling with her earrings. â€Å"Elena,† she said, â€Å"are you sure you've packed everything you need? There's so much to remember.† She frowned. Her aunt's obvious anxiety made it easier for Elena to smile reassuringly and hug her. Aunt Judith held her tight, relaxing for a moment, and sniffed. â€Å"I'm going to miss you, sweetheart.† â€Å"I'l miss you, too,† Elena said, and squeezed Aunt Judith closer, feeling her own lips tremble. She gave a shaky laugh. â€Å"But I'l be back. If I forgot anything, or if I get homesick, I'l run right back for a weekend. I don't have to wait for Thanksgiving.† Next to them, Robert shifted from one foot to the other and cleared his throat. Elena let go of Aunt Judith and turned to him. â€Å"Now, I know col ege students have a lot of expenses,† he said. â€Å"And we don't want you to have to worry about money, so you've got an account at the student store, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He opened his wal et and handed Elena a fistful of bil s. â€Å"Just in case.† â€Å"Oh,† said Elena, touched and a little flustered. â€Å"Thank you so much, Robert, but you real y don't have to.† He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. â€Å"We want you to have everything you need,† he said firmly. Elena smiled at him grateful y, folded the money, and put it in her pocket. Next to Robert, Margaret glared down obstinately at her shoes. Elena knelt before her and took her little sister's hands. â€Å"Margaret?† she prompted. Large blue eyes stared into her own. Margaret frowned and shook her head, her mouth a tight line. â€Å"I'm going to miss you so much, Meggie,† Elena said, pul ing her close, her eyes fil ing with tears again. Her little sister's dandelion-soft hair brushed against Elena's cheek. â€Å"But I'l be back for Thanksgiving, and maybe you can come visit me on campus. I'd love to show off my little sister to al my new friends.† Margaret swal owed. â€Å"I don't want you to go,† she said in a smal miserable voice. â€Å"You're always leaving.† â€Å"Oh, sweetie,† Elena said helplessly, cuddling her sister closer. â€Å"I always come back, don't I?† Elena shivered. Once again, she wondered how much Margaret remembered of what had really happened in Fel ‘s Church over the last year. The Guardians had promised to change everyone's memories of those dark months when vampires, werewolves, and kitsune had nearly destroyed the town – and when Elena herself had died and risen again – but there seemed to be exceptions. Caleb Smal wood remembered, and sometimes Margaret's innocent face looked strangely knowing. â€Å"Elena,† Aunt Judith said again, her voice thick and weepy, â€Å"you'd better get going.† Elena hugged her sister one more time before letting her go. â€Å"Okay,† she said, standing and picking up her bag. â€Å"I'l cal you tonight and let you know how I'm settling in.† Aunt Judith nodded, and Elena gave her another quick kiss before wiping her eyes and opening the front door. Outside, the sunlight was so bright she had to blink. Damon and Stefan were leaning against the truck Stefan had rented, her stuff packed into the back. As she stepped forward, they both glanced up and, at the same time, smiled at her. Oh. They were so beautiful, the two of them, that seeing them could stil leave her shaken after al this time. Stefan, her love Stefan, his leaf-green eyes shining at the sight of her, was gorgeous with his classical profile and that sweet little kissable curve to his bottom lip. And Damon – al luminescent pale skin, black velvety eyes, and silken hair – was graceful and deadly al at once. Damon's bril iant smile made something inside her stretch and purr like a panther recognizing its mate. Both pairs of eyes watched her lovingly, possessively. The Salvatore brothers were hers now. What was she going to do about it? The thought made her frown and made her shoulders hunch nervously. Then she consciously smoothed the wrinkles in her forehead away, relaxed, and smiled back at them. What would come, would come. â€Å"Time to go,† she said, and tilted her face up toward the sun.

Master and the Margaritas – an Analysis of “Bezdomny”

The Master and the Margarita â€Å"Locomotor and speech excitation, delirious interpretations, complex case, it seems. Schizophrenia plus alcoholism, disturbed imagination and hallucinations†. This was doctor Stravinsky’s diagnosis of Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyrov after his super natural encounters with Professor Woland. Ponyrov, also known as â€Å"Homeless† is a character of character of great interest especially on the topic of magical realism and the lunacy institutionalized belief systems in Soviet Russia as well as the modern western society, that make Ponyrov one of Bulgakov’s most interesting characters.This paper is interested in exploring the role of Ponyrov in Michael Bulgakov’s The Master and Margaritas with the focus on what kind of social representation Ponyrov was intended to represent in the novel. This paper is constructed in attempt to relate the historical relevance of phantasmagoria characters from The Master and Margeritas to its pa rallel narratives in 1930s Russia, showing that the character of Ponyrov is a reflection victimization of societal and institutional absurdity such as Stalin’s Great Purge during the early years of Soviet Russia.The story of The Master and Margaritas took place in 1930s Moscow, though the story is restricted to neither the realm of reality nor this specific time period as the story blends and weaves between the story of Jesus in ancient Roman Empire and industrial Russia. The novel’s beginning holds particular importance in understanding Ponyrov (or â€Å"homeless†) as introduce the reader to two worlds, both full of censorship and political prosecution.Before the Devil’s introduction as a foreign Professor name Woland, this world seemed to follow the laws of physics, thus at the beginning of the novel it seemed to be a realist story, complying with modern communist and realist doctrines on gothic literature. The story eventually morphs two fantastic real ms as Professor Woland slyly brought in several fantastic/theological elements to atheist-anti religious believers such as our character of focus, Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyrov. This no doubt created disbelief and tension between the non-believers (Berlioz and Bezdomny).It is at this point when some of the Omni-type qualities in Bezdomny are first reveled. Bezdomny, in his reaction to seeing what happened to Berlioz and his dialog with the Devil showed us he is the character type that represents; a believer in the status quo, which at the time was the atheist outlook on the existence of Jesus Christ; a law abiding citizen and a defender of soviet beliefs. Later when he went on his unfortunate adventure to confirm what he experienced to the authorities, Bezdomny was sent to a mental institutional.It is this betrayal of a society toward an individual when the individual has done nothing wrong. Bulgakov was very conscious of the fear of political prosecution in Soviet Russia during the tim e he wrote The Master and Margaritas as he himself fear the implications his novel would have for him. Therefore it is very interesting to focus on the subtle hints of political advocacy rebelling against the state. Back in the story the chaos induced by Satan disguised as Professor Rowland Satan, ominously flipped Ponyrov’s world upside down, creating horrible internally confusions in Ponyrov.Having just being confronted that his core belief in religion false and later having had to witness the horrific death of someone he knew, his reaction to all these changes are arguably the most relatable and seemingly sensible from the perspective of a rational reader. Yet, his misfortune had only began, Ponyrov was condemned insane and segregated from ‘normal’ society by the society he thought to be fair and rational. As a young poet, who before the strange events at Patriarch Pond was still a promising poet who is living a good life or a life without prosecution.It is th e sudden change in the story we see not only the introduction of magic realism in the novel but it also shows the drastic change of reality for many political activists, intelligentsias, and academics in Russia since the October Revolution. That particular demography is presented in Bezdomny. Bulgakov’s excellence in this piece is his ability to avoid political prosecution for his own work and through satire and the disguise of a ‘alter reality’ to construct a realistic representation of soviet political prosecution during Stalin’s censorship and political purge.Bulgakov was not able to publish ‘The Master and Margaritas’ as he would have liked because he too was a victim of Soviet censorship. This piece was first rejected by the editorial board as it was too radical at the time and the publish version was only submitted after editing many potentially offensive parts to the Soviet Government. The theme of censorship is quite noticeable and by understanding Bulgakov’s history and his own personal relationship dealing with censorship, its evident the â€Å"master† in the story is really Bulgakov himself.The master and Bezdomny were both considered insane by their society, and the standard qualification for admission in a mental institution is a reflection on the standard, which the editorial board qualify as work accepted or work rejected. Bulgakov tried to show that the two institutions, editorial board and mental institution is really both a method of censorship and political purge. In the logical of a paranoid dictator, Stalin was be very sensitive about individuals thinking ‘outside the box’ , especially a creative and provocative writer like Bulgakov.The most provocative element in creating Bezdomny as a character is probably his interactions with the master in the mental institution they were both forced to attend. At this point in the novel, the readers should already have a firm understan ding that neither Bezdomny nor the Master actually have any mental illness. The conversations between Bezdomny and the Master over the Master novel seemed coherent and logical. As to the magical elements that made them seem crazy, Bezdomny especially was not the archetype but merely the observer of absurdities that were happening around him which made him seem crazy.It is this powerful mental experiment that Bulagkov embark the readers on so we are conditioned to resonate with Bezdomny in feeling helpless and wronged. As a reader, it was difficult not to feel trapped and powerless while reading this section, and this is in part a product of the form of narration Bulgakov uses in the novel. The story, apart from dialogs between characters is told in through mostly an omniscient narrator, whom the readers have no knowledge of. The combination of the narration techniques Bulgakov used was able to achieve a cinematic reading experience as one follow through the four short days the story cover.

In or on - Emphasis

In or on In or on This may be a post mostly for our non-native English speaking readers. When to use in or on at any given moment is something native speakers give little thought to, simply because theyve grown up hearing where these words slot in. But it can be more confusing for those coming to the language later. And its hardly surprising, considering how many definitions these tiny but mighty words can carry. In can be an adverb, noun, adjective or preposition, while on can be an adjective, adverb or preposition. As prepositions alone, they each have over a dozen definitions. Isabel from Natural England wrote in on the subject: In Spanish, both translate as en and I am unsure when to use one or the other in many situations. Is it a matter of learning them by heart or are there any useful rules out there? The answer to that (perhaps unfortunately) lies somewhere in between. But for the most common areas where these two words share territory, this downloadable PDF will be a handy reference. Print it off, stick it on your wall or monitor, and the rules will soon be lodged in your mind. Download In or on

Selecting Patient Escorts Essay Example

Selecting Patient Escorts Essay Example Selecting Patient Escorts Essay Selecting Patient Escorts Essay City Hospital is located in the heart of a large midwestern city. It is one of major hospitals in the area and has recenfly built a small addition for treafing well- known patients, such as professional football players, top company execufives, and singing stars. Visiting or local celebrities always choose City Hospital if they need treatment. City Hospital has about 1,200 hospital beds and employs 4,500 individuals, including about 40 patient escorts. The job of patient escort is a rather simple one, requiring only minimal training and no special physical talents. When patients need to be moved from one location to another, patient escorts are summoned to assist in the move. If the move is only a short distance, however, a nurse or orderlycan move the patient. Of particular importance is the fact that patient escorts almost always take patients who are being discharged from their hospital room to the front door of the hospital. A wheelchair is always used, even if the patient is able to walk unassisted. Thus, the typical procedure is for the nurse to call for a patient escort. The escort then gets a Wheelchair and goes to the patient’s room, assists the patient into the wheelchair, picks up the pauent’s belongings, wheels the patient down to the hospital’s front door or to his or her car in the parking lot, and retnrns to the work station. The job of patient escort is critical to the hospital since the escort is always the last hospital representative the patient sees, and hence has a considerable influence on the patient’s final perception of the hospital. Of approximately 40 escorts, about three- fourths are men and one- fourth are women. Most are high school graduates in their early twenties. Some, particularly those on the early morning shift, are attending college at night and working for the hospital to earn money to pay college expenses. Pour of the escorts are older women who had previously served as hospital volunteers and then decided to become full- time employees instead. Turnover among patient escorts is quite high and has averaged 25 percent in recent years. In addition, upward mobihty in the hospital is quite good, and as a result, another 25 percent of the escorts transfer to other jobs in the hospital each year. Thus, about half of the patient escorts need to be replaced The hospital a standard procedure When hiring patient escorts. When a vacancy occurs, the human resource department reviews the file of applications of individuals who have appfied for the patient escort job. Usually the file contains at least 20 applications because the pay for the job is good, the work is undemanding, and few ski]ls are required. The top two or three applicants are asked to come to the hospital for interviews. Typicafly, the apphcan’ts are interviewed by the human resource department and then by the patient escort superviser. The majority of those interviewed know some other employees of the hospital, so the only reference check is a call to these employees. Before being hired, apphcants are required to take physical exams given by hospital doctors. Every new escor’t attends an orientation program the day on the job. This is conducted by a member of the hospital’s human resource department. The program consists of a complete tour of the hospital; a review of all the hospital’s HR policies, including a description of its promotion, compensation, and disciplinary policies; and a presentation of the hospital’s mission and phflosophy. During this orientation session, employees are told that the hospital’s image in the community is of major importance and that all employees should strive to maintain and enhance this image through their conduct. After orientation, all patient escorts receive on-the-job training by their immediate superviser. During the last two years, the hospital has experienced a number of problems with patient escorts, which have had an adverse effect on the hospital’s image. Several patients have complained to the hospital administration that they were treated rudely, or in some cases roughly, by one or more patient escorts. Some complained that they were ordered around or scolded by an escort during the discharge process. Others stated that their escorts were careless when wheehng them out of the hospital to their cars. One person reported that an escort carelessly tipped him over. AH escorts are required to wear identification tags, but patients usually cannot remember the escort’s name when lodging a complaint to the hospital. Additionafly, the hospital has difficulty determining which escort served which patient because escorts often trade patients. even when the hospital can identify the offending escort, the employee can easily deny any wrongdoing. He or she counters that patients are generally irritable as a result of their illness and, hence, are proue to complain at even the slightest provocation. At the hospital admhfistrator’s request, the human resource manager asked the chief supervisor patient escorts, the head of the staffing section within the human resource depaflment, and the assistant human resource director to meet with her to review the entire procedure used to select patient escorts. It was hoped that a new procedure could be devised that would efiminate the hiring of rude, insulting, or careless patient escorts. During the meeting, a number of suggestions were made as to how the selection procedure might be improved. Criticisms of the present system were also voiced. The chief superviser of patient escorts argued that the problem with the hospital’s present system is that the application form is void of any useful information. He stated that the questions that really give insights into the employee’s personality are no longer on the application form. He suggested that applicants be asked about their hobbies, outside activiues, and their personal likes and dislikes on the application form. He also suggested that each applicant be asked to submit three letters of recommendation from people who know the applicant well. He wanted these letters t0 focus on the prospective employee’s personality, particularly the applicant’s to remain friendly and polite at all times. The assistant human resource director contended that the hospital’s interviewing proce- dure should be modified. He observed that, during the typical interview, little attempt is made to determine how the apphcant reacts under stress. He suggested that if applicants were asked four or stress-producing questions, the hospital might be in a better position to judge their ability to work with irritable patients. The head of the staffing section noted that patient escorts require little mental or physical talent and agreed that the crucial attributeescorts need is the ability to always be courteous and polite. He wondered whether an attitude test could be developed that would measure the apphcant’s predisposition toward being friendly, helpful, sensitive, and so on. He suggested that a job analysis could be donc on the patient escort position to determine those attitudes that are critical to being a successful patient escort. When the job analysis was complote, questions could be developed that would measure these critical attributes. The test questions could be given to the hospital’s present patient escorts to determine whether the test accurately distinguishes the best escorts from the worst. The head of the staffing section reahzed that many of the questions might need to be eliminated or changed, and if the test appeared  to show promise, it would probably need to be revaudated in order to meet govemment requirements. He felt, however, that a Wefl- designed test might be worth the effort and should at least be considered. The meeting ended with all four participants agreeing that the suggestion of trying to develop an attitude test was probably the most promising. The assistant human resource director and chief superviser of patient escorts stated that they would conduct a thorough job analysis covering the patient escort position and develop a list of attitudes that are critical to its success. A second meeting would then be scheduled to prepare the actual test questions. QUESTIONS Critique each of the alternative approaches suggested for solving the problem of selecting patient escorts at City Hospital. Recommend a procedure for recruiting and hiring patient escorts. Besides improving its selection procedures, What other actions could the hospital potentially take to improve the behavior of the patient escorts?

How Barometers Measure Air Pressure

How Barometers Measure Air Pressure A barometer is a widely used weather instrument that measures atmospheric pressure (also known as air pressure or barometric pressure) the weight of the air in the atmosphere. It is one of the basic sensors included in weather stations. While an array of barometer types exist, two main types are used in meteorology: the mercury barometer and the aneroid barometer. How the Classic Mercury Barometer Works The classic mercury barometer is designed as a glass tube about 3 feet high with one end open and the other end sealed. The tube is filled with mercury. This glass tube sits upside down in a container, called the reservoir, which also contains mercury. The mercury level in the glass tube falls, creating a vacuum at the top. (The first barometer of this type was devised by Italian physicist and mathematician Evangelista Torricelli in 1643.) The barometer works by balancing the weight of mercury in the glass tube against the atmospheric pressure, much like a set of scales. Atmospheric pressure is basically the weight of air in the atmosphere above the reservoir, so the level of mercury continues to change until the weight of mercury in the glass tube is exactly equal to the weight of air above the reservoir. Once the two have stopped moving and are balanced, the pressure is recorded by reading the value at the mercurys height in the vertical column. If the weight of mercury is less than the atmospheric pressure, the mercury level in the glass tube rises (high pressure). In areas of high pressure, air is sinking toward the surface of the earth more quickly than it can flow out to surrounding areas. Since the number of air molecules above the surface increases, there are more molecules to exert a force on that surface. With an increased weight of air above the reservoir, the mercury level rises to a higher level. If the weight of mercury is more than the atmospheric pressure, the mercury level falls (low pressure). In areas of low pressure, air is rising away from the surface of the earth more quickly than it can be replaced by air flowing in from surrounding areas. Since the number of air molecules above the area decreases, there are fewer molecules to exert a force on that surface. With a reduced weight of air above the reservoir, the mercury level drops to a lower level. Mercury vs. Aneroid Weve already explored how mercury barometers work. One con of using them, however, is that theyre not the safest things (after all, mercury is a highly poisonous liquid metal). Aneroid barometers are more widely used as an alternative to liquid barometers. Invented in 1884 by French scientist Lucien Vidi, the aneroid barometer resembles a compass or clock. Heres how it works: Inside of an aneroid barometer is a small flexible metal box. Since this box has had the air pumped out of it, small changes in external air pressure cause its metal to expand and contract. The expansion and contraction movements drive mechanical levers inside which move a needle. As these movements drive the needle up or down around the barometer face dial, the pressure change is easily displayed. Aneroid barometers are the kinds most commonly used in homes and small aircraft. Cell Phone Barometers Whether or not you have a barometer in your home, office, boat, or plane, chances are your iPhone, Android, or another smartphone has a built-in digital barometer! Digital barometers work like an aneroid, except the mechanical parts are replaced with a simple pressure-sensing transducer. So, why is this weather-related sensor in your phone? Many manufacturers include it to improve elevation measurements provided by your phones GPS services (since atmospheric pressure is directly related to elevation). If you happen to be a weather geek, you get the added benefit of being able to share and crowdsource air pressure data with a bunch of other smartphone users via your phones always-on internet connection and weather apps. Millibars, Inches of Mercury, and Pascals Barometric pressure can be reported in any one of the below units of measure: Inches of Mercury (inHg) - Used mainly in the United States.Millibars (mb) - Used by meteorologists.Pascals (Pa) - The SI unit of pressure, used worldwide.Atmospheres (Atm) - Air pressure at sea level at a temperature of 59 Â °F (15 Â °C) When converting between them, use this formula: 29.92 inHg 1.0 Atm 101325 Pa 1013.25 mb Edited by Tiffany Means

Emirates airlines company analysis Research Paper

Emirates airlines company analysis - Research Paper Example Emirates Group Company has a fleet of about 169 aircrafts. The company operates in the United States, east and west Asia, Europe, Middle East, Australasia, Indian Ocean, and Africa (The Emirates Group, 2012). The Emirates Airline began in 1985, and it has its headquarters in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. The company’s main mission is to emerge the top airline in the world, which is inspired by the fact that Dubai ranks among the leading cities around the world. Emirates Airlines is owned partly by the government of Dubai and partly by a city part of the United Arab Emirates. The airline is part of the Emirates Group of companies, which began in 1959. Today, Emirates Airline can be regarded as the largest airline in the Middle East and is Dubai’s national airline. The airline is best known for its first class and business class services and has received several international awards in safety, on-time arrivals, and in-flight services (The Emirates Group, 2011). The Emi rates respects diversity at the workplace and in the management of its operations. This helps in eliminating a negative culture within an organization (The Emirates Group, 2012). ... A team work culture enables employees to pay attention to the company's goals, which enables the airline to sustain its competitive advantage. Team work produces actions that are highly coordinated. The management and employees are in constant joint efforts that enhance the quality of Emirate’s services and products (The Emirates Group, 2012). Hiring personnel at the Emirates The Emirates airline focuses more on hiring employees with significant experience in airline and travel industry. Persons interested in working with the airline apply for the preferred positions on the company’s website or by dropping their applications to the company’s offices around the world. Successful applicants are then invited for interviews test for a person’s skills, employment history, motivation, and availability. The nature of the interviews depends on the job applied for, and jobs such as those of pilots may involve intensive recruitment procedures. Interviews at the Emir ates mainly involve panel interviews, company presentations, one-on-one interviews, and group interviews (The Emirates Group, 2012). Objectives of personnel selection process The Emirates airlines recognizes that for it to achieve its strategic objectives and to secure its values, recruiting and retaining skilled and committed workforce are of the essence. Therefore, the company’s recruitment and selection procedures are structured in a way that helps the company to hire the best suited candidates for various job positions. The recruitment and selection procedures are guided by several policies. At the top, of the recruitment and selection procedures is the need to ensure that there is an equal opportunity for all applicants. Secondly, the hiring process focuses on ensuring that

What are the main causes of global warming Essay

What are the main causes of global warming - Essay Example The earth’s atmosphere usually traps solar radiation, through gases such as Carbon IV oxide, methane and water vapor; these are called the greenhouse gases, which allow incoming radiation to pass through, but traps and retain the heat radiated back from the earth’s surface (Dahlman & Renwick 96). This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect. Global warming is simply an enhanced form of the greenhouse effect, caused by a major upsurge in the greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. The gases trap more and more radiation leading to an overall increase in the earth. For global warming to occur, a lot of factors come into play. However, scientists have concluded that human activity is the leading cause of global warming. This happens in two main ways: burning fossil fuels, which is the main cause and deforestation. When fossil fuels are extracted and burnt, they release CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Increased CO2 in the atmosphere is the biggest concern because it can last in the atmosphere for generations. Deforestation only happens to accelerate the problem further. This is because most of the cleared trees, when burnt, also release CO2. Furthermore, we know that forests require CO2 for photosynthesis. In the process, plants are able to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Clearing trees therefore leads to the build of carbon IV oxide, which in turn raises the earth’s temperatures. Global warming causes climate change (Dahlman & Renwick 96). This is unpredictable and mostly devastating changes in weather such as the Hurricane Sandy and other extreme climatic events such as the melting of the polar ice. These changes therefore call for all the people in the world to join hands to try to reverse and in the end eliminate this process. Among the strategies set forth to combat global warming include afforestation, which is the planting of forests where they were depleted,

Japan's cultural environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Japan's cultural environment - Essay Example In order to work and interact successfully in Japan, an understanding of its national culture is considered important. While businesses have been guided by Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture, this paper evaluates if changes have taken place since the 1960s and 1970s when data was collected by Hofstede. Hofstede defines culture as â€Å"the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another†. Japan, with a PDI of 54, is a mildly hierarchical society. Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of the institutions expect that power is distributed unequally (Geert-Hofstede). However, the Japanese society is not as hierarchical as most Asian societies, according to Hofstede. Foreigners consider Japan as being extremely hierarchical because the decisions making goes through different layers of management but at the same time, this also demonstrates that there is no one single person in authority. In addition, Japan has been a meritocratic society and believes that everyone is born equal and anyone who is keen to attain higher levels of education, is free to do so, and move ahead. This is the degree to which the society maintains interdependence. Japan’s score of 46 suggests a collectivist society where the harmony of the group is more important than the individual opinions. People in such societies have a strong sense of shame in losing face. However, the Japanese society is not as collectivist as the Chinese society. This is because the Japanese do not have extended family system where collectivism is prevalent. The eldest son in Japanese families carries on the father’s name and inherits assets while the others have to leave home and find their own way in life. The Japanese are more loyal to their company or the organization to which they are attached than to the family. Thus, by western standards they are called collectivists but by Asian standards they are individualistic. Masculinity Index (MAS) Japan has a high score of 95 on this dimension which indicates it is one of the most masculine societies in the world. This, according to Hofstede suggests that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success. However, the Japanese society does not demonstrate the behaviour expected in societies with high masculine scores, possibly because of their mild collectivist nature. There is severe competition but not between individuals; it is severe competition between groups which can be seen even at the primary school level. At the workplace also, employees are motivated when they are fighting against a team of competitors. The Japanese strive for excellence and perfection in

Book review the goal by Eliyahu m. Geldratt Essay

Book review the goal by Eliyahu m. Geldratt - Essay Example This is the story as to how Alex turns the tables from a difficult situation in his production unit, and emerges successful. The wise saying goes, what you do is not important; how you do what you do is important, and Alex sees the truth in this assertion, by changing the strategies in administering the production and attending to the related issues in his plant. Eliyahu Goldratts "The Goal" is an entertaining novel and at the same time it is a thought provoking business book. Alex carries the problems of the plant to home resulting in adverse effects on his married life. The downward spiral at the plant needs to be arrested within the stipulated period of 90 days given to him by the top management. The Plant Manager happens to meet his Professor, Jonah, who diagnoses the problems of managing the plant and he tenders tangible solutions, to stem the rot. Alex begins to fix the issues one by one and realizes that they all have one terminating point. Jonah introduces to him the â€Å"Theory of Constraints.† The structure of the manufacturing plant is like the movement of an octopus, whose arms stretch in several directions simultaneously but the movement is set to a pattern ordained by Nature without which it cannot exist. Unintelligent planning is the root cause of malfunctioning in a production unit. The functioning and management of Alex’s plant owns all the negative traits and it is afflicted with loss-generating segments. All efficiency me trics are going red and own unhealthy existence. Alex has orders pending for two months behind the scheduled delivery date, his warehouse has $20 million in unsold finished goods, items that demand urgent delivery are being expedited by paying overtime to the workforce and it needs special handling obviously at extra cost, sales are on the decline due to delivery slippage, material costs have hit the roof, and the most annoying situation is his division is facing the cash crunch. The cumulative effect

Analysis of Advanced Criminalistics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of Advanced Criminalistics - Assignment Example This is however not the case, the real suspect had left fingerprints on the very saliva that he spoke onto and DNA testing would have indicated otherwise. Finally, the clerk was not aware of what was going on at the time of the robbery. The asserted that the only thing he could remember was someone who had clothes that resembled those of the customer and the front end of the gunpoint. In other words, the suspect had planted samples with the customers DNA without the prior knowledge of the clerk. People can be implicated in a crime based on their DNA. Claims have shown that DNA composition is unique on every person except in twins. In case a crime has happened and between two twins, one was involved and later fled to a distance place. The other twin will be implicated to have been involved in the crime. Furthermore, DNA is a chemical compound and is bound to mutations and change (Porada & Straus, 2001). Some tests done on DNA’s of people have errors and when used as evidence, may lead to arresting of a person who was not necessarily a perpetrator of the crime. Finally, scientists can fabricate DNA of one person resembles the DNA of another person. In such instances, when scientist fabricates DNA obtained from saliva or blood samples of a particular crime scene, they put people whose DNA matches the fabricated DNA, at risk of implication. Identification of the source of the DNA should always be made. This is because some of these detectable levels have errors and some of them are based on truth. Also, most of the detectable levels rely on probability and as a result, they do not give concrete evidence that someone was involved in a crime and that is why identification of the DNA source should be made. In the case of Samantha death and identification of Alejandro Avila, DNA identification played a major role (Raymond, 2002). DNA found on Samantha’s dead body was compared to DNA found on the car of Avila and they were found to be identical.

Book review the goal by Eliyahu m. Geldratt Essay

Book review the goal by Eliyahu m. Geldratt - Essay Example This is the story as to how Alex turns the tables from a difficult situation in his production unit, and emerges successful. The wise saying goes, what you do is not important; how you do what you do is important, and Alex sees the truth in this assertion, by changing the strategies in administering the production and attending to the related issues in his plant. Eliyahu Goldratts "The Goal" is an entertaining novel and at the same time it is a thought provoking business book. Alex carries the problems of the plant to home resulting in adverse effects on his married life. The downward spiral at the plant needs to be arrested within the stipulated period of 90 days given to him by the top management. The Plant Manager happens to meet his Professor, Jonah, who diagnoses the problems of managing the plant and he tenders tangible solutions, to stem the rot. Alex begins to fix the issues one by one and realizes that they all have one terminating point. Jonah introduces to him the â€Å"Theory of Constraints.† The structure of the manufacturing plant is like the movement of an octopus, whose arms stretch in several directions simultaneously but the movement is set to a pattern ordained by Nature without which it cannot exist. Unintelligent planning is the root cause of malfunctioning in a production unit. The functioning and management of Alex’s plant owns all the negative traits and it is afflicted with loss-generating segments. All efficiency me trics are going red and own unhealthy existence. Alex has orders pending for two months behind the scheduled delivery date, his warehouse has $20 million in unsold finished goods, items that demand urgent delivery are being expedited by paying overtime to the workforce and it needs special handling obviously at extra cost, sales are on the decline due to delivery slippage, material costs have hit the roof, and the most annoying situation is his division is facing the cash crunch. The cumulative effect

Decision Making Process Model in Real Life Marketing Essay

Decision Making Process Model in Real Life Marketing - Essay Example The process involves a number of factors that influence the decision making of an individual and includes the various stages that a shopper goes through while purchasing a product thus outlining the flow of activities (both physical and psychological) from the beginning to the end. The interview conducted in this certain scenario was that of an individual who had decided to buy a new pull-out sofa to add to the furniture in their house. The individual needed the sofa for visiting individuals who wanted to spend the night and thus the subject was very particular about getting this particular type of sofa. By studying the decision making process that took place one is able to identify the various variables that were taken into consideration as well as other influences that a played a part in the formation of the final decision. The stages that the consumer went through during this process included: This was the first stage and the consumer identified the problem that they were faced with (the need that they had) and what was required in order to solve the issue once it has been pointed out (Blythe, 2008). In this case the main need of this particular consumer was the provision of a place to sleep for overnight guests that would not take up too much space due to the size of the individual’s living quarters. This could effectively rule out the need for a bed as another one would not be able to fit in the apartment and thus a pull-out sofa arose as the best alternative option on offer. The main issue was ensuring that the needs of the consumer will be satisfactorily met by the purchase of the product that they had in mind (Cheng, Luckett & Schulz, 2003).

Music Represents the Soundtracks of Life Essay Example for Free

Music Represents the Soundtracks of Life Essay Music is an unavoidable ingredient in everyone’s life. Whether its music we play by personal choice or music we hear in supermarkets or a retail store. Society will hear music. What comes along is what will affect the listener. Through time music has changed to meet the needs of society. In the past music was one of mans only form of entertainment, in many households the radio would play all day. Music changes as our lifestyle and environment changes, music was simple and very plain in the past but society could not live without it, the music was plain because their life was plain. As music developed, music started to split into different forms, now called genres. People created different genres to match their needs and feelings. Each genre reached out to a certain type of person’s personality and affects that person’s way of life. People listen to a specific type of genre to match their mood, for example: when a person is sad or grumpy they tend to listen to slow or depressing songs to match their mood, examples of these genres are blues and instrumental jazz. Different genres can also change your mood, at a club or party people play upbeat and fast paced music to get the people dancing and socialising. Rock or metal, a developing genre, is a very popular genre because of its distinct sound. Rock mainly consists of bands with a mixture of instruments and one or more vocalist. Music is not only heard on radios, cd’s or on the TV, music is constantly around us. One cannot imagine life without music because society is so used to hearing it. In movies music is used for effect and drama, a movie without music does not only sound dull and boring, it feels dull and boring. The music makes you shiver at the climax of a horror movie, the music makes you cry during a romantic scene. Driving on long journeys while listening to your favourite artist makes the trip feel a lot shorter and more enjoyable. Nature is one of the only places where you can hear natural music. Imagine walking through the forest without hearing the sweet sounds of birds chirping or the sounds the bushes and trees make when the wind passes by. Music makes life more relaxing and often is our source of inspiration. Music moves our body in many ways, but most of all it moves our souls and helps people to look deep inside themselves. Music will continue to grow and will never die. Music is the soundtrack of life.

Challenges For British Trade Unions Commerce Essay

Challenges For British Trade Unions Commerce Essay What will be the key challenges for British Trade unions in the next decade? Using materials from across the course identify these challenges and make your predictions about the size, nature and influence of unions throughout the forthcoming decade. INTRODUCTION Industrial Relations in Britain have been at the centre of attention and analysis for many years. There has been a concern on its substance and its future. Its development is associated with the rise and growth of trade unionism. Since the 18th century, it has been a system that relies on voluntary arrangements for negotiation and consultations. Today, industrial relations in the UK has suffered harsh strains and pressure. This is largely attributed to factors such as the change in employment pattern, the growth in scale of industrial organisations amongst others. Also, stories of strikes, wage demands and industrial disturbance constantly hit the news. However, Industrial relations today is very much different from what it used to be. So many things are happening; from the recent recession, to the decline of union membership and the economic changes taking place. Hence, for the purpose of this essay, I shall be examining the trade unions and the possible future challenges they might encounter. Furthermore, it is important to note that one cannot look into the future of trade unions without going on a journey to the history of how they emerged, the present state of these trade unions and then predict what their future might turn out to be. History of British Trade unions The Early years up to 1979 British Trade unions had their origin in the mediaeval craft society which was established to control access to crafts, ensure that craftsmen were not engulfed by numbers and also monitor the degree of price control. In a nut shell, they controlled the market. The society set down rates and gave its members benefits particularly in cases of sickness, accidents and retirements. By the 18th century, when the markets began to expand, there was the need for more people to be employed. This brought about the emergence of craftsman organisation whose aim was to provide joint aid, support and assist a number of people that were facing difficult times. During this period, a number of strikes took place in localities with regards to increase in pay and reductions in working hours and this put so much pressure on employers to ban what was referred to as combinations. Pieces of legislations aimed at banning combinations within 1720 and 1799 led to the emergence of two important combination acts in 1799 and 1990 that prohibited combinations and strikes in Britain. However just before the end of the 18th century, the craftsman societies had developed into trade unions. This period observed growth in the factory system, speedy social change and social disorder. The combination act still didnt do much and was revoked in 1824. By 1825, a new measure emerged which confined combination only to specific actions over hours and wages and new offences were introduced such as molestation and intimidation of workers. Furthermore, an attempt to set up a Grand National Consolidated Trades union in 1834 to bring all union together was never supported. Prior to 1850, unions were just local events (except miners), but by the middle of the century, a number of union mergers began to spring forth and this was as a result of the growth of railway which ensured easy communication. The first was the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) established in 1850. It was a friendly society that catered for unemployment, sickness, etc. Then, there was the emergence of the Trade union act in 1871 directed towards protecting the union funds. Other mergers following the footstep of ASE included wood work and tailoring. It is essential to note that jobs in this period were restricted to men even though women had begun to gain entrance into the labour market. With the development of national unions came trade councils from 1858 in main cities and towns. The first meeting of what was to be called a trade union was organised in Manchester in 1868 and thereafter in Birmingham in 1869. By 1870, TUC had a general secretary and in 1895, the representation at TUC was restricted only to unions thereby excluding trade councils to avoid dual representation. This period also characterized endless industrial disputes which were due to the change in work practice and the technologies. In addition, the strikes during this period were concerns relating to how work should be done and the kind of people employed to do particular tasks. The Late 1880s saw the emergence of what was called a new unionism. This was the beginning of large scale organisation of unskilled workers, all fighting for better wages through hard fought strikes at the national level. An example was the popular London dock strikes in1889 and the seamens strike also in the same year. The period between 1896 to1914 witnessed very high costs of living and falling wages and as a result led to strengthening of the newly emerged labour party which allowed for more people to join the trade union. The First World War during this period had tremendous effects on industrial relations. By 1919, unions became militant and required long term benefits in negotiation almost immediately after the war when labour was scarce. There were several amalgamations of unions like the Transport and General workers union and the union for Building and Trade workers. Subsequently, small local unions that could not compete soon faded out. By the end of the 1920s, there was a rise in unemployment and trade unions decided to protect jobs rather than increase wages (Tyson, 2006). There was also the emergence of the triple alliance between the transport workers, railway workers and miners which was to reinforce mutual support in times of difficulty and confrontation. The Second World War brought about co-operation between unions and government. Between 1939 and 1951 there was shift in growth of manual labour workers. Also during the wars (first and second world wars), institutions of negotiation were established to prevent strikes, although a number of strikes still occurred. Trade union membership grew mostly in the white collar jobs in the late 1950s and 1960s. However their density did not increase until the 1970s. The change in occupational structures brought about more white collar jobs and allowed more women to join unions. Trade unions from 1979-2000 During this period, there was a dramatic decline in trade union membership in the UK. Four notable features were responsible for this decline which the British trade union had little control of. They were the changes in employment, the growth of individualism, managements human resource strategies and a very hostile government (Stirling, 2005). The changes in employment led to closures of factories and a huge number of redundancies in manufacturing sector, expansion of private sectors and growth of part time jobs. Also in many cases, the HR strategies were often devised to circumvent union organisation. Furthermore, the hostile government inherent in both employment legislation and the process of privatisation was also responsible for the decline. Lastly, individualism was inherent in workplace, where rewards and benefits were tied to individual appraisal and performance related pay rather than on collective agreements. It is worthy to note that trade unions were able to respond to these changes in various ways. The first was their move towards organisational restructuring by adopting new systems of internal management (Brewster Allen, 1998). They also adopted the new realism which was effectively a give in to employers strategies. They countered derecognition by focusing on single union agreements and high profile no strike agreements (Bassett, 1986). In addition, trade unions were committed to recruiting new members as they also wanted to be more organisational friendly, include part-time workers, women and those from minority ethnic groups. Lastly there was the development of a consumer trade unionism where members were seen as consumers and offered individual services and benefits (Bassett Cave, 1993). By the mid 1990s, the TUC and unions decided to change their approach when they realised that relying on political change, waiting for economic improvement , spending so much on consumer service and the struggle for members were results that didnt work. The year 1997 saw several changes with labour returning to government. This brought about the employment relation Act of 1999 which helped unions claim recognition. Also in recent years there have been several changes such as National Minimum Wage, rights to maternity leave and rights of part time workers. KEY FACTS TO NOTE In 2007, TUC had 66 allied unions compared to 109 in 1979 There was a decline of TUC membership at around six and a half million since the mid-nineties. Emphasis on Trade union has changed. There has been rapid growth of legal advice and representation of members at tribunals The importance of training has also been emphasised with government funding a scheme where workplace learning representatives have been developed. Lastly over the years, unions have come to embrace the agenda on equality and diversity. Having looked at the history of the British trade union, lets take a look at where they are presently. Present State of British Trade Unions There are quite a number of trade unions in Britain today. These unions look after the welfare of their members. They also help their members deal with issues of pay, job cuts and pensions in the workplace. Thus, they represent their members in pay negotiations, grievance procedures and also protect their members against clients and the state (Bryson, 2007). Little wonder when employees are asked the question as to why they join unions, they give answers like they join unions for protection, political belief, solidarity, traditions, pay conditions and so on. Recently there has been quite a number of strikes in Britain, all centred on pay cuts, work-life balance, redundancies amongst others. For example, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) in 2009 engaged in a bitter dispute with the Royal mail over pay, job losses and modernisation which led to a series of nationwide postal strike. Also bus drivers and bin men decided to stage 24 hours walkout in some parts of the country in 2009. In addition, unions intended to ballot staff at British Airways and Network Rail. However by January 2010, Unite and British Airways embarked on fresh talks. Furthermore, workers at the Fijitsu electronic company started their first of six nationwide strikes on dispute over pay, pension and jobs in December. Trade unions today are in crisis. They do not only face internal difficulties but also have to cope with external, economic and political change. One central problem they might face is that they may be too weak to make a difference. But with the current recession and globalisation, we just cannot tell what they can do. However, a surprising reality is that the rate of union membership (union density) of employees is swiftly declining. In 1979, 13.3million people were members of trade unions and the proportion of employees who were union members stood at 55%. By 2003, union membership as estimated by the labour survey had dropped to 7.42million with the proportion of members at 29.1% and in 2005 to 29%. By the end of 2006, the rate of union membership fell to 28.4%. This subsequently declined to 28% in 2007. As at 2008, the union membership cut down by 27.4%. Furthermore, the density in private sector fell by 0.6% to 15.5% while public sector fell 1.9% to 57.1%, both in 2008. (SOURCE: Labour Force survey, Office for national statistics, department of employment (1892-1974); certification office (1974-2006). Against this background, it is imperative to understand the reason for the decline in union membership and the challenges unions encounter. Current Challenges for British Trade Unions British trade unions have gotten to a point where they need to sit and rethink their strategies. These unions are faced with various challenges ranging from political, economic, to financial that if not resolved soon might pose a major challenge for them in the future. A lot of scholars have tried to identify the challenges that British trade unions face. According to Mcllroy (2008), British trade unions today are faced with challenging conditions such as globalisation, neo-liberal politics, recession and a host of other issues. To Frege Kelly (2003), trade unions are facing challenging conditions in representing their members, they face crisis of membership density, the wearing out of structures of interest representation and declining mobilisation capacity. They stated that a reason for the decline in density has been as a result of the changing structure of employment, the decline of employment in traditional manufacturing industries and the increased employment in service industries They identify several factors that have and would continue to pose a challenge to unions. I find these factors really interesting and they include: Economic and social change (the trends in labour market) The Institutional environment (for example the structure of collective bargaining, legal and arbitration procedures and political system) the state and the employers strategies The structure of the union itself such as union leadership, relationships, networks and organisation of movements. As it has been noted already, Britain currently faces economic crisis which is attributed to the recent recession. In these difficult economic times, when there is a high level of unemployment and drastic cuts in wages and benefits, unions would find it almost impossible to please their members. Borrowing the words of Koelble, (1988) it is worthy to note that the more brutal these economic crisis are the more problems union leaders have to face. Today, unions also face the risk of extinction if they do not progress. A major challenge unions have is in their structure and policies. They need to balance relationship between their members and the employers by showing that they can get through to workers without sidelining employers and deliver to employers while also looking out for the interest of their workers. In some of the articles I read, research carried out shows that so many workers are of the belief that unions need to work more with employers so as to increase productivity which is as important as any action taken on pay, impartiality and fairness. Also, unions like every other voluntary organisation have to provide incentives whether positive or negative so as to attract prospective members. Having attracted membership, they are then faced with the problem of maintaining these members so as to ensure the union survival. Significantly, economic growth has been seen as a requirement for the provision of positive incentives by unions; therefore, in periods of economic growth, it is easy for trade unions to squeeze out some compromise from employers and the state. On the other hand, when there is a decline or stagnation in economic growth, it reduces the ability of unions to provide more benefits (Koelbe, 1988). It might be wrong for me to say that unions are not recognised in some organisations. However, according to Guest who was cited in Storey (2007), he stated that traditional unions may only be tolerated in some business not because they are special but because they have always been in existence and also because they do not incur any unwarranted cost. Some organisations today have the tendency of abandoning collective bargaining without formally derecognising the unions. The presence of HRM in workplaces has further reduced the roles of trade unions and if some organisations could do without them, they would not hesitate. The result of all these is that unions have some members that are not covered by collective bargaining and thus face the difficult duty of convincing such members to remain in the union. They also have to convince employers that they can be trusted. What about the financial crisis these unions face and might continue to face if they lose more members? Unions are facing some financial crisis. This is not surprising though as they rely heavily on membership subscriptions as the primary source of income. Consequently, if membership density continues to drops, their income would drop as well unless they decide to increase subscription fees of members or get their revenue from other means. The question unions should ask themselves is if they can help their existing members without relying so much on voluntary activities. Also, unions organising potential is badly damaged. Trade unions are now confronted with issues such as their inability to organise new workplaces and new workers as they used to. As a result of this a number of workers have never been a member of any trade union. In addition, some relatively new organisations hardly ever recognise unions for pay bargaining. If they cant sort this out, it is definitely going to be a big challenge they would face in the coming decade. It is also important to add that in the case of tight finance; unions might not want to gamble by spending money on organising new workplaces unless they are partially sure of success. It is imperative to state that we currently live in an era of global economic and industrial restructuring. Globalisation has prompted the urge for the development of world economy. It involves several issues like deregulation of the labour market, liberalisation and privatisation, development of communication network technology, the internalisation of financial markets amongst others (Akteruzzaman, 2006). All these issues have posed a challenge to workers and their trade union. Today, unions have a feel of globalisation as there has been a lot of job loss, decline in wages etc. Workers have become one of the many victims of globalisation. Thus globalisation is seen as a threat to trade unions. Still, there is the impact of the current recession of the labour market which has increased tremendously the unemployment rate in the last 20months. Labour market report states that the unemployment rate has risen by 1.3% to reach 7.1% since the third quarter of 2008. In a recent Cipd article (January 2010), it is postulated that unemployment would hit a high rate of 2.8 million by summer 2010 with job markets only slowly recovering in the second half of 2010. As a result of this, the redundancy level has increased. In the recession, the private sector would continue the trends of having lower levels of industrial actions as this is caused by the change in staff attitudes and the increasing need to sustain competitive advantage on the global scale. However, it has been predicted that there would be more strike actions in the public sectors (CIPD, November 2009). As a result of this, unions need to fight for their members in public sectors since strikes might be inevitable. According to Amble (2005), for unions to increase in size again, they need to drop their militant and confrontational attitude and be more dependent and co-operative. He argues that some potential members may be put off by unions style of struggle, strife and strikes which has very little appeal to employees who care more about getting on rather than getting even. Lastly, unions have a problem with their strategy. What appealed to yesterdays workers might not be attractive to todays labour force. They need to set new agendas around so many issues they currently face such as low pay, work-life balance and equality. Although the future challenges of British trade union cannot really be determined by present occurrences, one can however predict what these unions are likely to face in the future. Having looked at the current challenges British trade unions face, unions need to ask themselves some questions: do they have the ability to meet the challenge of an aspirational agenda Are their thoughts channelled to what they want to do or rather how they do it? Can unions achieve the objective of servicing, partnership and organising? How flexible would their role be in meeting the demands and need of members in the next decade? Would they be able to contain different strategies for different employment relations environment? If unions cannot provide answers to these questions, then this might be some of the future challenges they would encounter. The Future of British Trade Unions A lot has been said and predictions have been made with regards to the future of trade unions. Several scholars have come up with predictions and possible solutions to the challenges unions face currently and possibly in the future. There has been the question of what unions can do to achieve membership. According to Metcalf (2005), unions are faced with two potential ways for revival. First, it is either employment in unionized sectors of the economy grows in relations to non union employment or secondly, unions must employ more rigorous means of organising activity with the aim of enhancing their appeal to both employers and potential members. He further goes on to states that unions should invest more in organising and servicing so as to produce significant returns. Furthermore, even if unions are able to put a stop to the decline in membership, there might be a problem with achieving steady growth. Unions need to break more into the contemporary service sector economy. Although there have been a lot of jobs in the public sector, the actual employment growth might come from organisations where trade unions have not been so successful at organising. Thus trade unions might be faced with the challenge of changing themselves even further to remain relevant to certain groups. There is also the need for trade unions to develop better political relationship with the government and other parties. They must learn to abandon the pattern of making unrealistic demands and realise that not all their demands can be met since the government must also govern in the interest of the country in general. In addition, Partnership needs to be encouraged. Unions need to adopt a better process of engagement. They should learn to appeal to employers making them see that effective co-operation helps a great deal in the improvement of performance in organisations. Also, the financial state of unions could have a lasting effect. Unions need to re-evaluate and ask themselves if they can provide for their members without depending on voluntary endeavours. Many scholars are of the belief that unions will be successful only if they align themselves with the new realities of the labour market and can also plead to both the top and bottom of the economy. Unions need to broaden their horizon by aiming at new or previously neglected class of workers into membership and extend organisation and representation towards the low waged employees (Lucas, 2009; Oxenbridge, 1997; Heery, 2002). Several strategies have been identified by scholar as ways of generating renewal for trade unions such as servicing, organising and partnership approach (Heery, 2002). However, some scholars argue that all these strategies can be used together and are well matched. A very brilliant way to address the problems of trade union in Britain is giving by Frege Kelly (2003) who came up with six strategies: organising (gaining of membership) partnership (working together with employers, employees and trade unions would bring about motivated trust and benefits) organisational reforms (such as mergers and internal reorganisation) political action (Lobbying with a focus on legislation and labour market regulations policies) coalition building with other social movements Lastly, possess strong international links to exchange and share information. In my opinion if these strategies are put in place; trade unions would survive extinction and disappearance and remain relevant in the future. CONCLUSION There is so much uncertainty as to what the future of British trade unions would be. These trade unions have come a long way, through thick and thin and their ability to survive the test of time depends on the strategy they employ. One fact is clear though that although there has been a modest amount of industrial disputes in recent times, Britain is not likely to face a repeat of the wide spread strikes that was present in 1979. In conclusion therefore, unions should not be relegated to the background. Employers need to communicate with their employees, the government would need views from workplace and above all, the employees need a collective voice which makes the unions very important.

The Man Who Was Almost A Man by Richard Wright Essay -- The Man Who W

"The Man Who Was Almost A Man" by Richard Wright In life, there are many decisions that everyone must make. And with decision-making comes consequences, some that we are ready for , and some that we may not be ready for. The author of ' The Man Who Was Almost a Man,' Richard Wright, portrays a young man who wants to be a man, but shows that he is clearly unprepared for manhood and the consequences that come with that responsibility. Through decision making based on self interest, wanting to gain respect from his family, and wanting to prove his dignity, Richard Wright brings forth the main character, Dave, a seventeen year old boy, whose actions show that he is only 'almost a man.'   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the story, many of Dave?s decisions were based solely on his own interests. In fact, everything that Dave did was for his own interest, whether good or bad. An example of this would be Dave?s decision to purchase the gun after begging his mother for money. Dave promised his mother that he would bring the gun right back to her so that she could give it to his father. Instead, Dave went against his mother?s will and hid the gun from her. Knowing that making decisions are geared toward, a person?s self interest and their beliefs, it is easily understood why Dave decided to buy the gun from Joe. Dave felt that with a gun, everyone would have to respect him, therefore he thought that a gun would make him a man regardless of his age. A person?s decision making can display wheth...

Nordstrom SWOT Essay

Representing people with disabilities in their catalogs since 1997, which is rare. This is a strength because it represents all customers of Nordstrom, not leaving out certain groups because of industry ‘norms’. This speaks volumes to all customers that Nordstrom recognizes them as individuals, but also, as O’Connell mentioned in an interview, â€Å"people with disabilities represent a significant marketing opportunity with $225 billion in discretionary income†¦ and companies that understand this will have a competitive advantage.† Has a customer first attitude to differentiate Nordstrom from other high-end retailers and department stores and build customer loyalty. They are in a highly competitive market involving high fashion, quality items at a premium price, but their service is what drives their business in. They invest in high quality staff, greet customers by name, write personal thank you notes, make follow up calls about satisfaction with prod ucts, have large well lit stores and fitting rooms, have a price match system, as well as a very lenient no questions return policy, all combined to keep their customers as satisfied as they can. Find a study that talks about service driving in customers, customer surveys, reports, etc. Nordstrom has different brands and product lines to reach different market segments and keep up with trends. These include: Rack, Haute Look, Treasure & Bond, and Trunk Club. This offers mid price markets opportunities to join with regular high price markets, online exclusive shoppers to join the Nordstrom network and fashions, appeal to â€Å"give-back† shoppers, and gives men a new online shopping experienced linked to the perks of Nordstrom’s inventories and in store tailors. This is a strength of the company because it creates a larger customer base to represent and build markets in, allowing the company growth in a variety of areas that competitors are not hitting. Compared to retail apparel competitors, â€Å"Nordstrom Inc. reported Total Revenue increase in the 2 quarter 2014 by 6.13 % year on year. The sales growth was above Nordstrom Inc.’s competitors average re venue growth of 0.99 %, recorded in the same quarter. With net margin of 5.4 % company  achieved higher profitability than its competitors.†   The Nordstrom Brand name and size are also strengths of the company. The Nordstrom brand has been around long enough to build relationships with suppliers and attain exclusive brands to carry, and establish lines of distribution, which puts them above new entrants because it is difficult to gain licensing for exclusive brands when you are not already established as well as establish your distribution system. They also have a size advantage having 118 original Nordstrom stores, 162 Nordstrom Rack locations, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 clearance store and they also reach customers online in 96 countries through Nordstrom.com and reaching customers online through HauteLook and NordstromRack.com as well. The high brand awareness, and availability is what competes in department and apparel retail. The company carries unique products; exceptional, high quality brands that are not going to be found at discount retailers to create the exclusive feel for customers. They also new experiences an d brands within the company through their Spa and Restaurants within some of the Nordstrom front-line stores. These differentiate Nordstrom from direct competitors, but also from restaurants competition by using quality, sustainability, and responsibility as their guide to the best experience. (http://wwwiebe.com/nordstrom-customer-service-first/) Find article about competitors with restaurants and spas, and how this makes a difference compared to their revenues and restaurants too. Has established online presence in 96 countries and built network through their multiple websites for each store brand, built their own app to shop from your phone, and gotten involved in social media, more specifically Instagram with their â€Å"Instalog† while keeping all of this integrated with their mortar stores. They also understand that â€Å"when you stop evolving with your customer, you die,† as Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores, has said. They are building fulfillment centers to accommodate online shopping more quickly, use RFID chips to keep their perpetual inventory system for stores and online to share, and invested more into online growth than brick and mortar stores,  knowing that this is where their growth is coming from. â€Å"Over the next several years Nordstrom expects to derive half of its sales from the Rack and from its online units, versus 38 percent today,† and that’s because â€Å"the U.S. Commerce Department estimates that electronic commerce amounted to 6.2 percent of total retail sales in the first quarter of 2014.† Analysts have also been saying Nordstrom has thrived compared to competitors because it is a pioneer in perks like free shipping and also having the unique diversity of products online. Their expansion into Canada this year also gives them an advantage against competitors who have not branched out internationally yet. This opens their market up to Calgary shoppers, Canada’s strong economy, an area underserved of luxury items, shoppers who are familiar with the brand, and expectation to grow to a total of 5 Canadian stores within 2 years. If their expansion continues in a positive way like their first opening, they will continue to have this s trength over their competitors. Weaknesses: Because Nordstrom focuses mainly on their customer service and does price matching on their items, they are at risk to be directly affected by price fluctuations and economic trends. The fluctuations in the market are out of Nordstrom’s control, but their choice of pricing strategy to match prices are internal choices that they are choosing to be vulnerable to. If they don’t want this as a weakness they would try to reinvent their pricing strategy to keep competitive pricing without matching competition because that is directly relative to the market. Offering free shipping does improve their customer loyalty, but it also comes with a high cost for the company. This is a weakness because they internally chose to make this sacrifice for the greater good of the company and take the hit on spending, but is hard to measure the direct effects of customer loyalty because of  free shipping. Nordstrom has the opportunity to invest more into their credit business because many of their competitors have more resources in this area giving them an advantage. Their competition is external but the choice to not invest highly in their credit business is a weakness of Nordstrom. The company would have to look into how they allocate their resources to see if there is room to invest additionally into this sector of business and if it would bring sufficient benefit to them. Opportunities: Already reaching 96 countries with their online retailing, Nordstrom continues to have room for growth in this area. New technology is keeping the market on their toes with ideas to expand and take advantage sooner than competitors, which is why Nordstrom is spending to grow fulfillment of network for direct sales channels to make delivery faster, and improve mobile app and in store personalized experience. They already have an app that was revealed earlier this year, Instagram, and multiple online stores with Nordstrom.com, NordstromRack.com and HauteLook.com, with plans to introduce Canadian Nordstrom Rack soon. The company plans to invest $150 million into its’ online retailing. They plan to hire up to 400 people for their e-commerce group, including Kirk Beardsley, the former director of business development at Amazon. Their acquisition of HauteLook changed their ecommerce capabilities, and they continue to look for integration opportunities to grow expansion further. They need to continually understand new markets such as the discount merchandising market, which they have recently made their footprint grow Rack sales by 20% in the first quarter of the year, compared to comparable stores that only grew 6.4%. The reason their growth opportunities online and in different markets remain an opportunity is because technology, online trends, and consumer preferences are always changing. They need to continue to stay on their toes with the online retail market since growth is higher than physical stores currently. Currently Nordstrom is â€Å"developing a strategy to secure their supply  chain in a resource constrained world will enable them to leverage their customer service brand image† by investing in recycling, transportation, paper and packaging, energy, water, human rights, organic food, and community support. They have the opportunity to continue this path of enhancing social and environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and supply chain management to appeal to environmental supporting markets. The Canada debut of stores is their first branch into international markets, which says the company is in a stable enough spot to take on these new complex roles in the market. They have a good economy with a high median family income at $90,000 in the areas they plan to continue growth in. According to government data, this is the highest in metropolitan areas in Canada, giving the company the opportunity to expand and capture their market. There are not current plans to expand beyond Canada, but if they succeed there then that again leaves open an entire new box of options for the company to move overseas. Nordstrom will also be opening up Nordstrom Rack locations in Canada once they accomplish their mission with front-line stores, opening up opportunities to reach the middle class Canadian consumers who want designer brands at a bargain. Continuing to be an innovative brand will be an opportunity for Nordstrom to take advantage of. They launched their â€Å"first time private-lab el brand that will give 5 percent of its earnings to Girls Inc. and other nonprofits that seek to empower women and young girls. The move comes amid the increasing popularity of â€Å"give-back† fashion.† The charitable boutique Nordstrom opened in New York’s SoHo neighborhood in 2011, Treasure&Bond, will be available at 86 stores around the country and online as well to promote their â€Å"give-back† persona. There will be constant opportunity to follow trends and compete in the market with things such as these, and Nordstrom has the opportunity to continue its’ successful planning to meet them and conquer.   Disposable incomes in the US are rising, for instance June 2014 were at an all time high at 13021.20 billion versus the previous month at 12969.70 billion. What this means for Nordstrom and all retailers is that spending will begin/continue to increase and they need to be the brand/company that captures those sales. Their expansion, online presence, and quality need to continue to improve, and there marketing strategy relying heavily on word of mouth may need re-evaluation to determine if this is the best way to promote the brand while maintaining their high image.   Sales per square foot vary company to company and your ability to stock, merchandise, and turnover quicker than your competitor is an opportunity to capitalize on. Maintaining highest sales per square foot is a competitive tool in the retail industry and in 2013 Nordstrom had the highest sales per square foot at $400 in comparison to direct competitors Macy’s at $173 and Saks Fifth Ave at $350. Their ability to stock more into a space and turnover that merchandise faster than competition is a strength of Nordstrom in the external market. Threats: The department store and apparel industries are highly competitive, with direct competitors of Nordstrom being: Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Dillard’s, Saks Fifth Ave, and Neiman Marcus. As consumer preference continues to shift, and incomes continue to rise the market will only continue to be more and more competitive, leveraging many opportunities for each company. There is also a lot of indirect competition of Nordstrom including food service, spas, boutiques, discount retailers, online retailers, and specialty stores. This creates significant competitive areas and factors in position including their customer service, unique fashion trends, selection, quality, environment, location, and convenience. Further threats for the company to consider while making decisions also include plans for growth, market share, pricing, supply chains, brand image and much more. There is also indirect competition for Nordstrom’s credit business like banks, credit card companies , and other stores that offer a store card such as JCP, Saks,  Dillard’s, Macy’s and Dillard’s. Because some of the competitors in this area have more financial marketing and resources to dedicate to their credit business, it makes it a huge threat to Nordstrom The economy will continue to be a threat not only in the US but also in their new Canadian expansion. The US economy and Americans spending is going up, as listed in the opportunities column, but because the past decade has been rough its effects may still linger and possibly shift into Canada’s economy as well. The threat of an economic downturn is something that all businesses face though, so to be safe Nordstrom should continually set realistic expectations and plans for what they would do in that situation. Price changes and increasing costs also threaten Nordstrom’s supply chain of designer and high-end brands. Because of the global climate changes and shortages in resources, the market for material, labor, and transportation are not as stable. This threatens Nordstrom because higher costs for them are not good if they’re not producing higher sales or profits, and the environmental effects on their business is completely out of their control. Online expansio n of all retailers especially a dominator like Amazon has put up many obstacles for Nordstrom. It is difficult and expensive to constantly and quickly transition to new technological changes. Nordstrom is threatened by these changes to see if it can successfully invest and continually update to the markets demands. Their repositioning online and through social media with the wave of technology seems to be going well so far, but time will tell if they are able to continue on top or if they will fall behind the industry. In Canadian market they just entered there is a battle for the luxury market, which is not sufficiently claimed yet. Hudson’s Bay Company has Canadian roots and just bought Saks, with plans to move them up to Canada as well. This will harshly threaten Nordstrom’s pull on luxury market share in Canada. There is  also the 177-year-old brand Holt Renfrew that announced expansion in its Calgary luxury store, which is in the same place as the first Canadian Nordstrom. This is again a direct threat to their business in Canada and how their expansion will determine if they can grab and hold onto market share. There are also not many to choose from talent wise in Canada because the luxury market is not prominent so there is little experience to find. There is also a higher average wage in the area they are stationed because of the oil-fueled jobs in the Calgary area, so they will have higher labor costs demanded as well. References: http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024579800_nordstromcanadaxml.html?cmpid=2628 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nordstrom/id474349412?mt=8 http://www.luxurydaily.com/nordstrom-integrates-instagram-to-create-shopping-experience/ http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/business/ci_26254983/models-disabilities-star-nordstrom-catalog http://wwwiebe.com/nordstrom-customer-service-first/ http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024313399_nordstromearningsxml.html http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024291908_nordstromstorexml.html http://www.internetretailer.com/2014/05/19/nordstrom-invests-heavily-e-commerce http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER1/306343_GDRT31838FSA