Is HRM an Effective Approach to Managing People at Work Essay

Is HRM an Effective Approach to Managing People at Work - Essay Example Machineries will be passive resources unless they are controlled and operated by human workforce. It should be noted that only the human resources has natural intelligence whereas the machineries have only artificial intelligence. Since human intelligence is much more advanced than artificial intelligence, an organization cannot neglect the importance of manpower and human intelligence under any circumstances. Human resource management or HRM is one of the major divisions of every organization. The success and failures of the organization depends on the functioning of the HRM wing. According to Torrington et al. (2011), â€Å"Human resource management (HRM) is the basis of all management activity†(Torrington et al., 2011, p.4). In other words, all the organizational activities start from the HR department. HR is responsible for assigning duties to the employees of an organization. Human resource management theories are undergoing rapid changes because of the changes in life st yles and advancements in science and technology. Earlier, employees were more interested in getting decent salaries. However, current employees are not only interested in getting decent salaries, but also in getting proper work culture, environment and opportunities to keep a balance between work and life. Effectiveness of HRM lies in keeping a balance between the employee interests and that of the organization’s interests.It is difficult to define HRM in few words because of the complex functions associated with it. Generally speaking â€Å"HRM is the process of managing people in organizations in a structured and thorough manner† (Human Resource Management (HRM), 2012). HR department is responsible for recruitment, retention, allocation of suitable jobs, training and development of employees. A right person at the right place at the right time is always beneficial to an organization and it is the duty of HR to ensure it. Even though unemployment is a big problem in m any of the countries, lack of skilled manpower is creating major problems to organizations. It is the duty of the HR to identify best talents from the employment market so that the organization will always have the se4rvices of extremely good talents. Competition is growing day by day and as a result of that, organizations are competing each other for recruiting best talents. As a result of that employee retention is a major problem nowadays. HR department is responsible for employee retention. Training and development is another major HR function. No employee can develop properly if the organization fails to provide adequate training to them. Knowledge explosion and technological advancements forced organizations to give more importance to training of employees. HR is responsible for training also. It should be noted that the responsibilities of HR will be over after recruitment, retention, and training. Allocation of suitable jobs to the employees is another major HR function. A s mart employee at the wrong place may bring more harm than good to an organization. For example, an employee who has sales skills should be appointed only in the sales department in order to derive maximum efficiency out of him. If the organization wrongly places him in some other departments, he may not deliver the goods. In short, effectiveness of HRM depends on talent identification,

Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Islam - Essay Example Before the Prophet Mohammad was sent by Allah as the last messenger, the 7th century in Mecca comprised of tribal nomadic Arab people who lived in deserts, in tents or in mud/sand houses. They were socially related to each tribe as in blood relations and they were divided in small families called clans. Politically, the Arabs in the 7th century has no proper written laws, they just use to choose a Sheikh through consensus and then they used to accept all the decisions their Sheikh made for them and they strictly had to follow the customs and traditions of their tribes1. Their religion during those days was Polo theism as they were somewhere in their minds aware of the existence of Allah but they had deviated from the right path and were creating deities with Allah. Quran refers to them as â€Å"Jahilyah Arab†2. The concept of Polo theism during the 7th century was that the Arab nomads thought that the deities they had created had some kind of a link between them and the Allah they had lost. The deities they had created were substances like rain, fire, trees and so on. These Arabs thought that rain and trees brought about farming and agricultural surplus for them; they were their Gods as these substances had very strong/powerful benefits for them3. At this time, the Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) was also in Mecca and he was greatly worried about the social moral order of the Arabs and he used to meditate and contemplate in the Cave Hira about the social and political issues. He also worked for the restoration of justice in the society. During this time, that is, the 610 A.D. the Prophet (P.B.U.H) had just turned 40 years old and Allah sent him the first revelation through Angel Gabriel, which asked the Prophet to read in the Name of Allah. Then the Second revelation was received, Surah Al-Ikhlas, which brought guidance towards social reforms in Arabia. It stated that the social moral order should be based on Allah’s laws and not

Social problem of homophobia in todays Canadian Society

Social problem of homophobia in todays Canadian Society This essay seeks to answer the social problem of homophobia in todays Canadian society. Four scholarly sources were consulted and made reference to in this essay regarding homophobia and the conflict theory. The textbook, Sociology your Compass for a New World written by Robert J. Brym, John Lie and Steven Rytina explores the topic of the conflict theory. The conflict theory explains the class struggle in society; the conflict theory can be used to show how homophobes, the upper class people, use their so called power to take advantage of the less powered, homosexuals. Upon reading this essay the reader will be educated on the social problem of homophobia, types of homophobic manifestation, movements against homophobia and how the conflict theory learnt about in chapter one of the textbook, Sociology your Compass for a New World can help us better understand the social conflict created by homophobia. Homophobia in Todays Canadian Society The social problem of homophobia is defined as the fear or hatred towards homosexuals or homosexuality. This fear has negative consequences towards the Canadian society, especially towards the gays, the lesbians and the bisexuals. Homophobia in Canada today can be manifested internally, externally, institutionally, socially and culturally. Homophobia has rapidly increased in the Canadian society, in most part, many not even aware of being homophobic. When one refuses to take part in a social activity because they might be perceived as guy or lesbian is considered a type of homophobia. This type of homophobia is when one is afraid of being supposed as gay or lesbian. The Canadian government has no control over the decision one takes to be homophobic, what they can do is educate the uninformed and reach out to the younger generations, the main source of this social problem comes from the primary agent of socialization, the family. Homophobia is often passed on from generation to genera tion; children are being raised to believe that homosexuals are not wanted in our society. On May 17th 1993, homosexuality was removed from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO). Today Canadians celebrate this movement as the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. Homophobia may be seen as a class struggle because homophobes associate the gay community as less important than themselves or the normal community. The conflict theory as read about in the textbook, generally focuses on large, macrolevel structures, such as class relations or patterns of domination, submission, and struggle between people of high and low standing. (Robert J. Brym, 2007) The conflict theory explains how homophobes use their power, vulgar words or acts of discrimination, to take advantage of homosexuals who to them, have less power. The conflict theory helps better understand the class struggle homosexuals go through as well as the class inequality. Gay and lesbian adolescents and youth are disproportionately homeless (Health Canada, 1996; Hellquist, 1996). Sexual orientation is a major precipitating factor leading youth to being and staying on the streets (Canadian Public Health Association, 1998), characterized by poverty and often survival conditions. (Ryan, 2003) This conflict created by homophobes has increasingly negative consequences on the gay community. Many homosexuals feel the need to leave their homes and home towns in fear of rejection. This just goes to show how powerful homophobes can be in regards to homosexuals. External, internal, institutional, social and cultural are all different ways in which homophobia can manifest itself. In the most part, homophobic people act negatively towards the gay community by either socially avoiding them, by verbally attacking them or by discriminating against them, also known as external homophobia. Homophobes act this way because they are afraid; they are afraid that homosexuals can convert people to their kind and feel the need to protect their children or their own identity. Homosexuals are discriminated against everyday of their lives, whether it is at school, in the street or at work. There is no getting away from homophobia because of all the norms and policies the Canadian society has created. The society of today is constantly surrounded by homophobic manipulation, most not even aware of it. The general population sees ads on a daily basis, watches the television and reads magazines all of which give off the same impression on homosexuals, which is, that they do not exist. Rarely, will TV shows have a gay couple as the main characters of the sitcom. Cultural homophobia is when one is thought to believe that heterosexuality is better than homosexuality; people are being influenced to believe this every single day of their lives. There is an absence of accurate and positive portrayals of GLB in mainstream media (OHanlan, 1995). There is also a lack of positive GLB role models in society (Morrow, 1993). (Banks, 2004) Most homophobes deny that they are even homophobic. In most cases, homophobes are uninformed on the homosexual community and base their fear on stereotypes, beliefs and myths. In other words, they are afraid of the unknown. Studies have shown that people who are personally involved with homosexuals either as a friend or just a mutual acquaintance demonstrate little to no hatred towards them. Homophobia is still a social problem today because the population has no accurate information on the subject, some religions are against homosexuality, children are not educated on the subject and the consequence of discrimination towards homosexuals is minimal. The reason in which homophobia has increased is due to the coming out of most homosexuals. Before, homosexuals were afraid to admit their sexual orientation because of the consequences they would have to face. Today, more and more homosexuals are coming out making the homophobic community increase. Both may be seen as parallel lines movin g as one. The homophobic line has been showing a slight decrease due to national movements such as the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. To conclude, the social problem of homophobia has impacted the Canadian society, in the most part, negatively. Canada has done a great job in trying to put an end to this social problem and discrimination, by participating in the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. This is a day not to show off your gay pride, but a day to try and silence the homophobes and speak up against them. Too many people are being hurt by homophobes and most of the time it goes unheard. According to statistic Canada in 2006 police data reported that, More than one-half (56%) of incidents driven by hatred towards a particular sexual orientation were violent, higher than the proportion of incidents motivated by race/ethnicity (38%) or religion (26%). Common assault was the most frequent type of violent offence. (Study: Hate-motivated crime , 2008) It is time for Canada to silence this social problem and become a more united country.

Stephen Kings Why We Crave Horror Films Essay -- essays research paper

As I was lying in bed recalling the event happened an hour before I was thinking to myself that I will never look at lightning the same way again. Thunder and lightning was still present in the night sky as I lay there in bed thanking God I was alive and well. Each flash of lightning lit the entire room and each clap of thunder rattled the windows of my hotel room. Lightning can seem much more terrifying when you’re up 20,000 ft in the mountains, and the thunder sounds a lot louder too. The sound of nature’s fury seemed to slowly descend as the night went on, but my nerves did not. I was still stunned and in shock of being stuck in a lightning storm high in the mountains. I never thought about the power and damage lightning can inflict upon its surroundings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was summer 2001 and we had been invited to attend the wedding in Colorado for one of our friends. The wedding took place on a mountain top in Keystone, Colorado. The wedding reception also took place in the lodge on the mountain top. The mountain top was about 20,000 ft about sea level. In order to get there you had to ride two gondolas. Each gondola sat about six people and would carry on up the mountain and down the mountain and down the mountain; much like a ski lift. Each ride lasted about 15 minutes. The wedding was a success, and it was one of the best weddings I’ve ever attended. The reception went all into the night. Laughter and conversation could be heard yards away from the lo...

Cerelac Essay

SYNOPSIS This is a semester project (Research Report) regarding a baby food product named Cerelac of Nest ©. It starts with an introduction about Nestl © followed by the history of Nestl ©. It gives a briefing about all the brands of Nestl ©. This report also includes the marketing mix of the product. All the 4Ps of marketing mix for the product has been discussed and explained to reveal the significance of its product, pricing, placing and promotional activities. BCG matrix has also been included in this report to know about the current standing of brand in local culture. Segmentation and target marketing will help to understand the criteria of Nestl © marketing for the specific product. In the end, there are some recommendations for the company to enhance their profitably according to our research. After that, report has been concluded. INTRODUCTION Today, Nestl © is the world leading Food Company. Nestl © headquarters is in Switzerland. Its international R&D network supports the products made in more than 500 factories in 86 countries. The Nestl © factories are operating in the region of: Africa America Asia   Europe Oceania Being a company dedicated to food from the beginning, Nestl © remains sensitive to culinary and eating habits, and responds to specific nutritional problems, whilst also setting and matching new trends such as growing out-of-home consumption and caring about the well being of its consumers. Meaning Of Nestl © Henri Nestl © endowed his company with the symbol derived from his name. His family coat of arms, the nest with a mother bird protecting her young, became the Company’s logo and a symbol of the Company’s care and attitude to life-long nutrition. The Nestl © nest represents the nourishment, security and sense of family hat are so essential to life. 1866 -1905 In the 1860s Factories were established in developing countries, particularly Latin America. Ironically, the war helped with the introduction of the Company’s newest product, Nescafe, which was a staple drink of the US military. Nestl’s production and sales rose in the wartime economy. 1944 – 1975 The end of World War II was the beginning of a dynamic phase for Nestl ©. Growth accelerated and companies were acquired. In 1947 came the merger with Magi seasonings and soups. Crosse & Blackwell followed in 1950, as did Findus (1963), Libby’s (1971) and Stouffer’s (1973). Diversification came with a shareholding in L’l 1974. 1975- 1981 Nestl ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s growth in the developing world partially offset a slowdown in the Company’s traditional markets. Nestl © made its second venture outside the food industry by acquiring Alcon Laboratories Inc. 1981 – 1996 Nestl © divested a number of businesses1980 / 1984. In 1984, Nestl ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s improved bottom line allowed the Company to launch a new round of acquisitions, the most 1996 + The first half of the 1990s proved to be favorable for Nestl ©: trade barriers crumbled and world markets developed into more or less integrated trading areas. Since 1996 here have been acquisitions including San Pellegrino (1997), Spillers Pet foods (1998) and Ralston Purina (2002). There were two major acquisitions in North America, both in 2002: in July, Nestl © merged its U. S. ice cream business into Dreyer’s, and in August, a USD 2. 6bn acquisition was announced of Chef America, Inc. Mission Statement â€Å"Nestl © is dedicated to providing the best foods to people throughout their day, throughout their lives, throughout the world. With our unique experience of anticipating consumers’ needs and creating solutions, Nestl © contributes to your ell-being and enhances your quality of life.

Children and adults alike enjoy fairy Essay

Children and adults alike enjoy fairy tales because, to a certain extent, there are universal themes which make the stories predictable. Three of these themes are parental abandonment, victimization, and the all-important happy ending. Fairy tales provide an escape for the reader and a way to vicariously experience a different kind of life in which anything is possible. The idea of parental abandonment seems an anathema in a children’s story. Nevertheless, Little Red Riding Hood ventures alone into the forest to walk to her grandmother’s house, in spite of the danger presented by the wolf. Snow White and Cinderella’s parents die and leave them with cruel stepmothers. In â€Å"Beauty and the Beast†, Belle is without a mother and her father is a bit of a kook who can’t look after her properly. All of the characters are placed in situations in which they become victims. The three little pigs must protect their homes from a wolf; Little Red Riding Hood must outsmart a wolf who has eaten her grandmother and disguised himself. Cinderella and Snow White, on the other hand, must outsmart their cruel stepmothers in order to find true love. The most common theme in fairy tales (except, of course, for the Grimm versions) is that they have a happy ending. Cinderella and Snow White defeat their stepmothers and marry the prince, Little Red Riding Hood and the three little pigs outsmart the wolves and save themselves from certain death. A fairy tale just isn’t a fairy tale without a happy ending; after all, the story of Cinderella would be less compelling if she had missed the ball and one of her ugly stepsisters had married the prince. â€Å"Beauty and the Beast† would have been less of a fairy tale if Belle’s love hadn’t transformed the Beast.

Comprised of Revisited

Comprised of Revisited â€Å"Comprised of† Revisited â€Å"Comprised of† Revisited By Maeve Maddox More than one reader has chided me for writing â€Å"comprised of† in a recent post. Here’s the culprit: In the ancient Roman army, a centurion was the officer in charge of a century, a unit originally comprised of 100 men. Anyone who has ever read a popular language blog has seen this dictum stated as an adamantine rule: One must never use the phrase comprised of. I’ve certainly read many articles that explain in great detail why â€Å"comprised of† is not only merely wrong, but really, most sincerely wrong. I was on the verge of writing to Daniel to ask him to change comprised to composed, but then I read my sentence again and had to admit that I don’t see anything wrong with it. Plenty of other writers reach for â€Å"comprised of† without remembering that it’s a no-no. The usage is found in edited articles published in The American Scholar, The Atlantic, The Christian Science Monitor, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. This confession from Francine Prose, a contributing editor to the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus and author of a string of books published by the world’s most prestigious publishing houses, illustrates the writer’s dilemma: It has been pointed out to me, more often than I care to admit, that you can say: The book comprises five sections. But you should not say: The book is comprised of five sections. In the second example, use compose instead: The book is composed of five sections. I have lost hope of ever getting it straight, so for now I find synonyms, and wait for so many others to make the same mistake that- as so often happens- grammarians simply give up, and decide that both usages are correct. I mistrust a rule of usage that is not only supremely forgettable but also targets a phrase that writers of formal English have been using for centuries. Even respected language commentators who officially uphold the notion that â€Å"comprised of† must not be used with the meaning of â€Å"consists of† recognize the hopelessness of remembering this particular â€Å"rule†: And no one will mind if you avoid â€Å"comprise.† Just say, â€Å"made up of.† Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl. But there’s so much confusion surrounding the usage of [comprise] that it may be better to avoid it altogether. Paul Brians, Common Errors in English Usage. The editors at Oxford Dictionaries Online state that â€Å"comprised of† is â€Å"more or less synonymous† with â€Å"consists of† and that this usage is â€Å"part of standard English.† The Oxford English Dictionary- without any indication that the usage is nonstandard- includes this definition for the â€Å"passive form† of comprise: â€Å"To be composed of, to consist of.† The earliest OED citation for this use is dated 1874. Several linguistic discussions of the topic reference earlier uses dating from 1704. Even the editors at Merriam-Webster, after defending the use of â€Å"comprised of† as acceptable usage, capitulate to the bogus rule: You should be aware, however, that if you use [â€Å"comprised of†] you may be subject to criticism for doing so, and you may want to choose a safer synonym such as  compose  or  make up. Geoff Nunberg calls the â€Å"comprised of† proscription â€Å"a pedant’s veto†: It doesn’t matter if you consider a word to be correct English. If some sticklers insist that its an error, the dictionaries and style manuals are going to counsel you to steer clear of it to avoid bringing down their wrath. That can be the prudent course, especially in an age when email and Web comment threads make things easy for what William Safire used to call the â€Å"gotcha gang.† All of us have our linguistic pet peeves, usage that produces â€Å"blackboard moments† of discomfort. They may not be defensible, but that doesn’t make them any less annoying to us. In deference to readers who cringe when they hear or see the phrase â€Å"comprised of,† I won’t use it in future DWT articles. But I will permit my centurion sentence to stand. Related post: Usage That Provokes â€Å"Blackboard Moments† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About NumbersDo you "orient" yourself, or "orientate" yourself?Using Writing Bursts to Generate Ideas and Enthusiasm

Huck Finn Outline Essays

Huck Finn Outline Essays Huck Finn Outline Paper Huck Finn Outline Paper religion is a huge part of civilization. Husks guardian, Widow Douglas, preaches to him ABA out Moses. He says, Here she was a bothering about Moses, which was no kin to her, and n o use to anybody, being gone you see (Twain 3). Twain speaks, through Rack, saying that religion is relevant to the average persons life. Not much later Hack finds that prayer has never done him any good, and he cant see that it has helped many others either. Through h Husks eyes we see that Twain opposes the blind faith put in the church teachings. He also finds that religions supposed selfless spirit clashes with the reality of our cultivated human nature, as Hack clearly illustrates this through his constant remarks that he doesnt s e whats in It (religion) for him. Twain uses Hack to exhibit his objection to the blind faith the at civilized society places towards religion. B. The Exaggerators and the Sheepherders The men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their ink sees or stood them handy against the wall. The Sheepherders done the same. It was pretty ornery preaching about brotherly love, and suchliketiredsomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace (Twain 109). 1 . The feuding families sit calmly in church together The young Buck Shepherdess Exaggerator respects the Shepherdess, making t known that hey are certainly not cowards, but that he wants to kill them so bad, though he hardly knows why. . The families have forgotten the reason for their feud We see satire again in the novel through the idea of family feuds. The Shaper Dodson and Exaggerators are a pair of feuding families, and no one can remember why the eye are even fighting. Pointless and silly, commenting on the stupidity of human nature. Body Paragraph #2 IV. Twain satirized slavery First, Husks relationship with Jim shows the authors views on slavery. Hack w as taught at home and in school that slav ery was a part of daily life. He never found anything Eng wrong with the way slaves were treated. In the beginning of Hack and Jims journey Hack treats Jim in a normal way in the way that Jim is different from him. When we was ready to shove off we was a quarter of a mile below the island, and it was pretty broad day; so I ma deism Lay down in the canoe and cover up with a quilt, because if he set up people could tell h a good ways off (Twain 58).

Business Plan

Mission Statement Sound Noise, a State of Indiana S Corporation, spotlights unconventional music, merchandise and entertainment typically overshadowed by mainstream ideologies. It speaks to the shared experiences of Generation Y and The Urban Trendsetter. It provides fair compensation to its employees, a fair return to its owners, and a fair royalty to its artists.Goals * Establish and grow The Company into a full service record label, merchandising ND multimedia company * Create a steady stream of revenue from record sales, digital sales, merchandising, licensing and live performances Keys to Success * Focus on creating a consistent stream of high quality songs and music related products * solve problems with Independent marketing, promotional and advertising budgets * Ensure products are delivered on time, financial are managed effectively, marketing and promotional budgets are monitored, and develop successful growth strategies * Focus on internet presence and building the foundat ion for a recognizable web brand Financial Requirements Sound Noise (hereafter referred to as The Company) seeks a capital infusion of $100,000 to continue building on the foundation already established by the company. This money will be used to cover costs associated with creating a consistent stream of music related products, marketing, promotion, and working capital necessary to establish and grow The Company into a successful multimedia organization. We plan to repay the balance of this loan amount in the span of approximately three years. We also plan to immediately begin repayment of the loan Interest at a rate of 6% or $500 per month.Further information regarding these procedures is outlined later in this plan. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Our current sources of income include but are not limited to the following list of products and services: * Retail sales of Cads. DVDs and other multimedia formats * Sales of T-shirts, Jackets, tour books and other promotional merchandise * Royalties and fees earned from performances of recordings on radio and television, on the Internet, in movies, and in commercial venues such as restaurants and nightclubs * Live Performances Recorded Music Sound Noise will spe nd a large portion of their creative energy on writing song lyrics ND composing music.The company commits to producing and recording a steady stream of high quality music for public consumption to equal no less than two songs tots chains, at live shows and over the internet via various online and offline distributors and aggressors. The Company will also sell digital music in the following formats: Complete Album Downloads, Full Track Downloads, Mobile Only Full Track Downloads, Polyphonic Rhinestones, and Arranging Tones. We plan to make these items available through structured licensing agreements with popular online retail (I. E. I Tunes, Music, and Rhapsody). Merchandising ere Company will manufacture and produce a large variety of merchandise at the lowest possible costs.Every piece of merchandise, once sold, becomes a living piece of advertising for our projects, creating a dual benefit for our company and its consumers. These items will include but are not limited to the following: T-shirts, CDC, Posters, Sweatshirts, Hats, Jackets and other collectibles. Live Performance ere Company will focus on live performance venues and the relationships with booking agents as a marketing and advertising supplement to drive record and reassigning sales. Licensing As the owner of the masters and the publisher of our own catalogue of songs, The Company is guaranteed a certain bundle of rights by law. Because we own all the rights, anyone who wishes to use our song must first obtain our permission.A film or IV show needs to borrow only two of these rights: the right to use the actual recording (our master), and the right to use the underlying composition that the master is based on (our song). The permission we give them to use the master is tendered in the form of a contract called a master-use license. The permission we give them to use the song itself is tendered in the form of another contract called a synchronization license. Both these licenses can be combined into one agreement if the publisher and master owner are one in the same. MARKETING PLAN ere Companys marketing will revolve around 4 basic online and offline mediums: Radio, Reviews, Road and Retail.Sound Noise will use the strategies of this plan to attack all four principles simultaneously over the course of the next three years. This Nail determine the true value of The Companys music and validity of our business. To et the most of these 4 mediums we must first prepare a polished and professional press kit and update our online presence. The Company explains in more detail below. The costs for these items are listed in the Start up Cost spreadsheet in the Financial Statement. Professional Press Kit Includes: geography A professional one page biography will be written to provide press, radio and fans with a complete concise story behind the music of The Company. Photo Shoot A full service digital photo shoot will be performed to provide high resolution mages for The Companys Namespace Page, Blob and Press Kits; both online and offline. Electronic Press Kit -An online version of The Companys press kit will be created and maintained to allow for easy access to floggers, Journalist and other press outlets to cover its music. * Download Cards Similar to tunes, this plastic or recycled cardboard business card sized gift cards come with a unique download code to be entered on the web that will collect data about the fan downloading (I. E. ;mail, address, zip code, age, etc. ) * CD Manufacturing Professionally copy of The Companys latest releases. Online Presence * Customized Namespace Layout A new layout will be designed and published at http://www. Namespace. Mom/semiconscious to maximize fan experience and brand exposure on the #1 music discovery destinations on the web. * The Sound Noise Backbone A new Backbone layout will be designed and published to NNW. Backbone. Com/semiconscious. Musicians will also receive their own new designed Backbone page. Backbone will be updated weekly with amps, pictures, video and commentary from The Company. The blob will serve as a two way communication between The Company its fans and stakeholders. Once the professional press kit and updated online presence is complete, The Company will move forward in presenting The Companys products to the mediums that are illustrated and outlined in detail on the following pages.Reviews ere Company will do as much as it can to effectively promote ourselves in the press; however we anticipate the need for a full time publicist. * The Company will pay a full time professional publicist at a rate of $500 per month to secure interviews and reviews in both online and offline publications. The first step in assisting the publicists is to compile a list of appropriate press accounts (I. E. Outlets) in our target racket college press, local magazines and newspapers, fanzines, online press and media, etc. Note that our list will include press that is not primarily focused on music, but which music fans read for example, fashion or auto magazines.Evaluation of our press and publicity efforts will include the monitoring and tracking of single, album and concert reviews, as well as interviews and features regarding our label and its acts. Radio ere Company will do as much as we can to effectively promote our record ourselves to commercial and college radio; however we anticipate the need for an independent radio promoter. The Company will pay a professional college radio promoter at a rate of $500 per month to secure radio spins on BEDS/COM tracked radio stations. In addition, The Company plans to use highly influential online services to market its music to radio. These services will be paid at a rate of $1,000 per month. We will assist the efforts of the radio promoter by creating a comprehensive list of station information. Servicing radio involves providing the MD, PDP, Dos and Promotions/ Marketing Director with full-length CDC and singles, and updating appropriate radio personnel with information on our acts and developments with our label (new leases, upcoming concerts to add to the concert calendar, special promotions in the area, T-shirts, posters, flyers, etc. ). Evaluation of our radio promotion efforts will Include the monitoring and tracking of ads, level of rotation and overall chart statistics (Billboard, BEDS, and College Music Journal). Road En plan to Join The National Association of Campus Activities to maximize the number of paid gigs per year. These shows easily become multi media events a place to sell Cads and other merchandise. * The membership rate for the NCAA is $750 as described in the start section in the financial plan. The Company will also SE online booking agencies to find high profile, paid gig. We will pay those services a total of $500 per month. Retail Marketing While no one element of our marketing mix is more important than the other, we will tie as much of our marketing efforts into retail as possible. The first step will be to build a comprehensive list of music blobs that make sense for The Company. Secondly, we will service the online record stores (I. E. tunes, Rhapsody, music, Amazon MPH, All and more) with current releases, promotional material, and point of purchase advertising. * The cost of distributing The Companys product will be TA rate of $100 per month. Online vs..Offline The Straddle is a term coined by professor/flogger George Howard to explain the difference between online and offline market. The balance act necessary to leverage both worlds is something that is not so often talked about, but one that most successful acts are already doing. * The cost of online and offline advertisement will cost the company $1 500 per month For independent artists, this concept is even more important to grasp. Namespace and other social networks have given rise to a generation of musicians who think they can become an instant success from their opts. Truth is, if you fail to create a real connection with the fans or friends you make online, you will ultimately loose them all offline. Our Street Team The street team is an integral part of The Companys marketing plans, and a significant portion of every artists marketing budget is dedicated to manufacturing promotional items for street team use. The street team will be an extra set of several arms and legs scattered across the country supplementing the efforts of our publicist, radio promoter and general managers. * The cost to properly fund our street team will be $300 per month MANAGEMENT PLAN Brandon Ernest President ; Aaron Fisher Secretary Brandon has managed UPS for 3 years and is looking to take his experiences and knowledge to his own business. He is also musically trained on trombone, guitar, piano, and drums.While Aaron Fisher is a graphic design major looking to take his cameras where ever life leads him. Also equipped with computer gear made by apple overseeing design operations is his dream. Both men are musicians at heart and the music industry is full of heart. Gerard Brooks (aka Rush) UP Operations He is the eldest of 4 children and was raised in a single family home by his mother. His responsibilities, at times, seemed overwhelming in comparison to others his age. His hard knock life bestowed him with a make it happen now attitude. Life has not always been beneficial for him, but deep, perspective thinking and speaking it real is truly evident in his music.Gerard began music Just by making a rhyme for fun in the Once the crowd heard my rhyme, they went wild and I received such an adrenaline rush hence the name Rush. Ralph Kay (aka Picasso) UP of Sales Picasso, the eldest of 3 children, was part of one of the only African American families in the area that had both parents living in the same household. Although a two parent household might sound normal to many people, Ralph understood that it was not at all a normal occurrence. Because of his secure environment, he grew up with a care free, all is right with the world attitude. Nothing seemed to concern or worry him much, still does not. This fosters his ability to paint beautiful pictures with words and use his witty humor along the way.

IKEAs business model and sources of competitive advantage Essay

IKEAs business model and sources of competitive advantage - Essay Example What is best about IKEA’s furniture is that although it is cheap, yet it is stylish and durable. IKEA’s business model is based on maintaining low cost structure so that it can continue to deliver its promise of low price and good quality lifestyle to its customers. IKEA has very carefully managed to keep its cost structure low by practicing a few strategies. For instance, it has chosen suppliers from different parts of the world and maintained strong and long term relationship with them by offering them office facilities and technologies to carry out their business smoothly. IKEA focuses on efficiency though long production runs so as to entice investors and bring down the cost structure. The raw material needed for the manufacturing of furniture is chosen carefully without any interference of third party; expensive wood is replaced by less expensive and good quality raw material. To further reduce its cost structure, IKEA’s furniture arrives at the stores in disassembled parts in flat packaging along with instruction manuals; this not only lowers the transportation costs but offers ease of handling to the customers. Unlike other stores in the category, IKEA’s stores are located in the outskirts and only few are owned by the company. Franchising is a good option for lowering the cost structure and IKEA has taken it up religiously. Moreover, IKEA ensures that it does not rely on one supplier for the manufacture of a single product. Take an example, for an IKEA chair, the seat is supplied by a manufacturer who is in one corner of the world, legs come from a supplier from another corner and nuts and screws are supplied from totally different regions. IKEA’s furniture designs are basically Scandinavian with little or no modifications. These designs are considered outclass and accepted widely in non Scandinavian countries equally. However in some regions the customers’ exhibit displeasure towards Scandinavian designs because the items do not fulfill their cultural and personal needs. Apart from all the good steps taken by IKEA to maintain cost leadership, there is still room for weaknesses which must be addressed to as to strengthen the brand image. Although IKEA has expanded its operations in major territories of the world for earning more revenues but it has failed to understand is that every country has different culture, demand, taste and most of all, legislations which it has to abide by. Since these factors vary from country to country, it has come to IKEA as a big challenge to meet the customer and co untry’s requirements while maintaining cost leadership. Because IKEA promises low priced furniture to its customers, innovation is not seen much because bringing in new designs can disturb the cost structure. Sometimes IKEA fails to understand that one size fits all cannot hold in the line of furniture. Scandinavian designs might be appealing to countries in the Europe and nearby but cannot please the Americans in the same manner. The stores of IKEA are located outside the cities as per the low cost strategy. This causes the customers to travel long distances so they prefer to make purchases from nearby stores. We have learned from the given case study that IKEA has chosen cost leadership to be its core aim and strategy but only this one factor is not enough for its survival. It has to have more points of differentiation because when other competitors in the industry bring their prices down and offer quality and superior customer service, then chances are likely that customer loyalty and brand image of IKEA will drop

Critical thinking about what conservatives think Essay

Critical thinking about what conservatives think - Essay Example The unifying factor for these morals and politics lies in conservatives’ strong belief, in family values and moral philosophy of thinking. Lakoff argues that conservatives’ conceptualization of the family as the unit of the nation corresponds to the strict father model of parenting. While Romney believes that the government should establish just, and moral laws, he believes that adults should not be dependent on the government. For instance, in his speech on â€Å"A Campion of Free Enterprise†, Romney talks of â€Å"transforming America by restoring the values of economic freedom†. This typifies the essence of conservatives’ moral philosophy. Americans metaphorically link their country to the family unit linking the government to parents and Americans to children. Romney’s speeches exemplify this point as he speaks to issues that affect the family such as morality with regard to selflessness and social behavior; child development and justice. During his, â€Å"A Champion of Free Enterprise† speech of 7th June 2012, Romney criticizes the Obama administration citing, â€Å"I put my trust in the ingenuity and creativity and commitment to hard work of the American people.† This assertion shows Romney’s belief that the family (American people) is the embodiment of the nation. Lakoff’s book exemplifies conservatives’ political philosophy to the nurturant parent technique that requires the parents (government) to protect their children (citizens) to attain their full capacity through tough rules such as tough environmental laws. For instance, Romney is pro-life and a strong opponent of abortion. Lakoff argues that conservatives lay positive emphasis on government spending on military expenses and fixed income tax percentiles. Lakoff further argues that conservatives use peculiar linguistic patterns to refer to issues affecting America (Lakoff 309). For instance, during his â€Å"Freedom

Strategic Analysis of Intel Corporation Case Study

Strategic Analysis of Intel Corporation - Case Study Example The report makes five forces analysis to judge the extent of market study done in the company. A SWOT analysis of the company as it stands today after its highs and lows and the strengths of the competition are all analyzed. In addition to this, the BCG matrix is prepared to study the extent to which the products have been capitalized by the company. And in what manner the company could further capitalize on their products. Further to the analysis, the extent to which all the stake holders in the company have been taken into account in every one of their decisions is also verified. It has been found that though most of the requirements have been taken care of in the strategy that has been adopted by the company, there are certain inadequacies too. These have been identified and are also listed in the report given below. The major conclusions drawn in the course of this study indicates that strategy does work and that there should be an objective even if a certain amount of vagueness comes into fore during execution and might necessitate changes in the course of the work. Delight our customers, employees, and shareholders by relentlessly delivering the platform and technology advancements that become essential to the way we work and live. - Intel Corporation, Mission Statement (Intel, 2007). Intel says, delight is highe... True to the statement, the company has heralded some of the best and the latest products for the world to live with. 3.2 Business Objectives The company's business objectives can be listed as below (Intel 2007): Extend our silicon technology and manufacturing leadership Deliver unrivaled microprocessors and platforms Grow profitability worldwide Excel in customer orientation The company has extended the use of silicon technology by creating microprocessors that are trendsetters. They have kept with their business objectives worldwide and have profitability too. Customer orientation is another major area that they are working on. 3.3 Analysis The structure of operation in Intel is not very rigid. It is a structure that gives liberty to the people's innovation. This is more like what is common with small companies. However, as Andrew Groove (1999), its CMD, says, "The Company can literally turn on its heels". This is made possibly only if the involvement of the people in innovation is matched with the large extent of understanding of the operational requirements of the company. One, the structure supports innovation; two, the Company because of its need to match customer requirements, has ensured that the innovative structure would help in positioning itself as customer centric. Both these factors have added to the profitability of the company as well. 3.4 Product and market Share The major products of Intel and their market share is given in table 1. S No Products Intel Competitor 1 Microprocessors 80.2% 11.1% (AMD) 2 Chipsets 57% 15% (Via Tech) 3 Motherboards 30% 22% (ATI) 4 Desktop NA 5 Laptop NA * (Tom Krizot 2006, Anton Shilov 2006) Figure 1: Products by the company Though as a product Intel's laptops and desktops might not be doing brisk business, their

HRM CASE STUDY Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

HRM - Case Study Example Wal-Mart stores, Target corporations and toys for us were the retailer out lets through which most of the revenue the company had in 2000. The company has gone through many ups and down for many reasons. The growth by acquisition strategy adopted by CEO Jill Barad had failed showing an 82.4 million loss in 1999. following the heavy loss Jill Barad was replaced by Robert Eckert, who decided against a cost cutting strategy to amplify the profit. He better focused on work force management, giving its managers sophisticated training which included the global leadership program and seminars on leadership. How did the strategy of training managers to become leaders ultimately turn out to be The workforce strategy was aiming at developing effective teams. Trying to foster teamwork and brake down the silo mentality with in the organization was a Herculean Task for the prevailing corporate set up of Mattel. What were the challenges they came across during the process The purpose of this paper is to go beyond the information given by Mridu Verma (2007) and to analyze and critically evaluate the strategy in the light of today's human resource management capabilities and limitations in the corporate circumstances. In order to understand the intensity of the developments and the fruitfulness of the out come close look at the company background is essential. Mattel's was founded by Elliot and Ruth handler in the year 1945. Gaining from the absence of quality and verity in the toy's market the company had recorded a $100,000 sale in the first year even with the least experience they had. The company made use of the popularity of television westerns when they have introduced toy replicas of the classic western guns and holsters in 1957. Later on they introduced Barbie Doll with its clothes and accessories, the company kept on conquering the market with its sale on the increase hitting the $100 million mark in 1965. By the end of the decade they were the world's number one toy makers. It was the time when the company established and developed itself with diverse operations into a world wide enterprise with a host of acquisitions. Some of those major acquisitions are Dee & Cee Toy in 1962, Standard plastic Products Hong Kong Industrial and Precision Moulds in 1966, Rosebud Dolls in 1967, monogram models and A&A Die casting in 1968, Ratti Vallenscasca, Mebetoys, Ebiex, H&Hpalstic Company and Met frame in 1969. However, in spite of the acquisitions by the year 1985 Mattel fell behind the Hasbro as the world's largest toy Maker. The 70s have seen many financial irregularities and finally a new management under former vice president Arthur S. Spear had take control of the organization in 1975, by when many of the business acquisitions the company had were running on loss. "John W. Amerman, who became the CEO in 1987 moved to quickly to cut Mattel's overhead by closing 40% of the company's manufacturing capacity, including plants in California, Taiwan and the Philippians. He laid of workers at Mattel's corporate headquarters in California saving at least 30 million annually. He turned the company around by focusing on brand names with staying power such as Barbie and hot wheels and by making selective investment in the making of new toys. Despite a

Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Hinduism - Essay Example Partly as a result of this war and the Holocaust, the state of Israel was founded. Anyone of the Jewish faith can become a citizen of Israel. At present Jews live in many different countries of the world. Their contributions to science, the arts, economics and virtually every other sphere of human activity has been huge. Indeed, their success may be part of the reason that people have persecuted them for so long. Hinduism refers in general to the civilization of the Hindus – who were the original inhabitants of the land of the Indus river. The word â€Å"Hindu† was invented by British writers in about a830, and is in general used to describe Indian civilization over the last 2000 years. The Hindu religion is the third largest in the world, with about 1 billion adherents. In contrast to Judaism, Hinduism does not have a single set of religious beliefs or a main founder, but rather encompasses many different religious rituals and practices. Most Hindus follow the Vendata philosophy and believe in a cosmic spirit called Brahman. It is worshipped in many different forms such as the Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti. There are many different religious texts within Hinduism, the most famous of which is probably the Bhagavad Gita. In general, Hinduism can be portrayed as either polytheistic (many gods) or henotheistic (a personalized god and god as an idea). The Brahman cannot be described in words according to much inHind Hindu scripture, but can only be understood through direct experience. The interview location was the Hindu Temple of Chattanooga, which is known as Sanatan Mandir. This temple has been in existence about ten years and welcomes Hindus of various persuasions. The temple is located on Boney Oaks drive in the city. I was born forty years ago in Bombay, India. I moved to the USA for graduate studies in engineering, married an American and am now an American citizen. I have lived in

Impact Of Social Media On Samsung Literature review

Impact Of Social Media On Samsung - Literature review Example This study will try to uncover the impact of social media on Samsung. In other words, the study will try to reveal how Samsung gets benefitted from social media. Now before getting into deeper a brief overview of Samsung is presented below. Samsung has its roots back to 70 years when the company was founded by Lee Byung-chill in the Daegu city in the year 1938 (Samsung, n.d.). It started as a small trading company with only forty employees, but with the passage, the company went on to become one of the largest companies in the world. Presently the company is involved in manufacturing and selling consumer electronic goods. The product portfolio of the company include mobiles, laptops, television, air condition, home theatre, microwave oven, camera, refrigerator, and washing machine among numerous others (Yahoo Finance, 2012). The company also has a substantial amount of presence in the social world, which allows them to remain connected with the customers 24*7. According to Qualman (2010), social media on a global platform and enables the world to remain connected. From the business perspective, social media has actually changed the way business has been done. The author also stated that social media helps a company to save its promotional time, stress and cost thereby making it more productive. Along the same line, Sterne (2010) stated that social media is a profit booster, as it lowers the cost drastically. This allows the companies to sell their products at a lower price and can offer value to the customers. Hence, indirectly it helps to satisfy the customers of the company. Noor Al-Deen and Hendricks (2011) in their study found that social media such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Orkut and YouTube among others are growing at an incredible rate. Moreover, the adoption rate of the companies is also high.

Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Hinduism - Essay Example Partly as a result of this war and the Holocaust, the state of Israel was founded. Anyone of the Jewish faith can become a citizen of Israel. At present Jews live in many different countries of the world. Their contributions to science, the arts, economics and virtually every other sphere of human activity has been huge. Indeed, their success may be part of the reason that people have persecuted them for so long. Hinduism refers in general to the civilization of the Hindus – who were the original inhabitants of the land of the Indus river. The word â€Å"Hindu† was invented by British writers in about a830, and is in general used to describe Indian civilization over the last 2000 years. The Hindu religion is the third largest in the world, with about 1 billion adherents. In contrast to Judaism, Hinduism does not have a single set of religious beliefs or a main founder, but rather encompasses many different religious rituals and practices. Most Hindus follow the Vendata philosophy and believe in a cosmic spirit called Brahman. It is worshipped in many different forms such as the Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti. There are many different religious texts within Hinduism, the most famous of which is probably the Bhagavad Gita. In general, Hinduism can be portrayed as either polytheistic (many gods) or henotheistic (a personalized god and god as an idea). The Brahman cannot be described in words according to much inHind Hindu scripture, but can only be understood through direct experience. The interview location was the Hindu Temple of Chattanooga, which is known as Sanatan Mandir. This temple has been in existence about ten years and welcomes Hindus of various persuasions. The temple is located on Boney Oaks drive in the city. I was born forty years ago in Bombay, India. I moved to the USA for graduate studies in engineering, married an American and am now an American citizen. I have lived in

Ethical and Legal Challenges in Professional Practice Essay Example for Free

Ethical and Legal Challenges in Professional Practice Essay The American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics is available to clarify the ethical responsibilities for professional counselors and future professional counselors. According to the ACA (2005), â€Å"the code serves as an ethical guide designed to assist members in constructing a professional course of action that best serves those utilizing counseling services and best promotes the values of the counseling profession.† As a graduate student striving to achieve a Master’s Degree in Counseling, it is crucial, not only to know and understand the ACA Code of Ethics, but also to understand any challenges that I may have in upholding them as well as ways to address these challenges effectively. In this paper I examine a section of the ACA Code of Ethics that I find personally challenging, risk management strategies used to resolve this potential ethical conflict, and a section of the ACA Code of Ethics that will not present a challenge. Personally Challenging Ethics Code According to the ACA Code of Ethics (2005), section C.2.g Impairment, counselors are alert to the signs of impairment from their own physical, mental, or emotional problems and refrain from offering or providing professional services when such impairment is likely to harm a client or others. The ACA Code of Ethics (2005) section C.2.g Impairment also states that counselors seek assistance for problems that reach the level of professional impairment, and, if necessary, they limit, suspend, or terminate their professional responsibilities until such time it is determined that they may safely resume their work. Personal Relevant History In 2005, during my senior year of undergraduate school at The University of  Arizona, I was on the fast track to law school. I was on a full scholarship, earning a 4.0 grade point average, a resident assistant for the dorms, and a member of a co-ed pre-law fraternity. I had just completed my internship working for senator John McCain and had finished the scary LSAT. This is what my friends and family saw. In the background, I was struggling. During the weekends I was â€Å"hosting† parties, or rather people would just show up and throw their own parties at my residence. I was struggling to get out of bed in the morning and often came back home to take naps and miss my next few classes of the day. My grades were slipping and so was my ambition. I took it upon myself to see a psychiatrist and was prescribed anti-depressants. This medication changed my life for the worst. I did not even notice that things were spinning out of control as I maxed out my credit cards (I would just get new cards later) and making impulsive and risky decisions. I was losing sleep as I was either out socializing or home cleaning like a madwoman, and often had bouts of irritability. My boyfriend at the time (my current husband) called my parents and asked that I come home to Phoenix and receive help. So I had a medical withdrawal from school, returned home, and was provided with psychiatric help. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and informed that by taking antidepressants I was experiencing a manic episode. As stated by Griswold and Pessar (2000, p. 1347) while referring to bipolar disorder, â€Å"the use of tricyclic antidepressants should be avoided because of the possibility of inducing rapid cycling of symptoms.† So with a new diagnosis the process of trial and error with psychotropic and mood stabilizing medications and their unavoidable side effects began. Once I was on a stable medication and dosage, I felt like myself again. I got a job at a residential treatment center to work with adolescents that have mood disorders and had gotten into trouble with the law. I found my passion. It was a few years before I could return to school with a purpose. I was graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Family Studies and Human Development in May 2011 and the future goal of becoming a therapist. Future Considerations and Risk Management  Strategies I believe that under the Impairment ethics code, mood disorders are considered a mental or emotional problem that may impair the counselor affecting the way in which a counselor provides treatment to clients. Bipolar disorder does not disappear once one takes the necessary medication. â€Å"Medication alone is often inadequate to restore and maintain physical health and quality of life† (Rheineck Steinkuller, 2009, p. 339). Rheineck and Steinkuller (2009) recommend that those with bipolar disorder participate in therapy in conjunction with taking their effective medication. It would be myopic of me to assume that bipolar disorder will never affect me as a therapist. If I am not aware of my moods while I am having either a depressive or manic episode I may become irritable with or place my own perceptions onto a client. Ethically, to manage the risks involved with being a therapist who has bipolar disorder, I need to do more than take medication and participate in therapy. According to Biegel, Brown, Shapiro (2007), a therapist should practice self-care, including self-awareness and self-regulation or coping. I think that when I am practicing, it will be self-awareness that will assist me most in terms of risk management. As an unbiased observation of my inner experience and behavior, self-awareness could also serve as an alarm to signal that I need to take appropriate actions whether to notify my supervisor, limit, or suspend my professional responsibilities. When referring to self-awareness Corey, Corey, Callanan (2008, p. 44) state that without it â€Å"mental health professionals are likely to obstruct the progress of their clients as the focus of therapy shifts from meeting the client’s needs to meeting the needs of the therapist.† To assist with my self-awareness, I plan to utilize mindfulness. Mindfulness, as defined by Campbell and Christopher (2012, p. 215), â€Å"refers to a state of being aware, with acceptance, of thoughts, emotions, and sensations as they arise.† I currently practice various mindfulness exercises in therapy to assist with my mood disorder and coping strategies. To be a positive and healthy professional counselor I will continue with mindfulness exercises throughout my career and my life. I plan on practicing this daily, on my own time, so that I will be able to recognize when I am having moods or episodes that need to be addressed.  Mindfulness will be additionally useful, as â€Å"counselors need to be immediately cognizant of signs of stress and burnout and address these immediately to practice counseling ethically† (Bradley, Brogan, Brogan, Hendricks, 2009, p. 358). By being mindful and self-aware I will be able to identify the symptoms of stress and burnout as well as any number of potentially harmful feelings. Ethics Code that Does Not Present a Challenge According to the ACA Code of Ethics (2005), section C.2.f Continuing Education, counselors recognize the need for continuing education to acquire and maintain a reasonable level of awareness of current scientific and professional information in their fields of activity. The ACA Code of Ethics (2005) section C.2.f Continuing Education also states that counselors take steps to maintain competence in the skills they use, are open to new procedures, and keep current with the diverse populations and specific populations with whom they work. Personal Relevant History In my experience while working in behavioral health, training always has been emphasized and mandated yearly. During the four years that I spent working at a residential treatment center, I had accumulated more than 500 hours of training. While working at a group home for a year, I had gone through more than100 hours of training. In the past year while working as a youth and family specialist I have completed an additional 60 hours of training. Although I found many of the training sessions over the years to be fairly repetitive, there were also several trainings providing completely new knowledge to me and therefore effective to assisting me while working with clients. Examples of recent effective trainings include crisis prevention intervention, compassion fatigue, cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adults, and behavioral health documentation. Future Considerations According to the ACA Code of Ethics (2005), Preamble, inherently held values that guide our behaviors or exceed prescribed behaviors are deeply ingrained in the counselor and developed out of personal dedication, rather than the mandatory requirement of an external organization.† To me this statement means that as a professional counselor I will further my education  and knowledge of skills because I want to and not because an agency I work at mandates it. I do not believe that when one finishes school, they have completed learning, especially if they work in behavioral health. There are always new diagnoses, methods, and forms of treatment coming out that I want to be learn to better meet the needs of my future clients. In a mail-in survey study of 1000 licensed professional counselors conducted in 2009 pertaining to counseling grief stricken clients, Granello, Ober, Wheaton (2012) found that the majority of the participants stated they were unprepared when it came to speci fic skills and lacked knowledge to address those with grief. â€Å"Counselors who received training rated themselves as more competent than those who did not, with more training related to higher levels of self-perceived competence† (Granello et al., 2012, p. 158). Another study conducted by Jameson, Poulton, and Stadter (2007), involved 38 therapists and evaluated the effect of a two-year continuing education program on their knowledge, skills, and application. â€Å"The majority (74%) felt the training helped them think clearly and specifically, both about assessment issues and specific interventions† (Jemeson et al., 2007, p. 113). It is clear when reading these findings that further training can only help a professional to work with more specific needs of their clientele. Although all agencies have mandatory trainings, I have observed that there are hundreds of additional trainings offered yearly for any counselors who want to attend voluntarily. I plan to be a counselor who takes the opportunities offered to further educate myself, in order to improve myself and to provide my clients with a better and more knowledgeable version of me. Conclusion In summation, I have examined a potentially personally challenging section of the ACA Code of Ethics, risk management strategies that I plan to utilize, and a section of the ACA Code of Ethics that aligns with my personal beliefs. Examining my personal experiences and traits that may conflict with the ACA Code of Ethics, I am better preparing myself to prevent any effects they may have had toward my future clients. It is important to me that I continue to learn and apply the knowledge I gain in graduate school and additional educational settings to improve myself as a person and as a professional counselor. References American Counseling Association (2005). ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author. Biegel, G.M., Brown, K.W., Shapiro, S.L. (2007). Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 1(2), 105-115. Bradley, L.J., Brogan, W.C., Brogan, C., Hendricks, B. (2009). Shelly: a case study focusing on ethics and counselor wellness. Family Journal, 17(4), 355-359. Campbell, J.C., Christopher, J.C. (2012). Teaching mindfulness to create effective counselors. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 34(3), 213-226. Corey, G., Corey, M.S., Callanan, P. (2008). Issues and ethics in the helping professions ( 8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Granello, D.H., Ober, A.M., Wheaton, J.E. (2012). Grief counseling: an investigation of counselor’ training, experience, and competencies. Journal of Counseling and Development, 90(2), 150-159. Griswold, K.S., Pessar, L.F. (2000). Management of bipolar disorder. American Family Physician, 62(6), 1343-1353. Jameson, P., Poulton, J., Stadter, M. (2007). Sustained and sustaining continuing education for therapists. Psychotherapy, 44(1), 110-114. Rheineck, J.E., Steinkuller, A. (2009). A review of evidence-based therapeutic interventions of bipolar disorder. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 31(4), 338-350.

The Impact Of The Complex Interdependence Politics Essay

The Impact Of The Complex Interdependence Politics Essay As we all know , complex interdependence is a concept developed by Robert keohane and Joseph Nye in order to demonstrate that states are completely tied together in various aspects of their national resources , whether they be economic , military , agricultural , o political amongst others. The main characteristics of Complex Interdependence are three , in first place multiple channels , because these facilitate actions between communities either they be interstate or transnational. In second place low salience , this shows the use of force as a non viable tool in international relations and offers diplomacy and policies as substitute routes , and finally in third place we have issue areas and regimes , which show us a wide agenda of topics that link states together in order to reach their objectives , in other words the line between domestic and foreign policy becomes blurred in this case, as realistically there is no clear agenda in interstate relations.. If we analyze these three points we can see this as an attempt to synthesize elements of realism with liberalism. For millennia, a large and well-equipped army was all that was required to make ones voice heard and power felt on the international scene. As technologies evolved , the possession of a powerful economy and the threat of retaliation have proved as effective , if not more effective than the exposure of weapons and the threat of war. With the growing complexity of interdependence, fewer and fewer goals are achieved by relying exclusively on military threats but also on raw economic incentives. The utility of hard power methods has in general shrunk , as it is less likely than in the past to produce the desired outcomes. The current definition of International Relations is the study of human interactions through national borders and the factors that affect those interactions. But if we look back at the origins of International Relations as a field of study in the early 20th century we can see that it was mainly centered on Great Britains affairs. After the first world war International Relations appeared as a field of study in order to understand the war , its main causes and consequences. In the early 1920s universities across Great Britain and the United States founded faculties and departments devoted on this new and vital subject that was International Relations , because experts saw the dawn of a globalization and the future ties of the states with each other , this was conceived as liberal internationalism. The first academic institution dedicated to the study of international relations was Aberystwyth University founded in 1919 in Wales. The concept of complex interdependence was created in 1977 , after the world had seen two world wars and a number of conflict situations between nations , the devastating consequences that these acts of violence left on mankind where proof of the intrinsic connections one state has with another , even if they are from different religious or political backgrounds , or if they are located on the other side of the globe. The truth is that we are all linked with each other one way or another, and that is what complex interdependence made emphasis on. This opened up a whole new world in the study of international relations , showing how dominant nations such as United States , Great Britain , and Russia where involved in interdependent relations with under developed nations. The growing rate of transnational flows and the increase in channels of communication are creating an uprising in interdependence between states and nations , these relations influence them in many ways not only referring to material needs or objects but also in political and ideological concepts. Todays complex interdependence has become a multifaceted interdependence , one that includes a diversity of issues from cultural problems to environmental concerns , far from what it used to be , solely dependant on economic objectives and the support of military strength. This in terms of international relations shows us that the evolution of international relations has gone from military and economic dominance to an environment of general concern referring to as much aspects of one notion as possible ; everything, from the strength of our economy to the safety of our cities, to the health of our people, depends on events not only within our borders, but half a world away. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ ] We must see the opportunities and the dangers of the interdependent world in which we are clearly fated to live President of the United States Bill Clinton during a press conference in 1999 -. Environmental issues are becoming very important in transnational relations today , further more than any other issue contemplated by complex interdependence. For example the biological problems we have nowadays with bacterias , viruses , and other living organisms that can have disastrous consequences to the nation that receives them. Like the A1H1 virus , that spawned in Mexico and shortly after it spread throughout the globe causing thousands of deaths and creating a tense situation for Mexicos leaders , because they were held responsible for allowing the exit of such virus to rest of the world. In the twenty-first century, British foot and mouth disease or the SARS disease originating in Hong Kong cause fear the world over , precisely because of bacteriological interdependence and the speed at which the diseases propagate through out the planet with incredible ease. Another aspect that is going through everybodys minds as far as international relations goes is ecology and all topics related , ecological interdependence is only now taking on its current importance as a result of the major advances in technology , manufacturing , transportation and mass consumption during the course of the twentieth century. One result of these qualitative changes is that any alteration in a local environment can have both major ecological and political repercussions on a global scale , creating a conservationist mentality across the globe. For example, the deforestation of the Amazon jungle has had serious repercussion as far away as Italy and Japan as well as more locally in Brazil. As a result of phenomena such as this , environmental interdependence is having increasing political impact on national societies. Japan is sponsoring tree reforestations worldwide , providing governments with monetary incentives to plant trees and creating awareness within the popul ation to help with these issues. The complex interdependence has created a major boost in international relation in the 21st century , by creating better and deeper relationships amongst nations , but certain academics have seen a growing problem in international relations in the new millennia ; while the central problem of international relations in the 20th century was states that were too strong like Germany , Imperial Japan , and the Soviet Union , the primary problems of international relations in the 21st century are states that are too weak for example Afghanistan , Pakistan , Mexico , amongst others said Thomas Friedman , of the New York times. This is mainly because these states are going to need more detailed and consistent help from the global community , this is a positive aspect for these developing nations , but it could be seen as a negative for stronger states , because of the setbacks these relations can create in their domestic economies and issues. Todays international relations experts fully understand that globalization has taken over , and that the only way nations are going to improve their qualities of life , improve their domestic economies , and be seen as a strong and potential hot spot for external investments is to create deep rooted bonds with states worldwide. Nations used to have pretty much basic foreign policies , mostly limited to imports and exports , but thanks to the breakthroughs in international relations , most foreign policies have expanded exponentially in the matters of agriculture , fiscal aid , terrorism , the environment , health , and education. After the world trade center attacks on September 11 , 2001 , the world realized that terrorism is a major threat for everyone , because it can happen to anyone , anywhere , at anytime , therefore it became a top priority topic in international relations , leaded almost entirely by the United States and Great Britain , these new alliances wanted to create a worldwide network of nations fighting against terrorism , in order to avoid such regrettable acts such as the ones lived the citizens of New York City. Another topic created taken account in recent years is the war on narcotics processing and international distribution. One clear example is the agreement between drug enforcement agencies form the United States of America and Colombia , also known as the plan Colombia which basically consists in D.E.A cooperation with police training and financial aid. Without complex interdependence international relations would never be as important and as relevant as it is today , because without it nations would still be focused on domestic issues , and wouldnt be as concerned of other aspects of nations problems , because if it wasnt for the current interdependence situation states would only be interested in military power and economic benefits they could obtain from other nations. The 21st century is only beginning and the problems that the world and its nations are going to face to face are only revealing their selves, this is going to mean more work for embassies , consulates , diplomats , and heads of state worldwide in order to join together in search for the greater good. WHICH IS THE IMPACT OF COMPLEX INTERDEPENDENCE ON THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AS A DISCIPLINE AND WHICH ARE THEIR THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY? INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ESSAY JULIO URIBE RESTREPO #200710122002 UNIVERSIDAD EAFIT MEDELLIN 2010

The Views of Native Americans and Europeans Essay -- Compare Contrast

The Views of Native Americans and Europeans During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Europeans and the Indians had very contrasting ideas of personal wealth and ownership. The Europeans believed that only the rich should own land, and strongly followed the practice that when you passed away, the land stays in the family to keep the family honor and pride alive. In European society, what one owned decided one's identity, political standpoint, wealth, and even independence. The Indians believed that property was part of a tribe, not a personal possession to own. One of their beliefs was that the land was sacred, and each family should have a piece of the whole. As a general rule, the Indians followed their belief that states that everything on the earth is given to all, and each person deserves their own share. In 1657, a French Jesuit said that, "Their kindness, humanity and courtesy not only makes them liberal with what they ha...

Wis :: essays research papers

. What I Know My first introduction to Islam was when I heard that a new movie would be coming out called Malcolm X. I heard it was supposed to be really good once the filming was finished. So I decided to read the book before I watched the movie so that it would be easier for me to understand it when I see it on the big screen. I borrowed the book from the library and I was really enjoying the book until I got half way through, to the point where the Nation of Islam teaches that white people are devils. I was so disgusted, I didn't finish the book. Finally, the movie was about to be released and I saw the previews on television, plus the reviews in the paper. It looked appealing, and I heard that Malcolm X later dropped out of the NOI and realized that white people are not devils. So I decided to read the book again, and I was very pleased that I finished it this time. However, I did not pursue more knowledge on the subject at this time. Then when I entered Gallaudet, I met a lot of people who were Muslim and I spent quite some time with them. I learned bits and pieces about Islam through socializing with them. I never really asked questions, maybe occasionally I would. I know a little bit about women in general and even less about women's roles. My knowledge about Islam is superficial, but I want to know more in depth; the soul of the Muslim Woman. I know that women must dress modestly and cover their hair. Only their face and hands can show. I also know that many men prefer or consider the main role of women is to stay home and take care of their husbands, children, and protect the home. That practice is stronger in Eastern societies than in America. I understand that many non-Muslims stereotypically think that the way Muslim women are treated is derogatory, because of the way they dress, the roles they play in their community, the limits that society bestows upon them, and that they have few rights. My main goal i s to see why most women choose to stay in Islam and what is really behind the Islamic stereotypes. II. What I Want to Find Out I chose to pick Women in Islam as my topic because I have many Muslim friends and I think they are very interesting.

Environment and Phenotype

The environment can affect the degree to which a gene may be expressed In an Individual. For example, solo type and weather conditions may affect plant growth. Seeds deliver energy for germination and Minimal growth until plants begin to photosynthesis and create their own glucose for further development. Aim/Purpose To demonstrate the effect of environment on phenotype to formulate a hypothesis about the effect of environment on phenotype To design and conduct a controlled experiment to demonstrate the effect of one environmental factor on a plant phenotype. Hypothesis-Radish plants that is grown in sunlight, room light and in the shade where there is absence of light, those that in the shade will display isolating where there Is pale stems and leaves, elongated stems and leaves reducing In size whilst those grown In light will be green, sturdier and shorter. The plants that are grown in the room light will be In the middle of the other two (light and dark). Apparatus and materials- 6 plant pots Beaker to measure amounts of water for the watering of plants Pack of radish seeds 30 CM ruler that has mm written as well 3 trays Soil enough for 6 pots Risk Assessment-The bean seedlings may have contagious diseases. Therefore gloves should be worn. Leather shoes is most recommended to be worn as handling glass may break and water might make you slip Method/Procedure- 1. Put solo Into each of the pots up to where the crease Is, making sure It Is even In all pots 2. Plant seeds by following Instructions on the back of the packet 3. Germinate radish seeds with equal amounts 4. Two seedlings were left as a control: it was watered and taken care of normally under shade. 5. The other four seedlings were placed in either light covered area, or one in dark covered area 6.Water occasionally and wait for observable phonological results. Note Don't overflow the pots with water Just till moist. 7. Take notes of Plant growth and observations seen. Keep a record of all data being done Results- Observations: Dates: Task: 27. 2. 14 Germination of plants 13. 14 Watered: mall 11 . 3. 14 Watered: mall 14. 3. 14 Measured/taken pictures 18. 3. 14 Light: Stems turning purple starting from the bottom to the top of the stem Leaves vibrant green Thicker stems Control Pale looking Control g's stem from the bottom is more thicker than control 1 Control 2 is more shriveled up while control 1 is still slightly straightLeaves have shrunk Dark Stem of dark 2 is more of white than dark 2 where it is like a pale green/grey Discussion- *trends happening Conclusion- The phenotype expressed in the light ones display green pigment for the environment influenced the need of chlorophyll for photosynthesis. The ones in the dark turned albino, in the absence of light, photosynthesis cannot take place. When these albino plants were put in the sun, over the course of 2 days they altered to a green color again. From Day 7 to Day 10 plants raised in shade displayed isolating whereas thos e raised in light did not Observations of plants grown in eachThere were some factors that have affected some of the result of the experiment. The position of the plants should have been closer together not that far apart. The plants placed in the dark under the bench were the furthest from where the plants in the light and room light were assigned. The amount of water being put in the pots and the consistent watering made the trays flood with water making the pots more than Just moist. The water in the trays wasn't emptied so it was there for quite a while and was it got emptied a bit later on in the experiment.The dependent variables in the experiment were the growth and the progress of the Lana and this depends on the amount of water, amount of sunlight being taken into place. The control that was kept the same for each plant was the amount of water being put into the pots. The accuracy of the experiment wasn't to professional expectations but it was taken into considerations of the factors that can affect it. There could be more to make this experiment better and also with the results that were taken. The reliability of the experiment was reliable as it was compared to another student's similar works done in their time in year 12.But what could have made it more liable is that the experiment could have been repeated another time since the plants start sprouting after 5-7 days after being planted. The plants in sunlight grew normally but those of the same species grown in the dark where there is absence of light elongated much faster to increase their chance of finding light. They were pale in color due to the lack of chlorophyll. The plants that were place in the normal room light grew but the stem wasn't as thick as the one in the light. The energy reserves of the seed were used up therefore it leads to the plant dying in comparison to the one exposed to light.Other factors in the environment, such as salinity and pH of soil, also affect the phenotype of a plant that would otherwise appear normal. The aim/purpose and the hypothesis were met and the results were similar. â€Å"Radish plants that is grown in sunlight, room light and in the shade where there is absence of light, those that in the shade will display isolating where there is pale stems and leaves, elongated stems and leaves reducing in size whilst those grown in light will be green, sturdier and shorter. The plants that are grown in the room light will be in the middle of the other two (light and dark). †

Case Study of Puan Hajjah Faiza Bawumi Essay

The family a social institution is the most fundamental of all social groups and it is universal in its distribution from time immemorial. It is fundamental and persistent social group, a basic social institution at the very care of society. The values institutionalized in the family have long been regarded as important enough to warrant strong measures against any behavior that violated them. Not only has the family been defined as fundamental to the existence of society, but it has been viewed as a source of morality and decent content. It has also been defined as a primary force for controlling behavior and civilizing of human. The family is a group defined by a sex relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children. It may include collateral or subsidiary relationship, but it is constituted by the living together of mates forming with their offspring a distinctive unity. This unit has certain common characteristics everywhere in human society. The following are the five significant characteristics seen essential to the very nature of the family that may be met in extremely a ways. †¢ A mating relationship †¢ A form of marriage or other institutional arrangement in accordance with which the mating relation is established and maintained. †¢ A system of nomenclature, involving also a mode of reckoning descent. †¢ Some economic provision shared by the members of the group but having especial reference to the economic needs associated with child bearing a child rearing and generally, †¢ A common habitation, home or household. In Islam, contraception is mainly addressed in the context of marriage and family. As a social system, culture, and civilization, Islam considers the family the basic unit of society. The Quran, Islam’s holy book and the primary source of Islamic law or Shariah, views marriage as sacred and identifies the husband and wife as the principals of family formation. The Quran has a number of references to marriage, including the following: [pic] It is He who created you from single soul andtherefrom did make his mate, that he might dwell in tranquility with her. (7 :189) And God has made for you mates from yourselvesand made for you out of them, children and grandchildren.(16:72) These verses suggest that tranquility is an important purpose of family life and is achieved through marriage. Also, while procreation is expected in marriage to maintain the human race,sexual relations in marriage need not always be for the purpose of having children. On this point, Islam departs from some other religions where procreation is the exclusive purpose of sexual relations. From the Islamic point of view, when procreation takes place, it should support and endorse tranquility rather than disrupt it. Thus, contraception helps families achieve tranquility by having children when they want them and when they are prepared to have them. Because of the importance of family in Muslim societies, legal scholars from various Islamic schools of jurisprudence and from various locales have given considerable attention to contraception. MUSLIM FAMILY THE STRUCTURE OF MUSLIM FAMILY There have been many definitions and descriptions of the family. For our purpose, we shall adopt the following simplified definition. The family is a human social group whose members are bound together by the bond of blood ties and/or marital relationship. The family bond entails mutual expectations of rights and obligations that are prescribed by religion, enforced by law, and observed by the group of members. Accordingly, the family members share certain mutual commitments. These pertain to identity and provision, inheritance and counsel, affection for the young and security for the aged, and maximization of effort to ensure continuity of the family. As can be clearly seen from the above definition, the foundation of the family in Islam is blood ties and/or marital commitments. Adoption, mutual alliance, clientage, private consent to sexual intimacy, and ‘common law’ or ‘trial’ marriages do not institute a family in the Islamic sense. Islam builds the family on solid grounds that are capable of providing reasonable continuity, true security, and mature intimacy. The foundations of the family have to be so firm and natural as to nurture sincere reciprocity and moral gratification. Islam recognizes that there is no more natural relationship than that of blood, and no more wholesome pattern of sexual intimacy than one in which morality and gratification are joined. Islam recognizes the religious virtue, the social necessity, and the moral advantages of marriage. The normal course of behavior for the Muslim individual is to be family-oriented and to seek a family of one’s own. Marriage and family are central in the Islamic system. There are many passages in the Qur’an and statements by the Prophet which go as far as to say that when a Muslim marries, he has thereby perfected half his religion; so let him be God-minded and careful of his ‘other half’. Muslim scholars have interpreted the Qur’an to mean that marriage is a religious duty, a moral safeguard, and a social commitment. As a religious duty, it must be fulfilled; but like all other duties in Islam, it is enjoined only upon those who are capable of meeting the responsibilities involved. 1. The Meaning of Marriage Whatever meaning people assign to marriage, Islam views it as a strong bond, a challenging commitment in the fullest sense of the word. It is a commitment to life itself, to society, and to the dignified, meaningful survival of the human race. It is a commitment that married couples make to one another as well as to God. It is a kind of commitment in which they find mutual fulfillment and self-realization, love and peace, compassion and serenity, comfort and hope. All this is because marriage in Islam is regarded first and foremost as a righteous act, an act of responsible devotion. Sexual control may be a moral triumph, reproduction a social necessity or service, and sound health a gratifying state of mind. Yet, these values and purposes of marriage take on a special meaning and are reinforced if they are intertwined with the idea of God, if they are also conceived as religious commitments, and internalized as Divine blessings. And this seems to be the focal point of marriage in Isl am. To paraphrase some Qur’anic verses, mankind are called: to be dutiful to God, Who created them from a single soul, and from it or of it created its mate, and from the two of them scattered abroad many men and women (4:1). It was God Who created mankind out of one living soul, and created of that soul a spouse so that he might find comfort and rest in her (7:107). And it is a sign of God that He has created men, of themselves, mates to seek in their company peace and tranquility, and has set between them mutual love and affection. Surely, in that are signs for those who reflect (30:21). Even at the most trying times of married life, and in the midst of legal disputes and litigation, the Qur’an reminds the parties of God’s law; it commands them to be kind to one another, truly charitable toward one another, and above all dutiful to God. It is noteworthy that the Islamic provisions of marriage apply to men and women equally. For example, if celibacy is not recommended for men, it is equally so for women. This is in recognition of the fact that women’s needs are equally legitimate and are seriously taken into consideration. In fact, Islam regards marriage to be the normal, natural course for women just as it is for men. It may even be more so for women because it assures them, among other things, of relative economic security. This significant additional advantage for women does not, however, characterize marriage as a purely economic transaction. Indeed, the most peripheral aspect of marriage in Islam is the economic aspect, no matter how persuasive it may be. The Prophet is reported to have said that a woman is ordinarily sought as a wife for her wealth, for her beauty, for the nobility of stock, or for her religious qualities; but blessed and fortunate is he who chooses his mate for piety in preference to everything else. The Qur’an commands marriage to the spouseless and the pious even though they may be poor and slaves (24:32). On the other hand, whatever dowry (marriage gifts) a man gives his prospective wife belongs to her; and whatever she may have acquired prior to or after marriage is hers alone. There is no necessary community of property between husbands and wives. Furthermore, it is the husband who is responsible for the maintenance and economic security of the family. He must even provide the wife with the kind of help and service to which she was used before marriage, and, according to some scholars, she is under no legal obligation to do the routine housework, although she may do so, and usually does, for some reason or other, e.g. cooperation, economy, etc. 2. The Performance of Marriage Because Islam considers marriage a very serious commitment, it has prescribed certain measures to make the marital bond as permanent as humanly possible. The parties must strive to meet the conditions of proper age, general compatibility, reasonable dowry, good will, free consent, unselfish guardianship, honorable intentions, and judicious discretion. When the parties enter into a marital contract, the intention must be clear to make the bond permanent, free from any casual or temporary designations. For this reason, trial marriages, term marriages, and all marriages that appear to be experimental, casual, or temporary, are forbidden in Islam. In one of his statements, the Prophet condemned the men and women who relish frequent change of partners, that is, the ‘tasters’, saying: ‘Allah does not like the tasters [i.e. men and women who enjoy changing partners after short-lived marriages].’ However, to insist on the permanent character of marriage does not mean that the marital contract is absolutely indissoluble. Muslims are designated by the Qur’an as a middle nation and Islam is truly a religion of the ‘golden mean’, a well-balanced and well-integrated system. This is particularly clear in the case of marriage which Islam regards as neither a sacrament nor a simple civil contract. Rather, marriage in Islam is something unique with very special features of both sacramental and contractual nature. It is equally true that the alternative to the extreme of casual or temporary marriage is not the other extreme of absolute indissolubility of the marital contract. The Islamic course is one of equitable and realistic moderation. The marriage contract should be taken as a serious, permanent bond. But it does not work well for any valid reason; it may be terminated in kindness and honor, with equity and peace. 3. The Husband-Wife Relationship With piety as the basis of spouse selection, and with the earnest satisfaction of the conditions of marriage, the parties should be well on the way to a happy and fulfilling married life. However, Islam goes much further than this in setting the course of behavior for husbands and wives. Many are the statements of the Qur’an and the Sunnah that prescribe kindness and equity, compassion and love, sympathy and consideration, patience and good will. In a part of a hadith the Prophet goes as far as to declare that the best Muslim is the one who is best to his family. In another hadith he states that the greatest, most blessed joy in life is a good, righteous wife. The consummation of marriage creates new roles for the parties concerned. Each role is a set of equitable, proportionate rights and obligations. The role of the husband revolves around the moral principle that it is his solemn duty to God to treat his wife with kindness, honor, and patience; to keep her honorably or free her from the marital bond honorably; and to cause her no harm or grief (Qur’an, 2:229-32; 4:19). The role of the wife is summarized in the verse that women have rights even as they have duties, according to what is equitable; but men have a degree over them (2:228). This degree is usually interpreted by Muslim scholars in conjunction with another passage which states, among other things, that men are trustees, guardians, and protectors of women because God has made some of them excel others and because men expend of their means (Qur’an, 4:34). It may be likened to what sociologist call ‘instrumental leadership’ or external authority in the household due to the division of labor and role differentiation. It does not, however, mean any categorical discrimination or superiority of one sex to the other. a. The wife’s rights: the husband’s obligations. Translated into rules of behavior, these ethical principles allocate to the wife certain rights and corresponding obligations. Because the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet have commanded kindness to women, it is the husband’s duty to consort with his wife in an equitable and kind manner. One specific consequence of this Divine command is his responsibility for the full maintenance of the wife, a duty which he must discharge cheerfully, without reproach, injury, or condescension. Components of maintenance: Maintenance entails the wife’s incontestable right to lodging, clothing, sustenance, and general care and wellbeing. The wife’s residence must be adequate so as to provide her with reasonable level of privacy, comfort, and independence. Foremost is the welfare of the wife and the stability of the marriage. What is true of the residence is true of clothing, food, and general care. The wife has the right to be clothed, fed, and cared for by the husband, in accordance with his means and her style of life. These rights are to be exercised without either extravagance or miserliness. Nonmaterial rights: The wife’s material rights are not her only assurances and securities. She has other rights of moral nature; and they are equally binding and specific. A husband is commanded by the law of God to treat his wife with equity, to respect her feelings, and to show her kindness and consideration. She is not to be shown any aversion by the husband or subjected to suspense and uncertainty. A corollary of this rule is that no man is allowed to keep his wife with the intention of inflicting harm on her or hindering her freedom. If he has not love or sympathy for her, she has the right to demand freedom from the marital bond, and no one may stand in her way to a new life. b. The wife’s obligations: the husband’s rights. The main obligation of the wife as a partner in a marital relationship is to contribute to the success and happiness of the marriage as much as possible. She must be attentive to the comfort and wellbeing of her mate. She may neither offend him nor hurt his feelings. Perhaps nothing can illustrate the point better than the Qur’anic statement which describes the righteous people as those who pray, â€Å"Our Lord! Grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the joy and the comfort of our eyes, and guide us to be models of righteousness (Qur’an, 25:74).† This is the basis on which all the wife’s obligations rest and from which they flow. To fulfill this basic obligation, the wife must be faithful, trustworthy, and honest. More specifically, she must not deceive her husband by deliberately avoiding conception lest it deprive him of legitimate progeny. Not must she allow any other person to have access to that which is exclusively the husband’s right, i.e. sexual intimacy. A corollary of this is that she must not receive or entertain strange males in her home without his knowledge and consent. Nor may she accept their gifts without his approval. This is probably meant to avoid jealousy, suspicion, gossip, etc., and also to maintain the integrity of all parties concerned. The husband’s possessions are his trust. If she has access to any portion thereof, of if she is entrusted with any fund, she must discharge her duty wisely and thriftily. She may not lend or dispose of any of his belongings without his permission. With respect to intimacy, the wife is to make her desirable; to be attractive, responsive, and cooperative. A wife may not deny herself to her husband, for the Qur’an speaks of them as a comfort to each other. Due consideration is, of course, given to health and decency. Moreover, the wife is not permitted to do anything that may render her companionship less desirable or less gratifying. If she does any such thing or neglects herself, the husband has the right to interfere with her freedom to rectify the situation. To ensure maximum self-fulfillment for both partners, he is not permitted to do anything on his part that may impede here gratification.