Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 13-17

CHAPTER 13 For several seconds, Langdon stared in wonder at the photograph of Sauniere's postscript. P. S. Find Robert Langdon.He felt as if the floor were tilting beneath his feet. Sauniere left a postscript with my name on it? In his wildest dreams, Langdon could not fathom why. â€Å"Now do you understand,† Sophie said, her eyes urgent,† why Fache ordered you here tonight, and why you are his primary suspect?† The only thing Langdon understood at the moment was why Fache had looked so smug when Langdon suggested Sauniere would have accused his killer by name. Find Robert Langdon. â€Å"Why would Sauniere write this?† Langdon demanded, his confusion now giving way to anger. â€Å"Why would I want to kill Jacques Sauniere?† â€Å"Fache has yet to uncover a motive, but he has been recording his entire conversation with you tonight in hopes you might reveal one.† Langdon opened his mouth, but still no words came. â€Å"He's fitted with a miniature microphone,† Sophie explained. â€Å"It's connected to a transmitter in his pocket that radios the signal back to the command post.† â€Å"This is impossible,† Langdon stammered. â€Å"I have an alibi. I went directly back to my hotel after my lecture. You can ask the hotel desk.† â€Å"Fache already did. His report shows you retrieving your room key from the concierge at about ten- thirty. Unfortunately, the time of the murder was closer to eleven. You easily could have left your hotel room unseen.† â€Å"This is insanity! Fache has no evidence!† Sophie's eyes widened as if to say: No evidence?† Mr. Langdon, your name is written on the floor beside the body, and Sauniere's date book says you were with him at approximately the time of the murder.† She paused. â€Å"Fache has more than enough evidence to take you into custody for questioning.† Langdon suddenly sensed that he needed a lawyer. â€Å"I didn't do this.† Sophie sighed. â€Å"This is not American television, Mr. Langdon. In France, the laws protect the police, not criminals. Unfortunately, in this case, there is also the media consideration. Jacques Sauniere was a very prominent and well-loved figure in Paris, and his murder will be news in the morning. Fache will be under immediate pressure to make a statement, and he looks a lot better having a suspect in custody already. Whether or not you are guilty, you most certainly will be held by DCPJ until they can figure out what really happened.† Langdon felt like a caged animal. â€Å"Why are you telling me all this?† â€Å"Because, Mr. Langdon, I believe you are innocent.† Sophie looked away for a moment and then back into his eyes. â€Å"And also because it is partially my fault that you're in trouble.† â€Å"I'm sorry? It's your fault Sauniere is trying to frame me?† â€Å"Sauniere wasn't trying to frame you. It was a mistake. That message on the floor was meant for me.† Langdon needed a minute to process that one. â€Å"I beg your pardon?† â€Å"That message wasn't for the police. He wrote it for me.I think he was forced to do everything in such a hurry that he just didn't realize how it would look to the police.† She paused. â€Å"The numbered code is meaningless. Sauniere wrote it to make sure the investigation included cryptographers, ensuring that I would know as soon as possible what had happened to him.† Langdon felt himself losing touch fast. Whether or not Sophie Neveu had lost her mind was at this point up for grabs, but at least Langdon now understood why she was trying to help him. P. S.Find Robert Langdon.She apparently believed the curator had left her a cryptic postscript telling her to find Langdon. â€Å"But why do you think his message was for you?† â€Å"The Vitruvian Man,†she said flatly. â€Å"That particular sketch has always been my favorite Da Vinci work. Tonight he used it to catch my attention.† â€Å"Hold on. You're saying the curator knew your favorite piece of art?† She nodded. â€Å"I'm sorry. This is all coming out of order. Jacques Sauniere and I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sophie's voice caught, and Langdon heard a sudden melancholy there, a painful past, simmering just below the surface. Sophie and Jacques Sauniere apparently had some kind of special relationship. Langdon studied the beautiful young woman before him, well aware that aging men in France often took young mistresses. Even so, Sophie Neveu as a† kept woman† somehow didn't seem to fit. â€Å"We had a falling-out ten years ago,† Sophie said, her voice a whisper now. â€Å"We've barely spoken since. Tonight, when Crypto got the call that he had been murdered, and I saw the images of his body and text on the floor, I realized he was trying to send me a message.† â€Å"Because of The Vitruvian Man?† â€Å"Yes. And the letters P. S.† â€Å"Post Script?† She shook her head. â€Å"P. S. are my initials.† â€Å"But your name is Sophie Neveu.† She looked away. â€Å"P. S. is the nickname he called me when I lived with him.† She blushed. â€Å"It stood for Princesse Sophie† Langdon had no response. â€Å"Silly, I know,† she said. â€Å"But it was years ago. When I was a little girl.† â€Å"You knew him when you were a little girl?† â€Å"Quite well,† she said, her eyes welling now with emotion. â€Å"Jacques Sauniere was my grandfather.† CHAPTER 14 â€Å"Where's Langdon?† Fache demanded, exhaling the last of a cigarette as he paced back into the command post. â€Å"Still in the men's room, sir.† Lieutenant Collet had been expecting the question. Fache grumbled,† Taking his time, I see.† The captain eyed the GPS dot over Collet's shoulder, and Collet could almost hear the wheels turning. Fache was fighting the urge to go check on Langdon. Ideally, the subject of an observation was allowed the most time and freedom possible, lulling him into a false sense of security. Langdon needed to return of his own volition. Still, it had been almost ten minutes. Too long. â€Å"Any chance Langdon is onto us?† Fache asked. Collet shook his head. â€Å"We're still seeing small movements inside the men's room, so the GPS dot is obviously still on him. Perhaps he feels ill? If he had found the dot, he would have removed it and tried to run.† Fache checked his watch. â€Å"Fine.† Still Fache seemed preoccupied. All evening, Collet had sensed an atypical intensity in his captain. Usually detached and cool under pressure, Fache tonight seemed emotionally engaged, as if this were somehow a personal matter for him. Not surprising, Collet thought. Fache needs this arrest desperately.Recently the Board of Ministers and the media had become more openly critical of Fache's aggressive tactics, his clashes with powerful foreign embassies, and his gross over budgeting on new technologies. Tonight, a high-tech, high-profile arrest of an American would go a long way to silence Fache's critics, helping him secure the job a few more years until he could retire with the lucrative pension. God knows he needs the pension, Collet thought. Fache's zeal for technology had hurt him both professionally and personally. Fache was rumored to have invested his entire savings in the technology craze a few years back and lost his shirt. And Fache is a man who wears only the finest shirts. Tonight, there was still plenty of time. Sophie Neveu's odd interruption, though unfortunate, had been only a minor wrinkle. She was gone now, and Fache still had cards to play. He had yet to inform Langdon that his name had been scrawled on the floor by the victim. P. S.Find Robert Langdon.The American's reaction to that little bit of evidence would be telling indeed. â€Å"Captain?† one of the DCPJ agents now called from across the office. â€Å"I think you better take this call.† He was holding out a telephone receiver, looking concerned. â€Å"Who is it?† Fache said. The agent frowned. â€Å"It's the director of our Cryptology Department.† â€Å"And?† â€Å"It's about Sophie Neveu, sir. Something is not quite right.† CHAPTER 15 It was time. Silas felt strong as he stepped from the black Audi, the nighttime breeze rustling his loose-fitting robe. The winds of change are in the air.He knew the task before him would require more finesse than force, and he left his handgun in the car. The thirteen-round Heckler Koch USP 40 had been provided by the Teacher. A weapon of death has no place in a house of God. The plaza before the great church was deserted at this hour, the only visible souls on the far side of Place Saint-Sulpice a couple of teenage hookers showing their wares to the late night tourist traffic. Their nubile bodies sent a familiar longing to Silas's loins. His thigh flexed instinctively, causing the barbed cilice belt to cut painfully into his flesh. The lust evaporated instantly. For ten years now, Silas had faithfully denied himself all sexual indulgence, even self-administered. It was The Way.He knew he had sacrificed much to follow Opus Dei, but he had received much more in return. A vow of celibacy and the relinquishment of all personal assets hardly seemed a sacrifice. Considering the poverty from which he had come and the sexual horrors he had endured in prison, celibacy was a welcome change. Now, having returned to France for the first time since being arrested and shipped to prison in Andorra, Silas could feel his homeland testing him, dragging violent memories from his redeemed soul. You have been reborn, he reminded himself. His service to God today had required the sin of murder, and it was a sacrifice Silas knew he would have to hold silently in his heart for all eternity. The measure of your faith is the measure of the pain you can endure, the Teacher had told him. Silas was no stranger to pain and felt eager to prove himself to the Teacher, the one who had assured him his actions were ordained by a higher power. â€Å"Hago la obra de Dios,†Silas whispered, moving now toward the church entrance. Pausing in the shadow of the massive doorway, he took a deep breath. It was not until this instant that he truly realized what he was about to do, and what awaited him inside. The keystone. It will lead us to our final goal. He raised his ghost-white fist and banged three times on the door. Moments later, the bolts of the enormous wooden portal began to move. CHAPTER 16 Sophie wondered how long it would take Fache to figure out she had not left the building. Seeing that Langdon was clearly overwhelmed, Sophie questioned whether she had done the right thing by cornering him here in the men's room. What else was I supposed to do? She pictured her grandfather's body, naked and spread-eagle on the floor. There was a time when he had meant the world to her, yet tonight, Sophie was surprised to feel almost no sadness for the man. Jacques Sauniere was a stranger to her now. Their relationship had evaporated in a single instant one March night when she was twenty-two. Ten years ago.Sophie had come home a few days early from graduate university in England and mistakenly witnessed her grandfather engaged in something Sophie was obviously not supposed to see. It was an image she barely could believe to this day. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes†¦ Too ashamed and stunned to endure her grandfather's pained attempts to explain, Sophie immediately moved out on her own, taking money she had saved, and getting a small flat with some roommates. She vowed never to speak to anyone about what she had seen. Her grandfather tried desperately to reach her, sending cards and letters, begging Sophie to meet him so he could explain. Explain how!? Sophie never responded except once – to forbid him ever to call her or try to meet her in public. She was afraid his explanation would be more terrifying than the incident itself. Incredibly, Sauniere had never given up on her, and Sophie now possessed a decade's worth of correspondence unopened in a dresser drawer. To her grandfather's credit, he had never once disobeyed her request and phoned her. Until this afternoon. â€Å"Sophie?† His voice had sounded startlingly old on her answering machine. â€Å"I have abided by your wishes for so long†¦ and it pains me to call, but I must speak to you. Something terrible has happened.† Standing in the kitchen of her Paris flat, Sophie felt a chill to hear him again after all these years. His gentle voice brought back a flood of fond childhood memories. â€Å"Sophie, please listen.† He was speaking English to her, as he always did when she was a little girl. Practice French at school.Practice English at home. â€Å"You cannot be mad forever. Have you not read the letters that I've sent all these years? Do you not yet understand?† He paused. â€Å"We must speak at once. Please grant your grandfather this one wish. Call me at the Louvre. Right away. I believe you and I are in grave danger.† Sophie stared at the answering machine. Danger? What was he talking about? â€Å"Princess†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her grandfather's voice cracked with an emotion Sophie could not place. â€Å"I know I've kept things from you, and I know it has cost me your love. But it was for your own safety. Now you must know the truth. Please, I must tell you the truth about your family.† Sophie suddenly could hear her own heart. My family? Sophie's parents had died when she was only four. Their car went off a bridge into fast-moving water. Her grandmother and younger brother had also been in the car, and Sophie's entire family had been erased in an instant. She had a box of newspaper clippings to confirm it. His words had sent an unexpected surge of longing through her bones. My family! In that fleeting instant, Sophie saw images from the dream that had awoken her countless times when she was a little girl: My family is alive! They are coming home! But, as in her dream, the pictures evaporated into oblivion. Your family is dead, Sophie. They are not coming home. â€Å"Sophie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  her grandfather said on the machine. â€Å"I have been waiting for years to tell you. Waiting for the right moment, but now time has run out. Call me at the Louvre. As soon as you get this. I'll wait here all night. I fear we both may be in danger. There's so much you need to know.† The message ended. In the silence, Sophie stood trembling for what felt like minutes. As she considered her grandfather's message, only one possibility made sense, and his true intent dawned. It was bait. Obviously, her grandfather wanted desperately to see her. He was trying anything. Her disgust for the man deepened. Sophie wondered if maybe he had fallen terminally ill and had decided to attempt any ploy he could think of to get Sophie to visit him one last time. If so, he had chosen wisely. My family. Now, standing in the darkness of the Louvre men's room, Sophie could hear the echoes of this afternoon's phone message. Sophie, we both may be in danger.Call me. She had not called him. Nor had she planned to. Now, however, her skepticism had been deeply challenged. Her grandfather lay murdered inside his own museum. And he had written a code on the floor. A code for her.Of this, she was certain. Despite not understanding the meaning of his message, Sophie was certain its cryptic nature was additional proof that the words were intended for her. Sophie's passion and aptitude for cryptography were a product of growing up with Jacques Sauniere – a fanatic himself for codes, word games, and puzzles. How many Sundays did we spend doing the cryptograms and crosswords in the newspaper? At the age of twelve, Sophie could finish the Le Monde crossword without any help, and her grandfather graduated her to crosswords in English, mathematical puzzles, and substitution ciphers. Sophie devoured them all. Eventually she turned her passion into a profession by becoming a code breaker for the Judicial Police. Tonight, the cryptographer in Sophie was forced to respect the efficiency with which her grandfather had used a simple code to unite two total strangers – Sophie Neveu and Robert Langdon. The question was why? Unfortunately, from the bewildered look in Langdon's eyes, Sophie sensed the American had no more idea than she did why her grandfather had thrown them together. She pressed again. â€Å"You and my grandfather had planned to meet tonight. What about?† Langdon looked truly perplexed. â€Å"His secretary set the meeting and didn't offer any specific reason, and I didn't ask. I assumed he'd heard I would be lecturing on the pagan iconography of French cathedrals, was interested in the topic, and thought it would be fun to meet for drinks after the talk.† Sophie didn't buy it. The connection was flimsy. Her grandfather knew more about pagan iconography than anyone else on earth. Moreover, he an exceptionally private man, not someone prone to chatting with random American professors unless there were an important reason. Sophie took a deep breath and probed further. â€Å"My grandfather called me this afternoon and told me he and I were in grave danger. Does that mean anything to you?† Langdon's blue eyes now clouded with concern. â€Å"No, but considering what just happened†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sophie nodded. Considering tonight's events, she would be a fool not to be frightened. Feeling drained, she walked to the small plate-glass window at the far end of the bathroom and gazed out in silence through the mesh of alarm tape embedded in the glass. They were high up – forty feet at least. Sighing, she raised her eyes and gazed out at Paris's dazzling landscape. On her left, across the Seine, the illuminated Eiffel Tower. Straight ahead, the Arc de Triomphe. And to the right, high atop the sloping rise of Montmartre, the graceful arabesque dome of Sacre-Coeur, its polished stone glowing white like a resplendent sanctuary. Here at the westernmost tip of the Denon Wing, the north-south thoroughfare of Place du Carrousel ran almost flush with the building with only a narrow sidewalk separating it from the Louvre's outer wall. Far below, the usual caravan of the city's nighttime delivery trucks sat idling, waiting for the signals to change, their running lights seeming to twinkle mockingly up at Sophie. â€Å"I don't know what to say,† Langdon said, coming up behind her. â€Å"Your grandfather is obviously trying to tell us something. I'm sorry I'm so little help.† Sophie turned from the window, sensing a sincere regret in Langdon's deep voice. Even with all the trouble around him, he obviously wanted to help her. The teacher in him, she thought, having read DCPJ's workup on their suspect. This was an academic who clearly despised not understanding. We have that in common, she thought. As a code breaker, Sophie made her living extracting meaning from seemingly senseless data. Tonight, her best guess was that Robert Langdon, whether he knew it or not, possessed information that she desperately needed. Princesse Sophie, Find Robert Langdon.How much clearer could her grandfather's message be? Sophie needed more time with Langdon. Time to think. Time to sort out this mystery together. Unfortunately, time was running out. Gazing up at Langdon, Sophie made the only play she could think of. â€Å"Bezu Fache will be taking you into custody at any minute. I can get you out of this museum. But we need to act now.† Langdon's eyes went wide. â€Å"You want me to run?† â€Å"It's the smartest thing you could do. If you let Fache take you into custody now, you'll spend weeks in a French jail while DCPJ and the U. S. Embassy fight over which courts try your case. But if we get you out of here, and make it to your embassy, then your government will protect your rights while you and I prove you had nothing to do with this murder.† Langdon looked not even vaguely convinced. â€Å"Forget it! Fache has armed guards on every single exit! Even if we escape without being shot, running away only makes me look guilty. You need to tell Fache that the message on the floor was for you, and that my name is not there as an accusation.† â€Å"I will do that,† Sophie said, speaking hurriedly,† but after you're safely inside the U. S. Embassy. It's only about a mile from here, and my car is parked just outside the museum. Dealing with Fache from here is too much of a gamble. Don't you see? Fache has made it his mission tonight to prove you are guilty. The only reason he postponed your arrest was to run this observance in hopes you did something that made his case stronger.† â€Å"Exactly. Like running!† The cell phone in Sophie's sweater pocket suddenly began ringing. Fache probably.She reached in her sweater and turned off the phone. â€Å"Mr. Langdon,† she said hurriedly,† I need to ask you one last question.† And your entire future may depend on it. â€Å"The writing on the floor is obviously not proof of your guilt, and yet Fache told our team he is certain you are his man. Can you think of any other reason he might be convinced you're guilty?† Langdon was silent for several seconds. â€Å"None whatsoever.† Sophie sighed. Which means Fache is lying.Why, Sophie could not begin to imagine, but that was hardly the issue at this point. The fact remained that Bezu Fache was determined to put Robert Langdon behind bars tonight, at any cost. Sophie needed Langdon for herself, and it was this dilemma that left Sophie only one logical conclusion. I need to get Langdon to the U. S. Embassy. Turning toward the window, Sophie gazed through the alarm mesh embedded in the plate glass, down the dizzying forty feet to the pavement below. A leap from this height would leave Langdon with a couple of broken legs. At best. Nonetheless, Sophie made her decision. Robert Langdon was about to escape the Louvre, whether he wanted to or not. CHAPTER 17 â€Å"What do you mean she's not answering?† Fache looked incredulous. â€Å"You're calling her cell phone, right? I know she's carrying it.† Collet had been trying to reach Sophie now for several minutes. â€Å"Maybe her batteries are dead. Or her ringer's off.† Fache had looked distressed ever since talking to the director of Cryptology on the phone. After hanging up, he had marched over to Collet and demanded he get Agent Neveu on the line. Now Collet had failed, and Fache was pacing like a caged lion. â€Å"Why did Crypto call?† Collet now ventured. Fache turned. â€Å"To tell us they found no references to Draconian devils and lame saints.† â€Å"That's all?† â€Å"No, also to tell us that they had just identified the numerics as Fibonacci numbers, but they suspected the series was meaningless.† Collet was confused. â€Å"But they already sent Agent Neveu to tell us that.† Fache shook his head. â€Å"They didn't send Neveu.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"According to the director, at my orders he paged his entire team to look at the images I'd wired him. When Agent Neveu arrived, she took one look at the photos of Sauniere and the code and left the office without a word. The director said he didn't question her behavior because she was understandably upset by the photos.† â€Å"Upset? She's never seen a picture of a dead body?† Fache was silent a moment. â€Å"I was not aware of this, and it seems neither was the director until a coworker informed him, but apparently Sophie Neveu is Jacques Sauniere's granddaughter.† Collet was speechless. â€Å"The director said she never once mentioned Sauniere to him, and he assumed it was because she probably didn't want preferential treatment for having a famous grandfather.† No wonder she was upset by the pictures.Collet could barely conceive of the unfortunate coincidence that called in a young woman to decipher a code written by a dead family member. Still, her actions made no sense. â€Å"But she obviously recognized the numbers as Fibonacci numbers because she came here and told us. I don't understand why she would leave the office without telling anyone she had figured it out.† Collet could think of only one scenario to explain the troubling developments: Sauniere had written a numeric code on the floor in hopes Fache would involve cryptographers in the investigation, and therefore involve his own granddaughter. As for the rest of the message, was Saunie recommunicating in some way with his granddaughter? If so, what did the message tell her? And how did Langdon fit in? Before Collet could ponder it any further, the silence of the deserted museum was shattered by an alarm. The bell sounded like it was coming from inside the Grand Gallery. â€Å"Alarme!† one of the agents yelled, eyeing his feed from the Louvre security center. â€Å"GrandeGalerie! Toilettes Messieurs!† Fache wheeled to Collet. â€Å"Where's Langdon?† â€Å"Still in the men's room!† Collet pointed to the blinking red dot on his laptop schematic. â€Å"He must have broken the window!† Collet knew Langdon wouldn't get far. Although Paris fire codes required windows above fifteen meters in public buildings be breakable in case of fire, exiting a Louvre second-story window without the help of a hook and ladder would be suicide. Furthermore, there were no trees or grass on the western end of the Denon Wing to cushion a fall. Directly beneath that rest room window, the two-lane Place du Carrousel ran within a few feet of the outer wall. â€Å"My God,† Collet exclaimed, eyeing the screen. â€Å"Langdon's moving to the window ledge!† But Fache was already in motion. Yanking his Manurhin MR-93 revolver from his shoulder holster, the captain dashed out of the office. Collet watched the screen in bewilderment as the blinking dot arrived at the window ledge and then did something utterly unexpected. The dot moved outside the perimeter of the building. What's going on? he wondered. Is Langdon out on a ledge or – â€Å"Jesu!† Collet jumped to his feet as the dot shot farther outside the wall. The signal seemed to shudder for a moment, and then the blinking dot came to an abrupt stop about ten yards outside the perimeter of the building. Fumbling with the controls, Collet called up a Paris street map and recalibrated the GPS. Zooming in, he could now see the exact location of the signal. It was no longer moving. It lay at a dead stop in the middle of Place du Carrousel. Langdon had jumped.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Adelphia Fraud

Among other things, the money was reportedly used to pay off debts, build a Thirteen million dollar golf course, buy expensive condos, and flying In private Jets. These SIX members of the scandal were accused of hiding liabilities In off balance sheets. Along with hiding liabilities, they overstated their cash flow statements by One-hundred and sixty million dollars in 2000 and by two-hundred dollars in 2001. Delphic executives also falsified operations statistics and inflated their subscribers list by three million subscribers.Earnings were also inflated to meet forecasts by Wall Street analysts. (2004), â€Å"Corporate scandals are now staples of front-page news as shareholders demand accountability for billions of dollars lost. Still, the U. S. Government says the Irrigates' case is one of the worst ever of financial fraud† (Para. 3). Delphic scandal consisted of six members, John Riggs, Timothy Riggs, Michael; Riggs, James Riggs, James R. Brown and Michael Mulched. These m embers of the scandal committed many crimes based on selfishness, greed, and power.Their management of Delphic costs billions of dollars to Investor and destroyed the corporation. According to Yuk (2006) â€Å"Decision processes are Likely to be characterized more by confusion, disorder, and emotionality than by rationality. Instead of careful analysis of likely outcomes in relation to predetermined objectives, information is often distorted or suppressed to serve preconceptions about the best course of action or a self-serving interest in a particular choice. † The men were not thinking rationally and were taking money for self-serving reasons.Balance sheets and accounting practices were manipulated In order to pay for their lavish lifestyles. At the time of the crimes Call time was most likely In the back of their minds. Repaying lost money to investors that was stolen was also not thought out. When managers make extremely bad decisions such as these the repercussions are v ast. Investors were hit hard with the news of the Delphic scandal. Stock prices reached an all time high in 1999 peaking out at eighty-seven dollars per share.This was due to the oncoming sales and assets that were falsely recorded by the executives, After news of the Delphic scandal broke In 2002, the stock plummeted to Just fourteen cents per share. The NASDAQ removed Dahlia's stock in June 2002. Another consequence of the scandal and the executive's decisions was lawsuits. The behavior of the executives and their behavior in the Delphic Corporation ultimately brought down the company. I believe that in order for a company to survive, ethical leadership and management must exist.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Molar Mass of Oxygen Essay

Applying the individual % of elements in Water to the molar mass Conclusion____________________________________________________________ In conclusion the experimental value of the molar mass of oxygen is. To achieve this result, we wrote the chemical reaction, compared the ratio of mole between and, find the mole produced by water using the formula, calculate the molar mass from the mol value, calculate the % of individual elements in water, and finding oxygen’s molar mass from the overall molar mass. Analysis & Evaluation ___________________________________________________ -In analysis, our results show an unreasonable result. The majority of the failure is from the volume result. From Avogrado’s law we know that. As such, because the average volume (0.051 L) was low, the mol resulting from it is also low. A small mol results in a large Mr value, or in our case the Mr of Oxygen is too high. -Another point to that is that if the experiment was assuming r.t.p, our results prove to be incorrect again. If we compared the mol, the actual mol results of andusing the ideal gas laws is different than if we calculated using normal Stoichiometry. From Stoichiometry, the actual mol of is, and if we compared it to a ratio of 2:2, the actual mol value of is also 0.138 mol. However in our experiment using the gas law, our mol result was. Again this is due to the fact of the low amount of volume recorded. -In addition to that point, from the section to: Calculate molar mass of Water using the mass of Hydrogen Peroxide , another flaw to the experiment was the amount of uncertainty in the result. From the section we apply the ‘law of conservation of mass’ stating that no mass is created or destroyed. Or in this experiment’s case, most of the mass decomposes into Oxygen gas and finally results in the volume of water displaced from the process. However as shown from the low amount of volume our group collected, this can result in two conclusions. The first conclusion is that most of the oxygen gas that eventually turns into the volume of water left is lost to the surroundings (from the test tube openings) OR the second conclusion is that our group did not wait long enough and thus lost some potential volume results. -To evaluate, the major flaw to the experiment was the value of the data collected. Part of the reason was because we used Vaseline as a tool to reduce the amount of energy (in the form of the Oxygen gas) to the surroundings. Vaseline is a good measure to do so, however a better alternative is probably to increase the number of trials, to have a more close system that may significantly reduce the uncertainties, and to maybe reduce the length of rubber tube (by reducing the length of rubber tube the amount of water left is reduced). References IB- Foundation books. Raymond Chang (pg: 87, 181, 182, 191.etc)

Financial Markets & Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Financial Markets & Risk - Essay Example iness Council for Sustainable Development defines CSR as the business commitment and contribution to the quality of life of employees, their families and the society overall, to support sustainable development. In recent years, CSR has been incorporated into the business strategy of a majority of the companies and firms in UK and all over the world. This is because of a variety of considerations that have developed in recent years making it an essential component for the success of any business. Altruistic CSR involves contributing to the common good at the possible, probable, or even definite expense of the business. It may be humanitarian, or philanthropic. Humanitarian CSR involves firms to go beyond preventing or rectifying harms they have done to assuming liability for public welfare deficiencies that they have not caused. This type of CSR is relatively rare. Strategic CSR is done to accomplish strategic business goals – good deeds are believed to be good for business as well as society. With this, corporations give back to their constituencies because it is in their best financial interests to do so. This is philanthropy aligned with profit motives. Social goals are found profitable in the long run since market forces provide financial incentives for perceived socially responsible behaviour. CSR is also a positive business driven response to the business environment of today. It is not an add-on. CSR is not static. It is a dynamic, multidimensional concept covering social, economic and environmental concerns, and is continually evolving with the diversity of the market. Innovation is a critical aspect of CSR initiatives. CSR is not an alternative to regulation. CSR is voluntary in nature. It has become imperative for businesses today to incorporate CSR in their business activities. Apart from the pressures from various directions, there are several reasons that companies find CSR initiatives beneficial for them. Rapid political, economic and

Sunday, July 28, 2019

How the ASUS Company Can Continue To Be an Industry Leader and a Cash Research Paper

How the ASUS Company Can Continue To Be an Industry Leader and a Cash Cow - Research Paper Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that the primary strength of ASUS is its strong presence in the market. It could be realized from the fact that it is the world’s number one brand in Asia, US, and Europe. It has outperformed technology giants like Intel, IBS, and Microsoft in many segments. Its strong presence in the market has helped it to aggressively acquire market share compared to many other companies that only have a strong presence in their local markets. The company has the largest market share in MB and motherboard segments selling approximately 22 million pieces in FY09. ASUS is one of the rear technology companies that had made operating profits even though global economy was undergoing a recession. Another Strength of ASUS is its advanced and excellent Research & Development capability, efficient and effective supply chain, and mass production at a competitive production cost. These competitive strategies of ASUS have helped it to beco me a market leader in many products. In 2009, the company came up with first of its kind notebook and motherboard that was compatible with USB 3.0 securing a leading position in the segment. This was a sheer display of Research initiatives of the company. With the use of technologies like e-commerce, the company had created an efficient supply chain which helps it with a seamless flow of information and products among resources. Mass production done by ASUS helps it achieve economies of scale thereby increasing operating profits of the company. Weakness The primary weakness of the company is that it is investing a lot of amounts in restructure activities involving spin-off of certain subsidiaries and disposal of assets. It could be realized from the fact that it spin-off OEM and 2008 and has disposed of several assets since then. In the same year company also recognized impairment charges from such transactions. These activities may be beneficial in the long wrong if executed correc tly but they reduce profit-making capability of the company. The company should concentrate more on the activities involving expansion and research for innovative technologies. Another Weakness of ASUS is its low market share in emerging economies. To be a cash cow for the future every technology company should be in search for opportunities in the emerging markets as they give the advantage of escalated growth compared to developed markets where growth stagnates after a point of time. It should be noted that ASUS has a low presence in emerging economies e.g. India whilst many other companies like Microsoft and IBM are aggressively gaining market share in these countries. To retain market capitalization ASUS needs to expand its operations aggressively to emerging countries. Opportunities Primary opportunity for ASUS is expanding into markets with the help of joint ventures, tie-up, and agreement with other companies.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Employment Law - Essay Example Any resolution will be complex and contested; hence from the view point of Karl Marx, Marx believed that no completely satisfactory resolution is possible without a total revolution in social-economic system. Marx could have been right but the employment law in the 21st century attempts to balance the logic of the market system with the liberal aspiration of ensuring that individuals are treated with respect and impartially, as well as, have the opportunity to construct meaningful lives. In most cases, contract laws are applied in workplaces because they are vital and are legal aspects that tend to formalize an agreement in more than two parties. Question One: Many issues arise in the workplaces especially where many employees have varied issues such as health problems and many others. Some employees have complicated health issues that may hinder effective performance of the company and Michael’s case is among the common cases arising in the contemporary workplaces. Addressing these issues in a pragmatic manner requires clear and effective understanding of contract laws. Contracts are agreements which have lawful objects entered into voluntarily by two or more parties; thus they intend to create legal obligations among the parties (Twomey, 2013, p. 87). The contract should be acceptable, have an offer, mutual consideration and it should have a legal capacity vital for creating mutuality of obligation (Collins, 2010, p. 91). The contract laws take into considerations varied range of matters such as employment terms, real property sale issues, independent contractor relationship, intellectual property issues and settlement of disputes in the workplace. The contract law demands that all workers with a contract of employment or an employment relationship should receive basic working employment conditions vital for enabling them to work effectively in the working environment. Therefore, the case of Michael should be addressed by focusing on the contract law e specially the employment conditions in the work place. Each industry has its own policies that demand employees to meet them but the labor employment law should also be taken into considerations. The contract law offer mutual recognition rules vital for assisting free movement of workers. Although these mutual recognition rules exist, more subtle impediments found in the informal practices and conventions in recruitment continue to produce much less internal movement within the workplace (Collins, 2010, 139). These principles can be challenging but only under the general principle of free movement of employees. However, in the case of Michael, there is need to focus on the contract laws and adhere to them, but the employer should not also deprive him the mandatory employment rights applicable in the state where the work is being performed. It is vital for Michael to come up with a clear agreement with the human resources about his work because health is also important for any worker working in any organization. The labor laws focus on the rights of employees including health and safety in the working places and rights; hence, the human resource manager should provide

Friday, July 26, 2019

Journal Entry Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Journal Entry - Assignment Example It is located beside a university but is a very restricted area. Only the employees can get into the facility and of course, the scientists as security personnel as well. This area is highly mysterious because of the nature of its research which is to communicate and understand extra terrestrial beings with the objective of finally meeting one someday. It has mixed reactions of awe and encouragement as well as condescension and ridicule of its research from the scientific community due to the controversial nature of its research. Everyone however agrees that it is in engage in cutting edge research and that its scientists are the most brilliant in the field. Again, I would like to have a character that everyone can relate but is interesting. I would like the character to be a male though. He should be related to the academe so that we could relate as students. He could be a student or to make the character interesting, a professor. A professor that is scientist as well and he must be a little queer to add mystery and interest to the character. He should be endeavouring some endeavour that very little people understands. He may be a little strange but he is brilliant. And of course as many brilliant people often complain, he is misunderstood. And this endeavour or research of his made him look queer or taken as crazy by people around him. Later however, he is vindicated because he proved that he is right. He must have a counterpart to complete a story. After all, a hero is nothing without a villain. So I would make another character which is as queer as a professor and a scientist. That would be a alien. The alien is a pilot and just lik e us looking for another planet with intelligent beings. Yes he would come in peace but will add some twist later to make the story interesting. The setting/s and characters should be connected to the plot. If I have a laboratory,

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Tuesdays with Morrie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Tuesdays with Morrie - Essay Example None of us has our death in vision. We know it is coming to come one day but for almost all of us, the day is quite far. Young people, like me, think of death only in the far future tense. We know it is going to come, but we assume that we will die of old age. I quite understand what Morrie means when he says that once we know how to die, we learn to live. When we see our death near, we begin to enjoy life; otherwise we take life for granted. Reading this lesson my Morrie, I remembered a time when I had a near brush with death during a car accident. Though I was able to survive without even a scratch, I was able to experience live. Instead of being scared or depressed, I was rejuvenated. The rest of the day, I began to feel light and bouncy. I felt alive as I was able to observe the smallest detail around me that I would otherwise ignore. I was able to observe the love in mother’s eyes and the concern in the way my father talked to me. But as days passed by, I became engrossed in my ordinary life and forgot the entire experience until I read the statement by Morris. I agree with it but it saddens me that we only live fully when we know that death is near. We continue to do this unconsciously and I do not think I would be able to control this. By this statement, Morris means the exact opposite of what we assume of this statement in the first analysis. When Morris says, learn to detach (Albom, 103), he does not go against his first principle of living life. On the contrary, one can only learn to detach when they have experienced an emotion or feeling fully. For instance, Morris has fully experienced what pain is. He can experience how he will die and because he knows the feeling, he can go against it in the opposite direction and detach himself. I again quite agree with Morris on this. Most of the times, we are afraid of certain things that we run away from them. People continue to hoard money knowing that they may never be able to spend

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Report on a project that has occurred or is occurring in the public or Research Paper

Report on a project that has occurred or is occurring in the public or community or corporate sector - Research Paper Example Producing and processing gas in sea where it is extracted is a major contributing factor towards innovation and reducing cost. It will also make new energy sources accessible. The major characteristics of a project are that it is temporary in nature (Pinto, 2010). This means that it has a starting date and an ending date. Besides this the outcome of the project must be unique in nature. It must be either in the form of a product, service or result. This project initiated by shell has several societal benefits and it has the potential to bring revolution in the ways natural gas is produced. BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT This section of the report will discuss about the project and discuss measures which initiate the project. The expected deliverables and the outcomes of the project will be discussed along with the organizational details. Overcoming certain barriers like cost, time, quality, scope and risk are the main objectives of the project (Atkinson, 1999). This is because all these f actors contribute directly to its success. The main objective of the project is to save cost and utilize the time that is allotted to the project in the most efficient manner (Harrison, and Lock, 2004). Timely completion of the project and proper management of the resources will improve the quality delivered. New projects or expansion strategies of the business involve risk associated to it. The efficiencies of implementation of the process can reduce the risk (Hamilton, 2004). The project of Shell prelude (FLNG) is owned by Shell. It is located on the Western shore of Australia. The project was started in 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2015 (Shell, 2013a). Shell is planning to develop large gas resources and explore more reserves across Australia. The company also has interest in acquiring new coal reserves and expanding its exploration boundaries. The development phase of Prelude FLNG project was constructed from the contribution of six hundred engineers from across the w orld. A model of the project was designed which was tested in artificial sea conditions. This was done to test the model against the pressure of winds and waves (Shell, 2013c). The FLNG project after construction is estimated as the largest floating offshore facility (Offshore Technology, 2012). It will be 488 meters long and it will weigh 600,000 tons if loaded to full capacity. The total weight of steel used for building the FLNG project would be 260,000 tons (Shell, 2013a). This project is innovative because it will accommodate all the functions which were performed on land earlier. The FLNG will allow ease of production, liquefaction of natural gas, storage of gas in liquid form to reduce the storage cost and allow transfer at sea. Initiation of developing projects like these will help open offshore natural gas fields (Shell, 2013b). These projects are costlier to operate and difficult to develop on land. Development of FLNG will resolve these issues. Shell has initiated this pr oject with the collaboration of contractor Technip Samsung Consortium (TSC). TSC has an agreement with Shell of providing multiple facilities like engineering, manage the procurement of goods required for production, provide construction facilities and ensure proper installation of the FLNG facility. The site selected for the project is of the prelude gas field located on Northwest coast of Australia. After completion of this project about 350 direct

See draft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

See draft - Essay Example The author’s information in this selection is significant, she mentions accurate studies and data, and her argument and way of writing is very clear. On the basis of the book by Friedan this paper will prove that suburban housewives’ emotions with matters in the society and marriage, education and profession, and home duties cause unhappy womanhood. The word â€Å"femininity† is defined in many different meanings and according to the dictionary is â€Å"the quality of being female; womanliness†. The femininity that is discussed in the chapter is that what the majority of women dream about, which is marriage. In other words, how femininity and an old-fashion suburban housewife make us understand the word â€Å"woman†. In the 60’s, marriage takes major part of womanliness. Women are influenced to have early marriage. This idea leads women to ignore every position they could achieve. Friedan proves that early marriage is the main reason behind population increase while young women make career out of marriage duties. â€Å"The women’s magazines, deploring the unhappy statistics about these young marriages, urged that courses on marriage, and marriage counselors, be installed in the high schools† (Friedan 16). According to Friedan women career is limited in the twentieth century. Many women look forward an occupation inside the home. Bearing children and being supportive for their husband, women wanted to have profession. The concern to spend most time at home may harm the society. The author includes the fact of few women having professions. (Friedan 4). If women had the opportunity to work, they perhaps would be able to change the situation. Friedan adds the importance of education. Women’s role as housewives is what makes them unhappy with their education (Friedan 10). Women should gain education since it essential to solve problems people had. Education is important and it must be got to develop one’s profession. It is difficult for women not

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Comparison paper between A Rose for Emilyby William Fulkner, and Research

Comparison between A Rose for Emilyby William Fulkner, and BattleRoyal by Ralph Ellison - Research Paper Example The setting of the story is in Faulkners imaginary city, Jefferson, in his imaginary county of Yoknapatawpha in Mississippi. The story is about an unusual spinster, Emily Grierson, the anonymous narrator gives the particulars the odd circumstances of Emily’s living and her strange relationships with her lover, her father and the town of Jefferson. The narrator also details the horrible secret Emily hides from the world. In a small number of pages, A Rose for Emily, cover roughly three-quarters of a century; from the birth of Emily Grierson which takes place sometime just about the Civil War, while her death happens sometime in the early 1930s. The Reconstruction following the Civil War had a deep and humbling consequence on Southern society. The South’s dated agricultural estate economy, centered so long upon slave labor, was overwhelmed by emancipation. Northern investors, recognized as ‘‘carpet-baggers,’’ came in large numbers to capitalize on the economic chaos. A number of Southern top class people found themselves employed on the farms together with tenant farmers and earlier slaves. Faulkner happened to come from a family that once possessed a plantation (Marie  ¶ 4). The past of his family plus that of the South in general was completely overturned by the reconstruction after the civil war. According to Royden (372), from the fact that Faulkner comes from a family background with an aristocratic attitude and linked with other comparable families, he was conversed with the arrogance of behaviors like the Griersons where Rose came from. A number of these people persisted to act as if they were still fortunate plantation owners even though their wealth had disappeared. Nevertheless, Faulkner used up much of his time examining ordinary townspeople too and this gives the reason why he was capable of capturing the voice of the ordinary people of

Monday, July 22, 2019

Stakeholders and the One Industry Town Essay Example for Free

Stakeholders and the One Industry Town Essay 1. Identify the stakeholders that influence and/or that are influenced by the company’s decision. The appropriate identification of stakeholders is very important to business corporations as one approach to understanding the environment in which they operate. According to this case, there are insufficient eligible workers in the immediate area and workers would have to be attracted from other communities. Employees want to have the convenient transportation of back and forth. And onside accommodations are feasible for them. However, if the company decided to build and maintain a road, they will spend too much money on it. 2. Use the stakeholder mapping matrix to plot the stakeholders based upon their support or opposition to the plant and their importance to the decision. The stakeholder matrix mapping methodologies give managers a practical approach to assessing the influence of stakeholders. Matrices can be based on a variety of dimensions and designed to suit the company’s purpose in stakeholder understanding. Using the stakeholder mapping matrix to plot the stakeholders based upon their support or opposition to the plant can ascertain the likely impact of stakeholder demands on the company’s strategies and identify appropriate courses of action to counter influence these demands. 3. Make recommendations to management how they should establish relationships with various stakeholders. The company’s arrangements must be in place to understand the relationships and ultimately to interact with stakeholders. The company can allow employees to adopt new ideas from external networks and encourage the employees share their information and work collaboratively. Expropriate to Expedite Development 1. Who are the stakeholders involved in this situation and what are the issues? The stakeholders are Developers, St. John, 19 property owners, Brendan Murphy, and City Council. * Developers indicated in building a hotel in downtown. * St. John’s wants the area to be developed because if it developed, the area would be a source of taxation revenue. * 19 property owners, the developers were successful in negotiating purchases with 19 property owners. * Brendan Murphy, who is only one of 20 owners, and only he refused to accept the offer from Developers. * City Council, the City Council thinks it was in the public interest to develop the site as employment opportunities. 2. Should governments have the authority to expropriate private property? Yes, I think so. Because government expropriate private property in order to develop public facilities such as parks, public library, and roadway and so on. It is conducive to residents’ daily life. In addition, it is a good way to create more employment opportunities. 3. What are the implications of the practice of the government expropriating property for the purposes of private development? First implication is the government is a non supportive Stakeholder, because government is trying to reduce the organization’s dependence on stakeholders. Then, Developers are the supportive Stakeholder such as Langton Green Development and Halifax-based Pacrin Hospitality Services. They are estimated to cost between $30 and $40 million to develop the area.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Ecological Factors Influencing Terrestrial Plants And Animals Biology Essay

Ecological Factors Influencing Terrestrial Plants And Animals Biology Essay Ecology was first defined by Ernst Haeckel in 1866 as the science of relations between organisms and their environment (Bramwell 1989). The study of ecology has developed over the years from an initial descriptive field of study in the 19th century to a more quantitative, experimental and analytical discipline in the 21st century (Mayorga et al. 2002). The definition has also developed. Krebs (1972) gave the following more defined definition, Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms. He omitted the use of the word environment. It is clear however that the interactions to which he referred are the very factors which create the environment and so a more complete definition which marries the definitions given by Haeckel and Krebs is suggested as follows by Begon et al. (2006): Ecology is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and the interactions that determine distribution and abundance. It is necessary to take a historical aspect and to discuss Island biogeography to understand the present distribution of plants and animals within the United Kingdom. The fauna and flora of islands are determined historically by events that occurred that affect floral and faunal populations. The initial event is generally seen to be the movement of land masses followed by glaciation. Pliestocene glaciation is largely the event determining the present day patterns in distribution of Flora and Fauna in the UK (Begon et al 2006). Recolonisation of plants and animals is dependent on distance from other populations and the ability of some animals to disperse and reproduce, grow and survive, once they arrive in a suitable environment. There are two notable contrasts with continental Europe, Britain has a relatively impoverished mammal fauna as several species, such as the garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus and the beech marten Murtesfuina, now found on the western edge of the continental ma inland, failed to recolonise Britain after the last ice age (Mitchell-Jones 1996). Reptiles and amphibians species are also more diverse on the continent than in the UK. There are only 6 native species in the United Kingdom, by comparison with a single species in Ireland which is further from Europe and Europe itself boasts over 87 reptilian species (Silva et al. 2009). Inter actions between organisms and their environment can be viewed at three different levels, the individual, as part of the population and as part of the community. To discuss the factors affecting the distribution of plants and animals in the United Kingdom it is necessary to look at all aspects. The scope of the interactions which will be discussed here are outlined in figure 1. The term niche is very frequently misunderstood as and often used loosely to describe where an animal lives, this is more correctly its habitat. A niche is a summary of the organisms tolerances and requirements, how they interact to define the conditions and resources needed by an individual or species in order to practice its way of life (Begon et al 2006), and the time it occurs there (Mackenzie et al 1998). The niche of an animal is generally larger than that it actually inhabits, This is the fundamental niche which is characterised by conditions (temperature, relative humidity amongst others), within the tolerable limits of a species provided that there are enough resources available i.e. food, accommodation and that it is not limited by interactions with other organisms such as predation and competition and that it is not prevented from getting to the suitable area (dispersal). Hutchinson (1957) identified the Fundamental niche from the realised niche with the latter being the m ore limited spectrum of conditions and resources that allow an animal to persist even in the presence of competition and predation. The primary conditions influencing animal distribution are as outlined in figure 1. These are portrayed as one dimensional but clearly the effect of temperature will be affected by the effect of winds and humidity. Conditions are defined as variable environmental factors which organisms respond to. They are non depletable, the organism cannot use them up (Mackenzie et al. 1998) l Figure 1. Factors affecting distribution of plants and animals in the United Kingdom Temperature is a condition which affects the rate of development in organisms, in fact many cold blooded animals incubation and development is given in degree days rather than in actual time. What is really required is a temperature-time continuum also referred to as physiological time. An example of how temperature affects not 1 but ultimately 2 species in their realised niche and distribution is given by Randall (1982) In this case The rush moth (Coleophora alticolella) lays its eggs on the flowers of the rush Junctus squarrosus and the caterpillar uses the ripe seeds as its food resource. The moths and the larvae are little affected by low temperatures so there is no reason why they cant extend their niche further up in altitude however at the lower temperatures above 600m the seed of the rush fails to ripen and so there is no food resource for the caterpillar. The temperature related limit of tolerance has been reached for the rush, which in turn limits the niche of the caterpill ar giving us the realised niche. The pH of soil and water can have a strong influence on plant and animal communities. Plant roots tend to be damaged in soils below pH3 and above pH 9 due to the pathogenic effect of toxic levels of H+ or OH- ions. Soil pH also has an effect on the uptake of nutrients and the concentration of toxins, tolerance levels vary for pH but only a minority of plants can grow at pH less than 4.5 (Begon et al 2006). Kidd and Proctor (2001) investigated the role of the toxicity of hydrogen (H+) as an explanation of the reduced plant growth observed in the grass Holcus lanatus L. (Yorkshireà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ fog) and the tree Betula pendula Roth (Silver Birch) in very acid soils. They collected soils and seeds from a range of acidic to more alkaline environments from 4 Scottish sites. It was shown that there was separate adaptation in the various populations to H+ or Al3+ toxicity which was closely related to the edaphic characteristics of the original site from which they were collected. The fact o f plant adaptation to H+ toxicity supports the view that this is an important factor in very acid soils (Kidd and Proctor 2001). Salinity is another condition which affects the distribution of organisms. The presence of salt in the soil water offers osmotic resistance to water uptake. The main effect of salinity is to cause osmoregulatory problems similar to those encountered in drought and freezing conditions. Salinity mainly affects organisms close to the sea or around inland salt sprins/ ponds. The main adaptation of plants isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ . Salt marshes encompass a broad range of saline concentrations from full strength sea water to non saline conditions. And has plants that are halophytic by degrees. Wind plays a major role in plant dispersal. Only small light seeds with special adaptations can be dispersed by the winds. These adaptations are to facilitate the seeds remaining airborne longer which means they can be carried greater distances. Such adaptations usually involve hairs or outgrowths which increase the surface area to catch the wind The flower ovary containing the seeds becomes a dry hollow container with one or more openings. The containers are shaken by the wind, scattering the seeds through the openings, dispersing them all around the immediate area. (Photo:http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/seed_dispersl/wind.htm) Wing-like outgrowths on the fruit (which contains the seed) make it spin as it falls from the parent plant. This spinning delays its fall so that the wind may carry it some distance away. (Photo:http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/seed_dispersl/wind.htm) Wind also has a negative effect on the distribution of organisms in that it has been implicated in the problem of soil erosion of arable lands and of sand dunes., thereby reducing their capacity to sustain plant communities. We cannot discuss the factors influencing the distribution of organism n the United Kingdom without looking at the effects of the activities of man. Man does have a positive impact in the management of resources and in the study of, collection of and interpretation of information ecology and ecosystems. However he also has a negative effect in that man is the perpetrator of the majority of effects leading to environmental pollution. These include the clearing of land for operations totally wiping out local habitats, the leaching of metals into the environment and the dumping of copper, zinc and lead around mines. Many of these metals are present already but at lower concentrations and some are vital nutrients for organisms in the surrounds but the practice of mining can elevate their presence to lethal levels (Begon et al 2006). Power plants and other factories may emit sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide which facilitate the problems with acid rain. After much analysis, researchers n ow know that acid rain causes slower growth, injury, or death of forests. It is practical to assume that if it has this effect in forests it may also retard the growth of other plants which affects a resource required in the energy flow of an ecosystem and will ultimately affect the core of that system. (National Geographic 2010) (http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/acid-rain-overview/) When pollution occurs, animals often find away to combat the stress and overcome the effects this is evidenced in the well known example of the peppered moth. However while the development is a reaction to industrial pollution there are many other factors at play, such as genetic variability. With the increasing industrialisation in Britain, the peppered moth survived by developing a darker coloured form which was better camoflaged from predators when it landed on the soot darkened trees after the lichens had died off. (Majerus and Stevens 2006) CLIMATE Furthermore Berry et al (2003) have undertaken a study which shows the vulnerability of terrestrial habitats and species distribution in Britain to climate change which is essentially the temperature increase of 0.6 °C over the past century. They contend that with such changes that it is not safe to assume that a species historical range of distribution will remain suitable. Organisms face hazards in everyday life, they develop ways to combat or counteract these hazards, however occasionally the disturbances are on such a large scale they are to b

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Treaty of Versailles

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Treaty of Versailles On the 28th June 1919, Germany resentfully signed the most famous treaty ever, Versailles. Although years of readjusting the treaty followed, this essay will focus mainly on the strengths and weaknesses of the 440 articles in 1919. The Treaty followed a massive war, with huge human sacrifice. It was supposed to be the Treaty to end all wars and give security to the countries involved. The overwhelming task that laid ahead for Woodrow Wilson (America), Lloyd George (Great Britain), Clemenceau (France) and Orlando (Italy) was on a bigger scale than any previous delegates had had to deal with. One of the biggest interpreted weaknesses was the economics and reparations. Firstly, it highlighted the weaknesses of the delegates forming the Treaty, as they had to listen to public demand which had been exaggerated due to the scale and length of the war. An example was Lloyd George who was pressured from conservatives for harsh reparations, Geddes, a conservative politician hailed the words we shall squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeak.  [1]  Packer declared Lloyd George did not believe in harsh reparations  [2]  , but George added extras to the original reparations such as war pensions to please the conservatives because the original amount based on war damage gave Britain a very little. Kitchen showed and I agree that there was little Lloyd George could do about the situation as no politician would have survived if he had suggested that Germany should be forgiven.  [3]  However, Lentin disagreed, thinking that public opinion created pressure but had no imp act on the Treaty. He later contradicted himself by proclaiming that the one of the causes of the delay in announcing reparations because the delegates believed that the public would never be satisfied with the guaranteed amount.  [4]  Therefore, public opinion had to be acknowledged and satisfied to a certain extent. This meant the Treaty did not always accomplish what was needed such as lower reparations. The biggest weakness with the reparations was the total amount ( £600 million) Germany had to pay. Keynes, who scathingly criticised the Treaty of Versailles, heavily condemned the reparations as Britain depended on the revival of trade, especially with Germany,  [5]  but Germany needed to increase their exports and decrease their imports. This would decrease trade with Britain and lose Britain money. Feldman, although I disagree, supported Keynes believing that the economic and financial settlements were horrendous failures.  [6]  This was an extreme view and seemed to ignore the circumstances the delegates were dealing with. There were poor decisions but Feldman over-exaggerated. Nicolson argued that it was not excessively harsh economically to Germany.  [7]  However, although it was not excessively harsh, I believe it was too harsh for Germany to even begin to comprehend, especially when territory and economics are combined. Germany lost 13.5% of their territory incl uding 8% of German coal production. Germany lost 10% of her population as well as 1.7 million people in the war. Population creates manpower for industry. This might not seem a lot however, when you add  £600 million in reparations, the loss can seem great and perhaps the Treaty harsh. This shows another weakness of the Versailles Treaty, as no suitable amount for Germany to pay was reached discrediting the treaty. However it could be deemed an unavoidable weakness as the reparations were decreased in the 1920s but the Germans still felt it was unfair. Another weakness of the Treaty of Versailles was the disarmament hypocrisy. The League of Nations articles asserted that any discrepancies would be sorted through the League and not by war. Therefore there was no need for any country to have large armies; however Germany was forced to disarm to a 200,000 volunteer army, showing how the points were used selectively. During the revisionist period Germany complained about the unjust nature of disarmament. Therefore disarmament can be viewed as a weakness as it highlights the unjust part of the Treaty but it shows that Germany was always going to come back with revenge. Germany was unified in its pride in its military. Carr argued that Germanys rise in 1920s was inevitable as it was unreasonable to impose a position of permanent inferiority on a great power.  [8]  This was true, but unavoidable; France wanted to know that Germany could not attack them. However, if the hypocrisy previously mentioned did not exist, and everyone had dis armed, then the situation could have been different. Isolating Germany in disarmament and the League of Nations was a bad idea, as they used it as an excuse to break the Treaty later, which was one of the causes of the Second World War. The Treaty had the aim of prolonged peace, and the isolation through disarmament was one of the reasons it did not fulfil its aim. The failure of the League of Nations was a huge weakness; it failed because America, Russia and Germany were omitted. The League could not make decisions about the world without three of the most influential countries. The League was bypassed when Italy seized Corfu, causing embarrassment for the League as it showed a lack of power. The League might not have been certain to succeed, but if the League had put its countries beliefs behind, and the worldwide affairs first, it would not be deemed such a weakness. The League of Nations had strengths too, it was the first time the idea have been put into practise trying some ideologically and practically new to keep the peace worldwide. The League introduced medical measures that had not been in states before 1914. This was a very credible strength from the Treaty of Versailles. It really was evidence of the Versailles Treaty trying to keep prolonged peace. The compromises in the Treaty created strengths and weaknesses. These compromises had left historians to debate as to whether the Treaty would have been stronger if it had been harsher or softer. Marks perfectly described the Treaty as too soft to restrain Germanyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ yet too severe to be acceptable toGermans.  [9]  It was viewed too harsh in terms of reparations, disarmament and territory. The consequence of this was Germany convincing others it was too harsh bringing the revisionism viewpoint of the 1920s which had been adopted by Britain. Revisionism allowed the Germans to undo some of the Treatys main clauses such as self-determination, reparations and disarmament. Revisionism has been linked to the rise of Nazism and also the Second World War. The Versailles Treaty aimed to keep prolonged peace, the weakness of the compromise shows a failure of the Treaty. A soft treaty would have been impossible, the after war feeling was to enforce a vindictive peace to help res tore some of the hurt caused during the war that Germany was blamed for starting. However , it seemed that no matter how soft the Treaty would have been Germany would have wanted to change it. I agree with Kitchen that ultimately no amount of revision would have satisfied the Germans.  [10]   The strength of the Versailles Treaty compromises was that most of the clauses were very just, especially considering the circumstances. An example of this would be the Rhineland, France wanted to occupy it, however the other delegates knew that it would only cause outrage in Germany, and would strike revenge, therefore they created a compromise where the Rhineland would remain unoccupied and demilitarized. Another way to view the compromises as strength is looking at Germanys Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, an obviously overly harsh Treaty imposed on Russia after they withdrew from the war. This strength does not disregard mistakes in the compromises and in the Treaty; however it highlights that within the circumstances it was a commendable agreement. However, the strengths and weaknesses could be argued to be unavoidable. The Treaty regardless of its content was never going to last. Mattrl pointed out the undeniable point that before the ink had dried on the Treaty of Versailles, the move ment to destroy ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦had begun.  [11]  Therefore the weaknesses mentioned would not have been weaknesses had German accepted losing the war and the terms. The Treaty would not have been so heavily criticised and littered with failures if it had been enforced. The Treaty could have been successful but once the Treaty had been signed; the alliance had crumbled, worsened by different ideas on how to enforce the Treaty. France wanted to make sure the clauses were imposed on Germany as harsh as possible; however Britain began to revise the Treaty. Germany complained about the Treaty, believing it was unjust, when in reality it was mainly fair. For example, if disarmament had been enforced, Germany would not have been able to annex Czechoslovakia, which was a cause of the Second World War. Germany was also left to decide about whether they could afford the reparations, and obviously, as they did not want to have this article imposed on them, they often escaped doing it, to a standard that could easily create weaknesses in the Versailles Treaty. Marks correctly explained that the delegates erroneously believed that Germany would abide by thei r decisions,  [12]  this highlighted one of the many reasons why enforcement of the Treaty failed. Another reason for the lack of enforcement was that the allies were not loyal to each other; they just won the same war that they fought for different reasons. Therefore, the Treaty could be argued to have exposed weaknesses due to the lack of enforcement as opposed to the original articles. It can be argued that there are less strengths than weaknesses in the Treaty of Versailles but it is often forgotten that the biggest strength is far more significant than most of the weaknesses. The momentous task that lied ahead of the delegates was incomprehensible; 10 million people lost their lives alongside the new style of warfare. The war came to an abrupt end and there were complex issues alongside contradicting viewpoints. The short amount of time they had, and the amount they had to handle creates the strength as they were able to form a Treaty which although has been criticised with many weaknesses, also has commendable articles and decisions. It must never be forgotten that the Treaty was produced attempting long-term peace whilst punishing the losers of the war, as most Treaties do. If the Treaty had been accepted by the Germans, it could have been an established peace settlement. In conclusion, there are many strengths and weaknesses of the Treaty of Versailles, from the ideological revolution in the League of Nations, to the lack of considered economics in the reparations and loss of territories. However, the Treaty should be commended as one of its own time, that regardless of its contents would have been changed and adjusted as no Treaty had ever involved so many world and European powers. Marks convincingly summed up the Treaty by rightly claiming that the Treaty was a product of its time representing the feelings of the time; therefore its duration was limited seeing as the reality of the feelings of 1919 was limited.  [13]  

Why AFI is the best band :: Music Performing Artists Persuasive Essays

"A Fire Inside, to me, means these three other guys who drink all the soymilk backstage before I get a damn drop of it." Jade Puget, the guitarist for AFI, jokes. AFI is the greatest band. Of course, the music is also great. Those factors are topped, though, by the hardcore dedication of their fans. AFI is composed of Davey Havok ? vocals, Jade Puget ? guitar, Adam Carson ? drums, and Hunter Burgan playing bass. Davey and Jade are both very funny and often make stupid statements and inside jokes that only a true fan would understand. ?Davey doesn?t watch the damn road when he?s driving.? Jade commented once. ?I?m sure if we crashed he would be fine and I would end up embedded in a tree. If her ever kills me with his driving, though, I?m gonna come back as a squirrel and run up his pant leg.? The band often references homosexuality in their quotes, but none of them are gay. The band gets along well, and gets along with their fans. AFI has released seven full-length albums, along with a number of EPs. Their music changes with every CD, sometimes drastically. The shift from their 2000 album ?The Art of Drowning? to their 2003 ?Sing the Sorrow? took the band in a completely different musical direction. Their style changed from old-school punk to more of a horrorpunk ? electrogoth sound. No matter what they decide to do with their music, though, they are extremely talented musicians and have never produced a bad album. What keeps AFI going the most, however, is the loyalty of its fans. The league of the followers that they have established is known as The Despair Faction. In the song ?Miss Murder?, The Despair Faction provides backing vocals. Hundreds of fans were invited to chant the ?hey? in the background of the chorus. AFI loves its fans, and even let some of them have a segment in their ?I Heard A Voice? DVD. They get to actively participate in the band?s music. Being an AFI fan is the greatest thing in the world.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Disorders in Hawethornes The Birthmark Essay example -- essays resea

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story â€Å"The Birthmark† you find a couple fairly prevalent disorders. Although psychology was as of yet not existence, Hawthorne describes them quite well. Alymer suffered from an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, while his actions caused Georgiana to develop a body dysmorphic disorder. Both of which attributed to the eventual demise of Georgiana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alymer is an older scientist who marries a beautiful woman much younger then himself. Even though Alymer finds his young bride beautiful, he still says that she is â€Å"marked.† Upon Georgiana’s left cheek is a birthmark. The birthmark is small, red, and in the shape of a hand. Alymer believes that this mark takes away from her beauty; even though many other people, men and women alike, thought it to be charming; and those who did not, just â€Å"wished it away.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, Alymer could not wish away Georgiana’s birthmark. He even approached her about it being removed- â€Å"Georgiana,† said he, â€Å"has it never occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might be removed?† â€Å"No, indeed,† said she, smiling; but perceiving the seriousness of his manner, she blushed deeply. â€Å"To tell you the truth it has been so often called a charm that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so.† (Hawthorne 306)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alymer was afflicted with an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. By definition obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is â€Å"A personality disorder characterized by a pervasive preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and interpersonal control [ . . . ].† (Medical Net) Characteristics of this disorder include the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1) Preoccupation with details, rules, lists, order, organization, or schedules.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2) Perfectionism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3) Excessive devotion to work to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4) Inability to discard worthless objects of no sentimental value.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5) Reluctance to delegate tasks or work with others unless everything is done their way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6) Miserliness in regard to oneself and others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7) Rigidity and stubbornness. (Body Image)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Out of all of the abov... ...their diseases, then Georgiana would have lived. If he had not been so obsessive, Georgiana would not have developed BDD. And if she had not tried to make Alymer happy, she would not have allowed him to give her the deathly liquid. Sadly though, even in the end, Alymer shows no true remorse. After Georgiana dies, he gives a â€Å"hoarse, chuckling laugh.† After all, his wife may be dead, but she looks perfect without any blemish upon her face.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited 1)Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"The Birthmark.† Sixth Edition The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Michael Meyers Ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin 1996 p.306-16 2)Body Image and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. 2002. 7 Dec. 2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/disorders/BDDInterview.html . 3)Medicine Net Medical Dictionary. 2003. 7 Dec. 2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=21263 . 4)Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, European Description. 1992. 1 Dec. 2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.mentalhealth.com/icd/p22-an05.html .

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Organizations And Behavior Essay

Introduction Management is an important activity in the performance of an organization.   Management involves integrated activities which together ensue that there is effective planning, control, and organization of recourses to lead the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. This means that managers need to have a wide range of information pertaining to different  Ã‚   departments in the organization. In this paper we are going to discus different management perspectives through accomplishment of different tasks.   The paper will look into organization structure can culture, motivation of employees, working with others in teams and groups, and organization leadership and management. Task 1 Comparing organization structure and culture of McDonalds and King George Pizza in Canada The fast food is one of the most competitive industries in the world.   The fast food industry has been recording higher rates of growth in North America including U.S and Canada than any other part of the world. MacDonald is a major player in the North American fast food industry while King George Pizza is one of small fast food establishment in British Columbia. Although the two companies operate in the same industry, there are a lot of similarity and differences in the organization structure and culture. This is based on the difference that comes as result of difference in their operation. McDonald organization structure is based on the size of its operation  Ã‚   which means that the structure has to adapt to the franchise nature of its operation (Haas and Wotruba 2003, p. 92). On the other hand, King Georges Pizza is a local restaurant operating just one branch in British Columbia. The culture between the two organization is also similar and at the same time with some differences. One of the key successes of MacDonald in the fast food industry has been its strong customer oriented culture. McDonald has adopted a market oriented culture which ensures that the company understands its consumers very well.   On the other hand, King George Pizza has also adopted a market oriented culture but its marketing activities have not been well targeted to the consumers like those of McDonalds. Due to its larger size of operation, MacDonald has adopted a bureaucratic structure that allows for standardization of its operations. The company has adopted tall structure in order to provide for standardization of operations and decision making process. On the hand, King George Pizza has adopted a pre-bureaucratic structure which lacks standardization with management strategies meant to meet the operational needs of the small establishment. The success of McDonalds has been cemented on it culture and organization structure. Since it was established, the company has taken consumer oriented hospitality culture that keeps customers coming for more.   McDonald is one of the companies which use a huge part of their revenues on customer service and advertisement in order to create good relationship with its customers. Apart from the customer oriented culture, the leadership of the company is democratic and ensures inclusion of employees in the decision making process.   The company takes its employees as the most important capital asset  Ã‚   for its growth.   Therefore McDonald employees are well motivated.   The structure of the organization has ensured standardized operations in all its establishments. Although there is management control from the head office, the franchises are given freedom in decision making process to make decisions which fits their operation (Haas and Wotruba 2003, p. 92). On the other hand, the King George Pizza has adopted an organization culture and structure that fits its operation. Like MacDonald, the company has a strong consumer oriented culture and although it does not have a customer service department, the employees have been well trained on customer service.   This has ensured the continued flow of customer to the small establishment in a competitive fast food market. At the same time, the company has adopted the right structure for its small operations. This structure ensures that there is strong control of the operation of the establishment by the management. Task 2 – Approaches to Management and Leadership Management approaches and how they can be implemented Management is one of the most important factions in the organization. Management involves playing key roles of planning and organizing the resources for the organization to lead it to achieve the set goals. Research has documented a correlation between the effectiveness of the management and the overall performance of the organization. There are different approaches to management depending on the kind of organization that one is dealing with (Haas and Wotruba 2003, p. 92).  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most common approaches to management is the project management.   This approach ahs been used for decades although it has been undergoing several changes in the recent past. Under this approach, the management takes the organization as a project that has specific goals and objectives to achieve. Therefore the guiding principle in the management is the requirements of the project and the fulfillment of the mission needs of the organization. This approach therefore assumes that the organization runs in cycles like a project and in each cycle, there are specific objectives that have to be leading the achievement of the overall goal.   However, this approach is  Ã‚   more focused on the technical mission or the technical aspects of the projection and various plans of action  Ã‚   and milestones to be achieved are the guiding pillars for the organization. Under this approach, the management takes into consideration activities like team building, budgeting, tracking the tasks as assigned to different individuals in the organization, reviewing individual performance, and many others. The success of the project or the organization is based on the way it meets its deliverables on the stipulated time and the set budget. This means that this approach is a bit rigid and set to details. To implement this approach, the management has to understand the goals and objectives of the organization and then formulate the necessary plan that will lead the organization to achieve the set goals and objectives. Another common management approach is the Balanced score card approach. This is a strategic planning and management system which is widely used in business, government, non-profit organization, and in other organizations with an aim of aligning the acclivities of the business with the vision and the overall growth strategy.   This approach is also aimed at improving the internal and external communications and toe monitor the progress in the performance of the organization in light of the set goals. This management approach is also focused on the drivers for the future growth and performance of the organization.   To achieve this, the management prioritizes the projects or initiatives which are likely to assist the organization to achieve these goals.   In order to implement this approach, the management has to view organization from four different perspectives including the learning and growth perspective, the business process perspective, the customer perspective, and financial perspective (Haas and Wotruba 2003, p. 92). Operational change As the U.S economy recede, most companies have been forced to undergo operations changes which are meant to reduce the cost of operation to align with the changing economic condition. The U.S Automotive industry which is on its knees due to threats of bankruptcy has seen a number of players in the industry under various operational changes in order to reduce the cost of operation. With the large burden of meeting the high labor cost, General Motors is one of the companies which as restructured its operation in a number of ways in order to cut its cost. Although the changes have emanated from the economical factors which may be beyond the control of the company, it has result to massive layoff and closing down of its plants in order to reduce the cost of operation. However, this has not gone well with UAW which is the trade union representing automotive workers in the US. The issues for confrontation has been the agreement that were made earlier between the company and the worker and even in the current financial crisis, the UAW has refused to let the deal go. Apparently the company could have retained some of the labor force and lowered the rate of pay per hour. At this time we can say the company is in a crisis. Managing change during a crisis is one of the most difficult tasks for any organization. At the time of crisis the organization needs to have a strong leadership style that does not compromise on the need to bring the organization back to its feet. Therefore authoritative leadership should be used to manage the current restructuring taking place in Ford General Motors. Authoritative leadership would minimize the number of time the management ha s to engage with the employees and the unions since the union has failed to recognize the current financial situation of the company. Task 3 – Motivational Theories In the 20th century management, the organizational assets were the most important capital for an organization. However, this has drastically changed in the 21st century and employees have become the most important capital for any organization. A well motivated workforce  Ã‚   can help an organization to have a competitive edge in the market which other organizations may find difficult to replicate.  Ã‚   One of the most important factors in human resource management is to ensure the overall satisfaction of the employees.  Ã‚   The main duty of human resource management is to ensure that employees are represented in the management and their affairs are taken care of. Motivation of the employees is one of the human resource practices that have been shown to increase employee satisfaction and therefore low rate of employee turnover and higher retention. Different organizations have taken different approaches to employee motivation (Weightman 2008, p. 45).   Research has documented that  Ã‚   despite the varied methods of employees motivation, monetary incentives remains the most effective.   Employee motivation can be described using behavioral and social approach. According to the behavioral approach, the management needs to have a clear understanding of the employees including the incentives and rewards that are used to motivate employees in the company.   In this case the managers have a duty of identifying the specific behavior that need to be reinforced in employees. These may include outstanding performance of the employee, punctuality, neatness, accuracy in completion of tasks and others. Any employee who shows improvements in these behaviors need to be rewarded to reinforce the development of those positive behaviors. On the other hand, social approaches include the integration of the cognitive and the behavioral aspects.   This theory view motivation as a factor produced by two forces including the expectation of the individual to succeed at work and the need to gain vicarious experience. Once the management recognizes the individual expectations, then they should provide the approach environment that will help the individual employee to achieve these. According the Maslow hierarchy of needs, we have different needs in our life that has to be fulfilled. The Maslow hierarchy therefore assumes that there are those basic needs that have to be met for the employees to the motivated.   The Maslow hierarchy of needs can be used to categorize how employees have different needs that have to be met for them to be motivated (Weightman 2008, p. 45).   .   The Maslow hierarchy theory starts with the basic needs up to social need. At the bottom there is physiological needs, safety, social, esteem, and self actualization a the top This means that it is important to recognize the specific needs of the employee that has to be met first according their hierarchy of needs. According to this theory, there are some basic needs that have to be met and in our life, we struggle to meet these needs. This means that our quest in life is to climb up the Maslow hierarchy to meet these needs.   Therefore if such needs are not satisfied, then individual motivation will arise from to satisfy them.   In line with fulfillment of these needs, a business therefore needs to offer different incentives to the workers in order to fulfill the different need as they progress up the ladder. Another theory of motivation is the two factor theory of Hertzberg.   Also known as hygiene theory,  Ã‚   it emphasizes more on the factors in the working environment which causes satisfaction and dissatisfaction.   The following table lists the top six factors which cause dissatisfaction and the top six factors causing satisfaction. Factors leading to dissatisfaction Leading to satisfaction Company policy Achievement Supervision Recognition Relationship with the boss Work itself Work conditions Responsibility Salary Advancement Relationship with peers Growth Like Maslow, Hertzberg reasoned that there are different individual needs which can be satisfied by money while there are others which cannot be satisfied by money. He argued that physiological needs or basic needs should be satisfied first while the other physiological needs should be satisfied later (Weightman 2008, p. 45).   . The implications of Hertzberg theory assert that the management should not only meet the hygiene factor to avoid the dissatisfaction of employees but they must also provide other factors which intrinsic to work in order to have satisfied employees. For example IBM, which is one of the most prosperous ICT companies in the world, has taken various strategies including flexible working schedules, pay per performance, and others in order to motivate their employees. The company takes an order from a client and allocates it to the worker who then works closely with the client to ensure that they meet all the technological challenges given by the client. Task 4 – Working with others, teamwork, groups and group dynamics Difference between teams and groups In many instances, we tend to use the work group and team interchangeably. However there are many differences between a tem and a group in the real application of the two.   In management we usually stress the importance of team building and not group building. This is because the strength of a team depends on the common purpose and the connectivity of the individual members. On the other hand, the strength of a group come the volume or the willingness to carry out the command given by the leader. In real application, it is very easy to form a group rather than a team. A group can be formed   by individuals of different   types and background but eventually it will be very difficult to achieve the commonality between the group members.   It is very difficult to build consensus in a group for a leader that it is in a team.   Unlike a group which is simple to form, a team is quite difficult to form.    The members of a team are not selected on the ground of commonality but on the ground of compatibility in different  Ã‚   complementary skills. For example a business team can be made up of an accountant, a salesman, secretary, and others.   Every member plays a different role but which are integrated to achieve a common goal. Unlike in a group, there is no room for conflicts in a team. The role of teams in a small and a big organization differs in some aspects although all the teams have the same role of achieving a set goal. However, teams in a small organization may be easier to form and evaluate and their process of work may be simpler due to the size of their operation. On the other hand, teams in a larger organization may take time to form since all members have to be consulted. Their process of work may be a bit difficult since they have a large operation to cover. Application of Tuckman and Jensen team development model Tuckman and Jensen present us with four stages which define group development.   Although the process can be subconscious, the four stages present the process which all groups go through in their formation. The first stage is the forming stage in which the individual behavior is defined by the desire to be accepted by other members of the team (McGrath and Tschan 2004, p. 61).   At this stage, serious issues, feelings, controversy, or conflict are usually avoided.   The individuals get more focused on adapting to their roles and gather information about others. The next stage is storming stage in which the group remains good to the other only when important issues are addressed.   There are minor confrontations which are dealt with or are ignored. These conflicts are related to work or relationship in the group.   The next stage is the norming stage in which the rules of engagement for the group member are established. At this stage, members understands the other well and the experience the efforts and experience of the other. However, individuals at this stage are resistance to change especially from outside for fear of group break up (McGrath and Tschan 2004, p. 61). The last stage is the performing stage which not many groups usually reach this stage.   This stage is characterized by interdependence and flexibility and every group member understand their role and trust each other. The group identity, loyalty and the performance are high as members become task oriented. How communication methods can affect team performance in a large multi national organization. Communication is one of the most important factors for optimum performance of an organization.   The communication process helps the organizations to pass important operation details from one department to the other. The communication structure in an organization is also very important since determines the flow of information from the management to the employees.   The  Ã‚   communication structure in an organization should ensure the smooth flow of information between the dyad in the work place. However, communication methods can affect team performance in multinational organizations. In most multinational organizations, the teams may be allocated to a certain function far away from the managements of the organization. This means that the team may be faced with the difficulty of enquiring important details regarding their duties from the management. At the same time, there is a high likelihood that the team will be made up of individuals using different languages. This means that the team will require an interpreter for it to function effectively (McGrath and Tschan 2004, p. 61). While forming teams for multinational organizations, language barrier should be one of the most important factors to consider. Bibligraphy: Haas, R.W. & Wotruba, T.R 2003, Management: Concepts, Practice and Cases, Texas: Business Publications, Inc McGrath, J. E., & Tschan, F 2004, Temporal matters in social psychology: Examining the role of time in the lives of groups and individuals. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Weightman, J 2008, The Employee Motivation Audit, Cambridge Strategy Publications