Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business Essay

From the period of 1870 to 1900, the United States became one of the world’s strongest and growing industrial nations. An industrial revolution that had begun with the manufacture of cotton and woolen textiles had, by the beginning of the 20th, transformed the production of most everyday goods. Ranging from food, clothing, appliances, and automobiles, the enormous output of industrial production led to the rise of big business as it coordinated methods of distribution and sales to forge an infrastructure for consumer culture. The rise of corporations, such as Carnegie Steel, J.P. Morgan, and Standard Oil, in the late 1800’s, was able to dramatically shape the country politically, socially, and economically and even continues to do so today through new modern finance and monopolies. Industrial growth was mainly fueled by a surplus in resources, immigration and therefore cheap labor, and major technological advances that expanded the capabilities of various industries. As technological advances transformed production and distribution, a wave of inventions, including the typewriter, light bulb, and automobile led into new industries. Through this boom in business, leaders learned how to operate many different financial activities throughout the nation. Ultimately, they were able to become larger and the modern corporation was â€Å"born† into one of the most important roles in the future of business. These corporations seemed â€Å"new† for many people in the country, but corporations actually date back to the 16th and 17th centuries, where they were used by royalty and governments to organize exploration and possible colonization. Many businessmen and politicians had been suspicious of the corporation from the time it first emerged in the late 16th century. Unlike the partnership form of business, which dealt with a small amount of people on a personal level, the corporation separated ownership from management. In Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, he warns that because managers could not be trusted to steward â€Å"other people’s money†, â€Å"negligence and profusion† would eventually result when businesses organized as corporations. In 1811, New York became the first state that passed legislation concerning protocol and procedure for becoming a corporation, and other states eventually adapted this as well. Corporations were well suited to meet the demands of the Industrial Revolution, which generated a giant increase in business opportunities which, in hand, required massive amounts of money but â€Å"over the last 150 years the corporation has risen from relative obscurity to become the world’s dominant economic institution† (Bakan 5). â€Å"The genius of the corporation as a business form, and the reason for its remarkable rise over the last three centuries, was-and is-its capacity to combine the capital, and thus the economic power, of unlimited numbers of people† (Bakan 9). As corporations become more powerful and fuel development of large-scale industry, they affect politics. The men idolized by some and vilified by other, America’s 19th century Robber Barons were the true creators of the modern corporate era. The railroad was the first major monopoly in the United States. Since these railroads were massive undertakings, they required millions of dollars in capital investment. This was more than could be provided by relatively small group of wealthy men who invested in corporations at the turn of the century and the majority of the money was raised through the sales of stocks and bonds. With greed and corruption heavily present throughout the construction of the railroads, beginning in the 1890s, the corporation underwent a major transformation. The states of New Jersey and Delaware sought to attract valuable incorporation business to their jurisdictions by jettisoning unpopular restrictions from their corporate laws. In addition, they also repealed the rules that required businesses to incorporate only for defined purposes, to exist only for limited durations, and to only operate in certain locations. Another move consisted of loosening control on merger and acquisitions and they abolished the rule that one company could not own stock in another. Soon the rest of the country, not wanting to lose out in the competition for the incorporation business, soon followed their examples with revisions to their own laws. With flexible freedoms and powers now available, there was a large amount of incorporations by businesses. However, with all the constraints on mergers and acquisitions gone, it was only a matter of time before companies bought each other out. â€Å"1,800 corporations were consolidated into 157 between 1898 and 1904. In less than a decade the U.S. economy had been transformed from one in which individually owned enterprises competed freely among themselves into one dominated by a relatively few huge corporations, each owned by many shareholders† (Bakan 14). The era of corporate capitalism had begun with all those consolidations and mergers. With the economy dominated by a few huge corporations, we find ourselves looking at the development of monopolies, development the states started by limiting the set laws. With the growing capitalism pressuring politicians, a bizarre law was passed by the Supreme Court in 1886. â€Å"The courts had fully transformed the corporation into a â€Å"person†, complete with its own identity, separate from the actual people who were its owners and managers, like a real person, to conduct business in its own name, acquire assets, employ workers, pay taxes, and go to court. The logic of this law conceived if corporations were considered free individuals, or â€Å"persons†, corporations should be protected by the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to due process of law and equal protection of the laws, rights originally added to the constitution to protect freed slaves† (Hobsbawm 208). Trusts were becoming a problem after several years of abuse by major corporations. By the end of the 19th century, trusts used to crush competition and create monopolies throughout different industries had gotten to a point where the public demanded that there be something done. Congress ended up passing the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890. This Act has two main prov isions which apply to most of the corporations of the time. Every contract or agreement, in the form of a trust or not, or conspiracy to restraint trade in commerce is illegal and second, it would be illegal for anyone to monopolize, try to monopolize, or conspire to monopolize commerce. The Sherman Act was just the first of a series of laws aimed at controlling attempts by business firms to conspire and establish monopoly power in industry and commerce. Other acts followed when it became apparent that the Sherman Act had loopholes. Teddy Roosevelt was known as the â€Å"trust buster† because of his anti-monopoly views. Many large corporations had complete control of an entire industry and Roosevelt went in to these companies and helped to stop this type of monopoly, even managing to break up Northern Securities and J.P. Morgan. A big supporter of labor, he set up child protection laws, which were used to prevent children to work in factories and set up workman compensation, which is a payment that employers had to pay employees who ge t injured on the job. After the Great Depression occurred sometime around 1929 until the early 1940s, Roosevelt stepped in and called for Congress to help him pass his â€Å"New Deal†. â€Å"The â€Å"New Deal† was a package of regulatory reforms designed to restore economic health by, among other things, crushing the powers and freedoms of corporations† (Bakan 20). On March 9 Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act, which allowed the federal banks to be inspected. They also passed the Glass-Steagall Act, which had stringent rules for banks and provided insurance for depositors through the newly created Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Two more acts in 1933 and 1934, mandated specific regulations for the securities market, enforced by the new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several bills provided mortgage relief for farmers and homeowners and offered loans for home purchasers through. Also, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 gave federal protection in the bargaining process for workers and established a set of fair employment standards. The National Labor Relations Act guaranteed workers the right to organize and bargain through unions and the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the last major program launched by Roosevelt specified maximum hours and minimum wages for most categories of workers. A monopoly is considered an economic situation in which only a single seller or producer supplies a commodity or a service. Economic monopolies have existed throughout most of history and in modern times we still deal with their continued threat. We usually encounter monopolies when giant business firms began to emerge and dominate the economy. Usually more than one firm in the same industry grows and dominates the market resulting in oligopoly, in which the market is dominated by a few firms. A modern example is Microsoft, which was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. In 1985, Microsoft released the Windows OS, an OS with the same features of MS- DOS just with a graphical user interface added for ease of use. Windows 2.0, released in 1987, improved performance and offered a new visual appearance. In 1990 Microsoft released a more powerful version, Windows 3.0. These versions, which came preinstalled on most new personal computers, becoming the most widely used operating systems in the industry at the time. In 1993 Apple lost a copyright-infringement lawsuit against Microsoft that claimed Window s illegally copied the design of the Macintosh’s operating system. In May 1998, the Justice Department and 20 states filed broad anti-trust suits charging Microsoft with engaging in â€Å"monopolistic† conduct. They wanted to force Microsoft to offer Windows without Internet Explorer or to include Navigator, a competing browser made by Netscape. In November 2001 Microsoft announced a settlement with the Justice Department and nine of the states. Key provisions included requiring Microsoft to reveal technical information about the Windows operating system to competitors so that software applications could be compatible with Windows, while also enabling personal computer manufacturers to hide icons for activating Microsoft software applications. A computer manufacturer could therefore remove access to Internet Explorer and enable another Internet browser to be displayed on the desktop. Corporations transformed the U.S. economy through breakthroughs in technology as well as new business practices and strategies. â€Å"The early Industrial Revolution not only changed manufacturing technically but also introduced a new organization of industry. These innovations followed from the new machinery but had advantages of their own. Together, these changes constitute its economic impact† (Stearns). Americans created giant enterprises. Businesses such as Standard Oil and Carnegie Steel brought together huge stocks of natural resources and unprecedented quantities of modern machinery to mass-produce goods for domestic and international markets. In meeting these demands, American entrepreneurs pioneered the development of modern business with its large-scale production and widespread markets, first by developing the railroad industry and then by creating industrial corporations. These railroads were massive undertakings, they required millions of dollars in capital investment. This was more than could be provided by relatively small group of wealthy men who invested in corporations at the turn of the century and the majority of the money was raised through the sales of stocks and bonds. â€Å"Everything the stock market is, and was, rooted in the basic idea of capitalism. Without that idea, stocks and bonds would never have come to be. Capitalism is an â€Å"economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market† (Hobsbawn 48). In the steel industry, Carnegie developed a system known as vertical integration. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines because using independent companies cost too much and was inefficient. Through this method he was able to charge less than any of his competitors. Unlike Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business into horizontal. He followed one product through all its stages. Although, Carnegie inclined to be tough-fisted in business, he was not a monopolist and disliked monopolistic trusts. John D. Rockefeller came to dominate the oil industry. He created the first U.S. trust in 1882 by persuading the stockholders of the 40 companies associated with his to turn over their common stock to nine trustees in exchange for trust certificates. However, in 1911, the Supreme Court found that unlawful monopoly power existed in his company ordered him to dissolve it into smaller, competing companies. The development of trusts coincided with industrialization in the U.S. The trust movement was both a way to create large-scale business firms in this period and a downfall of the tremendous growth of industry. The success of the Standard Oil Company and U.S. Steel company was credited to the fact that their owners ran them with great authority. In this very competitive era, many new businesses were being formed and it took talented management to get ahead and have the companies running smoothly while making a great deal of money. As corporations expanded they affected the social outlook of the nation and brought social changes fueled by the Industrial Revolution. â€Å"In the wake of the twentieth- century merger movement, many Americans realized that corporations, now huge behemoths, threatened to overwhelm their social institutions and governments† (Bakan 17). Many people believed that corporate greed and mismanagement had caused the Great Depression. In response, business leaders embraced corporate social responsibility, believing that it was the best strategy to restore people’s faith in corporations. â€Å"New Capitalism† was the term that was used to describe the trend that softened corporations’ images with promises of good corporate citizenship and better working conditions. â€Å"By the end of WWI, some of America’s leading corporations, among them, General Electric, Eastman Kodak, National cash register, Standard Oil, and US Rubber, were busy crafting images of themselves as benevolent and socially responsible† (Bakan 18). As economic activities in many communities moved from agriculture to manufacturing, production shifted from its traditional locations in the home and the small workshop to larger and more capable factories. A great amount of the population relocated from the countryside to the towns and cities where manufacturing centers were found. The overall amount of goods and services produced expanded dramatically, and the proportion of capital invested per worker grew. Industrialization gradually changed the nature of human life for many people. For the first time in American history, more than half the country’s population lived in cities. In Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, he states that the most decisive mark of the prosperity of any country is the increase of the number of its inhabitants. On average, the population doubles in England and most other European countries around every 500 years. In America, the population doubles in about 25 years. With continued expansion of industrialization, America moves forward and advances with greater rapidity to the further acquisition of riches than any other countries. Key changes revolved around families as well, with work now farther from home, new specializations are required among some. While some women would be withdrawn from the formal labor force in order to supply domestic labor, and children were sent to school instead of being used in early industry. Outside the home, industrialization created new and unpleasant social divisions. The gap between the factory owners and the growing number of workers widened. New forms of protest, including strikes and political action developed alongside the advancement of industrialization. For years they had working long days on the farms, it’s the nature of the work that was biggest issue. Factory work tended to be monotonous and made work more dangerous. While on the farm, in the midst of the hard work, there was socializing and irregularity for the workers. Once in the shop, the workers had to deal with strict time schedules, and harsh working conditions. While wages were often low in the early years of industrialization, they ultimately improved, creating new opportunities for consumption. A small number of workers could also rise to become more highly skilled, even entering the ranks of supervisors. More substantial advancement, however, was rare. Most workers ultimately reduced their reliance on job satisfaction and sought shorter hours and higher pay instead. But life off the job did not necessarily improve rapidly. Working-class families might be tightly knit, but new tensions appeared. Many workers vented their frustrations on other family members and leisure life initially deteriorated with industrialization. Carnegie Steel, J.P. Morgan, and Standard Oil, are just some of the many corporations that rose in the late 1800’s, and were able to dramatically shape the country politically, socially, and economically and even continues to do so today. Without them, America would not be the world superpower that it currently is. The shift from and agricultural society into an industrial one may have been difficult for who lived during that era. However, by the turn of the century, industrialization had transformed commerce, business organization, the, the workplace, technology and general everyday life in America into something solid and positively profound. Now we face the challenge of deciding whether to leave the market to itself or to have the government regulate or control it. I believe that government control won’t amount to anything because of all the extra work needed. If the market was left to itself then corporations may take advantage of certain elements and monopolies may dominate the market. This best compromise would be for the government to regulate the market in a way that corporations are forced to do legitimate and legal business.

This dead Butcher… is this a fair assumption of Macbeth?

I believe that Macbeth s not a dead butcher as you do see him have a sign of guilt when he murders characters in the book. Although he is a very ambitions man resulting in consequences both for him and people around him. In the play you see Macbeth influenced and persuaded by super-natural forces, like the three witches which you see at the beginning of the book. This brings out the ambition in him and slowly turns him into a power ridden man. But at the end he turns into the loyal soldier he was at the beginning of the book, before he meets the witches. In the first act you see the loyal soldier, Macbeth meet the three witches just after over powering the Thane of Cawdor's army. This suddenly brings out the ambition in him as they say he will eventually become King. It says, â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be King here after†. Read this â€Å"The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead† Through the act in the book the readers view of Macbeth changes completely. The character who entered the stage at the beginning is, in the eyes of the audience, completely different person from the character at the end of the first act. He transforms from a good man, a loyal soldier honest to one who is prepared to kill to be king. Even before Macbeth himself appears on stage, he is discussed as a good man by the king and the king's eldest son ‘Malcolm'. They speak of Macbeth as a great soldier after his recent success in the battlefield, while in the service of the King. The King then talks to Macbeth and tells him how the Thane of Cawdor was a loyal friend to him. It is a bit ironic as you see that Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor and then stabbed in the back by him. After this you see his ambitious side come out as he writes a letter to his wife saying he will be King. This brings the woman's evil side out as she tries to take all the good in her and replace it with evil as she says, â€Å"unsex me here, and fill me from head to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.† After this the King says he will have dinner at Macbeths house which seems strange as it give them the perfect time to kill the King making a step closer to being King. That night they plan out to ill the King which they do but you see Macbeth arguing about not wanting to kill him. It says, â€Å"First, as I am his kinsman and his subject.† This means that he is my king and my guest and shouldn't kill him. Macbeth mucks the plan up though as he feels very guilty for what he has done. Fortunately his wife manages to make it seem that it was the guards fault as she had drugged them. Kind Duncan's two children Donaldbain and Lennox are very curious about this and flee to England and Wales. Further on in the play he becomes more ambitious and wants to make sure he stays King doing anything to stay there. To this he knew he had to kill his loyal friend Banquo as when he met the witches they said he would be a farther to a line of Kings. So while he was at a party he hired murderers to kill him and his son for him so he would be king. The murders were unable to kill Banquo's son but killed him. Later at the party Macbeth saw the ghost of Banquo at the party here he should have been sitting. No one else could see it as he was the only one that knew what had happened to him. The ghost is a sign of his guiltiness showing that he isn't a bad man after all. By this point Macbeth's wife died because the evilness inside her gets the better of her. At the end of the play Macduff, one of King Duncan's followers, has got an army together to try and gain power of the crown once again as he had enough of Macbeths evil ways. To the reader you see Macbeth turn back into the soldier he once was at the beginning of the book, ready to fight like a true and loyal soldier would. He fights Macduff who said just surrender but Macbeth says no I wish to fight you like a true soldier. Overall I believe that Macbeth is not a dead butcher as at the beginning at ending of the book he is a good and loyal soldier but ambition does get the better of him in the middle where he does want to become king. Not just down to him but his wife aswell. When he does kill people like the King and his loyal friend Banquo he always argues a case on why he should not kill them and then after he feel guilty for killing them by messing up plans or even seeing a ghost.

Globalization Argumentation Essay

(1, Premise) Globalization effects on economy, administrative, and geographical system of the nations in an effective manner. In today’s more challenging and competitive business era, globalization is one of the most important factors that have a direct or indirect effect on the economic, administrative, and geographical system of the nations in an effective and proper manner. There are rapid changes in the economics of the nations, due to globalization. In addition, different kinds of issues are developed or created by the globalization to the countries. Also, these are effecting the nations directly or indirectly. For example. High risk investment in other countries is considered a significant issue. (1, Conclusion) â€Å"After the globalization of the worldwide market, foreign investors faced the high risk to invest in the other nation due to the differences in administrative, geographic, economic, culture and demographic condition of the countries.†(Lynch & Gemini, 2010) (2, Premise) Globalization contributes to the improvement of technology that helped national companies. There are various technological improvements that create effective contribution in the globalization of markets and production. It is identified that the use of computers help the companies to adopt globalization and improve its market share in the global market. In computers, the use of the internet helps companies go global and add extra features to their production and operation activities. (2, Conclusion) â€Å"Through international technology, companies are also able to achieve competitive advantages over national and international competitors in an effective way.† (Mobius, 2012) (3, Premise) Globalization provides options of companies to improve their business through enter in the new country market. One improvement in technology related to change in the transportation technology helped the companies make globalization of markets  and production. The development of commercial jet aircraft and super fighters and development of ship transportation help companies simplify the trans-shipment from one mode of transport to another. (3, Conclusion) â€Å"Globalization helps companies to improve its market presence in the global market and introduce new production plants in different countries of the world to provide the right product to the right customers at the right time with the lowest cost† (Peng, 2009). (4, Premise) Globalization provides options of the companies to improve their position to attract or reach the new market and more customers. Technology is helpful for companies to generate global opportunities through attracting global customers for products and services. Changes in the telecommunication and introduction of the World Wide Web help companies connect with the global customers in an effective way and develop the opportunities in order to improve the market. There are various global marketing trends a global company needs to fulfill. The changing demand of customers, changes in advertising media and attraction for global customers are all important. In order to reach this target, global marketers need to target global advertising in order to attract global customers in an effective way. (4, Conclusion) â€Å"Through the targeting global advertising for the products and services, companies can also increase its customer base in the international market and can achieve competitive advantages over competitors in national and international market† (Shan, 2012). The first premise is an example of inductive reasoning as it is intended only to be so strong that, if the conclusion is different with premises. First premise: globalization impacts on countries economy, administrative, and geographical system, but the conclusion states differences that after the globalization, foreign investors face the high risk of investment in other countries due to the differences in countries’ administrative, geographic, economic, culture and demographic condition (Swenson, 2005). In addition, deductive argument is thought to be completely guaranteed of the premises truth, which means the conclusion is similar to the premise. Premise 2 is the example of the deductive argument as the premises and conclusion is the same, which the globalization or internationalization contributes into the improvement of technology as international technology reached of the companies that helped companies to achieve competitive advantages. References Lynch, M. & Gemini,C. (2010). Wealth: How the World’s High-Net-Worth Grow, Sustain, and Manage Their Fortunes. USA: John Wiley & Sons. Mobius, M. (2012). Passport to Profits: Why the Next Investment Windfalls Will be Found Abroad and How to Grab Your Share. USA: John Wiley & Sons. Peng, M.W. (2009). Global Business 2009. USA: Cengage Learning. Shan, W. (2012). The Legal Protection of Foreign Investment: A Comparative Study. USA: Hart Publishing Limited. Swensen, D.F. (2005). Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment. USA: Simon and Schuster.

Renewable Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Renewable Energy - Essay Example Wind power: Wind power has been a major contender as the energy source of future. Some of the economic factors hampering the growth of the wind energy are the high estate rentals for wind farms and the high capital costs of turbines and connecting to the grid. However the operational costs of the turbines are very less. Geothermal: Geothermal energy is another renewable source that can be used. The source is extremely successful in the volcanic regions of the world. The use of this energy to regulate the temperature of homes can be a viable option for replacing ACs and heaters. However, the construction of power grids based on this source is a costly affair. Biofuels: With a small modification of a car engine, vehicles can be driven by biofuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, or used or unused vegetable oil. These biofuels are cheaper than petrol, have similar performance and emit less toxic gases. However the efficiency of the process in terms of gasoline as input and ethanol as output is still less and needs significant improvement. Tidal Power: With many of the rivers drying up, the future of hydro power is going to be coming from tidal waves. The major issue facing this energy source is the high maintenance cost of the propellant turbines in the marine environment. However the return in terms of power generated is maximum for the minimum area covered in this case. Wind energy provides us with a cheap low cost abundant energy source that can be used as an alternative to our current power grids. Over the years, wind energy production prices have gone down considerably thereby making it a cheap viable renewable energy source. The cost of generating electricity from wind comprises of: Over the years, technological advances have made it possible to achieve large economies of scale, with larger turbines and plant size, more grid friendly power electronics, and cost

Neurofibtomatosis NF1 and NF2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Neurofibtomatosis NF1 and NF2 - Essay Example Thereafter, this affliction is also known as von Recklinghausen’s disease. (Von Recklinghausen, 1882). Crowe, Schull and Neel estimated that the prevalence of NF1 in the general population was 1 in 5000. Moreover, though all persons having the NF1 genes will show features of the disease, there is a large amount of variation shown in the presentation of this disease even in the same family. (Crowe, Schull and Neel, 1956). Moreover, sporadic cases are known to occur (without any family history of the disease), believed to result from germ cell mutations. (Mulvihill etal, 1990). Neurofibromatosis 2 Kantner, Eldridge, Fabricant, Allen, and Koerber found that amongst patients thought to suffer from neurofibromatosis, a certain subset of patients had propensity to develop central nervous system tumors, especially, tumors of the auditory nerves (acoustic neuromas). These patients were genetically and clinically distinct from the other neurofibromatosis patients and were subsequently identified as NF2. (Kantner, Eldridge, Fabricant, Allen, and Koerber, 1980) The prevalence of NF2 is less, estimated to be in the range of 1 in 210 000 population. (Husom, 1989.) Body Systems Affected NF1 mainly affects the skin, peripheral nerves, optic nerve, iris and long bones (e.g. those of the extremities) of the body. NF2, on the other hand, affects the central nervous system and causes the premature formation of cataract in the eyes. Characteristics of the Disease Gutman etal have summarized the features of the diseases. (Gutman, 1997). Neurofibromatosis 1 is characterized by the presence of cafe-au-lait spots, brownish colored patches on the skin. They may also display freckling in the axilla or groin. They develop tumors of the peripheral nerves called neurofibromas, which can arise in the nerve endings in the skin (cutaneous neurofibromas), peripheral nerves (nodular neurofibromas) or optic nerves (optic gliomas). Extensive tumor formation in the peripheral nerves is the most easily identifiable feature of NF1, leading to grotesque disfiguration of the face and limbs, a condition known as plexiform neurofibromatosis. The so-called Elephant Man, Mr. John Merrick is believed to be a victim of this condition. In addition, patients with NF1 may suffer from thinning of the long bones of the body. Some patients develop typical tumors in the iris of the eye called Lisch nodules. Patients with NF1 also have an increased tendency to develop other tumors like those of the adrenal gland (phaeochromcytoma), thyroid and parathyroid glands (as part of a syndrome called Multiple Endocrinal Neoplasia), small intestinal tumors and chronic myeloid leukemia. These patients often have a larger than average sized skull (macrocephaly) and are shorter in stature. Abnormalities in the functioning of the pituitary gland may lead to precocious puberty and growth hormone deficiency. They may also have learning disabilities. Other problems associated more frequently with this condition are epilepsy, headaches and deafness. The characteristic feature of NF2 is bilateral vestibular schwannomas or acoustic neuromas (tumors of the 8th cranial nerve – the auditory nerve). As a result, these patients present with gradual, progressive hearing loss. Other central nervous s

Aspects of contract and negligence for business Assignment - 1

Aspects of contract and negligence for business - Assignment Example Chen-Wishart (2012), explains that the process of making and an offer and its acceptance follows the â€Å"mirror image† rule. This implies that the other party accepts the terms of the contract just as stipulated in the offer. Consideration is yet another element of a contract that refers to a substance of value the two parties promise to exchange in the course of the transaction. The consideration validates the existence of a contract. Also known as, the â€Å"meeting of the minds† mutuality refers to the consensus the two parties must have about the terms of the contract. Before creating a legally binding agreement, the two parties must understand and agree to the unique terms of the contract. The terms are vital aspects of a contract since they influence the entire process of undertaking the activity. The two parties must, therefore, understand the terms of the offer. At the acceptance stage, the second party promises to undertake the activity as stipulated in the terms. The offering party, on the other hand, promises not to change the original terms since the contract laws bar changing such terms unless the two parties agree to. This makes mutuality an important feature in contracts (Frey & Frey 2001). The terms that Joe and Dilon set for their contract have some aspects of ambiguity. As explained earlier, in the creation of a contract the terms must always follow the mirror image rule. The mirror image rule dictates that the offer and the acceptance must never vary the terms of the contract. In the case, Dilon’s terms dictate that Joe must sell the products at the original quoted price. After filling the form, which indicated his acceptance of the offer, Joe provides his terms in which he indicates that the prices may increase. Such is a bargain, and the terms of the contract between the two parties are ambiguous. Despite the ambiguity between Joe and Dilon, the two form a legally binding contract. Joe must make the running

Principles of Economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Principles of Economics - Assignment Example This is because one will take more time looking for a parking space and the congestion in the parking area will create inconveniences. The opportunity cost is the cost of time taken to park that the students have to pay instead of engaging in other profitable activities. d) The opportunity cost of students with no employment is less than that of students with jobs earning 15 per hour. The students with no jobs are not forgoing any money as they take more time to park their cars as compared to before the price was lowered. To the contrary, those with jobs have to forgo the amount of cash they would have received if they worked those hours. b) The opportunity cost of 100 bats is 40 rackets that will be forgone if the country decides to add 100 bats more. Adding 100 bats will incorporate the resources that are usually used to produce the 40 rackets. The current resources can not be able to cater for the addition of 100 bats without decreasing the amount of rackets. Therefore, the rackets have to be produced less by 40. c) If the athletic country produces 300 bats and 300 rackets, the opportunity cost of additional 100 bats is 100 rackets. This is what is sacrificed to be able to produce the extra 100 bats. The resources will be reallocated to be used to produce the additional 100 bats. The resources have to be reallocated since they cannot cater for the additional bats. d) The additional production of 100 bats in part c will cause a greater trade off than the additional production of 100 bats in part b. This is because the opportunity cost increases as the goods produced increases. In b, 200 bats will be produced, while in c 400 bats will be produced. The gradient of the PPF becomes steeper as more bats are produced, showing a greater sacrifice in terms of rackets forgone. e) Suppose Athletic Country produces 200 bats and 200 rackets, 200

Drug and crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Drug and crime - Essay Example These individuals consider as normal vices what their counterparts in the normal society consider as abomination. After locating them and doing the study, it is impossible for a researcher to know if the data from the sample is representative of all the parameters of the population. This is because the official numbers of the people in the drug related issues is unknown (Tanneeru 2011). There are various methods of collecting data related to drug manufacture, distribution, usage and abuse activity as explained by Coomber (1997). First, the researcher may collect data from official records e.g. police reports and treatment records. However, these data sources have their limitations, mostly due to the tendency of the hidden population to keep matters to themselves. For instance, they do not report criminal activity or conflicts among members and, therefore, data collected from police reports do not reflect the real situation, only accounting for few of the cases of drug use and drug related crimes. One outstanding characteristic of the data from police and that collected from treatment records is that the information only covers drug use cases that cause disruption of normal social function and not mild or non-chronic drug users. In addition, collecting treatment data may compromise the profession and ethical codes that ensure patient-doctor confidentiality. Another source of data on drug use is surveys and questionnaires, where researchers find the sample of interest and administer questionnaires among other primary data collection measures. This method has the advantage of the possibility of many people participating in the study, though it is also tedious and time-consuming. Since most drug users keep a low profile and hardly participate in public life, it is difficult to identify and impossible to know the total number of drug users. Therefore, data collected this way may not be representative of the drug-using population since researchers

The Role Of The Catholic Religious Education Specialist Teacher Article

The Role Of The Catholic Religious Education Specialist Teacher - Article Example Religious education encompasses various areas such as evangelisation, catechesis, giving witness, introduction to church, prayer, experience of faith, and knowledge of other faiths. At the same time, the Religious Education specialist teacher’s duties need to be performed on the basis of what the Catholic church teaches; what the government states: the curriculum for excellence; and what schools expect from them in the context of any extracurricular duties which are not expected of other teachers in the school. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the Catholic Religious Education (RE) specialist teacher, the various areas of religious education, and the influence on the RE’s role by the Church, the government and the school. Religious teaching can be understood as a ministry with a professional dimension (Cook & Hudson, 2006). Catholic educators need to think and act sentire cum ecclesia which refers to the ideal form of thinking and feeling with the church on the basis of individuals’ identity as Catholics. ... ng to Cook & Hudson (2006: 399), assessment of religious teaching as a profession can be based on a framework composed of the following characteristics: "essential service to society, motivation by a call to serve, special knowledge and skills, specialized and advanced university training, public trust and status, code of ethics and performance standards, and professional organization".Religious Education helps in students' development of the self, socially, morally and spiritually (SCAA, 1994). Research conducted by Sikes & Everington (2001) indicates that a religious education teacher's life history plays a vital part in determining their teaching skills and approach to work. Further, "the quality, range and flexibility of teachers' classroom work are closely tied up with their professional growth - with the way they develop as people and as professionals" (Hargreaves, 1994: xi). This evidence would be useful in screening potential candidates for training as RE specialist teachers, by addressing negative identities unsuitable to carry out the important work. Evangelisation and Catechesis Ecumenism is the essential task of the whole Church to bring the Gospel to the entire world. Ecumenism and mission, evangelisation and Church community converge in a common witness to the same God (Houtepen, 1998). The Church's evangelistic mission is expected to be carried forward by the RE instructor by imparting the Faith to all students in the classroom, including those students who do not share the Christian faith, in the interests of sharing the wisdom and benefits of the Catholic religion (Francis et al, 1996). Teachings of the Catholic Church are mainly through catechesis. Bishop O' Donoghue (2008) believes that the key element or essence of the aims of a

Corporate social responsibility and customer satisfaction in the Dissertation

Corporate social responsibility and customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry - Dissertation Example Business operations matching with the sustainability standards has turn out to be a significant issue for organizations and their stakeholders on a global level and is today the part of conventional business framework. Well-known as CSR, the concept requires a principled and dependable position in business operations to take account of the community’s well-being. Idea for a novel trade framework combining the ethics and business, lucidity, the surrounding, stakeholders and society are now widespread, needing dialog between society, government regulators and businesses. The significance of CSR within the travel and tourism sector has grown, especially, in the prevailing years along with the ecological issues of climate change, depletion of natural resources, degradation, fair trade, and human rights issues (Sheldon and Sun-Young, 2011).From the present study the tourism sector can gain relevant insight about the latest trends of the hospitality industry and thus they can formul ate their upcoming strategies keeping in mind the needs and wants of the consumers. On the other hand the consumers who wish to avail such services can get to know about the corporate social responsibility of this sector and can also get access to other relevant information. Moreover this study would prove to be helpful for the stakeholders related to the industry who will get an idea about the future prospect of the industry and accordingly they would plan their investments into the sector. Research Aim The main aim of the current study is to explore the significance of Corporate Social Responsibility within the industry. Research Objectives The various objectives of the study are listed below- 1. To explore the impact of CSR on hospitality organizations and customer satisfaction 2. To analyse how hotel uses the CSR as a marketing tool 3. To investigate the barriers to CSR in hotels 4. To suggest recommendations for hotels regarding their CSR practices Initial Review of Relevant Li terature Definition of CSR The term Corporate Social Responsibility represents a management notion whereby the firms combine the environmental and social aspects within their business activities and dealings with their shareholders and investors. It implies a scenario by the means of which the firm gains a balance between the environmental, social and economic necessity whilst at the same time meets the expectations of the stakeholders and shareholders (United Nations Industrial Development Organization, n.d.). The concept has received growing attention during the earlier decades, both amongst the academic fiction and practioners. The initial focus of the firms was on the â€Å"social† duties and responsibilities for instance community based programs, paying fair salary to the employees. However a recent inclusion to this concept is the responsibility towards the environment for instance the elimination of the carbon-dioxide emissions from the surrounding. The concept of â₠¬Å"environmental CSR† has become an essential area of CSR and acts as an extremely important element in the corporate world (FLAMMER, 2013). According to the

The opportunities for Amazing Ideas to establish and launch its Assignment

The opportunities for Amazing Ideas to establish and launch its Transition Windows product in the Australian market - Assignment Example There are opportunities that exist for the company to pursue in the Australian market given its limited strengths. Recommendations These will be founded on facts fathered during the research process on whether the company should go ahead and launch its product-transition windows and make its entrance in the Australian market. Table of Contents Table of Contents 4 Introduction 5 2. Phase one report 5 B. Company mission Statement 5 C. Amazing ideas Strategies 6 D. Industry analysis 6 E. Target Market Profile 6 F. Product Profile 7 G. Country Readiness 7 H. SWOT Analysis 7 3. Phase two report 8 A. Place (Location) 8 B. Macro-level screening 9 C. Indicators of Market Accessibility 9 D. Micro-Level Criteria Screening 10 E. Phase II Conclusions and Recommendation 10 A. Competitive Analysis 11 C. Market entry 11 5. Entry mode 11 6. Market Segmentation 12 7. Promotion 13 8. Summary conclusion and Recommendations 13 Introduction The purpose of this document is to present a study of the opport unities for Amazing Ideas to establish and launch its Transition Windows product in the Australian market. This research process provided an opportunity to prepare a thorough analysis of Amazing Ideas and its product- Transition Windows, in order to present a detailed report on opportunities available in the Australian market. This document includes background information that is developed with the assistance of a SWOT analysis. Using this analysis, both market and sales potentials in Australia were studied resulting into the development of entry strategies and marketing plans with conclusions and recommendations for pursuing this wonderful opportunity in Australia (Stapleton,1997)2. 2. Phase one...This document includes background information that is developed with the assistance of a SWOT analysis. Using this analysis, both market and sales potentials in Australia were studied resulting into the development of entry strategies and marketing plans with conclusions and recommendatio ns for pursuing this wonderful opportunity in Australia (Stapleton,1997) . 2. Phase one report The objective of this phase is to conduct an in-depth situation analysis to establish a basis to assist in determining the company’s opportunities to compete in the market. Here is the scenario. A. Company Background Amazing Ideas a company that is to be headquartered in Australia, is eyeing to venture into the Australian market with its new product, Transition window. This company was established by students from the Swinburne University of Technology in the first year of marketing tutorial class. During this session the students came up with idea of transition windows with hopes of launching their invention which holds a considerable appeal to a potential Australian Market.

Cultural Assessment - Sweden Essay Example for Free

Cultural Assessment Sweden Essay Culture is a dynamic structure of behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, habits, beliefs, customs, languages, rituals, ceremonies, and practices that are unique to a particular group of people. I see great value in learning about different cultures and about cultural diversity, including a broader perspective of others, enhanced problem-solving ability and creativity, and potential improved productivity in my future workplaces. For this assignment, I have chosen to do a cultural assessment of the Swedish Culture. Doing so has broadened my understanding of the Sweden’s cultural perspectives and will help in bridging cultural gaps with future Swedish clients. I hope this will help me become a more culturally competent nurse and help me in providing optimal, global healthcare in a society which is growing more and more culturally/ethnically diverse. I know first-hand that variation does occur within each cultural group, and there is a tendency to assume that all members of an identified group are the same. Sweden, a country that once reflected only a single or perhaps a few ethnic groups now comprises more than 100 different ethnic groups so for the purposes of this paper, I will write about the Swedish culture as a whole. Sweden is a country on the Scandinavian peninsula in Northern Europe, with it’s capital being Stockholm. It is fourth in size among the European counties, with about 15% of its total area situated north of the Arctic Circle. You would think that the weather in Sweden would be colder year long due to it’s longitude but the average Stockholm’s average temperature is 20-65 degrees Fahrenheit year round. Sweden has a total population of about 9. 4 million people as of 2009 with the majority of residents living in urban areas. Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm, had a population of 1,697,000 in 2005. From 1865 to 1930, nearly 1,400,000 Swedes, emigrated; over 80% went to the United States, and about 15% to other close by countries. This heavy migration ended in the mid-1900s when resource development in Sweden started to keep pace with population growth. Since the early 1970s, there has been a flood of immigration to Sweden, mostly due to refugee migration and family reunification from countries in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. As far as cultural makeup, the Swedes are primarily Finish, Scandinavians or of German origin. The remaining population is comprised of immigrants, including Danes, Poles, Iraqis, Iranians, Norwegians, Greeks, and Turks. Swedish is the national language in Sweden. It consists of the same letters of the English alphabet in addition to a, a, and o. Many Swedes speak and understand English and German, and to a lesser extent, Finnish. English has been a compulsory subject for all Swedish students since the late 1940s. Swedens high-quality scientific, communication and technological development is renowned throughout the world. The World Economic Forum 2009–2010 competitiveness index ranks Sweden the 4th most competitive economy in the world. Three of Swedens largest industrial corporations are engineering companies: L. M. Ericsson, Volvo, and SAAB-Scania. Ericsson, one of the largest telecom companies in the world was started by Lars Ericsson of Sweden. Technology is prevalent all over Sweden. Swedes are accustomed to communicating through the same technology that is available in the United States. Swedes communicate via. cell phones, internet, media, and print. As far as family roles and organization within Swedish culture, human rights and equality are deeply respected in Sweden. Sweden is one of the most egalitarian societies in the world. Family life is important in typical Swedish families, but family structure is diverse and offers differing lifestyles and beliefs from one family to the next. In a typical family, both parents work. Household chores are usually democratically divided among Swedish family members, regardless of traditional female and male roles and age. Swedish houses tend to be small and tidy. Mutual respect between children and adults is nurtured at an early age. More than 5 percent of the Swedish population are aged 80 or over. Many elderly people in Sweden are in good health and lead active lives. Most live in their own homes by choice, and can do so thanks to public support in the form of home meal delivery, help with cleaning and shopping, transportation and healthcare when needed. Health and social care for the elderly constitutes an important part of Swedish welfare policy. Most elderly care is funded by municipal taxes and government grants. Sweden invests more of its GDP in caring for its elderly than any other country in the world. All Swedish residents are entitled to a guaranteed minimum pension from the age of 65, the standard retirement age in Sweden. In the Swedish healthcare system, responsibility for health and medical care is shared by the central government, county councils and municipalities. Sweden is divided into 290 municipalities, 18 county councils and two regions. Around 90 percent of the Swedish county councils’ work involves healthcare, but they are also involved in other areas, such as culture and infrastructure. Responsibility for providing healthcare is decentralized to the county councils. I learned that county councils are political bodies whose representatives are elected by their residents every four years. Every county council must provide the population with -quality health and medical care, and work toward promoting good health for the entire population. County councils are also responsible for dental care for local residents up to the age of 20. Swedish people have free choice in health care meaning they can obtain care in any of the 60 hospitals in Sweden that provide specialist care, with emergency services 24 hours a day. Eight of these are regional hospitals where highly specialized care is offered and where most teaching and research is based. What’s great is everyone in Sweden has equal access to healthcare services; The Swedish healthcare system is taxpayer-funded. According to the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control, a Swedish government expert agency, Sweden is relatively well protected from the spread of communicable diseases. Good hygienic conditions prevail among Swedish society and public health is well developed. Medical progress and preventative measures protect the Swedish population from infections that, in other countries of the world, may cause large scale disasters. Sweden continues to vaccinate, trace infections, fight outbreaks, and engage in research on diseases. Sweden as a whole, maintains a high level of preparedness in order to prevent disease, and avian influenza from gaining a foothold in Sweden. Life expectancy in Sweden continues to rise. In 2008, it was 79 years for men and 83 years for women. Sweden along with Italy has Europe’s largest elderly population as a proportion of the national total. According to www. sweden. se, Sweden’s healthcare system performs well in comparison with other countries at a similar level of development.

Ready To Eat Foods English Language Essay

Ready To Eat Foods English Language Essay Street food, which is undoubtedly an essential part of people life, is widely known as ready-to-eat foods and beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors and hawker especially in streets and other similar public places (FAO 1989 cited in Alizon 1996). Differently, Alizon defines street food as an extremely heterogeneous food category, encompassing meals, drinks and snack (1996). It cannot be denied that street food has deep impacts on eating habit of many people. In fact, a study from the FAO (2007) shows that there are approximately 2.5 billion people world-wide eating street food every day; in Bangkok, street food makes up for 40 percent in total nutrition intake of the resident. Additionally, researches indicate that it also plays a substantial socio-economy role in the employment potential. The Equity Policy Center notes that the street food trade consists 6 percent of the total labor force in Zinguinchor, Senegal and Manikganj, Bangladesh to 15 percent and 25 percent in Iloil Cit y, the Philippines, and Bogor, Indonesia, respectively (Cohen 1985 cited in Alizon 1996). Thanks to many benefits, the development of street is continuously on the rise. On the other hand, the question of whether or not street food is completely good remains controversial. Therefore, this paper, with a view to helping us have deeper knowledge about street food, will discuss its development, characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. 2. Discussion of findings 2.1 The development From the ancient time, street food was considered as a vital part of people life. There is no information suggesting the exact time when the street food appears, however, it is supposed to have appeared very early in the human history. A traveling Florentine reported in the late 1300s that in Cairo, people carried picnic cloths made of raw hide to spread on the streets and eat their meals of lamb kebabs, rice and fritters that they had purchased from street vendors. (Wikipedia) Today, like many other types of services for daily life, street food has been developed fast and be loved by billion people throughout the world. The FAO points out that the increased popularity of street food is seemed to be closely linked with the change in the lifestyle and family structure (2013). In fact, in such a modern life as nowadays, people find it difficult to have enough time to relax themselves, let alone cook and enjoy meals together regularly; therefore, many of them see street food as a perfect substitution food. As a result, the demand of street food becomes higher. Street food can be found in every part of the world, particularly in crowed cities. Look into the actual state; many people are eating street food on a regular basis and even seeing it as an indispensable part of daily life. For instant, basing on the survey did by the Nutrition Center of Ho Chi Minh city, there are over 95.5% people are utilizing street food; 51% eating street food every day and 82% using street food for breakfast (Nguyen 2003).On the other hand, thanks to the rising prevalence of street food, the street food trade also tends to be more common. There is a big number of people who are earning their life by selling street food. Specifically, Alizon (1996) mentions an estimation of EPOC indicating that in Bogor, there are approximately 18,000 vendors in a city of about 250,000; or in a smaller area like Hoankiem district, there are over 2,000 vendors (Lam 2008). With a numerous people taking part in, street food trade naturally brings a giant profit. Henrilyto (2012) s tates that the annual sale from selling food on the street in Borgor, Indonesia amount to $67 million and it is 2.2 billion in Malaysia. Obviously, street food is gradually developing and showing its impacts on aspects of our life. 2.2 The characteristics As already mentioned, street food is generally a type of fast food, which is sold popularly on the street and includes a variety of materials. Street food is more affordable, convenient and competitive in comparison with others types of food (Alizon 1996). Commonly, street food is cooked on the street and only when being offered, does the seller start to prepare; therefore, almost street food is hot and keep its best flavors. Talk about the features of street food, Dao (2008) affirms that street food is suitable for every age group, both the young and the old like eating street food. However, he also cites the hidden danger of street food for people. It is obvious that street food can be seen widely in many places, however, in each area, it has a distinct attraction. It is totally acceptable to understand that there are a plenty of types of food sold on the street and different places bring different flavors of street foods. For example, while street food in Vietnam is described as fresh and lighter than many of the cuisines in the area, the street food of Thailand is fiery and pungent with shrimp paste and fish sauce (Dorling 2011).Furthermore, to make a variety of meals, vendors often process food in a numerous ways like roasted, steamed, boiled and many others way. A study by the EPOC demonstrates that in Bogor only, a list of popular street food consists of about 300 items with majority of traditional meals and drinks (Chapman 1894 cited in Alizon 1996). With a big number of meals like this, Alizon (1996) suggests that street foods can be classified into three main types: by meal, by number and type of ingredients, and by lev el and type of processing. Clearly, the variation is an important factor; which attracts billion people each year. Not only is street food diverse in list of meals, but it also being sold in a various places. Dao (2008) suggested that the place of selling street food can be divided into five groups: selling food on transports, selling in public spaces, selling in a small house, selling in restaurant or hotel and the last is food sold in festival. In fact, street food is mostly sold in some crowed and moveable places like markets and shopping areas, commercial districts, outside schools and hospitals, residential suburbs, factories, and construction sites (Alizon 1996). Visibly, street food is sold and produced under a very simple infrastructure. 3.3The advantages and disadvantages Street food likes many others problems always having two faces: negative and positive The street food is now attracting more and more people due to many obvious benefits, namely, its low cost, convenience and its significance with some social issues. It is same in everywhere that the price of street food seems to be the least expensive in all kinds of food. Talk about the advantages of street food, Dao (2008) highlighted that street food is suitable with a majority of people because of the low price. Moreover, he also mentions that street food can satisfy many different hobbies of customers thanks to the diversity in the category. Besides the benefits above, street food also plays a meaningful role in society nowadays. Street food is expected to be a good way to introduce local culture, which attracts millions visitors each year. For instant, in the Philippines, street food is not just a plentiful source of food; it also is a fundamental part of the tradition and landscape (Henrylito 2012).It takes for granted that street food brings visitors the deep impression of lifestyle and custom in each region. Additionally, street food is considered as a potential market, which can bring a big income and create jobs for the unemployed; especially the women in urban area, whose job is usually unstable. FAO(1989) studies finds a high rate of participation of women in street food trade in some South American countries; for instant, in Colombia, 59 percent of vendors were women, and, in Peru, 64 percent (cited in Alizon,1996). However, street food can bring people some negative effects. According to Alizon (1996), the safety of street foods seems to be a major consideration, which is now under the cloud of suspicion of many people. In fact, almost food are prepared and processed under bad sanitary facilities, moreover, as mentioned before, street food is usually sold on the road or a very simple places. Therefore, street food itself carries a high risk of disease. Henrylito (2012) states that: According to experts, all street food, cooked or raw, can cause gastroenteritis, typhoid and hepatitis, depending on the bacteria or viral infection they contain. Like many other countries, street food in Vietnam develops fast; however, the safe food is one of most serious problem that Vietnam is facing to. Studies actually show that there is a high proportion of contaminated food in Vietnam. Specifically, currently up to 98% of the street food stores do not meet safety standards prescribed by the Ministry of Health (Dai 2010).According to Tran (2008), director of the National Food Safety and Hygiene, states that there are over 55 cases of poisoning food caused by street food to more than 1,300 deaths in the last three years. Thus, street food safe, which is really hard on solving, is an alarming issues not only in Vietnam, but also in many others countries throughout the world. 4. Conclusion All the findings above indicate that the increased commonness of street food is still going on in almost every part throughout the world. Undoubtedly, street food not only contributes an important part in daily diet of billion people, but it also plays a vital role in socio-economic issues in lots of areas. In contrast, street food can brings people negative effects, specifically affects people health seriously. There is a fact that the place of selling food is very simple and uncontrollable, moreover, the facilities served for processing food is also under very bad condition. Therefore, street food is always at high risk of diseases. Thus, it cannot be denied that people can take many advantages of street food. However, health is obviously the most important issue so it is necessary to consider carefully about where we should eat street food to ensure a good health. REFERENCES LIST: Alizon, Ph.D.1996, Street food in developing countries: The potential for micronutrient fortification, viewed 5 March 2013 http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACJ872.pdf Chapman 1894 cited in Alizon Draper, Ph.D.1996, Street food in developing countries :The potential for micronutrient fortification, viewed 5 March 2013, http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACJ872.pdf Cohen 1985 cited in Alizon Draper, Ph.D.1996, Street food in developing countries :The potential for micronutrient fortification, viewed 5 March 2013, http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACJ872.pdf Dai, D. 2010, 98% cÆ ¡ sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã… ¸ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c ăn Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ng phà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ khà ´ng Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡t chuà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ©n và ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ sinh, viewed 5 March 2013, http://www.tin247.com/98_co_so_thuc_an_duong_pho_khong_dat_chuan_ve_sinh-10- 21574351.html Dao, M.T.2008, Ve sinh an toan thuc pham thuc an duong pho cho nguoi tieu dung, viewed 5 March 2013, http://www.medinet.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/data/news/2008/4/5397/vesinhantoanthucpham.htm Dorling, K.2011, Street food, viewed 5 March 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_food Food and Agriculture Organization 1989,A summary of FAO studies and other activities relating to street cited in Alizon Draper ,Ph.D.1996, Street food in developing countries :The potential for micronutrient fortification, viewed 5 March 2013, http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACJ872.pdf Food and Agriculture Organization 2007,Street food, viewed 5 March 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_food Food and Agriculture Organization 2013, Food processing and street food, viewed 5 March 2013, http://www.fao.org/fcit/food-processing/en/ Henrilyto, D.T.2012, Street food: to eat or not to eat, viewed 5 March 2013, http://www.sunstar.com.ph/weekend-davao/street-food-eat-or-not-eat Lam, Q.H.2008, Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  xuà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥t cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥m bà ¡n hà  ng rong trà ªn hà ¨ phà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Hà   Nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i ,viewed 5 March 2013, http://www.baomoi.com/De-xuat-cam-ban-hang-rong-tren-he-pho-Ha-Noi/144/1257108.epi Nguyen, L. 2003, Hià ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™m hoà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡ tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ « thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c ăn Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ng phà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ: Cà ³ nà ªn cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥p phà ©p bà ¡n hà  ng?, viewed 5 March 2013, http://dddn.com.vn/38810cat104/hiem-hoa-tu-thuc-an-duong-pho-co-nen-cap-phep-ban-hang.htm Street food, viewed 5 March 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_food Tran, D. 2008, Thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c ăn Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ng phà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœi nguy thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i khuà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ©n tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £! , viewed 5 March 2013, http://www.tin247.com/thuc_an_duong_pho_moi_nguy_thoi_khuan_ta%21-1-6640.html

In Seal Team Six English Literature Essay

In Seal Team Six English Literature Essay Herbert Spencer, a renowned philosopher once said, Life is the continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations Herbert Spencer Quotes. Throughout his life, Wasdin was influenced by the experiences of his childhood, during which he was harshly abused by his stepfather. He decided to enlist after graduating from college, and went on to become a member of SEAL Team Six, an anti-terrorist group known for taking down Osama Bin Laden and various other terrorist leaders. His novel, SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of An Elite Navy Seal Sniper, describes his journey from a poor beginning in an impoverished neighborhood to a distinguished position in the army, and brings the reader through his journey to success. During his narration, he constantly reminds the reader of how experiencing abuse as a child helped him endure hardships and succeed. Howard E. Wasdin encountered many struggles throughout his life, but he was able to became one of the worlds most renowned and deadliest soldie rs, as evidenced and shown through his achievements in his life and his overcoming of abuse. Howard E. Wasdin was born Howard E. Wilbanks on November 8, 1961 in the quiet town of Screven, Georgia. His biological father ran away when Wasdin was a few months old, and his mother engaged and married another man, Leon Wasdin. Howard was born premature, but the clinic was so poor that it didnt have an incubator. Millie Kirkman, Wasdins mother, carried him home in a shoe box, and, for a bed, pulled out a drawer from one of the dressers and put blankets in it. As a child, I learned to endure forces beyond my control. My mother had me when she was sixteen years old (Wasdin 25). From an early age, Wasdin learned to adapt and live with a changing situation, an important aspect of a soldier. Belonging to a poor family did not help the fact that he was abused. The earliest memory I have of my childhood is when I was four years old awakened in the middle of the night by a huge man reeking of liquor. He snatched me out of the top bunk, questioning me about why Id done something wrong that day. Then he slapped me around, hitting me in the face, to the point where I could taste my own blood (Wasdin 26). Abuse heavily impacted Wasdin, and it stayed with him for the rest of his life. By the time he was five, Wasdin attempted to run away, but was later returned by the police a night later. On the night of his return, Wasdin was nearly beaten to death by Leon, his stepfather. Leon also happened to be a truck driver, and owned pecan trees in the yard of his house. It was Howards responsibility to pick up the pecans off the driveway when Leon came home, and if he heard any pecans pop under his wheels, that was my ass. Didnt matter if any had fallen since I picked them up. It was my fault for not showing due diligence (Wadin 28). In high school, Wasdin participated in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), and he discovered an interest in the military. He was fascinated with the discipline, structure, and nice uniform, and was always the outstanding cadet. It was a nice break from abuse, and after graduating from Cumberland Community College, he enlisted. On November 6, 1983, he reported to the Naval Training Center in Orlando, Florida for three months of basic training, and after basic training, Wasdin committed to six weeks of aircrew training and twelve weeks of search and rescue training at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. Then, he joined the Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Seven as an antisubmarine warfare operator and rescue swimmer. One of Wasdins first encounters with war was when his helicopter crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while investigating a Russian nuclear submarine that had sunk while sailing off the coast of Bermuda. Wasdin jumped to action, rescuing the pilot and f ellow comrades who had been knocked unconscious by the impact and calling in another helicopter for exfiltration. He was commended for his efforts and invited to join SEAL training, which he completed a year later. At first, Wasdin was assigned to SEAL Team Two, a more basic group, before being promoted to SEAL Team Six. Before being allowed to undergo training for becoming a navy SEAL on Team Six, Wasdin fought in Operation Desert Storm, a conflict between the United States and Iraq that would last for a year, and along with his SEAL Team Two, he took control of a cargo ship disguised under an Egyptian flag that was laying mines in the Red Sea. Also, he destroyed undetonated missiles in enemy territory to make sure they did not get the invaluable technology, and helped Iraqi refugees by transporting food and water. After the operation, Wasdin tried applying for a position on the SEAL teams, and he wrote, If I hadnt been a player in Desert Storm, I probably wouldve had to wait anoth er two and a half years (Wasdin 146). During his occupation as a SEAL Team Six operative, he was wounded in the Battle of Mogadishu, and discharged from the army shortly after. He developed neck problems from his wounds, and after seeing a chiropractor, he was completely cured without any medicine. Wasdin later went on to study at a chiropractic college and open his own chiropractic clinic. (Gray 2) In Seal Team Six: Memoirs of An Elite Navy Seal Sniper, Wasdin brings the reader through most of his life, from him humble beginnings as an abused child to his great achievements as a SEAL warrior, with a majority of the book focused on his training and life during war. The fourth week of basic SEAL training is aptly nicknamed Hell Week, because trainees have died from being exhausted or overworked, training for five days and five nights on four hours of sleep total. Howard records a certain event during Hell Week: Instructor Stoneclam said, Everybody out of the water! We crawled out of the water and on to the floating steel pier. He made us strip naked and lay down. Mother Nature had prepared the pier by blowing cool wind across it. Then the instructors sprayed us with cold water. Our muscles contracted wildly. The spasms were uncontrollable. Mike said, Sorry man. I gotta pee. Its okay man. Pee here. He urinated on my hands. Oh, thanks, buddy. Most people think its just gross theyv e obviously never been really cold (Wasdin 69). Hell Week always starts late at night on a Sunday, and ends at dawn of Saturday. By Thursday night of Hell Week, the trainees only had three to four hours of total sleep since Sunday, and the dream world started to mix with the real world. While enjoying a meal on Thursday morning of Hell week, an instructor said to Wasdin, You know, Wasdin, I want to you take this butter knife, go over there, and kill that deer in the corner (Wasdin 72). He looked over, and sure enough, a buck stood still in the chow hall. He crept up to the deer and pounced, only to discover it was the tray table. It was common for an instructor to play a trick like this, as it was their job to break the trainees and find their weaknesses. After completing SEAL training, Wasdin went directly to airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He ridiculed the other students at the training, because he felt that coming from SEAL training, airborne training was very easy. W asdin writes, Some of the soldiers talked as if the training were the hardest thing in the world. They thought they were becoming part of some elite fighting force (Wasdin 89). Then, he trained alongside Swedish Special Forces while moving on to winter warfare training in Scotland. About a year after he finished winter warfare training, he participated in Operation Desert Storm, and after Desert Storm, he applied for a spot on SEAL Team Six, and was accepted. However, the worst of his battles was yet to come. The Battle of Mogadishu, or Black Hawk Down, took place on October 3, 1993, and was one of the bloodiest battles of the twenty-first century for the United States. The goal was to hunt down Somalian warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, but Wasdin and his comrades were ambushed while pursuing him. In spite of one hundred eighty soldiers fighting against nearly three thousand of Aidids forces, American forces managed to capture several high value targets. However, Wasdin was shot by a Somali militant at close range, nearly blowing his right leg off. After the battle, Wasdin was airlifted to the armys Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States. Upon his arrival, the doctors took him straight to surgery. At first, Wasdin refused to take the general anesthetic, because he was afraid of losing his leg to surgery, but the surgeon eventually gave him an epidural, which numbed him from the waist down. Uncle Earl, from his wifes family, came to visit Wa sdin after the surgery, and was appalled at the stark conditions at the hospital. Wasdin was lying in his own excrement, and was filthy all over. After the epidural, he lost control of his bladder, and there was still dried blood caked on his body from the battle. Maybe the hospital had been too busy to perform proper patient care due to the sudden influx of wounded soldiers from the battle, but after a brief discussion, Earl got the staff to clean Wasdin and replace his bed sheets. Nonetheless, Wasdin contracted a staph infection from the hospital stay, and nearly died. He managed to fully recover, but still had an unexplained wracking pain in his neck. He assumed the pain was some lasting effect from the infection, but after a few visits to a doctor, he discovered that the pain originated from adjusting for his gunshot wound by changing his gait. Wasdin compared his body to a house: If the basement tilts to the right and sinks a little, the roof follows except the necks pulls the opposite way (Wasdin 287). Eventually, a friend recommended a chiropractor to him, and after a few appointments, he was completely rid of the neck pain. This particular event inspired him to pursue an education in chiropractic, and he later graduated with honors as a doctor of chiropractic on September 24, 2009 from Life University in Georgia. Currently, Wasdin runs a chiropractic clinic in Jessup, Georgia. (Why I became a Chiropractor) In his novel, Wasdin revealed a lot of information about his own life. He took the reader through the grueling weeks of SEAL training, and led the reader through several significant military operations, including Operation Desert Storm, the Battle of Mogadishu, and investigating Soviet Submarine K-219. He also goes into detail about suffering PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) after being discharged. Wasdin writes, I suffered the withdrawal symptoms of being cut off from the camaraderie. I was in culture shock, too. People around town could talk to me about their lives, but I couldnt talk to them about mine (Wasdin 272). Moreover, he talked about how he was motivated to become a chiropractor: After all the neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, and other doctors, a chiropractor gave me back my quality of life, (Wasdin 293) referring to how only the chiropractor was effective in treating Wasdins pain. Wasdin described his childhood and its later influence on his life. In his novel, he compared his kinfolk to a lion pride, or family. He comments, When a lion acquires a lioness with cubs, he kills them. Leon didnt kill me, but anything that was not done exactly right, I paid for (Wasdin 27). If the chores were not done correctly by the time Leon came home, Wasdin was beaten. If the pecans were not completely removed from the driveway when Leon came home, Wasdin was beaten. If the incorrect number of produce was brought home from the market, Wasdin was beaten. Although Wasdin lived an unfortunate childhood, this helped prepare him both mentally and physically for his military career. Child abuse is an issue prevalent throughout the world, and it is not a simple matter. As Giardino, a doctorate in pediatrics writes, It is impossible and inadvisable to consider physical abuse of a child as an isolated incident with one cause and one effect. The ecological model of human development and interaction is generally regarded as an ideal conceptual framework à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ leading to the nonaccidental injury or physical abuse of the child. While the relationshop between the amount of stress in an environment and the likelihood of abuse is not completely understood, there is data that suggests that the likelihood of abuse tends to increase when stress increases. Also, some caregivers can handle stress better than others, as evident with Leon, who could clearly not manage his temper. Leon and Wasdins mother both came from the poorer regions of Screven, Georgia, Wasdins birthplace. This may have contributed to an increased amount of stress experienced by the two parents, an d Leon was depicted as an alcoholic in the novel. Wasdins parents were both explicitly abusive, shouting expletives and threatening his life. There are many severe and permanent consequences to abuse. Suffering abuse can completely devastate a child, as they should be receiving love and nurturing instead. Childhood is a period of development during which a person takes in ideas and notions that he/she will retain for the rest of his/her life, and it is crucial that a child lives in a supportive environment that promotes growth. Child abuse has consequences for both society and the victim: According to a National Institute of Justice study, abused children were eleven times as likely to be arrested for criminal as a juvenile, four times more likely to be arrested for violent and criminal behavior as an adult à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Long term Consequences). Five children in the United States die every day from abuse-related injuries, and approximately eighty percent of children that die from abuse are under the age of five. Also, two-thirds of people in drug treatment program report being abused as children. For Wasdin, abuse started at the young age of four years old, when human developme nt starts to quicken. Despite the negative aspects of abuse, it played an important part in keeping Wasdin at the top of his SEAL class and alive in war. The slap of a belt against skin and the sound of a hand against a face may be stark reminders to Wasdin of his past, but in essence, being beaten prepared him for the physical test of training. Being scared for his life and dreading the next encounter with Leon may have been mentally scarring to Wasdin, but being placed under stress helped prepare him for the mental strain of training. Wasdin mentioned that many of his fellow trainees were more fit and stronger than him, yet did not have the mental toughness required of a SEAL. Among his classmates included an Iron Man triathlete, a college football player, and others. Wasdin writes, Anybody can be physically strong. A lot of people can show up to training and be able to perform the tasks given to them. Professional athletes and high school sports stars sometimes participate, and they are the first to quit. Mental toughness is just as important as physical toughness, even more so in times of war (Wasdin 156). These traits kept him al ive in war. Wasdin learned important lessons from suffering abuse as a child. From the pecan tree punishments, he learned to be aware of his surroundings and pay attention to every single detail. When he took out the trash and the wind blew the trash can over after he went back inside his house, Wasdin learned to adapt to the changing situation and just deal with it. When he was beaten for bringing home the wrong number of carrots and watermelon, he learned the importance of being exact when counting. These are all aspects of a successful soldier. For example, during the Battle of Mogadishu, Wasdin was the driver of a Humvee, and if Wasdin did not see the militant who had popped up to shoot him, he would likely have been shot to death. When Wasdin was shot, he stayed calm and looked for safety, adapting to the situation. Before the battle, he had checked his weapon magazine for the correct number of rounds, so that it would not jam during a firefight. He also made sure that his medical supplies were adequate; if he had missed a single tourniquet during Battle of Mogadishu, he almost most certainly wouldve lost his leg. While abuse negatively affected Wasdin as a child, it ultimately benefited him later on in life. Wasdin had a tough beginning as a child, but he took advantage of his struggles and went on to become a renowned soldier, receiving several honors and awards for his valiance in combat. His novel Seal Team Six: Memoirs of An Elite Navy Seal Sniper received acclaim from critics from The Washington Post and Time Magazine, and continues to be a harrowing account of his journey from a victim of abuse to a victorious, decorated veteran.

Ideas of the Parthenon Essay -- essays research papers

The Greek people of the 5th century BC created a culture that was deeply rooted in philosophy and the arts. Their endless search for their place in the grand scheme of the universe and in nature around them influenced everything in their lives especially their love of the arts. Their drama, sculpture, and even architecture are all shining examples of the ideas that were so dominant in the minds of the Greek people. What could be considered the crown jewel of Greek architecture, the Parthenon, is one such of these examples. It brings into form the three principal ideas of humanism, rationalism, and idealism of the 5th century Greek people through not only its structure, but its ornamentation and sculpture as well. The basis of humanism can be summed up in the words of Protagoras, â€Å"Man is the measure of all things.† Humanism is the idea that human beings are the yardstick by with to measure all things in the universe, including Greek gods and goddesses. The Parthenon stands for this very idea through the fact that it is a human organization of space. It brings an understandable order into a chaotic space that would otherwise be incomprehensible to a human being. It allows a human to see the space and recognize it as something that is real. It also consists of repeated patterns and distance intervals throughout its structure that add to this order. The metopes, for example, are set in an alternating pattern with the triglyphs around the entire building at distinct intervals bringing a clear order to the entablature of the Parthenon. The columns that support the Parthenon are also placed in certain distance intervals from each other and coincide with the pattern formed by the metopes and triglyphs. These columns, however, are not in a perfect pattern of equal distances around the entire Parthenon. The columns on either side of the doorway to the Parthenon are placed a little farther apart than the rest to show a clear entrance to the building. Also the corner columns of the building are positioned slightly closer to their neighboring columns in order to compensate for the human eye. Without this compensation the columns would give the illusion of leaning outward and being farther apart than the rest of the columns because of the distortion of such a large structure to the human eye. The stylobate that the columns rest on is also built to allow for this op... ...ding hints to the fact that the Parthenon is a place that is not meant for a human or even built with a human being in mind. For example, the steps of the Parthenon are to such a large scale that is clumsy and awkward for a man’s normal stride, but in the Greek mind, the perfect distance and size for that of a goddess. The entrance to the Parthenon, through it’s colossal size, denotes that a human is not the main concern when it comes to entering and exiting of this building in the mind of the architect. The 5th century Greek people played a pivotal role in the shaping of not only the world of philosophy but also the world of art and architecture. Their ideas of humanism, rationalism, and idealism were the things that brought to life the artwork of their time and still effects ours to this day. The Parthenon, with its bulging columns, its repeated ratios, and its colossal size expresses how these ideas formed the structure of the building and then shows how the same ideas brought to form the beautiful pediments and sculptures that give us a deeper insight into the minds and hearts of the Greek people. The Parthenon is truly an elaborate time capsule overflowing with Greek ideas.

No Child Left Behind Creates More Problems for Students than it does So

The No Child Left Behind Act was designed by President George W. Bush in 2001. Although this act seems to be cutting edge and has generated enormous amounts of both controversy and support, this is not the first time American Education has seen such an attempt to improve education. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the purpose of No Child Left Behind is to improve student achievement and change the culture of America's schools. ?The NCLB Act of 2001, the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is a potent blend of new requirements, incentives and resources and it poses significant challenges for states? (?Education Commission of the States,? 2003). No Child Left Behind laws require that every state must develop and implement an accountability system; ?Holding schools accountable for the performance of all students is the cornerstone of the NCLB Act? (2003). There are four main principles to the new plan; Greater accountability for student achievement, greate r flexibility for states, districts and schools in the use of federal funds (more specifically Title I funds) and more choices for parents of children from disadvantaged backgrounds and an emphasis on teaching methods that have been demonstrated and proven to work. However and even still, No Child Left Behind creates more problems for students than it does solutions because of accountability laws. More specifically, students in special education are held to the same standards that students in regular education are held to. Under the requirements for No Child Left Behind Act every school must have highly qualified teachers and must meet adequate yearly progress. Additionally, each school must report attendance, test scores and other statistics p... ... www.NoChildLeftBehind.com Pascopella, A. (2005) Technology cuts run deep. Retrieved 2005, March 11 Inside the Law.com: Analyzing, Explaining and Debating NCLB. Williams, Patrick (2004, 12 January). No Child Left Behind Legislation is a Bad Law. Independent Record. Retrieved February 28, 2005, from http://www.helenair. com/articles/2004/01/21/opinions/a04012104_03.txt Wright, Pamela, Wright Peter (2003). No Child Left Behind. Harbor House Law Press. Retrieved February 26, 2005, from http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1892320126/qid=1109887307/sr=8-2/ref=pd_ka_1/102-1349734-1050505 v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Wycliff, Donald (2003, 2 October) Skirting the No Child Left Behind. The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 28, 2005 from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news /columnists/chi-0310020171oct02,0,6652365.column

Medical Analysis of The JFK Assassination :: John F. Kennedy American History Essays

Medical Analysis of The JFK Assassination Dr. Charles Crenshaw's book Conspiracy of Silence caused a minor sensation when it was released in 1992, even attracting the attention of the New York Times. Coauthored by Jens Hansen and Gary Shaw, it told several conspiratorial stories about the assassination, and especially about the role of Dr. Crenshaw, then a resident physician at Parkland Hospital, in the care of John Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald. It has since been reprinted as Trauma Room One. Among the "interesting" things that Crenshaw claims are: The back of Kennedy's head was blown out, clearly implying a shot from the Grassy Knoll in front of Kennedy. A small wound in Kennedy's throat was an entrance wound, proving a shot from the front, and not from the Sniper's Nest behind Kennedy. Parkland doctors, knowing there was a conspiracy, have feared to speak out. The President's body was altered between Parkland Hospital and the autopsy at Bethesda. And the most sensational: Lyndon Johnson called the operating room were Oswald was being treated and demanded a confession be extracted from the accused assassin. Conspiracy authors, wanting to push the idea of a shot from the Grassy Knoll, have lapped up Crenshaw's account. For example, Gary Aguilar quotes Crenshaw as follows: He, with co-authors, Jens Hansen and Gary Shaw, recently published a book, "Conspiracy of Silence" (Crenshaw, CA, Hansen, J, Shaw, G. "Conspiracy of Silence". 1992, New York, Signet). Crenshaw has claimed both in his book and in public interviews that the President's head wound was posterior on the right side. In "Conspiracy of Silence" he wrote, "I walked to the President's head to get a closer look. His entire right cerebral hemisphere appeared to be gone. It looked like a crater—an empty cavity. " Conspiracy writer Gary Aguilar accepts Crenshaw's account. His essay on supposed "back of the head" witnesses is useful and interesting — although many of his assessments of the testimony are to be treated skeptically. How does Crenshaw know such things? According to the book, he had a central role in treating Kennedy. Yet when the New York Times called up Crenshaw in reponse to his book, he backed away from the book's claims as to how central he was, saying that Hansen and Shaw "took poetic license" on this issue. Crenshaw "admitted . . .that the role he played in Kennedy's case was minor." See the Times of May 26, 1992. It hardly inspires confidence in the book when Crenshaw says things like this.

Professional Development Plan Essay

Part IA: Description of Personal and Professional Goals From a very early age, I was encouraged to attend college by my parents, my grandparents, and a beloved uncle. They all taught me that obtaining an education, particularly a college education, was a privilege that had not always been afforded to people of color and that it should not be taken for granted. They also taught me that education was the best way to attain great success, no matter how I chose to define success. It did, however, take some time before I fully understood what they so passionately attempted to instill in me. It was not until I began working at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), in an environment of academia, that I understood the value and importance of education, and the incredible impact that being part of a learning environment has on a young mind. I have been fortunate to be able to utilize the management skills I learned from my undergraduate studies and through various employment opportunities after obtaining a master’s degree in business administ ration. I have enjoyed my experiences working in the business field, as diverse as they have been, and would love to teach business administration at the university level. I would like to pursue a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree so that I may be considered an authority within the business field and possibly teach at JCSU as an adjunct professor. Eventually, both my degree and my experiences will assist me in achieving the long-term goals that both my husband and I share of operating a non-profit organization for children and a for-profit security business. Our combined goals are far-reaching and our desire to see them accomplished is passionate. I enjoy managing people, events, and projects. I have discovered that I enjoy and am very good at designing and executing plans that make it easier for others to achieve their  objective—which is ultimately the definition of management. That is why I wished to design my own concentration within Walden University’s doctoral program that will combine financial management and leadership skill courses. I also wish to simultaneously obtain my certification as a Six Sigma Black Belt. According to the American Society of Quality (2008): A Black Belt should demonstrate team leadership, understand team dynamics and assign team member roles and responsibilities. Black Belts have a thorough understanding of all aspects of the DMAIC model in accordance with Six Sigma principles. They have basic knowledge of Lean enterprise concepts, are able to identify non-value-added elements and activities and are able to use specific tools. (para. 1) The Walden University outcomes for graduates that I believe are most relevant to my profe ssional goals as a DBA candidate are to: understand and continuously develop and change themselves, the organizations in which they work, and society at large; create new knowledge dedicated to the improvement of social conditions, and to positively impact society by putting that knowledge into practice, by modeling their learning through action, and by being civically engaged; . . . achieve professional excellence as active and influential professionals by applying their learning to specific problems and challenges in their work settings and professional practice; . . . [and] practice in their professional fields legally and ethically. . . . (Walden University, 2008c) These outcomes are directly aligned with my professional and personal goals. Because of the manner in which Walden University has chosen to cultivate professionals and the reputation it has in the e-learning environment, Walden was my first choice in education options. Part IB: Outline and S.W.O.T. Analysis Strengths I have several strengths that I believe will be instrumental in obtaining a Doctor of Business Administration degree. Two great strengths are the completion of my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Both degrees are in areas of business in which I have great interest, and that interest has grown with each new professional position that I have obtained. Immediately after completing my bachelor’s degree, I worked as an economic services worker (ESW) for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services. I  worked heavily with financial analysis in order to determine the eligibility of applicants for state and federal programs. I enjoyed the financial analysis side of the position but could not bear witnessing the immense poverty of the clients I served in West Virginia. This position brought light to both a strength and a weakness that I possess. I truly enjoy helping others and working with finances and budgets. However, I have a weakness for enabling indiv iduals to continue in their plight by doing for them instead of assisting them achieve independence. During the time that I worked as an ESW in the West Virginia welfare system, I was truly an enabler. I was prompted to leave the position for that reason. I found additional strengths in learning about ethics and compliance in business in my next professional position, as I worked my way up to the position of manager in a compliance call center. I benefited from great grammar skills and obtained additional editing and leadership skills. This position also increased my interest in compliance, particularly as it pertains to corporations and their finances. These interests will no doubt have a large impact on my doctoral studies. The call center management position taught me invaluable skills in managing people of various temperaments and learning how to be creative in getting results from a diverse group of individuals. I obtained great time management and crisis management skills as well that I keep with me and that have shaped my leadership skills. It is these skills that I hope to teach to other young business leaders, in addition to valuable business skills. In my current position as a grants manager and development officer, I complete research on a frequent basis for faculty and staff who wish to write grants that are congruent with the university’s strategic plan. These research skills will most assuredly be invaluable during my doctoral studies. Additionally, the research resources at my disposal will be a great asset. Support from family and friends is essential and it has been given to me unconditionally. It is from this support that I frequently draw strength. However, my primary reasons for not allowing defeat to overtake me when it could have in the past are my two sons. They are my most precious accomplishments, and I will see them succeed in their dreams by instilling in them the promise of education that was instilled in me by my family. Weaknesses Statistical Analysis has always been my least favorite business course. Each time I have survived Statistical Analysis with an admirable grade, but because I have not mastered it, I still fear it a little. I know that I will need to call upon resources at the university where I work for tutoring assistance during my doctoral program in hopes of finally mastering Statistical Analysis. It is my desire to become comfortable and proficient with statistical tools because it will be important for both my academic and professional progression. To be successful in my pursuit of a doctoral degree, I must minimize my propensity to overload my plate with tasks just because I have the ability to do it, knowing full well I do not have the time. At my current place of employment, I am called upon frequently to do things like fix a simple problem with the division printer or a computer, run reports, or complete an administrative task because I can get it done quickly, even though it may be someone else’s responsibility. Although my intentions are honorable, I am enabling others not to perform and am hindering my own efforts. Quickly recovering from errors made will also be a necessity. I cannot afford to brood over failures because it does not benefit my progress in any manner. Practicing these corrections in self-awareness will be no easy task for me. Opportunities With a master’s degree and now a doctoral degree in my future, opportunities are abundant. I am optimistic, even in this current economy with extreme unemployment, that if I do not obtain a promotion at the university where I currently work, I may still have a future in an academic setting. It is my desire to bring quality improvements and greater excellence to Johnson C. Smith University, but the proposal that I am currently developing regarding a division of quality and excellence is a model that will work in most academic settings. The opportunity to complete research that may be published is also a possibility because I work in academia and because of the nature of my job as a development officer. I have had one piece published in JCSU’s quarterly magazine, and it is my desire to have an article published in a scholarly journal through connections with the university. Our current university president encourages scholarly writing, and when given the  opportunity to write, whether for research or for advancing my financial position, I will seize it. If permitted to continue down my current employment path, I believe there will be opportunities for fellowships, which are sorely needed. The American Association of University Women, the National Black MBA Association, and the American Management Association, all offer unique fellowship opportunities to members who have applied themselves and show excellence in their profession. Threats The opportunity for fellowships is extremely important in my effort to obtain a doctoral degree because financial debt from funding my education is mounting. Ironically, the university where I work does not offer any type of tuition assistance toward a graduate degree. It is my hope that I can supplant future loans with fellowships from one of the organizations mentioned above, including any offered by Walden University. In addition to mounting loans, the current economy is weighing heavily on my family budget. Ordinarily, I would be prompted to action by finding another way to bring income into our household. I am now required to depend upon my spouse for that additional support, something I am used to doing myself. Financial sacrifice is not the only burden I have placed on my family. With two children, one with a medical need that requires additional attention in order for him to be successful, I must again rely heavily on my spouse to do what I would be more comfortable doing myself. I will put to work those leadership and management skills I obtained during my call center days in order to appropriately deal with what seems to be increasing political posturing by some of my colleagues. It is still a little difficult for me to believe that anyone would be threatened by my ambitions. However, I must be careful to consider that it as a possibility. The business world is very competitive, but I assumed because I did not work directly in the corporate world that I would be safe from that type of political environment. I will work to reassure my colleagues that my dedication to ethical behavior will not permit me to ruin another coworker  for my own professional gain. Part IIA: Description of Educational Background and Research Proficiencies Academic Experience I was fortunate to enter West Virginia State University, at the time called West Virginia State College (WVSC), with a full academic scholarship that included room and board. I was also awarded the U.H. Prunty Scholarship, which enabled me to purchase books during all four years that I attended WVSC. During my undergraduate experience, I became a well-rounded student through participation in activities such as the NAACP and the WVSC Ambassadors, a faculty/staff-nominated designation where students represent the university and provide guided tours to visiting donors and potential students. I also participated in the Pre-Alumni Club and raised money through volunteer efforts with my sorority that we donated to a local women’s shelter called Sojourner’s. During 1992, my sorority sisters and I were honored with the prestigious Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Community Service Award by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for our community service work. The work we did during that time not only humbled me and inspired me to give back, but also showed me the true meaning of philanthropy and charity. My academic performance during undergraduate school was not stellar, but my experiences combined with my upbringing instilled within me a desire to press further academically. My learning continued, although sometimes not within the traditional academic setting. I attended seminars with regularity and, in 2000, earned my licensure as a life and health insurance agent in ultimate pursuit of a financial analyst career through Primerica Financial Services. I did not complete the training to become a financial analyst. However, I did learn a great deal about financial tools and gained a better understanding of budgeting, saving, and what life insurance is truly for. I am still using most of the tools I gained during that time to perform many of my current duties as a grants manager. It took another 13 years after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration before the academic momentum returned and I was accepted at Strayer University during the fall of 2006. My grad uate school experience at Strayer University fared much better but was actually far more challenging. I combined distance learning with the tremendous tasks of  maintaining my family life as a married mother of two school-age children and working full-time as a development officer and private grants manager at JCSU. I excelled at Strayer, even with these challenges, and found that distance learning was the perfect academic venue to work with my hectic lifestyle. The courses that invoked keen interest were the classes involving strategic policy analysis, project management, and research analysis. It is not surprising that my interest in and enjoyment of these classes were integral to my high performance in these classes in particular. I was cautioned that distance learning required additional discipline in order to be successful in any area of study. I became partial to distance learning because of the flexibility it offered me as a working adult, as clichà © and commercial as tha t may seem. Difficult courses, such as Quantitative Methods, seemed no more difficult through the use of the electronic blackboard system than being physically in the classroom. The use of this online tool in the distance-learning process was ingenious and fun. Our professor demonstrated classroom methods electronically in real time and we were able to ask questions of him in real time. It is a tool I hope to assist in bringing to the continuing and adult education program that is being established at JCSU. Research Experience Research is essential to the duties I currently perform as a development officer and private grants manager at JCSU and an important aspect of the grant-writing process. With the utilization of online tools, I seek potential donors, individuals, corporations, and foundations that will support the university’s strategic goals. I have used Internet tools to research the wealth of individuals who have a relationship with our university, rated their wealth based upon a system that we created for stewardship, and stored the information in a database that the data analyst and I maintain. I research the philanthropic interests of both corporations and foundations and compile the information in profiles that I present to our faculty and staff so that grant proposals may be written to fund the university’s objectives. I also research spending trends of sister organizations to determine whether the spending habits of our division are congruent with what the Institutional Advancem ent divisions of other universities are spending. This information has been vital to our division  vice president and his mission to complete our division’s and the university’s strategic plan. As a requirement of the MBA degree that I obtained at Strayer University, I completed a directed research project (DRP) concerning whistleblower protection laws titled â€Å"Whistling in the Wind: A Study of the Travails of Whistleblowers and the Protection Offered to Them.† These research efforts began at the onset of my MBA program in September 2006 and were completed in May 2008. The scope of the project was to deliver an 88-page research project surrounding a problem that I chose to identify. Required within the research document was an abstract, an introduction that included the context of the problem, a statement of the problem and the sub-problems, delimitations, definitions, assumptions, significance of the study, research design and methodology, an organization of the study, and details concerning the qualifications of the researcher. Also, the DRP had to contain a review of literature, data analysis, and an explanation of the treatment of the data, as well as the conclusion of the research and my recommendations based upon what was found during the research. I relied heavily on the Strayer University online library system, which gave me access to countless university library systems across the country. I also utilized the library at Johnson C. Smith University as well as libraries in Charlotte when I needed hard-copy documents. The basic goals of the project were met in that I completed the DRP in the structure and the length that was required and gained invaluable experience with regard to completing online surveys and interviews of some famous professionals. I received an A on the project, which was quite a stressful undertaking. I chose the subject because it involved ethics in business practices—a subject that has intrigued me since working in a call center that was dedicated to protecting employees, the organizations they worked for, and the organization’s shareholders. I began early, researching famous and infamous whistleblowers, such as Sherron Watkins of Enron. I had substantial information for the literature review. I seemed to develop a problem when it came to breaking down the main problem into sub-problems and found myself redefining the sub-problems as I furthered my research into the topic. One of the major problems I encountered during the process was attempting to devise a rat ional, objective survey that adequately procured the information that I was attempting to obtain without bias. I also had  problems finding enough people to complete the survey for an appropriate sample. In retrospect, I would have solicited advice from professors at JCSU during the process instead of relying only on the resources at Strayer University. It is believed that the analysis of the results could have been done more professionally and efficiently if I had received the results of my survey and interview questions sooner than I obtained them. I was not satisfied with the results because I do not believe that my research significantly contributed to the information that was already available concerning whistleblowers. It is my desire to focus on contributing to the knowledge base and providing information that was not readily available prior to my research. The DRP was an important project to complete because it demonstrated the complexity of not only researching a problem, but the importance of syntax needed to present the information in a coherent, acceptable manner. During my doctoral studies, I would like to focus on how to appropriately analyze the research that is obtained in order to make a significant contribution to the research within a particular subject. Work/Other Experience My employment experiences, while always encompassing management, have been quite diverse. Webster’s Menswear, now defunct, was where I had my first management experience. As the â€Å"third key† manager, I performed inventory counts nightly of the merchandise that retailed for more than $100. I was responsible for running the nightly sales reports, the supervision of other sales associates, and of course, the sale of merchandise. This experience was really my first real full-time employment experience, so it was even more gratifying to be performing work that was included in my course of study. I continued working at Webster’s Menswear until approximately six months after receiving my bachelor’s degree. Because the hours I was scheduled to work were based on sales, which were not exceeding our goals, and there were no benefits, I began looking for other employment. The management experience at Webster’s did engage my creativity. I assisted customers in selecting apparel and it gave me my first experience with sales reports and the consequences of not meeting the demands of the strategic sales plan. Immediately following my work experience at Webster’s Menswear, I secured another management role with the West Virginia Department of  Health and Human Resources as an economic services worker. In this case management role, I determined the initial and continuing economic eligibility of applicants for state-funded Medicaid, food stamps, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children. My experience in this arena of management was no different than one would expect from a public servant’s role. The work was difficult, tiring, and frustrating, and the caseload immense, always exuberantly more than statistics had shown one person should be handling. It took 2 years until I finally succumbed to the tremendous pressure of attempting to serve an economic population that I myself just missed being part of by about $200 per mon th. I left the declining economic plight of West Virginia behind in July 1997 and headed to Charlotte, North Carolina, where I found another opportunity and my current life. In July 1997, I began working for Pinkerton Services Group, Inc. as a communications specialist (CS) in a compliance hotline call center. There, I was able to enhance good interviewing and excellent writing skills as a CS. This opportunity is also where I became interested in whistleblower protection issues, compliance, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Within six months, I had progressed to the role of management again as a quality assurance supervisor in the call center. Our call center grew quickly during the early 2000s with the beginning of the demise of Enron, MCI WorldCom, and Adelphia. Most of the corporate giants were scrambling to obtain a way for their employees to alert the company of improprieties and to comply with new, emerging laws to protect the public and company shareholders. I was promoted as the call center’s operations manager during 2001. In this management role I gained experience doing many different tasks that included, but were not limited to, payroll for approximately 50 employees, order tracking and maintenance of call center supplies, call evaluations of communications specialists, monthly evaluations of quality assurance supervisors, monthly statistical reports on the qu ality of Workplace Alert Reports, and daily communication with executives of vendors whom the company served. With the expansion of the call center, the roles of key management personnel were redefined. We divided the call center’s quality management team into two groups, manager of the communications specialists and manager of the quality assurance supervisors. I was designated as the quality assurance manager over the quality assurance supervisors, the last title I held before leaving the  organization in February 2004. On February 1, 2004, I joined the staff at Johnson C. Smith University, the only historically black college and university in Charlotte, North Carolina. I sought this change for two reasons. The compliance center where I formerly worked split from Pinkerton Services Group and formed a separate company, Global Compliance Services. Many things began to change and the environment was no longer stable. Additionally, I was the only manager on call 24 hours a day to address any issue that arose in the call center. After giving birth, being on call 24 hours a day was no l onger conducive to maintaining a stable family life. For the first time since obtaining my degrees, I accepted a role that did not appear to involve managing individuals. In the role of office manager and executive assistant to the vice president of Institutional Advancement, I did maintain and even enhance some management skills. This assignment required me to be more team-oriented. I became the administrative right hand for a division that included Alumni Affairs, Foundation Relations and Private Grants, Corporate Relations, Public Relations, Development, and the Vice President’s Office. This role gave me the opportunity to become adept with budget management and analysis as I was given the responsibility of managing nine budgets. I also became proficient with fundraising software, the Raiser’s Edge, which was crucial to the division’s success. As the office manager, I became at one point the data analyst and was then responsible for training a new data analyst. We shared the responsibility of database management and reporting. Three years later I was promoted to my current position as the division’s development officer and private grants manager. I retained the responsibility of the divisional budgets and learned different skill-sets, including research, grants administration, and grant writing. While quite adept at research and grants administration, I have yet to write a grant that has been funded. It is my hope that JCSU’s new president, Dr. Ronald L. Carter, will see the need for a budget analyst, as I have proposed to him, and promot e me to this new assignment. Eventually, I would like to work in the capacity of professor at our university. I hope to use all of the skills that I have acquired through previous employment, which seem now to all be interrelated, in order to advance the mission of the university. Experience with issues of compliance that I gained in the call center, writing and editing, managing budgets,  analyzing financial information, combined with my DBA, are all expected to advance my career as a senior-level executive at Johnson C. Smith University. It was initially my desire to use my doctoral project to advance an initiative at JCSU that involves infusing Six Sigma Quality measures in each area of our business, particularly with how we approach education. Because of our current culture and some resistance that I have received from senior-level executives when attempting to propose new ideas, I shied away from this idea. However, after completing recent assignments, reading about the inten t of the doctoral project and how it is intended to interrelate to a candidate’s work environment, I would like to attempt this initiative at JCSU and use this research platform for my doctoral studies. It was David Johnson (2005) who stated that â€Å"the outcome of the research is designed to provide valuable insights to the sponsoring organisation, in addition to contributing to knowledge in the field of practice. In this form of doctorate therefore research is a tool in developing professional practice† (p. 88). I would like my doctoral project to pertain to the following question: How can Six Sigma or Lean Management Quality measures be implemented within JCSU’s education and management systems to advance the university’s strategic and quality enhancement plans? Part IIIA: Individualized Plan of Study The date that has been projected as my anticipated graduation date for my Doctor of Business Administration degree is October 26, 2012. Courses such as DDBA 8110 Business Operations: Systems Perspectives in Global Organizations; DDBA 8120 Information Systems: Global Management Strategies and Technology; DDBA 8130 Marketing: Strategic Innovation in Globally Diverse Markets; DDBA 8140 Finance: Fiscal Leadership; and DDBA 8150 Leadership: Building Sustainable Organizations were all waived, giving me a total of 15 credit hours toward the 60 required for my degree completion. I have chosen to design my own specialization. It is my desire to combine the finance and leadership specializations in order to create a program that will prepare me for a future that includes teaching business courses at Johnson C. Smith University as well as leading the operation of both for- and non-profit businesses. The descriptions under the specialization of finance, particularly the idea that managers can â €Å"maximize their firm’s  value† speaks to specific skills that I must acquire in order for my plan of success to work (Walden University, 2008a). I want to be an agent of change within whatever organization I work for, not just for the sake of change, but change that is positive. The leadership specialization will help me to obtain this goal (Walden University, 2008b). I intend to take DDBA 8523 Seminar in Law and Compliance, DDBA 8541 Seminar in Entrepreneurial Finance, and DDBA 8522 Seminar in Sustainability. During the spring 2009 semester, I will be registered for courses DDBA 8160 Business Strategy and Innovation and DDBA 8427 Applied Research Methods—Qualitative and Quantitative (currently I am enrolled in courses that my evaluation indicated would be waived). The next course that is required is DDBA 8437 Quantitative Decision-Making in Professional Practice. I will take this course with one of the three required DBA specialization courses mentioned ab ove. These two courses will be completed during summer 2009. During the winter 2009 session, I will take the final two specialization courses. There will be a requirement of 20 hours of doctoral study completion courses that will be taken four credit hours at a time for five semesters. With no anticipated breaks within my course of study, I anticipate my completion date to be during spring 2011 instead of the projected October 2012 date. There are two 4-day residencies required for the DBA degree program. It is recommended that the first residency be completed within 90 days of completing DDBA 8005. I will complete my first residency March 18 to 22, 2009, in Lansdowne, Virginia (Walden residency calendar, 2008). The next residency will be completed after completion of my core courses during 2010. The focus of my doctoral project will involve incorporating Lean or Six Sigma Management into higher education. It is my hope that I will be able to implement the Lean design into the curriculum and the management practices at the university where I work after completion of the research on this subject. It is my belief that my fellow colleagues would describe me as a tenacious problem-solver, an optimistic leader who believes there is a solution to every problem. I am always open to constructive criticism and self-improvement. I seek to improve with each obstacle that I overcome. I am also willing to offer constructive criticism to others and have learned the art of how and when to do so professionally and with tact. I like to incorporate humor, where appropriate, in much of what I do because I truly  believe that in order to solve most problems, one must have a sense of humor. These personal skills, or life skills, have come with maturity and much trial and error. I believe each of these skills will be essential to my ability to excel in the Doctor of Business Administration program as well as being integral to my future professional endeavors. Part IIIB: Professional Interview Evelyn Leathers is the director of Corporate and Foundation Relations within the Institutional Advancement division at Johnson C. Smith University. My goal in interviewing Ms. Leathers was to get an in-depth understanding of what role this division will play in the mission of the president, Dr. Ronald L. Carter, in JCSU becoming â€Å"Charlotte’s very own nationally-recognized independent urban university† (Carter, 2008, p. 2). It is my intent to understand what policies may be improved within that department and ultimately the division in order to improve to the level of quality that Dr. Carter intends for the university to fulfill the proposed vision. The role of the Institutional Advancement division is to support the university financially through philanthropic solicitation, community involvement, and improved public relations. For this reason, the division includes the departments of Development, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Grant Research, Alumni Affairs, a nd Public Relations. The division plays an integral role in that it provides money that is not earned through tuition. When enrollment is down, the Institutional Advancement division’s role becomes even more vital. Ms. Leathers, who has served JCSU in several different capacities through two separate terms of employment, remains loyal to the university because she is passionate about the human investment, the students (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). There are many historically black colleges and universities that are currently experiencing financial duress due to a number of factors. According to Ms. Leathers, the university has survived and prospered due to the quality of the Institutional Advancement division and the university’s relationship with The Duke Endowment (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). Johnson C. Smith University is fortunate enough to be one of four universities to be included as a beneficiary of The Du ke Endowment’s mission to serve higher education by promoting academic excellence (The Duke  Endowment, 2007). The Duke Endowment provides financial support to schools like JCSU in order to foster excellence in individuals so that they will be inspired to share with the community what they have gained through education (The Duke Endowment, 2007). Although JCSU has exercised fiscal responsibility, Ms. Leathers is convinced that without The Duke Endowment, the university would not be successful, particularly in today’s extreme economic climate (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). The nation is currently experiencing a recession, one that is predicted to last at least until late 2010. Ms. Leathers proposes that her department, Corporate and Foundation Relations, will need to become creative, selective, and savvy in order to remain afloat and remain aligned with the university’s mission (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). Creativity will enable the division to utilize initiatives that corporations and foundations will support financially, such as incorporating green initiatives into capital building plans. Selectivity means that the university will not go after or accept just any grant offered by a foundation or corporation. Ms. Leathers explained that sometimes fulfilling the conditions offered by a funder can be costly to the university (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). Proposals must be carefully reviewed to ensure that the university is not taking on a financially burdening project. The Institutional Adva ncement division must also be savvy and shrewd in its business dealings in order receive the most return on the investments made by its public relations staff, its development officers, and all of its financial solicitors (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). In today’s economic climate, more than ever, quality in our operational functions becomes very important to the success of the university. The department of Corporate and Foundation Relations will practice quality in its operations by going back to the basics of fundraising, traveling smarter and only within the region to conserve resources, and focusing on research efforts more heavily (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). These efforts will assist Dr. Carter with fulfilling the university’s goal of infusing quality where needed to become one of Charlotte’s elite, premier universities. Ms. Leathers explained that foundations and corporations do not give to people, but to causes. If the university, and the Institutional Advancement  division in particular, focuses on quality programs and eliminating waste, corporations and foundations will be prompted to give to the university’s cause (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). One of the most critical areas within the Institutional Advancement division that could use an infusion of quality is the universityâ€⠄¢s enterprise management system.   Ms. Leathers stated that quality reporting is essential to development, grant writing, and research (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). All staff must be trained to use the system efficiently in order for the division to be effective and practice quality. Once all staff becomes proficient with its operation of the enterprise management system, it will translate to quality in most areas of operation (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). Ms. Leathers is able to draw strength from understanding that the mission of the university is to provide a quality education to our most valuable assets, the students. Soliciting funds from foundations and corporations during a recession is not easy and sometimes not enjoyable, but necessary (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). Ms. Leathers stated that the outcome will be positive and anticipates it will take another five years before the university realizes benefits from quality initiatives that are just beginning under the new administration of Dr. Carter (E. Leathers, personal communication, December 14, 2008). Ms. Leathers and I discussed a quote from John B. Duke, founder of The Duke Endowment: â€Å"Education, when conducted along sane and practical, as opposed to dogmatic and theoretical, lines, is, next to religion, the greatest civilizing influence† (Duke, 1924). In addition to agreeing that the quote is profoundly accurate, we share the hope that the same sentiment will be fostered within the generation that we are educating at JCSU. Because Ms. Leathers is my immediate supervisor, her input during this intervi ew lends insight to the direction she gives me on a daily basis. It also forced both of us to contemplate what changes are needed within our own department to work hand in hand with Dr. Carter to promote his vision for the university. There is additional work to be done in order for the two of us to engender change within our department. The questions proposed and the answers provided will assist me in further developing my doctoral study regarding quality and how one might incorporate Lean and Six Sigma into higher education. References American Society of Quality. (2008). Six Sigma Black Belt certification. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from http://www.asq.org/certification/six-sigma/index.html Carter, R. L. (2008, Fall). President’s letter. The Johnson C. Smith University Bulletin, 2. 88-99. doi:15.555/GGE.64.1.76-82 Duke, J. B. (1924, December 11). Indenture and deed of trust of personality establishing The Duke Endowment. Retrieved from The Duke Endowment website: http://www.dukeendowment.org/downloads/ind.pdf The Duke Endowment. (2007). Higher education. Retrieved December 14, 2008, from The Duke Endowment website: http://www.dukeendowment.org/education Johnson, D. (2005). Assessment matters: Some issues concerning the supervision and assessment of work-based doctorates. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, 42(1), 87–92. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdweb?did=1157097371&sid=1&Fmt=6&clientId=70192&RQT=309&VName=PQD Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). ( 2010). Name of program [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com. Walden University. (2008a). Walden University DBA finance specialization. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Walden University website: http://www.waldenu.edu/Degree-Programs/Doctorate/18391.htm Walden University. (2008b). Walden University DBA leadership specialization. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Walden University website: http://www.waldenu.edu/Degree-Programs/Doctorate/18427.htm Walden University. (2008c). Walden University outcomes. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Walden University website: http://www.waldenu.edu/c/Student_Catalog/8893_9096.htm