The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du

The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du The Tale of Kieu is one of the first Vietnamese books that made me understand the relationship between Vietnamese and Chinese culture. There are several characters in the poem, from whom we can get the main ideas of the author, and set off the image of young Kieu. Through images of the minor characters, the author reveals the essence of the philosophical notion â€Å"virtue† and its peculiarity in Eastern culture, the role it played in the destiny of the poet himself.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Tale of Kieu is a moral verse. I say this because Kieu and other characters go through what they go through by fate; a situation they have no control over. There are instances through which immorality is illustrated, but beyond this curtain, there are great moral lessons . We are told of Kieu, â€Å"Alive she played the wife to all the world† (Du, 7) .As such the mere presentation of Kieu in a brothel can send the signal that the verse is immoral. But this should not be the motivation for such a harsh conclusion. Virtue The kind of restoration that we eventually encounter points to the fact that this tale is seriously mirrored towards advancing the nature of virtue. This is seen from the inner thoughts of the minor characters. Though Thuc got Kieu through a brothel, he had a yearning of once getting a partner with whom they could marry and finally start a serious family. â€Å"†¦this harlot, after all, knows right from wrong†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Du, 75).Theirs was a relationship which quickly moved from a casual one to a morally acceptable one. Scholar Ma played a tragic role in the destiny of young girl. In the eastern culture the beauty of tragedy if considered deeper, purer, and truer than the beauty of happiness. From the book we may know if Scholar Ma was not the main cause for Kieu to become a prostitute. Kieuâ₠¬â„¢s renunciation would not be so prominent. Scholar Ma destroyed her personal happiness, but by doing this, her character became more immoral. The very same situation became classic from the point of view of Chinese and Vietnamese literature. Virtue of Kieu was impossible without Scholar Ma. Scholar Ma is an original element of fate and at the same time, an ordinary representative of his social group. Strength and Weakness Thuc’s image includes several issues such as the question of strength and weakness. In fact, paternity plays a great role in the story; Thuc just could not not follow his father because it was impossible from the point of view of Eastern philosophy. Father’s image personifies the idea of social, moral and virtuous responsibilities. For Kieu and Thuc, this fact was the universal truth; still the girl was stronger than her lover and she took responsibility and decided to face the judge. Thuc could not fulfill his obligation to his wife and to Kieu. W hen the judge took pity and ordered their marriage, Thuc was afraid of his first wife and did not reveal his relationships with the girl. Kieu saved faces even in shameful situations, while Thuc fell sacrifice to his passions and weaknesses. Kieu is strong, even in the hours of hardships. Thuc is influenced by her strength when he helps her escape the temple and the threat which his wife corresponds. We are told â€Å"†¦known as Miss Hoan, she wore a great name†¦.† (Du, 79)Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More True virtue serves as an example for others and strengthens them. Virtue plays out in the tale from what Miss Hoan goes through. Though Thuc leaves her and marries Kien, we can easily see how she practically stands her ground as first wife. Through Thuc we see the reflection of squander and plunder as compared to what actually befell Vietnam his torically (Du, 164). Thuc being a thrift spender, â€Å"squandered money with both hands†. Vietnam as a country got squandered by invaders who affected almost every aspect of the country. Though The Tale of Kieu portrays characters as seen, going deeper one sees an embodiment of what ails the society. There are several competing forces and these determine the way things work out. The character, in essence, presents to us how destiny is equally determined by fate.Kim Trong’s ordeal was separation with Kieu, and even reunion of lovers was not so happy. It happened because they were engaged, but their relationships were not full. Of love and friendship they fulfilled both claims – They shared no bed but joys of lute and verse . Their wishes all came true since fate so willed, And of two lovers marriage made two friends. (Du, 165)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Their mutual life is ordeal for Kieu. At the end of life, a human’s soul seeks for truth. Kieu becomes a nun and does not want to defile Kim Throng’s ordeal. She proves that true virtue is renunciation. Conclusion Through the images of the minor characters, the author reveals the essence of virtue and its role in the destiny of people. From what befalls the characters, we can finally see the kind of moral conscience that drives humanity being advanced in the tale. There are several issues which we see getting resolved through reconciliation and reunions. By all these one can only conclude that the characters, through the turmoil that they go through, serve as a medium through which the trouble that humanity goes through in search of virtue is reflected. Kim for instance seeks Kieu’s love for a long time, but Kieu’s refusal to give in quickly initially is motivated by the fear if soiling Kim’s stature. Her sticking to the p reservation of chastity only goes further to reflect the inner yearning for virtue. In essence The Tale of Kieu is a moral verse. Du, Nguyen.  The Tale of Kieu. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983.

How To Motivate Millennial Marketers With Directives Garrett Mehrguth

How To Motivate Millennial Marketers With Directives Garrett Mehrguth Are you a millennial? Do you work with millennials? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, millennials are expected to make up half of the workforce by 2020 and 75% by 2030. So, it’s important to   figure out ways to understand these smart and talented millennials working at your company. Are there any idiosyncrasies with this generation that may be helpful to marketers? Today, my guest is Garrett Mehrguth. He’s the CEO and co-founder of Directive, a growing digital agency that employs several millennials. Fortunately, Garrett has found unique ways to keep them engaged and motivated. Garrett’s Motto: Learn, Engage, Create Lesson Learned from First Consulting Client: Ask clients to pay you upfront Never use your power as a leader to manipulate anyone to make a decision Attract millennials by investing in social media to create a positive work culture Utilize recruiting tools to find the most talented millennials Best Defense for Bad Reviews: Demonstrate importance of sharing experiences and showing reviews to everyone involved to continue to grow and retain talent Millennials are the same as everyone else, but treated differently, alienated, and made to feel demotivated and devalued by others Directive offers a meritocracy and culture where people can grow in the company based on how they perform, not how long they’ve been with the company One of the simplest ways to create a structure for success and motivate millennials is to help them prioritize their tasks and goals 99.9% of millennial performance issues are related to time management and communication, or under-developed professional expertise Millennials are motivated when being a part of something larger; they want to feel like what they’re doing is contributing to something Directive supports career-driven millennials who want to be paid what they’re worth in an environment that accelerates their development professionally Offer benefits that serve your team, not ones that attract talent; Directive’s coolest benefit is mental health support Millennials want to learn, and Directive stresses its importance to be successful by requiring each employee to create a piece of content every quarter Be a leader for millennials by holding yourself accountable and taking an authentic look at and fixing everything that’s wrong in your organization Links: Directive Garrett Mehrguth’s Email Fiverr Moz WordStream Distilled Marketing Land Search Engine Land Glassdoor JazzHR Workable G2 Crowd Buffer 37signals Basecamp Torch.io Marketo How to Get Started with Agile Marketing and Do Your Best Work If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Garrett Mehrguth: â€Å"If you could learn, engage, and create, you could always be better tomorrowbecause you never take your foot off the gas.† â€Å"We had this thought process that if we can’t attribute something to revenue, it’s not valuable, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.† â€Å"Your brand dictates the type of talent you acquire or it dictates the success of your organization.† â€Å"Millennials want authentic leadership and want an authentic team and an authentic culture that’s doing things for them, not to attract them.†

Full stream service from VIP Clientele Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Full stream service from VIP Clientele - Essay Example An input, process and output model is established. Quality service and standards, test marketing, social marketing, key personnel involvement and competitive analysis are among the key aspects that are analysed in the model. A critical appraisal of the airline service provider is done by comparisons from other service providers. Business Process Model Review A well designed business process model should encompass the relationship of the entire processes as a whole to integrate the overall goal of value for the customer’s money. Value proposition section depicts the intended methods of services to be provided for the target market (see figure 1). VIP clientele are dispersed all over the world with an emphasis on the developed continents. Radical changes in this proposition are seen in the model. The intended goal of this proposition is to become leaders in providing full stream services in the airline industries. This has not been practiced before therefore, the introduction of the same will cause a shift in profits patterns from other airline competitors. Leasing of airplanes as well as rental of planes is a radical change in the airline industry. Focus has been in the past of private jet purchases but not rental or even on leasing terms. The door to door services is a radical change in this process. ... New airplanes will not be designed in this case. The business model will encompass the existing marketing strategies as an incremental change for the intended airline business. Technology has been developed in e-marketing which helps in marketing strategies. Catering during the flight will be done by already established high class caterers. The full stream services in the airline business will integrate the various aspects of high class services as a whole to achieve the target market. The preliminary stages in the design of the business model called for a thorough research of the airline industry. Gaps in the services were identified as high oil prices which will devolve to wiping out low costs air tickets in the coming years. A further analysis shows that safety during flight is at the core of any customer’s choice of airline service provider. In light of this, we deduced that customers need value in the flight services. Hiring or leasing a plane at ones comfort is the way f orward, ensuring high class services are provided from the beginning to the end. Door to door service is a deduced solution since the existing airlines do not offer such to customers. The innovation of this new business model is towards the customer’s experience before, during and after arrival of a flight. Customers are having fears of lack of safety in the pre-existing services. This will be counteracted by individualized services e.g. lease or rent of a plane, a cab for efficiency and effectiveness of the entire flight experience. High oil prices will cause high costs for travelling in the airline industry. The business model is market driven as a shift from highly priced and crowded airlines will be experienced to safe and specialized flight services. Existing technology

Prosecuting Violators of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Essay

Prosecuting Violators of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law; and The Merits and Limitations of the International Criminal Court (ICC) - Essay Example The researcher states that although international jurists may not agree entirely with this argument, an actual discontent should go with an examination of theoretical perspectives which are believed to offer answers to these stubborn issues. Apparently, humanitarian and human rights law do not provide simple solutions as to how to deal with violations of the fundamental human rights of people in times of crisis. They embody judicious efforts to implement norms which ideally will become unanimously recognized and support the international community in its assessment of, and response, to these crimes. The international community has been triumphant in establishing an agreement on numerous norms in the areas of humanitarian and human rights law. There is at present a solid set of laws, even though it evidently does not cater to every crisis or include every region. This code of rules will be raised to change as the problems confronting the international community assume new forms. Certa inly, the implementation of the Statute of the International Criminal Court is a sign of the pace at which several sectors of international law are evolving. ... The primary purpose of the formation of an international criminal court was to change a tradition of immunity for the perpetration of severe crimes, which has thrived and remains in existence significantly, with a tradition of liability. The formation of an international criminal court is in several contexts the finale of a chain of international attempts in such path. Nevertheless, those attempts have usually been unsuccessful for different causes, and, at any rate, have been greatly discriminating. The Tokyo and Nuremberg Tribunals, after the Second World War, expressed genuine confidence for the tradition of liability, but the facts of the cold war aftermath immediately surfaced. The idea that individuals and states perpetrating the most serious violations of human rights law should be prosecuted disappeared, and a tradi tion of immunity resurfaced. The discourse about the competence of international committees should be situated in a more enduring point of view. The influence of newly formed institutions like the informal committees cannot justly be weighed against that of established organizations like the International Court of Justice (ICG) and the Security Council (SC).

Gerdes Psychological Services Essay Example for Free

Gerdes Psychological Services Essay E3-1B| (Transaction Analysis—Service Company) Brown is a licensed CPA. During the first month of operations of her business (a sole proprietorship), the following events and transactions occurred. | | | April| | | | | | | 3| Purchased supplies on account $1,610.| | | | | 11| Completed a tax assignment and billed client $2,530 for services rendered. | | 12| Received $7,360 advance on a management consulting engagement.| | 17| Received cash of $5,290 for services completed for Calunga Co.| | 21| Paid insurance expense $253.| | 30| Owe the secretary-receptionist $2,668 for the month.| | 30| A count of supplies indicated that $276 of supplies had been used. | | 30| Purchased a new computer for $14,030| (LO 4)| | | InstructionsJournalize the transactions in the general journal. (Omit explanations.)Problem #3| | E3-3B | (Corrected Trial Balance) The trial balance of Cervantes Corporation, below, does not balance. | | | CERVANTES CORPORATIONTRIAL BALANCEAPRIL 30, 2010| | Debit| Credit| Cash| $11,824| | Accounts Receivable| 10,480| | Supplies on Hand| 5,934| | Furniture and Equipment| 12,200| | Accounts Payable| | $14,088| Common Stock| | 16,000| Retained Earnings| | 4,000| Service Revenue| | 10,400| Office Expense| 8,640| | | $49,078| $44,488| An examination of the ledger shows these errors. | 1. | Cash received from a customer on account was recorded as $2,760 instead of $3,660.| | 2. | The purchase on account of a computer costing $6,400 was recorded as a debit to Office Expense and a credit to Accounts Payable.| | 3. | Services were performed on account for a client, $4,500, for which Accounts Receivable was debited $4,500 and Service Revenue was credited $450.| | 4. | A payment of $190 for telephone charges was entered as a debit to Office Expenses and a debit to Cash.| | 5. | The Service Revenue account was totaled at $10,400 instead of $10,560.| | (LO 4)| | | InstructionsFrom this information prepare a corrected trial balanceProblem #4| | | | | | | | E3-5B | (Adjusting Entries) The ledger of Chan Rental Agency on March 31 of the current year includes the following selected accounts before adjusting entries have been prepared. | | | | Debit| Credit| Prepaid Insurance| $ 2,700| | Supplies| 2,100| | Equipment| 18,750| | Accumulated Depreciation—Equipment| | $ 6,300| Notes Payable| | 15,000| Unearned Rent Revenue| | 6,975| Rent Revenue| | 45,000| Interest Expense| –0– | | Wage Expense| 10,500| | An analysis of the accounts shows the following. | 1. | The equipment depreciates $188 per month.| | 2. | One-third of the unearned rent was earned during the quarter.| | 3. | Interest of $375 is accrued on the notes payable.| | 4. | Supplies on hand total $637.| | 5. | Insurance expires at the rate of $225 per month.| | (LO 5)| | | InstructionsPrepare the adjusting entries at March 31, assuming that adjusting entries are made quarterly. Additional accounts are: Depreciation Expense; Insurance Expense; Interest Payable; and Supplies Expense.| | | | Problem # 5 | | | | E3-8B | (Adjusting Entries) Dement is the new owner of Fung Computer Services. At the end of August 2010, his first month of ownership, Dement is trying to prepare monthly financial statements. Below is some information related to unrecorded expenses that the business incurred during August. | 1. | At August 31, Dement owed his employees $2,280 in wages that will be paid on September 1.| | 2. | At the end of the month he had not yet received the months utility bill. Based on past experience, he estimated the bill would be approximately $720.| | 3. | On August 1, Dement borrowed $36,000 from a local bank on a 15-year mortgage. The annual interest rate is 6%.| | 4. | A telephone bill in the amount of $140 covering August charges is unpaid at August 31.5.During August, Dement earned $1000 of $6000 that was received from a client at the end of July.| | (LO 5)| | | InstructionsInstructionsPrepare the adjusting journal entries as of August 31, 2010, suggested by the information above.| | | | |

Hemingways a Clean, Well-lighted Place And His Life Essay -- essays

Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" and His Life Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21st, 1899. He was the son of Dr. Clarence Edmonds and Grace Hall Hemingway. He grew up in a small town called Oak Park, Illinois. Hemingway was brought up in a somewhat conservative household by his parents who pushed the value of politeness and religion. It wasn't until he began English classes in school that his writing talent began to shine. After he graduated from high school Hemingway turned his back on university and he decided to move to Kansas City. It was there where he got his first job as a writer. He was a reporter for the Kansas City Star. The Star was the first to introduce to him the news writing format which demands brief, to the point sentences and the smooth flowing of ideas. It seems that Hemingway adapted this style to his fiction writng. Hemingway demonstrates this talent in a short story called "A Clean Well-Lighted Place". When he was 19 Hemingway enlisted in the army. He was rejected due to a defective left eye. He then turned to the Red Cross in which he became a second lieutenant. The Red Cross brought him to the front lines of the war in Italy. It was here where he saw many disturbing sights which probably had a hand in shaping his character. After extensive injuries from the war, Hemingway returned unhappily to Oak Park...

Delivery of Customer Service Excellence within UK universities Essay

There has been continuous increase in the number of people pursuing higher education. This has been contributed to by the changing society that requires one to continuously update and keep up with the education standards. As the demand of education increases, there is an increase in demand for higher education in the face of decreasing government funding (White, 2007, p.67). The decrease in government funding in many countries has resulted to self-sponsorship among most of the students. With the students, being self-sponsored there is need for amore market driven stress on focus on the customers’ needs and in this case, the students are the customers. As the number of students with the objective of going to universities increase so does the application of marketing in the field of higher education (Lomas, 2007, p.456). The marketing of university services has necessitated the change in the relationship of the students and the university to have a customer provider relation. The treatment of students as customers has been at an increase due to the increase in number of universities. The increase in number of universities increases competition-necessitating need for customer service among the universities to increase the number of student’s enrollment rate. To establish if the students are customers one has to determine the services provided by universities and the consumers of the products or services provided. According to Martinez (2013, p.56), education provision can be classified as a service, which can be separated into service delivery and service content. Whereby service, content cannot be negotiated with the students but service deliver is negotiable. Simple the content covered in the classrooms is not determined by the students but the way in which this content is delivered can be negotiable. The customers of the service provided by the universities are students. The service delivered in this case refers to the standard way in which education is applied or impacted on the students. The quality of service is determined by the standards applied in an institution, the equipment’s applied, technology, materials, instructor, and the timing in which this education takes place. The two types of service provided by the universities attract different consumers. The service content attracts customers that are external to the institution who include private and public employers and the society. The students are described as the service consumers since they are partners with the institutions and are the main consumers of the services provided by universities. Universities can also be described as service providers since it cannot be classified as service provider since they do not manufacture any of their final products instead they offers good that are not physically visible. Having classified the services provided by universities it could be established that there are several types of consumers of the universities products. The main customers are however, the students who are directly affected by the quality of services provided. Secondly, there are external consumers who are affected by the services provided in a secondary level. Having established students as consumers then universities should strive to always satisfy customer’s needs. In addition, universities should be improved by comparing them with the service provision industry, as an ever-increasing competition forces to do so. Trends in the universities also draw it closer to customer-oriented service industries. Students   want to be involved in the decision making process of the universities more than depending on the market forces, this qualifies   the students to be the customers since the articulation of their opinions increases or decreases the royalty and retention rate of the universities customers. In some countries like UK and Austral, universities senior management and government agencies insist on the need to consider students as the customers. This is evident in Oxford University where the satisfaction of the students is a paramount objective for the institution. This is justified by the fact that the marketing department of the university has students suggestion cites where they collect the needs and wants of the students. This opinion is however, not supported by the academic staff that states that recognition of students as customers decreases the quality of education since the needs of the students are not in all cases right like the expectation in businesses(Lomas, 2007, p.34). Governments all over the world and particularly the UK government have been seen to put in place mechanisms for assessing the quality of the services provided by universities. This assessment is meant to allow the government to identify areas that need improvement. The government also puts in place measures that drive up the quality of education and provide enough information about the universities that will help students determine on what institution is proper or the best among the many provided. Government makes reforms at universities to change the perception of universities into business –like organizations (Lomas, 2007, p.54). According to Pittman (p. 342), the relationship between the student and the universities are special unlike most of the service industries. The recognition of universities as service providers, in one way or another the market forces lead into the treatment of the institutions as businesses. The treatment of universities as businesses has been evident in the running of Cambridge university and other leading universities in the UK that engage in marketing strategies aimed at pleasing the students in the universities. This therefore includes the marketing strategies used by businesses. The business focus is the satisfaction or meeting customer needs and similarly universities should focus on meeting the students’ needs to survive in the market. Students attend universities with different objectives including, pursuit of their person interest, desire to gain qualifications, prepare for academic and research careers and preparation for the world of work. These needs are sufficiently provided by most of the universities however, the students choose the universities that provide these services with a more customer centric culture. The universities are now under pressure to make the students feel as the kings and at the same time not deteriorate their standards of their curriculums or standards. This calls for the universities to differentiate themselves and creating a customer oriented relation with the students to increase the enrollments and retention rate. Customer Relationship Management Theory Customer relationship management is an important aspect of any business. It is the process of obtaining, retaining an increase the market share, or customer base of a business. It includes the management of off-line and in-line relationships with consumers. Customer relationship management requires the running of business in a customer centric approach that considers the customers first. Universities have increased in number necessitating the need of marketing activities that differentiate each university and increase their competitive advantage. The ever-increasing competition levels have brought about changes in the dynamics of the education business particularly in the university level. The customers of universities have continuously been enlightened and choose the best among the universities. This has increased the need and importance of a customer centric culture that strives to understand the customer’s needs. Universities have understood the need to invest in new technologies to allow them to gain advantage in the competition by exploiting their brand value, customer base, and investments in infrastructure in order to increase the number of enrollments, as their direct link to the customer satisfaction and profitability (Martinez, 2013, p.56). Customer relationship management allows the universities to analyze their consumers at different levels to allow the detection of their needs, preferences, potential areas that require improvement and after this, the universities are able to establish or implement the necessary actions to achieve customer satisfaction. Universities engage in every year orientation for the students to display the facilities in the institutions. This is evident in Manchester University, Liverpool and Cambridge that allow the interested students to view the facilities and from their judgment choose a university that best suits their needs. Achievement of customer satisfaction is a core objective to many businesses as it increases the competitive advantage and thus increasing profitability of the organization. The increase in number of universities increases the bargaining power of the consumers who in this case are the students. Today students want to enroll in universities with better services, lower fees, good infrastructure, skilled tutors, and access to various services within an institution. This pressures the universities to look for new ways that are going to satisfy these needs and ways to keep the students and the rest of the customers satisfied before any other institution does (West, Ford, & Ibrahim, 2010, pg.89). According to Bay, Darlenen, Daniel, &Harold (p. 15), students are the purchasers of the service provides and therefore the customers of some of the campus services and the facilities, which are provided at a price. Students have to pay for the education provided at full price in order to benefit. The service provider determines the standards of the service though the services provided at aimed at satisfying the customers. This is similar with the universities who are expected to determine the needs of the customers but at the same time ensure that they satisfy the customer’s needs. Students can also be seen as clients of the campus facilities such as libraries, administrative services, and computer laboratories. Students could use these services as free of charge but since they are charged this makes the students the clients of the universities. These universities have a responsibility to the students Total Quality Management According to total quality, management customers are the people to whom an organization sells its services or products. This makes the students and in some cases the parents, private and public institution, and the government the customers of the universities. TQM model identifies students as stakeholders in educational decisions. They are however, not the only stakeholders and at times, the needs of the students come second to those of the society. Under the TQM, frame work the students create a market force under which the universities have to adopt to survive in the market (White & Naomi, 2007, p. 600). The TQM model states that quality starts and ends with the customer, this is because of the increased competition in the market that has necessitated the focus on the customer to gain a competitive advantage. According to the concept, the satisfaction of internal customers leads to the satisfaction of the external customers and consequently every customer both the external and internal are satisfied. The theory states that several factors including, customer expectation, company operations, and the employees responsible for delivering the services to the customer bring about customer satisfaction. The creation of a customer centric culture is of great importance to an organization. This creates satisfaction among the consumers and the customers increasing their royalty and increases the retention rate of customers. Focus on customers increases the advertisement of a product by the word of mouth of the satisfied clients reducing the operation cost and increasing the number of consumers. Concentration on consumers is the best tactic or weapon against competitors since the customers are the final determinants in the existence of an organization (George & David, 2007, p.970). Universities are businesses that should re-orient the services rendered so to keep the customers satisfied. In the past universities were not treated as businesses since there were countable universities and the number of students were minimal and there were no competition. Currently the market is flooded with universities, which increases the need of the perception of the customer as the king and always right. With the increased number of universities the buyers of universities services are fewer and this increases the need for quality services   which is dependent on the extent that   an university is able to meet and exceed the customers’ requirements (King, 2001, p.190). Total quality, management recognizes the student’s perception of quality change as they progress from one stage to another. This allows the institutions to continuously update their services to meet the customers’ needs and expectations in every level, Needs of the customers in universities consist of the minimum necessary human elements that must be rendered to retain the customers in this case the student. If the students’ needs are not met then they are likely to discontinue their education in one university and continue in another that meets its needs. Universities are defined to be successful if the student enrollment and retention rate is high compared to the rest in the market. Total quality, management programs are also seen to be successful if they facilitate customer retention and enrollment in universities. Needs and want satisfaction in universities is therefore structured towards the basics of performance, providing what the students want and what they are unable to survive without (White & Naomi, 2007, p. 600). Ways in Which Expectations Can Be Managed and Service Excellence Achieved Universities can use different mechanisms to improve their service excellence. The first strategy on improving service excellence is the determination of the superior services they offer. The service must identify and target customers segments according to the type of services attributes that they must demand. Universities must identify group or students with similar expectations in terms of what aspects are associated with the excellence in service. The universities should continuously find the proper trade- off between inferior performance for one attribute with superior performance for another (Bay, Darlene, Daniel &Harold, 2001, p.16), The customers themselves best understand their needs. Expectations can be managed if the service providers are able to understand the needs of the customers. In universities, the students are the main consumers of the services offered. Universities should identify the students’ needs by encouraging feedback on the services provided. This allows the meeting of their needs and consequently increasing the customer royalty and the enrollment rate. The second strategy is the employee management system that allows ensures that the employees treat the customers are content. Universities should ensure that their employees meet the needs of the customers and have a customer centric culture. In the case of universities the academic personnel should ensure the student’s needs are met and also that the services rendered are of quality (Lomas & Laurie, 2007, p.35) The third element is benchmarking the service provided and the services provided by other universities. This allows the universities to identify the areas that need improving and the areas that are outstanding. This allows the universities to merge or close up the gap between them and their competitors. Benchmarking also gives new ideas of products or the services that the competitors are offering. This increases the products offered and the quality of service (West, Ford, & Ibrahim, 2010, pg.89). The fourth element is continuous improvement of the services and products offered by institutions. The continuous improvement of services reduces the chances of products becoming obsolete. University students needs keep changing with periods, change in equipment infrastructure, and the time. This necessitates the universities to update their services continuously so at to increase customer satisfaction and maintain customer royalty. The last step is being of conscious of bad service delivery. Looking at the past bad experiences allows and institutions to learn what are being done wrong. Continuous review of past mistakes allow the correction of the poor standard services previously provided and introduction of new services that meet the customers need. The last is the implementation of technology to improve customer satisfaction and in meeting the customer needs. The increased perception of students as customers has increased the enrollment in most universities. This is because of the students feeling that their needs are catered for. This has been evident with the increased enrollments in the oxford university. Conclusion The focus on customers is a core objective for any business. Universities are classified as service delivery business with the students being the major customers. The identification of the customer needs is a relevant and important factor in the satisfaction of customer needs. In universities and higher education institutions students are classified as customers since they are the purchasers of the services provided by the institutions. Universities are obliged to provide quality services to the students. There has been increased number of universities with time, which has increased the competition among the universities to gain competitive advantage. The increased competition has necessitated the need for a customer centric culture to gain more customers. References Bay, D.   & Daniel, H. 2001. â€Å"The Student Is Not the Customer-An Alternative Perspective†, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education Vol.11, No. 1, pp.1-19 Biswas, S. 2011. Relationship marketing: concepts, theories and cases. New Dehli, India, PHI Learning. George, D. 2007. â€Å"Market Overreach: The Student As Customer†, The Journal of Socio-Economics, Vol.36, pp.965-977 HErnon, P., & Whitman, J. R. 2000. Delivering satisfaction and service quality: a customer-based approach for libraries. Chicago, American Library Association. Hess, E. D. 2011. Growing an entrepreneurial business: concepts and cases. Stanford, California, Stanford Business Books. King, S.P. 2001. â€Å"The Funding of Higher Education in Australia: Overview and Alternatives†, The Australian Economic Review, Vol.34, No.2, pp.190-194 Lomas, L. 2007. â€Å"Are Students Customers? Perceptions of Academic Staff†, Quality in Higher Education, Vol.13, No.1, April, pp.32-43 Martinez, M. 2013. Creating a service culture in higher education administration. West, D. C., Ford, J. B., & Ibrahim, E. 2010. Strategic marketing: creating competitive advantage. Oxford, Oxford University Press. White, N, R. 2007. â€Å"The Customer Is Always Right? Student Discourse About Higher Education In Australia†, High Education, Vol.54, pp.593-604.   

Literature and Social Reality Essay

In this paper I will discuss and analyze the social forces of immigration and industrialization that shape literature during the period of 1865 to 1912. I will describe the major literary movements of the period. Additionally I will explain how Realism and Naturalism influenced the literature of the period, how immigration and industrialization contributed to the influences. I will illustrate using examples from some of the greatest authors of the period. Immigration and Industrialization The United States’ population grew quickly in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Baym (2008) et al. write that there were 38. million people in 1870 and had grown to 92 million in 1910. This growth resulted mostly from immigration. People came from countries all over the world but predominantly from European and Asian nations. Immigration was also the major cause for urbanization in the United States according to Baym et al. (2008) with a dramatic proportional shift from a mostly rural population to a larger city population. Simultaneously with this mass immigration industrialization was happening creating an abundance of factory jobs and building immense wealth for some while also creating dramatic divides in society. Baym et al. (2008) describe the situation: â€Å"Long-settled white Americans faced newly arrived white people across divides of power, income, and privilege – worker against owner, farm against city, immigrant against native-born, leading to suspicion and social turbulence on a scale that the nation had not seen† (p. 3). The consequences were labor struggles resulting from terrible working conditions. Immigration brought an abundance of workers resulting in low wages as well as â€Å"inhumane and dangerous working conditions† (Baym et al. 2008, p. ). Conflict also arose from farmers being pushed off their land by the railroads and competition between native-born citizens and immigrants. There was also increased suspicion and resentment between the social classes likely based on fear of losing their â€Å"part of the cake† for the upper and middle classes, whereas the lower class was resentful because of how they were treated. Major Literary Movements The major literary movements during this period were realism and naturalism emerging after a long period of idealism and romanticism. Realism shifted literature to a way of describe life as it actually is instead of trying to present an idealized or romantic image. It was an objective style that offered detached perspectives on the everyday lives of the middle-class, working-class and the poor. This style worked well for describing the struggles of the period. Baym et al. (2008) describe W. D. Howells as the â€Å"chief American advocate† of realism (p. 6). Mark Twain, Henry James, Edith Wharton, and others also joined in this movement as well as some distinguished African American writers such as W. E.  B Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett (Baym et al. , 2008). The nature of Naturalism has been debated as being the opposite of realism or as â€Å"extension or intensification of realism† (Baym et al. , 2008, p. 7). Naturalism usually describes more extreme settings and circumstances than realism and focuses on harsher conditions and poorer characters. Baym et al. (2008) suggest that while characters in realistic works often overcome difficulties, in naturalistic pieces the characters never stand a chance. It is a much more pessimistic literary style than realism. Crane, Dreiser, London, and Norris are described by Baym et al. (2008) as the leading American naturalistic writers of the period. How Realism and Naturalism Influenced Literature Realism had an immense influence on the literature during this period. Mark Twain was one of the major authors and his â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† is an excellent example of his style, which became regarded as a leading piece for the â€Å"American style† (Baym et al. , 2008, p. 6). Twain used colloquial speech and his writing style puts the reader in the position of participant, almost as if in a dialogue with Huck. It is a very intimate and informal way of writing. Huckleberry Finn is uneducated and sees the world through the lens of his own experience as well as the social circumstances and mores of the time. In chapter 23 of â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† Huck ponders about Jim, his African American companion on his adventure: â€Å"He was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks do for their’n. It don’t seem natural, but I reckon it is so† (Baym et al. , 2008, p. 204). This passage realistically illustrates the view of a young boy at the time who only knows the world through the social context of his time and place, which included slavery and a very derogatory view of African Americans. Twain was very critical and pessimistic about humankind and his writing often reflected this. However with Huck Finn he appears to be attempting to show that even an uneducated young boy in the 1840s could be open-minded and open-hearted enough to see that people are equals. Henry James writes about â€Å"Daisy Miller,† a young American woman who is a new kind of modern girl. She does not appear to care about the established rules and mores of the time and is both bold and naive in her demeanor. Baym et al. (2008) write that James shows his nature as â€Å"a true cosmopolitan concerned with exploring American national character as it is tested by cultural displacement† (p. 317). James is painting a picture of the old and established strict rules of social class and position and how they become a hindrance in forming true connection between people. The established upper- and middle-class look down on the lower class and the up-and-comers. The result is miscommunication, suspicion, and conflict. Jack London was one of the leading naturalist writers of his time. In his essay â€Å"What Life Means to me† he describes his own experience as a working class youngster who toiled in a variety of jobs until finally he had enough of heavy labor and became a vagrant for a while (Baym et al. , 2008). He describes how he found himself at the bottom of society and how in that place â€Å"life offered nothing but sordidness and wretchedness, both of the flesh and the spirit; for here flesh and spirit were alike starved and tormented† (Baym et al. , 2008, p. 582). He was keenly aware of the inequalities and injustice that industrialization had brought for the working class. He writes that he realizes that a laborer is finished and broken down at 45 or 50 while an intellectual, â€Å"a brain seller† (Baym et al. , 2008, p. 584) comes into his prime at that age or later. He decides to ducate himself to make a difference both for himself and for the working class dear to his heart. London eventually encountered and the Socialist movement and describes in joyful terms finding â€Å"warm faith in then human, glowing idealism, sweetness of unselfishness, renunciation, and martyrdom – all the splendid, stinging things of the spirit† (Baym et al. , 2008, p. 584). He was a masterful naturalist writer describing in exquisite detail and with a detached, scientific narrative how the man slowly succumbs to the cold and freezes to death in his short story â€Å"To Build a Fire. Clearly his own experiences in Alaska had provided him with great fodder for this kind of story. Conclusion In this paper I discussed and analyzed the social forces of immigration and industrialization that shaped literature during the period of 1865 to 1912. I described the major literary movements of the period. Additionally I explained how Realism and Naturalism influenced the literature of the period and illustrated with examples from some of the greatest writers of that time.

Free Essays on Employmenty

Construction employment was flat in November. Job gains in general build- ing contractors were offset by losses in heavy construction. Construction industry employment has shown no net growth since spring of this year. Employment in the services industry rose by 50,000 in November. Health services added 27,000 jobs, with hospitals accounting for about half of this increase. Over the past 12 months, employment in the health services industry has risen by 278,000. In November, employment also rose in several other services industries, including engineering and management, agricultural services, and auto repair and parking services. Employment in help supply services decreased by 23,000 in November; this followed declines that totaled 65,000 in the prior 2 months. The industry had added 167,000 jobs from Feb- ruary to August. In finance, employment continued to increase in mortgage brokerages (5,000) as refinancing activity maintained a healthy pace. Employment in mortgage brokerages has grown by 106,000 since its low point in January 2001. Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data) The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in November at 34.2 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime also were unchanged at 40.7 hours and 4.1 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.) The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in November at 148.1 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index was down by 0.4 percent over the month to 91.0. (See table B-5.) Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data) Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 4 cents in November to $14.93, seasonally adjusted, following a similar ... Free Essays on Employmenty Free Essays on Employmenty Construction employment was flat in November. Job gains in general build- ing contractors were offset by losses in heavy construction. Construction industry employment has shown no net growth since spring of this year. Employment in the services industry rose by 50,000 in November. Health services added 27,000 jobs, with hospitals accounting for about half of this increase. Over the past 12 months, employment in the health services industry has risen by 278,000. In November, employment also rose in several other services industries, including engineering and management, agricultural services, and auto repair and parking services. Employment in help supply services decreased by 23,000 in November; this followed declines that totaled 65,000 in the prior 2 months. The industry had added 167,000 jobs from Feb- ruary to August. In finance, employment continued to increase in mortgage brokerages (5,000) as refinancing activity maintained a healthy pace. Employment in mortgage brokerages has grown by 106,000 since its low point in January 2001. Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data) The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in November at 34.2 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime also were unchanged at 40.7 hours and 4.1 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.) The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in November at 148.1 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index was down by 0.4 percent over the month to 91.0. (See table B-5.) Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data) Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 4 cents in November to $14.93, seasonally adjusted, following a similar ...

Intrusive Misuse of Colons

Intrusive Misuse of Colons Intrusive Misuse of Colons Intrusive Misuse of Colons By Mark Nichol Writers often mistakenly introduce intrusive â€Å"colonization† where it is not necessarily. In each of the following examples, as explained in the discussion, the colon is superfluous. 1. Smith was invited to give the presentation: â€Å"Global Development and Global Practices.† â€Å"The presentation† and the title of the presentation are appositive- one is equivalent to the other, just as in â€Å"global-development expert John Smith,† the person’s description and his name are appositive- and no intervening punctuation is necessary: â€Å"Smith was invited to give the presentation â€Å"Global Development and Global Practices.† (If the presentation previously was alluded to and is now being specified, set the title off from the first part of the sentence with a comma: â€Å"Smith was invited to give the presentation, â€Å"Global Development and Global Practices,† but otherwise do not replace the colon with a comma. Also, if the wording is â€Å"Smith was invited to give a presentation on the topic of . . .,† the description of the topic is just that- a description- and should be lowercase and not enclosed in quotation marks. 2. An effective compliance program will include: governance and management oversight, policies and procedures, training, monitoring, quality control, and independent audit. When include or includes (or â€Å"consist/consists of† or a similar word) precedes a list, a colon is superfluous, just as it would be between any verb and any single noun or noun phrase associated with the verb. This is true whether the information is presented as an in-line list (meaning that it is integrated into the sentence, as here) or it is formatted vertically, one item on a line, whether as is or set off with bullets or numbers: â€Å"An effective compliance program will include governance and management oversight, policies and procedures, training, monitoring, quality control, and independent audit.† (An exception is if what precedes the list is an independent clause, such as â€Å"An effective compliance program will include the following.†) 3. Management is secure in the knowledge that it: has considered all plausible scenarios, understands the organization’s breakpoint in the event of extreme scenarios, and has effective contingency-response plans in place. The point of the previous example is true regardless of whether a verb precedes the colon or, because each item in the in-line or vertical list begins with a verb, the colon follows a word representing another part of speech; the fact that a sentence is more extensive and complex than if it had essentially a one-item list (for example, â€Å"Management is secure in the knowledge that it has considered all plausible scenarios†) is irrelevant: â€Å"Management is secure in the knowledge that it has considered all plausible scenarios, understands the organization’s breakpoint in the event of extreme scenarios, and has effective contingency-response plans in place.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Does [sic] Mean?The Writing ProcessWriting a Thank You Note

Cognitive Strategy Instruction as it relates to teaching math to Research Paper

Cognitive Strategy Instruction as it relates to teaching math to adolescents, specifically those with mild learning disabilities - Research Paper Example In addition, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics of 2000 backs offering all the youths equal access to the concepts of mathematics (Montague & Jitendra, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the cognitive strategy instruction as it relates to teaching math to adolescent students with mild learning disabilities. Students with mild learning disabilities generally often have difficulties in achieving the standards of academic content and excelling in the assessments. Particularly, students with mild learning disabilities usually have difficulties with algebraic reasoning, mathematics basic skills, and problem solving skills. Majority of these students struggle with the means of approaching mathematics problems, carrying out selected plans, and making effective decisions. An effective approach to aid adolescent students with mild learning disabilities in accessing challenging concepts of mathematics is to offer strategy instruction (Montague & Jitendra, 2009). This p aper therefore defines cognitive strategy instructions, identifies significant features of effective cognitive strategies, and identifies key contents necessary for instructing adolescent students with mild learning disabilities in the use of the cognitive strategy.... of the required actions and consists of essential rules and guidelines that are related to making effective decisions during the process of solving problems. Some of the features of cognitive strategy instruction that make such strategies effective for adolescent students with mild learning disabilities include: devices of memory that help the students master the strategy; steps of the strategy using common words and are stated concisely and simply beginning with action verbs in order to enhance involvement and participation of students; steps of strategy are appropriately sequenced and lead to the intended outcome; steps of the strategy using prompts in order to get students apply their cognitive abilities; and metacognitive strategies using prompts in order to monitor performance of problem solving (Ruya, 2009). There are various such cognitive strategy instructions such as evidence based practice and STAR as will be explained in this paper. These cognitive strategy instructions ar e instructional methods that have been applied in multiple tasks in the academics, and have previously provided a way for educators to facilitate student independence competence across secondary, elementary and post secondary settings. Cognitive strategy instruction entails a strong base of evidence and employs systematic and explicit procedures of instructions that have extensively been validated and can be used flexibly. Cognitive strategy instruction as an instructional approach emphasizes the development of processes and skills of thinking as a way to promote learning. For example, the evidence based practice strategy enables students with mild learning disabilities to learn spelling words initially unknown to them and allow them to use techniques of self correction. Cognitive strategy

Marketing Business Plan for Soy Protein Assignment

Marketing Business Plan for Soy Protein - Assignment Example HANGES MADE] 14 Part VI: Marketing Mix [CHANGES MADE] 15 Reference 17 Appendix A 20 Executive Summary 2 Part II: Marketing Plan 5 Business Review 5 Scope 5 Strength 5 Weakness 5 Opportunity 6 Threat 6 Product and Market Review 6 Analysis of the Product 6 Sales Trends for the Product 6 Consumer Behavior Trends 7 Pricing and Distribution 7 Competitive Review 7 Target Market Effectors 8 Target Market 8 Target Market Awareness 8 Target Market Attitude 8 Part III: Marketing Analysis: Market Characteristics/Trends 10 Market segment 10 Market trends 10 Market type 10 Product knowledge 11 Sales area 11 Part IV: Marketing Analysis: Competition 12 Part V: Target Market [CHANGES MADE] 14 Part VI: Marketing Mix [CHANGES MADE] 15 Reference 17 Appendix A 20 Part II: Marketing Plan Business Review Scope The scope of this project is to create a marketing plan of Soy Protein in the United States of America and thereby capturing a decent market share and increasing its sales volume by 10% in USA. The project thereby endeavors to understand the potential strengths and weaknesses of the product which should be managed to gain advantage of the different opportunities and counter threats in the external market. Changes in desires and tastes of the target market and action of the competitors are studied in order to modify the product features so as to match the needs of the people. Strength Soy Protein has found increased use in regards to women in offering them large number of benefits across different stages of their life. It helps to improve the dietary and cardio-vascular positions of the women. Further the intake of Soy Protein has helped them in countering the effects of menopause and helps to prevent cancer and obesity related diseases (Montgomery, 2003, p.44). Weakness The product... The paper talks about the Soy Protein, a vegetable protein mainly found in Soybeans. This protein acts as a potential substitute to the intake of animal proteins. This leguminous product is free of cholesterol and has low fat content. Further the product is composed of amino acids and different minerals with Vitamin B. it also has good fiber content. In United States the Soy Protein market depicts huge marketing and sales volume. The sales trend measurement for the 2004 period shows that the market grew to around 4.1 billion. This growth trend reflects a 5 percent growth from the previous year. While Soy Proteins is recognized as a healthy diet supplement to animal proteins, some consumers acceptance of Soy Proteins is limited due to its unfavorable taste and and the lack of proper knowledge of the product. Children are found not to favor the intake of Soy Proteins owing to unfavorable tastes. However the women and old age population also fail to intake needed quantities of Soy Prote ins owing to unavailability of proper knowledge as to the varities available. In terms of pricing the Soy Protein products help in providing the consumers affordable healthy food items in comparison to animal proteins. The pricing of such food products are conducted based on stability parameters so as to avoid price fluctuations. Distribution parameters in regards to Soy Protein products earns effectiveness owing to the different types of production processes leading to the production of natural and synthetic soy protein in large volumes.