The Natural :: Essays Papers

The Natural Iris vs. Memo, the everlasting battle of Good and Evil, Good Angel vs. Bad Angel. In The Natural the Angels take the form of women that interact with Roy. Iris the â€Å"Good Angel† has nothing but a positive influence on Roy and cares about him deeply. The exact opposite of Iris is the â€Å"Bad Angel† Memo who cares just about what she can get her hands on except poverty. To her nothing or nobody matters. The reason Memo’s able to sneak in with Roy so easy is that she uses her body, her looks. She makes Roy a â€Å"toy† to her. She wants money so badly, that’s why she’s always with people like Gus or the Judge, because they are the rich people who like to spend a lot of money. Memo has always been mean to Roy: She hadn’t treated him right. For a while things had looked so good†¦ but no sooner has he gone into a slump when she began again to avoid him. Had she been nice to him instead, he’d have got out of trouble sooner (165). Iris is really â€Å"laid back† when it comes to Roy. Iris isn’t as attractive as Memo, but she looks past the dollars and sees what she likes. Each â€Å"Angel† has a different effect on Roy both being on and off the field. Roy goes out with Memo ignoring Pop’s warning â€Å"†¦She is unlucky and always has been and I think that there is some kind of whammy in her that carries her luck to other people† (136). Roy goes into a bad slump. Everything he does fails until one game in Detroit. The lady in the stands hesitantly rose†¦ She was an attractive woman, around 30, maybe more, and built solid but not too big†¦ A reporter approached her and asked her name but she wouldn’t give it to him, nor would she, blushing, say why she was standing now (159). The woman standing is Iris and she is standing because she believes in Roy, and wants him to regain his confidence by showing her support.

Professional Presence Essay

​All nurses need to strive for maintaining a professional appearance at all times. People will always judge nurses by their appearance. When it comes to nursing, a nurse’s appearance can either instill confidence in the patient or total mistrust. Part 1: Watch and Analysis ​Was this individual professional? I think the individual in the image is a professional nurse. The nurse is dressed appropriately in a clean blue scrub. Her is hair short, neatly styled and out of her face. ​What made the individual professional? What makes her professional is dressing smartly at work. She is personable, wears a smile on her face, which makes her approachable. She is caring and compassionate nurse, as she is in the bedside with her patient. ​Were there aspects presented that were not professional? I did not see anything in the picture that was not professional. Part 2: Personal Reflection and Connection ​What is the appropriate attire for an individual in your profession? All nurses in all settings should look neat and professional. Uniforms, lab coats, scrubs and shoes should be clean. School nurses wear business attire instead of scrubs. The attire usually is tailored pantsuits, long or short sleeves blouses, jackets or sweaters and conservative, closed-toed shoes. ​What makes someone professional in your field? Professionalism in nursing includes your attitude, your appearance and your willingness to help others. Nurses as professionals are expected to display competent and skillful behaviors in alignment with their profession. ​What behavioral attributes do you practice that identify you as a professional? As a nurse I always put the needs of the patient first, above all else. According to White â€Å"Nurses cannot lose sight of the fine art of  nursing which is caring† (as cited in Nursezone, 2014). As a nurse I am always kind and compassionate towards others in our daily lives. ​What attributes, such as attire, communication skills, and presentation of self, do you possess that makes you professional? Showing up at work looking professional at all times. Clean clothes, net hair, clean shoes and a well groomed look making the statement that you care about yourself as a person and therefore have the capacity to care about others. In nursing it is more than talking to a patient. Being a good listener especially to the needs of the patient is very important to provide the best possible care. Conclusion ​Nurses represent the nursing profession at all times, whether at work or at play. If you conduct yourself professionally and present a professional demeanor, you will command the respect you deserved from your employer, your coworkers, your patient, families and community. If you look and act the role, your patient will have much more respect for you as a professional.

Epistemology †empiricism Essay

Principles like those Parmenides assumed are said in contemporary jargon to be a priori principles, or principles of reason, which just means that they are known prior to experience. It is not that we learn these principles first chronologically but rather that our knowledge of them does not depend on our senses. For example, consider the principle â€Å"You can’t make something out of nothing. † If you wished to defend this principle, would you proceed by conducting an experiment in which you tried to make something out of nothing? In fact, you would not. You would base your defense on our inability to conceive of ever making  something out of nothing Everything we know originates from four sources. The first, our senses, can be thought of as our primary source of information. Two other sources, reason and intuition, are derivative in the sense that they produce new facts from data already supplied to our minds. The fourth source, authority (or â€Å"hearsay,† or â€Å"testimony† of others), is by nature secondary, and secondhand fact-claims are always more wiggly and difficult to validate. Other sources of knowledge are commonly claimed, and it is not inconceivable that there might exist other sources; but if they do exist,  knowledge derived from them is problematic, and careful analysis usually finds that they can be subsumed under one or more of the four known sources and must be seriously questioned as legitimate, separate sources of reliable information. In summary, what is the nature of our knowledge about the real world of objects/events? Our knowledge of reality is composed of ideas our minds have created on the basis of our sensory experience. It is a fabric of knowledge woven by the mind. Knowledge is not given to the mind; nothing is â€Å"poured† into it. Rather, the mind manufactures perceptions, concepts, ideas, beliefs, and so forth and holds  them as working hypotheses about external reality. Every idea is a (subjective) working model that enables us to handle real objects/events with some degree of pragmatic efficiency. However persuasive our thoughts and images may be, they are only remote representations of reality; they are tools that enable us to deal with reality. It is as though we draw nondimensional maps to help us understand four-dimensional territory. The semanticists have long reminded us to beware of confusing any sort of map with the real landscape. â€Å"The map,† they say, â€Å"is not the territory. † An abstraction, by definition, is an idea created by the mind to refer to all objects which, possessing certain characteristics in common, are thought of in the same class. The number of objects in the class can range from two to infinity. We can refer to all men, all hurricanes, all books, all energy-forms—all everything. While abstraction-building is an inescapable mental process—in fact it is the first step in the organization of our knowledge of objects/events—a serious problem is inherent in the process. At high levels of abstraction we tend to group together objects that have but a few qualities in common, and our abstractions  may be almost meaningless, without our knowing it. We fall into the habit of using familiar abstractions and fail to realize how empty they are. For example, what do the objects in the following abstractions have in common? All atheists, all Western imperialists, all blacks or all whites (and if you think it’s skin color, think twice), all conservatives, all trees, all French people, all Christians. When we think in such high-level abstractions, it is often the case that we are communicating nothing meaningful at all. â€Å"The individual object or event we are naming, of course, has no name and belongs  to no class until we put it in one. † Going as far back as Plato, philosophers have traditionally defined knowledge as true justified belief. A priori knowledge is knowledge that is justified independently of (or prior to) experience. What kinds of knowledge could be justified without any appeal to experience? Certainly, we can know the truth of definitions and logical truths apart from experience. Hence, definitions and logically necessary truths are examples of a priori knowledge. For example, â€Å"All unicorns are one-horned creatures† is true by definition. Similarly, the following  statement is a sure bet: â€Å"Either my university’s football team will win their next game or they won’t. † Even if they tie or the game is canceled, this would fulfill the â€Å"they won’t win† part of the prediction. Hence, this statement expresses a logically necessary truth about the football team. These two statements are cases of a priori knowledge. Notice that in the particular examples of a priori knowledge I have chosen, they do not give us any real, factual information about the world. Even though the statement about unicorns is true, it does not tell us whether there are any unicorns in the world. Similarly, the football prediction does not tell us the actual outcome of the game. Experience of the world is required to know these things. The second kind of knowledge is a posteriori knowledge, or knowledge that is based on (or posterior to) experience. Similarly, the adjective empirical refers to anything that is based on experience. Any claims based on experience purport to add new information to the subject. Hence, â€Å"Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit† and â€Å"Tadpoles become frogs† would be examples of a posteriori knowledge. We know the freezing point of water and the life cycle of tadpoles through experience. Thus far, most philosophers would agree on these points. The difficult question now arises: Is there any a priori knowledge that does give us knowledge about the real world? What would that be like? It would be knowledge expressible in a statement such that (a) its truth is not determined solely by the meaning of its terms and (b) it does provide information about the way the world is. Furthermore, since it is a priori, it would be knowledge that we could justify through reason, independently of experience. The question, then, is whether or not reason alone can tell us about the ultimate nature of reality. 1. Is it possible to have knowledge at all? 2. Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience? 3. Does our knowledge represent reality as it really is? Rationalism claims that reason or the intellect is the primary source of our fundamental knowledge about reality. Nonrationalists agree that we can use reason to draw conclusions from the information provided by sense experience. However, what distinguishes the rationalists is that they claim that reason can give us knowledge apart from experience. For example, the rationalists point out that we can arrive at mathematical truths about circles  or triangles without having to measure, experiment with, or experience circular or triangular objects. We do so by constructing rational, deductive proofs that lead to absolutely indubitable conclusions that are always universally true of the world outside our minds (a priori knowledge about the world). Obviously, the rationalists think the second question should be answered affirmatively. Empiricism is the claim that sense experience is the sole source of our knowledge about the world. Empiricists insist that when we start life, the original equipment of our intellect is a tabula rasa, or blank tablet. Only through experience does that empty mind become filled with content. Various empiricists give different explanations of the nature of logical and mathematical truths. They are all agreed, however, that these truths are not already latent in the mind before we discover them and that there is no genuine a priori knowledge about the nature of reality. The empiricists would respond â€Å"No! † to the second epistemological question. With respect to question 3, both the rationalists and the empiricists think that our knowledge does represent reality as it really is. Constructivism is used in this discussion to refer to the claim that knowledge is neither already in the mind nor passively received from experience, but that the mind constructs knowledge out of the materials of experience. Immanuel Kant, an 18th-century German philosopher, introduced this view. He was influenced by both the rationalists and the empiricists and attempted to reach a compromise between them. While Kant did not agree with the rationalists on everything, he did believe we can have a priori knowledge of the world as we experience it. Although Kant did not use this label, I call his position constructivism  to capture his distinctive account of knowledge. One troubling consequence of his view was that because the mind imposes its own order on experience, we can never know reality as it is in itself. We can only know reality as it appears to us after it has been filtered and processed by our minds. Hence, Kant answers question 3 negatively. Nevertheless, because Kant thought our minds all have the same cognitive structure, he thought we are able to arrive at universal and objective knowledge within the boundaries of the human situation. Before reading further, look at the highway picture for an example of a classic  experiment in perception. Did you get the right answer, or were your eyes fooled? One way that skeptics attack knowledge claims is to point to all the ways in which we have been deceived by illusions. Our experience with perceptual illusions shows that in the past we have been mistaken about what we thought we knew. These mistakes lead, the skeptic claims, to the conclusion that we can never be certain about our beliefs, from which it follows that our beliefs are not justified. Another, similar strategy of the skeptic is to point to the possibility that our apprehension of reality could be systematically flawed in some way. The story of Ludwig, the brain in the vat who experienced a false virtual reality, would be an example of this strategy. Another strategy is to suppose that there is an inherent flaw in human psychology such that our beliefs never correspond to reality. I call these possible scenarios universal belief falsifiers. The characteristics of a universal belief falsifier are (1) it is a theoretically possible state of affairs, (2) we have no way of knowing if this state of affairs is actual or not, and (3) if this state of affairs is actual, we would never be able to distinguish beliefs that are true  from beliefs that seem to be true but are actually false. Note that the skeptic does not need to prove that these possibilities are actual. For example, the skeptic does not have to establish that we really are brains in a vat, but merely that this condition is possible. Furthermore, the skeptic need not claim that all our beliefs are false. The skeptic’s point is simply that we have no fail-safe method for determining when our beliefs are true or false. Given this circumstance, the skeptic will argue that we cannot distinguish the situation of having evidence that leads to true beliefs from the situation of having the same sort of evidence  plus a universal belief falsifier, which leads to false beliefs. Obviously, the skeptic believes that nothing is beyond doubt. For any one of our beliefs, we can imagine a set of circumstances in which it would be false. For example, I believe I was born in Rahway, New Jersey. However, my birth certificate could be inaccurate. Furthermore, for whatever reasons, my parents may have wished to keep the truth from me. I will never know for sure. I also believe that there is overwhelming evidence that Adolf Hitler committed suicide at the close of World War II. However, it could be true (as conspiracy  theorists maintain) that his death was faked and that he lived a long life in South America after the war. The theme of the skeptic is that certainty is necessary for there to be knowledge, and if doubt is possible, then we do not have certainty. We now have the considerations in place that the skeptic uses to make his or her case. There are many varieties of skeptical arguments, each one exploiting some possible flaw in either human cognition or the alleged evidence we use to justify our beliefs. Instead of presenting various specific arguments, we can consider a â€Å"generic skeptical argument. † Generic Skeptical Argument 1. We can find reasons for doubting any one of our beliefs. 2. It follows that we can doubt all our beliefs. 3. If we can doubt all our beliefs, then we cannot be certain of any of them. 4. If we do not have certainty about any of our beliefs, then we do not have knowledge. 5. Therefore, we do not have knowledge. Pyrrho of Elis (360–270 B. C. ), a philosopher in ancient Greece, inspired a skeptical movement that bore his name (Pyrrhonian skepticism). Pyrrho was skeptical concerning sense experience. He argued that for experience to be a source of knowledge, our sense data  must agree with reality. But it is impossible to jump outside our experience to see how it compares with the external world. So, we can never know whether our experience is giving us accurate information about reality. Furthermore, rational argument cannot give us knowledge either, Pyrrho said, because for every argument supporting one side of an issue, another argument can be constructed to prove the opposing case. Hence, the two arguments cancel each other out and they are equally ineffective in leading us to the truth. The followers of Pyrrho stressed that we can make claims only about how things appear to us. You can say, â€Å"The honey appears to me to be sweet† but not, â€Å"The honey is sweet. † The best approach, according to these skeptics, was to suspend judgment whenever possible and make no assumptions at all. They believed that skeptical detachment would lead to serenity. â€Å"Don’t worry about what you cannot know,† they advised. Some skeptics distilled these arguments down into two simple theses. First, nothing is self-evident, for any axiom we start with can be doubted. Second, nothing can be proven, for either we will have an infinite regress of reasons that support our previous  reasons or we will end up assuming what we are trying to prove. Descartes began his quest for knowledge with the assumption that if he had rational certainty concerning his beliefs, he necessarily had knowledge, and if he did not have certainty, he did not have knowledge. The skeptics who came after Descartes agreed with this assumption. However, as we will see in the next section, Descartes argues that there are a number of things of which we can be certain and, hence, we do have knowledge. On the other hand, the skeptics doubt whether Descartes or anyone can achieve such certainty. Lacking any grounds for certainty, the skeptics claim we cannot have knowledge about the real world. Thus, the skeptics think that Descartes’s arguments for skepticism are stronger than his proposed answers. Such a philosopher was David Hume, whom we will encounter later when we examine empir EXAMINING THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF SKEPTICISM Positive Evaluation 1. Weeding a garden is not sufficient to make flowers grow, but it does do something valuable. In what way could the skeptics be viewed as providing a â€Å"philosophical weeding service† by undercutting beliefs that are naively taken for granted? 2. The skeptics are unsettling because they force us to reexamine our most fundamental beliefs. Is it better to live in naive innocence, never questioning anything, or is it sometimes worthwhile to have your beliefs challenged? Negative Evaluation 1. The skeptics make the following claim: â€Å"Knowledge is impossible. † But isn’t this claim itself a knowledge claim that they declare is true? Is the skeptic being inconsistent? 2. The skeptics use the argument from illusion to show that we cannot trust our senses. But could we ever know that there are illusions or that sometimes our senses are deceived  unless there were occasions when our senses weren’t deceived? 3. Some skeptics would have us believe that it is possible that all our beliefs are false. But would the human race have survived if there was never a correspondence between some of our beliefs and the way reality is constituted? We believe that fire burns, water quenches thirst, vegetables nourish us, and eating sand doesn’t. If we didn’t have some sort of built-in mechanism orienting us toward true beliefs, how could we be as successful as we are in dealing with reality? 4. Is skepticism liveable? Try yelling to someone who claims to be a skeptic, â€Å"Watch out  for that falling tree limb! † Why is it that a skeptic will always look up? Think of other ways in which skeptics might demonstrate that they do believe they can find out what is true or false about the world. 5. Is Descartes’s demand for absolute certainty unreasonable? Can’t we have justified beliefs based on inferences to the best explanation, probability, or practical certainty? Does certainty have to be either 100 percent or 0 percent? The answer is that our reason tells us that â€Å"something cannot come from nothing† and â€Å"material objects do not vanish into thin air. † We will distrust our senses before  we will abandon these beliefs. Hence, our reason seems to have veto power over our sense experience. We often trust our reason even in the face of apparently solid, experiential evidence. The rationalists raise this trust in reason into a full-fledged theory of knowledge. Rationalism is a very influential theory about the source and nature of knowledge. This position may be summarized in terms of the three anchor points of rationalism. These three points are responses to the second question of epistemology, Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience? Reason Is the Primary or Most Superior Source of Knowledge about Reality According to the rationalist, it is through reason that we truly understand the fundamental truths about reality. For example, most rationalists would say the truths in the following lists are some very basic truths about the world that will never change. Although our experience certainly does illustrate most of these beliefs, our experiences always consist of par-ticular, concrete events. Hence, no experiences of seeing, feeling, hearing, tasting, or touching specific objects can tell us that these statements will always be true for every  future event we encounter. The rationalist claims that the following statements represent a priori truths about the world. They are a priori because they can be known apart from experience, yet they tell us what the world is like. LOGICAL TRUTHS A and not-A cannot both be true at the same time (where A represents some proposition or claim). This truth is called the law of noncontradiction. (For example, the statement â€Å"John is married and John is not married† is necessarily false. ) If the statement X is true and the statement â€Å"If X, then Y† is true, then it necessarily follows that the statement Y is true. MATHEMATICAL TRUTHS. The area of a triangle will always be one-half the length of the base times its height. If X is larger than Y and Y is larger than Z, then X is larger than Z. METAPHYSICAL TRUTHS Every event has a cause. An object with contradictory properties cannot exist. (No matter how long we search, we will never find a round square. ) ETHICAL PRINCIPLES Some basic moral obligations are not optional. It is morally wrong to maliciously torture someone for the fun of it. Sense Experience Is an Unreliable and Inadequate Route to Knowledge Rationalists typically emphasize the fact that sense experience is relative, changing, and often illusory. An object will look one way in artificial light and will look different in sunlight. Our eyes seem to see water on the road on a hot day, but the image is merely an optical illusion. The rationalist claims that we need our reason to sort out what is appearance from what is reality. Although it is obvious that a rationalist could not get through life without some reliance on sense experience, the rationalist denies that sense experience is the only source of knowledge about reality. Furthermore, experience can tell us only about particular things in the world. However, it cannot give us universal, foundational truths  about reality. Sensory experience can tell me about the properties of this ball, but it cannot tell me about the properties of spheres in general. Experience can tell me that when I combine these two oranges with those two oranges, they add up to four oranges. However, only reason can tell me that two plus two will always equal four and that this result will be true not only for these oranges, or all oranges, but for anything whatsoever. The Fundamental Truths about the World Can Be Known A Priori: They Are Either Innate or Self-Evident to Our Minds Innate ideas are ideas that are inborn. They are ideas or principles that the mind already contains prior to experience. The notion of innate ideas is commonly found in rationalistic philosophies, but it is rejected by the empiricists. The theory of innate ideas views the mind like a computer that comes from the factory with numerous programs already loaded on its disk, waiting to be activated. Hence, rationalists say that such ideas as the laws of logic, the concept of justice, or the idea of God are already contained deep within the mind and only need to be brought to the level of conscious awareness. Innate ideas should not be confused with instinct. Instinct is a noncognitive set of mechanical behaviors, such as blinking the eyes when an object approaches them. The theory of innate ideas is one account of how we can have a priori knowledge. Other rationalists believe that if the mind does not already contain these ideas, they are, at least, either self-evident or natural to the mind and the mind has a natural predisposition to recognize them. For example, Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716), a German rationalist, compared the mind to a block of marble that contains veins or natural splitting points that allow only one sort of shape to be formed within it. Thus, the mind, like the marble, has an innate structure that results in â€Å"inclinations, dispositions, habits, or natural capacities† to think in certain ways. In contrast to this view, John Locke (a British empiricist) said: â€Å"There is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses. † In response, Leibniz tagged the following rationalistic qualification at the end of Locke’s formula, â€Å"except for the intellect itself. † Obviously, in saying that the mind contains rational ideas or dispositions, the rationalists do not believe a baby is thinking about the theorems of geometry. Instead, they claim  that when a person achieves a certain level of cognitive development, he or she will be capable of realizing the self-evident truth of certain ideas. Leibniz pointed out that there is a difference between the mind containing rational principles and being aware of them. Rationalists give different accounts of how the mind acquired innate ideas in the first place. Socrates and Plato believed that our souls preexisted our current life and received knowledge from a previous form of existence. Theistic rationalists, such as Descartes, tend to believe that God implanted these ideas within us. Others simply claim that these principles or ideas naturally accompany rational minds such as ours. THE RATIONALISTS’ ANSWERS TO THE THREE EPISTEMOLOGICAL QUESTIONS Section 2. 0 contained three questions concerning knowledge: (1) Is knowledge possible? (2) Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience? and (3) Does our knowledge represent reality as it really is? While differing on the details, all the rationalists give the same answers to these three questions. First, they all believe that knowledge is possible. Generally, we are able to discern that some opinions are better than others. For example, in the discipline of mathematics some answers are true and some are false. We could not know this fact if obtaining knowledge was impossible. Second, the rationalists agree that only through reason can we find an adequate basis for knowledge. For example, in mathematics and logic we are able through reason alone to arrive at truths that are absolutely certain and necessarily true. Third, rationalists agree that beliefs that are based on reason do represent reality as it truly is. In the following sections, I examine three classical rationalists to see how they illustrate the three anchor points of rationalism and  answer the three epistemological questions. Socrates’ answers to the three epistemological questions should be clear. (1) We are able to distinguish true opinions from false ones, so we must know the standards for making this distinction. (2) These standards could not be derived from experience so they must be unpacked through a rational investigation of the reservoir of all truth—the soul. (3) Since our rational knowledge provides us with information that enables us to deal successfully with the world and our own lives, it must be giving us an accurate picture of reality. However, according to Plato, since the  physical world is constantly changing, sense perception gives us only relative and temporary information about changing, particular things. Being a typical rationalist, Plato thought that ultimate knowledge must be objective, unchanging, and universal. Furthermore, he argued that there is a difference between true opinions and knowledge, for our beliefs must be rationally justified to qualify as knowledge. Finally, Plato believed that the object of knowledge must be something that really exists. Plato and the Role of Reason Do mathematical truths, such as those in the multiplication tables, exist within the mind or do they exist outside the mind? Plato would say both. If mathematical truths exist only in the mind, then why does physical reality conform to these truths? If mathematical truths are only mind-dependent ideas, then why can’t we make the truths about triangles be anything we decide them to be? The world of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was created in the mind of Lewis Carroll. He could have made the world’s properties be anything he decided. But obviously, we can’t make up such rules for the properties of numbers. We don’t create these truths; we discover them. Thus, Plato would argue, these truths are objective and independent of our minds. But if they are independent of our minds, then they must refer to something that exists in reality. Although the number seven, for example, has objective properties that we discover, these properties are not physical. We do not learn the truths about numbers by seeing, tasting, hearing, smelling, or touching them. From this concept, Plato concludes that the world of mathematics consists of a set of objective, mindindependent truths and a domain of nonphysical reality that we know only through reason. What about justice? What color is it? How tall is it? How much does it weigh? Clearly, these questions can apply to physical things, but it is meaningless to describe justice in terms of observable properties. Furthermore, no society is perfectly just. Hence, we have never seen an example of perfect justice in human history, only frail, human attempts to approximate it. Because reason can contemplate Justice Itself,* we can evaluate the deficient, limited degrees of justice found in particular societies. Particular nations come and go and the degree of justice they manifest can rise or fall. But the objects of genuine knowledge  such as true Justice or true Circularity are eternal and unchanging standards and objects of knowledge. Plato on Universals and the Knowledge of Reality Thus far, Plato has argued that there are some things that we could not know about (Justice, Goodness, Equality) if experience was our only source of knowledge. The soul must have somehow acquired knowledge independently of the senses. But what, exactly, are the objects of this special sort of knowledge? In answering this question, Plato builds on the distinction he has made between the here-and-now realm of sense experience and the unchanging realm of rational knowledge. He says that in the world of sense experience we find that particulars fall into a number of stable, universal categories. Without these categories, we could not identify anything or talk about particulars at all. For example, Tom, Andre, Maria, and Lakatria are all distinct individuals, yet we can use the universal term human being to refer to each of them. In spite of their differences, something about them is the same. Corresponding to each common name (such as â€Å"human,† â€Å"dog,† â€Å"justice†) is a Universal that consists of the essential, common properties of anything within that category. Circular objects (coins, rings, wreathes, planetary orbits) all have the Universal of Circularity in common. Particular objects that are beautiful (roses, seashells, persons, sunsets, paintings) all share the Universal of Beauty. Particulars come into being, change, and pass away but Universals reside in an eternal, unchanging world. The rose grows from a bud, becomes a beautiful flower, and then turns brown and ugly and fades away. Yet the Universal of Beauty (or Beauty Itself ) remains eternally the same. Plato believes that Universals are more than concepts, they are actually the constituents  of reality. Hence, in answer to the third epistemological question, Plato believes that knowledge of Universals provides us with knowledge of the fundamental features of reality, which are nonphysical, eternal, and unchanging. Plato also refers to these Universals as â€Å"Forms. † The following thought experiment will help you appreciate Plato’s emphasis on Universals and universal truth. Descartes on the Possibility of Knowledge Although Descartes was certain he could not be deceived about his own existence, the possibility of a Great Deceiver cast a shadow over all his other beliefs. Unless he could find something external to his mind that would guarantee that the contents of his mind represented reality, there was little hope for having any knowledge other than that of his own existence. Descartes sought this guarantee in an all-powerful, good God. Hence, Descartes says, â€Å"As soon as the opportunity arises I must examine whether there is a God, and, if there is, whether he can be a deceiver. For if I do not know this, it seems that I can never be quite certain about anything else. †12 If Descartes could prove that such a God exists, then he could know that knowledge is possible. But notice how limited are the materials Descartes has at his disposal for proving God’s existence. He cannot employ an empirical argument based on the nature of the external world, for that is an issue that is still in doubt. So, he must construct a rationalistic argument that reasons only from the contents of his own mind. STOP AND THINK Descartes on the Role of Reason In the following passage from Meditation III, Descartes says the â€Å"natural light of reason† shows him that (1) something cannot arise from nothing and (2) there must be at least as much reality in the cause as there is in the effect. †¢ What examples does he use to illustrate each of these principles? †¢ How does he apply these two principles to the existence of his own ideas? The argument that Descartes has given us in the previous passages can be summarized in this way: 1. Something cannot be derived from nothing. (In other words, all effects, including ideas, are caused by something. ) 2. There must be at least as much reality in the cause as there is in the effect. 3. I have an idea of God (as an infinite and perfect being). 4. The idea of God in my mind is an effect that was caused by something. 5.  I am finite and imperfect, and thus I could not be the cause of the idea of an infinite and perfect God. 6. Only an infinite and perfect being could be the cause of such an idea. 7. Therefore, God (an infinite and perfect being) exists. THE THREE ANCHOR POINTS OF EMPIRICISM The Only Source of Genuine Knowledge Is Sense Experience The empiricists compare the mind to a blank tablet upon which experience makes its marks. Without experience, they claim, we would lack not only knowledge of the specific features of the world, but also the ability even to conceive of qualities such.

Performance Management & Reward System

Performance Management â€Å"How I get my people to do what I want them to do, in the way I want them to do it! † Performance management (PM): Organisations that take performance management seriously, manage a range of different but inter-related topics: †¢Mission †¢Vision †¢Strategy †¢Business plans †¢Values (how people should and should not behave) †¢Culture in which improving performance is valued and developed †¢Monitoring of performance – at individual, unit and Team levels †¢Feedback of that monitoring to staff †¢Clear goals †¢A set of competencies Appraisal discussions †¢Personal development (training, coaching, reading, sittings etc) †¢Management development †¢Good job design †¢Team working (interaction and mutual responsibility) †¢Extrinsic reward and recognition (basic pay, performance pay, awards, saying ‘well done’)†¢Intrinsic rewards (the satisfaction from doing a w orthwhile job reasonably well) †¢Effective remedies for under performers. Performance management levels: †¢Organisation †¢Department †¢Unit †¢Team †¢Individual Data collection for PM: Data is collected at four levels: Inputs: Staff time, budget, data, consumables, energy, and equipment †¢Processes: Support, sales, teaching, research, paperwork, IT, purchasing etc. †¢Outputs: Customers served, bills paid, items sold, students helped, degrees awarded, research written up †¢Outcomes: Profit in a commercial enterprise or service delivery in a service organisation (usually assessed through customer satisfaction).Rules for monitoring performance: (a) Objective: †¢Introduce monitoring as one part of a bigger drive to improve customer experience. (b) Positive: †¢Seek information to improve the customer experience and not to blame people. c) Involvement: †¢Involve responsible people to work on the monitoring, as a part of their driv e to improve the customer experience. †¢If you choose items to monitor and impose those, staff will probably be de-motivated and performance will drop. †¢Treat your staff as professional, responsible and motivated (d) Outcomes: †¢Measure outcomes in preference to outputs. (Governments are obsessed with outputs – numbers of patients treated, lengths of waiting lists, numbers of students receiving degrees, numbers of children who can read and write etc). (e)Tough: Challenge those who like the fuzziness of not knowing how they are doing. (f) Choosy: †¢Pick only the most important factors to monitor as too many measures will be Counterproductive. (g) Numbers: †¢Measure performance numerically, by getting the customer to grade them on a scale 0 to 5. (h) Benchmark: †¢Use the results as your baseline or benchmark, from where you can improve. (i) Communicate: †¢Make sure the targets are known, understood and accepted. (j) Reliable Use reliable sour ces of data. HIGH PERFORMANCE WORKING High performance working (HPW): The four elements of HPW are: )Employee autonomy and involvement in decision making †¢Develop flexibility of skills †¢Team working to give variety and responsibility. 2)Support for employee performance †¢Appropriate selection and recruitment processes (finding staff at all levels who will support a high performance culture) †¢Comprehensive induction programmes †¢Sophisticated and wide training†¢Integrated and wide ranging performance management †¢Emphasis upon work-life balance. 3)Rewards for performance †¢Offer a career not just a job †¢Harmonised terms and conditions †¢Pay that is competitive with other employers Rewards linked to individual and team performance 4)Learning †¢Plenty of effective communication †¢Quality improvement teams †¢Lean systems (this can be expanded upon at the workshop) †¢Spending on training. Details will vary from org anisation to organisation. Why HPW: Because if you are not driving up performance: †¢Staff motivation will be lost †¢Quality, quantity and innovation will decline †¢Pressure to reduce your prices will grow or †¢Customers may simply stop buying your goods or services altogether or †¢Competitors may take your work. What does this mean in practice?Employee autonomy and involvement †¢Develop flexibility of skills †¢Team working to give variety and responsibility Support for employee performance †¢Appropriate selection and recruitment processes (finding staff at all levels who will support a high performance culture) †¢Comprehensive induction programmes †¢Sophisticated and wide training †¢Integrated and wide ranging performance management †¢Emphasis upon work-life balance Rewards for performance †¢Offer a career not just a job †¢Harmonised terms and conditions †¢Pay that is competitive with other employers Rewards linked to individual and team performance. Learning †¢Plenty of effective communication †¢Quality improvement teams †¢Lean systems (this can be expanded upon at the workshop) †¢Spending on training. According to 2004 research, by the Engineering Employers’ Federation and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, effects of HPW are: †¢About 20% of increases in productivity and profit in manufacturing †¢Increased job satisfaction and commitment: quality, quantity and innovation †¢Employees more likely to say ‘a great place to work’ †¢Increased earnings potential for employeesImplementing high performance working Things that may need to be addressed are: †¢Getting top management’s commitment, particularly to resource, to communicate and to demonstrate the required behaviours. †¢Getting the resources HPW needs (both financial and risk taking e. g. new reward structures). †¢Carrying out team and in dividual appraisals that make a real difference. †¢Seeking and rewarding discretionary behaviour (Ability x Motivation x Opportunity = AMO). †¢Allowing employees to re-design jobs to maximise interest and challenge. †¢Changing existing strong cultures Increasing levels of trust between management and employees. †¢Getting staff to be understand about organisational performance †¢Involving employees in design and implementation of HPW. †¢Integrating initiatives, so they reinforce each other, therefore: ? Implementation is in bundles ?Staff understand it and show commitment ?Other organisations are used as benchmarks ?Continuous improvement is developed. THE CONTRASTING OBJECTIVES OF THE EMPLOYER AND THE EMPLOYEE †¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœThe employer wants as much productivity for as little cost as possible, whilst the employee wants as much money for as little effort as possible. †¢Life is more complex than this, but this is a useful start! This is the left win g pluralist approach. †¢The right wing unitarist approach is ‘Prosperous employers make prosperous employees. ’ What is the employer trying to get out of the employee?Principally, an employer wants three things from employees: †¢Quantity (productivity) †¢Quality (producing good work with low wastage) †¢Innovation (finding new and better ways to get the work done). But there are also management issues: †¢Cost †¢Control (of cost and of the employees) What do the elements of good performance look like? We now talk about ‘discretionary behaviour’ i. e. the voluntary effort people put in, over and above the bare minimum, below which they will get into trouble. †¢Employers seek discretionary behaviour and good organisations will establish performance management processes to generate it. It is normally expressed as: Discretionary behaviour = ability x motivation x opportunity †¢If the value of any component on the right is z ero there will be zero discretionary behaviour.†¢Ability is the assumption that people want to apply for jobs, have their attributes recognised and are willing to learn new skills. Motivation assumes that people can be motivated to use their ability in a productive manner. †¢Opportunity assumes people will perform well, engage in high-quality work and participate in wider activities, such as team initiatives or problem solving, if they are given the opportunity to do so. What are the employees’ objectives? This will vary from person to person. Work published by Guest and Conway (2001) on the psychological contract suggested the most common were: †¢A reasonably secure job †¢Fair pay for the work done†¢A career †¢Interesting work †¢Fair treatment by managers †¢Equality of treatment To be kept informed about changes affecting them †¢Involved and consulted about changes affecting them REWARD AND MOTIVATION †¢Motivation is concerne d with WHY people do or refrain from doing things. †¢A motive† is a need or a driving force within a person. The process of motivation involves choosing between alternative forms of action in order to achieve some desired end or goal. †¢As the following formula shows, goals can be tangible – such as higher earnings – or intangible – such as personal reputation or prestige. Motivation at work: We can divide motivation at work into internal and external motivation. a) Internal motivation†¢This is related to the work, where there is a close identity between the task itself and the human needs, e. g. where a cabinet-maker or motor-fitter derives satisfaction from a job well done. (b) External motivation †¢This is independent of the task i. e. the task is merely a means to an end; for instance, when a person works on an assembly line to get high wages. †¢Clashes of interest are resolved in the traditional manner by offering financial in centives and/or threatening the loss of employment – providing external motivation. This traditional â€Å"carrot and stick† idea still lingers – the carrot often being money and the stick, fear. Money: The â€Å"great motivator†. It is a fact that most people go to work because they get paid to do so. However, this basic need for money will only make a worker turn up and do the acceptable minimum. There are a range of other â€Å"carrots† – or positive incentives – offered as an incentive to work, or to particular types of performance, including welfare amenities, holidays, etc. Fear: The â€Å"big stick† theory is rather outdated now, but it is still occasionally appropriate to motivate people through fearIntrinsic and extrinsic motivators: †¢Intrinsic reinforcements of behaviour, which are â€Å"inside the individual† reward feelings, like finding work interesting, feeling appreciated, etc †¢Extrinsic reinfo rcements of behaviour, which are the outside influences and rewards such as money, extra holidays, company car, etc; Problems in work role: (a) Alienation: †¢Psychologists use this term to refer to the feelings of an individual when they are estranged from their situation at work. E. g. the salesperson forced to sell goods in which they have little belief or confidence. b) Anomie: (lack of the usual social or ethical standards) †¢The causes of anomie are to be found in the confusion that arises in large organisations. The individual may be faced with pressures and problems at work that they do not fully understand. (c) Status: †¢Social status refers to the amount of respect paid to an individual. A work role can confer prestige upon a person.Status may be perceived through the possession of symbols, e. g. salary, title of job, work surroundings, dress, company car, etc. †¢Many modern theorists are becoming convinced of the value of the Japanese approach of reduci ng status differences, e. g. veryone to wear the firm’s uniform; single canteen; parking and toilet facilities for all staff, etc. (d) Stress: †¢Psychologists define stress as strain experienced by an individual over a period of time, which impairs the ability of the individual to perform their role. †¢Stress can produce physical or mental symptoms and can be generated by pressures and problems in the work situation. Managers view of motivation: F W Taylor was an early proponent of the dictum that workers should share the same goals as those of the organisation, and the way to achieve this was through the application of scientific management principles.The basis of this approach lay in the following principles. †¢Planning †¢Time and motion study †¢Incentives †¢Working conditions †¢Training The essence of the practical application of the scientific approach is to try to reconcile the needs of the organisation and the needs of the individual. Individual and Organisational Needs: Factors that improve an employee’s level of job satisfaction are: †¢Responsibility †¢Challenge †¢Self-improvement and personal growth †¢Recognition †¢Sense of achievement NEED THEORIES OF MOTIVATION Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:Hierarchy of Needs D C McClelland’s theory: D C McClelland is another theorist who, from the early 1960s, was concerned with the analysis of human needs. He concentrated on three key needs: i)Need for affiliation: The need of human beings for friendship and meaningful relationships. ii)Need for power: Some people seek power in their work situations; they wish to make a strong impression on people and events. iii) Need to achieve: To many people, the sense of â€Å"getting on†, progressing or being promoted, is very important. Frederick Herzberg’s Two-factor Theory: Frederick Herzberg, writing in the late 1950s and early 1960s, identified two distinct sets of needs in individuals working in organisations: the need to avoid pain and discomfort and the need to develop psychologically as a person.Herzberg proposes several ways in which a higher level of motivation might be promoted: †¢Good quality training: the more a person can do, the more that person can be motivated. †¢Focus on quality of communications, rather than quantity: communication should be direct whenever possible. †¢Job rotation: improving the variety of tasks and responsibilities. †¢Job enlargement: making a person capable of more. Job enrichment: creating meaningful, interesting work. Herzberg believes that it is difficult or impossible to achieve if the job is basically dull, repetitive or uninteresting Douglas McGregor developed a typology of two opposed views about employee behaviour, related to Maslow’s categories of need and considered their implications for management and motivation.The two views are known as Theory X and Theory Y. (a)Theory X â⠂¬ ¢This traditional approach of management, which accepts the worker as a lazy, grasping individual, who must be bribed or coerced into working, McGregor called Theory X. It rests on the following assumptions: The average human being dislikes work. †¢The average human being will avoid work whenever possible. †¢Not only is the average employee lazy but they also lack ambition and do not wish to take on responsibilities. †¢Because of the above characteristics, employees must be strictly controlled and directed. †¢Control of employees must be backed by coercion and threats, if the objectives of the organisation are to be achieved. †¢The average person prefers to be directed and not to have to think deeply for themselves in the work situation. (b)Theory Y McGregor then put forward the set of assumptions that modern managers should act upon.He calls this Theory Y. †¢The physical and mental effort people put into work is a natural human response; it is simil ar to the effort individuals make in games and sport. Hence, work can be enjoyable. †¢Employees do not have to be controlled or threatened; they have reserves of self control and self-motivation †¢Given the opportunities and training, employees will not only take, but also desire and seek, responsibilities. †¢Employees have reservoirs of imagination, creativity and ingenuity and given the right environment and encouragement, they will use these to help solve problems in the work situation. In some modern organisations the potential of employees is not fully utilised; not only is a waste of resources, but it also causes frustration among the workforce. Hence, when workers do not co-operate to achieve organisational goals, the fault may lie in the structure of the organisation rather than in the workers. Ouchi’s Theory Z †¢William Ouchi agreed with the basic ideas put forward by McGregor’s Theory Y and related these to certain of the ideas he detected in Japanese organisations. †¢Ouchi’s theory argues that participation is a crucial motivator.Employees will be motivated to higher levels of performance if they are involved in meaningful participation in decision making in their organisation. PROCESS THEORIES OF MOTIVATION Difference between a content theory and a process theory: †¢Content or need theories suggest that there are universal needs that all humans have for example security, socialisation, self respect etc. †¢Process theories do not look at the content of the motivational package but at the mental processes that we go through when faced with a situation. Process theories Expectancy Theory:Expectancy Theory is a cognitively based motivational theory, put forward by Victor Vroom. According to this theory the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of our expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to us. Attrac tiveness †¢This is the importance we place on the potential outcome or reward that can be achieved on the job. This will consider the unsatisfied needs of the individual. Performance-reward linkage †¢This is the degree to which we believe that performing at a particular level will lead to a desired outcome.Effort-performance linkage †¢The probability that we perceive that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance. The theory can be expressed by the formula: †¢Motivational force (F) = Valency (V) ? Expectancy (E) †¢Valency is the value of the outcome to the person; expectancy is the perceived likelihood of the outcome. Porter and Lawler †¢Porter and Lawler developed expectancy theory in the 1970s. They suggest that the amount of effort (motivation and energy exerted) put into work depends on: †¢The eventual reward †¢The amount of effort necessary to achieve that reward †¢How probable it is that the reward will be forthcomi ng.Attribution theory Kelley’s attribution theory examines the way in which people explain success or failure and the impact on subsequent motivations. Four variables are frequently used: †¢Ability †¢Effort †¢Task difficulty †¢Luck Handy’s motivational calculus Handy looks at motivation as though when a person takes a decision, they give attention to three sets of factors: (a) The individual’s personal needs (b) The desired outcome or results (c)The E factors: Effort, Energy, Excitement in attaining the desired outcome, Enthusiasm, Emotion, Expenditure. The motivation decision will depend on: i) The strength of the person’s needs. (ii) The expectation that by contributing one of the Es, the individual will achieve one of the desired results. (iii) The extent to which the result will contribute to satisfying the person’s needs. Connection with the psychological contract A psychological contract is the perceived relationship betwe en the individual and the organisation and involves the various factors that bind the individual to the enterprise. Three examples of psychological contracts are: †¢A coercive psychological contract exists when a person works because they are forced to do so.They may be tied into the job because the salary and fringe benefits prevent them from moving elsewhere. †¢A remunerative psychological contract exists when a person works for the money. The person may tolerate the job to attain the lifestyle it provides. This differs from the coercive contract as the remunerative contract may bind the person in the short term, only to be severed if a better deal is available elsewhere. †¢A collaborative psychological contract is one in which the worker is bound to the organisation by a belief that personal objectives can best be attained by enabling the organisation to fulfil its objectives.From an employer’s point of view, this is more likely to result in having a highly motivated workforce. The person’s desire to achieve can facilitate the company’s performance objectives. EXCELLENCE THEORY AND MOTIVATION †¢Excellence theories originate in the works of writers in the early 1980s, principally based on the work of Tom Peters and Robert Waterman. †¢The nature of these ideas is essentially one of observing successes and failures in actual business scenarios and attempting to draw universal lessons that can then be applied elsewhere. †¢Peters and Waterman did not set out to rite specifically on motivation, but their work comments much on the ability of successful companies to get a high level of commitment from their workers.Among their conclusions were: †¢Original ideas and ingenuity are grossly under-utilised. Drucker’s idea of the â€Å"entrepreneur† (the original thinker and innovator) was extended to suggest that if such persons are employed, their gifts should be harnessed for the benefit of the orga nisation. †¢To motivate workers, it is necessary to get close to the workers and understand the issues affecting them as well as their drives and motivations. They believe that workers respond more positively when they feel more in control of their destiny. †¢In one control group experiment, two teams were given the task of proofreading some text material against a noisy background of a tape containing foreign speech, loud music and other distractions. One group had a button to cut off the noise whilst the other did not. †¢The group with the button made far less errors than the other group. It was found, however, that no one had pressed the button!The fact that the workers felt in control made them work more effectively. Peters and Waterman record a direct application of this in a Ford Motor Company plant whereby any worker could (temporarily) stop the assembly line. This had stunning results in terms of increased productivity and reduced defect rates. PERFORMANCE BAS ED REWARDING IN NOKIA Nokia provides employees with market competitive rewards through a flexible global structure, which can address diverse and changing business and employment environments, as well as specific individual preferences.Our Total Compensation Package is tailored for each country and typically consists of elements such as annual base salary, incentives, bonuses, possible stock options or performance shares, flexible Work-Life balance solutions, and other local benefits. Nokia rewards employees for good performance, competence development, and for overall company success. This creates a positive and encouraging environment with opportunities for employees to optimize their potential and be rewarded fairly. Higher erformance and contribution will lead to higher rewards. The Nokia global market competitive rewards structure addresses the need for flexibility, personalization, empowerment and commitment. The basic salary is set to meet market conditions, the demands of th e job and individual competence and performance. The variable part may consist of incentives or bonuses and other compensation, such as overtime pay and call-out pay. Bonus System Employees should have the opportunity to share in the success of Nokia.Short-term incentive programs such as individual, team, project/program incentives and the Nokia Connecting People Bonus allow Nokia to offer immediate rewards for employee and team achievements. The Stock Option Plan is a long-term reward that may allow employees to share in sustained company success. Eligibility for an incentive, bonus or stock option plans is defined by the content and nature of each individual's job. Local Benefits Additional local rewards and benefits are also developed to complement the global programs and to ensure that the local market conditions are met.Annual Reviews Nokia has implemented a global process, where the change in the pay level for each employee is based on the results of the annual performance rev iew. Health Nokia cares for its employees right throughout the cycle of their working life: from induction and training, through development and advancement, and on to retirement. Nokia's Work-Life balance solutions mean that health benefits and possible local retirement benefits are tailored to individual needs according to factors such as tenure, contribution, performance, roles and responsibilities.The environment in which we do business is evolving continuously. To succeed, we must have the passion and courage to look for new ideas beyond existing products, services and ways of working. Only with truly innovative ideas will we be able to define the future development of our industry and profoundly shape the way in which people understand and use our products and services in their everyday lives. Rewarding performance Nokia rewards employees competitively through a global reward framework designed to recognize individual contribution and achievement.Levels of compensation are det ermined by local labour markets and take into account both individual and company performance. Their reward programs – including bonuses – recognize performance based on individual, team and company results. We introduced changes to their incentive plans in 2007 to make the plans simpler, more consistent and able to deliver equal or higher payouts if target performance or above is achieved. A wide number of employees are eligible to join their equity programs, based on rewarding performance and retaining top employees.Their broad-based equity compensation programs include stock options and performance shares. Both are linked to the company’s performance over a number of years. We communicate with employees about the effect of business results on their incentives after each quarterly announcement, through articles and video messages on our intranet news channel, the News Hub. We also communicate through quarterly letters, blogs, webcasts and face-to-face meetings . In addition, information is available on the Know Your Business section of our intranet.

Jashan-E-Baharan Celebrations at Cbm

Jashan-e-Baharan Celebrations at CBM Jashan-e-Baharan or the onset of spring is celebrated all over the country and different festivals are organized on its arrival. CBM, one of the leading business schools of the country, organized a similar festival, ‘Basant Mela’ by name, on the 24th  of March, 2008. The event, starting at 3:00 pm, was an astounding success with hundreds of students thronging the campus premises to participate in the festivities. The program wonderfully galvanized the enthusiasm of both the students and the faculty members and was staged in a typical ambience of spring season encompassing colours, kites and excitement everywhere. The Prologue:  Hectic and intense preparations preceded the event with every minute detail from the arrangement of the tables that needed to be laid out to the number of people expected to attend the event, both students of the college and expected outsiders. As performers rehearsed days and nights, fellow students also supported, cheered and propelled them to put up their best show. A mini dress rehearsal of concert and entertainment programs was held on the 20th  of March at the campus auditorium and only the students of CBM were allowed to have on-stage performance. The Mela:  Volunteers of the Entertainment & Publications Society started to troop in promptly by 10:00 am in the morning. The event gathered momentum with the unfolding of the event backdrop and the tables being laid out. As the creaks of the microphones and the â€Å"Hello†s reverberated throughout the hall, one could sense the excitement in store. By the middle of afternoon the pace saturated and as the clock struck 3:00 pm the event was officially declared opened by the president of the said society and students started pouring in. A hearty welcome in traditional style was offered to the patrons, including the Executive Director Academics of the college, Mr. Talib S. Karim. Once inside, nostrils were filled with the flavors of the Cha’at, Samosas and a colorful chaos, the folklore characteristics of village melas. A special section was dedicated for the kite-flyers in the car parking area and no one was allowed to fly kites at any other place of the vicinity in order to ensure safety and discipline for all the participants. A throng of crowd gathered near the â€Å"Game Arena†, a portion dedicated to the game lovers, trying their luck in games of chances. One student was noticed in particular by everyone who, after the 26th attempt, landed a ring on the right spot and amidst a burst of cheers and applauds – ‘won a prize! ’. For those who appreciated the finer aspects of tradition and handworks, a table filled with the various exotic and eye-catching pots, shawls, bangles and other ornaments from Kashmir and northern valleys, were waiting to be scooped away. A special information-booth was setup for outsiders and guests which served its purpose well especially for those interested in knowing about the institute in detail. The main sponsors of the event were Cadbury, Glaxo Smith Kline and the makers of Lipton Tea. Beyond any doubt, such events are a source of entertainment and refreshment for both the students and faculty members and they should be organized on a regular basis.

Benefits and Disadvantages of Saas Free Samples for Students

1.What is SaaS and outline its benefit and disadvantages. Explain your answer. 2.What business risks had Liberty Wines faced?. 3.What data and IT Problems were limiting FinCEN’s ability to Fight Financial Crime? 1.SaaS is the abbreviated form of Software as a Service is also known as a software which is on demand. In this software delivery model software and the information related to the same are stored in a centralised system and contacted with the help of a thin client which is generally a web browser via the internet such as Wikipedia. The said product is not required to be purchased and installed separately in a fix location (Clair, 2010). All it requires the user to pay a subscription fee and then pay as needed. The benefits offers by SaaS are as under: The disadvantages of using SaaS are as under: 2.Liberty Wines faced the biggest risk associated with the IT system which was installed in the organization since it was not of the latest version. The system was too outdated to cope up with the rising volume of data so much that the employees failed to reply to the customer queries on time. IT infrastructure of Liberty Wine had a negative impact on the petitive advantage of the pany. It is not being able to sustain the expanding business requirements therefore leading toa   loss of clientele. However, shifting of the pany’s IT system to virtualisation has benefited the pany in the many ways. The same is illustrated below: 3.FinCen was unable to fight financial crime successfully before 2008 as the IT system installed was outdated which did not have the capability to process huge volumes of data regarding the money laundering and terrorism at the right time. Usage of off-line system instead of an online system also was a cause for the delay in distribution of data to the required agencies and bureaus who could then take an action against the said crime. FinCen should upgrade its present IT system in vogue along with the analytical potentials. If it upgrades its system then the bureau will be able to process data well on time. For the same tey have even launched an App to support the real time availability of data of the past 11 years to the various users such as government officials and law enforcement agencies. Financial intelligence is dependent upon successful scrutinising of the data which would depict all kind of illegal activities clearly. The same is very crucial for the national security as well as these financial agencies help to find out if any kind of illegitimate work is being carried out in the country which could impact the safety and security of the people staying. There main aim is to find out if any danger is about to approach and if so make the country aware so that adequate steps to mitigate the same are taken (Lowers, 2015). Recently Ann Martin an associate of FinCen had detected the financial crime which was taking place between USA and Mexico where the latter was supplying drug pills in USA and the proceeds were being deposited in a local bank and wired back to USA. She analysed the big data set and found out the entire of such an act and informed the Mexican Government (Davidson, 2011). The same was possible because of the fact that FinCen had also upgraded its IT system well enough to help perform such analysis. Clair,G.S. (2010). Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Retrieved from https://smr-knowledge /wp-content/uploads/2010/01/EOS-SaaS-White-Paper-2008.pdf Davidson,J. (2011). Rewards of federal service. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost /politics/rewards-of-federal-service/2011/09/15/gIQAMoPcVK_story.html?utm_term=.8231a02babd0 Lowers,M. (2015). The role of FinCen in BSA/AML. Retrieved from https://www.lowersriskgroup /blog/2015/03/30/role-of-fincen-in-bsa-aml/ McLellan,C. (2013). SaaS: Pros, cons and leading vendors. Retrieved from https://www.zdnet /article/saas-pros-cons-and-leading-vendors/ Metzler,J. (2011). Virtualisation : Benefits, Challenges, and Solutions. Retrieved from https://www.stotthoare .au/sites/default/files/files/1_16100_WhitePaper_VirtualizationBenefits_by_Webtorials.pdf Getting academic assistance from

Footlocker-mkt304 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Footlocker-mkt304 - Research Paper Example In fact, for many of them it is seen as an opportunity to become popular and more attractive† (McGinty,2009). The major attraction of Footlocker is their shoes which are from renowned companies like Reebok, Addidas, Nike and Jordan. They also sell clothing of these brands which are a big hype among teenagers and also they demand it due to the goodwill these brands have on a global basis. 2) Product’s features The sports apparels sold by footlocker are of Nike, Adidas and Jordan who are pioneers of sports wear and equipments. The features of these sport wear and equipments are that they are unique and distinct from other sports brands. The shoes are light weighted and has sleek look and has an excellent appeal when worn. The top seller of the company is the Nike Zoom Kobe VI for men. According to (Footlocker, 2011),â€Å"The Nike Zoom Kobe VI is the latest evolution of basketball footwear. Moldable upper with new Fly wire construction creates a dynamic, lightweight fit w ith an Achilles notch for greater comfort†. Since the teenagers are excited by the look of the products, the company offers them what they really desire for. Teenager and adults look for the branded products which match the celebrity fashion and these products are used by fashion icons. The shoes and accessories sold by them come in vibrant colors and style which catch attention of any teenager. Clothing, shoes and accessories have versatility, long lasting quality and signature brand mark on them. 3) Product’s benefits The products provided by Footlocker are shoes and clothing and other sport accessories which gives utmost comfort and security to its customer. Sneakers and clothing sold by this retailer is from Nike and Adidas, who are the pioneer in sports apparels. â€Å"Both Nike and Adidas are well known sportswear firms that have become household names of sorts throughout many parts of the world. The undisputed giants of the sportswear and sports equipment indust ries, consumers can generally expect quality products from the two brands† (reComparison 2010). The young generation is the targeted customers of footlockers and theses group demand branded products which have name and fame and have high durability. The young children and teenagers are impulsive buyers and the company targets them as they make decision in a short span of time. The brands sold by the company have a huge advertising campaign and creates a significant impact on young generations mind as to their fame and quality. â€Å"The teenagers spend most of the money on themselves immediately. Teenagers have also found to be more brand loyal that adults†(Michman,2003,pg.144). So footlocker as a retailer, take advantage of this fact and focus them to market their branded sport products. 4) Product’s branding Foot locker offers shoes and clothing of Nike, Adidas and Jordan not only has goodwill but also give comfort, durability and lasting effect which other pro ducts cannot offer. The company’s target customers who are teenagers and adults in early 20’s look for products which are renowned and also match their style quotient. For example Adidas is well known for their style factor apart from durability and good will. In his book (Dunne,2007,pg.57)states that, â€Å"The foot locker has found success by concentrating on a very narrow segment of shoe market but offering a very large selection†. They have good selection of sports shoes, clothing and sports accessories