Ebay in China Case Study Essays

Ebay in China Case Study Essays Ebay in China Case Study Paper Ebay in China Case Study Paper 21/11/2011 E-Bay Strategy In China Alliance or Acquisition? Case Study Strategic Management Gabriela Salamonova Barbora Jandova Pierrick Boissel Julien Meunier Alexandre Godet SUMMARY I. The Input Stage ? ? ? ? ? CAGE VRIO Analysis CPM matrix EFE matrix IFE matrix II. The Matching Stage ? ? ? BCG matrix SPACE matrix GSM matrix III. The Decision Stage ? ? Matrix Analysis QSPM matrix IV. Questions ? ? ? ? Assessment of eBay? choice of market entry strategy for China, listing both the advantages and disadvantages of its acquisition strategy Assessment of the potential benefits and risks of eBay? s joint venture with Tom Online Assessment of both companies: eBay and Tom Online, decisions on their respective percentage of stake Strategic recommendation on International Commercial Strategy for eBay I- The input stage ? C. A. G. E. nalysis Cultural with †¦ Different attitudes in life Different sales practise To prefer local companies Different language, ethnicit ies, religions, social norms Best deal is the lowest price Administrative and political Differences in political system Corruption Market Access restrictions Time zone is different Differences in costs and quality of resources Currency problem Imbalanced economic development Differences with payment system Geographic Big distance between China and USA Economic Differences in consumer incomes Distance most affects industries or product †¦ Distance between two countries increases Auction-selling format is not usual for them, because there the prices went up and they used to deal the lowest price Customer confidence have only local and wellknown companies In China, people want to pay by cash a face to face In China are different government restrictions Different ways of functioning market It can leads to For which communication demand varies misunderstanding by income People in China don’t have Credit Cards, so prefer to pay by cash The company have to adjust to local currency This C. A. G. E. nalysis provides us information about differences that can create distance between two countries seeking to do business together. Expanding to China can cause some issues with the different culture and political system. In China are different government restrictions like USA and they can significantly affect the economics. In China can be complicated persuade people to trust international companies, and overcome government regulations and currency problem. For the eBay can be useful adjust more for the local environment, and provide good customer services to attract new customers. But on the other side here can be problems with the system of auction, because Chinese people like face to face purchases and they are used to see the prices decreasing instead of increasing. ? VRIO model After analyzing the external analysis of eBay, the next step is to focus internally at eBays core competencies in order to determine whether those strengths provide them with competitive advantages. In order to define these core competencies as competitive advantages or disadvantages, a VRIO analysis must be used. This technique measures each capability against whether it creates value for the company, it is rare in the industry, it is costly to imitate and if it is exploited by the organization. Which competenci es are likely to contribute to added value in terms of customer needs ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Resources / Capabilities Which competenci es are likely to contribute to cost reduction ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Valuabl e Rar e Costl y to Imitat e Exploited by organizatio ns Competitive implications Brand image Customer service Location Product diversificati on Information system Distribution Purchase protection Marketing ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Temporary advantage Parity Disadvanta ge Temporary advantage Parity Parity Temporary advantage Parity According to our VRIO analysis the disadvantage for eBay is its location in China because of imbalanced economic and technological development in different regions of China, differences in political system, government regulatio ns and other factors like corruption and currency problems. Information system is analyzed as the parity. The reason is lack of a customer service hotline on eBay? s websites. But on the other side they try to meet needs their customer, e. g. facilitate payment system. eBay? s executives do not adopt the management style to Chinese conditions. For the majority of population was the only option to pay by cash, because of non-users of credit cards. Also there are problems with the system of auction, because Chinese people like face to face purchases and they are used to deal the lowest price and in auction- selling format usually the prices went up. These issues caused the evaluation of marketing and customer service as the parity. E-Bay had adopted various expansion strategies, both locally in the US and globally in new international markets. It builds a brand image in the US as an industry leader and tries to expand to other foreign countries. Additional temporary advantage related to the purchase protection because respondents extremely agreed that eBay did the best job in monitoring and protecting its users from purchasing counterfeit items from its site. ? Competitive Profile Matrix In CPM is important to identify eBay ? s major competitors, their strengths weaknesses in relation to a sample company ? s strategic position. Proposed CPM shows the clear insight to the eBay about its strong and weak points relative to its major competitor – TaoBao. The CPM score is measured on basis of critical success factors, each factor is measured in same scale mean the weight remain same for TaoBao only rating varies. TaoBao was established in May 2003, soon gained the hearts of Chinese consumers and beat eBay EachNet in China? s C2C online auction market. Its service offerings were later extended to include B2C e-commerce. By 2006, the company had become the leading C2C and B2C marketplace in China with a gross merchandise volume of US$2. billion, amounting to a 110% increase from 2005. Unlike eBay EachNet (in 2006) had seen its market share declining each year, until it had only a staggering 29%, compared to TaoBao? s 60%. On the other hand, TaoBao, albeit founded much later than eBay, was a subsidiary of Alibaba which had a more established presence in China. However, given a choice between a new foreign co mpany and a domestic one, Chinese people would opt for the latter. Trust was particularly important in China, due to the lack of an adequate legal system or other formal means of dispute resolution. Critical Success Factors ? ? Market Share – by year 2006 eBay? s market share declined to 29%, in comparison to TaoBao? s 60%, Price – eBay provides services fees – Insertion fee, Optional Features fee, Final Value fee, but to buyers were offered free, in comparison to TaoBao where it was free when they just listed an item, Competitiveness – TaoBao disposes with the people? s trust and history because of subsidiary of Alibaba. Also, Chinese people prefer domestic company more than foreign one. Customer Service – e. g. TaoBao made an important component of its AliPay system – an escrow. It helped ease consumers? concern by introducing thirdparty monitoring throughout the transaction process, eBay introduced it later. Other example can be technical support hotline, Customer Loyalty – eBay had not made much effort in building trust both towards the company itself and between buyers and sellers further exacerbated the problem (linked with previous AliPay). Company need to provide security every step of the way during a sales transaction to ensure that consumers feel comfortable making their purchases. This point discouraged buyers and it resulted into switching to competitors, Management – eBay? s executives hold on US management style, there is a lack of effort in adaptation to Chinese market, also eBay entered China with the assumption that its brand image in the US as an industry leader would transfer to the Chinese market without any modification, Global Expansion – eBay is more extended because of its global presence, TaoBao focus on Chinese market what is in this case competitive advantage because of people? s trust to domestic companies, Website Design – eBay provides opic-specific guidelines and links, both of which are meant for self help, this is considered bad thing by consumers in China where do-it-yourself is not as popular as in Western countries. In comparison to TaoBao, its website design suits more because of loaded with ? ? ? ? ? ? information, links, graphics, banners and multimedia. Chinese people also appreciate a customer service and tech nical support hotline. In conclusion, we would like to emphasize the last one line in CPM – total weighted score. It is the sum of all weighted score in both cases. E-Bay? s total weighted score is equal to 2. 6. Since it is below the average (2,5) the company is consider as weak. On the other hand TaoBao? s total weighted score is equal to 3. 41. Since it is higher than 2. 5 the company is consider as strong in position, the winner among its competitor eBay. ? IFE matrix ? EFE matrix ? IE matrix To comment this matrix, we can say that Ebay is situated in the Grow and Build part of the matrix. So strategies which could be implemented are market penetration, market development, product development, backward integration, forward integration, horizontal integration. II. The Matching Stage ? BCG matrix: High E-tailing: eBay should develop and invest on this SBU Market growth rate Low Online Auc ons: Leader on this SBU / Great future prospects (Asia /BRICS) eBay should con nue to exploit this SBU and stay the leader on it. 2 1,5 1 Rela ve market show 0,5 0,1 ? Space matrix: FS Conserva ve +6 +5 Aggressive 4. 4 +4 +3 +2 CA -6 -5 -4 -3 +1 -2 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 IS 4. 6 -2,6 -3 Defensive -5 Compe -6 ve ES We can deduce from the matrix that: Bay has an Aggressive strategy, defended by a strong financial capacity, which allows them to tackle competitors not only when they penetrate the market but also when they are established (by kicking them out). The firm evolves in a really competitive environment (with only a few barriers to entry), in which they will still have to improve their situation, particularly in emerging markets, such as e-tailing. ? GSM matrix Ebay is in Quadrant II because its competitive position is weak and there is a h igh market growth. Consequently, different strategies are available for Ebay in China as the horizontal or vertical integration, the market penetration, the divestiture †¦ III. The decision stage ? Matrix Analysis To conclude, we can say that Ebay can establish four main strategies in China: Market penetration, market development, product development and horizontal integration. ? QSPM matrix To conclude, we can see that it could be better for E-bay to organize an alliance with Tom Online because of the opportunities engendered. IV. Questions Introduction E-Bay Inc. a US company providing e-commerce, e-payments and internet communication services globally – in 35 global markets across North and Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. By the end of 2006, e-Bay was boasting 14% market share in the e-commerce market. 1. Critically assess eBay? s choice of market entry strategy for China, listing both the advantages and disadvantages of its acquisition strategy E-Bay first entered the Chinese m arket in 2002 by acquiring a 33% stake in its local counterpart, EachNet, followed by a full acquisition a year later in 2003. By its businesses in online sectors reduces its business risks tremendously because of absence of any tangible assets and gives the opportunity to provide infinite number of transactions. ? Entering the BRICs market In terms of long-term action in global market it was valuable to entry the other market of countries famous as BRICs, which are deemed to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development. Chinese market was for e-Bay the second Asian destination after Japan, currently third because of expansion to India. First impressions of acquisition The acquisition proved to be a success. By 2003, EachNet had already commanded 85% market share. Its value had grown almost two and a half times, from US$90 million in 2002 to US$225 million in 2003, and its revenues were recorded at US$1. 8 million equivalent to a ten-fold annual growth rate. ? Researches of e-commerce perspective Market entry strategy focused on bringing something new, specific terminology is ? be-first-or-no thing? strategy. Bay aimed to obtain markets with great potential for e-commerce proved by researches giving perspective results in China, undoubtedly the researches are most important when the company entering a new foreign market. ? Creation alliances Trust We can positively evaluate the creation of alliances with the top three Chinese internet portals Sina, Sohu and NetEase for better visibility in the market. Despite this, eBay had to struggle with distrust coming from Chinese people because it had not made much effort in building trust. Chinese people at first did not trust to new foreign US provider of e-commerce services. They used to be in direct interaction with sellers until they received the purchase, because they felt uncertain about paying. ? Localising websites and modification E-Bay entered China with the assumption that its brand image in the US as an industry leader would transfer to the Chinese market without any modification. eBay had done a good job in localising its websites. Creating market-specific websites in local languages and 4 currencies and providing location-specific information, among other things. It also attempted to protect its brand image worldwide. Design of websites E-Bay used a similarly simple interface, emphasised automation throughout the auction and transaction processes. Also has allocated the section for frequent answered questions and provided topic-specific guidelines, both of which were meant for self help. Unfortunately Chinese people did not appreciate it, because the ? do-ityourself? system was not so popular customers considered it as s bad service. The adva ntages and disadvantages of its acquisition strategy Advantages China has immense market potential because all around the world are 1,23 billion Chinese language speakers. In China growing prosperity, technological advances. There is more liberal attitude by the Chinese authorities, what means the internet is becoming an easier and more popular place to do business. In China increase popularity of e-commerce. As more and more Chinese consumers had access to the internet and began to buy online. By February 2000, just six months after its start, EachNet had over 220,000 registered users simultaneously holding more than 20,000 auctions each day Acquisition of EachNet. It was Chinas first online auction website with rich business knowledge, strong domestic and international experience, and well-thought business strategies. EachNet was able to win financial backing from several large venture capital companies in the US In China retailers offer products seldom online and people could shop everything in the comfort of their own home. EBay EachNet was also the largest online advertiser in China. Its performance was remarkable, and by the end of 2003, the number of registered users on EachNet had reached 4. 3 million, amounting to nearly a 95% increase from its 2000 level. Disadvantages In China could be problems with slow internet speeds, high internet access costs, imbalanced economic and technological development in different regions of China, the absence of a reliable credit system for online payment, government regulations and other factors like corruption, currency problems. Auction-selling format might have discouraged some consumers from shopping on EachNet. In China, retailers and customer would haggle over almost anything in order to get the best deal, and the best usually meant the lowest price they could have. Thus, an auction-selling format where prices only went up might have seemed bizarre to most Chinese consumers. Emerging competitors TaoBao (Alibaba subsidiary). EBay EachNet faced the obstacle of increasing competition from local market rivals. By the end of 2006 eBay EachNet had its market share only a staggering 29%, compared to TaoBaos 60%. Big disadvantage was short history of eBay. The eBay was as a foreign company founded in 1995 with less than ten years of history when it first set foot in the Chinese market in 2002. So it was as fairly new to Chinese consumers. TaoBao was founded much later than eBay, but n the other hand it was a subsidiary of Alibaba which had a more established presence in China. The eBay used online payment system PayPal and it did not incorporate an escrow into this system. But on the other hand competitor TaoBao, made it an important component of its AliPay system. An escrow helped ease consumers concern by introducing third-party monitoring throughout the transaction process. And in this way eBay lost some customer. 2. Assess the potential benefits and risks of eBay? joint venture with Tom Online The joint venture formed by E-Bay EachNet and Tom Online presents some benefits as well as some risks. Benefits ? Knowledge of the Chinese market Tom Online has a strong knowledge of the Chinese market which is that E-Bay is looking for in order to gain market share and notoriety on the Chinese market. And as we said earlier, in order to tackle the Chinese market companies need a partner in order to have the political acces s, and Tom Online political connection could be very helpful for E-Bay success in China. Tom Online = a famous brand in China The first benefit we can find is that TOM Online is a Chinese domestic brand, which is much better for consumers of China. In fact Chinese consumers mostly like well know Chinese brands even in the Internet. Tom Online is a well know company in China, leader in sphere of mobile value-added services, and its internet portal, www. tom. com, is one of the biggest and most popular in China. This brand is recognized throughout China and the internet. ? Knowledge of telecommunication services One of the problems of E-bay EachNet was the communication and telecommunication services. Tom Online has a good experience in cooperation with Skype and the result was pretty good. Tom Online succeed with Skype and it has the knowledge to present new product in the market and how to increase its market share. Moreover, this joint venture allowed E-bay to enter the mobile commerce market, their users could participate in online auctions using their mobile phone, PDA, etc, a sector in which Tom Online had been a market leader Risks ? Devaluation of E-bay image Risks on this joint venture exist for E-Bay. In fact there is a risk of devaluation of the E-Bay Brand in the Chinese market because customers will be focus on the Tom Online and/or EachNet brand, product and services. ? Financial risk Also there is a financial risk. E-Bay can lose some money because Tom Online has 2% bigger ownership, but in amount of money, E-Bay invests two times more than Tom Online, and the success will depends more of Tom Online company than E-Bay work. ? Difference of targeted customers Also a last risk could be the target of E-Bay and Tom Online. Tom Online is focused on mobile value-added services and their target audience is generally young consumers, but E-Bay target audience is a little older. ? Culture difference E-Bay is an American company, different than the Chinese in the way of thinking and doing things. This might causes E-bay a hard time adjusting to the Chinese market needs, and trust issue (even though they tried to resolve it by owning only 49% of the company). 3. eBay will have a 49% stake in the new joint venture while Tom Online will have 51% ownership. Critically assess both companies, decisions on their respective percentage of take. In December 2006, eBay Inc. , announced its plan to form a joint venture with Chinabased online portal and wireless operator, TOM Online, that would give each company 49% and 51% ownership respectively. This was eBay’s third strategic move in China, following its acquisition of a 33% stake in domestic counterpart EachNet in 2002 that marked its entry into the market, and a full acquisition in 2003. Despite the initial good results, eBay had been losing market share to local rival and Alibaba’s fully-owned subsidiary- TaoBao. By 2006, eBay had seen its market share drop from a high of 85% to a staggering 29%, while TaoBao’s continued to increase, reaching 60%. The joint venture was therefore an attempt by eBay to save its failing Chinese operations. The move also reflected the increasing difficulties foreign internet companies were facing in China because of fierce competition and a changing market environment. eBay believed that it would benefit from TOM Online’s local knowledge and political connections. The first thing we can say about E-Bay EachNet and Tom Online’s joint venture is that is a success. Although E-Bay is a big company and success in US and around the world, China is a particular market where the better can lose. E-Bay had some difficulties to launch its business due to the cultural differences and moral values. Chinese people are more ? nationalist? and still trust their own companies more and respect them. The good thing for E-Bay is that Tom Online is a successful company with a good reputation on the Chinese market. Their activity area is also not far from E-Bay’s mainly internet and other IT services, and mobile entertainment. Tom Online known also a business expansion and cooperation with Skype, and today they also know a decrease in revenues so joint venture also was an opportunity for them. But we can ask us about the percentage of the participation. Why the participation is 49% for E-Bay and 51% for Tom Online? And also why E-Bay invests more than Tom Online? And why does the E-Bay brand disappear on the Joint Venture (Tom EachNet)? We can try to explain this situation thanks to several factors. About the brand we know that Chinese trust more in a local brand. That why E-Bay not appears on the joint venture name. E-Bay prefers having two well known local brands (Tom and EachNet). Also in this joint venture, Tom Online invest US $ 20 million and brings the knowledge of the local market, the technology and the brand value, which could be more important than money in order to tackle a market. Moreover TOM Online has very important persons among their shareholders. This joint venture would open a whole new market segment for both – E-Bay and also TOM Online, allowing them to fulfil and widen significantly together. Why not launching E-Bay in the mobile world? As we said before, China is a difficult market to tackle and launch a sustainable company on this market is a hard work. But this market gives the opportunity of customers which could increase the revenues (approximately US $ 1. 5 billion). The stacks are so important for E-Bay and Tom Online that the Tom EachNet joint venture was a good answer for their difficulties in China. 4. Strategic recommendation on International Commercial Strategy for eBay One of the first recommendations for eBay’s growth would be to maintain global growth initiative (China and India). The number of internet user is increasing in those countries. The difficulties for eBay are to success the integration of the Chinese market. Indeed, the eBay’s image brand in China is critical by Chinese people. They explain that eBay is not trustee website, the direct competitor TaoBao has free services. Moreover others problems are the difficulties to integrate the Chinese market due to the different laws, rules, or the control of internet by the Chinese government. The second recommendations would concern the electronic innovation. For example, the interface of the website could adapt to the difference of culture of the market targeted, the website should be more secured to keep or have a trustee image†¦ The third thing would be to set up new services or new application. For example, the e-tailing could be a good service. E-tailing is synonymous with business-to-consumer (B2C) transaction, and it is the selling of retail goods on the Internet. The last recommendation would be the reinforcing the marketing and the fact to keep a step ahead towards the competitors. The different recommendations on International Commercial Strategy for E-bay could be: ? Maintain global growth initiative: ? Alliances ? New markets (develop India and China) ? New products ? Keep different cultures in mind ? Technological development: ? Rapid application development (software for new and existing market areas, e-tailing) ? Security: ? Back-up systems ? Online verifications of electronics goods ? Enhance trustee service ? Online banking protocols ? Enhance back-end ? Reinforcing marketing: ? Improve and maintain their image brand ? Global branding to make eBay generic brand with online auctions and etailing ? Step ahead: ? Identify and analyze global trends ? Innovative products and interface

HOLMES Surname Meaning and Origin

HOLMES Surname Meaning and Origin Holmes is a geographical or topographical surname from the northern Middle English holm, meaning island, often bestowed on an individual who lived on an island, or a piece of low-lying meadow lands near or surrounded by water. Also, a geographic surname for someone who lived near where holly trees grew, from the Middle English holm. Holmes can also sometimes be an Anglicized version of the Irish, Mac an Thomis, meaning son of Thomas. Surname Origin:  English Alternate Surname Spellings:  HOLME, HUME, HOME, HOLM, HOLMS, HOMES, HOOME, HOOMES, HULME   Famous People with the Surname HOLMES Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. -  American Civil War veteran and U.S. Supreme Court JusticeSantonio Holmes - American NFL football playerKate Noelle Katie Holmes - American actress and modelEdwin Holmes - American inventor of the burglar alarmMatthew Holmes -  chief mechanical engineer of the North British Railway Where Do People With the HOLMES Surname Live? The Holmes surname is most prevalent in the United States, according to world surname distribution data from Forebears, distributed fairly evenly across the nation, though slightly higher in Mississippi and the District of Columbia. Holmes is more common, however, in England based on percentage of population bearing the surname, and is especially common in Derbyshire, where it ranks 12th, followed by Lincolnshire (20th), Yorkshire (25th), Nottinghamshire (26th), and Westmorland (36th). Data from  WorldNames PublicProfiler  differs from Forebears, putting Holmes as most common in the United Kingdom, followed by Australia, New Zealand, and then the U.S. Within the UK, Holmes is most common in England, especially the districts of Yorkshire and Humberside and the East Midlands Genealogy Resources for the Surname HOLMES Holmes Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Holmes family crest or coat of arms for the Holmes surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. Holmes Y-Chromosome DNA Surname ProjectThe goal of the HOLMES Surname Project is to distinguish between HOLMES ancestral lines, worldwide, through traditional family history research combined with DNA testing. Any male with the Holmes surname, or variants such as  Holme, Holmes, Holms, Home, Homes, Hoome, Hoomes, Hulme, Hume, Humes is welcome to join. English Genealogy 101Learn how to research your English ancestors with this introductory guide to genealogical records and resources of England and the United Kingdom. Covers British birth, marriage, death, census, religious, military and immigration records, as well as wills. HOLMES Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Holmes ancestors around the world. FamilySearch - HOLMES GenealogyAccess over 4 million free historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Holmes surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. HOLMES Surname Mailing ListThis free RootsWeb mailing list for researchers of the Holmes surname and its variations includes subscription details and a searchable archives of past messages. DistantCousin.com - HOLMES Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Holmes. The Holmes Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Holmes from the website of Genealogy Today. References: Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Internal Memorandum of Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Internal Memorandum of Law - Research Paper Example In order to file a case against the appeal to be filed by Debbie Evans and others, and to evaluate the opponent’s chances of success in this endeavor, the bigamy laws of Utah and other relevant legislation, as well as the decided case law, have to be examined. Debbie Evans wanted to marry a married man Aaron, with the consent of his wife, Barb Conway. They had applied for a marriage license, which was denied, and their plea in the trial court for being provided with such a license was rejected. They wanted to file an appeal in the upper court against this order, challenging the State’s power to interfere with their religious freedom and curtailing their right to polygamous marriage, which in accordance with their religious customs. The Mormon Church, openly promoted polygamy, until the year 1890, when it discontinued this practice. This volte-face was occasioned by Utah territory’s attempt to obtain statehood, and as Congress was insistent that the presence of anti-polygamy legislation was essential for admission into the Union. Since that point in time, the Mormon Church has desisted from actively supporting polygamy, amongst its members. In its efforts to prove that it is opposed to the practices of the 30,000 odd polygamists, who reside in various places in the West, the Mormon Church has resorted to the excommunication of its members who practice polygamy (Cosgrove - Mather, 2004). The state of Utah was witness to a polygamy case that attracted considerable attention. This was the case of State of Utah v. Green, wherein the defendant had maintained conjugal relations with several women and had thereby fathered 28 children (the State of Utah v. Thomas Arthur Green, 2004). His conviction by the lower court was upheld in the Supreme Court of Utah.

Work, privacy, and autonomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Work, privacy, and autonomy - Essay Example Privacy, on the other hand, involves two things. First is control of information about ones self, and the other, some control over who can experience or observe the person. An example given is that privacy in relation to a spouse is different from privacy in relation to an employer. As proposed by Kupfer, privacy and autonomy are related to each other in that autonomy requires an awareness of control over one’s relationship with others, which is part of the essence of personal choice. Privacy contributes to autonomy because it provides he individual control over whether or not he/she will allow somebody else to be part of his/her experiences. Further, Lippke and Kupfer argue that autonomous individuals are those that have the capacity for it, a developed autonomous self-concept. If the individual cannot develop his autonomous self-concept, then he/she is not autonomous. Lack of privacy prevents or inhibits the development of such autonomous self-concept. I agree that both autonomy and privacy are valuable. Autonomy can be likened to a person’s independence or capacity for independent choices. Like in the relationship of a parent and child, it is deemed necessary for the parent to develop independence in a child as part of the preparation for responsible adulthood. And among the ways of nurturing this independence, aside from a parent’s mentoring, is by respecting the growing child increasing rights to privacy. In the workplace, I believe that the employees’ rights to privacy must be maintained and upheld. After all, there are advantages to both employee and employer by maintaining employee autonomy. Most organizations today desire employees who are initiative, resourceful and require minimal supervision. However, the scope of employee privacy rights in the workplace needs to be defined and accepted by both employer and employee as part of the exercise of freedom of contract. 2. Relying on a contractual model of

The Illustrated Man Essay Example for Free

The Illustrated Man Essay Ray Bradbury wrote The Illustrated Man in 1951. The general context of that time in the USA had a powerful impact on the themes he chose to base his book on. The Second World War had seen horrific crimes against humanity, dictatorship and a change in family life which was due to both the huge number of dead fathers and the great technological development. Women started working more and more in jobs previously seen as exclusively male and appliances such as the washing machine and the vacuum cleaner cleared more time for the typical housewife. Affected and inspired by these circumstances, Bradbury wrote his 18 different stories in the book, exploring family life, technology implications and politics from extreme points of view. The stories chosen here to be discussed in a comparative and contrasting manner are The Veldt, The Rocket, Zero Hour, The Fox and the Forest and The Other Foot. The main reason for choosing these is their outstanding figurative representation and artistic input. Family life takes a new turn, as Bradbury presents in The Veldt, and it isnt positive. The father-son relationship deteriorates as we can see from their conversations. Even though the parents have done their best to fulfil all their childrens wishes, the final effect is a tense family relationship, mainly characterised by the childrens selfishness. Peter, the son, regards his father as nothing more than a sort of institution to fight against, rather than anything close to his heart. Whats wrong with Africa, Father? calling him Father, on multiple occasions after initially calling him Dad, Also, there is some verbal violence between them, as suggested I dont think youd better consider it any more, Father, I wont have any threats from my son! However, The Rocket provides a completely different picture. Although poor, all members of the family get along and support each other with respect. I go to Mars! He danced wildly. Thank you, Father!' The children are grateful for everything and love their parents. In opposition to Peter and Wendy from The Veldt, the children here are selfless. Another heavy element in Bradburys view of the future is the power of imagination. Once more, this is portrayed as evil or heavenly. In The Veldt the children end up killing their parents through the sole mean of imagination fuelled by the nursery. A similar scenario is suggested in Zero Hour where aliens abuse childrens rich potential for imagination to invade the perfectly defended Earth. A brighter story from this point of view is The Rocket, because the father uses the power of imagination and simulation to offer his children an amazing experience which would have been impossible to achieve in their materially limited reality. The technology bloom in the 1950s influenced Bradbury to magnify his vision of the future in terms of the way homes looked and worked, as well as space travel and time travel. The parents in The Veldt buy a Happy Home which does everything for them: cooks, cleans and rocks them to bed. This seems amazing at first, but they end up wishing they could leave their perfect home behind and start fresh in a regular house, Youre beginning to feel unnecessary, too, says Lydia. Bradbury uses figures of speech to represent this, emphasizing on personification of dead objects And although their beds tried very hard, the two adults couldnt be rocked to sleep for another hour, Also, it appears that children come to replace their parents with the nursery, I wish you were dead! We were, for a long while, The father realises that he and his wife havent spent enough time with their children, making them feel more attached to machinery, That sounds dreadful! Would I have to tie my own shoes instead of letting the shoe tier do it? The language Bradbury uses to describe the nursery is very effective. He uses the senses to emphasize the powerful reproduction of the African veldt, The hot straw smell of lion grass, the cool green smell of the hidden water hole, the great rusty smell of animals, the smell of dust like a red paprika in the hot air, The simile dust like a red paprika and the repetition smell give a good impression of the veldt, the heat and the strong odours in the air. Another technological vision present in Bradburys writings is space travel. In The Rocket, rich people are able to travel and live in space. This is shown as a part of their daily routine, as Bodoni watches the rockets every night and his children have rocket toys. Also, he is able to buy a ticket next day, emphasizing on the ease with which people travel in space. In The Fox and the Forest people are able to travel in the past, anywhere, Travel in Time, Inc., can costume you, put you in a crowd during the assassination of Lincoln or Caesar! This shows the extent to which Bradbury sees the technology rise. Perhaps the most horrifying element of the stories is war within the context of dictatorship and dystopia. A well-portrayed story from this point of view is The Fox and the Forest. Mexico is celebrating during WW2, Everything was good and sweet, the air was that blend of the dead and the living, of the rains and the dusts, of the incense from the church, and the brass smell of the tubas on the bandstand which pulsed out vast rhythms of La Paloma, The atmosphere in Mexico contrasts with the one in the future in the year 2155. The use of language here portrays a horrible world of war and dictatorship, A world that was like a great black ship pulling away from the shore of sanity and civilization, roaring its black horn in the night, taking two billion people with it, whether they wanted to go or not, to death, to fall over the edge of the earth and the sea into radioactive flame and madness, The repetition of the word black in black ship and black thorn signifies death, nothingness and everything evil; the simile A world [] like a great black ship pulling away from [] civilization, shows how the world has shrunk all its possibilities into a black vessel that no one can get out of. The world has lost all its spirit and joy, and all that remained was a continuous chain of destruction and manslaughter. This is a great way of representing dystopia. The political and social elements present in Bradburys The Illustrated Man reflect warnings to humanity, a potential Third World War and its imminence. In The Other Foot there is a strong reference to the racism experienced by black people during the 20th century. You remember how they hung my father on Knockwood Hill and shot my mother? Despite this, the story ends in a positive tone, reflecting Bradburys hope for the future, even in the event that most of it is destroyed. Now everythings even. We can start all over again, on the same level, Bradburys views of the future contrast on all levels, peace and war, wealth and poverty, good families and bad families. In his dark visions there is always a spark of light and in his most utopic views there is a pinch of evil.

Rate of Reaction :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Rate Of Reaction Introduction I will be investigating the rate of reaction, which is the amount of substance taken for the reaction. Often the rate curve is a negative correlation. As we increase the temperature, the time taken for the cross to disappear will decrease. Other Information The most important factors that affect the rate of reaction are: Concentration of the acid Time taken for the cross to disappear Temperature Concentration of Sodium thiosulphate The reaction will not take place unless the particles will collide with each other. The minimum energy for reaction to work is called activation energy of the reaction. We need to know that energy is only released when new bonds are made and this happens when old bonds are broken. To start the reaction we will need to provide enough energy. Once the reaction has been started we don’t need to put more energy because new bods will be made and old one will be broken. When the reaction has started the molecules will react when they collide therefore break old bonds and make new bonds, this will releases energy. If activation energy is weaker or equal to produced energy reaction will take place. We will heat up sodium thiosulphate to a certain temperature. The bigger the temperature of the sodium thiosulphate the more particles will move and are likely to collide more frequently, this will speed up the reaction. The factor I chose to investigate is time taken for the cross to disappear. I am aiming to answer the effect of temperature on the reaction between sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid. The graph below shows what my predicted results look like. Temperature (oC) I am predicting that as we increase the temperature the time taken for the cross to disappear will be decrease. If the temperature was lower then the time taken for the cross to disappear will be longer. This will happen because: If there are more particles in the concentration there would be more collision. If there was more collision between particles then more energy will be produced therefore the temperature will increase and the cross will disappear quicker. Variables Dependant Variables (The one I will not change): Time taken for the cross to disappear: If it takes longer for the cross to disappear then it means there is less collision taking place. Less collision takes place when the temperature is not high enough. Independent variables (the one I will change): Temperature: If the temperature is high then there will be more collision therefore more energy will be released. If the temperature is low then it would take longer for the cross to disappear. Controlled Variables: Concentration of sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid: : if we Rate of Reaction :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation Rate Of Reaction Introduction I will be investigating the rate of reaction, which is the amount of substance taken for the reaction. Often the rate curve is a negative correlation. As we increase the temperature, the time taken for the cross to disappear will decrease. Other Information The most important factors that affect the rate of reaction are: Concentration of the acid Time taken for the cross to disappear Temperature Concentration of Sodium thiosulphate The reaction will not take place unless the particles will collide with each other. The minimum energy for reaction to work is called activation energy of the reaction. We need to know that energy is only released when new bonds are made and this happens when old bonds are broken. To start the reaction we will need to provide enough energy. Once the reaction has been started we don’t need to put more energy because new bods will be made and old one will be broken. When the reaction has started the molecules will react when they collide therefore break old bonds and make new bonds, this will releases energy. If activation energy is weaker or equal to produced energy reaction will take place. We will heat up sodium thiosulphate to a certain temperature. The bigger the temperature of the sodium thiosulphate the more particles will move and are likely to collide more frequently, this will speed up the reaction. The factor I chose to investigate is time taken for the cross to disappear. I am aiming to answer the effect of temperature on the reaction between sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid. The graph below shows what my predicted results look like. Temperature (oC) I am predicting that as we increase the temperature the time taken for the cross to disappear will be decrease. If the temperature was lower then the time taken for the cross to disappear will be longer. This will happen because: If there are more particles in the concentration there would be more collision. If there was more collision between particles then more energy will be produced therefore the temperature will increase and the cross will disappear quicker. Variables Dependant Variables (The one I will not change): Time taken for the cross to disappear: If it takes longer for the cross to disappear then it means there is less collision taking place. Less collision takes place when the temperature is not high enough. Independent variables (the one I will change): Temperature: If the temperature is high then there will be more collision therefore more energy will be released. If the temperature is low then it would take longer for the cross to disappear. Controlled Variables: Concentration of sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid: : if we

Individual vs. the Society in “The Scarlet Letter” Essay

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the theme of the individual versus society is prevalent. One of the most intriguing characters in the novel is Hester Prynne, who is ostracized by the society around her. Hawthorne uses symbols to accentuate how Hester chooses to accept her branded punishment as a moral obligation rather than a mark of shame. Her individualism is achieved through a clear conscience and accepting the fact that she is unique, distanced from the Puritans surrounding her. Immediately, The Scarlet Letter sets up a clear contrast between Hester and the other ladies in Boston, Massachusetts. Hester emerges from the prison as a gorgeous woman who was, â€Å"tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the susnhine with a gleam, and a face which ,beside being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion†¦ was ladylike, too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days; characterized by a certain state and dignity.† (Narrator, p. 46-47) Meanwhile, the other women in Boston are portrayed as gossiping quacks who ridicule Hester out of jealousy and spite. Hester is further distanced from the mob throng through her elegant garb and her skill of needle-work. While on the scaffold, and later when she moves into a cottage distanced from everyone else, Hester remains defiant. She asserts her quasi rebellious personality by not wavering amid the penetrating stares of the townspeople. In addition, she chooses to stay in Boston rather than take the opportunity to escape and start a new life. By running away, Hester would be acknowledging society’s power of her. Instead, she desires to establish her own identity and not have society determine it for her. If Hester were to succumb to outside pressure, it would further undermine what little integrity the townspeople see in her. However, the cruel taunts are meaningless to her, because Hester is adamant in her convictions; she has a genuine purpose in life. Her daughter Pearl is an important part of Hester’s life. Much more than a living embodiment of the sin that Hester is reminded of through the scarlet letter, Pearl allows Hester to have a reason to live and a reason to stay. Pearl acts as a reality check, for she daily reminds her mother of her sin. Yet, Pearl is a miracle child, by proving that beauty can spring from sin. She offers Hester a mirror of herself, and an enduring obligation for which to uphold. In addition, Hester feels an obligation to stay in New England because she feels morally bound to stay with Pearl’s father. The scarlet letter in a sense defines who Hester is. Lavishly decorated â€Å"in fine red cloth surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread,† (Narrator, p. 46) the letter â€Å"A† binds Hester to serve her due atonement for the wrongs she has committed. However, her brilliant skills at needle-work and uniqueness of individuality are frowned upon by the society. Out of malice and jealousy, they verbally abuse both her and Pearl, degrading them to worthless figures while they themselves are hypocrites in their own right. Ironic takes its finest form when the skillful works of Hester are adorned by those highest officials that are punishing her. Despite the ridicule, Hester stands tall. She knows the expectations that are placed on her, and that the shame incurred by her will extend for possibly generations to come. Hester is not willing to mold herself to the eager hands of others so that they may satiate their cruel desire to see her torture in her mental prison. She strives for compassion and well-being amid all the harsh words. This is evidenced in her treatment of Pearl, who is exalted far beyond the other children. She is dressed in the most extravagant attire, while being taught heavenly virtues. Motherly love defies all pressures, and Hester’s undeniable love for Pearl is the quintessence of this. In the strict morals of Puritan society that are delineated in The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne undergoes many tribulations. Her wrongdoing helps provoke the angry sentiments of the townspeople, who are determined to see her suffer to the fullest extent. However, Hester’s attitude is one of moral obligation and compassionate defiance. She retorts with nothing but love, as beautifully demonstrated in her treatment of Pearl. Hester is unique, and so  is her unwavering attitude regardless of what the rest of society thinks of her. She answers to a higher order and never relents her conscience to the greedy hands of others.

Examples of Fallacies

Examples of Fallacies (1 Appeal to Authority: An example of appealing to authority can be found in many television commercials. This fallacy is used on television by many companies trying to sell, or gain profit, by using athletes, or well-known figures to advertise their product for them. They do this in order to persuade consumers to buy their goods, due to their idols using them; even though, many of the famous people aren't qualified to give expert opinions about the product.A commercial that uses this type of fallacy is Bacardi, who advertises tennis player Novak Djokovic saying, â€Å"Champions Drink Responsibly. (2. ) Appeal to Pity: An example of appealing to pity can be found in many classrooms. This is when a fallacious excuse is given to make sense of an argument, or come to a conclusion, by making us feel sorry enough to make a decision of the pity. A student might use this fallacy if they forgot to do turn in an assignment by saying, â€Å"Sorry, I Just couldn't do the homework this weekend, my dog ate the work sheet you handed out. This might get the pity of some teachers, while others will recognize the fallacy, along with making the right decision accordingly, considering that the reason could be true. (3. Appeal to Fear: Appealing to fear is when an authority, usually higher, tries to prevail by coming to conclusions with fear. By doing this they usually disregard which situation is right and Justified. An example of this fallacy can occur in a sport, such as baseball.Parents could be screaming at their children that their pitching, or batting form isn't right, and if they don't change it they will not be any good. However, they completely disregard that everyone is unique, and does things differently. Appeal to Ignorance: In this appeal someone is actually asking their opponent to prove them wrong, so f they can't they automatically are wrong. However, it is the Job of the person actually purposing the argument to disprove the statement.An e xample of this fallacy is the Loch ness monster. Many people argue that they have seen it, while other say it is absurd that such a thing exists without everyone knowing. There is no way of telling if the monster is actually real or not, because Just saying it does not exist, isn't a solid enough reason for believing that it does. Examples of Fallacies: Appeal to Authority, Pity, Fear, and Ignorance By fballislifenunuOO

Globilization of MTV essays

Globilization of MTV essays No longer do you have to be in America to watch some of your favorite MTV shows. You can now be in Asia and be in time to watch Punkd. Not only that, but even hip-hop music is receiving global attention. Western culture have been dominating globally so much that there are 6,000 Starbucks across the globe (Andrzejczyk). This type of influence characterizes the dominance of western consumer culture. Countries who are becoming more of a consumer culture have had its negative side effects. People in other countries did not ever have to pay for as much money as they did before Starbucks put local businesses bankrupt. Even local stores and markets are now in danger of going out of business now in Mexico because of Wal-Marts super store that was established. Credit card debts are continuously accumulating since it has been around in South Korea. But what about MTVs entertainment that they are providing and hip-hop music; do they pose negative effects in other countries because of t he influences of the western world? Despite the negative effects of westernization, I believe that the globalization of MTV and hip-hop music is doing more good than harm? MTV is now touching the screens all across Asia. Its arrival in 1992 has impacted Asian culture. MTV airs in several countries including Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and many more countries in Asia. Asian countries have never had a 24-hour music channel before, so it fascinated many viewers tuning in the first time. Since then, MTV started to combine its western style of music and entertainment with local music and entertainment to capture the interest of people in their own countries. What make makes MTV so popular it that it is a global brand which thinks and acts locally (Santana). Since Asian countries interests are different, subdivision channels have been created to meet the demands of local interest. I think that is...

The 3 Best College Finders and Search Tools

The 3 Best College Finders and Search Tools SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips College finders can be a useful tool in your college search. College finders allow you to search for colleges based on specific criteria like size, selectivity, and cost. You select what you’re looking for in a college and then the college finder will spit out its results. In this article, I will explain what makes a college finder good and detail the pros and cons of some of the better college finders on the internet. What Makes a College Finder Good? The best college finders possess these qualities: Offer Ample Search Criteria The bad search finders will only allow you to search colleges based on a few items. Most of the subpar finders will limit their search criteria to only very general categories like location (US region), size, and type of college ( 2-year or 4-year and public or private). If you can only search for the location and the size of your ideal college on a certain finder, that may not help you narrow down your college search effectively. You may get hundreds of results that match what you’re looking for in those categories. You’ll more easily be able to find colleges that are a good fit for you if you can search for colleges based on many factors like cost, selectivity, majors offered, diversity, and extracurricular activities. At a minimum, a college finder should allow you to search for location, size, college type (2-year or 4-year and public or private), selectivity (admission rate and average GPA and SAT score), majors offered, extracurricular activities available, cost, and average financial aid awarded or percentage of financial need met. Allow You To Pick Multiple Options in Specific Categories A good college finder will allow you to select multiple options in the same search category.For example, better college finders will allow you to search for schools that are both large and medium size, as opposed to only being able to select one option. Give You the Ability to Choose How Important an Option Is to You Good college finders will allow you to prioritize how important specific search criteria are to you and will factor that into their search results. Maybe you’d prefer to go to a selective college, but that’s not extremely important. On good college finders, you’ll be able to indicate that that’s only somewhat important to you. Provide Important Facts and Statistics About the Colleges It Finds On good college finders, when you click on one of the colleges in your results, you’re given information about the school like its average SAT/ACT score and GPA, application deadline and requirements, student size, cost, and average financial aid award. How to Use a College Finder Effectively Think about your priorities for what you want in a college before you begin using a college finder. If it’s very important to you to go to a school with a stellar reputation, then â€Å"selectivity† will be an essential factor you should search for.For most college finders, selectivity is determined by the admissions rate and the average SAT and ACT score of the college. Schools with low admissions rates and high SAT and ACT scores tend to have a higher caliber of student and the best reputations. Search for colleges using the most important factors to you to help narrow your search.I think the most important factors you should search for when using a college finder are location (rural or urban and geographic region/state), selectivity, and majors offered. Some finders allow you to select a more general area of study or select multiple majors. If you just look for big colleges and get hundreds of results, that probably won’t be very helpful. To really narrow down your search results to a reasonable number, you’ll probably also have to select search criteria like extracurriculars, cost, percent of financial need met, and diversity. I think a good number to aim for in your results is 15-40 colleges. If you get more than 40 colleges in your results, add more factors or increase the level of importance of certain factors. If you get fewer than 15, you can remove some search options or decrease the level of importance of certain options. If you feel like you need everything you searched for, then those could be the schools you should apply to. Make sure you’re applying to at least a couple of safety schools. Generally, when you go through the search results, you’ll be able to eliminate at least a few of the options because they won’t have a quality that you must have in a college. Finders will give you a list that matches most of the criteria you’re looking for, but not every school in your results will match everything you searched for. I did a hypothetical search on the college finder College Board's Big Future based on qualities I'd want in a college if I ever got a chance to do my undergraduate experience again. I guess I like to think about things that are impossible. I got 33 results, but I was able to immediately eliminate more than half of them because they were in a state or city I wouldn’t want to live in (I searched by region) or they were either religious or tech schools. I wouldn’t want my second undergraduate institution to have a specific focus. Once you get your results, after you do any immediate eliminations, click on each individual result to get more information about the college. After reading about the school and its statistics, if it still interests you, save it (this is also an option in certain finders) or write down the name of the school. After you've gone through all the results in your search, you should be left with a list of potentially good college options for you. Then, it's your job to research those schools more extensively. Look at their websites, read college guidebooks like Fiske or Princeton Review's Top 380 Colleges, and consult teachers, counselors, and alumni. Additionally, you can gather information about specific colleges and learn about their reputations from college ranking lists. Reviews of College Finders All of these finders are completely free to use. They do require registration, which is also free, to use features like saving your searches or search results. Big Future Big Future is the College Board's college finder. How Does It Work? Step #1: Select filters on the left to narrow down your college search. Enter the most important qualities to you in your dream college first. As you're entering search factors, the number of results is updated and displayed. Under each category, there are related subcategories. For example, under "Test Scores Selectivity,† you can enter your SAT/ACT score and the level of selectivity (by acceptance rate) you’d like your college to have. Step #2: Add more search filters until you're left with about 15-40 schools, and you've selected everything that's important to you. Step #3: Click on the colleges in your search results that interest you to see full profiles where you can get useful information like average standardized test scores, graduation rates, application requirements and deadlines, and the most popular majors. Profile for Abilene Christian University Step #4: From all this information, determine if each college still interests you. If it does, write down the name of the school, or you can click "Add to My College List." If you register at the site, you can save your college list when you're done. Step #5: You can click "Compare Colleges" for a side-by-side comparison of major statistics for up to 3 colleges from your list to help you rank them or eliminate schools from consideration. Step #6: After you’ve read about and compared the colleges from your search results, you should be left with a list of anywhere from 6-20 colleges to research further. If you’re in the preliminary stages of your college search, you can do multiple searches as you consider what you’re looking for in a college. For efficiency purposes, I recommend doing no more than 3 searches. If you’ve determined some basic priorities for you before you use the finder, this shouldn’t be an issue. Keep in mind that most college experts recommend that you apply to about 6-12 colleges (including at least 2 safety schools) so that you have options, but you’re not applying to so many schools that the application and selection process becomes overly burdensome and time-consuming. Each student’s situation is unique, though. I know recruited athletes who only applied to one school because they were guaranteed admission and offered full scholarships to colleges they wanted to attend. Additionally, many students only apply to one school if they apply early decision to their #1 school and are admitted. On the other end of the spectrum, I know wealthy students who applied to over 20 colleges because they were able to incur the costs and they had multiple people helping them with the application and selection process. As a note, there are application fee waivers for students who can’t afford application fees. Step #7: After you apply to schools and get your acceptance letters, you can return to the finder to do more research or get statistics on the schools that admitted you to help you select the college you’ll attend. Pros Before you even do a search on the finder, there’s an interactive guide that breaks down each of the search criteria and asks you questions to answer to help you determine what you’re looking for in a college. Check out the info from the guide about â€Å"Location.† On Big Future, you can select how far from home or any other specified zip code you want to be, from within 20-3000 miles. Another advantage of Big Future is for each search category, you can choose how important it is to you from "Don't care" to "Want" to "Must have." Additionally, there are multiple search options within each category. For example, under "Type of School," you can select 2-year or 4-year, school size, public or private, and religious affiliation. One unique search category in Big Future is "Support Services." You can choose options like services available for learning disabled, services for minority students, and services for low-income students. Support services can be extremely beneficial resources to enable your success in college. Also, you can pick multiple options in different search categories. If you're searching by US region, you can select as many regions as you like. Another great feature is that you can see how your GPA and SAT scores stack up against other applicants if you click on "How Do I Stack Up?" From this feature, you'll get a better idea of how competitive the school is and how likely you are to gain admission. I made up some SAT scores for myself and this is what I was shown on the Abilene Christian profile: Finally, Big Future offers a quality user experience and is easy to use. The search criteria and results are displayed prominently. The information for each college in the results is organized clearly, and the font and organization of information allow you to see all the info easily. Cons While all the categories are extremely objective, there aren’t really any categories related to campus life or quality of life. On other finders, you can search for things like the quality of the party scene and whether a college is located in a great college town. Under diversity,you can choose the percentage of diversity when searching, but there isn't a search filter to help search for the level of representation of specific groups. While you can look for historically black colleges, if you’re an African-American student looking to go to a school with a sizable African-American student population, you can’t search for that on Big Future. College View College View is another good finder that provides a wealth of information and unique features. How Does It Work? Step #1: Select filters on the left to narrow down your college search. Enter the most important qualities to you in your dream college. There are 24 major search categories. Select as many search filters as possible. You can determine the importance level of each factor from "kinda" to "must-have." Step #2:Once you enter your first search category, you can choose the number of results that are displayed regardless of how many factors you search for, 10, 20, 50, 100, or 250. I recommend searching for 20, but you can search for 50 colleges if you are in the very early stages of your college search. Step #3: Click on the colleges in your search results that interest you to see full profiles where you can get useful info like links to virtual tours, graduation rates, application requirements and deadlines, and average standardized test scores. Step #4:From all this information, determine if each college still interests you. If it does, write down the name of the school, or you can click â€Å"Pin It!† If you register at the site, you can save your search and pinned schools when you’re done. You can pin up to 25 colleges for any search. Step #5:Click â€Å"Compare pinned schools† for a side-by-side comparison of the major stats for all your pinned schools. However, you can only view the info for 5 colleges on the screen without having to click the right arrow at the top of the screen. Step #6: After reviewing the info from the schools in your results and comparing them, make your list of schools that you’re interested in for further research. If possible, try to give the colleges preliminary ranks or put them in tiers from â€Å"most interested† to â€Å"kinda interested.† The ideal number of schools to research at this point is about 6-20 before you finalize your list of schools to apply to. If your priorities change during the college research process, you can use the finder again to update your list. Step #7:You can use the College View finder to help you with the college selection process after you learn of admissions decisions. Pros There are 24 search categories; you're able to select numerous filters to help find colleges that possess the qualities you want. College Viewdoes have more categories that can impact quality of life like â€Å"liberal-conservative,† â€Å"party scene,† â€Å"greek life† and â€Å"great college towns.† Also, unique to this finder, you can search for schools with a strong LGBT support system. For the colleges in your search results, you’re given a ton of information. I was especially intrigued by links to virtual tours and important application advice from each college’s website. In College View, you can search for colleges that have â€Å"high,† â€Å"typical,† or â€Å"low† representation of African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, or Caucasians. Cons Some of the results didn’t seem to match what I was looking for. I did a search and selected that it was â€Å"very important† to find a â€Å"very selective† school (admitting less than â…“ of applicants) and it was â€Å"very important† to me to find a school that matched my made up SAT score of 2130. Based on the other options I selected, one of the search results was Northern New Mexico College, which doesn't even require SAT or ACT scores for admission and isn't considered a selective school. The user experience is not as good as Big Future’s. The design and font make search options hard to locate. The information looks cluttered and it’s not as easy to identify all the listed information. While it does have â€Å"special services† and disability services† categories, you can’t search for colleges with services for minority students and services for low-income students.In my college counseling experience, I know programs like EOPcan be very beneficial for low-income and first-generation college students. Finally, for cost, you can only search for the cost of tuition and required fees. In Big Future, you can search for the percentage of financial need a school meets and for colleges that have work-study programs, financial aid for international students, and college application fee waivers. Keep in mind that the listed cost of attendance is not what you'll have to pay if you demonstrate financialneed. College Data College Data is a good finder option for those of you who are especially interested in financial information. How Does It Work? Step #1:Select search filters to narrow down your college search. Enter the most important qualities to you in your dream college. Select as many factors as possible to limit the size of your search results. Step #2: Once you’re done selecting all of the factors that matter to you, you can view your results. The colleges in your results will be listed along with their statistics. Step #3: Click on the colleges that interest you to read about them and get helpful information like freshman retention rates, application requirements, organizations, and class size. Step #4: After reviewing the info from the schools in your results and comparing them, make your list of schools that you’re interested in for further research. Step #5:Do additional searches later on if your priorities change or to assist you during the college selection process. Pros There is much more extensive financial information in College Data than in Big Future or College View.You’re given many more statistics regarding financial aid for the colleges in your search results. For example, here is the financial aid information for Boston University. Also, there's a "financial friendliness" search category. You can search for the percentage of financial need met, amount of student debt, and percentage of students that receive merit aid. Additionally, you can search for colleges by their level of representation of students from particular backgrounds, including Native American, African-American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and international. For each group, you can select â€Å"No preference† or greater than or equal to 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, 50%, or 75%. Lastly, you can select up to 3 majors or disciplines from a very extensive list to help limit your search results and find the college you're looking for. Cons There are far fewer search categories than in Big Future and College View. College Data only has 9 major search categories. You can't look for schools based on your SAT score or religious affiliation. Also, you have to register before you can use a number of the best features to investigate the colleges in your search results. Some of these features include estimating your chances of gaining admission, calculating your net price (cost after financial aid), and saving colleges from your search results. I was reluctant to register because College Data is sponsored by 1st Financial Bank and a student credit card is advertised on the home page. I thought if I registered, I might get a bunch of spam. Big Future is run by College Board, a non-profit, so you don’t have to worry as much about Big Future trying to sell you stuff. Like College View, the user experience isn’t great on College Data. The design and display of information makes information hard to locate. Also, the font size and style make everything a little difficult to read. Finally, for most of the search categories, you can only select one option, and you can't select how important search options are to you. Examples of Bad College Finders Big Future, College View, and College Data are three of the better college finders on the internet, mainly because they offer tons of information and unique features to help you find the best college for you. Here are a couple of bad college finders. They're less beneficial to use. Niche Niche only has 9 search categories and no subcategories. There are no search categories that you can’t find on other search finders. Nothing is uniquely good about this finder and it doesn’t have many of the options of the better finders. Peterson's Peterson's only has 8 search categories. All can be found in other college finders, and you can’t choose how important a search option is to you. While the user experience is good, this finder is far too general. There is so much more information on the better finders. Final Tips Overall, I think Big Future is the best finder. It offers the best combination of features, information, and user experience.However, College View is good to use if you want to do a search focusing on campus life or quality of life criteria. College Data is good to use if you want to do a search on or get extensive information about cost and financial aid. College finders should only be one tool, albeit a valuable one, in your college search. You should use college search websites, guidebooks, ranking lists, and guidance from teachers, parents, and counselors to help you select a college. Remember that these finders aren’t perfect and can’t determine for you which school is the best fit. They can give you insight and information to guide you, but after deciding what’s important to you, doing your research, and visiting colleges (if you have the chance), it’s up to you, and possibly your parents, to decide. What's Next? Make sure you read this excellent article on how to choose a college. Also, learn more about the differences between public and private colleges. Finally, look at this post to help you decide if you should go to a big or small college. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Transformational Leadership Atta ur Rehman Essay

Transformational Leadership Atta ur Rehman - Essay Example Even though knowledge is inadequate on what types of leaders are needed, there are a number of assumptions about leadership. Foe example, in an organization there is an assumption that leaders of organizational change should be both leaders and managers. Another assumption about leaders who change their organizations is that only administrators will be leaders. However this assumption that change comes only from individuals in top positions ignores the invisible leadership of lower-level staff members (Murphy, 1988). Vast studies of organizational leadership have been focused on leaders in administrative positions. These leaders begin with having a vision, develop a shared vision with their co-workers and value the organization's personnel. Leaders who change their organizations are proactive and take risks. They recognize shifts in the interests or desires of their clientele, anticipate the need to change and challenge the status quo. Transformational leadership has been found to be a significant factor in facilitating, improving and promoting the organizational progress of employees. Nevertheless, the data on leaders of organizational change and the emerging information on transformational leadership indicate that the characteristics of these individuals mirror those of leaders who have changed other organizations. Leaders of organizational change have vision; foster a shared vision, and value human resources. They are proactive and take risks. Vision to Change Organization Every type of leadership requires a vision. A vision is actually a force that provides meaning and purpose to the work of an organization. Leaders of change are visionary leaders, and vision is the basis of their work. To actively change an organization, leaders must make decisions about the nature of the desired state (Manasse, 1986). They begin with a personal vision to forge a shared vision with their co-workers. Their communication of the vision is such that it empowers the authority to people to act. According to Westley and Mintzberg (1989) visionary transformational leaders are dynamic and apply the following three stage process to create useful changes in their organizations. (a). They create an image of the desired future of the organization. (b). Communicate the vision to serve all. (c). Transformational leaders empower the followers so that they can enact the vision. For organizational leaders who implement changes in their organizations, vision is a hunger to see development (Pejza, 1985) as well as the force which forms meaning (Manasse, 1986). Leaders of organizational change have approach to display a clear picture of what they want to accomplish. Further they have the ability to visualize one's goals (Mazzarella & Grundy, 1989). In their vision, they present purpose, implication, and significance to the work of the organization and empower the staff to contribute to the realization of the vision. The American Association of School Administrators' (1986) description of leadership includes the leader's ability to translate a vision into reality as well as the skill to coherent the vision to others. According to Manasse (1986),