The Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

The Internet - Essay Example As such, there are various advantages and disadvantages that are realized, and this forms the basis for an analytical analysis of the critical inferences that can be drawn from readings that touch on various implications that the internet has presented to the contemporary society particularly in line with cultural implications. In light of the above, What is the Elephant in the Digital Room is an article that tries to look at the different changes that have characterized the digital revolution. It compares the rate at which information and media is being created in the current world of digital supremacy against the pre-existing rates and definitions that demarcated the creation and sharing of media. To this end, there is the realization that the digital revolution has greatly transformed the very element of life in relation to how we interact with technology and how we partake media and online data. From the amount of information being created particularly for the online platform, to the sheer amount of time that we spend online, the digital revolution is depicted as having changed the way that we consume information and data. Additionally, the internet started off as a tool to ease communication and the availability of essential data. However, it has now transformed into a form of necessity that nobody ca n exist without. In many situations, the internet is no longer optional, and is in fact becoming some form of basic need that almost everybody needs in order to survive. In many respects, mobile communication and the advent of the internet has had more implications on humans than any other form of development in the entire human history. This highlights the relatively staggering levels of adoption that has characterized its intake in almost all factions of human life. While other inventions and developments could catch up in certain parts of the world and fail to catch up in others, mobile communication and the internet has caught up in every

Misconception of Identifying Ethnic Groups by Cultural Elements Essay Example for Free

Misconception of Identifying Ethnic Groups by Cultural Elements Essay Misconception of Identifying Ethnic Groups by Cultural Elements The common misconception in relating ethnicity and culture is to define ethnic groups by cultural elements. Firstly, ethnic group is a category of people which is bound together by common characteristics that differentiate them from other groups. On the other hand, culture is a system of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people. Culture consists of values, beliefs, religion, experiences, behaviours and traditions acquired by a group of people that is passed down generations by generations (Browaeys Price, 2008). In my essay, I would like to clarify that ethnic groups cannot be defined by their cultural elements with several examples. Commonly, characteristics and traits of an ethnic group is identified by its cultural elements. Elements such as language, religion and customs are used to differentiate a group and another. Specified cultural elements are categorized to represent different types of ethnic groups. However this assumption is not suitable to apply in many situations. It is troublesome to identify ethnic group by cultural elements. This is because the people within an ethnic group does not necessarily possess the identical cultural elements. For instance, the Cham people in Vietnam belong to one ethnic entity, however in different areas this group of people possess different cultural elements. The Cham people in south central of Vietnam and in Mekong Delta have distinctive differences in religion, language and customs. In the south central Vietnam, the Cham practise localized Hinduism and Islam as religion. They speak south central dialect and their writing is originated from a script in Sanskrit. In term of custom, these Cham people are considered matrilineal and practice exogamy. On the contrary, the Cham in Mekong Delta majorly practise Islam. They speak in Mekong Delta dialect and their writing derived from the Jawi script. In their custom, they are loosely matrilineal and practice endogamy(1). This shows that cultural elements are not suitable to determine an ethnic group. People of the same ethnic group may not necessarily practice the same culture. In the study of the Kachin people from Burma, Edmund Leach mentioned â€Å"the mere fact that two groups of people are of different culture does not necessarily imply – as has nearly always been assumed – that they belong to two quite different social systems (Leach 1954: 17)(2). To consider ethnic group as cultural group will fail to address many aspects of ethnic phenomena. Large population of the Kachin people lives in the Kachin Hill in northern Burma’s Kachin State and in neighbouring areas of China and India. They speak different languages and dialects; there is a wide difference in cultures between the same ethnic group in different area. To support this statement, I would like to provide an example; the Malay people who belonged to one ethnic entity in Malaysia are influenced by different customs. Malay people practice two distinct types of customs, the Adat Temenggung and Adat Pepatih. The former is originated from Minangkabau and widely practiced by most of the Malay states. Adat Temenggung emphasizes on patrilineal kinship structure in matters such as inheritance. In contrast, the Adat Pepatih is only practiced in Negeri Sembilan. It emphasizes more on matrilineal kinship structure, in which women gain benefit in matters such as inheritance and marriage (Shuid, Osman Othman, 2006). This depicts that people of the same ethnic group practise various and wide range of customs. Thus, it is difficult to define ethnic group by cultural elements. In the 19th and 20th century, large wave of immigrants from China came to Malaya. Now, Chinese people are the second largest ethnic in Malaysia. Majority of these Chinese are Han Chinese. There is wide spread of Chinese people in every state of Malaysia, espeacially in the town areas. Even though they are grouped as one ethnic entity, their cultural elements varied widely. Most of the local Chinese practise Buddhism and a small number of them have faith in Christianity and Islam. Futhermore, they speak variety of dialects such as Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew and many more. For example, most of the Chinese in Penang speak Hokkien whereas most of the Chinese in Kuala Lumpur speak Cantonese. Thus, the cultural elements of an ethnic are not fixed, the elements varied greatly to the extent that it is difficult to determine an ethnic group by its cultural elements. Besides that, the influence of political and economical circumstances has changes the cultural elements of the people while the ethnic identity remains. As time passes by, people within an ethnic group spread, share, learn and adapt cultures of other ethnic groups. There is the tendency for different cultures to overlapse in a society. For instance, the Chinese immigrants that came to Malaya in the late 15th to 16th century were known as Peranakan Chinese. This group of immigrants consists of merchants, traders, and those who came to escape economic hardships in mainland China. They embraced the Malay customs and cultures. Most of the Peranakan Chinese engaged in intermarriage with the local Malay. However, there are part of Peranakan Chinese people without Malay ancestry. They belong to Chinese ethnic but adopted the combination of Chinese and Malay cultures. The Malay language and cultures are assimilated into their daily lives, however their ethnic and religious origins still remain. These Peranakan Chinese speak Malay language, wear the baju kebaya, a Malay traditional clothing, and developed their cuisine with mainly Malay spices in their every day lives, they still belong to Chinese ethnic (Tan Chee Beng, 1993). Their ethnic identity cannot be determined by merely identifying their cultural elements. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize my point that ethnic groups cannot be defined by their cultural elements. Ethnic groups can hardly be measured by cultural traits as a matter of fact cultural boundaries do no always go accordingly with ethnic boundaries. Cultural traits of an ethnic group is not always fixed, people of the same ethnic group do not necessarily possess the same cultural elements. To determine ones ethnic identity by identifying his or her cultural elements with the typical cultural elements of an ethnic group is not right. The ethnic identity of a person will still remain unchanged even if his cultural elements have changed. As stated by Michael Moerman, â€Å"Someone is Lue by virtue of believing and calling himself Lue and of acting in ways that validate his Lueness† (Moerman, 1965:1219)(3). Ethnic identity can be claimed by one’s self but not by determining its cultural elements. Bibliography Browaeys M. J. , Price R. (2008) Understanding Cross Cultural Management. New York: Pearson Education. Mahdi Shuid, Suzani Osman, Sazlina Othman. (2006) Sejarah Malaysia. Petaling Jaya: Longman . Tan, C. B. (1993). Chinese Peranakan Heritage in Malaysia and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Fajar Bakti Sdn Bhd. (1)(2)Power Point Slides: What is an ethnic group? Ethnic Troubles Theories of Ethnicity. (3)Reading 1: Ethnic identification in a complex civilization: who are the lue?

Power of Art, Creativity, and Imagination in Children’s Literature Essa

Power of Art, Creativity, and Imagination in Children’s Literature â€Å"Imagination is the true magic carpet ride,† as Norman Vincent Peale once said. Indeed this proves to be true in Crockett Johnson’s, Harold and the Purple Crayon, when Harold, a small boy with a large imagination, creates his world using a purple crayon. Also, Leo Lionni uses a mouse named Fredrick to capture â€Å"colors† and â€Å"sunrays† in his Caldecott winning book Fredrick. However, imagination is not the only tool utilized in these books; art, and the power found in creativity are equally stressed. Also, while both books contain these three elements they address them in different ways. Both Harold and the Purple Crayon and Fredrick illustrate art as a medium for imagination and power; however, Fredrick emphasizes the effect of art on the community while Harold plays with his purple crayon seeing it a source for his own entertainment. Fredrick, a small field mouse, comes from the well spring of Leo Lionni’s mind to symbolize the impact art and imagination has on the community. Fredrick, unlike the rest of ...

Teacher Cadet Essay

Often times we do not consider how a teacher has influenced us. Teachers influence whether we realize it or not can alter a student’s perspective on life. A great many of my previous teachers have left a lasting impression on me that will never be forgotten. I do admit there were much contentment, anguish and memorable things that directly connects me to them. Without my teachers, it is highly impossible for me to stand and be here today. One name in particular stands firm among others and that is Mr. Jesse L. Barrett. Mr. Barrett was my English II Honors teacher my sophomore year in high school. Sadly, he was only my English teacher for one year. I honestly could not have asked for a better teacher. At the same time as making me smile and laugh, he ultimately helped me to be successful in life. Initially, I did not enjoy English as much anymore due to a bad string of teachers who lectured endlessly on random topics other than English. He changed my outlook on life and helped me regain my passion for English. Mr. Barrett motivated me to not settle for mediocre work and to do my absolute best in anything I strived for. I never imagined that I would encounter a teacher that was as meticulous as Mr. Barrett. Everything he did had a specific place and order. He never accepted late work because we were in an honors class that required you to be punctual. This taught me how to be prompt, a skill that will help when I attend college next fall. Mr. Barrett honestly loved teaching and you could hear it in his voice; the way he would sound so excited when we read the Great Gatsby. He creates this atmosphere that causes students to feel comfortable and at ease. Everyone anticipated going to class and were quick to engage in current book discussions. Conveying information to students so they will fully comprehend the standard is his specialty. Although he was very kind and helpful when any issue developed, he was a very strict and concerned educator. Discipline was highly enforced in his classroom which influenced me to be the best student I could possibly be. Mr. Barrett has this method where he asks for input and invites the student to participate in class activities. For example, He would divide the class into groups according to our grade averages. Using this method, I quickly discovered that students in the group are in fact helping one another in answering the questions. It is a very exceptional way in learning English. During the activity, students can consult him and ask questions as well. Before the class ends, he would take out 10 to 20 minutes to summarize his teaching and sometimes even motivate us with stories that he encounters during his days outside of school. Whether he knows it or not, Mr. Barrett has influenced me tremendously. It is amazing how one individual can have such an impact on students. He simply guided me to success and I am honored to have been in such a rigorous and competitive class. Challenging me was really the driving force that connected me to him because I never felt as if the work was too easy or vague. Today, I honestly still believe he has helped me in such a way that it will follow me into my post-secondary career.

Mary Kay India: The Hair Care Product Line Opportunity Essay

1. How would you characterize the branded and packaged Indian hair care category in 2010? In 2010, with Lotus & Bamboo soap bar was introduced by Mary Kay in India, May Kay was approved a customized product for a specific country or region market for the first time. Moreover, the branded and packaged Indian care category of Mary Kay was growing up and expanding its product to attract more potential customers. Mary Kay brand has been developing massive products in India until 2010 with lower price compared with past several years. By late 2010, there were more independent beauty consultants in more regions in India, and most of the businesses were distributed in northern, western and northeastern area of India. Simultaneously, in the late 2010, Mary Kay also meets competition from other representative of hair care products. Market research has shown that the growth potential of around 50% for the coming 5 years between 2010 and 2014. 2. How would you assess the â€Å"fit† of a hair care product line with Mary Kay’s offering in India? The acceptance of hair care products line is growing with changes of hair care habit of customers in India. Personally, the â€Å"fit† project of hair care product line with Mary Kay’s offering in India was pretty successful and in time. Based on the unique hair care habit among Indians, it might be a slow process to introduce the products into a new Asian market for Mary Kay. After all, hair cares like shampoo and conditioner are not as easily as soap bars to be accepted in India, which means changing hair care lifestyle for most people there. Therefore, launching hair care products in 2012 is the very time for India. Additionally, independent beauty consultants are the positive factor to motivate to sell products in India. Furthermore, low price promotion strategy also worked for selling hair care in India, according to the data in the case, nearly 87 percent of hair care products were sold at mass-market prices, however, only 13 percent of the products were sold at  prestige or premium prices. 3.What is the market potential for a hair care marketed by Mary Kay India? According to the research, the Indian upper and consuming classes were growing and were expected to total over 500 million individual, which might be reckoned as potential consumers of hair care products. It seems that Mary Kay India is targeted to young, working people who are pursuing good look with an average age of 26, especially women group. Given to the increasing population in India, in the coming years, the number of young generation will also be expected to grow up. Meanwhile, the expected young generation will grow up under impact of new body care lifestyle in India, (who are accustomed to using shampoo and conditioner instead of oil, washing hair frequently, caring about the appearance),thus, it could be forecasted that the market of hair care products would be extended in the near future. 4.At what dollar sales volumes will the Mary Kay India hair care line be profitable? Give to the estimated scale of production of a total of 600,000 units of the 6-milliliter sachets, total cost of production and distribution would probably be $600,000. Then, the highest estimated total cost of production and delivery for the 100 milliliter bottles would be $1,410,000, but the lowest would sum up to $1,110,000. Moreover, when take advertising, promotion, and sales into consideration, the costs would probably come to $705,000, while the highest total amount of sales could be even more than $2,715,000. 5. Should Mary Kay introduce a hair care line in India? Why or Why not? As far as I am concerned, Mary Kay should introduce a hair care line in India. On the basis of the data above, the highest total amount of sales could come to $2,715,000 for Mary Kay, which means huge profit in India market. What is more, as the transformation of lifestyle among young Indians, the number of people who tend to use hair care products could rise up in the coming decades. Once hair care products are accepted by Indian people, it means more opportunities and profit growth point for Mary Kay brand. For instance, Mary Kay company could develop more hair care products with specific functions to satisfy the increasingly demand among people. Lastly, another  advantage to introduce Mary Kay to India is that labor price in India is pretty low, which illustrates that the cost to produce hair care products in India could be controlled easily. In general, introducing hair care products to India is a wise action for Mary Kay company.

Indepth Analysis of of Hector essays

Indepth Analysis of of Hector essays Hector is the mightiest warrior in the Trojan army. Although he meets his match in Achilles, he wreaks havoc on the Achaean army during Achilles' period of absence. He leads the assault that finally penetrates the Achaean ramparts, he is the first and only Trojan to set fire to an Achaean ship, and he kills Patroclus. Yet his leadership contains discernible flaws, especially toward the end of the epic, when the participation of first Patroclus and then Achilles reinvigorates the Achaean army. He demonstrates a certain cowardice when, twice in Book 17, he flees Great Ajax. Indeed, he recovers his courage only after receiving the insults of his comrades- first Glaucus and then Aeneas. He can often become emotionally carried away as well, treating Patroclus and his other victims with rash cruelty. Later, swept up by a burst of confidence, he foolishly orders the Trojans to camp outside Troy's walls the night before Achilles returns to battle, thus causing a crucial downfall the next d ay. But although Hector may prove overly impulsive and insufficiently prudent, he does not come across as arrogant or overbearing, as Agamemnon does. Moreover, the fact that Hector fights in his homeland, unlike any of the Achaean commanders, allows Homer to develop him as a tender, family-oriented man. Hector shows deep, sincere love for his wife and children. Indeed, he even treats his brother Paris with forgiveness and indulgence, despite the man's lack of spirit and preference for lovemaking over military duty. Hector never turns violent with him, merely aiming frustrated words at his cowardly brother. Moreover, although Hector loves his family, he never loses sight of his responsibility to Troy. Admittedly, he runs from Achilles at first and briefly entertains the delusional hope of negotiating his way out of a duel. However, in the end he stands up to the mighty warrior, even when he realizes that the gods have abandoned him. His refusal to flee e...

Effective Public Management essays

Effective Public Management essays I have been employed in the public sector as a front-line staff worker for the past two and a half years under two different county Job and Family Services organizations. I have spent one year working with the Athens County Department and Job and Family Services (ACDJF), and one and a half years with the Fairfield County Department of Job and Family Services (FCDJFS). I have observed the different principles that Gordon Chase discussed in the essay Bromides for Public Mangers in a non-management position. During my stint as a public employee, I have spent little time distinguishing the differences between the private and public sectors. I have since formulated a new opinion since your class lecture on the public and private sectors. There are many differences that one may look over when reviewing the two. The private sectors primary purpose is to make money; with most or all the decisions being made internally. The public sectors primary purpose is to serve society, with the majority of goals and decision making coming externally (Chase, p.1). The public organization is monitored closely by individuals outside of the agency because it is the outside people whose taxes fund most public agencies. The general public is interested in seeing results. Public managers have the pressure of pleasing both their internal employees along with individuals outside the organization. These outside members include legislators and politicians, the media, the courts, community groups, federal a nd local officials, other public agencies, unions, and the general public (Case, p. 4). With all of these key players, decision making is often a lengthy drawn out process. Issues may be left unattended for fear that it may create conflicts with these external players. These external players have there own agendas and opinions on how you should run your agency to benefit their needs. As you can see, it is very difficult for the public manager to ma...

The Plays the Thing

The Plays the Thing In Hamlet, there is the line that goes something like The plays the thing wherein we can catch the conscience of the king. If you play your cards right, playwriting can be the thing that earns you some extra money as a freelancer. There is a huge demand for appropriate plays for the middle school and high school markets. The reason is simple. A lot of people have found themselves in a position like I did several years ago when I was directing plays. I just couldnt find something suitable for the resources I had, so I wrote my own. Later, I queried a publisher on the off chance that it might accept freelance submissions. The one I queried did. Brooklyn Publishers accepted one of my plays and asked for more.   Since that first play, I have published seven plays with this company. The one thing about playwriting is that if you establish a reputation as a writer who can deliver what schools need, you can ride that formula to playwriting success. What I wanted was simple enough: easy comedies, simple sets, and flexible casts leaning heavily to more female parts. Now, twice a year I get royalty checks. If you would like to tap into this market, I would make three suggestions: First, look at publisher websites. Brooklyn Publishers is www.brookpub.com. Check out what they publish; read the descriptions and order a couple of plays to read. Do a search for paying magazines that pay for plays. I know of at least two that accept submissions: Dramatics and Plays. Second, go to performances. Im talking high school and college drama performances. Better yet, get involved in community drama. Third, learn some of the ins and outs of playwriting. There are at least two free online playwriting courses you can check on. MIT has an open course ware playwriting course and playwright Johnathan Dorf has on online course called Playwriting 101. You can google these and go right to them. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/music-and-theater-arts/21m-604-playwriting-1-spring-2005/index.htm playwriting101.com What are you waiting for? Curtains Up!   Lets play.

Talent Development for Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Talent Development for Sustainability - Essay Example At the same time, an organization’s ability to manage knowledge becomes a critical factor in improving productivity of the pooled talent. Questions always arise on the interrelatedness of talent development and knowledge management. The two are undoubtedly independent, but there has to be interplay for an organization to post consistent success. One thing that should be understood at this point is that knowledge management is derived from historical engagements and experiences and remains put in an organization. On the other hand, talent management practices maybe defined and consistent but actual talent as represented by certain employees will continually change as people come and leave the organization. Irrespective of these differences in practice and form the two are major determinants of organization success. In this study, talent development and knowledge management will be evaluated and their place in determining organization success. ... Though different, these two definitions express knowledge management as a lifelong organization activity which seeks to ensure organization effectiveness (King, 2010.p.4). The basis of such efficiency is past knowledge and experiences which are utilized to ensure the organizations current and future situations are improved. On the other hand, talent development is a concept under talent management which encompasses assessing, developing and deploying the right people with the right skills into the right jobs (Galagan, 2011.p. 2). Talent management and development has its root in the McKinsey’s â€Å"War for Talent† study which highlighted recruitment as the number one concern for business leaders (Caplan 1). Looking at the definitions, it is easy to look at talent management and development as the most crucial aspect of an organization. This is mainly because it determines the people in an organization’s fold and their different abilities. However, an organizatio n that seeks growth must seek to be efficient. Efficiency is not always determined by the caliber of employees (talent) but is also defined by the organization’s structure and culture. It is in the latter that knowledge management assumes the greatest importance. This is because overtime, an organization has learnt crucial lessons on that which works and that which does not. Through managing these experiences an organization is able to cultivate the right attitude, develop the appropriate culture and maintain a productive management structure and employee approaches. The repository for these experiences is the knowledge management system. The process of knowledge management involves acquisition, creation, refinement, storage, transfer, sharing, and utilization (White, 2008.p.4). The knowledge

MGMT 4350 Leading Organizational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGMT 4350 Leading Organizational Change - Essay Example leader should possess certain qualities including the ability to understand the change barriers that they are bound to encounter; this will help avert disasters before they happen. A change leader should also be able to lead the organization through the change and enhance unity while at it. Providing resources and being an advocate for the people initiating change tends to be a crucial quality. A great change leader should also be able to create a reasonable timeline for the change which will be realized, and the whole organization will follow ( National Institutes of Health, 2015). A change manager too has qualities that he/she needs to possess. One of the key qualities is that a change manager should be able to mobilize the entire institution through the change process. Also, he/she should be able to hard-wire the changes into the organization. He/she should be able to structure a learning program to ensure that the change is sustained. Being able to communicate strategically and consistently will also be a key feature of a great change manager. National Institutes of Health. (2015, May 29). Office of Human Resources at the National Institute of Health. Retrieved from Hr.od. nih.gov: http://hr.od.nih.gov/workingatnih/competencies/leadership/changeleadership.htm Kotter, J. (2011, December 7). Change Management vs. Change Leadership -- Whats the Difference? Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com:

Critically examine a period of strategic change for an organisation of Essay

Critically examine a period of strategic change for an organisation of your own choice. Outline the triggers for change and the - Essay Example 7 Triggers to this change †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 2- Product Differentiation as a strategic change †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 Triggers to this change †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 3- Retail-marketing/ Own-store retailing as a strategic change †¦ 10 Triggers to this change †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 Significant organizational issues facing the managers in strategic change .. 12 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 Introduction In the light of large-scale changes facing the world around the business, organizations require to undergo strategic changes and strategic re-orientations. Both the external and internal environments of a business face tremendous changes day by day, mainly due to technological advances, varying customer requirements, differences in marketing trends etc, and in order the business to survive in this challenging environment, it is highly important that business must be accustomed with the environments through the strategic change possible. For management, there are quite a large number of strategies to help the business achieve its specific or common goals. Out of these strategies, change itself is a strategy as it is, though a challenge to get it successfully implemented, an opportunity for the business. Apple Inc with the leadership of Steve Jobs has emerged to be an organization that prospered a number of strategic changes l ike retail-marketing, innovative product design, product differentiation etc. This piece of research paper is an attempt to address the strategic change from both literature perspectives as well as empirical evidences from Apple’s strategic change. This paper outlines how Apple Inc has managed strategic change at various situations and how it could successfully implemented changes like launching of its retail-marketing. Apple Inc: An overview Apple Inc, one of the most successful technology companies of today, has been established by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak in early 1970. It’s startup story itself is amazingly interesting as it is closely linked to one-off hobby machine that an outstanding talented electronic wiz, Steve Jobs, made for himself and this has later become the core of the most successful companies of today (O'Grady 2008, p. 1). Apple Inc is a multinational company, headquartered in California, that designs, develops, and markets personal computers, servers, communication devices like cell-phones, portable music digital players and related accessories (Datamonitor 2010). The company has always been thriving on innovation and continuous changes. It ignited personal computer revolution in early 1990s with the development of Apple- II. The company thus went through a number of strategic changes in production, technology, marketing, innovation and so on. It later reinvented the personal computer within the next few years by the development of Macintosh. Macintosh and its another development called iMac gave the company deeply routed brand loyalty (Kerin, Hartley and Berkowitz, 2005, p. 395). In recent years, Apple found hidden marketing opportunities, that were until then explored by none, for digital music players, music software, iPhone, 3G iPhone etc and revolutionized its markets through effective distribution with

Introduction to Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Introduction to Entrepreneurship - Essay Example He or she does so with the drive to get profits, but they must also be bold enough to bear the risks that go with doing business. An entrepreneur may have employees or may work independently. What inspires me to Learn from Successful Entrepreneurs? What inspires me to learn from successful entrepreneurs is the qualities they posses that makes them successful. Their characteristics include â€Å"creativity, dedication, determination, flexibility, leadership, passion, self-confidence, and â€Å"smarts† (U.S. Department of State/Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012, p. 2). Creativity: this is the driving force behind invention of new products or creating new ways to do business. Successful entrepreneurs possess this quality and by looking at what they did you can come up with your own invention or improve on what they did. Sisamos, the owner of Engino.net Ltd, says that the beauty of being an entrepreneur is that you create your own destiny (European Commission, 20 09, p. 55). Dedication: It is what makes the entrepreneurs to work hard. Looking at successful entrepreneurs, they are always working. They created a new idea and they have to make it work. Looking at their lives, you can gauge yourself if you are ready for the undertaking. Determination: this is the inbuilt desire of an entrepreneur to succeed. He or she is not discouraged by failure and persistently keeps trying until he or she succeeds. Learning from them is of great value because it encourages one not to give up in the business undertaking. Flexibility: this is the ability to respond to the changing market trends. Learning from the lives of successful entrepreneurs, you will find that some of them at one time had to change products/ services or introduce new products /services. Their success story prepares you for any eventuality when starting a business and to be prepared for change. Passion: successful entrepreneurs have the ability to convince others about their vision. They are focused, and it is important to look at their plans in order to become a successful entrepreneur. Self-confidence: successful entrepreneurs believe in themselves. They plan thoroughly to reduce uncertainty and risk. They listen but they are not easily swayed. This is a character that is admirable among the entrepreneurs. â€Å"Smarts†: this is a combination of common sense, knowledge, and experience in a similar or related business undertaking. The main contributors of smarts are employment, skills, and education. We can learn a lot from the â€Å"smarts† of various successful entrepreneurs. To me, entrepreneurship is a mix of many elements; however, one has to be inventive in order to venture into this field; he or she has to do a thorough market study to see what lacks in the society and come up with an economic activity that will help close that gap. An entrepreneur is majorly a creator and also a destroyer: by creating a new way to do things one may render old methods obsolete. He or she would have helped one group while rendered another group jobless. Biography of Anita Roddick In this biography, I am going to look into the life of Anita Roddick and single out the entrepreneurship characteristics in her. These characteristics include creativity, dedication, determination, flexibility, leadership, passion, self confidence, and â€Å"smarts†. Anita Roddick was born in Littlehampton in 1942 (Bio, 2012). Her

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Reflection - Essay Example The people around us in the society play a big role in making us realize who we are and the potential that we carry, and ignite fire to conquer all odds of life in our spirits, and become what we want to be in life. This indicates how environment contributes in learning a language. This creates some emptiness and the hunger that can only be fulfilled through self satisfaction of success. This can be achieved when learners have the ability to connect their reading with their real life situations. I agree that learning a language does not take place automatically, but it can only be achieved through careful planning and design. It is a process that starts from home and continues to school. Therefore, indicates that instructors should not depend on the aspect of telling learners that it is time to reflect for them to grow and embrace this skill, but proper strategies and purposeful aims should be set to guide learners on this process (Welch 1999.) When instructors are designing teaching approaches, they should be able to identify the intended purpose and be able to realize how they will be achieved even before they manifest and happen. Such approaches will promote a smooth transition from oral to printed languages. There is a laid down procedure to enable learners develop their own learning that may be independent from those of their instructor (*). Positive environments enhance social interaction among learners who are able to share their ideas that see them acquiring more information from each other. This encourages group teaching, which promotes confidence and talking among peers. When learners share ideas it enables them to develop a deeper thinking more than learning on individual levels. (*) This confidence helps learners to develop a mastery content of the language. Students who have a good command of a language have the ability to express their opinions and feelings correctly. I agree that reading brings experiences stimulated by the author to the reader. However, the learner should get the meaning of the words he is reading. Discussion of pictures during reading activities enables the learner to understand what he is going to read. . After several trials, the mind will eventually come up with remedies that can be applied to handle the issue, which means the mind has broadened through challenges. Learning has become dynamic, and it calls for instructors to search deeper than they were doing in the past. They should develop ways that are relevant to the current curriculum system, and which have a communicable language that the audience can understand. This is because language is the medium of instruction that instructors depend on to pass information. Unit 2 Reflection Reading programs give meaning to an individual basing on his motives and intentions, but these intentions do not come from an individual alone since the leaner acquires some values when one interacts with others through relationships. This indicates that metacognitive a spects enable learners to grow socially through their sharing of ideas in groups that enhances cooperation among them. Therefore, some programs emphasize the power to influence and propagate relationships among learners, the community and the nation at large. However, it is my opinion that teachers should assess the value of any reading program before applying it. This suggests that instructors should show how they plan to

Introduction to Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Introduction to Entrepreneurship - Essay Example He or she does so with the drive to get profits, but they must also be bold enough to bear the risks that go with doing business. An entrepreneur may have employees or may work independently. What inspires me to Learn from Successful Entrepreneurs? What inspires me to learn from successful entrepreneurs is the qualities they posses that makes them successful. Their characteristics include â€Å"creativity, dedication, determination, flexibility, leadership, passion, self-confidence, and â€Å"smarts† (U.S. Department of State/Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012, p. 2). Creativity: this is the driving force behind invention of new products or creating new ways to do business. Successful entrepreneurs possess this quality and by looking at what they did you can come up with your own invention or improve on what they did. Sisamos, the owner of Engino.net Ltd, says that the beauty of being an entrepreneur is that you create your own destiny (European Commission, 20 09, p. 55). Dedication: It is what makes the entrepreneurs to work hard. Looking at successful entrepreneurs, they are always working. They created a new idea and they have to make it work. Looking at their lives, you can gauge yourself if you are ready for the undertaking. Determination: this is the inbuilt desire of an entrepreneur to succeed. He or she is not discouraged by failure and persistently keeps trying until he or she succeeds. Learning from them is of great value because it encourages one not to give up in the business undertaking. Flexibility: this is the ability to respond to the changing market trends. Learning from the lives of successful entrepreneurs, you will find that some of them at one time had to change products/ services or introduce new products /services. Their success story prepares you for any eventuality when starting a business and to be prepared for change. Passion: successful entrepreneurs have the ability to convince others about their vision. They are focused, and it is important to look at their plans in order to become a successful entrepreneur. Self-confidence: successful entrepreneurs believe in themselves. They plan thoroughly to reduce uncertainty and risk. They listen but they are not easily swayed. This is a character that is admirable among the entrepreneurs. â€Å"Smarts†: this is a combination of common sense, knowledge, and experience in a similar or related business undertaking. The main contributors of smarts are employment, skills, and education. We can learn a lot from the â€Å"smarts† of various successful entrepreneurs. To me, entrepreneurship is a mix of many elements; however, one has to be inventive in order to venture into this field; he or she has to do a thorough market study to see what lacks in the society and come up with an economic activity that will help close that gap. An entrepreneur is majorly a creator and also a destroyer: by creating a new way to do things one may render old methods obsolete. He or she would have helped one group while rendered another group jobless. Biography of Anita Roddick In this biography, I am going to look into the life of Anita Roddick and single out the entrepreneurship characteristics in her. These characteristics include creativity, dedication, determination, flexibility, leadership, passion, self confidence, and â€Å"smarts†. Anita Roddick was born in Littlehampton in 1942 (Bio, 2012). Her

Leader Effectiveness in Multicultural Environments Coursework

Leader Effectiveness in Multicultural Environments - Coursework Example Based on the previous journal entries, I should work on cultural communication, strategy, and cultural motivation skills. These skills are key to successful leadership because they determine how one can keep relationships with people from varied cultural backgrounds (Rowley & Poon, 2009). Cultural communication is the ability to communicate very well with people from varied cultural backgrounds. It is the ability to make individuals from different cultures to feel comfortable by adopting their cultural behavior and communication technique. Effective communication technique is necessary ingredients in the achievement of effective leadership. Cultural strategy refers to the set of techniques that one uses to handle situations that require cultural intelligence. It entails careful planning and execution of efficient management practices that facilitation the adoption of cultural behavior and communication from different cultures. Sometimes it is necessary for a leader to pause and perform a mental reset. The reset is necessary to ensure one is on the right track. The skills that are essential to the development of cultural awareness and effective leadership are cognition, metacognition, behavior, and motivation. The whole training will take one month. The timeline is a bit long because time is needed to experience different environments, which can facilitate the practice of several skills. Cultural communication will be the first skill to practice. The first week of the training will involve a real life experience in a multicultural environment. Placing myself in a multicultural environment will help me to focus on cultural behavior and practices to master how to communicate with people from different cultures. The goal is to master the specific behavior associated with communication in different contexts. The ability to understand cultural behavior and related it to communication

Business to Nation Building Essay Example for Free

Business to Nation Building Essay There are three particular foundations sustaining any process that concerns nation building: government representing political leadership; civil society or the citizens of the country; and business or the economic sector. These three concepts must work together and as much as possible, work together harmoniously to drive the said nation-building process forward because they serve as the hands and feet of the nation. Business is the cornerstone of prosperity in society: companies create the resources that permit social development and welfare. Companies, through their commercial operations, actively contribute to progress in society. Obviously, the government alone cannot accomplish things especially its projects and programs on its own. Had it been capable, it would already have done it. Without the businesses around, the government wouldn’t work out the plans it opt to undertake because it needs funds coming from taxes and taxes comes from these establishments. The ability to produce an added value for firms – profit – is the basic prerequisite for business, but it is also a foundation for prosperity in society. Only profitable companies are sustainable in the long term and capable of creating goods, services, processes, return on capital, work opportunities and a tax base. This is what business does better than any other sector. Hence, companies’ basic commercial operations are the primary benefit they bring to society. Companies benefit society by: Supplying goods and services that customer cannot, or do not want to, produce themselves * Creating jobs for customers, suppliers, distributors and co-workers; these people make money to support themselves and their families, pay taxes and use their wages to buy goods and services * Continually developing new goods, services and processes * Investing in new technologies and in the skills of employees * Building up and spreading international standards, e. g. or environmenta l practices * Spreading â€Å"good practice† in different areas, such as the environment and workplace safety The role of business in the development of society can be described in many ways. In another point of view, they are sometimes referred to as the company’s corporate social responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility is a less broad concept than civic involvement. Even though there is no set, internationally accepted definition, this is often described as a voluntary responsibility that transcends the demands of national legislation and includes the human rights and environmental and social issues. Another definition of CSR uses sustainable development as a starting point. In practice, CSR means that businesses meet the demands of national legislation and, where this is inadequate, look in addition to a collection of established, fundamental freedoms and rights that are globally recognized. CSR demands that businesses manage the economic, social and environmental impacts of their operations to maximize the benefits and minimize the downsides. Business is the ‘game-changer’ of today’s world. We are significantly dependent on them. Majority of our day-to-day activities are involved with an interaction with various kinds of businesses (whether you felt hungry and decided to buy food or you just went to a parlor to have a haircut). But what’s good to know is that they do not benefit from us alone whenever we pay their goods or services but they give mutual advantage for the welfare of the greater society by having their own share in nation-building, too.

Benefits and problems concerning traditional approach to budgeting

Benefits and problems concerning traditional approach to budgeting In order to advise two different businesses about the benefits and problems associated with traditional approach to budgeting and budgetary control, i have collected and compiled the information regarding budgeting and divided it into different parts so that the reader may easily understand . 1.INTRODUCTION : A budget is a planning and controlling tool for an oraganisation.This tool can work effectively only when it is used with due care.It is not only the a cost monitoring mechanism but also an integral part of an organisations planning and control activities.It aims at achieving organisational objectives and motivating the personnel concerned.For the success of budgetary system gathering the essential informationand choosing an appropriate budgetary system etc.are necessary. The ideal budegting system is one that encourages goal congruence(i.e. a situation where the personal goals of the employees match the oraganisational goals).Ensuring the greater participation of the supervisory level in the management process can ensure goal congruence. Budgets may be of different types to suit the different practices followed by different organisations.An organisation using a conventional systemof budgeting may somtimes need to switch over to another to suit its requirements.Changing a budegtary system is not a simple task.An oraganisation has to face certain difficultiesin the form of resistance to change by the personnel of the organisation,changes required in the existing support systems etc., inorder to change its budgetary system.The Success of a budget is also largely dependant on the level of accuracy in estimating the revenues and costs for the budget period.There are several statistical techniques which may prove useful in forecasting the figures to be incorporated in budgets. 2. TRADITIONAL BUDGETING: 2.1. Introduction: First of all we begin this topic with the simple definition of budget.In short budget can be defined as Quantitative economic plan made with regard to time. Therefore, for something to be characterised as a budget it must comprise the quantities of economic resources to be allocated and used, it has to be expressed in economic i.e. monetary terms, it has to be a plan not a hope or a forecast but an authoritative intention, and it must be made within a certain period of time (Harper, 1995, p. 318). Only a plan that has such characteristics can be called a budget. However, if a budget is looked upon in its wider context, it can be defined as a management tool that puts executives in control of the financial health of their company. It is an objective measure of the financial structure of companys operation and a tool that forces management to be accountable in a structured and objective way. Budgets as management tools by themselves are neither good nor bad. How managers administer budgets is the key to their value. When administered wisely, budgets facilitate planning and resource allocation and help to enumerate, itemize, dissect and examine all of the products and services that a company offers to customers (Seer, 2000, p. 187). In short and taken at its simplest level, a budget is a mathematical exercise, but in reality it is much, much more than numbers on spreadsheets, which is what following text will definitely show. The purpose of budgeting is that it gives management an idea of how well a company is meeting their income goals, whether or not expenses are in line with predicted levels, and how well controls are working. Properly used, budgeting can and should increase profits, reduce unnecessary spending, and clearly define how immediate steps can be taken to expand markets (Thomsett, 1988, p. 5). In order to achieve this, management needs to build a budgeting system, the major objectives of which are to (Viscione, 1984, p. 42): Set acceptable targets for revenues and expenses. Increase the likelihood that targets will be reached. Provide time and opportunity to formulate and evaluate options should obstacles arise. Since budgeting as a process is very complex, it comes as no surprise that budgets are trying to fulfil numerous functions such as (Harper, 1995, p. 321, and Churchill, 1984, p. 162): Planning a budget establishes a plan of action that enables management to know in advance the amounts and timing of the production factors required to meet desired level of sales. Controlling a budget can be used to help an organization reach its objectives by ensuring that each of the individual steps are taken as planned. Coordinating a budget is where all the financial components of an organization Individual units, divisions, and departments are assembled into a coherent master picture that expresses the organizations overall operational objectives and strategic goals. Communicating by publishing the budget, management explicitly informs its subordinates as to what exactly they must be doing and what other parts of the organization will be doing. A budget is designed to give managers a clear understanding of the companys financial goals, from expected cost savings to targeted revenues. Instructing a budget is often as much an executive order as an organizational plan since it lays down what must be done. It may, therefore, be regarded by subordinates as a management instruction. Authorising if a budget is a management instruction then conversely it is an authorisation to take budgeted action. Motivating in that a budget sets a target for the different members of the organization so that it can act to motivate them to try and attain their budgeted targets. Performance measuring by providing a benchmark against which actual performance can be measured, a budget clearly plays a crucial role in the important task of performance measurement. Decision-making it should never be assumed that a budget is set in concrete and when changing course a well-designed budget is a very useful tool in evaluating the consequences of a proposed alternative since the effect of any change can be traced throughout the entire organization. Delegating budgets delegate responsibility to the managers who assume authority for a specified set of resources and activities. In this way budgets emphasise even more the existing organizational structure within the company. Educating the educating effect of a budget is perhaps most evident when the process is introduced in a company. Operating managers learn not only the technical aspects of budgeting but also how the company functions and how their business units interact with others. Better management of subordinates a budget enhances the skills of operating managers not only by educating them about how the company functions, but also by giving them the opportunity to manage their subordinates in a more professional manner. The requirements that all these functions impose upon a budget make it difficult for one system to meet them all. It is precisely because these requirements differ, that role conflicts in budgeting system arise. These need to be appropriately dealt with so that dysfunctional behaviour like budget padding or other damaging budget games for the company do not appear. Since there are three major roles for any budgeting system, at least three conflicts may arise (Barrett, Fraser, 1977, p. 141): Planning versus motivation For a budget to be most effective in the planning role, it should be based on a realistic assessment of the companys operating capabilities and on managements judgment about what is most likely to happen in the future. Yet this kind of budget runs the risk of setting targets so low that motivation is adversely affected since to motivate properly, budget objectives should be set higher than those for planning and be difficult yet attainable. On the other hand, these difficult yet attainable objectives lead to an overly optimistic budget and run the risk of falling short and under using company resources. Motivation versus evaluation There is a widely held belief that budget objectives should be set as fixed standards against which performance can be judged. Managers are also likely to be more committed to achieving this kind of objective since they know that the performance standards by which they are evaluated are not constantly changing. On the other hand, managers motivation can be impaired by rigid application of a fixed standard philosophy which doesnt consider the impacts of uncontrollable or unforeseeable events and doesnt allow for their removal from budget standards. Planning versus evaluation The planning roles requirement of providing realistic assessment of future prospects can conflict with the need to eliminate the effects of uncontrollable or unforeseeable environmental variables from the budget used for evaluation purposes. Yet, because they are separated in time, the conflict between these requirements is considered a minor one since it can be considerably reduced if appropriate adjustments are done at the end of the budget period. As can be seen in the previous paragraph, functions that typical budgets want to cover are very wide. It comes then as no surprise that those budgets are being used today in practice for many purposes. Bunce, Fraser and Woodcocks (1995) survey showed that general uses of budgets can be divided into financial and operational type of uses. Figure 2 clearly indicates that, of the various uses of budgeting for management, the most important are those financially oriented like the use of budgets for financial forecast, cost control, cash flow management, and capital expenditure supervision. The operational management uses of budgeting have been less common but the interviewed companies have concluded that, in todays business environment, they are of growing importance. The need to improve performance is intensifying to the point that it is no longer enough just to control costs, but That company must also pay attention to things like strategy, communication, and employee evaluation. These are purposes for which budgets have not been used so much in the past. As stated in the opening definition, budgets are plans set for a certain period of time, such as a month, quarter, and year and so on. This time period is then usually broken into smaller sub periods. The most frequently used budgets are annual budgets that are subdivided by months for the first quarter and by quarters for the remainder of the year. Of course, actual time periods for which budgets are made depend mostly on their purpose and use, and it is solely the decision of individual companies as to what time periods will be utilized for their budgeting process. 2.2. History of budgets: The English word budget stems from the French word bougette and the Latin word bulga which was a leather bag or a large-sized purse which travellers in medieval times hung on the saddle of their horse. The treasurers bougette was the predecessor to the small leather case from which finance ministries even today in countries like Great Britain and Holland present their yearly financial plan for the state. So after being used to describe the word wallet and then state finances, the meaning of the word budget in 19th century slowly shifted to the financial plan itself, initially only for governments and then later for private and legal entities (Hofstede, 1968, p. 19). It was only then that budgets started to be considered as financial plans and not just as money bags. The use of budgets as financial planning and control tools for business enterprises is historically a rather young phenomenon. In the US, early budgetary principles in companies were mostly derived from the budget techniques in government. The other source of budgetary principles for business in the US was the Scientific Management Movement, which in the years between 1911 and 1935 conquered the US industry. Many historians agree that early budgeting systems can be seen as a logical extension of Taylors Scientific Management from the shop floor to the total enterprise. However, it was not until the depression years after 1930 that budget control in US companies started to be implemented on a large-scale.Budgets with their focus on cost control simply became a perfect management tool for that period of time (ibid., p. 20). In Europe the idea of using budgets for business was firstly formulated by the French organization pioneer Henri Fayol (1841-1925). There was, however, little appli cation in practice. Another practical stimulus came from the ideas of the Czech entrepreneur Thomas Bata (1876-1925) who introduced the so-called departmental profit-and-loss-control as a tool for decentralizing his international shoe company into a federation of independently run small businesses. Nevertheless, the main inducement for the development of budgets and their implementation in European companies came from across the Atlantic in the years following the Second World War (ibid., p. 21). Companies like Du Pont and General Motors in the U.S., Siemens in Germany, and Saint Gobain and Elà ©ctricità © de France in France, which pioneered the M-form (multidivisional) organizational structure in the 1920s, first started to use budgets to support their rapid growth as they expanded into new products and markets. This was to help them to reduce the complexity of managing multiple strategies (Hope, Fraser, 1997, p. 20). The enormous diversity in the product markets served by these vertically integrated corporations required new systems and measures to coordinate dispersed and decentralized activities. In this kind of environment, budgets and ROI measure rightly played a key role in permitting central management to coordinate, motivate and evaluate the performance of their divisional managers, and perform a proper allocation of internal capital and resources (Johnson, Kaplan,1991, p. 11). However, it is was only in the 1960s that accountants started adding to budgets other functions (like management performance evaluation and motivation) in addition to those functions for which they had originally been devised planning and control (Hope, Fraser,1999b, p. 50). In that period, budgets became the central and most important activity within management accounting or in the words of Horngren, Foster and Datar: the most widely used accounting tool for planning and controlling organizations (2000, p. 178). This is exactly how budgets have remained to this day. The only thing that has changed in the meantime is the competitive environment in which todays companies operate and which has provoked many discussions about budgets disadvantages and their alternatives, some of which will be presented in later parts of this assessment. 2.3. Budgeting Process: The process of budgeting generally involves an iterative cycle which moves between targets of desirable performance and estimates of feasible performance until there is, hopefully, convergence to a plan which is both feasible and acceptable (Emmanuel, Otley, Merchant,1990, p. 31). Alternatively, if we look beyond many details and iterations of the usual budgeting process we can see that there is a simple universally applicable budgeting process, the phases of which can be described in the following manner (Finney, 1994, p. 16): Budget forms and instructions are distributed to all managers. The budget forms are filled out and submitted. The individual budgets are transformed into appropriate budgeting/accounting terms and consolidated into one overall company budget. The budget is reviewed, modified as necessary, and approved. The final budget is then used throughout the year to control and measure the organization. The inevitable dependence of individual budgets on one another requires that budgets be prepared in a hierarchical manner. Figure 3 indicates a common hierarchical form of the budgeting process together with the necessary data flow between particular budgets and phases of their making. This picture shows that despite having only a few general phases, the budgeting process, due to its linearity and iteration loop, is in fact a very complex and time consuming process. Since it is so complex and important, the budgeting process requires lots of decision making on the particular choices that developers of budgets have at their disposal. Churchill (1984, p.151) has provided a list of eight budget choices that managers have to be concerned with when setting up the budgeting system. Thereby, these concerns vary according to whether the company intends to use its budgets primarily for planning or for control. These budget choices are: Whether it is to be prepared from the bottom-up or top-down, How it is to be implemented, How the budget process is linked to the strategic planning process, Whether it should be a rolling budget and how often it should be revised, Whether performance should be evaluated against the original budget or the one relating to the actual activity level of the organization, Whether compensation/bonuses should be based on budgeted performance, What budget evaluation criteria should be used, and What degree of stretch should be incorporated into the budget. In general, accounting theory suggests that large companies should be concerned more with operational efficiency and emphasize coordination and control aspects of budgets, while smaller innovative firms should concentrate more on the planning aspects of their budgets. 2.4. Types Of Budgets: A budget is not a unitary concept but varies from organization to organization. The basic concept of budgeting involves estimating future performance, comparing actual results with the estimate, and analyzing the differences between them. Factors that are relevant in determining the type or style of an organizations budget and its effects include: the type of organization, the leadership style, personalities of people affected by the budget, the method of preparation, and the desired results of the budgeting process (Cherrington, Cherrington, 1973, p. 226). In general, budgets can be classified into two primary categories (Cohen, Robbins, Young,1994, p. 171): Operating budgets: Operating budgets consist of plans for all those activities that make up the normal operations of the firm. The main components of the firms operating budget include sales, production, inventory, materials, labour, overheads and RD budgets. Financial budgets: Financial budgets are used to control the financial aspects of the business. In effect, these budgets reveal the influence of the operating budgets on the firms financial position and earnings potential. They include a cash budget, capital expenditures budget and pro forma balance sheet and income statement. In figure 4, all major budgets that can be used in a typical company and how they are linked and interconnected within the larger system of the master budget can be seen. This confirms what has already been said about the budgeting process that individual budgets are dependent on one another which requires that they be prepared in a hierarchical manner. Except for the usual division of companies budgets into operational and financial, budgets can also be differentiated based on expenditure authority. Using this approach, two major groups of budgets can be defined (Kemp, Dunbar, 2003, p. 3): Line-item budgets These are budgets where the name of each line is set, as is the amount of money that can be spent on each item. If one works within a line-item budget, one can not overspend a specific line item and then compensate this with savings on other line (or vice versa). The authority to move money from one line item to another must be granted at a higher level. Block budgets These are the opposites of line-item budgets. Here a block of money is given. The details of the budget are presented but, later on, if one wants to spend more money on one item and less on another, one is free to do so. As long as the block of money is not overspent before the end of the year, the budget remains under control. 2.5. Budgets as planning tools: Welsch, Hilton, Gordon (1988, p. 73) have defined the budgeting process as a profit planning and control process and in that way not only have identified the two most important functions of budgets in organizations, but have also presented budgeting process in a wider context than it is usually depicted. Figure 5 clearly shows that the budgeting process is more than just a process of combining quantitative financial plans. It is a tool with which top management cascades strategy goals to operating levels. Budgets are ideal for this purpose since they are in essence the detailed quantification of targets for short-term choices of actions. Before continuing, it must be emphasised here that budgeting is not planning it is just the quantification of planning. Since the budget is fundamentally a plan, planning is the first important element of budgeting work. Planning is one of the elementary functions of management. It is the process of developing enterprise objectives and selecting a future course of action to accomplish them. It includes establishing enterprise objectives, developing premises about the environment in which they are to be accomplished, selecting a course of action for accomplishing the objectives, initiating activities necessary to translate plans into action and current replanning to correct deficiencies (Welsch, Hilton, Gordon, 1988, p. 3). It is a phase that involves the interpretation of the broader strategic policies derived during the formulation of strategy and their translation into more specific shorter-range plans. Once these short-term plans are quantified, they become budgets. That is why in many instances short-term planning and budgetary planning are used as synonyms. However, as figure 6 will show, connect ion between planning and budgeting is not isolated from influences of other elements that constitute corporate planning system and it is precisely the coherent functioning of the complete system that allows corporate planning to be implemented, period by period, through the budgetary process and its two elementary phases budgetary planning and budgetary Control (Lucey, 1996, p. 104). Apart from the purposes of setting desired objectives and goals and linking them with strategic long-range and tactical short-range plans, the fundamental objective of management planning within budgeting system is to provide a feedforward process for operations and control. It is this feedforward process that renders the planning phase of the budgeting system vitally important since it allows control and corrections of plans before they are even implemented. The difference between feedback and feedforward concepts is that feedback monitors past results to detect and correct disturbances to the plan, while feedforward reacts to immediate or forthcoming dangers by making adjustments to the system in advance in order to cope with the problem on time, i.e. feedback monitors, feedforward warns (Lucey,1996, p. 144). Since in any organizations it is unlikely that pure feedforward or pure feedback control could operate in isolation because feedback control is too slow, while feedforward control is too risky, these two concepts usually function within a single budgeting system as can be seen in figure 7. 2.6. Budgets as control devices : At the beginning of the period, the budget is a plan. At the end of the period, the budget is a control device to measure performance against expectations so that future performance may be improved. Control is achieved through continuous reporting of actual progress and expenditures relative to plans i.e. budgets (Shim, Siegel, 1994, p. 15). The aim of budgetary control is to provide a formal basis for monitoring the progress of the organization as a whole and of its component parts towards achievement of the objectives specified in budgets (Lucey, 1996, p. 147). Budgetary control process usually functions in a closed loop. This loop, which is illustrated in figure 8, starts with the planning phase, then records actual transactions, and finally reports against the plan and generates management response. In accounting literature, budgeting is also known as responsibility accounting. This means that plans and the resulting information on the performance of the plans are expressed in terms of human responsibilities because it is people, not reports that control operations. We can define responsibility accounting as a system of accounting in which costs and revenues are analysed in accordance with areas of personal responsibilities so that the performance of the budget holders can be monitored in financial terms (Lucey, 1996, p. 147). So the crucial thing for profit control is the division of authority and responsibility to managers. This means that managers should accept responsibility only over those figures that they have control. However, in practice, controllability1 is difficult to pinpoint for at least two reasons (Horngren, Foster, Datar, 2000, p. 195): Few costs are clearly under the sole influence of one manager. Over a long enough time span, all costs will come under somebodys control. For this reason, companies, alongside traditional responsibility centres2, also usually set up budget centres. These can be defined as a part of an organization for which a given manager has responsibility and authority and to which profit control data can be assigned (Harper,1995, p. 320). For budgeting control purposes, a special type of budget is prepared called the flexible budget. In order to understand why only those budgets can be used for the accurate measurement of performance, firstly the difference between them and fixed budgets must be explained. The fixed budget is based on the level of output planned at the start of the budget period. On the other hand, the flexible budget is developed using budgeted revenues or cost amounts based on the level of output actually achieved in the budget period (Horngren, Foster, Datar, 2000, p. 220). For this reason, from a control viewpoint, the fixed budget is likely to be inappropriate (unless by pure chance the actual level of activity turns out to be the same as the planned level which is highly unlikely) and should not be used for control purposes. It is with respect to this sort of budget that the old saying the budget is out of date before the budget period even begins is often a correct one (Harper, 1995, p. 336). 2.7. Benefits and problems associated with traditional budgeting: It is claimed that today as many as 99 percent of European and US companies are using budgets and have no intention of abandoning them (Better Budgeting: A report, 2004, p. 2). However, on the same page, it is stated that as many as 60 percent of those companies claim that they are not completely satisfied with their current budgeting systems and are continuously trying to improve them (ibid., p. 3). From this evidence, it is obvious that budgets carry with them many benefits and problems. Here is a list of some of the benefits that traditional budgeting can bring into organization if properly implemented and administered (Lucey, 1996, p. 161): It is a major formal way by which the organizational objectives are translated into specific plans, tasks and objectives related to individual managers and supervisors. It is an important medium for communication of organizational plans and objectives and of the progress made towards meeting those objectives. The development of budgets helps achieve coordination between the various departments and functions of the organization. The involvement of all levels of management in setting budgets, the acceptance of defined targets, the two way flow of information and other features of a properly organized budgeting system all help to promote a coalition of interest and to increase motivation. Managements time can be saved and attention directed to areas of greatest concern by the exception principle which is at the heart of budgetary control. Performance at all levels is systematically reported and monitored thus aiding the control of current activities. The investigation of operations and procedures, which is part of budgetary planning and the subsequent monitoring of expenditure, may lead to reduced costs and greater efficiency. The regular systematic monitoring of results compared to the plan (i.e. the budget) provides information upon which current operations are adjusted to bring them into line with the previous plan or, adjustments are made to the plan itself where this becomes necessary. The integration of budgets makes it possible to better manage cash and working capital and makes stock and buying policies more realistic. Nobody has better summarized in one sentence all the advantages of traditional budgeting as did Umapathy in his major work on budgeting practices in U.S. industry from 1987.Umapathy stated: There is no other managerial process that translates qualitative mission statements and corporate strategies into action plans, links the short-term with the long-term, brings together managers from different hierarchical levels and from different functional areas, and at the same time provides continuity by the sheer regularity of the process (Umapathy, 1987, p. xxii). It is exactly because of this that budgets will soon celebrate their century long existence. Since budgets encompass so many different functions and are used for so many things in organizations, it is obvious to expect them to have certain weaknesses. A group of authors at the Cranfield School of Management made an extensive review of budgeting literature. As part of their research, they identified 12 significant weaknesses of traditional planning and budgeting practices. These factors fall into three principal categories and can be listed as follows (Neely, Bourne, Adams, 2003, p. 23): Competitive strategy Budgets are rarely strategically focused and are often contradictory. Budgets concentrate on cost reduction and not value creation. Budgets constrain responsiveness and flexibility, and are often a barrier to change. Budgets add little value since they tend to be bureaucratic and discourage creative thinking. Business process Budgets are time consuming and costly to put together. Budgets are developed and updated too infrequently, usually annually. Budgets are based on unsupported assumptions and guesswork. Budgets encourage gaming and dysfunctional behaviour. Organizational capacity Budgets strengthen vertical command and control. Budgets do not re ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ect the emerging network structures that organizations are adopting. Budgets reinforce departmental barriers rather than encourage knowledge sharing. Budgets make people feel undervalued. Furthermore, one of the biggest problems with budgets is that they tend to promote an inward-looking, short-term culture that focuses on achieving a budget figure, rather than on implementing business strategy and creating shareholder value over the medium to long term. For all these reasons, it is believed that these weaknesses lead collectively towards business underperformance and should therefore be dealt with (ibid). The above listed benefits and disadvantages of budgeting system have been present since the first d

Antigone :: essays research papers

We are not what we are; we are who society recognizes us to be. The responses from society for our actions are what gives us our sense of self. Without other people your identity does not exist for it is society who acknowledges or denies the individual their identity. We are who society allows us to be. Society represents that which is more powerful than the individual. Society’s needs are always greater than the individual. The identity of the individual will suffer for stepping outside of the boundaries set by society for that individual. Society sets boundaries for individuals that give the individual a certain area of movement, actions, and speech. Those individuals that cross those boundaries not only could lose their identity but will most likely suffer societal penalties that often result in death. Those individuals that live their lives and reach for goals within their boundaries, using what is within their boundaries set by the society that individual lives in, will be rewarded by reaching their goals set within the scope of limits set by society. Using examples from the movie â€Å"The Return of Martin Guerre† one can see the importance of complying with the demands of society in order to obtain the desired identity. In 1527, a family with the name of Daguerre moved from French Basque country to a village called Artigat. This village had different moral attitudes about whom and what the individual is. The family understood this and from the beginning made changed to themselves that allowed society and the individual family member to fit together in a tighter fashion. For instance, the family Daguerre changed the name to Guerre in order to ‘fit in’ to their new society. Also the Guerre family learned to speak in a different dialect because their new found society also spoke that dialect. The most extreme example of conceding to the demands of society was the women in the family were no longer equal to the men in the family. This inequality of the sexes was demanded the most at the local church. The women in the Guerre family abided by these laws. In the end, these compromises made by the family in order to be accepted and contribute to their new society paid off. For instance, when an imposter threatened infiltration into the Guerre family the society of the town rose up and made efforts to back the family and protect them. If the family had not chosen to make concessions, then it would not be surprising if the society they lived in would leave them to their own devices for their own defense against the imposter.

Five Guys Burgers and fries: Ingredients for success Essay

Introduction The purpose of analyzing the success story of Five Guys burger is to examine the milestones covered by Five Guys to establish the successful business in private enterprise system. The perfect business plan that Five Guys has includes drivers of change on the system, the ethical and social responsibilities that Five Guys developed towards its employees. Furthermore, a unique strategy of marketing â€Å"word of mouth† which helped Five Guys in establishing more than 1000 outlets across the nation instead of spending millions of dollar in advertisement. Overall, this case study helps how an entrepreneur can run business by using out of box and simple solution to gain success in market. Five Guys’ philosophy setting apart from other fast food chains By careful reading of the Five Guys’ case study, I think quality product and customer satisfaction is the main philosophy of the Five Guys burger. According to Jerry Murrell â€Å"We need to concentrate on the quality of our product, and the satisfaction of the customers†. Five Guys maintained its philosophy of quality product for instance freshly prepared bun, fat free meat and no corner cut fries. As mentioned in the case study â€Å"The meat for the burgers – 80 percent lean- is always fresh, never frozen and their plants so clean, you could eat off the floor†. While focusing on customer satisfaction, people use to come by and eat Five Guys burger because they think; the place where burger is made is very clean and tidy. Kitchen of Five Guys is always open to customer and if someone wants to see how his/her burger is being made, (s)he is more than welcome. Landlord of a franchisee admired Five Guys by saying that we have Five Guys clean, friendly storefront and quality food in neighbors (Neil Janowitz, 2007). Secondly, customer like waiting for Five Guys burger because of its quality food. Five Guys improved its customer satisfaction by serving peanuts to its customers. Five Guys started to distribute free, unshelled peanuts to placate waiting customers. The peanuts have become a Five Guys trademark (Roger, Y, 2009). I must say that above mentioned philosophy helped Five Guys a lot in developing such successful burger’ food chain that it clearly making a competition to all other renowned fast food chains like McDonalds, Burger King and Wendys. Original Values of Five Guys burger and how it remains strong today Two Original values which I found after a careful review of case study, I assume (a) quality food and (b) no advertisement. Mentioning the standard of quality food, Five Guys burgers are as fresh and juicy as they were when the first restaurant was opened in 1986. They have same freshly baked bread every day since its opening. Similarly, potatoes are cut fresh every morning and fried in peanut oil; never greasy served in Styrofoam cup. Five Guys hired the person that baked the bread/bun for their first store, and made him a partner in the firm. They ensure that every store gets fresh bread every morning. Five Guys burger had a belief that people want to know that their money is used in providing quality food. A word of mouth strategy worked really well for Five Guys That’s why Five Guys don’t advertise to sell its product. Jerry Murrell says, â€Å"Treat that person right, he’ll walk out the door and sell for you. We were going to use our food to market our products†. (Roger, Y, 2009). Three factors contributed Five Guys’ success There are numbers of factors involved in contributing success to Five Guys business. I am going to mention only three of them. * Quality food * Simple menu * No advertisement. First factor plays an important role in the success. Simple menu, I think, is the key to success. Although, Five Guys tried to enhance or increase its menu by serving coffee and a chicken sandwich but it did not work, so they stop serving coffee and chicken sandwich. Likely, franchisees put pressure to add items, such as milkshakes but Five Guys did not accept it. â€Å"We’re the only burger chain that doesn’t have milkshakes. But we couldn’t possibly have a milkshake that comes of out of the machine† Jerry says (Roger, Y, 2009). Second factor quality of food is the heart core factor that contributed to the success of Five Guys burger. â€Å"Five Guys’ burger is better than McDonald’s,† says Tristano. â€Å"Americans have always fallen in love with a better product â€Å"(Burke M, 2012). Speaking about quality food that offers Five Guys includes superior quality of meat, eighty percent lean, always fresh, never frozen at all. Potatoes always come from northern Idaho, because of weather condition they grow more slowly, solid and tasty in comparison to the potatoes grown in California or Florida, grow faster and are cheaper used by other fast food chains. Five Guys use anything but the best. Five Guys first soak fries in water so when the fries are per fried, the water boils, forcing steam out of the fry. This forma a seal so that when they get fried a second time, the fries don’t absorb any oil and so are never oily. â€Å"Fries are much harder than burgers† says Murrell. â€Å"We work day and night on them, all the damn time.† (Burke M, 2012). Five Guys menu allows the chain to focus all its energy on executing its burger â€Å"perfectly† (Licata, E., 2009). Five Guys burger decided they would cook only in peanut oil, which cost five times as much as the oil, other burger restaurants were using (Lottie L., 2012). Finally, the factor is no advertisement, which I think contributed to the success of Five Guys. Five Guys burger had a belief that people want to know that their money is used in providing quality food. That’s why they don’t use advertisement to sell their product. Jerry Murrell says, â€Å"Treat that person right, he’ll walk out the door and sell for you. We were going to use our food to market our products† Jerry says. (Roger, Y, 2009). Five Guys burger admits that they do things a little differently than most companies other fast food companies don’t, they put 3% of their revenue toward marketing or advertising. Five Guys burger simply don’t, they spent that money as a bonus to give their employees. â€Å"All of our employees at our stores, we pay them good money. I think that’s important† Murrell says. â€Å"Hire well-paid people and they’ll stay with you.† (Lottie L., 2012). Social and ethical practices of Five Guys burger An organization is considered to be respectable because of its social and ethical policies it implemented within the organization. After a careful study, I think â€Å"No Marketing or advertisement† is one of the top social aspects of Five Guys. â€Å"He said anybody can be successful in the restaurant business if you serve a good product, (have a) friendly and clean atmosphere and reasonable price,† recalls Murrell (Lottie L., 2012). A word of mouth strategy worked really well for Five Guys. Five Guys used the strength of society in positive way and customer base is increased day by day on the recommendation of another customer. I think second aspect of social policy of Five Guys is selling its franchises. This aspect helps middle class people to have their own small business which also helps in increasing the employment rate. More than 1700 stores reportedly been sold for future development into Five Guys outlets (Datamonitor, 2010) I think ethical aspect covers how an organization is beneficial for its employee. Most of the Organizations spent a fixed percentage of its revenue on marketing but Five Guys don’t do it. Five Guys spend that fixed percentage as bonus to employees. The Company has noted that it gives around $6m a year in bonuses to its employees. Murrell says its important to make employees feel a sense of ownership and accountability. Five Guys has a policy to maintain high standard of customer service by employing mystery shoppers to regularly judge its outlets. This strategy positively appraises staff and keeps standard high. Five Guys send those secret shoppers twice a week to all locations, looking to catch staff delivering outstanding customer service. If they get a good score during the secret audits, they receive $1000 to divide amongst them, usually 5-6 people per crew. This is over and above the $8 or $9 an hour the crew makes, as a result crew feels happy and satisfied. Conclusion This case study enables us to understand that business plan is very important in order to run a successful business. Business philosophy or company goal plays an important role in running the business successful. Businesses cannot flourish if higher management don’t have out of box solution or strategy. In this case study we have noticed that philosophy plays an important role along with the out of the box marketing strategy i.e. â€Å"No Marketing/advertisement† that gives Five Guys an edge to its competitors. Reference 1. Janowitz, N. (2007). Five Guys sticks to burger-and-fries formula. Shopping Centers Today, 28(7), 32-33. 2. DATAMONITOR: Five Guys Case Study. (2010). Five Guys Case Study: Maintaining Growth in Fast Food with a Simple Menu & Quality Focus, 1-11. 3. Licata, E. (2009). FIVE GUYS. Nation’s Restaurant News, 43(18), 58. 4. Lottie L., J. (n.d). Five Guys family keeps it simple. USA Today. 07/30/2012 5. Burke, M. (2012). Five Guys Burgers: America’s Fastest Growing Restaurant Chain. Forbes.Com, 26 6. Roger, Y. (n.d). Five Guys is simply successful. USA Today, 06/08/2009

Summary Ben Carson Story

According to the movie, Ben Carson grew up from the poor family with his mother is non-education. She is only a maid in the rich man's house. One day during cleaning his house, Ben's mother learned that reading a book is better than spending the time in front of television. She suddenly got back home to force her children to spend their time in the library every day. They also have to summarize what they got from the books. This is the beginning of pulling Ben's intelligence out.Another one day in is science class, the teacher asked his student about how to find the solution of the Log. There is no one can get the right answer, but Ben who know how to get the result of Log. He surprised everyone with realizing he is not a stupid boy. In the university life he got a scholarship from Yale University. He became very the youngest neurosurgeon doctor. After his first successful surgeon by separating conjoined twins joined at the head he is very popular in the medias. Reflection – ( A few lessons I learnt and how I can apply them to my degree at UNC)There is no final destination for studying In our life. It Is our choice to study In anytime and anywhere from the books. The more we read the more we get knowledge from the world. Books can open your mind and pull out your Intelligence and ability. From now on, I think the best way to Improve my own life Is reading more than yesterday. During my master's life In UNC, I will spend my time In the library more than another place. Keep going and keep reading might make my life here easier.

Christian Music and Chris Tomlin

I would gather to say that when asked if they would rather listen to Christian or non-Christian music that the general population would choose the latter. Christian music is looked upon as having a dry and bland type of style, one that lulls you to sleep rather than the adrenaline pumping and soul shaking music that you get from most alternative bands. A problem that Christian music artists seem to have is trying to gather popularity for their product. Unlike the MTV bands, where sex sells, the Christian band keeps close to its values of clean wholesome music that glorifies God. Unfortunately the general population hardly shares these same views, and attendance for concerts and record sells are always down. Up until a few days ago I was under the category of non-Christian music over Christian, and was like everyone else thinking that no way could Christian artists stand up to those who were not. I have since seen that these thoughts could not have been farther from the truth. Artists like Chris Tomlin and his band not only bring to you the rhythm, beat, and noise that has come to be generally expected at rock concerts, but his type of â€Å"soul shaking† goes much deeper than others and keeps you in tuned with the Lord the entire time. So this brings about the questions, â€Å"What type of style do artists like Chris Tomlin bring to their concerts that intensifies the general perception of Christian music? † â€Å"Where does Christian concerts have benefits over non-Christian? † I was lucky enough to attend a Christ Tomlin concert this past weekend. Needless to say the experience blew me away along with my perception of Christian music. The atmosphere was just incredible the entire time I was there; such a sense of unity and friendship for one common goal seemed to permeate the room. The concert itself took place in the Nokia Center in Los Colinas, Texas, and there was not any empty seat in the room. Everyone there was with a common goal, to praise Jesus with song, and strengthen his or her relationship with Jesus. One thing I found interesting about this concert was that Chris included a guest speaker. This is something you will definitely not see at any other concert. Louie Giglio was the speaker's name, and after and hour of singing he provided a nice change of gears with a powerful message talking about how big God is and how small we are along with our problems. Using the songs just sang, he pounded in a teaching that brought about a whole new meaning to those lyrics. There was a silence that filled that room unlike any I had ever heard before. People were sitting concentrating on the message that had just been delivered to them and trying to understand its meaning and how it applied to their life. You would never hear any type of silence at a non-Christian concert, or be privileged to listen to a guest speaker. Most of the time it's seeing how much beer you can drink, or weed you can smoke and maybe listening to some music every now and then. Never is your attention focused solely on the stage following every word spoken or sung. Even with a room full of people the atmosphere at a Christian concert allows you in your mind to be by yourself with God. The quality of the music and sound was comparable to any rock concert that I had been to, helping erase my prejudice towards non-Christian music immediately. Chris had a tremendous voice, accompanied with his guitar and piano playing he was nothing short of astounding. He had a good group of guys playing alongside with him, all very inept in what they played. If the lyrics hadn't been praising Jesus you would have thought you had bought tickets to see Green Day. If the singing and instrument play wasn't enough, Chris did a great job of keeping the audience into it. He would have the entire crowd do certain things such as flip open their cell phones and hold them up while swaying back and forth. 10,000 people's cell phone lights were swaying back and forth creating and awesome spectacle and a sense of bonding time with God and each other. While singing was going on, pictures would be flashed up on the screen showing nature's beauty and Jesus on the cross. This reminded people of God's creation and the sacrifice that Jesus suffered for us. The clapping almost never stopped as people started to really get into the concert. Others were moving down to the front of the stage and were jumping up and down with the rhythm of the song. Not just teenagers, I'm talking about full grown men and women some in their mid-thirties to forties, jumping and yelling like it was some mosh pit at Ozfest. Instead of screaming profanities though these people were praising God. This type of celebration seemed to carry on for another hour or so, just singing and dancing, all for the glory of God. You could tell then that things were starting to wind down as Chris played a couple slow songs in succession, and people started moving back to their seats. They ended with the song â€Å"Indescribable† and towards the end of the song the stage went completely black and you couldn't hear Chris sing any more only the crowd. When the song had finished the lights came back on and the band was gone. This gesture struck me the most. When do you ever see a band walk off without saying anything, or acknowledging the applause by the audience? It was because it was important to them. All the glory is given to God there. God is the one that makes that concert possible and they made sure that He was the one glorified, not them. I asked my friend that I had went with, if this was the best Christian concert he had been to. He responded with, â€Å"Best? They are all like this. † It is just not Chris Tomlin that runs his concert like that; many other Christian artists share these same views. Though others still claim that Christianity a cult and that its music is just promoting a singular view. Whatever the reason, Christianity must be applauded for the giant leaps it has taken in the music industry and the quality of its songs. Musicians like Chris Tomlin must continue to be a beacon as a quality performer and God-fearing man to those seeking success as Christian music artists.