The love that Dorothea feels for Randall, and the love Tony Kytes feels for Milly Essay Example for Free

The love that Dorothea feels for Randall, and the love Tony Kytes feels for Milly Essay After reading the short stories The Unexpected by Kate Chopin and Tony Kytes, the Arch Deceiver by Thomas Hardy, how far would you agree with this statement? The Unexpected is the tale of Randall and Dorothea, a passionate relationship driven apart by an unfortunate illness. The second story Tony Kytes, the Arch-Deceiver is a story of a man in love with three different women for three different reasons. The Unexpected is a tale of an intense relationship between Randall and Dorothea. Due to be married Randall, for a brief absence, left his Dorothea and the author describes the parting as bitter: the enforced separation.too cruel an ordeal to bear, The goodbye dragged with lingering kisses and signs, showing just how much the parting hurt More kisses and more clinging till the last wrench came. Unfortunately near the end of the month of which Randall was to return, filled with Daily letters impassioned and interminable, he was struck ill and delayed for yet another month. During all this the author describes the waiting for Dorothea as torture but even though she wanted to be at Randalls side she knew her parents would never permit such a thing as it was frowned upon for an unmarried man and a woman to be alone together not chaperoned, even for an engaged couple. Letters come from Randall telling Dorothea that he is obliged by his doctors to travel south before winter sets in but would first revisit his home town. Randall is very much in love with Dorothea calling her his dearest one to his heart and Craving her lips. Dorothea misses Randall a lot reading his letters until they were in tatters and then gazing for hours upon his portrait which showed him as an almost perfect specimen of youthful health, strength and manly beauty. Randall had written to her to tell her he altered greatly in appearance and even wrote that he would hardly recognize him. She waited with baited breath and anticipation filled her body until the moment came when the meeting actually proceeded, she could never have been prepared for the dramatic change in his appearance. He was a mere shadow of who he once was and Dorotheas feelings for him began to change she stared at him in wonder and mistrust rather than fear. What hideous transformation had he undergone? shows how much she hated the new look he had. Dorothea cant bear to have Randall touch her shes repulsed by how he now looks. The use of the vocabulary shuddering, shrinking, shriveling, describes how she felt her love for Randall die within her. They talked for a while (or rather Randall talked) and he insisted they marry at once in fear he would not recover from his illness, We must not put it off Dorothea. Let the marriage be at once. Dorothea was not so keen on this idea and she made attempts to pull away claiming she would be a hindrance and in her heart she was saying Never, never, never Randall had another reason to marry Dorothea Im quite-almost sure I shall get well; but the strongest of us cannot count upon life. If worse should come I want you to have all I possess; what fortune I have must be yours, and marriage will make my wish secure. This shows that Randall loves Dorothea and only wishes to make her future is financially secure incase he cannot be with her. But Dorotheas refuel saying she be a hindrance shows she didnt love Randall for his money; she is also quite stifled by his proposal. After a last coughing fit Randall is taken away by his attendant Dorothea watches him leave without a word. She was glad no one was present to compel her to speak, she didnt want people to make her change her mind as she thinks about this problem, shes embarrassed to speak and would have had to lie. Dorothea mounts her bike as if fleeing from death himself shows how much she needed to get away to be free from the people that would ask her of the wedding to come, seemingly borne on by come force other than mechanical-some unwanted energy- a sudden impulse that lightened her eyes. She rides through unfamiliar country and the road becomes rough and unfrequented and she doesnt stop until shes sure she is alone with just nature surrounding her. She never spoke a word after bidding him good-by: but now she seemed disposed to make confidants and the extract ends by saying Never she whispered, Not for all his thousands! Never, never! Not for millions! Dorothea is most defidently not interested in Randalls money but the relationship was based on looks rather than personality as so were many relationships during that time. The second title Tony Kytes, the Arch-Deceiver by Thomas Hardy, the title gives the reader an instant impression of the kind of man Tony is, a deceiver. Hes not described by how handsome he is, like Randall is during the first extract, it concentrates more on his charm and personality. Tony is engaged to Milly Richards, who is described as a nice, light, tender little thing. Oh his way driving home one Saturday after being at market with his father he saw waiting for him Unity Sallet, a handsome girl, one of the women hed been very tender toward before getting engaged to Milly. The words one of the women indicates that there was more than just one hed been quite friendly with and gives the reader an impression that he likes to have lots of women. As soon as Tony drives by her in his wagon she asks My dear Tony, will you give me a lift home? Tony replies That I will darling, you dont suppose I could refuse ee? This gives the reader an impression that Tony may still have feelings for Unity. Unity obviously considers herself to be better than Molly when she is talking to Tony, I should have made ee a finer wife, and a more loving one too. Tony appears weak as she talks to him asking if he did not think her pretty. He let his eyes light upon her for a long while. In fact, I never knowed you was so pretty before! But when she asks if she is prettier than Milly he does not reply as over the hedge past turning he sees the feather he knew well- the feather in Millys hat. Tony persuades Unity to hide in the back of the wagon Now dearest Unity, will ye, to avoid all unpleasantness, which I know ye cant bear any more than I, will ye lie down in the back of the wagon till Milly has passed? Tony knows that its wrong for him to be seen with another woman rather than his fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ in public. When Tony sees Milly she does not ask for a ride. Tony lies saying he thought she was going to see her mother not waiting for him. They talked until they reached a house and who is looking out the window but Hannah Jolliver, another young beauty of the place at that time, and the first woman Tony had fallen in love with. Described as much more dashing girl than Milly Richards, thought Tony had not thought of her late. Tony then persuades Milly to hide in the back of the wagon, the other side to Unity I see a young woman a-looking out of window, who I think many accost me. The fact is Milly, she ha a notion that I was wishing to marry her, and since shes discovered to marry another, and a prettier than she. I rather afeard of her temper if she sees us together. I dont mind to oblige you, Tony, Milly said though she didnt care much about doing it, she crept under the seat. Hannah appears to be quiet curt Well, arent you going to be civil enough to ask me to ride home with you? The more Tony looked at Hannah while he was driving the more he like her, till he couldnt for the life of him think why he had ever said a word about marriage to Milly or Unity while Hannah Jolliver was in question. Youve settled it with Milly by this time I suppose? Hannah said and Tony talks quietly N-no, not exactly. He speaks quietly as not to be overheard. Hannah asks if he likes Milly more than her and if he asked her she wouldnt say no. Tony was won over by the pretty face and he whispered very softly to her I havent quite promised her, and I think I can get out of it and ask you that question you speak off. Unfortunately Hannah shouted very loud clapping her hands Throw over Milly-all to marry me! There was an angry, spiteful squeak and afterward a long moan, as if somethings heart had broken. This shows that it most probably was Milly and that she really did care for Tony. Tony sees his father in the field calling him, handing the reins to Hannah he finds his father with a stern look. It looks to me as if Mr. Kytes does not particularly like Hannah and doesnt want his son causing a scandal. Tony ends up confessing to his father that both Unity and Milly are also in the wagon and he asks his father for advice. Whatever of em did not ask to ride with thee? His father tells him. But Tony objects. Stick to Milly, shes the best. His father advice before warning Tony to take the reins from Hannah has the horse begins at a brisk walking pace. Milly becomes restless after hearing Tony and Hannah talking and she spies another womans foot, Unitys foot. Both women rage in whisper of how disgraceful it is for the other to be hiding in a young mans wagon. I am engaged to be married to him, and havent I a right to be here? What right has you, I should like to know? What has he been promising you? A pretty lot of nonsense, I expect! But what Tony says to other women is all mere wind, and no concern to me! Milly says getting louder, this shows she doesnt believe anything that Tony says to other women is true, its lies and doesnt matter to her. She really does love him. Hes going to have Hannah, and not you, nor me either; I could hear that. Unity says. At the sound of the voices rising Hannah lets go of the reins and the horse walks off turning to quick at the hill, the wheels went up on the bank and the wagon tips on its side. Tony comes running frightened and breathless and was relieved to see that none of his darlings was hurt but for a few scratches from the brambles, he cares for all three girls and likes them all for different reasons. Hes scared to find them all arguing He would have kissed them all round and square as a man could but they were talking too much to let him. First Tony says he wants Hannah to be his. Hannahs father was coming up behind them and Hannah was crying worse than ever. My daughter is not willing, sir! says Mr. Jolliver hot and strong Be you willing, Hannah? I ask ye to have spirit enough to refuse him, if yer virtue is left to ee and you run no risk. Mr. Jolliver clearly dislikes Tony, Hannah refuses partly because of her father and too partly in a tantrum because of her discovery. Little did I think when I was so soft with him just now that I was talking to such a false deceiver False deceiver hence the actual title of the book. Second he asks Unity to marry him and she snaps at him and walks off following the Jollivers footsteps, hoping that Tony might follow her. Finally he asked Milly, the last left and the one he was actual engaged to, if she would marry him claiming it do seem as if fate had ordained that it should be you and I, or nobody. Losing all semblance of what had been is how Dorothea phrases her emotions; this appears to be a common theme throughout both extracts, In other words the fickleness of love. In both stories the love is lost in different ways, but this love however was based on appearance rather than true love. In my opinion in the first extract Randall and Dorothea have a passionate relationship until there forced to separate and Randall become ill. The relationship isnt based on money as Dorothea refused to stay with him Never, she whispered not for all his thousands! Never, never! Not for millions! Its true that Randall changed in appearance but if Dorothea had really truly loved him she would never has left him no matter what he looked like when he was ill. But if it were reversed would Randall have still loved Dorothea if her looks had changed. If it were true love it would not matter what they looked like but to Dorothea it certainly did and so I believe it is mere infatuation rather than true love. With Tony Kytes, he seems to like all three girls for three different reasons, he cant have just one he wants them all and hes confused about who he should choose he knows that its wrong but he does it anyway, and to me he seems to see the women as objects rather than actual living breathing people. Overall it most diffidently seems to be infatuation rather than true love.

What Makes Us Different From Other Animals Philosophy Essay

What Makes Us Different From Other Animals Philosophy Essay In a world that has come so far ahead in evolutionary terms, what is it that makes us, human kind, so different from other animals. It has been said that chimps are our nearest evolutionary cousins, roughly 98 to 99 identical to humans at the genetic level. Any differences are said to come from the transmission of culture and our ability to build societies. Godelier stated that human beings, in contrast to other social animals, do not just live in society; they produce society in order to live. In this essay I will be looking to explore cultural and linguistic aspects which seek to differentiate us between other animals. Humans seem to encompass a culture which is not seen in any other animal. In Lewiss lecture (15.10.12), culture was referred to as seas of history which bind humans together. In DAndrades article of culture and language, he refers to culture as being a social heritage of learning which includes a number of things such as beliefs and techniques which are independent of biological processes. For him, there are two sides to culture, one being a physical manifestation and the other side, a mental manifestation. Both sides need to be present in order for culture to be passed on from generation to generation. For this to happen, culture needs to comprise of meaning and be symbolic, culture must be also external in the form of actions and signs (1995:223). Boesch and Tomasello (1998:602) note that human cultural traditions have had modifications over generations also known as the ratchet effect. The ratchet effect requires that humans imitate from one another. This is what sets us apart from other animals and is so unique to us. Humans have cumulative cultural evolution, the ability to accumulate over time results in complex tools and languages in modern time (Tomasello et al. 2003:121). The use of tools as technical intelligence is an evolutionary advantage which humans have. Washburn (1959) argued that selective pressure resulted in physical changes in the hand. Over generations, the uses of tools became part of our culture, as humans were required to use precision grip, the consequence of which changed the human hand. However, it cannot be said that the modifications of the human cultural artefact, such as tools, are the creation of one individual human brain. Modifications over generations were made to aid change and therefore inv entions are transmissions of accumulative knowledge, which is a characteristic of all human cultures. (Lewis 2012) In comparison, animals such as chimpanzees experience slippage, whereby chimpanzee traditions are often lost as a consequence of drift, inventing constantly and branching. (Lewis 2012). Tomasello et al. have hypothesized that chimpanzee cultural traditions and artefacts do not show the ratchet effect. This is because the ratchet effect depends of innovations and imitative learning (1993: 603). Even though chimpanzees are innovators they lack uniformity and the active teaching of such cultures, so culture is lost. Lewis states that the ratchet effect is ruined through emulative learning (2012). Therefore the transmission of chimpanzee culture can be seen to be as ineffective. However, it could be deemed that any assumptions made about chimpanzees and their lack of cumulative cultural evolution is problematic. Boesch and Tomasello argue that 30 years is not long enough to make the judgement that chimpanzee practices do not show the ratchet effect. And even if evidence suggests that chimpanzees do show this cumulative cultural evolution, it may be restricted to a small population or to certain cultural traditions (1998:602). In Tomasello and Rakoczys study into human cognition, they explain that the most fundamental cognitive skill, are those that involved the understanding of persons, also known as the theory of mind (2003:122). According to the American Psychological Association  (APA) theory of mind is the ability to imagine or make deductions about the mental states of other individuals. Humans have an innate capacity to mind-read, the capability to understand one another is necessary in order for language to progress, complex co-operation in situations such as at school or work requires this ability to mind read, which makes culture possible (Lewis 2012). If humans did not have theory of mind, it would be impossible for society to exist as it does presently, humans heavily rely on this ability everyday unknowingly. However although this mind-reading attribute is a fundamental skill in humans, Call and Tomasello in answer to Premack and Woodruff, have found that chimpanzees do in fact encompass what is known to man as theory of mind (2008:190). They argue that studies of chimpanzees showed that they were able to not only understand human goals (which was the original aim of Premack and Woodruffs study), but were able to understand human intentions. However it cannot be said that chimpanzee understanding can be compared to that of a fully fledged human. In my opinion, animals such as chimpanzees must acquire the minimum amount of theory of mind for evolutionary reasons within their own animal kingdom. Animals, on a smaller scale, most likely understand thoughts and emotions of others within their species, otherwise relationships between animals would be unheard of. Vilensky et al. (1982) state that, the human brain differs from those of other animals. This is due to humans having a greater capacity for complex language and an innate interest in speaking language. According to Nowak, in his study into the biology of language, Language is the most important evolutionary invention of the last few million years. Language allows humans to express their ideas and for the exchange of information. The evolution from animal communication to human language is an adaptation that has been necessary in order for our species to pass on culture and efficiently aids survival (2000:1615). According to Miller (1981), the ability to speak is the most complex mechanical motion the human body can perform. Speaking requires the synchronisation of various parts of the vocal chord within a few hundredths of a second. Nowak suggests that the reason that primates, our closes living relatives, do not have complex language is due to our ancestral lines. As a consequence of evolution, generations were able to build our language instinct from material that was already present in our ancestor species at that time (2000:1616). Therefore, the ability to form language has been firmly set in our genome and is part of our biology. Many anthropologists argue that language ability is selected because language increases the potential for cooperation, manipulating other creatures, or dealing with large groups. However, it could be argued that if language was selected based on these reasons, then why dont other animals have the ability to speak. Therefore it must be that the reasons for humans having the ability to speak are unexplainable (Nowak 2002). Language is therefore unique to humans and therefore distinguishes them from other animals. In conclusion, it has been shown that culture and language is what seems to differentiate humans from other animals. Although animals seem to show evidence of having theory of mind, they cannot express this understanding the way humans can. So it can also be said that humans uniquely acquire theory of mind. However, in many areas it is not possible to see any clear cut answers due to lack of information. The fact that we have not studied chimpanzees or any other animals in their natural environment for long enough, means that it is likely that any comparisons made will be lacking in validity. Looking at humans and other animals comparatively, it seems that it is difficult to clearly differentiate humans from other animals. The overlapping features that we come across shows that although humans may have evolved there are aspects of man that will link them to other animals.

Managing An Overseas Branch Office Management Essay

Managing An Overseas Branch Office Management Essay Cabelas Inc. is a well-established specialty retailer of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, since its founding in 1961 by the brothers Dick and Jim Cabela, it has grown from a small company from their parents kitchen table into a 3 billion NYSE publicly listed company with 41 stores in the United States and Canada. In order to have better support and more effective communication with vendors, the Cabelas HK office had been started in 2005 to cope with the rapid increase in merchandise styles and the growing demand of an overseas quality assurance team. For the first 43 years Cabelas would only need to manage offices, warehouses and retail locations all inside United States, with the new HK office in 2005 and Canada office in 2009, and possibly an Australian store in the coming 2 years, it is time to identify the methodology of Managing an Overseas Office. 1.2 Rationale for Identifying the Issue At the beginning there was only 5 contract staff in the Cabelas Hong Kong office, as the company grew to a 25-employee office, to manage it becomes a challenge. As a member of the Cabelas HK office, seeing the differences between the US and HK team, and also the issues with communications with respect to differences in background, culture, language, knowledge, relationships, etc., its important to identify the issues and tackle them using the 3Rs Recognize, Remedy and Report. When interviewing our CEO and President Mr. Tommy Millner, he said, The challenges of running an international office are pure cultural in my view. Specifically, how do we get our employees in China to accept and embrace the values that were created in the farm lands of Western Nebraska? Whereas when interviewing the HK Office Manager Mr. Justin Gordon his view is very different, as he mentioned The main challenge for a manager is to ensure he /she gets clear instructions / directions / objectives from those he /she reports to. Without these it is virtually impossible for the manager to give clear instructions to those that report to him/her. This then results in what appears to be poor management. These would be 2 of the most important HR related issues with managing an overseas office Cultural and Communication. This document will discuss all the related challenges and provide recommendations for management on how to effectively manage an overseas office, in order to create a happy working environment that creates trust and value their employees, with responsible HR practices aligning to CSR values. 1.3 Recommendations for Management The question of how to better manage an overseas office has been a broad issue, there are many variables and could have a lot of ways to do it better, which should all be catered to a particular situation. The below outlines a few main concerns and recommendations to management to make a difference in the overseas office. Cultural Differences For urban dwellers it would be hard for them to imagine the life of people growing up in the nature while hunting, fishing, hiking and camping is embraced in their everyday lifestyle. It is not easy to change how employees think, except to fly them to Nebraska to really experience it, listen to stories how hunting should be done ethically, and why hunting is considered essential in some areas of the world. The reason for thinking it is cruel is that they are not exposed before and thus do not understand, by education and exposing them with the reality, this could be corrected in times. Of course for them to fall in love with hunting would not be very possible, but taking another direction and lead them to appreciating the nature could be a better approach. Cabelas has recently launched a new anthem Its In Your Nature. It has always been a controversial topic in the office where hunting equals cruelty. As the anthem suggests, its in your nature to respect for tomorrow, it could apply to hunting and fishing, and it could also apply to overseas staff with preserving the environment by less greenhouse gas emission, switching off the lights behind you, and printing conservatively. The difference in the traditional cultural background could also be creating issues at work. Nobody intends to offend anyone else, but may do so inadvertently if not educated in the cultures. For example Americans casually throw their name cards over their desks, while Asians considered that as rude. Relationships in Chinese context are very important in businesses, but westerners might see that as bribery in some ways. It would take both sides to learn each others culture, as a responsible corporate this difference must be respected and HR policies should be sensitive in addressing this through values, ideas and beliefs. It would also be HRs responsibility to educate employees about diversity, that different people would act differently for the same circumstances, and respect would be the key to work together. Suggestions to Management: Educating and exposing employees to company culture lead employees into appreciating the nature and wildlife HR policies should be sensitive in addressing cultural differences HR should educate employees about diversity Coordination between Corporate Office and Overseas Office As the HK Office Manager has identified, clear instructions from corporate office to overseas office would be essential for managers to communicate directions to employees. These would include long and short time objectives and goals, HRM initiatives as well as CSR commitments. Objectives and goals could assist employees recognize their value, have a target to look forward to, knowing what they are doing is making a difference, and would be contributing to the sustainable growth of the company. The current Employee Handbook is written for US outfitters, the Director of Human has commented that the company will follow the same HR practices for overseas outfitters where the policies are not otherwise dictated by local laws or customs. Of course ideally there should be a customized local version as the office grows, it would be the best if employees can be involved with setting the policy so that what they are looking for could be considered and included too. Whereas for CSR commitments, bear in mind that employees nowadays not only look for the salary, but also if they are working for a responsible employer with greater corporate disclosure  [1]  . With the cultural differences, it would not be surprising to see different expected CSR initiatives between US and overseas employees, and therefore staff involvement would be crucial to make sure HR is working on the focused areas when drafting the CSR commitments for overseas offices. It is important to keep your HRM initiatives and CSR commitments alive in your corporate communications on a regular basis. Very often employees of overseas offices would have a feeling that they are being neglected being far away. Semi-annual or even seasonal meetings with the corporate HR department could pull everybody together so that employees will get to hear first-hand updates and HR can hear about comments to policies and procedures. Either somebody from the corporate office visits the overseas office regularly, or the video conferencing system could be utilized, as face to face meetings create warmer atmospheres. Also whenever anybody from the senior management team visits the overseas office, make sure they schedule an hour to meet with the whole office and update them with what is happening at the corporate office, how is the business for the last quarter, new management level changes, exciting new store opening announcements, comments from US team to the work from the overseas team, etc., could be great information for the employees. Other than that, sharing corporate presentations, keeping employees updated through company announcements and regular newsletters are the instruments necessary to keep employees energized about the organizations socially responsible initiatives. Suggestions to Management: there should be a customized local version of the Employee Handbook with employee involvement when drafting CSR commitments for overseas offices take into account employees needs too regular meetings with the HR department from the corporate office keep employees updated whenever senior management team visits the overseas office Good communication within Teams Although emails would do for day to day routine communications, weekly departmental or whole office face to face meetings would also be a good way for the team to sit together and go through the agendas and projects to see if there are obstacles and any help could be provided. It would also be a good time for the HR manager to announce anything related to the office well-being, such as new medical care plans, job duties assigned, or new regulations imposed by the corporate office etc. Currently there is a lack of these weekly meetings in the Cabelas HK office for the office manager to know if there are any concerns with work, although the office manager usually keeps an open door policy, it would still be beneficial to start so that employees will feel warmer with the closer communications and a feeling that they are well taken care of with their job security and career progression  [2]  . Managers should also not be locked up in their room the whole day but to walk out and talk to the team more, through these day to day communications would the manager be able to know how employees have been working hard to gain the trust and advance on the targets. Managers could also be able to establish a loving environment and let the employees feel a sense of belonging through additional interactions. Whenever the office manager needs to make a big decision he should ask the employees for advises so that they feel respected and a better sense of confidence. Sometimes interdepartmental task forces would be created for special tasks, these groups could have members from both US team and overseas team. To ensure better communication web conferences on a regular basis could enhance the communication and grow the bond between the teams, as well as eliminating misunderstanding through email communications too. Suggestions to Management: More face to face meetings should be arranged between Office manager and all employees Manager should check with employees for comments before making major decisions Web conferences should be utilized for tasks forces to communicate with the US team The Role of HR Manager Talents that are well suited into a companys culture are hard to find but are the greatest asset any company can possess. In order to obtain and retain these talents, HR would need to make sure the company brand is well managed to attract talents, and competitive packages, rewards and incentives are offered to retain talents. Employees nowadays would also be looking forward to involvements in giving back to the society, the HR manager could send surveys and discuss with the staff what employee volunteering would they prefer, and work with social enterprises to arrange volunteer projects. At times of major disasters the company can setup donation boxes and send love to organizations that uses the money most wisely. Also working with employees to preserve the environment by switching off lights behind, printing less, and avoiding non-reusable utensils cold help too. Other than daily administration work, the HR Manager should also periodically hold workshops with employees to go through employee handbook and code of conducts and make sure everybody understands their rights and obligations. Employees also work happier in an environment without discrimination, one that promotes a diversity workforce and inclusion in the workplace. HR in US has recently employed a Senior Diversity Manager, whom would be planning events for diversity and inclusion. The HR manager could take the initiative and work with the diversity manager to create diversity programs specially catered for overseas office, especially with a big cultural difference in HK. Suggestions to Management: HR manager should hold workshops to go through employees rights and obligations HR should make sure company brand is well managed to attract talents HR should ensure there are competitive packages, rewards and incentives to retain talents Staff volunteering should be arranged for employees to give back to society HR should work with Diversity manager to promote diversity and inclusion in overseas offices Staff Involvement Employees nowadays look for working with a good and responsible company that they have pride working for, and not only for a stable income. Many CSR initiatives fail as a result of the lack of employees involvement and failure to embed the socially responsible values into organizational culture. Before policies are imposed, HR can set up a review committee to ensure staff involvement and to collect comments of what the employees actually want. In this way they will be more involved in the process and will actively follow up, thus internalizing corporate culture. Also try to get the staff involved as much as possible with every project that involves multiple parties, they will feel respected by their contribution and the knowledge they possess, higher morale leading to better results. Whenever employees take pride in their work strengthen employee identity, making them the brand ambassador. Although there are no retail stores in Asia, this brand ambassador will work with vendors and factories as well to be sending positive message to partners and ensuring them mutually benefits by working with Cabelas. Although taxidermies are mounted to make the office more Cabelas, its still difficult to feel the nature-loving culture with from overseas offices. To further enhance staff involvement management should send employees to the corporate office at their first year so that they can feel the passion of corporate employees towards outdoor living, going out to the fields to inhale the scent of nature, and stepping into the retail stores and be greeted by the outfitters, would they feel how enthusiastic customers would feel when they step into a Cabelas store and feel the sense of belonging. When the employee return, HR should also encourage them to share their experiences so that other teammates could feel the same too. With this sense of involvement, whenever employees identify risks at the factory they would know where to report so that the company can work on risk management remedies immediately, reducing the possibility of destroyed reputation if sweatshop factories being identified, child labor found, etc. Employees that are less involved might simply pretend not seeing the risks and give a pass to the factory audits in order to do less. Suggestions to Management: HR can set up review committee to ensure staff involvement in setting up of CSR policies send employees to the corporate office at last once when the employee returns arrange for experience sharing encourage staff involvement so that risks would be identified and reported Fair Employment Practices and Leveraging Diversity In job posted for openings in the corporate office, it will quote Cabelas as an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)  [3]  , this is not included in the job ads from the HK office and should be added to make sure eligible candidates know that the company is a responsible employer. The ads will also list the workplace as inclusive, embracing diverse background, life experiences and perspectives. This will be very important to send a message to candidates that this is the company that they would love to work for. From within, HR has to be living up with the promises and be fair with the selection, interview and recruitment process for new employees, not discriminating candidates with race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. As the employee handbook clearly wrote, Cabelas is committed to improve the quality of life within our community. To be a fair employer all benefits should not be withhold for certain employees as well, therefore benefits including vacations, medical insurance, dental coverage, employee insurance, provident funds, etc should have the same treatment as US colleagues. As the Director of Human Resources has mentioned that The entire area of compensation and benefits must of course be administered based upon international differences. We do need to be aware of any differences by culture or customs. This fairness will also be enhanced when the group gains more awareness with diversity program being carried out both in US in overseas offices. By leveraging diversity, a company should respect and relate to people from varied backgrounds, see diversity as an opportunity, creating an environment where diverse people thrive, challenge bias and intolerance, and understand diverse worldviews and are sensitive to group differences. Cabelas has a moral and ethical commitment, as well as a legal responsibility, to promote equal opportunity within all operating units. Overseas offices should make sure employees understand their rights to be treated equally, if there is unlawful and discriminatory treatment, they should inform supervisor or HR manager immediately, and if they are the source of the problem, employees can utilize the Cabelas anonymous In-Touch Hotline to report concerns. HR should re-communicating this information to employees periodically. Corporate HR has been doing a good job last year with the Diversity week, arranging a diversity photo competition and inviting all employees to submit photos related to the Cabelas Core values. By taking part in the game employees go through self-evaluation to think what is important in their work that relates to the core values, thus promoting CSR initiatives from within. Management should be encouraging overseas employees to participate in living the company culture. Suggestions to Management: Job postings in HK should include Cabelas as an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) HR should be fair with the recruitment process for new employees make sure benefits provided to overseas team match with the corporate office make sure employees understand their rights to be treated equally encourage employees to participate in diversity competitions Recruitment, Retention, Redundancy and Performance Appraisal Many successful CEOs had identified the most important measure of corporate success and main business objectives as hiring and retaining of talents over profitability  [4]  , and treating the talented workforce as the most valuable asset, as Cabelas CEO has also stated that the right talents are often hard to find but are the greatest asset any company can possess. Employer branding is essential with attracting talents, recruiting the right person at the right time, retaining them and as a result, strengthening the employer brand.  [5]  Good CSR initiatives will attract good employees as candidates will look at a companys CSR policy before they apply. Employees that look for a responsible employer would at the same time be more committed in helping with improving the CSR policies after they have joined. With fair employment in mind, HR should be selecting, interviewing and recruiting new talents with an aim to attain a diversity workforce. Job advertisements should be posted in the main career newspapers and websites, as well as sending to agencies to recruit the best candidates available. For management posts head hunters could be utilized to capture the experienced. It is very important that we have leaders in place to manage the staff that understands the importance of the companys core values and treating everyone with respect, honesty, and integrity. Once talents have been obtained, the orientation programme for newly recruited employees should be designed in a manner that corporate philosophies will be well communicated, with CSR being highlighted. It would take a new person weeks or months to understand a companys culture by himself, so a thorough introduction would be beneficial, and managerial positions should be sent to the corporate office as soon as possible to learn the culture too. Good CSR leads to improved staff retention and better motivated and innovative staff and thus improving work performance and profitability of the company, therefore making sure employees are aware of the efforts done in CSR would help in building faith and trust with employees. Employees have a lower morale when there are other individuals not performing up to standard or have a comparatively smaller workload. HR would need to work with the manager to give him more responsibilities, or consider this as redundancy and let him go. Carefully handling this case could make sure a positive impact on the morale of other employees Given replacement costs is 100% to 250% of annual compensation, HR should investigate if this person is having a work life imbalance or not that result in lower performance and use the 3Rs to try and fix it. Current performance appraisals have been done annually, but to effectively manage and retain the talents, this should be done every 6 months to make sure employees are on track with their yearly planning and expectations. Senior managers can have a CSR bonusable goal, while employees could set personal CSR objectives to be reflected in their annual performance reviews. In Chinese society appreciation and incentives is a big push to better performance, if possible, mid and end of year bonuses could be motivations to better performances. Suggestions to Management: make sure the employer brand is established to attract and retain talents recruitment process should be fair and aiming at a diversity workforce orientation programmes should communicate corporate philosophies with CSR highlighted Investigate if an employee has become redundant and try to remedy before letting go. Performance appraisals should be done mid-year as well HR should assist employees in setting personal CSR goals Bonuses as incentives could better motivate employees Leadership Development and Mentor program Employees nowadays not only look for career advancement, but also how would the company assist them to step up to the next level, therefore leadership development and mentor programs are common staff requests. Cabelas CEO Mr. Tommy Millner has picked 24 managers from all locations to attend his From the Field Leadership trainings, which he would be talking about his own experience on various topics, through interesting work experience sharing, managers could learn to be a good leader and how to handle different situations. More of these leadership courses should be held through the Cabelas University, an online Learning Management System where courses are provided for various topics from policies explanation to how to be a good leader. HR should encourage overseas employees to attend as many courses so as to better equip themselves. The Women in Leadership council will also be working on mentor programs to train up potential women into higher positions. HR should work with the WIL council to make sure these programs will consider overseas employees as well. Suggestions to Management: HR should encourage staff to attend training classes on Cabelas University Make sure the Woman in Leadership program consider mentorship in overseas offices Staff Engagement and Development For employees to be more engaged in work and the company, one of the easiest ways is to make them satisfied and happy with their work and with their supervisors  [6]  . People tend to be happier when they feel the trust. The first office manager of the Cabelas HK office has returned to US after 7 years, upon re-joining the US team one of his responsibilities is to educate US team about the role and connection the HK team had played in the business, and how important it is to include the HK team when making important decisions. With involvement of more big projects, the overseas teams could all be more engaged. The management should also persuade directors to further empower the overseas team, like moving Quality Assurance and Sourcing to HK as the team is closer to the factories and suppliers. With each individuals vast knowledge of the industry and environment and also with the common language, work would be done more effectively and employees would love to be trusted by corporate office. As for staff development, internally, management should encourage employees in utilizing the Cabelas University for courses such as leadership, communication, process management, etc. to equip staff with the necessary skills and be more confident at work. Cabelas also has a Tuition Reimbursement Program where job related courses could have tuition fee reimbursed. Management should encourage employees to look for further education to increase their industrial knowledge, stay ahead of the trend, and to be more professional in their work. Suggestions to Management: Management should encourage US to get overseas team involved in projects. Further empowering the overseas office could increase staff engagement Encourage more internal training through the Cabelas University Encourage employees to attend external trainings and further education. Managing Work Life Balance Making sure employees has a balance between work and life is a very important task for the Human Resources team. Using the 3Rs, HR professionals should be able to easily recognize if an employee has too much stress at work or from life that has affected their performance. Once issues were identified they will also need to remedy or report it. In the US employees can enjoy a very flexible working hour system, they can shift their work given that they work 40 hours a week. Some prefer to start earlier at 6am and leave earlier by 3pm to fetch their kids from school. Some might need to take care of personal matters on Fridays, and therefore work a 10-hour per day schedule for 4 days only. This should be applied to the overseas office as well, where if employees prefer to stay late at night, they can go to work slightly later as well. This has traditionally been not accepted by the older generation managers since they look for punctuality, however flexibility is very important as well, if shifting work schedule slightly and start working at 9:30am could enable employees to take their kids to school they would be more happy with their managers. Too much overtime could be due to slow performance, but could also be due to too much work and understaffing. Managers should evaluate each employees workload and check if extra staffing will be necessary. Of course to be keeping a smaller team could save extra headcounts, however if employees are working late into the night, the next day they will come in with a lack of sleep and the possibility of incorrect calculations and human input errors would increase. If the manager could remedy the situation by increasing staff for the same amount of work, employees can leave work earlier, enjoy their own personal life, and come back with a fresh mind, increasing productivity and result in happier employees too. Suggestions to Management: Be flexible with working hours HR should assist employees reach a Work Life balance by recognizing stress. Make sure the teams are not understaffed to avoid excessive overtime. Managers and the Generation Y team Among the 4 managers in the Cabelas HK office, only one of them is from the Generation Y and at least 2 of the managers are still using the traditional way of managing their team. Generation Y employees are more diverse, achievement oriented, attention craving, confidence, collaborative. In order to keep them interested in their work, managers should periodically check with the team if they are satisfied with their current work, and if they have any suggestions to changes, the job nature, the way projects are handled, the way information is gathered, etc., anything that they could find challenges in, manager should evaluate and give it a try. Managers should also ask employees if there are any courses that theyd like to take to enrich their knowledge. In this way the employees will feel they are being respected with their ideas and needs and the manager has been an open minded one that they can continue to work for. Keeping the Gen Y employees busy is another key to managing them. Manager should be setting short to long term goals and targets with employees that are feasible and mutually agreed upon. New projects and challenges could keep the employees challenged and prevent them from feeling bored too. Another characteristic of Gen Y employees is they prefer to work anytime anywhere, this would require a change of mindset to traditional managers, but as long as they can deliver their work managers should give them the flexibility. Bear in mind that they are accustomed to multitasking, managers might see a surprising better result with the change! Newer generation employees like to be acknowledged, managers should be holding team meetings for them to share achievements, and everybody should be encouraged to praise good work done. This creates a sense of belonging to the company and further boost productivity. Suggestions to Management: Managers should be educated the characteristics of Gen Y employees Keep the Gen Y employees busy and entertained. Praise good work from the employees. 1.4 Conclusion The key to better manage an office is always, trust, respect and communicate. Managers that understand what the employees want and act upon them, know how to keep them happy, be innovative with providing little benefits, have CSR initiatives in mind, keeping the employees entertained, competitive and educated, assist with preparing for the next step, etc., could be good managers. To manage an overseas office will be very similar, add the ability to handle cultural differences and be able to communication well between parties, employees will stay happy and loyal. Think, decide and act, and managers would have a devoted workforce that drives better performance and profitability. (4992 words) 2a Question 1 Business Case for Diversity and Inclusion within Cabelas Established since 1961 in the farmlands of Western Nebraska, Cabelas has a large workforce of mostly white people at the corporate office, with male dominance in some departments a

I Love Those Lips, But Those Lips Belong to Another :: Personal Narrative, essay about myself

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recently I came across two arches. They were alive and in constant motion. First they told me life might get interesting. Then they showed me that life was going to get really good. Then after leaving me with an odd sense of power, they said bye, now life is sad. Its movements resembled that of a shape-shifter: causing the creation of circles, ellipses, and a mixture of feelings. These were the actions of a pair of lips belonging to a vision of beauty.    When I first saw them they were in their top form. They gave me a smile. The execution of the smile forced the bottom arch to push from the top corners upwards on to the upper arch. Consequentially, they caused my lips to do the same. The intensity was light but was still able to cause the words "nice to meet you" to float into my mind and back into hers. The smile, though light, wasn't like the ones that are often in response to a frivolous or corny joke, accompanied by a lack of energy. It was a creation of a divine entity: maybe God, maybe a god, or maybe a master painter. They were almost frozen together, the lower mimicking the slow rise of the upper one, gaining strength from the power of my stare. The smile became larger. Was I the only one who noticed?    It was musical and soothing. The smile was her rhythmic way of singing "Smile, darn ya smile"i. There could be nothing more uplifting than Sammy Davis Jr. telling you the "...world is a great world after all..." with his foot tapping action in the background. I guess she did not mean this world because her smile was causing my temporary lapse into another. This was how she planned to make my "...life worth while." She, like Sammy, knew that there was a great attachment between the smile and joy. That smile was going to tell the world that nothing could hold you back, the world would halt just to admire the stride of confidence. That smile knew a lot. It was able to impart a wonderful concept without any words or any movements. Now rich with new knowledge I realized that she could have given me no greater gift.    I was amazed by the dynamic evolution of the arches in what seemed to be hours.

Student Financial Assistance Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive

Student Financial Assistance George W. Bush said education is â€Å"the great lifting mechanism of an egalitarian society.† He means, education is the great equalizer amongst individuals in a society established on equality. Unfortunately, access to education is not always as equal, nor are we living in an egalitarian society. In 1965, congress passed legislation, namely the Higher Education Act of 1965, in order to diminish the distance between students and the reality of higher education. Despite their seemingly positive intentions, the office of Student Financial Assistance has evolved into a very unpopular entity of the executive branch. Applicants are continuously frustrated by the aid, or lack of aid, that they are awarded. I was once a critic of the system and believed that I was being cheated out of aid that was rightfully mine. In fact, this is the point of view that I intended to support, in this paper. However, once I began to gather secondary sources, I found that this point of view l acked sufficient support and was untrue. Thus, my opinion has been changed. My opinion has been changed not only by research, but also by changing my perspective of the entire situation from narrow to broad and from particular to all-inclusive. The widely believed argument that the government distributes student-aid in a biased manner or, rather that the government’s policies for distributing the aid ultimately withhold aid from the middle class, simply, does not hold water. However, since I once made this argument and believed it strongly, I am willing to entertain it. The controversy about student aid, on the public level, begins when the Student Aid Report (SAR) is returned to the student and their family. This is whe... ...tem, I have questioned the amount of aid I received, and I have pointed a finger at the lower class. Now, as a result of this assignment, I have examined the system and how it functions and compared it with what it was intended to accomplish. My conclusion is that it works. I examined the allocation of funds amongst the spectrum of incomes, and I believe it’s just. I have also, extensively examined the lower class, who I once pointed a finger at. My conclusion is, when this nation establishes equality in the areas of, employment, housing, primary education, health care, racial and ethnic issues, etc., that is when we can talk about the small gap between each class in the amount of federal aid awarded to those classes. When the playing field has been leveled in all other variable subjects that is when the amount of aid should be congruent between all classes.

Pricing policies Essay

1. In making promises that are not guaranteed by third parties and in imposing penalties that are not enforced by third parties, all of the following are credibility-enhancing mechanisms except 2. Essential components of a game include all of the following except: 3. A key to analyzing subgame perfect equilibrium strategy in sequential games is 4. When airlines post prices on an electronic bulletin board at 8:00 a.m. each morning, the decision-makers are engaged in 5. Credible promises and hostage mechanisms can support a continuous stream of cooperative exchanges except when 6. Firms that have a cover charge for their customers and charge for each item they purchase as well are exhibiting 7. The segmenting of customers into several small groups such as household, institutional, commercial, and industrial users, and establishing a different rate schedule for each group is known as: 8. Vacation tours to Europe invariably package visits to disparate regions: cities, mountains, and the seaside. Bundling, a type of second degree price discrimination, is most profitable when: 9. Which of the following pricing policies best identifies when a product should be expanded, maintained, or discontinued? 10. ____ is a new product pricing strategy which results in a high initial product price. This price is reduced over time as demand at the higher price is satisfied. 11. Which of the following is not among the functions of contract? 12. Mac trucks and their dealers would likely have an organizational form of 13. Contracts are distinguished from tactical alliances by which of the following characteristics: 14. Which of the following are not approaches to resolving the principal-agent problem? 15. When retail bicycle dealers advertise and perform warranty repairs but do not deliver the personal selling message that Schwinn has designed as part of the marketing plan but cannot observe at less than prohibitive cost, the manufacturer has encountered a problem of ____. 16. ____ occurs whenever a third party receives or bears costs arising from an economic transaction in which the individual (or group) is not a direct participant. 17. The antitrust laws regulate all of the following business decisions except ____. 18. The sentiment for increased deregulation in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s has been felt most significantly in the price regulation of 19. The Herfindahl-Hirschman index (also shortened to just the Herfindahl index) is a measure of 20. The lower the barriers to entry and exit, the more nearly a market structure fits the ____ market model. 21. If the acceptance of Project A makes it impossible to accept Project B, these projects are: 22. Cost-benefit analysis is the public sector counterpart to ____ used in private, profit-oriented firms. 23. The weights used in calculating the firm’s weighted-average cost of capital are equal to the proportion of debt and equity ____. 24. In order to help assure that all relevant factors will be considered, the capital-expenditure selection process should include the following steps except: 25. The social rate of discount is best approximated by: 1. Theoretically, in a long-run cost function: 2. The degree of operating leverage is equal to the ____ change in ____ divided by the ____ change in ____. 3. Which of the following is not an assumption of the linear breakeven model: 4. In the linear breakeven model, the breakeven sales volume (in dollars) can be found by multiplying the breakeven sales volume (in units) by: 5. In the linear breakeven model, the difference between selling price per unit and variable cost per unit is referred to as: 6. The short-run cost function is: 7. The problems of asymmetric information exchange arise ultimately because 8. A firm in pure competition would shut down when: 9. An â€Å"experience good† is one that: 10. In the purely competitive case, marginal revenue (MR) is equal to: 11. If price exceeds average costs under pure competition, ____ firms will enter the industry, supply will ____, and price will be driven ____. 12. Buyers anticipate that the temporary warehouse seller of unbranded computer equipment will 13. What is the profit maximization point for a firm in a purely competitive environment? 14. The practice by telephone companies of charging lower long-distance rates at night than during the day is an example of: 15. The demand curve facing the firm in ____ is the same as the industry demand curve. 16. Declining cost industries 17. Of the following, which is not an economic rationale for public utility regulation? 18. When the cross elasticity of demand between one product and all other products is low, one is generally referring to a(n) ____ situation. 19. Regulatory agencies engage in all of the following activities except _______. 20. Barometric price leadership exists when 21. A cartel is a situation where firms in the industry 22. The existence of a kinked demand curve under oligopoly conditions may result in 23. Some industries that have rigid prices. In those industries, we tend to 24. If a cartel seeks to maximize profits, the market share (or quota) for each firm should be set at a level such that the ____ of all firms is identical. 25. A(n) ____ is characterized by a relatively small number of firms producing a product.

Comparing Oedipus and Prufrock

Everyone has at least one personal flaw that somehow overcomes or defeats them in a certain place in time. In this essay, two characters of completely different fields will be put side by side to compare their own tragic flaws. On one hand, Sophocles’ Oedipus is proud, arrogant and persistent; while on the other hand, Eliot’s Prufrock is self conscious, insecure, and indecisive. While the two characters are complete polar opposites, they also share a devastating similarity: they are paranoid and in fear of their own fate. Oedipus’ personality is clearly conveyed as having excessive pride and determination throughout the play.He first travels far from Corinth to prevent an oracle’s prediction that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He arrives in Thebes where the people were distressed over the Sphinx’s riddle. Oedipus then sets his mind on solving this riddle in which he succeeds and is awarded the throne to Thebes. This should have been a huge boost of confidence for a man who was worried he would be cursed for the rest of his life. He serves as a loyal King for his people, seeming to want to do the right thing for Thebes, but talks with such a conceited attitude.In the play, right after receiving news that the preceding king’s killer is residing in Thebes, Oedipus states â€Å"Well, I will start afresh and once again make dark things clear. Right worthy the concern of Phoebus, worthy thine too, for the dead; I also, as is meet, will lend my aid to avenge this wrong to Thebes and to the God† (Sophocles). With both assurance and superiority in his voice, Oedipus throws it in Thebes face that he has saved them once before, and will do it again by bringing Laius’ killer to justice. He sets out on finding the person that murdered King Laius and puts all of his energy, pride, and persistence into it.He acts as a great detective and follows each clue diligently. This helps the play revolve around the question of solving a crime (Rix). By putting together the pieces of the murder mystery, he finally begins to questions himself about his involvement in the assassination and even his own fate. Sophocles’ Oedipus pursues self-knowledge and at the same time resists it because it may connect him with his past (Morgenstern). He eventually finds out that he is indeed his father’s killer and his mother’s husband. Oedipus’ tragic flaws of hubris and determination lead him to blind himself and be exiled just as e said would happen to the murderer if he was found. Unlike Oedipus, the character in T. S. Eliot’s â€Å"Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† is timid, insecure and indecisive. Throughout the poem, Prufrock is faced with a decision to approach a woman he has developed a liking to, or remain looking out a lonely window drowning his self consciousness in an ocean of self doubt. He wants to ask her the overwhelming question, but instead he purpos efully avoids the woman by having personal detour conversations with himself about his self image. The entire poem is laced with Prufrock asking himself questions.He asks â€Å"Do I dare disturb the universe? †(Eliot) as if the whole world will come crashing down if he simply talks to her. He wants to wait for the right time, but in the same thought, he knows his years are running out; he mentions his bald spot and thin arms. Prufrock is so consumed with himself and how others might portray or judge him, that it is paralyzing him from social activities and gatherings. He is going through a mid life crisis that he may have brought on himself by leading an unproductive, bland life and his lack of determination and will to change that life may lead him into his fear of being lonely forever.Prufrock is essentially intimidated by women or people in general because he is ashamed of his personal appearance and monotony. One side of his personality believes in the possibility of havi ng a relationship but the side of his self doubt and pity shackles him from living the life he is clearly screaming out for (Blythe). Towards the end of the poem, he realizes that he will never summon up the courage to talk to the person he admires. He gives up on himself and becomes aware that he has wasted his life asking himself if he should do the things he wanted to do instead of putting his plans to action.Where Oedipus is without a doubt expeditious, stern and decisive in his promises, J. Alfred Prufrock is deficient by being obsessed with taking his time, indifferent and unable to make a simple choice even for himself. However both of these characters share a haunting similarity of fearing the realization that their lives have finally come to a particular point they have been attempting to prevent their whole life. Sometimes life presents a person with a deficiency in personality which becomes highlighted in the spotlight while trying to correct that specific trait.In the Ca se of Oedipus and Prufrock, their own life flaws are over exaggerated and yet still overcorrected, in which they remain troubled with the things they hate about themselves. The two characters failed to avert a lingering curse which had been following them throughout, eventually sealing their fate with their own personal flaws. Works Cited Blithe, Hal and Sweet, Charlie. â€Å"Eliot’s THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK. † The Explicator 62. 2 (2004): 108-110. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. Eliot, T. S. â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The Norton Introduction to Literature: Shorter Tenth Edition. Eds. Allison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 1015-1019. Print. Morgenstern, Naomi. â€Å"The Oedipus Complex Made Simple. † University Of Toronto Quarterly 72. 4 (2003): 777-788. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. Rix, Robert W. â€Å"Was Oedipus Framed? † Orbis Litterarium 54. 2 (1999): 134. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. Sophocles. Oedipus the King. The Norton Introduction to Literature: Shorter Tenth Edition. Eds. Allison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010.