Me going throgh the interior castle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Me going throgh the interior castle - Essay Example That has helped me understand life in a better manner, and removed my ignorance. Kneeling, I begin to pray and I see her disappear like a wisp of smoke, dissolving in to air. An inner vision gives me a sense that I am praying before a large â€Å"castle formed of a single diamond or a very transparent crystal, and containing many rooms, just as in heaven there are many mansions.† (P.38-39) An understanding dawns on me that my soul is pure dignified, it is where my god would choose to dwell; it is the place where I can find him. To be one with my god I have to eschew the elements of bad in me, and focus on the good in the world, which only the soul could make me recognize. My body only compare to the coarse exterior of a beauty that lies within me. I beseech my lord to give me entry in to the interior of this magnificent castle. I can see a few people hanging out in the courtyards, some thronging around tables filled with food while others encircle what looked like a roulette fable, but the food, despite its inviting aroma, and the jingle of the gold coins that clatter on the roulette table, fail to evoke any sense of interest in me. Sentinels who stand guard also seem to ignore them. I keep praying and the vision of a gate emerges. Crowding on either side are silhouettes of men and women who appear through a misty shroud like pale apparitions. But all of them seem to be unsure whether to enter the gate or not. They look at me, as if sizing me up; questioning the propriety of by being there. I hesitate for a moment, a feeling of confusion foreboding me. Wailing sounds ring inside my ear and my mind conjures up the images of grotesque figures lamenting about their miseries. â€Å"The soulless spirits of sinners†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I whisper. My steps begin to waver as I approached the threshold and I hold my palms together, fingers of each hand pressing hard against the back of the other. The image

US History in the Post WWII Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

US History in the Post WWII Era - Essay Example But it was the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese troops as a part of their expansion plan in to the Far East that made the United States to get involved in the war. By 1942, all the major nations in the world were participating in this destructive war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   World War II was effective in bringing about the downfall of Western Europe as the dominant world power. Eastern Europe and East Asia suffered heavy losses. It also led to the rise of the Soviet Union and United States as the superpowers and this opened up an era of Cold War. World War II also marked the end of British Empire. This paper is based on the thesis statement that the World War II and Cold War were the most defining events in the history of United States that brought out radicalization of the nation.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The United States, post World War I had become the dominating power in the world market of food, minerals and industry. But with the crashing of the stock market America was crippled by the financial crisis or the Great Depression in the 1930’s. With the decision of the American Government to join the war, a wave of patriotism began to rage the Americans. World War II brought an upheaval in the lives of American population. The war transformed the social, cultural and political environment of the United States. As the war posed a crisis for American culture, the Americans had to unite to defeat the enemy, irrespective of class, racial and ethnic boundaries that had long divided them. The African Americans were largely employed in various works during the war time. World War II brought significant changes in the role of American women also. Earlier, they were suppressed by the patriarchal society to stay within the confines of their homes. But during t he war, women joined the workforce to replace men who were drafted in to the armed forces. "Rosie the Riveter" became the symbol of women working in

PROJECT MANAGEMENT and HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PROJECT MANAGEMENT and HRM - Essay Example The HRM practices and processes of project-oriented organizations require additional and different procedures from the traditional approaches employed for other organizations. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of human resource management, and communications management for a project team. Importance of HRM in a Project Team and its Implications for Success Human resource management (HRM) is of strategic significance to all organizations, contributing to the success of the organization and promoting the firm’s competitive advantage. The project-oriented organization works on projects, programs and associated temporary work processes forming ‘temporary organizations’, for creating the products and services required by the customers. This leads to a dynamic work environment. â€Å"Every time a new project or program starts, or an old one finishes, the HRM configuration of the organization needs to change† (Turner et a l 3). Human resources has to make the most efficient use of all the people involved in the project. This includes â€Å"the stakeholders of the projects, sponsors, customers, other departments, the project team, subcontractors an d all others† states Parsaie (172). ... HRM practices and processes should be designed specifically to meet the goals of project-oriented organizations which adopt HRM procedures that support both vertically and horizontally their strategic choice of project-based working. They require additional and different processes specific to the project and programs they adopt to undertake their work. Projects and programs are termed as ‘temporary organizations’ that require HRM practices and processes developed for those organizations. Turner et al (3) add that the project teams will require different human resource practices to effectively address the dynamic nature of the working environment in which they function. ] There are specific requirements for human resource management in the ‘project-oriented company’. People of the organization define management by projects as their organizational strategy. The employees apply projects and programs for the performance of complex processes. Further, they manage a project portfolio of different internal and external project types. Human resources have specific permanent organizations like a project portfolio group, or a project management office to provide integrative functions, and they perceive the organization as being project-oriented. Huemann, Keegan and Turner (316) state that the ideal project oriented company is frequently identified as a flat organization, with a strong culture of project management. It is thus evident that a company is defined as project-oriented because they see themselves as being project-oriented and accordingly form their â€Å"policies and practices for working, for organizational culture and for strategy towards the challenge presented by managing projects† (Huemann et al 316).

First Amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

First Amendment - Essay Example By the same provision, people can join and associate with groups and organizations without government intervention (Cohen, 2008). This law grants people the right to appeal to the government in support or against policies affecting them or those that arouse strong feelings amongst the people. People can therefore exploit this provision to gather signatures in support of a cause, or lobby legislative bodies to support or oppose legislation. The Supreme Court has the legal mandate to interpret the extent of protection afforded to these rights. The establishment clause prohibits the government, by way of legislation, from coming up with a religion that is well known or recognizing one religion over others. However, some government activity serving religious entities have been allowed by the Supreme Court, for example, provision of bus transportation using government resources for parochial school students (Cohen, 2008). The Supreme Court strongly demands for justification of government interference of free speech but allows for speech prohibition where there is risk of breach of peace or violence. The government may prohibit association or prevent formation of groups that promote or engage in illegal activities. While the right to association prohibits the government from requiring groups to register or disclose their members or government denying people benefits based on membership of a particular group, there are instances where courts feel that the benefits of registration or disclosure far outweigh interference with first amendment rights (Anastaplo, 2010). The protection of the right to speech and assembly for speakers vary with the speaker’s forum. As the Supreme Court breaks them down; there are traditional public forums, nonpublic forums and designated forums, some public property are not classified. The traditional public forums consist of all the areas traditionally open to political speech and debate such as side walks and public

Establish and Maintain Quality Customer Relations for a Small Business Assignment

Establish and Maintain Quality Customer Relations for a Small Business Enterprise - Assignment Example Research customer needs and preferences a) Briefly outline what your business does, what your products and services are, your target market and how your business operates on a day to day basis. Our company sells a dual SIM handheld mobile device that can go online simultaneously. This celphone has also the functionality of T.V. and is capable of running video games in JAVA. It is coupled with a service center that could also serve as an after sales support if our customers will have an issue with their phones. The primary market for our celphones are the business people and professionals because they are the heavy users of mobile phones and needs to be connected all the time. We believe that our dual SIM celphones will be attractive to them, as market research showed, because they have the convenience of dual connectivity without the inconvenience of carrying an extra phone. We will sell our dual SIM celphone through our outlets located strategically in technology hubs where potentia l customers frequent to avail a celphone. Daily operations involves selling our dual SIM celphones, entertaining inquiries and complaints and servicing defective celphones. b) Part A: Identify the types of formal and informal research and communication channels you will use to identify customer needs and preferences. Ensure both quantitative and qualitative data are obtained. Explain how the research will be carried out. Type of research How will it be carried out 1. Survey 2. Market Research 1. Select randomly from the representatives of the market through a form of a questionnaire where such market samples will be asked for their inclination towards a dual SIM celphone. Answers will then be tabulated to determine if indeed the market has an inclination towards our products. 2. To determine the extent and size of the market, a market research has to be done to determine the celphone usage which will serve as our market. The rate of celphone usage will determine the size of our mark et. The data of the number of celphone users can be done by collating data from the mobile phone carriers. Part B: Collect and analyse the data Findings: Formal research: The answers from the survey will be tabulated to determine our hypothesis that there is a market for a dual SIM celphone. The survey conducted indicated that the market is willing to try a dual SIM celphone and this willingness to try a dual SIM celphone can be cultivated from a growing to a full market to sell our phone. Informal research Our market research indicated as there is almost 100 % subscription to mobile telephone carriers (Vodafone:Â  2,465,000 (46.71%), Telecom:Â   2,192,000 (41.54%), 2degrees: 580,112 (10.99%). Deducing from this, it means that we have a huge market for our dual SIM celphone as almost everybody are celphone users. If we can capture enough market share to this mobile users, our business venture can prove to be profitable. SOUTHERN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY National Certificate in Smal l Business Management Assignment 2 Communication channels: The communication channel will be in a form of the traditional pen and paper where data will be collected by asking market representative to answer the survey objectively. In the case of informal research, this can be done by obtaining annual

The Bravest Girl in the World Essay Example for Free

The Bravest Girl in the World Essay Malala Yousafzai was just 15 years old when she was shot in the head by the Taliban. The article The Bravest Girl in the World by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb was presented in the December 9, 2013 issue of the upfront magazine. The article explained that the Taliban imposed harsh laws in the Pakistan region-including the banning of schooling for girls. Malala Yousafzai and her father defied those laws and spoke out about every girls right to attend school. Their defiance earned them many admirers and enemies. One day, while she was returning home from school, she was shot by the Taliban. She survived the attack and has become more famous-enabling her to spread her message to the entire world. I am honestly appalled at how a girl going to school is such a big deal in Pakistan. I completely agree with Malala and her dad, girls have the right to have an education and they should be treated equally to boys. I feel this way because education is empowering and can help girls and boys alike to grow up and achieve their dreams- why would anyone want to smash a young girls dream? Reading this story really makes you count your blessings and be thankful to have the privilege of going to school without worrying about your brains being blown out. I can connect to this situation because Im a girl, the main character is also a girl, and we have both been against sexism at one point of our lives. The only reason they had for opposing her learning was that she was a girl.  If it were a boy, they wouldnt have cared one bit about him learning. There are some things that I havent been allowed to do simply because I was a girl. (Paintballing is the only thing I can think of at the moment but I know there were more occasions.) Thankfully, its not to the extreme point of not being allowed to go to school. However, I remember a few years ago my sister wanted to go away to college and all my relatives disapproved because shes a girl and shouldnt go away by herself. My dad still let her go and she happily went to college, got her bachelors degree, and is now working on receiving her Masters degree. The writer communicated her message effectively by using narration. She told us what happened as if it were a story- she was also very descriptive. I noticed that the writer utilized similes; that doorway was like a magical entrance; epithets Bhai Jan, or brother'; and dialogue in the article. The use of these devices helped me understand the story better and made the article more interesting. Why do the Taliban despise the thought of women learning? Is it because they are afraid that its one step closer to equality? Was the gunman ever identified? After a bit of research, I found out that 10 men were arrested in connection to the shooting. Because of this tragedy, I think that laws that protect school children should be implemented. A law should be made against stopping in the middle of the road for random strangers- especially if they have half their face covered. Also, I believe that the best way to respond to this is to have ALL the girls go to school with protection. That way, the chance of another tragedy happening is alleviated. Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb. The Bravest Girl in the World. _The New York Times_ _Upfront_ 9 Dec. 2013: 12-15. Print.

Foreign workers: Economic and social issues

Foreign workers: Economic and social issues Introduction In Singapore, foreign workers are assets to the workforce because they take up low-skilled jobs which Singaporeans are reluctant to do (National Population and Talent Division, 2013, p. 22). However, foreign workers are ill-treated and their issues include underpayment and undesirable dormitory standards (Chia Zaccheus, 2012). In this essay, besides examining foreign workers’ issues, I will discuss my interest and assumptions about them. Interest and Assumptions I am interested in foreign workers because their public and unruly display of resentment in the recent Little India riot suggests an urgent need to address their issues so that such violent behaviours and their consequences could be prevented in the future. Therefore, foreign workers are selected to have their issues examined in this essay. Naturally, I have two assumptions about foreign workers which are suggested to be true by evidence. The first assumption is most foreign workers belong to the low social class and that is true because their monthly wages ranging from $700 to $1200 (Tan Mokhtar, 2013, para. 15-16) is lower than the $1500 to $5000 range earned by the middle class in Singapore. The next assumption is foreign workers are isolated in Singapore due to the anti-foreigner sentiment. As International Labour Organisation (2013) has surveyed, nearly 60% of Singaporeans perceived foreign workers as threats to Singapore’s culture instead of valued members in the society. Moreover, the growing anti-foreigner sentiment is shown by the strong protests carried out in 2013 to discourage further intake of foreign workers (Goh Mokhtar, 2013). Therefore, foreign workers are highly likely to feel isolated due to the escalating anti-foreigner sentiment. Importance of Addressing the Issues As mentioned earlier, it is important to address foreign workers’ issues to reduce their resentment and prevent their violent behaviours because these behaviours can lead to severe economic and social consequences as shown in the Little India riot in 2013. As a result of the riot, livelihood of 134 businesses in Little India was threatened as they experienced 50% reduction in customers (Lim, 2013, para. 2) and some had 90% loss in revenue (Au, 2013, para. 7). Moreover, the riot disrupted social harmony by intensifying the tension between foreign workers and Singaporeans. After the riot, Singaporeans’ criticism towards the foreign workers was so overwhelming that Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth had to step forward to remind Singaporeans to â€Å"keep xenophobia and racial remarks out of the conversation† (Heng, 2013, para. 16). Therefore, as such unruly behaviours threaten social harmony and adversely impact the local economy, it is important to avoid them by reducing foreign workers’ resentment through addressing their issues effectively. To do so, we need to first examine foreign workers’ needs using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory. Foreign Workers’ Needs and Support Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory classifies needs into basic needs like physiological and safety needs, psychological needs like love and esteem needs and higher level needs like cognitive and self-actualisation needs (Maslow, 1987). Based on the theory, the foreign workers’ physiological needs to get sufficient sleep are not met because their overcrowded and unhygienic dormitories affect their quality of sleep (Chia Zaccheus, 2012, para. 3). Besides, the foreign workers’ safety needs to have the security of jobs are not fulfilled because â€Å"65% of injured and salary-claim workers had been threatened by their employers with premature repatriation† (as cited in Kaur, 2014, p. 9). Furthermore, foreign workers’ esteem needs to be respected by others are not met due to xenophobia in the society (Heng, 2013, para. 16). Currently, various forms of support are available for foreign workers: to address their physiological needs to live in conducive conditions, the scheme of accrediting dormitories was established in 2012 to ensure satisfactory dormitory environments (Grosse Khamid, 2012); to fulfil their safety needs to have the security of jobs, the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act [EFMA] and the help service by Migrant Workers’ Centre [MWC] are in place to stop unreasonable employment practices (Ministry of Manpower, 2013; Migrant Workers’ Centre, 2014); to meet their love needs to have more friends, National Trades Union Congress [NTUC] organises social activities for foreign workers and its advocacy efforts has led to many revisions in the EFMA to better protect foreign workers (National Trades Union Congress, 2010, para. 2-3). Next, to examine the support for foreign workers, Bronfenbrenner’s ecology system theory will be used. Bronfenbrenner’s ecology system theory suggests that individuals’ interactions with their communities and the society can be classified into in five environmental systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). In the foreign workers’ context, their microsystem consists of the people whom they interact with the most like their colleagues and roommates; their mesosystem consists of the interactions between the microsystems that they are involved in; their exosystem includes service providers like NTUC and MWC which directly impact the microsystems; and their macrosystem includes law and policies like the EFMA and the scheme of accrediting dormitories which are greatly influenced by the government and the society. After examining, it is clear that the current support mainly addresses the workers’ basic needs and much of the efforts comes from the authorities. Hence, my proposed idea aims to fulfil the workers’ psychological needs by involving the public. Proposed Idea â€Å"Love Across Distance† is an annual event that requires its volunteers to help foreign workers of different nationalities send their photographs and love messages back home and publish the their life stories on Facebook. The recipients of love messages and the types of stories published each year will vary according to the occasion that the event focuses on; if the event focuses on Valentine’s Day, the foreign workers’ valentines will be the recipients of love messages and the stories published will be their love stories. Because the event focuses on a different occasion each year, as years go by, different aspects of foreign workers’ lives will be shared with Singaporeans online to deepen their understanding of foreign workers. For example, weeks before Valentine’s Day, the volunteers will find foreign workers and take polaroids of them holding the flowers which symbolise romance in their culture. Then, the foreign workers will write down their love messages which will be mailed together with their polaroids. Next, the volunteers will ask them questions like â€Å"How did you meet your valentine?†, â€Å"What do you like the most about her?† and â€Å"Is there anything you wish to do for her after working in Singapore?† to find out their love stories. Lastly, permission will be gained to publish the stories online and the foreign workers’ privacy will be protected if they prefer not to have their identities revealed online. The mailing of love messages is to make the foreign workers feel important by involving them in celebrating the joyous occasions. The online sharing of their life stories such as love stories is to arouse Singaporeans’ interest in foreign workers and to increase their awareness that foreign workers are also humans who love and have aspirations for their beloved; hence, they deserve respect and less discrimination. Therefore, this event aims to reduce the barrier between Singaporeans and foreign workers by deepening Singaporeans’ understanding of foreign workers and by diverting their attention from the foreign workers’ unruly behaviours to their hopes and aspirations. This event hopes to reduce stereotypical views towards foreign workers and encourage Singaporeans to create a more inclusive society that makes foreign workers feel at home. Conclusion In conclusion, to maintain Singapore’s social and industrial harmony, it is crucial to address the foreign workers’ basic and psychological needs so that their resentments and unruly behaviours could be prevented. Besides, more efforts are needed from Singaporeans to create an inclusive society which makes the foreign workers feel valued regardless of their social status. It is when Singaporeans and foreign workers unite as one, Singapore can progress socially and economically with peace and stability in today’s competitive world. (1312 words) References Au, Y. (2013, December 22). Business in Little India improving slightly, but still slow. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/little-india- riot/story/business-little-india-improving-slightly-still-slow-20131222 Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. United States of America: Harvard University Press. Chia, Y. M., Zaccheus, M. (2012, December 10). Hard life, but foreign workers labour on. AsiaOne. Retrieved from http://news.asiaone.com/print/News/Latest%2BNews/Singap ore/Story/A1Story20121209-388579.html Goh, C. L., Mokhtar, M. (2013, February 16). Large turnout at speakers’ corner for protest against Population White Paper. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.stra itstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/large-turnout-speakers-corner-protest- against-population-white-paper-2 Grosse, S., Khamid, H. M. A. (2012, December 17). Foreign workers’ dormitories could be accredited. Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ne ws/singapore/foreign-workers-dormitor/530468.html Heng, J. (2013, December 9). Little India riot: political office-holders urge calm in Facebook posts. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big- story/little-india-riot/ story/little-india-riot-political-office-holders-urge-calm-faceboo k- International Labour Organisation. (2013). Public attitudes to migrant workers. Migration works. Retrieved from http://migrationworks.org/wp-content/uploads/ILO-study-on- public- attitudes-to-migrant-workers.pdf Kaur, S. (2014). Not the Singapore we know: the Little India riot 2013. Public Management and Leadership. Retrieved from http://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/research-centres/case-studies/ public- management-and-leadership/ Lim, A. (2013, December 19). ‘Little India’ and quieter too. MyPaper. Retrieved from http:// news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/littler-india-and-quieter-too?page=0%2C0 Maslow, A. H. (1987). Motivation and personality. London: Pearson Education Limited. Ministry of Manpower. (2013). Amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Retrieved from http://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/amendments-to-the- efma/Pages/default.aspx Migrant Workers’ Centre. (2014). About us. Retrieved from http://www.mwc.org.sg/wps/port al/mwc/home/aboutus/ National Population and Talent Division. (2013). Population white paper: Sustainable population for a dynamic Singapore. Singapore: National Population and Talent Division, Prime Minister’s Office. National Trades Union Congress. (2010). Migrant workers. Retrieved from https://www.ntuc. org.sg/wps/portal/up2/home/aboutntuc/ourwork/programmesandinitiatives/program mesandinitiativesdetails?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/content_library/ntuc/ home/about+ntuc/our+work/programmes+and+initiatives/11cf8780449eba78bda0bf0 1ca0149bf Tan, A., Mokhtar, M. (2013, January 5). Low pay may deter foreign workers. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://news.asiaone.com/print/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapo re/Story/A1Story20130103-393242.html