Modern mosque Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Modern mosque - Essay Example From the Muslim point of view, a divine Mosques must have various specific pertinent features, they include; features that indicates direction directions of the Qible, which in most cases may also be referred as the Mecca. This indication is usually referred as the Mihrab and should have a specific type of roof according to the requirements of the Islam religion (Wood, 7). The first Mosque that was constructed in Turkey was the Mecca; this was a term used to describe the area that surrounded the Ka’ba. In the Muslim Religion, Ka’ba was considered the holiest shrine in the land. The model by which the early Mosques were developed, took the dimensions of Muhammad’s house, which was located in Madina. The direction with which the Qibla at this time was believed be oriented towards Jerusalem. Moreover, on the left side of the early Qiblas, there were three houses for Muhammad’s wives with three different entries that led to the courtyard, an area where most prayers were held during this time. In approximately 1500 years, the direction of the Qibla was changed so that it could face the orientation of the Mecca. The Madina Mosques had various important functions in the early Muslim society; it accommodated social functions, religious as well as political functions. Judicial roles were also undertaken in the early Mosques; the Muhammad and their families members were also accommodated in the early Mosques. In the early period, rules guiding prayers were not shaped to a specific standard owing to the fact that the prescriptions that are in the Koran developed on a gradual basis from time to time. Evidence has also shown that apart from the Mosques of Madina and Mecca, there existed some other dimensions of Mosques in other parts of the World. Owing to rapid technological advancement in the early period, Mosques began growing rapidly in their complexities as well as their appearances. They assumed

The Difference Between Morals and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Difference Between Morals and Ethics - Essay Example It is a systematic evaluation and reasoning of how we ought to perform depending on various contexts. As Desnoyers defines, â€Å"ethics is the body of principles that decide what behaviors are right, good, and proper.† (Desnoyers). Such attitudes do not always state a single â€Å"moral† course of action, but facilitate measures to evaluate and decide among competing options. It is all about putting these principles into action. It is a matter of honesty to observe uniformity between what we say, we value, and what our deeds say we value. Ethics motivates a person to follow certain standards or codes of behavior desired by the society in which the individual is a part. Ethics in its wider sense can be national ethics, social ethics, company ethics, or professional ethics. On the other hand, morals promote a demanding set of duties that requires a person to overcome his natural desires, in way to follow his moral law. On comparing the differences between ethics and mora ls, we find that ethics is the guidelines, for choosing proper conduct, while morality is the parameters for behavior that exist at some point of time. The ethical principles undergo very little changes while on the other hand, morality endures more changes repeatedly. Morality can be depicted as a snapshot taken of an unstable object. However, since ethics has got more essential and established principles, it is bigger than morality in its function. An example of a criminal defense lawyer may be apt to understand the terms of moral and ethics in its practical sense. The lawyer’s personal moral code may consider the murder immoral and culpable. On the other hand, the ethics demands the lawyer to defend his client as strongly as possible, even when he is aware of the fact that the accused is guilty and freeing the defendant would eventually lead to more crimes. In such case, the legal ethics as well as his professional ethics must override personal morals in order to uphold th e justice system where the accused is given a fair chance. In the same way, ethics and morals may clash at the workplace where the company ethics supersede personal morality. Corporate insatiability that often crosses its own ethical lines fastened with perverse demands on time may force employee to select from a traumatic, challenging, and unbearable work ethics considering his/her family responsibilities as moral commitment to next of kin. Ethical decision making is carried out by the logical and systematical application of one’s ethical principles and does not take place by random likelihood. An individual often feels lost at sea when facing with a situation where he needs to apply ethical principles. In a critical decision making condition, an individual can apply ethical principles by choosing a course of action. George Desnoyers brings out a set of clear rules that can be applied in advance to enhance an individual to lead an ethical life. They are; I will think before I act; will clarify and constantly review my goals. I will try to consider the consequences of my actins and omissions. I will monitor and review the results of my actions. I will be honest in all my business dealing. (Source: Desnoyers, n.d). Moral certainty can be referred to as a concept of instinctive probability, where a high degree of probability occurs that is adequate for the action but not sufficient for absolute certainty.

Poetic Devices And Analysis

Poetic Devices And Analysis Poetry is a form of literature that expresses and individuals thoughts and feelings that are put into words illustrating vivid images. E. E. Cummings is a poet who writes in a manner of originality and excitement. Two of his well-known and thoroughly studied poems are Somewhere I have Never Travelled and Pity This Busy Monster, where poetry is written with expressive metaphors and similes, a vivid persona being revealed and a difference in environments being pleasant and harsh. This essay depicts poetic devices of metaphors, persona, euphony and cacophony. Poetic devices are important for analysis and to interpret the message of the poem by the audience that the speaker is trying to describe and illustrate. E.E. Cummings uses many comparative terms to express his deepest feelings and thoughts through his poetry. In the poem Somewhere I have never Travelled contains many metaphoric phrases and similies to describe the emotions behind his poem. In the first stanza and the first line of the poem, the word travelled (603) is metaphoricaly used to explain a journey the speaker is experiencing especially a positive one that is decribed by the word gladly (603). In the phrase, your eyes have their silence (603) the speaker is referring to another person whose eyes show no expression of love or interest, just as silence is an absence of communication. The metaphoric phrase, in your most frail gensture are things which enclose me, or which I cannot touch because they are too near (603), descrives the feelings the speaker has created towards this woman by her actions and gestures, but prevent him from opening up to her, portrayed by the word enclose (603). He feels like he cannot be open with thi s woman because she has not showed the same true, passionate feelings he has for her. By the end of the first stanza, there contains many metaphors expressing the theme of love to this woman, especially the real journey the speaker takes through this womans eyes. In the second and third stanzas, similes are used to compare his love to this woman with nature. Firstly, your slightest look easily will unclose me though I have closed myself as fingers, (603) begins to depict the feelings of him holding back his feelings, just as fingers are tightly closed into a fist. The speaker also starts to express his feelings of this woman through a rose, your open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose (603). He describes this woman being a beautiful wonder, for as time goes by the woman slowly reveals herself to him and he loves even more. In the final stanza the speaker states not even the rain, has such small hands (604). Rain has such a huge impact on earth, even it being the smallest in size. Rain can shape rocks, can form mountains and works slowly but leaves wondrous effects. The speaker personifies rain as having hands, being small but having so much influence. This leads to the character of the woman having such a great influence and impact to the speakers life and emotions. Looking through all the metaphors, all her slightest glances and frail gestures are things which are changing him in a way that is so extraordinary, just as rain has a powerful influence on the world. In Somewhere I have never travelled, the poems persona is portrayed as a humble man in love. The humility is shown by the lack of capitalization, specifically in the pronoun, I, which supports the speakers extreme devotion to his lover. By rejecting the pronoun, the speaker assumes a casual humbleness and modesty. He is totally giving away any power he has over himself, even his life and death, to his beloved. He is so submissive and meek that he does not capitalize any of the words throughout the entire poem. The speaker does not want to call attention to any particular part in the poem, hence the lack of capitalization. He wants the audience to understand the passion and beauty of love he has for this woman. All throughout the poem, the poetic device euphony is emphasized. Euphony is referred as a pleasant spoken sound that is depicted and laid out by the audience. He uses nature as an image to portray the loving atmosphere that is being delivered. Simple and elegant words like rose or Spring (603) are soothing words that describe a new beginning or experience for nature, but can be personified to describe a person you find a new journey with. He uses sensual words to describe his feelings of excitement and happinss such as slightest look or touching skillfully (603). These words depict the feelings and emotions that arise from her natural movements. The speaker also describes his love so pleasantly through body parts with words like eyes or heart (603) that are words that significantly reflect love and affection. The most affectionate phrase that reflects a positive atmosphere of love and care is only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses (603). Thi s phrase allows the audience to understand that no one sees anything as deep and as far as what the speaker sees in this woman. Many roses catch many peoples eyes and attention to be elegant and beautiful, but this woman is way more extravagant then that. The poem Pity This Busy Monster also lays out thoughts and feelings of society through many metaphors but no prominent similes. The most relevant is pity this Busy Monster, manunkind, not (606), which implies to reveal sympathy to humankind represented as monsters. Humankind has led lives of comfort and reliability on technology and new inventions that has allowed our everyday routines to be easier. The newly formed term manunkind (606) is referring to the opposite definition of mankind. The speaker is describing manunkind (606) as humanity being hectic and strenuous. It is quite evident that the speaker has a negative outlook on humanity and the actions humanity has taken to make life comfortable. Through this line alone, the speaker is explaining how every aspect of an individuals le that interacts with technology has turned them into a monster. However, by the end of the line the speaker states not because he wants the audience to understand that there is no reason to take pity on humankind, when we have turned to technology for assistance in our lives. Through this metaphor, the main theme of humanity is revealed and explored. Another important metaphor that is expressed is we doctors know a hopeless case (606. This illustrates that doctors are representing humans and society, by this we all are aware of the fact that leading out lives in such a manner results at a point where it would be incredibly difficult to change back to ways before technology came into play. The persona of this particular poem is the speaker portraying hatred and disappointment towards society and humankind. Throughout this poem the speaker does not refer to himself personally, through the pronoun I or me, but included himself through the pronoun we (606). The speaker is considering themselves to be part of this inadequate and victimized society. The speaker wants the audience to recognize that the poem is not pertaining to the speaker directly, but what the speaker feels humanity has turned into. The speaker also uses the term monster (606), which is personified to be dangerous and scary. This reveals the level of the speakers thoughts and feelings on what technology and other entities humanity has turned to in order to make their lives content. By the use of words and terms in this poem, the speaker exposes a device known as cacophony. Cacophony means to be harsh sounding and this is vividly illustrated throughout this poem. With words like monster, disease, victim, and even hell (606) expose feelings of danger and being afraid. Monster is used in the title and in the first line of the poem, to allow the audience to be afraid of what this speaker is about to reveal. A disease is something humanity gets exposed to and effects an individuals well being. The speaker is reflecting on the fact that technology is affecting peoples everyday lives and health. Additionally, the word victim expresses an individual in danger and has been put into danger by a criminal, referred to in the poem as technology. Finally, the word hell is implied to a place of fire, damage and destruction. The speaker is expressing his fear of what technology and what society has turned to depend on to destroy our lives. All these words conclude to one surro unding environment of negativity and destruction. Interpretation of poetry comes from understanding the metaphors that are written, the persona the poet is writing in and the environment sounding of the poem, whether it is pleasant or harsh. Both poems by E. E. Cummings reveals these poetic devices in great emphasize for the audience to comprehend. The speakers in both poems were discovered to be two different individuals with various thoughts, one being in love and the other disappointed in societies dependence on technology. The use of metaphors and similes has assisted in appreciating the reasoning behind writing the poems. Euphony and cacophony describe the sound of the poems that are explicitly illustrated. Interpreting the feelings love and the unkind thoughts towards society has helped the audience to understand other peoples perspective on situations that arise in our daily lives.

ophelia :: essays research papers

Hurricane Ophelia was downgraded to a tropical storm again Monday as the indecisive weather system moved slowly off the coast, its outer bands of rain not quite reaching land. Despite Ophelia’s waxing and waning strength and slow progress, residents’ attention had been focused by the devastation caused elsewhere by Hurricane Katrina. That was on the mind of Steve King as he grudgingly skipped a football game on television to move his sea kayak out of harm’s way. â€Å"They keep saying this storm is two or three days out,† he said. â€Å"I think we’re all waiting for something to happen.† Ophelia’s sustained wind speed slowed Monday morning to about 70 mph, 4 mph below the threshold for a hurricane, but it had the potential to regain hurricane strength over the next day or so, the National Hurricane Center said. A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch were in effect from Cape Lookout south to Edisto Beach, S.C. Some calls for evacuations With the storm’s path uncertain, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford called for a voluntary evacuation Monday of oceanfront and riverside areas in his state’s northeastern corner. â€Å"This is a serious storm that’s got the potential to do a lot of damage and put lives in jeopardy if we don’t take it seriously,† Sanford said. In North Carolina, Gov. Mike Easley on Sunday ordered 200 National Guard soldiers to report to staging centers in the eastern part of the state. The governor also ordered a mandatory evacuation of nonresidents from fragile Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks, reachable only by ferry. At Wrightsville Beach, lifeguards ordered swimmers out of the surf Sunday. â€Å"They are saying they don’t want anyone to even touch the water,† said Kathy Carroll, 37, of Wilmington. â€Å"Now I know how a flounder feels. I was getting tossed all over the place.† Despite the warnings, there were no long lines at Roberts Grocery in Wrightsville Beach, where customers bought chips and beer — not bottled water and batteries. â€Å"Usually, they are buying all the bread and milk,† said store manager Teresa Hines. â€Å"Some of the regulars have told me they have their hammers and nails ready just in case.† With a history of destructive storms, New Hanover County has a well-rehearsed disaster plan. But Katrina, which was a powerful Category 4 hurricane before it made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi, was on residents’ minds even though Ophelia was only Category 1 and had been waxing and waning in strength.

Culture of the University of Phoenix Essay

University of Phoenix is a centre of excellence, which has served thousands of students from all over the world since it inception. The university’s culture is its personality, and it holds the university’s community by encouraging adherence to the university’s values, norms and assumptions all of which makes the university to behave in a way likely to promote the university’s cause. The culture of University of Phoenix is demonstrated in the things, which the University of Phoenix takes pride in such as its multinational students as well as warm relations with the local community. Like many learning institutions the culture of University of Phoenix can be referred to as an â€Å"Academy culture†. This is mainly the case considering the fact that in the University of Phoenix, there is little movement of staff and the staff turnover is quite low. It is likely that, most of the staff members at the university have served in the university for close to a decade or longer. There is also a blend of â€Å"club culture† in the organization given the fact that employees in the organization are recruited as junior employees but end up rising through the ranks to top management. Usually those who begin at the bottom of the organization but enroll in part time courses end up gaining skills and at the same time experience. This puts them at a very good position to enhance as the university supports career growth and development of its employees. The leaders in the university do not exercise unregulated authority characteristic in organizations such as military organizations which operate under a bureaucratic leadership style. The culture at University of Phoenix is that of unity and collaboration amongst the university community members. The University of Phoenix pursues a culture of integrity, honesty, excellence, racial tolerance, devotion to studies, creativeness as well as positive attitude towards success. The culture also calls for high belief in achievement and being goal oriented. The University of Phoenix promotes a culture of high values in everything the community members undertake. As a result of the cultural beliefs, the organization upholds, the University of Phoenix encourages total commitment to zero tolerance against racial discrimination, discrimination on basis of colour or nationality as well as zero tolerance towards gender discrimination. As a result of adherence to high values, the University of Phoenix continues to attract some of the best scholars in the world. People feel free to participate in the University’s growth in terms of continually being a centre for excellence. Therefore the University of Phoenix can be said to have a strong culture because every function of the university in terms of academic excellence and research activities is aligned to organizational values. This is what defines the strength of a culture and how well it is aligned to the organizational values. At the University of Phoenix there is a high sense of belonging amongst the students who always want to be associated with the organization, are proud to be associated with the university and wherever they go they carry themselves in a way in which they make good ambassadors of the university. Conclusion In a summary the culture of University of Phoenix mix can be said to be ideal in that it promotes participation of all members of the University in the promotion of the University’s values. The university’s culture allows for an easy introduction of change and therefore whenever there are any changes to be done it is never hard for the administration to institute nor the students to implement. There are rarely challenges so very hard for the university community to overcome as the culture allows for functioning as teams. Finally the culture allows for easy conflict resolution whenever conflicts arise. Reference http://www. insidehighered. com/workplace/2005/03/28/phoenix. Accessed on 6/04/2001. www. intuitive. com/blog/university_of_phoenix_apollo_group_releases_free_speech_policy. html Accessed on 6/04/2001.

An Analysis of The Story Of Tom Brennan Essay

In â€Å"The Story Of Tom Brennan† written by J.  C Burke in a story about destruction, guilt and shame through the story there are allot of up and downs after the crash the family is not the same and tom knows that it will never be the same the story uses destructive power to add some problems to the story to keep it going the crash causes a couple of problems to everyone not just the family the whole community is effected guilt tom and kylie both feel guilty like they were the cause for the crash shame the family lie in shame they feel like there family is bad and the community don’t help that is why they mover because the whole family is looked down upon by the town of Mumbili. The family is affected by destruction in every way the family has changed after the event it has cause the whole community to change fin who was in the crash and her family are affected As well after fin became paraplegic her mum has to change the way she raises her son and fins dreams are crushed after one night so much has happened to the families and friends of the victims in the crash. Tom’s life has changed him and his mum grows further away slowly not talking to each other. Kylies life has changed to she has lost all her friends because they had to move schools. And fin has nothing left and her mother has trouble looking after her it is hard on every one. When the crash happens tom feels like he is the one who has cause the crash he feels guilty in every way he feels like he could have stopped what happened and kylie feels the same way she has the same feeling as tom and they are in the same place both feeling guilty of what happened that night both hiding it and keeping it bottled up inside them that is why they always fight it is because they both feel like they could have done something about it stopped the whole incident from happening fin sought of has the same feeling that if she didn’t get in the car that night nothing would have happened and it would all be the same again but she knows she can’t do anything about it. Daniel is also guilty and knows what he did was wrong he feels guilty because he was the one that was driving the car. Daniel couldn’t even look at Nicole and Luke’s parents because he knew he took something away from them and he feels guilty about it. The whole family will live in shame for the rest of their life seeing that it was their son that cause the crash they will be in shame because they didn’t stop him they didn’t stop him from drinking Daniel especially affected he will never get over the fact they he killed two people and will always know that there is a family missing something that they love and they will never get that back just cause one person did something they shouldn’t have but was it really Daniels fault he was not the one that made them get in that car and maybe they should have stopped him from driving that night. The whole story is made up by one of these points and they play a big part in the story is none of these3 things happened the story would not have much in it.

My odessius is a hero essays

My odessius is a hero essays Odysseus is a man that embodies the general aspect of an epic hero but does not seem to have the morals of a hero. He fights in an unfair manner, lies to his crew, and he kills for no apparent reason. (Repetition) Odysseus is Superman to the Greeks. (Metaphor) Try to imagine Superman fighting one of his numerous archenemies. Superman fights fair like the bigger man (simile), no matter what. After defeating the monster Superman does not kill it, but takes it to some place that it can live without it hurting others and then he does not lie about what he does. To begin, a hero fights on the side of fairness and would never lay traps to ambush an injured enemy. That would be like Superman breaking someones legs and then challenging them to a fistfight. This is in reference to Odysseus blinding the Cyclops and then taunting them as the beast lays reeling in pain. Then on the way out, Odysseus taunts the blinded enemy again, basically challenging him. This shows Odysseus lack of ability to fight fair. This is not a quality of a hero, epic or otherwise. Second, Odysseus lies to his crew by not telling them of the impending danger. Instead of telling his men he lies and lets the monsters take his crew by surprise. Think of your self in that situation. Row, Row. By the way, duck, there is a huge monster behind you that I forgot to tell you guys about. Would a hero lie and not tell his men about danger? Of course not, all classic heroes always give their people a choice when facing death. Odysseus appears to be acting like a coward and deceiving his crew into following him. Finally, a true hero only kills his enemy as a last resort. Odysseus, after twenty years at sea, comes home to find his wife holding a contest with suitors for her hand. After winning the contest he stands on a table yelling that he will kill them all. We would never think of Superman, someone thought to be hero, yelling that he would kil...

Famous Person Story essays

Famous Person Story essays First, I would like to be Bill Gates. I would be the richest person in the whole wide world because I would never have to worry about borrowing money. I would own Microsoft, which is the leader in the computer software industry. What if the stock market crashed? Then that would be a problem because I would then go bankrupt. In the mean time, I would rather be a basketball star. I would like to be Michael Jordan, who is the best basketball player in many decades. Basketball would not be too hard because I play it in my leisure time. I would get money for entertaining the crowd with my three-pointers and dunks. Even though, I would not be as wealthy as Bill Gates, I would still become famous in basketball. I would also like to become famous in football. I would choose to be Walter Payton if I became famous in football. Even though I risk my chances of getting hurt with my speed and size, I should be able to run over the tacklers and find my way into the end zone. Obviously, I am more physical but Bill Gates and Michael Jordan have more money then I do. I would enjoy becoming famous in baseball, too. Sometimes, I think about hitting homeruns; thats why I would enjoy being Ken Griffey Jr. I can hit homeruns day and night with my strength. I could also be the hero of the day for my team by hitting a game winner. I would go in the record books for all my homeruns that I hit. Well, I would get worn-out after a while so in addition, I would like becoming a rapper. Finally, I would like to be Nelly. I know I would get famous after one hit song because I am well known. I would make plenty of cash for selling my music. Well, I guess it is up to me who I really want to be. Do I really know who I really want to be? ...

1984 Novel Essay

1984 Novel Essay I think that today’s society is a â€Å"half version† of George Owell’s novel, 1984, in some ways it is similar and in others, uniquely different. The closest we come today to a â€Å"Big Brother† is the mob. The people are also controlled by watchful security cameras and subliminal messages. However, something in life today is very different from that of 1984, it is the people. In the words of the famous lyricist, â€Å"Power to the People. † In analyzing â€Å"Big Brother,† there are similarities between it and the mob. The Mafia is a crime amily that can see everything, there is no going against the mob or else someone is going to die. The Mafia is so widespread that it has operatives all over keeping an eye out for cops or law enforcement, this is the Mafia’s â€Å"telescreens† (Orwell 6). Another startling similarity between the mob and â€Å"Big Brother† is the Mafia’s strange way of making someone disappear or â€Å"vaporize† (Orwell ). Almost unknowingly a person’s identity can be changed, altered, or deleted. Authorities use security and surveillance cameras to observe criminal activities or possibly every day activities. Too much surveillance liberties are given to police or FBI. By using hi-tech cameras which can actually document a person’s life. Unknowingly, there may be a cute little camera installed in the bedroom. Another way that today’s society controls the masses is subliminal messages. Illegal now, subliminal messages were widely used in the entertainment business, especially during the fifties. An example is that movie makers would add a split-second commercial add for popcorn and soda during a movie. Customers would actually be manipulated into buying these products. Even though, this kind of rainwashing is illegal, it is still very hard to detect, who’s to say that we are not bombarded by subliminal messages just by watching commercials on television. This is too risky, to think that a person’s actions and emotions can be swayed by someone else’s perversion’s. Again, this is very similar to 1984. Of all the things there are today that would make it impossible for there to be an inner or outer party, as in 1984, is that there is each other. No matter how hard our government tries, they cannot reach everyone. Contrary to 1984, where they do get everyone, I feel that was extreme and unlikely. I find it highly unlikely that a form of government can find a way to get the whole world to follow them. 1984 is not a reality, strength lies in numbers. In conclusion, life in the nineties, is a very resilient time. In this time, there is a substantial amount of restriction of the public, much of which is for law and order. A lot of this day and age may resemble George Orwell’s 1984. It is nothing but a facade of government mixing with technology at a dangerous level. There’s nothing to fear because 1984 is far-fetched and an anti-socialists nightmare.

Critical responses Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critical responses - Coursework Example one can see men modeling and taking the catwalks to show off in terms of fashion and also there has been the ability for women to wear clothes that were once perceived to belong to male gender. The purpose of this critical paper is to support the idea that society has changed and this can be seen from the fact that people are no longer being identified by their genetic build (Joseph, 32, 2012). I support the argument that being a woman does not make one useless in the society. In today’s society, women have come to be in positions that were once considered as positions left out for men. They run banks and companies by managing these institutions with the title of a ‘manager’. This shows how times have changed and existence of women ability to represent themselves. In these modern times, gender does not define who a person is or who a person will turn out to be. What matters is the ability to make something out of what is available. Whatever the gender is, there is the knack in each person to be successful despite the obstacles (Oakley, 24,

History- Modern latin america Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History- Modern latin america - Essay Example It gives a spine chilling experience about disappearance of victims and resistance organized by their mothers and relatives in Argentina. The military rulers in the country followed the Nazis ideology or the doctrine of night and fog developed by Adolph Hitler. The doctrine of national security was the new name of brutal law used exclusively for secret kidnapping and detention and murder in the country. The rulers followed the strategy of doing all these acts secretly. The kidnapping was done without much publicity, and detention and subsequent killing were made at secret centers only known to the military. The families of the victims were terrorized through these acts and they feared of complaining because of the fact that complainants would be the next victims. Therefore there was a silence from the relatives of victims which otherwise made them in a situation to kill themselves. The vanishing created terror within the population, but without finding the bodies, no one could be bla med. Silence increased the atmosphere of terror as well as hopelessness. It placed a cruel burden on the families of the disappeared. Moreover they were made to feel in some sense responsible. It became one of the more subtle and complex mechanisms of torture for the relatives.

How to Make 1000 pounds a profitable Investment in UK Stock Market Essay

How to Make 1000 pounds a profitable Investment in UK Stock Market - Essay Example b. Acting on rumours knowing that it is in fact a rumour. c. Buying Dividends for long-term investment in stock market. It is a stable and less risky way of earning profit. d. Opening an account with a broker. e. Investing in Penny stock to earn profit. Method 1 Basic Plan: The first method is to look for companies that have undervalued ratings. This method does have it perks considering that undervalued firms have a lot of value, of which general public is unaware, due to rating agencies (Graham, 1985). Now the first scenario is an investor having ?1000 and he or she has to make money through investing it in stocks looking for undervalued companies. The first reasonable thing that the investor should do is to look into companies, which have the least value on the FTSE index. For example, the investor comes up with four companies, whose stock value is ?2, ?3, ?3.50 and 3.75. Initially, I will analyse why that particular company is undervalued, does that company have large debts that it needs to pay, or the company has a record of bad investments or if the company was indicted in law-suits involving fraud etc. If the company has large debts, the investor shall see the prospects of that company paying off the debt while pragmatically and logically calculating, the duration in which the company will be able to pay its debt. If the investor wants to earn the money quickly i.e., in a week and he or she is able to find a company that can pay off its debt in two weeks, it would be best to buy stock of that company. And if the prospects of paying debt are low, the investor shall not invest in that company because of the obvious downfall state of the company. One thing that shall be kept in mind that, one must not sell all the shares if there is a slight rise in stocks because of the thought about, being on the safe side. One must project a slight confidence by observing the attitude of the market towards that company if that attitude is confident towards it then thereà ¢â‚¬â„¢s no need to sell the price and if the attitude contains lack of confidence, then one must sell shares at the price offered as earliest as possible, if one wants to liquidize stocks instantaneously. Another way is to invest it, in two or more companies at a time. The approach shall be the same as above and the reason to invest in two or more companies at a time; is unreliability in any one company. It’s just an alternative because companies are being kept undervalued for specific reasons. Sometimes the reason is right and justified in view of the person who wants to invest, but not always. This is a good way to earn money, but the chances of earning money quickly are very bleak. Drawbacks: The biggest risk involved in this kind of investment is, in case undervalued company gets further devalued because in such cases the value of stocks further decrease, resulting in loss for the shareholders. Another drawback of this plan is lack of experience of the investor who is in vesting the amount of ?1000, which is a high value. It is very important that a person should be an experienced investor person while investing because then there might be rational discussion taking place instead of decisions made on gut feeling. Another risk here is of fraud and being conned, which is very common for new investors. A new investor might get caught because of his or her

Yahoo Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Yahoo Inc - Case Study Example It is a multilingual consumer interface accessible in 20 foreign languages over the planet, including English. Jerry Yang along with David Filo who were scholars from Stanford created the website in the first month of 1994. In the beginning, the site was named after Jerry referring to it as a guide to World Wide Web (WWW). It served the purpose of a directory since it linked with other websites in a chronological order. It was again named â€Å"Yahoo!† three months later in the same year, where it gained remarkable viewer hits. The exclamation mark was added as a trademark to register it under the law to avoid the resource infringement. In an effort to improve the service range to motivate the users to utilize extra time at the site, Yahoo launched an online e-mail service called four one one (411). The firm acquired Rocket mail, in addition to, Classic Games lines to expand its varieties that were by now common. In the year 2000, on the onset of millennium, Yahoo recorded the ir best results in the dot-com period when the revenue collection rose by 4.5%. In addition to that, the company merged with Google command searches since one would access the sites on either accounts. This resulted to Yahoo inventing a modern technology that would enable its viewers to enjoy their services directly. The deal that existed between the two firms was broken when the invention took place-precipitating creation of 2GB storage accounts, the opposite of Google’s 1GB. Major Issues or Problems of the Organization Every organization must face challenges in the formative stages and during the routine operations. Yahoo Corporation was faced with the challenges of account hackers, brain drain and cyber crimes. The common and most prevalent crisis at Yahoo is the hacking of accounts where respondents claim that at one time or the other their accounts have been hacked. Hacking is an art where an individual intentionally or unintentionally access an account of the other for security reasons or by clicking malicious links. Account hacks causes are mostly use of general Internet terminals or Wi-Fi prior to the attack. Moreover, they connect to links that might result to malicious locations. Almost every time, the hacked accounts, are used to distribute spams and frauds. The best way to avoid this is by altering the passwords to a secure one or applying different passwords foe every website frequented. Extra vigilance should be practiced when using public terminals. Another challenge is the brain drain experienced at Yahoo Corporation whereby staffs are leaving the firm at an alarming rate to set up competing firms. The best employees at the firm are speedily leaving to join other rival firms or set their personal firms. This is a challenge to Yahoo because these gone staffs understand the weaknesses and strengths of the firm which they can employ to their gain. Lastly, cyber crimes are illegal measures on the net that pose security issues to the users. T he cyber crimes comprise of software piracy, e-mail spying and credit card swindles which invade the privacy of the users. It is feared that the modern fraudsters loot more money through Internets than robberies. These crimes are directed to individuals, properties or institutions. Cyber crime rules have been enacted to curb the spread of these crimes to innocent, unsuspecting users (Wall, 2007). Competitive Environment As borrowed from Yahoo 10K, Yahoo chiefly challenges other businesses to draw users to its website and promoters to its marketing services. Yahoo expects the market to develop progressively more competitive in the event that online marketing persists to nurture and gain reception on an international basis. Yahoo’

Sustainable Event Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Sustainable Event Management - Essay Example This event made London one of the most popular cities around the world. However, it is true that London Olympics can be considered as one of the successful sporting events in terms of sustainability and economic benefits. The organizing committee did a marvelous job to maintain the sustainability of the event. Reportedly, this event succeeded to pull out large number of visitors around the globe with the help of location advantage of this sporting event. These reasons motivated to chose this event due to well-developed sustainability policies and location advantage for this event. Triple Bottom Line or TBL can be considered as one of the effective theories that help professionals and other individuals to measure and determine the sustainability of a particular event. It is true that London Olympics can be considered as one of the most sustainable sporting events. This TBL sustainable theory will help to measure environmental or ecological, social and financial or economical sustainability of London Olympics 2012. This theory will consider several factors, such as water recycling, zero solid waste, social development and economical sustainability of London while measuring and determining the sustainability of this event. As Olympic is one of the popular sporting events and London is one of the popular tourist spots across the globe, therefore London Olympics 2012 has been chosen to measure its sustainability. It has been discussed earlier that Triple Bottom Line or TBL is one of the important theories that can help a professional to measure and determine the sustainability of a particular event. TBL is one of the effective theoretical frameworks that consist of three parts, such as financial or economical, environmental or ecological and social. These three parts are also referred as 3Ps, such as planet, profit and people. It is true that several leading organizations have adopted and implemented this par4ticular TBL theoretical framework in order to

How to Make 1000 pounds a profitable Investment in UK Stock Market Essay

How to Make 1000 pounds a profitable Investment in UK Stock Market - Essay Example b. Acting on rumours knowing that it is in fact a rumour. c. Buying Dividends for long-term investment in stock market. It is a stable and less risky way of earning profit. d. Opening an account with a broker. e. Investing in Penny stock to earn profit. Method 1 Basic Plan: The first method is to look for companies that have undervalued ratings. This method does have it perks considering that undervalued firms have a lot of value, of which general public is unaware, due to rating agencies (Graham, 1985). Now the first scenario is an investor having ?1000 and he or she has to make money through investing it in stocks looking for undervalued companies. The first reasonable thing that the investor should do is to look into companies, which have the least value on the FTSE index. For example, the investor comes up with four companies, whose stock value is ?2, ?3, ?3.50 and 3.75. Initially, I will analyse why that particular company is undervalued, does that company have large debts that it needs to pay, or the company has a record of bad investments or if the company was indicted in law-suits involving fraud etc. If the company has large debts, the investor shall see the prospects of that company paying off the debt while pragmatically and logically calculating, the duration in which the company will be able to pay its debt. If the investor wants to earn the money quickly i.e., in a week and he or she is able to find a company that can pay off its debt in two weeks, it would be best to buy stock of that company. And if the prospects of paying debt are low, the investor shall not invest in that company because of the obvious downfall state of the company. One thing that shall be kept in mind that, one must not sell all the shares if there is a slight rise in stocks because of the thought about, being on the safe side. One must project a slight confidence by observing the attitude of the market towards that company if that attitude is confident towards it then thereà ¢â‚¬â„¢s no need to sell the price and if the attitude contains lack of confidence, then one must sell shares at the price offered as earliest as possible, if one wants to liquidize stocks instantaneously. Another way is to invest it, in two or more companies at a time. The approach shall be the same as above and the reason to invest in two or more companies at a time; is unreliability in any one company. It’s just an alternative because companies are being kept undervalued for specific reasons. Sometimes the reason is right and justified in view of the person who wants to invest, but not always. This is a good way to earn money, but the chances of earning money quickly are very bleak. Drawbacks: The biggest risk involved in this kind of investment is, in case undervalued company gets further devalued because in such cases the value of stocks further decrease, resulting in loss for the shareholders. Another drawback of this plan is lack of experience of the investor who is in vesting the amount of ?1000, which is a high value. It is very important that a person should be an experienced investor person while investing because then there might be rational discussion taking place instead of decisions made on gut feeling. Another risk here is of fraud and being conned, which is very common for new investors. A new investor might get caught because of his or her

Sustainable Event Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Sustainable Event Management - Essay Example This event made London one of the most popular cities around the world. However, it is true that London Olympics can be considered as one of the successful sporting events in terms of sustainability and economic benefits. The organizing committee did a marvelous job to maintain the sustainability of the event. Reportedly, this event succeeded to pull out large number of visitors around the globe with the help of location advantage of this sporting event. These reasons motivated to chose this event due to well-developed sustainability policies and location advantage for this event. Triple Bottom Line or TBL can be considered as one of the effective theories that help professionals and other individuals to measure and determine the sustainability of a particular event. It is true that London Olympics can be considered as one of the most sustainable sporting events. This TBL sustainable theory will help to measure environmental or ecological, social and financial or economical sustainability of London Olympics 2012. This theory will consider several factors, such as water recycling, zero solid waste, social development and economical sustainability of London while measuring and determining the sustainability of this event. As Olympic is one of the popular sporting events and London is one of the popular tourist spots across the globe, therefore London Olympics 2012 has been chosen to measure its sustainability. It has been discussed earlier that Triple Bottom Line or TBL is one of the important theories that can help a professional to measure and determine the sustainability of a particular event. TBL is one of the effective theoretical frameworks that consist of three parts, such as financial or economical, environmental or ecological and social. These three parts are also referred as 3Ps, such as planet, profit and people. It is true that several leading organizations have adopted and implemented this par4ticular TBL theoretical framework in order to

Othello in Shakespeare’s play Essay Example for Free

Othello in Shakespeare’s play Essay Othello is manipulated to trust Iago rather than his wife. Iago uses fake evidence against Desdemona in an attempt to prove she is cheating on her husband. Iago uses racism and past experiences to persuade Othello into believing he is not good enough for his wife as well as her not being good enough for him. Othello choses to believe Iago over his wife for the reason that she has only her word to back up her story while Iago has hard evidence. Iago plants fake evidence in the form of a handkerchief owned by Desdemona to lead Othello into believing his wife is having an affair with another man. By mistake, Othello leaves Desdemona’s handkerchief laying on the ground and Emilia, Iago’s wife finds it but fails to return it. Although Iago cannot witness Cassio and Desdemona having sex, he promises Othello he will find hard evidence of the affair. Iago creates a fake story claiming to have seen Cassio with Desdemona’s handkerchief given to her by Othello. He claims the evidence is backed by â€Å"imputation and strong circumstances† (3.3.407) and reassures Othello he is only trying to lead him to â€Å"the door of truth† (3.3.408). Iago falsely tells Othello that he must re-think the situation but by that point, Othello had his mind set to kill his framed wife as he cries â€Å"O, blood, blood, blood† (3.3.454). The hard evidence planted by Iago was so efficient to get Othello to believe his wife was involved with Cassio due to its deep personal roots of the couples love. The handkerchief was given to Desdemona by her husband as a token of his love and the framing of her giving it to another man showed Othello that she doesn’t value their love anymore. He does not bother to simply ask Desdemona if she was having an affair because he knows she is now untrustworthy and will simply deny the allegations if challenged. By breaking down the trust between Othello and Desdemona with his hard evidence, Othello now t rusts Iago and not his wife. The hard evidence cements Othello’s trust in Othello although none of it is actually true. With Othello’s trust, Iago can more easily manipulate the framing of Desdemona and Cassio, as Othello will believe anything said by Iago. Throughout the novel, racism plays a crucial role in persuading Othello to think he is not deserving of Desdemona’s love. Iago is perhaps the most racist character but the negative judgments of Othello based upon his race are contributed from all Venetian citizens of Venice. He is judged to be  harsh and rough just because he is black. He is referred to as â€Å"an old black ram† (1.1.89), â€Å"an erring barbarian† (1.3.350) and a â€Å"Barbary horse† (1.1.112) by Iago to let Othello know he is considered to be less important and valuable due to his skin colour. Roderigo also openly degrades Othello by referring to him as â€Å"thick lips† (1.1.67) and â€Å"lascivious moor† (1.1.126) which break him down and forms insecurities about his race. His insecurities in turn lead Othello to believe he is not worthy of Desdemona. Iago also warns Othello that if Desdemona was willing to leave her father, she is likely to do the same with him. Even her own father says, â€Å"She has deciev’d her father and may thee† (1.3.290) proving to Othello that those close to Desdemona have been deceived and she might do the same to him. Iago later echoes Brabantios words by stating, â€Å"She did deceive her father, marrying you;† (3.3.208), which solidifies Othello’s distrust in his own wife. The combination of Iago being perceived as honest and charming and Othello’s gullibility allow for Iago to easily manipulate Othello. Othello is vulnerable to the perceived notion that his wife did not truly love him and could easily leave him all due to the colour of his skin. He is certainly not jealous of his wife but rather scared of the prospect of her leaving him due to his colour. As he becomes vulnerable, Othello is soothed by fake honesty surrounding Iago as he is refereed to as â€Å"Honest Iago† (1.3.290). Iago has no evidence or past experiences to lessen his trustworthiness to Othello while his wife Desdemona has been framed by Iago specifically to create doubt-allowing Othello to question her loyalty to him. The constant charm by Iago and the question surrounding Desdemona eventually lead to Othello to fully trust Iago and being persuaded to kill his own wife. The motive behind the killing of Desdemona was not from jealousy but rather â€Å"in a conviction forced upon him by the almost superhuman art of Iago [..] and must have entertained who had believed Iago’s honesty as Othello did. (Samuel Coleridge). What Coleridge is suggesting is that the motive behind Othello wanting to kill his wife was not jealousy, but rather all of Othello’s trust was to Iago therefore he could be easily manipulated. Iago gained all of Othello’s trust and used it to manipulate Othello into killing Desdemona contributing to his overall plan. Iago gains Othello’s trust by using hard evidence and racism. Othello doesn’t simply ask Desdemona if she were having an affair because he does  not trust her anymore. Othello’s tragic choices are driven by revenge on his wife for being untrustworthy while in reality she was loyal to him. Iago’s lying and deceiving leaves many of his friends dead and leads to his torture and downfall. Work Cited Page Shakespeare, William. Othello. Oxford School Shakespeare. Ed. Roma Gill Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. Print Coleridge, Samuel. â€Å"Othello: The Bradley view ( Coleridge).† English Class Handout, 2014. Print.

Hospitality And Tourism In Lebanon Tourism Essay

Hospitality And Tourism In Lebanon Tourism Essay Lebanon is a very old nation rich in natural beauty. It provides charming seashores and internal mountainous area with fresh surroundings. Accommodations vary from extravagance establishments to mid-range hotels providing to families. Leisure can be set up in these hotels for both children and parents. Transportations in Lebanon are easy to access; buses and taxis are all over the place. Lebanon is famous for its old and new attractions for example museums, grottos and ski resorts. Cities as well are attractions to tourists; in each city there is something new to learn about and experience. Lebanon is filled with local and international restaurants. Prices differ as you get to choose the location and type of cuisine. Besides that, cruises became popular in Lebanon, different type of games in it has let the tourist to come and experience. Other gaming sectors are also found in Lebanon, for instance skiing, and bungee jumping from the high mountains within the destination. The clubs present plenty of preferences and mixtures of services so guests can experience and have fun. The mixture of entertaining and meetings has aimed to the higher the expansion movement in tourism. Apart from that, most of the facilities marketing departments have adopted a customer segmentation system so as to optimize revenues and reduce on the expenses. This leads to maximized yields. Segmentation gives the clients a sense of belonging and makes them loyal to the clubs. The sales staff is also highly trained so that they can handle ambitious targets and execute them in real time. Lebanon welcomes the guests with its warm hospitality that everyone talks about. Introduction Lebanon, the smallest country in the Middle East, has been an important destination and a spotlight to tourists from around the world for its strategic position next to the Mediterranean Sea. Its tourism industry rate has been increasing each year. Lebanon is popular for its ancient history that had gone from the remains of ancient Roman to well conserved palaces of the medieval times. Looking at its touristic side, Lebanon is the only Arab country that offers skiing activities, and for its breathtaking scenery, it offers a spectacular view of the old and new. As for its night life, Lebanon has the best restaurant club in the Middle East, the Sky Bar, where foreign lives the inspiration of its special events and wild life. Beside the night parties, Lebanon still maintains its high quality food such as Tabouleh, Hommous, Kebbeh, and not forgetting its traditional desserts Knafe and Um Ali. On the other hand, hospitality plays a very important role where traditional Lebanese hotels are highly recommended for their gracious services. Hotels there welcome you with the best hospitality in which they make sure to please their guests. By far, Lebanon is one of the most popular Arab countries that most tourists visit and speak highly about its hospitality. Accessibility The transportation infrastructure in Lebanon is very different as some areas have high quality especially modern primary and secondary roads, bridges, highways and most importantly the Beirut international airports. Whereas some parts of the country still have poor road conditions due to the Lebanese civil war in (1975-1990) and Lebanon War (2006) with Israel that damaged the roads and railed networks massively. The major forms of transport in Lebanon are buses, taxis, and ferries. The most popular mode of transportation is the service taxis, which is easily identifiable from the red number plate. Apart from travelling from the international airport, one can travel through to Lebanon from Cyprus by ferry and Damascus by road. Amenities Tourists would like to improve their experience when traveling; therefore they would like to shop. Lebanon is very well known for its fashion designers, so tourists are able to visit the boutiques that are located in Beirut. Malls are located in Beirut as well. Traditional Lebanese shops can be found on the streets, where tourists can have a look and grab something for a memory. Also, festivals like Baalbek, Byblos and Beiteddine take place each year presenting different themes. Mostly, these events have opportunities toward tourists to find out remarkable sites and cherish some moments. In addition, Lebanon includes best hospitals with experienced doctors that have completed their field in Europe. When it comes to education, universities in Lebanon are widely recognized as the best edification in the Middle East. Attractions Lebanon holds large selection of valleys, old structures, and admired traveler places that must be explored by tourists when visiting. From Beirut to Baalbek, Sidon to Tyre, Tripoli to Byblos, and many more cities in Lebanon are themselves tourists attractions. Beirut National Museum is an example of the historic monuments that was recognized in Lebanon in 1937 and was officially opened in 1942. This museum holds several pieces of antiques and work of art back then from the ancient era. Another museum tourists visits the most is Gibran museum that opened in 1995. Besides that, Jeita Grotto a beautiful limestone cave is positioned in the North of Beirut. Its one of the main attractions and was elected to be one of the 7 wonders of the world. It consists of lower and upper caves. Tourists should take a boat to discover the lower cave, as it controls a belowground river which supplies the Lebanese with fresh water. Accommodations Lebanon is always ready when it comes to accommodations. Other than hotels and chalets, many cities in Lebanon like Batroun and Jounieh offer apartments and villas for rent. One of the trendiest is SAIFI Suites; it is to be found in the center of Beirut. Its next to the Gemmayzeh; the best place for social and entertainment activities at night. This 4-star hotel tends to provide Wi-Fi without charging the customer, and leisure centers for relaxation. For site seen, this accommodation contains a balcony in each suite where you are able to glaze at the beautiful view of the town. The hotels restaurant and wine lounge, serve selections of food and beverages to satisfy the customers needs. There are room types in this hotel; one of them is the deluxe one-bedroom suite that holds a maximum of two people and is for 844 AED per night. Restaurants Lebanon still maintains its reliability when it comes to food. The traditional Lebanese food is highly spoken about and enjoyed by many people around the world. However, tourists can experience not only Lebanese cuisines but also different types of cuisines that are extended throughout the cities and villages restaurants in Lebanon. All restaurants differ in prices depending on the location and the category they fall in. For instance, Al Dente is an Italian restaurant in the Albergo Hotel at Achrafieh. Ità ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s a quiet restaurant, where tourists can listen to Italian music playing in the background while dining. Moreover, downtown Beirut includes many restaurants with reasonable prices that satisfy everyone. Karam Beirut is one of the restaurants there, which targets many tourists who look for the best Lebanese restaurant. Hotels Known for its hospitality, Lebanon offers the tourists 500 different choices of hotels to experience. These hotels are classified from their quality and service depending on the position and price. Most top hotels that provide greatest services are known to be located at the sea-side. For example, The Riviera Hotel, a 5 star rate in Beirut, located opposite to the Mediterranean Sea, was opened in 1956. This hotel is identified as one of the most visited accommodation by tourists. One hundred twenty guest rooms and suites provided are modernized to add a trendy experience to this deluxe atmosphere. Fifty six years and this hotel still maintain its steadiness comparing it to others. Moreover, the prices differ from a season to another; in summer vacation tourists come to visit Lebanon therefore the prices of hotels are set to be high. However, from October till May the prices are flexible and able to be discussed. Clubs and Mice Facilities Being a country located in the Middle East, Lebanon is not widely known to be a tourist destination. This is due to the circumstances facing the region since over the years; war has been the most major situation that prevails. This made it difficult for the country to emerge as a destination for meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions (MICE). Business events sector is a sector that is among the top sectors in terms of growth in any economy (Baum 2009, p.8). However in recent years, Lebanon has defied these adverse circumstances. There are many incentive rewards that accompany audience to a conference to any country (Weber 2002, p.102). The country has even described the sector as one of the key drivers of the economy in terms of foreign direct investment. Tourists coming into the country always mean an improvement to the domestic economy. Since the country is still gaining ground in the industry, there are not as many MICE facilities and clubs as compared to the western co untries. Regardless, the rate at which the sector is growing is worth noting given all the odds against the country. To attract more tourists, modern facilities have been built for future use. Most of them have contemporary interior designs, with each unit being self-sufficient. Each unit contains a private bar for clients to enjoy their stay in a sophisticated manner. The clubs have interactive television systems that allow tourists on the forum to interact through video conferencing. International satellite channels are also available in these facilities. Internet connectivity is paramount since it is the easiest way to connect and also interact on a real time basis. It is also important for staying in touch with all the stakeholders involved including their families back at home. Apart from the suites, there are also large conferences halls, to improve meetings and conferencing. One of these clubs, Club Rotana, is in Beirut. Most tourists visiting Lebanon for conferencing purposes end up at this modern club. Movenpick Hotel and Resort also located in Beirut is another key MICE facility in Lebano n. This hotel held a dynamic conference on education and networking in the month of October this year. These star hotels attract clients due to their charming look and comfort. Gaming and Cruising Sector The luxurious suites and advanced technology are not the only centers of attraction in these facilities. There are other activities that make these facilities significant tourist attraction sites. This is because the resorts have cruising and gaming spots. The games range from casinos to skiing in the mountains. Most of the facilities are in the capital city Beirut since the city is in a favorable environment for conducting activities such as cruising. Facilities such as Club Rotana have Casinos. This is because most tourists engage in these activities during their leisure time. One company offering cruising services is the Abou Merhi Cruises. This company has several cruise ships that tourists use during their cruising endeavors. Abou Merhi is in Beirut, the heart of Lebanese tourism and MICE facilities. This firm also boasts of over thirty two gaming machines, and also over seven poker games. The hotels will assign each of these games their own tables. Different clients can gather at different tables according to their taste. Casino gambling is illegal in some countries. In Lebanon, it is legal. This attracts clients that come from those countries where it is illegal to gamble at casinos. Abou Merhi is complete with hotel residence suites. This firm owns a cruising boat known as Orient Queen. The tourists are able to gamble in a casino and at the same time cruise during any time of any day. Some clients do not like gambling. They will play Bingo which is easier to do than gambling. This game does not require an individual to have any experience so as to enjoy. One can chat and make friends while enjoying a day long cruise. Gambling is not the only game offered in Lebanon. There are other exciting and fun games such as lottery, dog racing and horse racing. These games not only show excitement but they also add to the experiences of tourists and this will convince them to continue visiting the country. The combination of fun and conferencing concerns in these Lebanese clubs has led to the upward trend in growth, in tourism. Hospitality management, HR Practices, and Marketing Management Companies The development of these sectors has emanated from the management of the facilities and policies set by them. Management is a key driver in the growth of any business. It involves taking into account every aspect of the business and making decisions concerning the business. In order to satisfy their clients from abroad, the managers of these facilities have to make decisions on hospitality and design routines that are secure according to the clients. International hospitality management in Lebanon is capital intensive (Yu 1999, p.99). Some of these clubs such as Club Rotana have lounges facing the Mediterranean Sea giving the tourists a spectacular view of the sea. The tourists are also subject to private reception when they are checking in and also when they are checking out. Most of the clients that visit Lebanon in search of MICE facilities belong to the upper class in the society. They prefer better and luxurious spots. Privacy is paramount for these clients. This is why most clu bs and MICE facilities are situated in magnificent locations to attract these clients. The administration also ensures that their clients have access to daily local newspapers on a daily basis. This keeps the clients at par with what is happening globally. This is an appropriate hospitality decision made by managers of these facilities. This makes the facilities self reliant such that the clients do not have to travel elsewhere searching for informative media such as the newspapers. The Human Resource section only hires qualified staff that is capable. This is done to ensure that the staff upholds professionalism and perform their duties with integrity. Their purpose is to provide the best when it comes to Arab hospitality. They dedicate their energy to raising standards in the hotel and accommodation industry. The clubs know that if standards are low, they will not attract as many clients especially from foreign countries. They must provide services that are hard to find in the clientsà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ countries. The management of these facilities also commits to learning of different cultures of different countries so as to be able to provide the best according to the clientsà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ backgrounds. This is the only way that they will be able to understand what their clients prefer most. With this knowledge, the clubs will be able to satisfy their clients and ensure that they make the club their destination of choice if they ever visit Lebanon again. The marketing departments targets attracting corporate clients and maintaining close contacts with them. Personal relationships between the clubs and the clients create friendship. This friendship translates to formation of loyal customers. The customers will attract their close allies and recommend the clubs to them. This creates an increased market base for the clubs from all around the world. Franchising and ethical Franchising has become a popular interest in Lebanon. Since the tourism sector is still developing, most businesses are resorting to franchising their products in order to appeal to new clients globally. The hotels and clubs use names of already established brands in other countries so as to gain access to these markets. Once foreign clients know about these clubs and hotels, they will earn interest. This will create a new market for the Lebanese clubs and hotels. Lebanon has liberal laws that guarantee the existence of a free market. The laws also encourage foreign investment. The Lebanese Commercial Code governs all the companies in Lebanon, and as a requirement, the companies have to maintain a lawyer. The lawyer ensures that the decision makers understand legal procedures in the event of any decision making. All corporations doing business in Lebanon have to pay a tax rate of not more than ten percent of the net profits. The corporations should also pay a five percent rate on div idends. The Lebanese business entities maintain the integrity and treat their clients with respect. They also treat their employees well to ensure their businesses success. Conclusion Lebanon started to build new facilities to magnetize tourists. Today, Lebanon holds many attractions where visitors can explore via much transportation. It also contains great activities such as skiing, caving, and swimming to entertain tourists. It as well provides bungee jumping and parachuting that occur in the mountains. Hotels and restaurants are always opened to welcome tourists and locals with the best they have. City and country clubs are always there with their facilities to allow you both relax and amuse. In general, visiting this small country that is full of artificial and natural thrills will allow the tourist to experience and gain knowledge about the Lebanese culture.

Seeking Harmony as a World Citizen Essay -- Personal Narrative Essay E

Seeking Harmony as a World Citizen "Excuse me, do you speak German?" - outside of that church's organ recital in Bonn, Germany, the distinct Japanese accent caught me by surprise. My weeks of study and internship gave me new confidence, so I answered, "Yes, yes I do." The Japanese woman's companion, seeing my nod, immediately began to overflow with German praises. I looked at her, elderly, in a wheelchair, and she told me the story: that music-loving Japanese woman pushed that music-loving German woman out of the church, medieval in design and thus not disabled-friendly. "What generosity," I translated in my native tongue, the only go-between these women had. "A million thanks for your help, I couldn't have made it out without you." The Japanese woman nodded, understanding, but her only reply was, "Does she need me to take her somewhere else?" "No, no, and thank you - God bless," I translated. The German woman smiled, grabbed her hand, kissed it. She grabbed my hand, kissed it too, and wheeled away over the cobblestones. Awestruck, I smiled to the Japanese w...

Software Patents and the European Union :: Software Technology Europe Essays

Software Patents and the European Union Introduction The European Council recently approved changes to the European Union’s Software Patents Directive that will lead the way to widespread patenting of software in Europe.[1] If the changes are ratified without modification, then the European Patent Office (EPO) will have the ability to grant software patents in much the same manner as the United States Patent Office (USPO). This will lead to many of the problems that have arisen in the United States. For instance, the USPO is infamous for issuing patents for obvious software process, such as Amazon’s 1-click shopping. The granting of these obvious patents has led to a flurry of litigation, where the patent holder tries to extort licensing fees for alleged â€Å"patent infringement†. This has led to corporations to try and patent â€Å"everything under the sun†, in order to protect them from getting sued and to create a platform to launch their own litigation/licensing extortion from their competitors. I t has also created a flood of patent applications for software, giving the overworked USPO little time to examine and research for any â€Å"prior art† that would invalidate the patent application. After giving a background on software patent history in the European Union, this paper will attempt to analyze the ethical issues of software patents. Do they bring more harm to society than good? Do they promote innovation and research or do they stifle invention? These questions, along with other issues dealing with software patents, will be examined from a variety of ethical perspectives. Background Initially, software was not patentable under European law. This was decreed in the Article 52 of the European Patent Convention of 1973, which states that â€Å"mathematical methods, intellectual methods, business methods, computer programs, presentation of information etc are not inventions in the sense of patent law.† [2] However, small changes in European Patent law over the years has led to the patentability of â€Å"process claims†, â€Å"program claims†, and even â€Å"computer-implemented inventions†, which has led to 30,000 software related process patents.[3] In 2002, the European Commission's Directorate for the Internal Market proposed the creation of a Directive to clarify the patentability of computer-implemented inventions and reduce excess at the EPO. However, the Directive only put on paper what the EPO had already been practicing, which was granting unlimited patentability. In September of 2003, a set of amendments to the Directive were voted in by the European Parliament.

Educational Tour

Banares, Roselyn C. BSBA- Fin. Mgt4 â€Å"Educational Tour† (BSP, PSE and NEDA) BSP destination (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) September 12, 2012 that was the date of our educational tour. 6:00 am in the morning is the call time, that’s why I tried to wake up early morning to fixed my things and go to school in time. We leave at 7:30 am and we’re first destination was Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas money museum. BSP allowed us to watch the video on how they made money. I leaned that they consumed of ten months in making money. They showed us the minting process of money.It so happened that I enjoyed watching the minting process. I learned also that the money has security features of money and the history. In security features there is a security threads, security fibers, code for the blind on 200 peso bill, florescent printing, optically variable ink, concealed value on 500 peso bill, perfect see- through register and micro prints. Then after we watched the video, th e speaker orients us about the old money that we have in the past. We saw different shapes, color, size and kind of money in the Philippines.I have enjoyed the tour in that part most especially when I tried to play they’re touched screen machine. We played puzzles and trivia and we’re happy that we got 4 number of right out of 5 questions. We also go to the BSP library to search about our report in monetary policy. Ms. Rose Garcia helped us to enter in the library even though we don’t have a letters of reservations. Then after that we take pictures outside the museum for our remembrance. We also want to take pictures of the old money that we have but the management of BSP did not allow us.As its history of the BSP, the museum of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Inaugurated on January 3, 1999, as part of the celebration of the 50 years of central banking in the Philippines, the museum showcases the Bank's collection of currencies. As repository and custodian of the c ountry's numismatic heritage, the museum collects studies and preserves coins, paper notes, medals, artifacts and monetary items found in the Philippines during its different historical periods. These collections have been placed on permanent display at the useum. Designed to â€Å"walk† the visitor through a number of galleries, individually dedicated to a specific historical period of the country, the museum visually narrates the development of the Philippine economy, parallel to the evolution of its currency. Complementary paintings from the BSP art collection, together with chosen artifacts, enhance each gallery. A panoramic memorabilia of 50 years of central banking in the Philippines showcases the strides made in bringing about price stability, to sustain economic growth in the country.The exhibition hall also carries the busts of the governors of the Central Bank/ Bangko Sentral. We learned all of this inside the BSP money museum. PSE destination (Philippines Stock Exc hange) Our second was Philippine Stock Exchange, and it located in to ortigas city. Sir Harvey told us about the history of PSE which was our speaker. And we knew that the current Philippine Stock Exchange is a conjunction of the Manila Stock Exchange (1927) and the Makati Stock Exchange (1963). The Manila Stock Exchange, when in existence, was the first exchange in Manila and the oldest in the Far East.Regardless of having existed separately for nearly three decades, the two bourses combined in 1992 under President Fidel Ramos. Association was deemed suitable because the two exchanges basically traded the same listings. Ramos also aimed for a more efficient capital market. In 1994, its operations were in full swing with two trading floors – one in Pasig City; the other in Makati City. On January 4 1993, the PSE incorporated the Status Trading System – a mechanical approach for their operations. Six months later, on June 15, they also adopted the MakTrade trading syste m.Although the two systems were linked on March 25 1994 to allow for the same opening and closing prices, it was not until November 13 1995 that the systems were unified under the Unified Trading System – operating under the MakTrade. In 1998 the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission named the PSE a self regulating organization, which allowed it to execute its own policies and regulations. By 2001, the PSE had formed into a stock-shareholder based organization by taking the shape of a profit earning corporation.It also began trading bonds. By 2003, in an effort to be more publicly held, the exchange only allowed shares to be listed through an opening, rather than an initial public offering. He also gathered a game to us to be listened to him. He gave a cd about PSE in every person who answered correctly to his questioned. He also shows us and discusses to us what happened in the real stocks trading. He teaches us the use of electronic board and how to read it. He also told us on how can we buy or sell our stocks in the trading day.He explained to us the importance of stock brokers and where we can meet the stock brokers. He also told us how much the minimum money that we need to have to buy stocks in the market. NEDA destination (National Economic Development Authority) Our last destination was the National Economic Development Authority. The NEDA was established in 1973 with Dr. Gerardo Sicat as its first director general. With the exception of Sicat, the Prime Minister of the Philippines was usually the head of the agency before the First People Power Revolution. Former President Corazon C.Aquino re-organized the NEDA into its present form July 22, 1987 until the administration of President Ninoy Aquino. Former president Corazon C. Aquino appointed Winnie Monsod as its first director-general after EDSA I. the legal basis of NEDA are the following the present form of the NEDA was organized by President Corazon C. Aquino on July 22, 1987 through Executive Order No. 230. It defined the composition of the NEDA Board and the Secretariat and its powers and functions, the powers and functions of the Authority and its committees. On July 26, 1994, President Fidel V.Ramos signed Memorandum Order No. 222 which reactivated the NEDA Board Executive Committee and mandating that the decisions of the NEDA Board Executive Committee shall be final, executor and binding upon the NEDA Board. On July 27, 1992, President Ramos signed Republic Act No. 7640, which constituted the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Committee (LEDAC). The LEDAC serves as a consultative and advisory body to the President as the head of the NEDA and gives advice on certain programs and policies, which are essential to the realization of the goals of national development.While we are staying in NEDA the speaker let us to watch their video while he discussing their goal and the importance of NEDA and why NEDA established and their duties and responsibilities . The speaker also let us asked about he discussed and some of our schoolmates asked some questioned and the speaker maybe amazed and he told us that we as a group are having a good questioned regarding to what hi discussed to us. After we reached our last destination we go back to our school and go home. Educational tour picturesThis picture was taken when we are in BSP money museum. We took pictures for remembrance and for compilation of our final product. We also took pictures when we are in the bus and waiting for our tour guide to tell us that we can go inside the BSP money museum. This picture was taken when we are in the NEDA and PSE. Sir Harvey let us to take pictures inside the PSE when he gathered his discussion about the PSE. He told us to take a picture having the trading floor as our background. We asked him if we can take a picture together with him and he agreed.

Notes on arrays

To signify absence of information oid fo // function fo does not return a value void *pv; // pointer to object of unknown type enumeration (enum): To represent specific set of values. Named integer constants can be defined as members of an enumeration. enum keyword {ASM, AUTO, BREAK}; keyword key; 2 Derived Data Types Address Types References Pointers Powerful, but difficult to master Simulate pass-by-reference Close relationship with arrays and strings Aggregate Types Arrays and strings Structures and Unions 3Reference is another name (alias) for a variable It is a pointer but a constant one – once declared it cannot be made alias of another variable A reference declaration must have initialization and it can be initialized toa variable, not a literal constant. A variable can have several references (aliases) – all references hold the same address Reference is not a separate variable like a pointer – it does not occupy space in memory 4 ? References All operatio ns supposedly performed on he alias (i. . , the reference) are actually performed on the original variable Example int count = int &cRef = count; Increments count through alias cRef 5 ? References (example) // Reference Types: Example // References must be initialized. #include using std::cout; using std::endl; 7 8 9 int main() intx=3; Creating a reference as an alias to another variable in the function.

Attrition in Bpo

Abstract The broad objective of this research is to identify the root causes of attrition and retention in BPOs, analyzing the level of employee motivation, satisfaction and involvement, generate a model for maximizing sustenance of employees in the organization and come up with concrete recommendations, which will eventually be valuable to the organizations to retain their employees for a long term. 1. Objective It is clear from the review of BPO research that solutions are required to some specific problems of practical importance in the field of escalating attrition and retention in BPOs. The broad objective f this paper is to identify the root causes of attrition and retention in BPOs, analyzing the level of employee motivation, satisfaction and involvement, generate a model for maximizing sustenance of employees in the organization and come up with concrete recommendations, which will eventually be valuable to the organizations to retain their employees for a long term. The spec ific objectives of this paper are:  · To identify and rank the factors of attrition in BPOs based on accumulative literature review and secondary data.  · To develop a regression model for escalating the stay of employees in BPOs nd give recommendations for the same.  · To assess the existing level of employee motivation and validate the model by studying the impact of recommendations on a small patch. 2. Introduction The last decade saw an upheaval in the growth and development of the Indian economy, which was accompanied by the revolution in the technological front and a radical change in the way businesses were done. Instead of being the jack-ofall- trades, the smart organizations have now redefined the way of working and now aim at being the master of their core business. Outsourcing the non-core processes in order to concentrate on the ore ones is how the companies prefer to work now. BPO has become the obvious strategic choice of the phenomenal lifestyles seem to flash t he mind in a jiffy. That’s just the start. One reads it again, contemplates over it, dives into the unveiled afflictions, and gives it a second thought and companies looking at the visible profits of cost reduction while improving the quality of service, increasing shareholder value etc. With the whirlpool of opportunities the Indian Business Process Outsourcing sector seems to be on a happy ride. It has emerged rapidly, and its exports have grown from $565 million in 2000 to about $7. 3 illion in 2005. With the boat steaming ahead in the global markets, India has already become the most privileged destination. Hence such an eternal inventory of opportunities simply showcases a phenomenon, which is no less than the renaissance for our Indian markets. Attrition in BPOs has terrible effects on the organization. The high attrition costs increases the costs to the organization considerably. They have to combat the amount of disruption due to unplanned exits. The more the people l eave an organization, the more it is a drain on the company’s resources like recruitment expenses, training and orientation resources and the time.The high attrition rate also affects the productivity of the organization. Therefore, it is extremely important to curb attrition not only for an individual firm but also for the industry as a whole. Many researchers have worked enormously on the IT & BPO sector, citing its challenges, issues, and ATTRITION AND RETENTION OF EMPLOYEES IN BPO SECTOR Ankita Srivastava [email  protected] com SKS Group of Institution,Mathura Yogesh Tiwari [email  protected] com SKS Group of Institution,Mathura Hradesh Kumar hradesh. [email  protected] com SKS Group of Institution,Mathura Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech.Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3056 ISSN:2229-6093 opportunities in and around employee performance, employee satisfaction, employee turnover etc. 3. Literature Re view Grossman and Helpman’s (2005: 135) statement, â€Å"We live in an age of outsourcing,† clearly designates that outsourcing has now become an acknowledged, accepted and established business strategy. One of the most familiar forms of outsourcing is business process outsourcing BPO, i. e. , transferring the operational ownership of one or more of the firm’s business processes to an external supplier that, in turn, administers the rocesses according to some predefined metrics (Ghosh and Scott, 2005; Stone, 2004). BPO or Business Process Outsourcing thus refers to the rearrangement of entire business functions to some other service providers, primarily in low cost locations. The service provider may be either selfowned or a third party. This relocation or transferring of business processes to an external provider is essentially to accomplish increased shareholder value. Some of the general services provided by the BPOs are Receivables and Payables, Inventory Ma nagement, Order Processing, Cash flow Analysis, Reconciliation, Data Entry, PayrollProcessing, QuickBooks Accounting, Financial Statement Preparation and Accounting Services. Some of the web based services include live online sales and order entry, E-commerce transaction support, Live online enquiry handling, Web Design/Development. Reduced international trade barriers and improved telecommunication and IT capability over the past decade has led to a situation where organizations across the world are increasingly interlinked with each other. This has resulted in intense global competition, challenging business managers across the world to find ways to reduce the cost of conducting business and accessing lobal resources in meeting the need of global markets. In such a context, the reorganization of business models to leverage benefits of outsourcing and focus on core competencies has become a key strategy pursued by large corporations across the world. BPO service-providers are expec ted to provide a wide spectrum of benefits to their customers, ranging from having greater expertise in the outsourced processes, lower costs achieved through economies of scale, scalability and the ability to absorb cyclicality of loads.  · Demand-Supply Equations According to market analysis firm Gartner, the global outsourcing market in 2000 was pproximately $119 bn and will touch $234 bn by the end of 2005. The market is expected to grow to about $310 bn by the end of 2008. Contribution from the North American continent stands at about 59% of the total market, with Europe contributing about 27% and Asia-Pac region (including Japan) contributing the remaining portion of the market. In terms of vertical contribution, the financial services industry contributes approximately 17% of the total market size, followed by the Telecom sector (16%), Consumer Goods and Services (15%), Manufacturing (9%) and the rest by the Information Technology sector. Global BPO Market by IndustryFigure : 1 The BPO market can be broadly broken down into three areas of functional operations: i. Business administration (falling under G&A expense costs) ii. Supply chain management (COGS), and iii. Sales, marketing and customer care (Selling and marketing costs) India has emerged as one of the bright stars in the global Business Process Outsourcing market and has maintained its global competitiveness by offering the best combination of cost, quality and scalability. The growth rates of the Indian BPO-ITES industry have been 59%, 45. 3% and 44. 4% in years 2002-03, 03-04 and 04- 05 with revenues of over $3. billion in FY 2003- 04 and expected to touch $5. 7 bn in FY 2004-05. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3057 ISSN:2229-6093  · BPO in India Currently the sector employs approximately 2,45,100 people and another 94,500 jobs are expected to be added in the current financial year. There a re over 400 ITES-BPO companies operating in the Indian market, including captive units (of both MNCs and Indian companies) and third-party services providers. In terms of markets, the US continues to be the main consumer of India’s ITES-BPO ervices (with a 66% share of the market), followed by Western Europe (including the UK), which accounted for 20% of export revenues. In terms of functional service offerings, Customer Care and Support services contributed approximately 34% of the industry’s revenues with the other leading service lines including Finance (with a contribution of 22%), Administration (13%) and Content Development (19%). The global financial services vertical remained the largest user of Indian ITESBPO services, followed by telecom, healthcare and airline segments. Captive units continued to dominate the ITESBPO industry, accounting for ver 65 percent of the value of the work off shored to India. 4. Research Methodology The methodology deployed for this survey consisted of primary research, with insights being captured through questionnaires and face -to- face discussions with senior management of participant organizations. Inputs from potential customers to this industry have also been collated, with respect to their key concerns while considering outsourcing to India. The analysis was further supplemented by PwC knowledge-bases and published data to validate trends and best practices, emerging from primary sources. Our analysis and findings are ased on consensus findings from the survey and are supported by quantitative and qualitative inputs from the respondents. The data presented in this report is based on information received from the respondents and has been collated to represent an industry trend. The general intent of this descriptive study was threefold. Therefore a systematic and organized methodology was obtained for the research study. A survey design was used to obtain the required information. The population for thi s study comprised of employees working in various BPOs in the National Capital Region. A sample size of 250 was chosen for this study. Simple andom sampling technique was used to gather data from the respondents, because of which respondents diverged from every age group, gender, organization, marital status etc. but were restricted only to low and middle level employees, where the attrition is highest. The questionnaire was intricately designed to tap the demographic variables including age, education, gender, marital status, and tenure of the respondents. It also gathered information about the factors responsible for attrition, the factors that can be employed to retain the employees in a BPO, their overall level of satisfaction, motivation, involvement and life nterest and work compatibility. Main data collection began in the month of July 2011. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. 0 was religiously used for the statistical analyses.  · Primary Data An alysis A questionnaire was intricately designed to tap the factors responsible for attrition, the factors that are expected to be present in a specific job for retention. The instrument was divided into 4 parts. The first part gathered information about the personal profile of the respondents which included their age, gender, education, marital status, and tenure. Part II consisted of questions about their easons for change or probable change in their jobs. Part III aimed at knowing what according to the respondents is important for their sustenance in an organization. And last of all, Part IV was about their overall perception of the work which included their level of satisfaction, level of motivation, level of involvement and level of life interest and work compatibility.  · Secondary Data Analysis In order to gain a deeper understanding about the phenomenon of high attrition, and identification of the factors behind it, a lot of literature on BPO, particularly what got publishe d during 2004 and 2005 was studied in detail.Major causal factors for high attrition in Indian BPO industry identified in this study were based on qualitative research using secondary data. These were compared with causal factors for attrition identified through personal interview with a number of BPO employees in the Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3058 ISSN:2229-6093 NCR. There was a close similarity between the two results, authenticating the qualitative research on causal agents for attrition identified in this study. The study ranked low perceived value and onotonous work as number one factor attrition. Rank two was shared by high salary expectation and unusual working hours. Next factor was disillusioned employees; rank four was shared by stress and burnout, pressure to perform on metrics, and lack of motivation. Finally rank five was jointly shared by lack of security and soci al interaction. Causal Agents / Factors Score (on 1) (Rank) Higher Salary Expectation 0. 7 (Rank-II) Lack of Security 0. 3 (Rank-V) Lack of Social Interaction 0. 3 (Rank-V) Monotonous Work 0. 8 (Rank-I) Unusual Working Hours 0. 7 (Rank-II) Pressure to perform on Metrics 0. 5 (Rank-IV) Low Perceived Value 0. (Rank-I) Disillusioned Employees 0. 6 (Rank-III) Stress and Burnout 0. 5 (Rank-IV) Lack of Motivation 0. 5 (Rank-IV) Table 1: Summary of ranks from secondary study 5. Growth of BPO industry  · Company Owned Units Pioneered BPO in India Company owned units such as American Express, General Electric (GE), Citibank, and AOL etc. triggered the trend of outsourcing back office operations and call centre services to India. Since then several banks, insurance companies, airlines and manufacturing companies have set up back office service centers in India.  · Venture Funded New Companies Over the last few years, a number of xperienced professionals have set up start-up operations in India. Generally such start-ups have been funded by venture capital funds.  · Leading IT Services Companies enter BPO Given the magnitude of such opportunity, natural synergies with the software services business and the ability to leverage their high-end physical infrastructure and management bandwidth, most large IT services companies have ventured into ITES. Consolidation of the market with the smaller players merging with each other/ larger companies for economies of scale  · Domain / Industry Specialized BPO’s Niche players in industry verticals or specific usiness processes have setup BPO businesses. Many of these players have had vast experience in the domestic market and are now offering offshore BPO services Generalized large BPO players are now focusing on â€Å"verticalizing† their competencies and structures Industry Structure MNC subsidiar ies Internatio nal BPO Companie s Diversifi ed IT Compan ies GE Convergys Daksh Infosys (Progeon) British Airways Sitel Brigade Wipro (Spectrami nd) eServe, HSBC, Scope, AmEx eFunds Talisma Tech Mahindra Hewlett Packard —- Hero HCL Table: 2 Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3059 ISSN:2229-6093  · Size and Growth of BPO in India Figure: 2 The growth in the BPO sector of India in 2004 was mainly due to the demands from the two segments – BFSI and telecommunications. There were low telecom costs for the leased lines and 400 companies were part of the BPO sector of India. The companies that were involved included third parties, Indian companies and MNC. Growth of BPO sector in India has been truly impressive in recent years, but things can get even better, according to market analysts. India stands out already as a market leader as far as BPOs are oncerned and so India also attracts huge foreign investments which are extremely essential since the Indian economy is expected to have an un precedented growth in the years to come. Growth of BPO Sector in India during the first half of 2007 was showing a moderate trend of growth which is registered at 14%. Five years ago, the growth in this sector was quite low due to less contracts but the situation is worse now. However, the growth of the BPO sector is expected to improve. The BPO and KPO sectors in India have been showing some positive signs with demands from western countries increasing manifold due to the vailability of cost-effective labour in India, which is highly skilled and also fluent in English. The BPOs in India are focused on increasing the growth through change in pricing techniques. Pricing in a BPO is supposed to be based on the value added to the business. So a remarkable change is in store as the BPOs in India work towards their full potential. Of course, the big boom in the BPO industry in 2003 had generated a lot of employment opportunities and continues even today. Nevertheless, Indian BPO sector i s facing competition from countries like Philippines, Mexico, Malaysia, China, and Canada. The xpected growth of this sector in 2003 was 25%. Nations like the United States and Europe are showing great interest in increasing their investments in the Indian BPO sector. India has an edge over other countries as we consider the following:  · Tech savvy professionals  · Cost effectiveness  · Superior competency  · Business risk mitigation  · 24 hour service  · Economy of scale The trends in growth of the BPO sector in India are as follows:  · 2003 – USD 2. 8 billion  · 2004 – USD 3. 9 billion  · 2005 – USD 5. 7 billion According to studies conducted by NASSCOM and leading business Intelligence Company, McKinsey & Co. he Indian IT/BPO segment is expected to employ over 1. 1 million Indians by the year 2008. Market research shows that in terms of job creation, the ITES-BPO industry is growing at over 50 percent. In the financial year 2003-2004, ITESB PO companies were the largest recruiters in the IT/ITES sector, adding a total of about 70,000 jobs. An estimated 70,000 new Jobs expected in 2005 in the field pf ITES. Plus there will be additional hiring to replace industry attrition that is around 25%. On the other hand BPO and outsourcing services would generate around 1, 25,000 new Jobs in 2005. McKinsey & Co. predicts global market or IT-enabled services to be over $140 billion by 2008. In that the opportunity for India will be around $ 17 Billion. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3060 ISSN:2229-6093 Figure: 3 Supplier-Side Assessment  · Domestic Indian BPO Industry has seen a spurt in the recent years growing at a 33 %CAGR.  · The Domestic Indian BPO industry grew from a USD 660 Million to a USD 1. 18 Billion industry.  · EBITA margins for domestic BPO stood at a double digit Percent figure  · Billing rates are less com pared to offshore segment – Most Indian BPOs (especially all centers) are engaged throughout the night hours (for offshore clients), leaving the facility empty for the day. 1. This enabled them to be leveraged during the day for domestic markets in India Demand Side Assessment  · Financial, banking, and telecom companies are leading the domestic BPO wave: 1. BFSI sector companies – UK’s largest banking firm 2. Telecom majors- almost all major mobile & landline telephony provider 6. Factors responsible for attrition and retention of employees in BPO Hackman & Oldham (1976) proposed the Job Characteristics Model, which is widely used as a framework to study how particular ob characteristics impact on job outcomes, including job satisfaction. The model states that there are five core job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) which impact three critical psychological states (experienced meaningfulness, experience d responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of the actual results), in turn influencing work outcomes (job satisfaction, absenteeism, work motivation, etc). The basic hypothesis of this research that employee motivation, employee satisfaction, employee involvement, and life interest and work compatibility lead to rolonged sustenance is an extension of this model with minor modifications in it. It is proposed that the Job Characteristics model is modified by redefining job dimensions as growth prospects, accountability, sense of accomplishment, self-esteem, job security, interpersonal relationships, working conditions, by extending organizational outcomes as satisfied, motivated, involved and retained employees. Figure 1 is the modified Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics model which has been taken as the base to study the research questions pertaining to this research. The new model is also designed to be of use as a management tool and must herefore be simple and flexi ble enough to be of use to the management of an organization. Typical management questions would involve the likely motivational impact of job redesign, such as increasing employees’ level of control and responsibility over their work behaviour or introducing a scheme whereby employees participate in certain management decisions. The model should therefore allow managers to manipulate a host of job characteristics and investigate the likely effects upon the motivation, performance and sustenance of the workforce. This study aimed at exploring the dimensions of attrition and retention.Based on our ground work; initial survey and personal interviews held with the BPO employees, it was found that factors that contribute to attrition are quite different from the factors that contribute to retention. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3061 ISSN:2229-6093 Figure:4 Modified version of H ackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model Based on the Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model and the modifications made to it, a clearer and more lucid pictorial framework of the model is given in Figure 5 and 6. Figure 5 learly illustrates the basic constructs of the attrition model: personal characteristics, negative job characteristics (job dimensions), and the final resultant as attrition. Figure 6 illustrates constructs of retention model i. e. personal characteristics, intrinsic job dimensions and the resulting level of satisfaction, motivation and involvement (work outcomes) and the final result i. e. retained employees (organizational outcomes). Figure: 5 Basic models for attrition Figure 5 clearly suggests the personal characteristics as age, education, gender, marital status and tenure along with the negative characteristics of a BPO job i. . monotonous nature of job, lack of motivation, poor mentoring, power and politics, dissatisfaction with co lleagues, low career growth, lack of skill variety, irregular working hours, achievement not recognized etc. These two collectively result in the attrition of employees. The question is how much do these factors actually contribute to attrition. Similarly figure 6 describes the personal characteristics and core job dimensions which are intrinsic in nature and how do they contribute to retention of employees. Figure: 6 Basic model for retention of employee 7. Result and Analysis  · Regression Model for retentionThe dependent variable was sustenance in an organization, and the independent variables were personal characteristics viz. age, gender, education, marital status, and retention factors viz. motivation factors, extrinsic factors, involvement factors, and life interest and job compatibility factors. All these eight factors were put in the model as independent variables and willingness to continue in the organization was put as the dependent variable. Intrinsic motivation facto rs, employee involvement factors, age and education are the main determinants of retention. The value of multiple R is 0. 60 and the value of r square is 0. 6 in the equation. It states that 36% of the retention in a BPO is explained by these factors. An employee’s sustenance in an organization can be rightfully explained by these factors. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3062 ISSN:2229-6093 Equation: 1 Y= 1. 78 + 0. 47X 1 + 0. 15X 2 – 0. 13X 3 – 0. 11X 4 Where, Y = Stay in the organization X1 = Intrinsic Motivation Factors X2 = Involvement Factors X3 = Age X4 = Education After forming the regression model, value for each respondent’s willingness to stay in the organization was calculated.These predicted values were then compared to the actual values as given by the respondents. There was a strong correlation between the actual and predicted values. The cor relation came out to be 0. 659** which was significant at 0. 01 level. Thus, on the basis of the regression model it can be concluded that intrinsic motivation factors; and involvement factors are quite instrumental in retaining the employees in an organization and at the same time, age and education negatively contribute to the sustenance of the employees in the organization. Employee involvement is a proven tool to motivate and retain mployees and according to the result here, it can be constructive in the Indian BPOs too. In the West, there has been ongoing interest in getting workers more involved in various processes, such as decision-making and information sharing. Employee participation adds to employees’ growth needs and sense of achievement through a healthier deployment of their dexterity and potential. Employee participation in planning and decision making and in articulating new policies also acts an important tool to improve employee motivation. Finding ways to i ntrinsically motivate employees to improve effectiveness and performance can have ong lasting impact on their sustenance too. Based on the two dimensions i. e. motivation and involvement which, according to the regression model, significantly contribute to the sustenance of an employee in the organization, employees can be broadly classified into four broad categories. There are people who are woefully inadequate in both dimensions i. e. neither are they involved in the work, nor are they motivated to perform. We may call such people as ‘detached’ who leave the organization for no rhyme or reason, hence extremely difficult to be retained. Next comes the ‘disgruntled’ who get involved in the iven assignment but lack aspiring motivation. Such people are moderately to highly difficult to be retained as they lack in the basic intrinsic motivation. The other two segments comprise of ‘strugglers’ and ‘stars’ who are at the higher end of the motivation continuum. The former may be relatively lower in their involvement as compared with the latter. ‘Strugglers’ lack involvements but have a high degree of intrinsic motivation, because of which they struggle hard to work. It is moderately difficult to retain them. The ease and art lies in fulfilling their involvement needs by expanding their responsibilities, empowering them, aking them involved in decision making etc. ‘Stars’ are highly motivated and highly involved in the work, and thus they are the easiest to be retained. ‘Disgruntled’ and ‘strugglers’ are the focus segments, which a company would not want to lose. They need to be enhanced, protected, valued and retained by pulling away all the nonretentive forces and kicking the retentive forces into high gear. DISGRUNTLED Highly involved but demotivated employees Moderately to highly difficult to retain STARS Highly involved and highly motivated employees Easy to retain DETACHED Uninvolved and demotivated employees Highly Difficult to retainSTRUGGLERS Uninvolved but highly motivated employees Moderately difficult to retain LOW HIGH Table: 3 Intrinsic Motivations Involvement vis-a-vis Intrinsic Motivation: Effect on employee retention  · Model Validation For the final validation of the regression model, a small patch test was done on a sample of 50 employees in Intelnet Private Ltd. Few concrete recommendations were made to the process manager of this BPO and he was asked to stringently apply these recommendations. The employees chosen for this study were the ones who had said they would leave the organization if they were offered work with the same pay elsewhere.Data which was collected, after three months of implementation, was analyzed statistically. The response scores were put in the regression equation as derived from the fourth objective and the resultant willingness to stay in the organization was calculated. The comparison with the ir original scores clearly revealed that there was an escalation HIGH LOW Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3063 ISSN:2229-6093 in the scores. Also, the predicted scores and the actual scores of the willingness to continue in the organization was put under correlation.Finally, employees were classified under four broad categories based on their level of involvement and motivation viz. detached, disgruntled, strugglers and stars. 8. Conclusion The regression model for the retention of employees in a BPO explains two important factors i. e. intrinsic motivation factors and involvement factors. This result is robustly analogous with all the prevalent and established theories of motivation viz. Herzberg’s theory, Maslow’s theory, Alderfer’s Theory, McClellend’s Theory. According to all these theories, the higher order needs revolve around self esteem, or selfact ualization in one way or the other.According to Maslow’s theory, the higher-level needs are selfesteem and self-actualization. Only when one need is satisfied, another higher-level need emerges and motivates the person to do something to satisfy it. A satisfied need is no longer a motivator. Only the next level of needs in the hierarchy will act as motivators. Once a level of needs has been satisfied they no longer act as motivators and the individual then directs attention towards the next level of needs in the hierarchy. Herzberg draws a parallel with Maslow’s theory but with a subtle difference. According to his theory, motivator factors are actors that are intrinsic to the job, such as the content of the work itself and the availability of opportunities for responsibility, advancement and recognition for achievement. The motivator factors, which Herzberg described as â€Å"complex factors leading to this sense of personal growth and selfactualization†, would then be able to act on that employee and increase job satisfaction and productivity. Thus, according to this theory, in order to motivate workers towards higher productivity, it is important to ensure that the motivators are utilized to arouse the instinct of the employees. Herzberg’s motivator and hygiene actors can be mapped onto Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with the motivator factors corresponding to the higher order needs of ego and self-actualization. Next, according to Alderfer’s ERG theory, growth needs involve the intrinsic desire for personal development and include the intrinsic element of Maslow’s esteem category as well as self-actualization needs. Finally according to McClellend’s theory, people with a high achievement need have a compelling drive to succeed. They strive for personal achievement rather than rewards and have a desire to do something better or more efficiently than it has een done before. They seek situations where they can attain personal responsibility for finding solutions to problems, where they can receive rapid feedback on their performance so they can tell easily whether they are improving or not, and where they can set moderately challenging goals. 9. Recommendations Organizations should have a proactive retention strategy which helps in reducing employee turnover. Retention plan strategies should be different for different level of employees, because their roles are different; their needs are different; what motivates them are different and what makes hem leave are also different. Based on the study it has been seen that dimensions of satisfaction and motivate are significantly different for employees on the basis of age, gender, marital status and education. Then, the regression model revealed that intrinsic motivation and involvement factors, as well as age and education level contribute to the sustenance of employees in the organization. Thus based on the findings, it can be said if the employees are motivated and involved in the work they can be retained. The ease of retention would depend on their degree of motivation and involvement. It is desirable to lan employee retention strategy by an organization, which should cover following aspects:  · Reciprocity is the key. Employees are investors in the company and expect a return on investment. The return can be in the form of recognition, empowerment and authority.  · Retention must be part of the organization’s DNA. Successful organizations have woven retention and engagement deeply into their structure.  · Loyalty is never given. Loyalty must be earned; even satisfied employees sometimes leave. Therefore, develop sense of loyalty among the employees.  · Organizations must be seen as employers of choice. One has to compete on ompensation and benefits, but win on culture, learning and development.  · Stars include more than just the top 10% – – or 1%! Stars are people at any level who sustain in the organization and bring value to it. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3064 ISSN:2229-6093  · Each generation of employees has different reasons for staying. For the first time in modern history, there are varied generations working side-by-side in most companies of this industry. Generational differences continue to pose new challenges to today’s employers.Thus, retaining them needs a generation-centric approach.  · Mentor widely and in both directions. Build learning relationships in all directions and hold all partners responsible for the success.  · Train intelligently. Provide on-going retention training in manageable bites – make it a continuous effort and find ways to size the retention plan to the specific demographics of the organization.  · Create a development culture. â€Å"Career development is the right thing for the organization (ide ntifying and developing future leaders), the right thing for the employee (creating a development environment), and a key retention omponent. †  · Recognize managers who keep employees. Meaningful recognition remains a potent energizer for employees and managers alike. 10. References 1. Vohra, Kushal, Systems Approach to Retention of Critical Employees. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn. com/abstract=662442 2. Tapper, David. â€Å"Worldwide and U. S. IT Outsourcing Services 2004–2008 Forecast: A Potential Perfect Storm. † Market Analysis (April 2004): IDC, Document 31089 . 3. Witt, L. A. , Martha C. Andrews, and Dawn S. Carlson. â€Å"When Conscientiousness Isn’t Enough: Emotional Exhaustion and Performance among Call Center Customer Service Representatives. †Journal of Management 30 (February 2004): 149–60. 4. Walletwatch. â€Å"Call Centre Attrition Puts HR Managers to Test. † (April 2003). www. samachar. com/biz/fullstory. ht ml; (Ac cessed on May 8, 2010). 5. Rediff. com â€Å"What Indian BPO Industry Needs. †(2005a). us. rediff. com/money/200 5/apr/23bpo. htm; (Accessed on May 1, 2010). ———. â€Å"1000 Jobs Offshored . 6. Ravichandaran, Ram. â€Å"BPO, ITES Sectors to Hot Up in 2005, Says NASSCOM Report. † Financial Express (March 9, 2005): 2 7. Ramchandran, Kumar and Sudhir Voleti. â€Å"Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): Emerging Scenario and Strategic Options for IT-enabled Services. Vikalpa 29 (January–March 2004): 49–62. 8. Prakash, S. and Chowdhury, R. (2004). â€Å"Managing attrition in BPO†, In search of Excellence, Cool Avenues, http://www. coolavenues. com/know/hr/s_1 .php. Last accessed on: February 06, 2010. 9. Pande, Bhanu â€Å"Sun, Survey Can’t Deter the Call of Duty. † Economic Times Online (July 29, 2005). (Accessed on May 8, 2010). 10. Neale, Helen. â€Å"Offshore BPO Delivery. † NelsonHall BPO and Outsourcing Sub scription Service: Nelson-Hall, 2004 . Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3065 ISSN:2229-6093