Despite big-name billing, The Sixth Sense is a riveting thriller Essays

Despite big-name billing, The Sixth Sense is a riveting thriller Essays Despite big-name billing, The Sixth Sense is a riveting thriller Essay Despite big-name billing, The Sixth Sense is a riveting thriller Essay The big name in The Sixth Sense is Bruce Willis, who gives a strong but subtle performance. But the real star is the films writer/director M. Night Shyamalan. Remember the name of this 29-year-old Philadelphia filmmaker because he is a major talent with a vision and voice as remarkable as a young Spielbergs. Also pay attention to 11-year-old Haley Joel Osment, Willis co-star. You probably dont remember him as Forrest Junior in Forrest Gump, but youll never forget him after The Sixth Sense. The movie deals with child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Willis) who, after receiving a prestigious award for his work with children, is brutally accosted by one of his failures (Donnie Wahlberg). A year later, Malcolm tries to atone for his earlier mistake by taking the case of a young boy named Cole Sear (Osment), whose unvoiced fears have driven him away from everyone, including his mother (Toni Collette of Muriels Wedding). His commitment to the boy, however, further alienates Malcolm from his wife Anna (Olivia Williams) who feels that Malcolm has all but abandoned her. And the fact that she is wooed by one of her co-workers doesnt help the domestic situation. When Cole finally reveals his secret to Malcom, the psychologist is ready to concede that the boy is beyond his help, delusional and paranoid to the extreme. Cole thinks that he sees dead people all the time, everywhere. They are the ones, he claims, who are responsible for the cuts and bruises on his body, not his mother (as the emergency room physician suspects). At first skeptical, Malcolm soon has reason to believe the boy. When Cole begs him for help with the ghosts (Make them go away!), Malcolm responds quite sincerely, Im working on it. It would be absolutely criminal to reveal anything more about the plot, and you should avoid friends who have seen the movie and want to tell you about it. Suffice it to say that The Sixth Sense is genuinely creepy, heart-warming and utterly surprising the best American film of the summer. A major Internet source remarked how the film seemed to come out of nowhere, with little pre-release publicity despite the presence of Willis. Thats all for the good since too much hype, with which we have been inundated this season (The Phantom Menace, The Blair Witch Project), cant help but dull almost any films reception. Whoever was responsible for keeping The Sixth Sense under wraps probably guessed that a movie this good only needs word-of-mouth to get its audiences. Its unclear whether Bruce Willis got his $20 million standard fee, but hes worth it in The Sixth Sense for the marquee value of his name alone, which will draw people to the movie who might otherwise have passed it up. Even more to his credit, Willis gives a superb performance in a very different kind of role than action fans might expect. Everything the macho star does in The Sixth Sense is restrained and convincing. Willis has always been a good actor with considerable range, whatever his detractors might claim. This movie should effectively silence his naysayers. Everyone else is also quite good, especially young Osment, who conveys his characters tortured anxiety with aching conviction. Collette, nearly unrecognizable from her Muriel role, plays the boys mother like a real parent, not a movie mother. Her frustration, her fear and her love are all palpable. Ultimately, however, The Sixth Sense is a triumph for its writer/director, Indian-born M. Night Shyamalan. Last year in Wide Awake, the filmmaker explored another facet of childhood fears, as its diminutive hero sought to determine the existence of God after the death of his grandfather. Though his last film wore sentiment on its sleeve, Shyamalan nevertheless coaxed wonderful performances from his child performers as well as from Rosie ODonnell, who played a frisky but kind nun. The Sixth Sense is both darker and more mature, even though it incorporates elements of horror and the supernatural. A few scenes in this movie will scare the bejeezus out of you, others will touch your heart. Again, like early Spielberg, who was equally wonderful with children and other worlds, Shyamalan spins an engrossing tale of terror, love and redemption. Most directors would have given their eyeteeth for Shyamalans screenplay, but its doubtful any of them could have directed it so well.

Amiable and Amicable

Amiable and Amicable My dear friends,  amiable and amicable are both agreeable words, but theyre used in slightly different ways. Definitions The adjective amiable means friendly, pleasant, likable, and/or sociable. Amiable is commonly used to describe people. The adverb form is amiably. The adjective amicable means peaceable, willing, or characterized by goodwill. Amicable is generally used to describe situations, encounters, or relationships between people. The adverb form is amicably. Also see the usage notes below.   Examples Hes a big amiable man from Aberdeennothing fazes him and he takes everything in his stride.(Irvine Welsh, My Mentor. The Guardian [UK], July 4, 2008)Guinea pigs do not judge. They do not bully. They are characteristically amiable, social and oh-so-tactile. They tuck comfortably into child-size laps and err on the side of the seriously cute.(Jan Hoffman, Guinea Pigs Are Autistic Child’s Best Friend. The New York Times, June 29, 2015)I think he felt as I did- just a vague sense of sadness at the futility of it all. We were able to sort out our affairs without conflict. Perhaps that is what constitutes an  amicable separation. It was defined not by the presence of friendship but the lack of animosity.(Linda Olsson, The Memory of Love. Penguin, 2013)Following a vacation that Amy took with the two children but without Harry (he couldnt take off time from work), she announced that she wanted a divorce and had never loved him. The process was  surprisingly amicable, with Amy agre eing that Harry would get custody.(Geoffrey L. Greif and Rebecca L. Hegar, When Parents Kidnap. The Free Press, 1993) Usage Notes These are two lovely words. Amiable ultimately derives from Latin words meaning friendly and lovable. And amicable derives from the Latin for friend, which is related to love. But theyre used in different ways in English.Amiable people are friendly, likeable. An amiable mood, conversation, behavior, nature, etc., is friendly, kindly. likeable.Amiability is friendliness, likeability.Amicable relationships, talks, agreements, etc. are characterized by goodwill and a polite and friendly desire not to disagree.To do something amicably is to do it cordially, without quarreling.(Stephen Spector, May I Quote You on That? Oxford University Press, 2015)   Practice (a) The bears and local citizens have an _____ truce, with residents often carrying out a small level of subsistence whaling to keep the polar bears from starving.(Waiting for Sunset: The Stunning Images of Polar Bears at Sundown in Alaska. Daily Express [UK], November 5, 2013)(b) Moments later the bus halts and Abu Riyad, an extremely _____  policeman  with a fine sense of humor, climbs aboard and welcomes us to Jordan.(Carol Spencer Mitchell,  Danger Pay: Memoir of a Photojournalist in the Middle East, 1984-1994. University of Texas Press, 2008)   Answers to Practice Exercises Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words   Answers to Practice Exercises: Amiable and Amicable (a) The bears and local citizens have an amicable truce, with residents often carrying out a small level of subsistence whaling to keep the polar bears from starving.(Waiting for Sunset: The Stunning Images of Polar Bears at Sundown in Alaska.  Daily Express  [UK], November 5, 2013) (b) Moments later the bus halts and Abu Riyad, an extremely amiable  policeman  with a fine sense of humor, climbs aboard and welcomes us to Jordan.(Carol Spencer Mitchell,  Danger Pay: Memoir of a Photojournalist in the Middle East, 1984-1994. University of Texas Press, 2008)   Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words

MGMT444 U1 IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MGMT444 U1 IP - Research Paper Example Organization is one of the key attributes that every business manager is expected to have. This characteristic ensures that desired business performance is achieved on periodic basis and new opportunities that arise during the course are not only identified but also utilized. Therefore, manager is expected to remain well aware at all times or at least have a mechanism or system in place to do so on systematic basis. 3) A major part of your job would involve managing people. It is important for us that our business managers are perceived as just and approachable. Have you come across such situations where maintaining objectivity would have been difficult in interpersonal situations? A business manager is required to be well respected by their subordinates. For this purpose, being just and fair is important. It is also important in order to motivate employees and have effective communication with them through different media (Hunter, 2009). 4) What do you think is the key of motivating one’s team? What attributes should managers have in this regard? Have you introduced any measures in your previous organizations to enhance employees’ morale and motivation level? A business manager is required to be aware of existing market practices used to motivate employees intrinsically as well as extrinsically (Hunter, 2009; Collins, 2001). Also, they should be creative enough to analyze needs of their subordinates and introduce new regime of policies to motivate them. 5) We believe that our managers represent our culture and values, as they are responsible for coaching and mentoring our workforce. Please tell us how you see yourself compatible with our values and principles. Coaching and mentoring is an important aspect of leading workforce. This function not only involves training employees regarding their function but also guide them about career progression and personal circumstances faced by them. It is

Theories and theorists with the causes and responses to problematic Literature review

Theories and theorists with the causes and responses to problematic behaviour in children - Literature review Example One of the most basic debates revolves around the respective importance of the features and qualities that a child is born with, and those that are acquired from the environment as a child matures in the company of other people. This is known as the nature/nurture debate (Eysenk, 1997, 305-309) and a number of psychologists have devised experiments to try and work this out, so that more can be understood about how a child learns to interact with others, absorbing the rules of society and finding ways to adapt to the demands of school. Clearly if scholars can understand how behaviour is acquired, then they have more chance of finding ways to intervene if problems arise in this process. Behaviourism is one of the most well-known theories of child development. The Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) conducted some very famous experiments on animals to research the way that learning takes place. He was primarily interested in physiology and his experiment with dogs showed that a random connection between a certain sound, and a reward of food, meant nothing to a dog at first, but with repeated association of the two, the dog could be trained to respond to the tone, in anticipation of the food, so that when the tone sounded, for the dog would salivate, even though there was no food in the room. Pavlov noted that this reflex action occurred spontaneously in the dog, whenever the stimulus was given, and this was called conditioning and it provided the basis for the theory of behaviourism. An example of the enduring truth of these theories can be observed in some typical behaviours in the context of education: â€Å"†¦ our actions may condition inappropriate a s well as appropriate behaviours, such as the automatic lack of attention to the lesson the moment the bell rings.† (Woollard, 2010, p. 12) Further work on this line of thinking was done by American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949), based on the way that cats learn to solve puzzles. Thorndike focussed on repetition of tasks, showing that the more frequently an action is required, and the more often a reward is offered for completion of this action, the more likely it is that the animal will learn the action. The implications for child behaviour are that learning should be provided in well structured, rather repetitive ways, with consistency in the reward system so that the child over time learns to fit in with what is expected of him. The psychologist John Watson (1878-1958) used the tools of scientific experimentation to demonstrate the validity of behaviourism: â€Å"Based on his research on higher order animals, Watson strove to bring to psychology the same me asure of objectivity that marked some of the other traditional sciences such as physics and chemistry.† (Hart and Kritsonis, 2006, pp. 2-3) The empirical method, based on experiments and data analysis were a major part of Watson’s behaviourism and he is credited with establishing the credibility of Psychology as a discipline. Continuing in this same vein, B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) developed these ideas using rats initially, and then drawing parallels with child development. He devised experiments in which rats were required to push levers to obtain food, and this was called operant conditioning, because the rats had to actively operate the equipment to achieve the desired result. The important factor which he applied to child behaviour, was that rewards and punishments could be used to condition children to behave in certain ways. Skinner’s behaviour modification theories hold that positive reinforcements, such as praise and encouragement will work more effectivel y than negative reinforcements, such as punishment, because the associations of past experiences will gradually persuade the child

Advantages and disadvantages of internet Essay Example for Free

Advantages and disadvantages of internet Essay Nowadays internet is the most common form of communication. It is a worldwide connection of computer systems over a massive network. There are certain advantages and disadvantages to the Internet. First of all internet has made communication very simple, easy and convenient. It is possible to stay in touch with people that you hardly ever see. Moreover internet is a source of knowledge. Anyone could simply open internet and get many information about anything. In other words it is a small encyclopedia about everything in the universe. Nothing online is trustworthy. Websites that are supposed to be trusted and are supposed to be reliable are not full of reliable information. Even major websites that are run by big and trusted companies are using writing firms to write their websites and the writing firms are simply hiring the cheapest freelancers to do their work for them. It is true that the Internet has made it easier to find out basic facts such as the location of places, but even that information is commonly incorrect. Also some people use the Internet too much and forgot real life contact. It may now be easier to keep in contact with people you know, but it has removed any incentive to visit people. In other words it can be addictive and a waste of time and even money. Two angles have been compared in both a positive and negative light. Internet can be useful and dangerous at the same time. In my opinion, Treat the information you read online with a high degree of skepticism and you will be alright. It is also a good idea to use the Internet in order to stay in contact with people, as it is easy and convenient. However, do not allow online contact to start replacing physical contact. It is important to strike a balance between the two.

Adolf Hitler :: essays research papers

EARLY YEARS Adolf Hitler was born in Austria, on the 20th of April 1889. His father was a customs officer and his mother a peasant girl, he was a poor student who never completed high school. He lived in Vienna until 1913 and lived off his orphans pension and money from pictures he drew. He read a lot of books and began to develop anti-Jewish and antidemocratic beliefs, a like to outstanding individuals and a dislike for ordinary working people. In World War I Hitler, who was in Munich, volunteered in the *Bavarian army. He proved to be a dedicated and courageous soldier but he was never promoted beyond private first class. After Germany’s defeat in 1918 he returned to Munich staying in the army till 1920. His commander then made him an educational officer with the permission to justify his charges against pacifist and democratic ideas. In September 1919 he joined the nationalist German Workers party and in April 1920 he went on to work full time for the party that had changed its name to the National German Workers (nazi) party. In 1921 he was elected party chairman with very dominating powers. RISE TO POWER Hitler after organizing many meetings, terrorizing political rivals spread his racial hatred and soon became an important part in Bavarian Politics, and was assisted by his high officials and businessmen. In November 1923 he led an uprising against the Weimar Republic but without military support his rebellion failed and as the organizer he was sentenced to five years in prison, of which he served 8 months and was then released as the result of a general amnesty. He then rebuilt his party without interference from the government in December 1924. When the Great Depression struck in 1929 his theory of it as a Jewish plot to make Germany a communist country was accepted by many Germans, he then promised a stronger country with many jobs and national glory, he attracted millions of voters and Nazi representation in Germanys parliament rose from 12 seats to 107 in just 2 years. During the next two years the nazi party kept expanding and benefiting from the growing unemployment, fear of e veryone becoming an equal (communism) and the shyness of his political rivals. GERMANY’S DICTATOR When Hitler established himself as a dictator thousands of anti-Nazis were hauled off to concentration camps and all public knowledge was kept quiet. An Enabling Act passed by a passive legislature allowed him to modify the government system and judiciary, replace all labour unions with one Nazi controlled German Labour Front, and ban all political parties except his own.

Neo-Liberal Hyperglobalism

Globalisation is a major topic of debate of our era. Globalisation can be defined as the â€Å"global growing interconnectedness between economy, technology, culture and political institutions† (Lofgren & Sarangi, 2009, pg. 57). This essay will discuss how globalisation can be good for developing countries. By applying Neo-liberal Hyperglobalism, I will analyse and demonstrate the various beneficial effects of globalisation through the case of India and the reform measures they have recently taken towards globalisation.Globalisation can provide new opportunities for developing countries due to increased access to developed country markets and technology, resulting in improved productivity and higher living standards (Balakrishnan, 2004). Following a major economic crises, India liberalised it’s economy in the early nineties. Inflation had rocketed to an annual rate of 17%, high fiscal deficit had become unsustainable and foreign investors confidence in Indian Economy wa s low (Goyal, 2006, p. 167). It was these factors that put pressure on the Indian government to call for a complete revamp of their economic policies.Some of the major changes made, as part of the economic liberalisation and globalisation strategy, included government’s privatisation and disinvestment in a majority of the public sector undertakings, allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) across many industries, the removal of quantitative restrictions on imports and the reduction of customs tariff from over 300% to 30 % (Goyal, 2006, p. 167). The main purpose of India’s economic reform is to ultimately â€Å"integrate Indian economy with world economy† (Singh, 1995, p. 36).This liberalisation and globalisation of the economy can help solve India’s major problems of unemployment and poverty. India’s economic reform favours a more open and market orientated economy (Goyal, 2006, p. 166). India’s new economic structure emulates the principals of neo-liberal Hyperglobalism. Neo-liberal Hyperglobalism â€Å"celebrates the global dominance of market principals over state power† (Lofgren & Sarangi, 2009, pg. 70). This means that decisions about allocation, production and distribution in the economy are left to the global economy rather than the government. Burke, Devetak & George, 2008, p. 299). States are increasingly the ‘decision- takers' and not the ‘decision-makers' (Goldblatt, Held, McGrew & Perraton, 1999). Three key terms that come out of neoliberalism are deregulation, liberalisation and privatisation all of which India’s new economic policies draw on. Neo-liberal Hyperglobalism favours globalism as beneficial process for a developing country. The benefits that Neo-liberal Hyperglobalism can provide are evident in India. India’s steps towards globalisation through new economic reforms have produced some significant benefits for the country.The privatisation of particular state-owned enterprises provides the government with an increased amount of cash which they can then spend on increasing their citizen’s quality of life through increased food supplies and the development of hospitals, schools, infrastructure etc in poverty stricken regions. The domestic economy has been freed up from state control, virtually abolishing state monopoly in all sectors (Panagariya, 2001). This has lead to greater competition in industries; resulting in lower prices, a greater supply of goods which benefits the citizens (Goyal, 2006, p. 68). Another step towards globalisation that has proven beneficial for India is the decision to allow foreign direct investment in the Indian industry. The huge amounts of foreign investment that now enter India have significantly boosted the country’s economy. Many foreign companies have set up industries in India, mainly in pharmaceutical, BPO, petroleum, manufacturing and chemical sectors, which have created greater employment oppo rtunities for Indian people, decreasing unemployment and poverty (Dwivedi, 2009).A further benefit of globalisation due to foreign investment in India is the advanced technology that the foreign companies bring with them (Dwivedi, 2009). Advancements in medicine which improve the health of citizens is an example how becoming more technologically advanced can be beneficial for the country. The economic reforms that reduce custom tariffs and remove restrictions on imports support the principals of neo-liberal Hyperglobalism. That is that measures should be taken that allow trade and finance to have unrestricted movement (Burke et. al. , 2010).Removing taxes and quotas can increase international trade which in turn increases economic competition. Competition was rife in the economy, after India’s economic reform, as more imports were encouraged (Balakrishnan, 2004). Exports also significantly increased as countries became more willing to accept India’s products due to the reductions in custom tariffs (Goyal, 2006, p. 170). This improved relationship between India and its trading partners can encourage low prices, reduce unemployment through the creation of more jobs and induce improved living standards.Improved relationships between developed and undeveloped economies can prove to be profitable and extremely valuable for developing countries especially when future policies have to be negotiated. Overall, the economic reforms initiated in India since 1991 has helped the Indian economy to grow at a faster rate and led to fiscal consolidation, control of inflation, and increased foreign investment and technology (Goyal, 2006). The reforms aimed to lliberalise and globalise the domestic economy have helped boost GDP growth rates, which increased from 5. 6% in 1990-91 to a peak level of 77. % in 1996-97 (Balakrishnan, 2004). The new economic policies have also proven to increase citizen’s living standards with increased employment opportunities an d a decrease in poverty from 36% in 1993-94 to 26. 1% in 1999-2000 (Fox, 2002). The new policies can be used to further support the country’s citizens and develop the country. The Indian government’s strategy to globalise their economy has revealed that globalisation can be beneficial to a developing country by aiding the nation to a more favourable financial position. However, there are also negative effects of globalisation.A significant negative effect is the increase in inequality that can arise from globalisation. There have been arguments that state an increase in GDP can in fact increase income inequality. â€Å"Wealth is still concentrated in the hands of a few individuals and a common man in a developing country is yet to see any major benefits of globalization† (Lovekar, 2010). Also multi-national corporations (MNC) can worsen income inequality by generating jobs and producing goods that primarily benefit the richest portion of the population (Positive and Negative Effects of Multinational Corporations, 2010).This means that the richer are getting richer and the poorer are getting poorer. Many employees are working in awful conditions where negligible health and safety regulations apply. This is an example of globalisation can develop an exploitative nature. Furthermore, â€Å"the market economy seems to be more concentrated on the growth of consumerism to attract the high income groups who are mostly in the cities in the developing countries† (Malik, 2010, p. 4). The globalisation strategy paid little attention to the rural economy and the agricultural sector, which is essentially the backbone of the Indian economy.The agriculture sector is a major provider of food and nutrition to the people as well as raw materials to industries and to export trade (Malik, 2010). A further impact the globalisation strategy has had on agriculture sector is the decrease of agriculture’s share in GDP, which has resulted in a decreas e of the per capita income of the farmers and an increase of rural indebtedness (Malik, 2010). India’s era of reforms exhibit many themes that are parallel those of Neo-liberal Hyperglobalism.Since 1991, India has experienced the strong inroad of neoliberalism (Lofgren & Sarangi, 2009). The new economic reforms indicate a strong movement towards deregulation, privitisation and liberalisation of the Indian economy. These three factors are all examples of neoliberalism (Burke et. al. , 2010). A neo-liberal hyperglobalist state would believe that rather than the government trying to regulate and control the market through strict policies, the government should make policies to accommodate and open up the market.India’s new policies indicate the government’s willingness to adopt this thinking and it is through this thinking that has marked India’s steps towards the â€Å"real integration of the Indian economy into the global economy† (Malik, 2010, p. 1 ). In other words India is taking steps towards globalisation. India is an example of how the globalisation of a developing country can be positive and beneficial. Although there are some unfavourable effects such as income inequality, the overall benefits a developing country can receive from globalisation outweigh the negatives.India has proved how applying neo-liberal hyperglobalist principals to the domestic economy of a country can prove to be advantageous. With a greater focus on further developing a globalised economy, developing countries can aim to increase the working and living standards for the country’s citizens and subsequently become a healthy and wealthier state. A more liberal and global market can achieve improved living standards and wealth through the promotion of competition, efficiency, productivity, technological-upgradation and growth (Singh, 1995).Hence I believe, like a hyperglobalist, that globalisation is good for a developing country. References B alakrishnan, C. (2004). Impact of Globalisation on Developing Countries and India. Retrieved October 10, 2010, from http://economics. about. com/od/globalizationtrade/l/aaglobalization. htm Burke, A. , Devetak, R. , & George, J. (2008). An Introduction to International Relations: Australian Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press. Dwivedi, M. (2009). South Asia Security. India: Kalpaz Publications. Fox, J. W. (2002).Poverty in India Since 1974: A Country Case Study. Retrieved October 10, 2010, from http://www. ekh. lu. se/ekhcgu/teaching/401d4/poverty%20in%20india. pdf Goldblatt, D. , Held, D. , McGrew, A. , Perraton, J. (1999). Global Transformations: What is globalisation? Retrieved October 11, 2010, from http://www. polity. co. uk/global/whatisglobalization. asp Goyal, K. A. (2006). Impact of Globalization on Developing Countries (With Special Reference To India). International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, (5), 1450-2887.Retrieved October 10, 2010, from ht tp://www. eurojournals. com/IRJFE%206%20goyal. pdf Lofgren, H. , & Sarangi, P. (2009). The Politics and Culture of Globalisation: India and Australia. Social Science Press. Lovekar, V. (2010). Advantages and Disadvantages of Globalization. Retrieved October 11, 2010, from http://www. buzzle. com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-globalization. html Malik, T. (2010). Impact of globalization on Indian economy- An overview. Retrieved October 10, 2010, from http://www. ibre2fashion. com/industry-article/8/738/impact-of-globalization7. asp Panagariya, A. (2001). India’s Economic Reforms: What Has Been Accomplished? What Remains to Be Done? ERD POLICY BRIEF SERIES Economics and Research Department,(2). Retrieved October 10, 2010, from http://www. adb. org/Documents/EDRC/Policy_Briefs/PB002. pdf Positive and Negative Effects of Multinational Corporations. (2010). Retrieved October 11, 2010, from http://www. socialscience. gardner-webb. edu/Faculty/craymond/Devdocs/DevMNCposn

Management position within hospitality industry

The most complex work in the hotel in terms of communication and of coordinating and completing working documents is done by Floor Managers. These employees often supervise others who perform service tasks directly for the guests. Floor Managers are responsible for liaising between Room Attendants on the guest floors and managers in the housekeeping office.Qualifications required are a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in hotel management, and work experience in hospitality industry. At the basement-level housekeeping office, Floor Managers report and monitor room status and special room requests received from other parts of the hotel. They check the computer-generated status reports for discrepancies from their visual checks of the actual rooms. If a room coded for check-out appeared occupied on the floor, they would check the Expected Departure report on the computer to see if the guest had actually checked out (Bardi 2002).Usually, the main requires are:SupervisionInvent ory managementQuality ControlCoordination of other managers and staffShipping and receivingDocumentary control (Floor Manager Position 2007).The responsibilities are:Each one supervises 15 Room Attendants and two Housemen, covering three to four floors, or 240–320 rooms.On the floors, they check the status and progress of room cleaning, inspected rooms and augmented the Room Attendants' work.One of their duties, for example, is putting triple bed sheets and extra amenities in VIP rooms.They have to get the extra sheet, then take some of the bedding off and remake the bed. The number of VIPs they had to do beds for is never predictable, and they have to squeeze them into their regularly scheduled activities.The number of floors and rooms Floor Managers are responsible for varied, too, because of airline employee guests, who rarely checked out until after the day shift finished, and because of movement in the predicted house counts (overall room occupancies) (Powers and Barrows 2002).The Floor Managers are all in the office together at three times during the day: the beginning and end of the shift, and during the midmorning clearing and briefing meeting. These are busy, but not clearly structured times, with managers picking up special supplies, double-checking irregularities in the room status reports, answering phones. In Hilton Hotels, for instance, Floor Managers work is organized as follows:workday starts, between 7 and 8; the Floor Managers come in and prepared their own worksheets for the day; they check the 6:30 a.m. room status reports and special requests, along with the log book confirming their floor assignments;  then they go up on the floors to check the room status and supply needs with each Room Attendant, who has verified their status as soon as she/he arrives on the floor;Floor Managers then return downstairs to check and adjust room assignments against the Coordinator's log book (Powers and Barrows 2002). For example, some rooms in th e early-morning computer status report noted as vacant and clean may have become occupied in the interim. Or vacant and clean rooms may have become VIP or rush rooms, which Floor Managers would hear about in the office and have to inform the Room Attendant about. In many cases, Floor Manager’s position is called a â€Å"supervisor†.Floor Managers themselves have to identify VIP rooms and they have to spend extra time to set up the rooms, and collect and deliver the extras. The VIP rooms could not be neglected, and they are seldom blocked (assigned by Front Desk) in advance. So throughout the day, Floor Managers have to monitor upcoming VIP rooms and prepare them in time for the guests' arrival (Powers and Barrows 2002).Work stress and pressure is a remarkable feature of this position. Very often, checking room reports against their lists, for example, is interrupted by a ringing telephone or a co-worker's query. Most often the interruption involves a guest's urgent req uest, which demanded an immediate response. People write down notes, speak on the phone to guests, page others to fill requests and relay orders to the Centralized Action Room. Several talks at once; seldom are the exchange restricted to two people (Stutts 2001).Floor Managers work primarily from photocopied forms attached to clipboards that they fill out each day as they completed their work. The worksheets serve as organizational tools, memory aids and long-term records, to be boxed and stored for a prescribed number of years. From my observations throughout the hotel, the computers stored information on sales, purchases, personnel and payroll, and guests and occupancy rather than any detailed records of daily work.And unless each Floor Manager is equipped with a hand-held computer, inputting such information would have been impractical when there is already a paper record. In the basement office, Floor Managers also check for recent special requests like rush rooms or VIPs, or th ey receive them as phone messages, occasionally via pager (Stutts 2001).ReferencesBardi J.A. (2002). Hotel Front Office Management Wiley; 3 edition. Floor Manager Position (2007). Retrieved 01 July 2007, Powers T., Barrows C.W. (2002). Introduction to the Hospitality Industry. Wiley, 5 edition. Stutts A. (2001). Hotel and Lodging Management. An Introduction. Wiley.

Price discrimination essay

Price discrimination essay Price discrimination essay Price discrimination essayPrice discrimination is the practice of charging different prices from different categories of customers. There are debates regarding the ethical side of price discrimination. On one hand, purchases are voluntary acts and as long as customers are willing to purchase the goods in the presence of price discrimination, sellers will continue practicing price discrimination. On the other hand, Tiemstra (2006) emphasizes that price discrimination is unjust both from the utilitarian perspective (as it allows producers to raise profit margins higher compared to ordinary competition) and from the perspective of justice equal customers should be treated equally and the sellers rewards for selling equal products should be equal as well. In general, sellers tend to view price discrimination as fair and buyers perceive price discrimination as unfair, especially in the case when price discrimination is evident for example, when online resources provide a field for enter ing a coupon code (Oliver Shor, 2003).One argument in support of price discrimination is libertarian argument: due to the voluntary nature of market bargains, price discrimination is acceptable and justified, and, moreover, it stimulates the development of products with high fixed costs or significant research costs which would not be possible in the absence of price discrimination (Tiemstra, 2006). It is not possible to state that price discrimination is universally fair or universally unfair; there are different situations and different industries and the ethical side of price discrimination should be considered separately in each situation according to the context.An example of a situation when price discrimination is fair is the case when luxury goods with premium design are sold at different prices to different customers. For example, affluent customers want to purchase a high-quality TV and want to do it in minimal time. In this case, the best solution for them is to visit a retail shop and make the purchase quickly and effortlessly, although at a higher price.An example of a situation when price discrimination is unfair is the example when a manufacturer of drugs producing a vitally important drug charges a price with excessively high markup because the customers will buy it in any case. However, the latter example also has exceptions in those cases when the drug manufacturer had high investment costs, it would be fair to set higher prices to compensate for the costs and to continue research to improve the drug. In general, price discrimination has high chances of being unfair in the cases when higher prices are charged for goods with low price elasticity of demand (i.e. essential goods). However, in each particular case the fairness of price discrimination should be considered separately and there is no reason for outlawing price discrimination in general.

Still More Words That Turn on the Root Vert

Still More Words That Turn on the Root Vert Still More Words That Turn on the Root Vert Still More Words That Turn on the Root Vert By Mark Nichol Two recent posts (here and here) dealt with many of the English words based on the Latin verb vertere, meaning â€Å"turn,† focusing on those based on the root vert. This follow-up post defines some additional words in the vertere family: those with the root vers. Versus (abbreviated vs. or, in legal contexts, v.) comes directly from the Latin adverb meaning â€Å"so as to face† and means â€Å"against† or â€Å"in contrast to.† As a Latin noun, versus meant â€Å"furrow† or â€Å"row,† alluding to how a plow was turned at the end of each row, and later acquired the sense of a line and a line of writing, hence verse. That word pertains to a line of metrical writing, a poem in particular or poetry in general, a stanza (one of two or more sections of a poem) or a similar segment of a song, or a brief division of the Bible. Interestingly, an antonym of verse in the sense of â€Å"poetry,† prose, which refers to more loosely structured forms of writing that resemble speech- and to ordinary written and spoken language or, pejoratively, something dull or ordinary (described with the adjective prosaic and the adverb prosaically)- is a contraction of proversus, meaning â€Å"turned forward.† Prose itself functions also as an adjective (as in â€Å"prose poem,† referring to a hybrid form of writing) and as a verb. Verso (â€Å"the page being turned†) means â€Å"left-hand page† or â€Å"reverse side of a page.† (The opposite term is recto.) â€Å"Vice versa,† taken directly from Latin, means â€Å"with the order turned.† Versatile (from versatilis, meaning â€Å"able to or capable of turning† or â€Å"operated by turning†) usually describes being able to turn from one thing to another, such as two distinct skills, or having variability or various applications; such a quality is called versatility. In biology, it describes free movement of an appendage or segment of an animal or plant. Version, borrowed directly from the medieval Latin verb meaning â€Å"act of turning,† refers to a variation of a description of something or a type of something, and in medicine pertains to an organ of the body turned from its normal position or to the turning of a fetus during childbirth to facilitate delivery. Anniversary literally means â€Å"year turning† and describes a recurrence of a date, whether annual or on some other scale, or refers to a celebration of such a date. Adverse, which literally means â€Å"turn against,† refers to an action or attitude that is harmful, hostile, or unfavorable; an adversary is an enemy or opponent. Malversation, literally â€Å"bad turn,† pertains to corruption or a corrupt government administration. Obverse (literally, â€Å"turned toward†) means â€Å"facing† or â€Å"opposite† but also describes something wider at the top than at the base. Transverse means â€Å"placed across† or pertains to something so positioned, while traverse means â€Å"travel across or over,† â€Å"move or pass along or through,† â€Å"examine,† or â€Å"survey†; in legal contexts, it means â€Å"deny† or â€Å"oppose.† As a noun, it describes a course or crossing or other movement, or an obstacle or something that crosses. Universe, from universus, meaning â€Å"whole,† describes, in contexts ranging from astronomy to philosophy, the entirety of existence or experience, or something similarly comprehensive or of great quantity; the adjectival form is universal, and the noun describing the quality or state of comprehensiveness is universality. The related term university, derived from the Latin phrase universitas magistrorum et scholarium (essentially, â€Å"community of teachers and scholars†), refers to an institution of higher learning, often composed of several colleges, schools, or other divisions. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 "Home" Idioms and ExpressionsCapitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and MovementsIs "Number" Singular or Plural?

Credit risk management in banking sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Credit risk management in banking sector - Essay Example Credit risk management appears to have improved during the past decades due to greater reliance on market determined prices. Credit risk today is managed through the creation of an in-house risk management unit. In addition, efficient credit risk valuation methods are being employed today by banks. Banks have also resorted into more advanced methods of credit risk management and quantification such as value at risk, stress testing, credit scoring. According to BIS paper No.33, financial markets are subject to various sources of risk: credit, market, liquidity, operational and legal risks. These risks tend to be more pronounced in the developing world than in developed countries due to a lower level of economic, financial and institutional development. Credit risk tends to be more acute as a result of a lack of highly rated counterparties. Market and liquidity risks are higher due to thinly traded markets (IMF BIS Paper No. 33). Operational risks may also be exacerbated because of inadequate human resources or the failure of manual, mechanical or electronic systems to process payments. Finally, legal risk may also be part of the environment (for instance, due to the inability to foreclose on collateral). The next section discusses credit risk and some of its components and how it can be managed. 1.2 Credit Risk According to the International Monetary Fund Business Paper No. 33, credit risk is the risk that a debt issuer will default is known as credit risk; this is typically the most important form of risk for commercial banks (Shapiro, 2003; Buckley, 1996; Muller and Verschoor, 2005; Solt and Wayne, 2001).Solt & Wayne (2001) argues that, in assessing credit risk, an institution needs to consider three issues: default probabilities over the horizon of the obligation, credit exposure (ie how large the obligation is when the default occurs) and the recovery rate (ie what part of the exposure may be recovered through bankruptcy proceedings or some other form of settlement) (Solt and Wayne, 2001). Credit risk is often difficult to assess due to the lack of information on the credit history and financial position of borrowers, inadequate accounting practices and standards that make it difficult to evaluate credit exposures, macroeconomic volatility and deficiencies in the institutional environment (e.g., political instability) (BIS Paper No.33, 2005). Weak enforcement of creditor rights may also contribute to uncertainty regarding recovery rates. Although many of these factors have been improving in recent years, progress in some cases is slow (Mohanty et al., 2006). Moreno (2006) highlights two key issues related to credit risk that are relevant for emerging market economies (EMEs). First, the distinct increase in the share of credit to the household sector that has been observed in a number of countries could lower credit risk if the concentration of bank assets fell, if consumer credit diversifies risk among a larger number of borrowers. Moreno (2006), further states that, credit risk could rise if banks are lending in new market segments. Second, there is significant credit risk associated with the effects of asset price fluctuations on banking books. One concern in this case is the volatility

Marketing high street fashions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing high street fashions - Essay Example In the past, high end retailers like those commonly found on High Street in London used to segment their most relevant customers by needs and lifestyle, along with resource availability depending on their social class. However, with rising competition from fast fashion, lower-end retailers acting like high-end fashion retailers, this philosophy has changed. Western models of segmentation such as the VALS2 Network which describes eight different lifestyle and resource tendencies of key markets are not as effective as they once were. This model describes active lifestyles versus more sedentary buyers with traditionalist values, as two examples, in order to help marketers identify with key needs, values and attitudes (Boone & Kurtz 2007). However, the current recession is changing even the buying behaviours of the most elite of customers who are looking for more value in their fashion purchases. Banister & Hogg (2004) identify that self-esteem has been one of the most important motivators for the consumption of symbolic goods, including fashion. Self-esteem, as related to high end fashion merchandise, involves how a consumer feels about the enhancements that fashion clothing adds to their lifestyle or image that directly impacts their final decision to select key branded merchandise. Self-esteem is also comparative to others in society, their own reference groups such as peers and celebrities, that provides the motivation to make high-dollar purchases in order to fit their own mould of what constitutes success and wealth. However, understanding what drives trend-based self-esteem requires a significant investment in primary research, such as the use of questionnaires and surveys, and the information is not beneficial over the long-term due to changing values and social conditions. Companies that are finding themselves with strapped and tight budgets do not have the resource s or the labour investment to conduct complicated psychologically-based primary studies consistently and must find new methods to target and segment their key customers most likely to make purchases and be loyal to the brand. Therefore, segmentation in high-end fashion retailers occurs differently today, amidst a difficult economy with rising competition globally. Geographic segmentation occurs regularly, especially for high-street retailers with a great deal of their support coming from local consumers in the London region with adequate resources to make purchases or those unaffected by the difficult economic conditions plaguing European countries. This is rather straight-forward for many fashion companies as it helps divide catalogue distribution and ensure that the right customers receive this literature to promote products. Today, primarily, marketers use psychographic segmentation strategies to understand buyer behaviour and gain presence in key markets they have