Child Marriage: A Human Rights Violation Essay

Child marriage is a serious form of human rights violation affecting young girls globally. It was estimated 10 million girls under the age of 18 get married every year (Bruce & Clark 2004) and according to Population Council Analysis of United Nations Country Data on Marriage (2002), more than 100 million girls will get married in the next decade if the current pattern persists. Girls who are disproportionately the most affected by this inhumane practice suffer tremendously. It is unreasonable such practice that robs away a girl’s childhood can exist, considering the devastating effects such as physical and psychological damages, severe health consequences and denial of personal development. 1.1 Physical and Psychological Damages Many young girls who are being forced into marriage face abuse and violence as their daily reality, yet most of them believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife (Jenson & Thornton 2003). For example, in Kenya, 36 percent of girls married before 18 consider the action of a husband beating his wife is acceptable as compared to 20 percent of married women (UNICEF 2005). Prolonged violence behaviours towards child brides including coercive sex, verbal abuse, slapping and beatings cause them to be emotionally affected and undergo post-traumatic stress. According to Khan and Lynch (1997), such symptoms are like feeling of hopelessness, helplessness and severe depression. Young married girls are extremely vulnerable and have little power in relation to their husbands and in-laws. They are often treated as domestic slaves to work in their in-law’s households. As much as young married girls are desperate to run away from their brutal marriages, they are often tied down with reasons that oblige them to stay. Most often than not is because of economic pressures and other social circumstances. There are those who seek for avenues to leave their spouses, there are also those who are abandoned, divorced or led into widowhood. They suffer a loss of status and ostracized by society with additional discrimination, for example being denied of property rights, as in many cultures divorced, abandoned or widowed women are often looked down upon (Tamunoimama 2012). They usually end up living in poverty as they have no financial support and bear the responsibility of raising their children on their own. The high rates of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF) amongst young married girls is one of the reasons why child marriage is linked to wife abandonment. Sexual reproductive organs of the child brides that are not fully developed cause them to endure very prolonged labour. The relentless pressure from the baby’s skull breaks the walls of the birth canal and leads to uncontrollable leakage from the bladder into the vagina. They are usually perceived as unclean and often abandoned or divorced by their spouses. In Nigeria, around 150,000 women with VVF, 80 to 90 percent of them are divorced by their husbands; in Niger Republic, VVF is the reason for 63.3 percent of all divorce cases (Tamunoimama 2012). In many countries, young girls are married off to older men of twice their age, because their parents believe that it is the best way to ensure their daughters are protected when being placed firmly under a male’s control. Influenced by negative social and religious norms, girls are married early to older men in the belief that a husband will provide a safeguard against her ‘immoral’ or ‘inappropriate’ behaviour (Senderowitz 1995). Consequently, when the girl is still young, their spouses died, leaving her with the sole responsibility on taking care her children. For some traditions, girls are not allowed to remarry and her families are also unlikely to accept her back once she has become widowed (UNICEF 2001). Even when a child bride feels able to challenge and leave her marriage, it usually takes her years to do so. Her families will cut her off from their lives because it is believed that running away from a marriage brings shame upon the family. This leaves the girl even more alone than before (The Effects of Early Marriage Cause and Effect Essay 2004). It will contribute to a lack of confidence and low self esteem in the young married girls, plunging them into poverty especially when they are under-educated and has few income-generating skills (Tamunoimama 2012). 1.2 Severe Health Consequences Girls and woman who marry early and with little or no education background often lack of knowledge and have limited awareness of their rights to negotiate safer sex, including the use of condom (Plan UK 2011). In addition to the age difference between the child bride and the husband alongside with her low economic status, it is almost impossible for her to demand fidelity or enjoy the freedom of movement. Barriers like distance, fear, expenses or the need for permission from their spouses or in -laws to access health services deteriorate the risks of maternal complications and mortality for young mothers (Tamunoimama 2012). According to UNICEF (2001), girls aged between 15 and 19 are twice as likely to die giving birth as compared to women over 20 years old; whereas for girls aged between 10 to 14, it is five times greater the risk. Young married girls face considerable physical pain associated with sexual intercourse as their sexual organs are not fully developed and matured (Alemu 2008). Pregnancy-related deaths including heavy bleeding, fistula, infection, Anaemia, and Eclampsia, are the leading cause of mortality for 15 to 19 year-old girls (married and unmarried) worldwide (Tamunoimama 2012). Fistula conditions like vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) and recto-vaginal fistula (RVF) are permanent without surgical intervention to reseal the tissues. Many women have to endure with this condition for the rest of their lives, as such intervention may not be sought or may be hard to access (Tamunoimama 2012). WHO (2010) estimates there are two million women suffering from fistulas and for each year, there is a nother addition of 50,000 to 100,000 new cases of fistulas, many of which go untreated. Even though parents see early marriage or child marriage, as a method to protect their daughters from HIV/AIDS, future spouses may engage in unprotected sexual relations with other partners and already be infected (Tamunoimama 2012). Child brides are more vulnerable to HIV infection, due to the physiological immaturity of their sexual organs. A girl who has not reached puberty face serious risk on being infected by HIV/AIDS, because her vagina is not well lined with protective cells and her cervix may be penetrated easily (Alemu 2008). According to Clark (2004), a small scale research done in Kenya and Zambia shows that among 15 to 19 year-old girls who are sexually active, getting married increased their chances of HIV by more than 75 percent. Girls who are of lower status in society and lack of autonomy cannot have a say when to engage in sexual relations and when to bear a child, especially if it is a young virgin, she would be under pressure to become pregnant in the first year o f her marriage. 1.3 Denial of Personal Development Education is one of the largest losses a girl has to face when she is married off at a young age. Her opportunities to develop as an individual is limited as she needs to bear the burden of being a wife and a mother. Most of the child brides, who are forced to drop out of school during the preparation of marriage or at the point of union and transfer to their in-laws house, as badly as they want to return to school, they are denied of their rights to education. Older husbands and even fathers of young wives believe that the role of females are merely to stay home and undertake household and child-care duties. They fear that education undermines cultural practices and teaches the girl to reject tradition (Bayisenge 2009). The following quote illustrate well the case: â€Å"At the age of about 14 years, my father sent me to my uncle in Adagbira near Binaba so that he could let his wives â€Å"train me† for marriage. He believed that if I continued to go to school, I would be a â€Å"spoilt girl† and no man would agree to marry me. Being a â€Å"spoilt girl† meant that I would be too wise to marry back in his village where he could get my dowry.† (Interview with Ateni Adongo, Womankind,1999). Apart from that, parents of a child bride perceive education as an investment wasted because she is simply going to get married and it will only benefit her husband’s household. The child bride stand even little chance in hope that her husband and in-laws would invest their scarce resources in her education. In rural areas, secondary education is only attainable at a far distance from home, leading to a fear in parents that this may expose the girl to risks on premarital sex and unwanted pregnancy (Tamunoimama 2012). Child brides also find it difficult to return to school, because even the school itself has a policy of refusing married or pregnant girls to attain education. They believe that it will set a bad example to other students and destroy the reputation of the school for going against traditional beliefs. Besides, young married girls are unable to cope up and adapt with the school environment which includes rules, time tables and physical conditions, at the same time juggling their duties as wives and mothers. This further reduces the chances of them to enjoy the rights to education, which they require for personal development and contribution to the future well-being of their family and society. Early marriage was considered the main challenge to achieving universal primary education (MDG 2) and promoting gender equality (MDG 3) for girls and boys in rural communities (Plan Egypt 2010). It is not only a lost opportunity for the girls affected, but has a wider reach of repercussions for their own children and society (ICRW 2006). Young married girls, being denied of education are powerless in regards of deciding the size of their families, demanding the use of contraception and healthcare needs of their children. They are not well informed and knowledgeable about sexual relations, their bodies and reproduction, furthermore aggravated by the cultural silence surrounding these subjects (Tamunoimama 2012). With a low level of education and life skills, child brides face an increase of vulnerability to abuse and poor health, and therefore acute poverty and create a massive knock-on negative effect to the community. Marriage is regarded as a moment of celebration and a milestone in an adult life, but girls as young as five being married off to older men, forced to drop out of school to carry the heavy burden of being a wife and a mother is equivalent to being condemned a death sentence on their bright future. Article 16 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states that men and women of full age are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution and marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending parties. Therefore child marriage is considered as a violation of human rights and must be viewed within a context of force and coercion, because valid consent of the child is absent – and also often disregarded (Kumar 2008). Early marriage or child marriage is one of the ills that have eaten deep into the marrows of the third world countries, with Niger (76.6%), Chad (71.5%) and Bangladesh (68.7%) leading the top countries with highest rates of child marriage (ICRW 2005). It is a deadly curse in the modern society, with all the consequences that come along with it, including high rate of maternal mortality and morbidity, violence and abuse, reinforce cycle of poverty and many more. It stands in direct conflict with the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), (Mathur & Malhotra 2003) as it threatens the achievement of the first six goals respectively, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primarily education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases (UN 2007). In conclusion, different parties like governments, parents, schools, medias, NGOs, by and large, everyone else that is in the community should come together to trickle this challenging phenomenon and ban this from being an acceptable cultural practice. Actions to restore the rights of those already married should go hand in hand with preventive actions in protecting the rights of unmarried girls because to ensure a good start of their life, they need education instead of being trapped in a child betrothal.

Behavioral Problems with Budgeting and Beyond Budgeting Model

All organizational Managers have to do certain management functions such as planning, control, coordination, staffing, motivation, leading, communication and organizing.These functions differ from organization to organization due to different organizational cultures, nature of activities and its complexity, size, staff profile in terms of values and skills, internal political activity its intensity and is level external environment in which they exist in terms of social, political, legal and environmental issues they face and its nature in terms of stable or dynamic and the Management philosophy of the senior and executive level of management.The traditional Budgeting is a tool for planning and control activities such that it enable the organization direction as well to coordinate activities and compare actual performance with Budgets so that to identify variance and investigate the causes and determine whether they are controllable or uncontrollable and revise plans if the organizat ion cannot achieve the panned performance because of uncontrollable factors. The traditional budgetary process has many advantages.The advantages are that it forces managers to formulate detailed plans for achieving the targets for each department and operation, promotes coordination and communication, clearly defines the areas of responsibility for the achievement of the budgets, enables remedial action to be taken as variance emerge, motivates employees by participating in the budgetary process of setting or formulating the budgets, improves allocation of scarce resources. Economizes management time by using the principle of management by exception. However they have serious drawbacks, They are mostly of a behavioral type. Page: 2The drawbacks of the traditional Budgets are that budgets may be perceived by the lower level managers and employees as it is imposed by the senior management and thus affects labor relations as well it may also tend to have inaccurate record keeping, In addition budgets may increase conflict over the resource allocation or they may blame others if they don’t meet the targets as well in practice it is difficult to reconcile individual goals with corporate goals and the plans cannot be accurate in a dynamic environment and detailed planning consume considerable time and resources of managers and they mayPerceive it as a futile activity. The budgeting also may induce mangers to spend all what they get even though they can spend less because of the attitude â€Å" we better spend it or we will lose it†. In the traditional Budget as a plan and control tool managers can also over estimate expenditure because of the fear they will be blamed if expenditures are not within the budgets and sales budgets will be under estimated for the reason that the sales people may fear if they don’t meet the sales target and for the fear of losing performance pay if such a rewarding system exists.In a global economy in the current 20t h an 21st century the changes in technological economic social and political climate have become more rapid and dynamic as well unpredictable than ever before and the competition has increased mostly in all industries at least in advanced industrialized countries and in some parts of Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and in Middle East. In this context if organizations are not adaptive and responsive in a timely manner to meet customer needs compared to its competitors and Page: 3have products tailored to satisfy these needs organizations must react quickly and its planning and decision making mechanisms must be flexible and managers must be able to make decisions and must have the authority and responsibility to react quickly and organizations must devolve power to managers of profit centers and decentralize organizations and performance measured in general terms relatively measured comparing different profit centers and be customer focus culture at all levels in general terms an d allow managers to make decisions to make returns on equity more than its competitors by satisfying customer needs profitably and have an information system to assist such process rather than plan in detail which is traditionally done which may stifle innovation and flexibility of the organization in a dynamic environment. The Beyond Budgeting Model is a model to address the limitations and behavioral disadvantages of the traditional budgeting in organizations. As well it is not a new planning tool but it is a new management idea. That is to change the organizational structure and organizational culture from a hierarchical organization to a network organization and decentralize decision -making and to devise a management information system, which enables mangers to share knowledge and instill new ideas and empower managers to make decisions to respond to unexpected events and to create an entrepreneur culture.That is to make the organization to become more flexible and adaptable an d create systems processes and products, which satisfy customer needs profitable, compared to its competitors and monitor emerging needs and respond quickly Page: 4 to satisfy the emerging needs more effectively than its competitors and benchmarking its processes and products on a continuous basis. There fore the success or failure of Beyond budgeting depends on how the model is introduced in the organization and the phase of its introduction and how management has overcome resistance to change and how mangers are trained and the phase of overcoming competitive culture and become a more co-operative and team culture and the possibility of this happening in the organization.So in effect the success or failure of Beyond Budget Model itself depends on how it is implemented and whether the managers perceive this as another method imposed by the senior management and how senior management can overcome such behavioral constrain. If this can be done given the managers profiles in terms of their entrenched management practices and the senior managements effectiveness and their leadership qualities to change behavior Beyond Budget may become a more adaptive process and may overcome some grave disadvantages of the traditional budgeting system. That is in other words to be a workable model the Beyond Budget Model must have the appropriate culture and structure introduced effectively. In practice it is not an easy task and there is no silver bullet. However in practice it has been implemented in some organizations particularly in large, small and medium organizations.But the number of organizations adopting this model is very small even in large organizations. As well this model is mostly applicable to knowledge industries mostly than other organizations and the traditional model with good budgeting practices may work effectively than the Beyond Budget Model. For example Sevenska Handelsbanken a Swedish retail bank with Page: 5 branches all over Northern Europe and in Gre at Britain have had no Budget since 1970. (http://www. juergendaum. com/news/02_24_2003. htm). As well other examples of Beyond Budget model implemented successfully are Toyota an Automobile manufacturer, Aldi a German Retailer, South West Airlines, the American Airlines. (http://www. 12manage.com/methods_fraser_beyond_budgeting. html). In addition there are also other less well-known examples adopting Beyond Budget Model. They are Ahlshell, the Swedish materials wholesaler, ISS, the International Danish facilities service group, World Bank and small non-profit Sight savers International, a UK charity. (http://www. 12manage. com/methods_fraser_beyond_budgeting. html). As mentioned above in page 4 these examples demonstrates the Beyond Budget Model can be successful in any size however it is mostly applied by Knowledge Industries and the examples are very few this may be due to the fact this model is a recent model and it may increase in the future.However there are many organization s using the traditional budgeting model indicates the traditional model at least to be perceived by these organization to have some value to them as well it may be effective for many organizations or they adopt good budgeting processes. In summary it can be argued that the Beyond Budget Model certainly can overcome some behavioral problems in budgeting. However it has its own behavioral issues to be resolved to be more effective and in some circumstances it may not be effective and traditional budgeting process may work more effectively than Beyond Budget model as discussed Page: 6 Above. Its effectiveness is dependent on many factors as well as discussed above. Applying these behavioral issues as discussed above to the scenario one must assume about the organizational culture and organizational structure.If suppose one assumes the organization is a centralized organization and the top management believes in the beyond budgeting process and value the usefulness of budgeting and mana gers want to compete with other managers with resources and there exist considerable political activity then it can be argued it is very difficult to implement by top management the beyond budgeting model due to excessive conflict and empire building processes which may inhibit the successful implementation of the new Beyond Budget model. Any new model will have resistance due to changes in the status quo and managers may resist changes to protect their power and turf in the organization.There fore if the senior management does not have the leadership to influence and overcome resistance and change behavior and introduce the model in a phase which, is perceived by the managers and staff as imposition it may affect their performance and effective implementation, That is the top management must consider behavioral issues involved in introducing Beyond Budget model because it is a radical change from the traditional model and the culture may resist such change and it may be counter pro ductive and may not reap benefits theoretically expected by introducing this model. As well even if managers in this scenario do not like detailed budgets they may not have the skills and motivation and hindsight to plan and if the organization is a centralized organization not a decentralized organization the beyond budget model may not work in such circumstances. In effect management must consider Page: 7 the behavioral implications and behavioral issues of this model before considering this model and not considering good budgeting processes and use of technology and tools for budgeting as the traditional budgets have several advantages to organizations as well to its own behavioral limitations.As discussed above the Beyond Budget Model do not overcome all issues in Budgeting and even it addresses some issues it has its own behavioral issues to be resolved to be effective in all organizational circumstances and the behavioral issues may vary from one organization to another. It is also necessary to recognize to change a culture takes time and any culture cannot be changes in short time. This is a very important to consider because the Beyond Budget model is a radical change in culture and insists and based on considerable behavioral modification and change. This is a very important limitation of this model in practice and management must be aware of this before planning to introduce this in to organization without giving prior considerations of the complexity and the radical nature of its model in terms of behavioral implications, which is very difficult to predict.

Child Labor is a Form of Child Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Child Labor is a Form of Child Abuse - Essay Example Child labor hampers children from furthering their intellectual growth by robbing them of time spent inside the classrooms to be educated. Childhood is a very significant period in the intellectual development of an individual. However, being tied in different chores hinders children from getting proper schooling. Even if it is argued that child labor equips children with some skills, empirical evidence emphasizes that it significantly robs children the opportunity to be educated. Children who spend more time in work activities have less time to spare to attend their classes. Furthermore, â€Å"time spent working takes away from study, play, and sleep and might undermine the effectiveness of the classroom for child workers that attend school†. Child labor also lessens the ability of children to improve their academic performance. Lastly, child labor passes the responsibility of parents to their young children. It is the sole responsibility of parents to provide the material needs of their children and it is very abusive of them to have their offspring support the family. One extreme example of this is the case of bonded laborers where child labor is used to pay the debt of the family. In all these situations, children are burdened with responsibilities which are not theirs. Child labor is a form of maltreatment as it passes parent’s responsibilities to the child. Exposing children to hazardous working conditions endangers their physical well-being while robbing them of the time to be educated hinders their growth.

Pasadena city college Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pasadena city college - Essay Example He noted that the truths of psychology are universal in that  people everywhere have minds, goals, desires, and beliefs.  In light of this, he defined a baby’s naà ¯ve psychology by exploring what babies know about the minds of others using the looking-time methods. He equally reckons a sympathetic parent’s acceptance to the popular claim that babies are wonderful learners. However, developmental psychologists negate this popular claim by noting that the ignorance of human babies extends well into childhood (Bloom Web). Bloom relates with other psychologists that the ignorance of human babies extends well into childhood and adopts the convectional view that young humans take a surprisingly long time to learn basic facts about the physical world and about people than they do to learn about morality. There are various studies, using the looking-methods to explore what babies know about the minds of others. In a study by his wife, Karen, he found that babies could do rudimentary math with objects. In this study, babies expect the same number of items like adults and are thus surprised if the contrary happens against their expectations. In another study, babies proved to have an actual understanding of mental life where they grasp how people think and why they act as they do. Indeed, though babies expect inanimate objects to move as the result of push-pull interactions, they expect people to move rationally in accordance with their beliefs and desires. Other studies show the existence of behavior in to ddlers that is â€Å"altruistic† in an even stronger sense where they give up their time and energy to help a stranger accomplish a difficult task. In a study investigating what babies, think about two particular kinds of action involving helping and hindering, a three-dimensional display in which real geometrical objects, manipulated like puppets, acted out the helping/hindering situations was in application. The study found out that

An environmental accident for which a company was liable. It can also Term Paper

An environmental accident for which a company was liable. It can also be a deliberate environmental incident for which a compan - Term Paper Example Sea water breached the tsunami walls protecting the facility after a tsunami that followed the earthquake. The tsunami wave was 13 meters while the tsunami walls protecting the facility were only 10 meters high. TEPCO had predicted a possibility of a tsunami wave breaching the wall in case of an earthquake of a high magnitude. The paper seeks to establish the liability of the company in regard to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Table of contents 1. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦4 1.1 Fukushima I nuclear power plant†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 2. Causes of the Fukushima I nuclear plant disaster†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦...5 3. Safety issues r elating to the Fukushima nuclear plant prior to the disaster.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦..6 3.1 Changed layout of the emergency cooling system†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 3.2 Falsified safety records by TEPCO†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦..†¦6 3.3 Prior failure of the backup generator †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 3.4 Ignored tsunami warning†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..7 3.5 Location of the reactor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..7 4. ... Unit 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..9 4.4 Issues in Unit 4†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.10 5 Release of radioactive substances into the environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...10 6. Liability for the Fukushima nuclear disaster†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 6.1 Assessing TEPCO’S liability†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦...12 Work cited †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦14 1. Introduction The Great East Japan Earthquake with magnitude of 9.0 did a substantial damage to Japan and its environs. The gigantic tsunami that followed the quake resulted in more damage. The earthquake was complex and unusual double quake with a severe period of around 3 minutes. As a result of the earthquake Japan shifted a few meters east and the country's coastline sank half a meter. The death toll from the earthquake is recorded at 19,000, and much of the coastal area was destroyed. 1.1 Fukushima I nuclear power plant The Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant comprised of six boiling water reactors. These reactors were designed by General Electric. During its activity, the plant produced a total power of 4.7 gigawatts. The plant was among the largest nuclear plants around the world. It was run by TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company). At the time of the earthquake unit 1, 2 and 3 of the plant were operational while unit 4 had been de-fueled and both unit 5 and 6 had been shut down for maintenance. After the earthquake the functioning units in all nuclear plants, including unit 1, 2 and 3 in the Fukushima I plant were shut down following government regulations (Ohnishi, 12). A 13

Horizon Automation System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Horizon Automation System - Essay Example The standards based system provides an interface for remote public access and inter library operations like ILL (Inter Library Loaning). The main features of the library automation system are described as: Online Catalogs - Anglo American Cataloguing Rules (AACR) are used for constructing catalogues in the library system. The cataloguing is done based on the two classes of materials: monographs and continuing resources. AACR2 (AACR 2nd edition) defines "monograph" as: The serial is a continuing resource issued in a succession of discrete parts, usually bearing numbering, that has no predetermined conclusion. E.g. journals, magazines, newspapers, and monographic series. The integrating resource is the work that is updated and integrated into the whole. E.g. updating web sites. Authority Record - provide information about individual names, subjects and uniform titles that are used in the bibliographic records, e.g. Author, Publisher, etc. Authority records provide cross-references in the catalogues. Record Creation - The bibliographic record is created in the library system when CIP (Catalogue-In-Publication) record is received from the bibliography publishing agency or is locally entered. The holdings and item records are created when the physical object is received. Record Edit - The record is edited when either an update to t... The bibliographic record must exist before holdings record is created. Item Record - identifies a physical piece - book, CD, etc and links it to a barcode number that is used for circulation. Authority Record - provide information about individual names, subjects and uniform titles that are used in the bibliographic records, e.g. Author, Publisher, etc. Authority records provide cross-references in the catalogues. Record Creation - The bibliographic record is created in the library system when CIP (Catalogue-In-Publication) record is received from the bibliography publishing agency or is locally entered. The holdings and item records are created when the physical object is received. Record Edit - The record is edited when either an update to the CIP record is received (any modifications in the published information), the item is made available to the library, or if there are any modifications to any of the field information in the item catalogue. Record Import - The import of a record is performed when the requested information is not available in the local library system. The search request is submitted through the Z39.50 client to the preferred partners (OCLC server) who can loan the desired item. The server returns the requested record. MARC Record Management The MARC formats are the standards for the representation and communication of bibliographic and related information in machine-readable form. The cataloguing information is maintained on the typed cards and in online bibliographic records as: Author Title Edition Place of Publication Publisher Date of Publication Subject Headings, Etc. The Library of Congress needed to develop software which allowed cataloguers to enter their

America in Transition 1801-1848 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

America in Transition 1801-1848 - Assignment Example President Jackson asserted that removing the Indians was necessary in order for them to maintain their culture, which could not be possible if they mixed up with the Americans. He announced that the two major tribes of the Indian community had already agreed with the terms for their removal, and supported this by saying that this was a good example to the rest, who would soon follow the same path as they seek similar compensation (Lewis 2001). The building of the Erie Canal illustrated the confluence of a vision. It took 15 years to be completed beginning from 1817 to 1832. It was viewed by many as the dream of Washington, who is believed to have a great understanding of the significance of transport and communication in nation-building. However, he did not live to see the completion of the canal (Bernstein 2005). It created a significant landing point for the sea vessels at New York City. The river barges were used for transportation of the cargo from these vessels to far places such as Chicago. The canal facilitated the growth of the New York City which became a major port in the United States. With time, Chicago also followed similar developments as in New York City. The population of the two cities rose as the two cities became the largest of all the cities in America. Construction of the canal received public support, notably from particular public officials who according to (Bernstein 2005) included â€Å"people such as Morris, who represented the first Continental Congress†. Bernstein further notes that the public was excited regarding the canal as they saw it as a major step towards achieving prospects of acquiring the capability of transporting commodities which included salt and others such as gypsum to far places through it. This was not possible before the construction of the canal. There used to be no trading activities between merchants from the East and the West.

Natural Disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Natural Disaster - Essay Example In my opinion, I like to see the term â€Å"natural disaster† as a word human beings use to blame nature for their lack of environmental sustenance. I believe most of the natural disasters are tied to the environment in which they occur, which is manipulated by humankind. In this speech, I will discuss earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods, citing their causes and effects, and possible prevention. Let us start with earthquakes. Theses happen when tectonic forces cause tectonic plates comprising the earth’s crust, to collide. This causes vibrations of varying magnitudes to be transferred from underground to the crust. If these forces have high magnitude, the effects of the earthquake will be severe as compared to low magnitude forces. An example of severe earthquake is the one that hit Haiti in 2010, leading to loss of close to 100 000 lives, and loss of property. Floods occur when there is an overflow of a water body. Floods lead to loss of lives, and displacement of people, as well as destruction of cities. Floods result from two waves rolling on a dry land surface or by excessively destructive rains. Floods can also be a result of hurricanes. For instance, New Orleans was destroyed by floods in 2005, because of the hurricane Katrina. In 2010, floods hit Pakistan, displacing more than 17 million people, destroying 1.3 million homes, and leaving millions homeless. Hurricanes are another type of natural disaster. These are strong storm systems, which have centers with low pressure. These result in powerful winds and rainfall, which cause high magnitude damages to infrastructure and landscapes. The most recent hurricane include hurricane Katrina in 2005, which destroyed most parts of the Caribbean and Southern USA, including New Orleans City. The most recent hurricane Sandy also affected parts of the USA, destroying infrastructure and displacing people. According to Alexander, some of the natural disasters can be prevented if preventive strategies are adopted

EDLE 640 - Discussion Posts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

EDLE 640 - Discussion Posts - Essay Example It differs with the traits approach and argues that a leader is not a superior individual. It further adds that leadership is specific to a specific situation. Consential leadership teaching also teaches us that leaders should be able to motivate other individuals. Leadership can be viewed as a person having the ability to supervise a team. Leadership activities can include; motivation, honesty and confidence. Starratt (2003) on leadership in schools argues that in schools, leadership is about developing school programs and ideals that articulate ways of learning and being. Therefore the core resource in a school is the people and the human relationship that arise therein. The school is made up of a community of people who interact to influence the learning process.One characteristic of a school under bureaucracy is decision making structure. This process is always bureaucratic as the students, teachers and the school administration exist in the structure that decisions made take time to be arrived at by the school executive. Once these decisions are arrived at, they are passed to the teachers who do not question but implement. This is a top-down management style which is very bureaucratic. Servant leadership in my context as religious individual is giving yourself to serve the church and in turn serve other people. The serving feeling is inborn therefore service to others comes first before leading other people. R. Greenleaf coined the term ‘servant leadership and to him, service is first then leadership follows up i.e. a servant-leader. He further argues that a servant-leader puts the needs of others first and help people to develop. The servant leadership I experienced as an Assistant at Western NSW was very effective as my religious upbringing backed it up. Servant leadership is about focusing on the well-being of the people and communities to which I belong to; therefore my experience with working for school children was very

The Baitsoft Network Attack Simulated by Intel Essay Example for Free

The Baitsoft Network Attack Simulated by Intel Essay During the whole course of the simulation you will be acting as an external security investigator and being vigilant like in real life situation is a requisite. It’s like getting into actual crime scene where investigators need to find things which could be treated as evidences for solving crimes. As it is only a computer-based simulation, paying attention to important details in every scene is very important. Relying on the voice of the characters in its scenes isn’t enough, and it is true in the real life situation, you also need to give particular attention to things around it. For instance, in most scenes you hear the characters talk then stop and do nothing else, and if you are not lucky enough to discover the tricks then you might end up hanging for few minutes waiting for the next lines. The secret is, move the mouse pointer around the details in the scenes like any suspicious figures such as: the Laptop and the PDA on Martin Dawes table, the magazine on the table in front of the receptionist section, the visitor’s log book also found in the receptionist section, the Whyte Board or shall we call it simply as the frame, and the firewall both located at the Server Room. Some important clues are also hidden in the speech lines of the characters. Paying attention to either heard or readable instruction is also very important in getting progress to the next scenes in the simulation. The simulation is giving users the experience of thrill, pressure, and suspense in real life handling of network security threats. Getting experience with using the IP Trace 2006 is a heart pounding situation. The most pressured section of the scenario is the scene where you need to help the IT manager create a virus definition which will be submitted to the security center. These experiences give the user an idea of how real life network security administrators race with every tick of the clock in handling different types of threats. There is a lesser suspense with accessing the CCTVs’s files, but it is time consuming as you have to roll out tapes for particular period of time intervals. The simulation also presented some method of how to ensure network securities. These are the common requisites of a secured network: firewalled, wireless networks must be secured; the network should be equipped with security tools. Aside from the technical and the software side of the story, network users should also have the right attitude – sincerity, and having commitment to common objectives. Another thing is, in the realm of competition, some people are more likely to be inclined with adapting desperate measures such as stealing other people’s resources by any means in order to gain advantage. Security Issues Presented in the Simulation There are lots of security issues presented in the simulation such as: Port Scanning, Virus Injection into a network, Social Engineering, Warchalking/Wardriving, unauthorized torrent use or file sharing, and Packet Sniffing. Network securities are often compromised not because it is unsecured, but because somebody allowed it to be compromised. Like what happened in the simulation, there really exists what we commonly called as â€Å"inside jobs† in some reported network attacks or in any criminal activities. In the simulation, Ian Siter, a newly hired Baitsoft project manager confessed his part of the whole crime. Another important detail is, he previously work with Daiyto’s Games Company, the primary competitor of Baitsoft, who also happened to be the primary suspect of the crime. Daiyto’s Games was caught port scanning the Baitsoft network as reported by the IP Trace 2006 Software. The scenario shows that anybody who has access to secured/unsecured network can become the means of any network attacks. This reality dictates that when putting people in critical positions within the organization, the management should be very careful. A network security is threatened by the accessibilities of software on the net. Some of these computer softwares which are intended for beneficial purposes are misused by some people having twisted minds in doing their hacking or stealing activities. This situation calls for strict monitoring and implementation of the rules and policies of how these tools should be used. Conclusion There always exist people who love to compromise other people. In the field of ensuring network security, the fundamental is keeping it secured technically, and most of all placing the right and trustworthy people in the position. Reference: CrimeScene. IBM. Retrieved, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://www. intel. com/cd/network/connectivity/emea/eng/249411. htm

Skopos Theory of Translation

Skopos Theory of Translation 1. Introduction With the development of world economy and accelerating globalization, more and more companies have realized the significance of translating English trademarks. Trademark is a very special type of practical writing with high commercial value. The translation of English trademark names belongs to a kind of cultural communication with special purposes. A successful translation should be able to convey the current information of the commodity, attract the foreign consumers attention, stimulate their purchasing desire and promote their buying action. However, the traditional equivalence theory turns out to be increasingly inadequate and the rigid faithful translation will often produce negative effect. The Skopos theory has presented a new perspective to the study of trademark translation. With the guidance of this theory, the translator could use translation strategies flexibly to achieve the purpose of embodying the trademarks function. This thesis uses a lot of examples to put forward some techniques such as literal and free translation. And it also emphasizes that a translator should not only try his or her best to express the native connotation, but also keep in mind the adaptation to foreign culture. Only by doing so, can translation fulfill the purpose of the trademark? With increasing globalization of the world economy, more and more commodities spring up like mushrooms. As to win a superior place in an extremely competitive market, or a commodity, besides the high quality and a moderate price, its trademark name is also a vital factor. Billions of dollars are spent each year in efforts to make the public familiar with the name of the products which manufacturers are selling. Companies advertise by emphasizing the trademarks on television, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc. Customers can get a general idea or even the nature of the commodity. Those easy to read, understand and memorize can always stimulate customers purchasing desire and bring companies a great success and fortune from what they are striving as much as possible to sell. So a fine trademark name translation comes to play an important role in promoting the products and will earn more money than a common translation in the course of sales. Admittedly, translation is a very complex sub ject. By far, there have been many linguists who have carried on the research of equivalence theory-faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance. But these standards, however, are not completely fit to the translation of a trademark name. The main reason is that each language has its unique linguistic features and versatile cultural backgrounds, customs and thinking patterns, there hardly exists absolute equivalence, especially in the case of Chinese and English, which are from two completely different language families. For example, the faithfulness may not be reached by using only several simple English words. There are also many outstanding linguists abroad doing research in this field. The Skopos theory, put forward in Ground-work for a General Theory of Translation (an article) by Reiss, Vermeer in 1984, emphasizes the functionality to achieve purpose of the target text in the target culture. Skopos theory was developed in Germany in the late 1970s, and which reflects a general shift from predominantly linguistic and rather formal translation theories to a more functionally and socioculturally oriented concept of translation. Skopos theory takes seriously factors which have always been stressed in action theory, and which were brought into sharp relief with the growing need in the latter half of the twentieth century for the translation of non-literary text types. In the translation of scientific and academic papers, instructions for use, tourist guides, contracts, etc, the contextual factors surrounding the translation cannot be ignored. These factors include the culture of the intended readers of the target text and of the client who has commissioned it, and, in particular, the function which the text is to perform in that culture for those readers. Skopos theory is directly oriented towards this function. Translation is viewed not as a process of transcending, but as a specific form of human action. Like any other human action, translation has a purpose, and the word skopos, derived from Greek, is used as the technical term for the purpose of a translation. Skopos must be defined before translation can begin; in highlighting skopos, the theory adopts a prospective attitude to translation, as opposed to the retrospective attitude adopted in theories which focus on prescriptions derived from the source text.(Baker, 2004: 235) In the article Reflections on Certain Methods of Translation based on functional concept of translation, Chen Xiaowei pointed out the concept has provided theoretical basis for some translation practices used to be considered against the existing criteria of translation methods, such as abridgment and adaptation(Chen X iaowei, 2000).Yang Xiaorong(2001) also called for more attention to contemporary translation theories such as functionalist approach to translation. She stated in her article Traditional and Modern Perspectives on Translation Criticism that by emphasizing the role played by the receptor, the translator and the cultural factors in the process of translation, functionalist approach is able to present a dynamic and multi-dimensional perspective on translation criticism. In this thesis, the background and development of this approach as well as its basic concepts are discussed in light of their applicability in advertisement translation. In terms of Skopos theory, translators are encouraged to make full use of all the sources of the source text and are entitled to choose whatever translation strategies he thinks appropriate to achieve the functions of the translation. That is what we call the end justifies the means. Li Yuxiang (2006), a researcher of Tongji University, stated in her pa per that brand name translators should not only be well aware of the linguistic and cultural differences between source language and target language, but also be quite knowledgeable about marketing, psychology and aesthetics as well as full of imagination and creativity. In the course of translation, the translator should pay attention to the adaptation to many aspects and should be highly imaginative. As such, the functionalist approach can offer a satisfactory explanation to the unconventional strategies applied in trademark translation, which the traditional equivalence-based theory fails to account for. The body of this thesis is divided into six parts. At the very beginning of the introduction, the thesis presents the background, rationale, objectives, methodology and the organization of the thesis. Chapter 1 introduces the description including definition, characteristics and functions of trademark. Chapter 2 studies the Skopos theory and more attention will be paid to three rules which are skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule. Chapter 3 analyzes the guidance of Skopos theory in English trademark translation with the proof of some instances. Chapter 4 exerts many examples to work out some applicable English trademark translation strategies or approaches based on the Skopos theory. Chapter 5 comes to conclusions, which gives the main findings about this thesis, identifies limitations of the present study and makes suggestions for future research. 2. The introduction about trademark 2.1 The definition of trademark There are a lot of definitions about trademark. In Wikipedia, trademark means conventionally a distinctive sign of some kinds, whether that sign comprises a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, picture, styling or a combination of one or more of these elements. A trademark is used by a business to identify itself and its products or services to consumers, and to set itself and its products or services apart from other businesses. A trademark is a type of intellectual property, and in particular, a type of industrial property. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (4th Ed) provides a definition like this: a special mark on a product to show that it is made by a particular producer; a thing that is typical of a person or company. A trademark is defined by law as any sign that distinguishes the goods or services of one undertaking from those of another. Most trademarks are words, names or logos but more fancy trademarks include shapes, sounds and even smells. So long as your trademarks are capable of graphic representation, they can be capable of protection. Taking into account of all these explanations, trademarks can be defined as this: they are any word, term, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof that are used in commerce as brand names, domain names, tag lines, slogans, non-functional and distinctive packaging and labeling designs, etc. to indicate the source of goods or services and differentiate the products or services from those of the other. That is to say, a trademark has the characteristics of describing the features of a commodity; making the commodity more distinctive; assisting the consumers to memorize the products; conforming to the images of commodity as well as company and arousing customers associations about beautiful things. 2.2 The functions of trademark 2.2.1 Origin Function A trademark helps to identify the source and those responsible for the products and services sold in the market as it includes the materialistic and abstract components of the product and reflect its marketing capabilities. Specifically, a trademark, the distinctive sign or indicator of some kind, used by an individual, business organization or another legal entity assists consumers to uniquely identify the source of its products or services, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities. So a trademark could guarantee the identity of the origin of marked goods or services offered to each consumer or end user by enabling the latter to distinguish, without any possibility of confusion, the origin of the goods or services in question. 2.2.2 Quality Function Consumers choose a particular trademark for its known quality. Trademarks have the functions of guaranteeing and improving the quality of products. Therefore, quality means the foundation of a trademarks reputation which convinces the consumers to buy that kind of commodity. The goods which are cheap in price and high in quality will meet the consumers objective needs and mental consumption, and establishing the good prestige for the trademark could win the consumers trust. Naturally, the market of products would be expanded and good economic returns for the enterprises would also be yielded. Once establishing the image in buyers mind, the manufacturers and sellers would do their utmost to ensure the quality, maintain the good faith of the well-known products so as to achieve obvious economic benefits. 2.2.3 Advertising Function Trademarks play an important role in advertising. A trademark enables consumers to choose goods and services with ease under the influence of continuous advertising. As shown in the above, a trademark is the symbol of a product, distinguishing the commodity from another and making them easier for consumers to memorize, which is a very important part of the advertisement of the product. A good trademark should be simple and memorable, so it can, to some degree, influence and arouse their desire to buy the product. It is not uncommon for a customer to refuse to buy a certain product merely because of his or her dislikes of the trademark. Besides, via the media, including radio, television, newspapers, magazines and the Internet, enterprisers give wide coverage to trademarks in order to deeply impress the consumers, stimulate their interests to buy their products, at last, fulfill the purpose to advertise the product and create an image in the mind of the ultimate purchaser. 2.2.4 Marketing and Economic Function A successful trademark can promote the international trade to attain the goals of boosting its market share. Served as the crucial tool to gain and dominate the market, trademark especially the famous one plays the significant role in opening up an outlet and occupying the global market. Now, with the development of international business, the higher reputation of a trademark means the better quality of the product. Even the same products have different prices because of different trademarks; of course, the profits brought by goods are also different. Thus, its clear that a well- recognized trademark has a better competitive power in markets. Established trademark is a valuable asset. A trademark indicates competition, for its function is to distinguish one product from another, meanwhile, it is created by use, and remains valid only as long as it is used. For many manufacturers, the trademark is what turns people into customers. Perhaps money has been invested in advertising, or people have learned of the business through word of mouth. But no company would want to see another company opened up with a similar name and people got confused. If that really happened, the former one might very well lose potential or existing customers to the new company. It is the common sense that a famous trademark, even in tough economic times, strongly influences purchasing behavior as consumers would make more careful decisions, and often revert to tried and trusted brands. Today the trademarks may be licensed or franchised. It can be concluded that the ultimate purpose of advertising is to persuade consumers to buy a certain product or service. The main functions in advertising at least include conveying information and persuasion. To describe it specifically, the basic functions of trademark are to present some information about goods, services or ideas to the public and influence and persuade people to make choices, at last to take some actions, especially to purchase the products. 3. Skopos theory 3.1 A brief introduction to Skopos theory Skopos is the Greek word for aim or purpose and was introduced into translation theory by Hans J. Vemeer as a technical term for the purpose of a translation and of the action of translating by Jeremy Munday. (Munday, 2001: 65) In Vermeers approach, every translation is directed at an intended audience, since to translate means to produce a text in a target setting for a target purpose and target addressees in target circumstances.(Nord, 2001: 12) According to Skopos theory, any form of translational action, including translation itself, may be assumed as an action which is intentional and purposeful, and the prime principle determining any translation process is the purpose (Skopos) of the overall translational action.(Nord, 2001: 27) Skopos theory queries the primitive theory that centers on original texts. It explains the action of translation from a brand new angle. Faced at aiming system, it is a descriptive and standard combined theory.(Zhang Nanfeng, 2004: 121). 3.2 The development of Skopos theory The functionalist translation theory was developed in the 1970s in German. The main contributions and the contributors are Katharina Reiss with her functionalist translation criticism; Hans J. Vermeers Skopos theory and its extensions; Justa Holz-Manttaris theory of translational action and Christiane Nord. They are all German scholars, so we call it German school of functionalism. (Nord, 1997:4) Early in 1971, in her book Possibilities and Limits of Translation Criticism, Reiss develops a model of translation criticism based on the functional relationship between source and target texts.(Nord, 1997:5)To her, TL text should be equivalent to SL text in terms of conceptual content, linguistic form and communicative function. So obviously, she still took equivalence as her basis. However, in real life she found that sometimes equivalence was not possible and not even desired in some cases, for example, when the target text is intended to achieve a purpose or function other than that of the original. In such situations, she thinks that the functional perspective takes precedence over the normal standards of equivalence. Then translation critic can no longer rely on features derived from source-text analysis but has to judge whether the target text is functional in terms of the translation context. (Nord, 1997:9) Then, Hans Vermeer made a breakthrough by putting forward his famous Skopos theory which is regarded as the landmark of functionalist approach to translation. Vermeer maintained that linguistics alone could not solve all the translation problems. Thus he put translation in a broader human context, embedding the theory of translation in a theory of human action or activity. He considers translation as a type of human action, which is an intentional, purposeful behavior that takes place in a given situation; it is part of the situation at the same time as it modifies the situation.(Nord, 1997:11)Thus Vermeer calls his theory Skopos theory. Actually, Skopos theory is the theory that applies the notion of Skopos to translation. Manttari goes one step further than Vermeer. She even avoids using the term translation in the strict sense. She prefers to speak of message transmitters, which consist of textual material combined with other media such as pictures, sounds and body movements. In her model, translation is defined as a complex action designed to achieve a particular purpose. The generic term for the phenomenon is translational action. The purpose of translational action is to transfer messages across culture and language barriers by means of message transmitters produced by experts. (Nord, 1997:13) Afterward, Nord summarized all these theories and made them more comprehensive by her book Translaitng As a Purposeful Activity-Functionalist Approaches Explained. 3.3 Three rules of the Skopos theory 3.3.1 The skopos rule In Vermeers skoposthorie, the top-ranking rule for translation is the Skopos rule. The term Skopos usually refers to the purpose of the target text. (Nord, 2001: 28) translational action is determined by its Skopos: that is the end justifies the means (Reiss and Vermeer 1984:101) Vermeer explains the Skopos rule in the following way: Each text is produced for a given purpose and should serve this purpose. The Skopos rule thus reads as follows: translate/interpret/speak/write in a way that enables your text/translation to function in the situation in which it is used and with the people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to function. (Nord, 2001: 29) Translation is normally done by assignment. A client needs a text for a particular purpose and calls upon the translator for a translation, thus acting as the initiator of the translation process. In an ideal case, the client would give as many details as possible about the purpose, explaining the addressees, time, place, occasion and medium of the intended communication and function and which the text is intended to have. The information would constitute an explicit translation brief which means translation commission or translation assignment. (Nord, 2001: 30) BMW was an acronym for Bayerishe Motoren Werke (the German famous auto companys name). It has no meaning but shows the place where the car come form. (Chen Dongcheng, 2008)The translation of à ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã‚ ©Ã‚ ¬ is known to many Chinese customers. Because B and M are pronounced like à ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã‚ ©Ã‚ ¬ in Chinese, which à ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚  means precious and à ©Ã‚ ©Ã‚ ¬ (horse) tells that it is an automobile as à ©Ã‚ ©Ã‚ ¬ is one means of transportations in ancient China. So it can reach the purpose of arousing the customers association of the swift horse and implies this kind of cars can go a long way with a high speed. 3.3.2 The coherence rule This rule emphasis that the translation must be adequately coherent to allow the intended users to comprehend it, and provide them assumed background knowledge and situational circumstances. What the translator can do, and what he should do, is to produce a text that is at least likely to be meaningful to target-culture receivers. In Vermeers terms the target text should conform to the standard of intratextual coherence (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984: 109). This means the receiver should be able to understand it; it should make sense in the communicative situation and culture in which it is received. A communicative interaction can only be regarded as successful if the receivers interpret it as being sufficiently coherent with their situation. Accordingly, another important rule of Skopos theory, the coherence rule, specifies that a translation should be acceptable in a sense that it is coherent with receivers situation. (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984: 113) Safeguard, a brand for soap and bathing lotion, means security and guardian. It is transliterated as à ¨Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ ¨Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ³. Here à ¨Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ means comfort, à ¨Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤ means skin and à ¤Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ³ means good quality. So this translation will leave the impression on people that this soap or lotion with good quality can bring comfort to the skin. Furthermore, Chinese people will have a basic conception about what kind of product it is and understand it very well when they first saw the translation. 3.3.3 The fidelity rule This rule touches upon the relationship between the source-text and target-text. Vermeer calls this relationship intertextual coherence or fidelity which is fidelity rule. (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984: 114) In Skopos theory, the source-text is not so crucial in the position of offering information especially in equivalence-based theories. Intertextual coherence should exist between source and target text, while the form it takes depends both on the translators interpretation of the source text and on the translation Skopos. (Nord, 2001: 32) The fidelity rule stresses that some relationship must remain between the target-text and source-text once the overriding principle of Skopos and the rule of coherence have been satisfied. Crown(the trademark of a car)is translated literally into Chineseà §Ã… ¡Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚   whether it is in English or in Chinese. Crown andà §Ã… ¡Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚  both represent the superior social status,. The Chinese version can well express that the car is in good condition, the style is grand and the quality is first-rate. It is faithful to its original meaning of the brand which is and will undoubtedly be accepted by the consumers in China just the same as in the original country. The three rules are organized based on their status. The fidelity rule is considered as the subordination to the coherence rule. Both of them are subordinate to the Skopos rule. Hence, the purpose of translation is the first concern for the translator. If the Skopos requires a change of function, the standard will no longer by intertextual coherence with the source text but adequacy or appropriateness with regard to the Skopos (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984: 139). 4. The guidance of Skopos theory in English trademark translation As the statement in the first chapter about the functions of trademark, the translation of English trademark should attract the consumers attention, raise their interest, stimulate their desire, improve their memory and promote their action. The Skopos theory believes that the translating purpose decides the translating strategies and methods. As the translation of English trademark names is a project which has particular purposes, the Skopos theory is very suitable to the translation of English trademark names. 4.1 The Purpose of Embodying Characters of Commodity The translation of an English trademark should endeavor to provide as much as information about the commodity for consumers. The translation should transmit the commoditys positive information to attract the consumers attention and raise their interest. Take Rejoice for example, it is translated to beà ©Ã‚ £Ã‹Å"à ¦Ã… ¸Ã¢â‚¬ in Chinese. The translation has pretty well expressed the information of the goods. From the name, consumers can get the information that the commodity may be something about flowing locks or gentle and smooth hair, because à ©Ã‚ £Ã‹Å"and à ¦Ã… ¸Ã¢â‚¬ often have been used to describe the feature of hair. So the consumers attention will be attracted by the goods immediately when they see the name. Surely enough, their interest is aroused and they will be willing to see some more elaborate information about the goods. So the translation of an English trademark should express information to demonstrate the characters of a commodity. 4.2 The Purpose of Identifying Commodity We know that one commodity has its distinctive character. A good trademark should represent the commodity and shows its uniqueness. If a name is distinctive enough to catch the consumers attention, it has been endowed with the discerning function. Then in a consumers memory, this distinctive name will be the most deep-going one. Of course, the purchasing action could be stimulated. For instance, two commodities both have the same English trademark called Liberty. Actually, one product is a sportswear and the other is a carpet. In China, the former one is à ¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ ªÃƒ §Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚ ± and the latter one is à ¥Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚ Ãƒ ¥Ã…“ °. à ¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ ªÃƒ §Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚ ± means free and it can arouse the feelings of leisure and casualness which accord with the style of the cloth. à ¥Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚ Ãƒ ¥Ã…“ ° conveys that this kind of carpet is good to protect the consumers precious plot. Besides, à ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚ Ãƒ ¥Ã…“ ° is the propitious word popular with Chinese customers. 4.3 The Purpose of Stimulating Consumers Purchasing Desire All the advertising campaign of a commodity is advancing towards to one destination to move the consumers to buy the products. The trademark as a means of publicizing ways, its translation should serve the purpose, too. Carrefour is a foreign invested supermarket in China. Its Chinese version of à ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ¶Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¹Ã‚ Ãƒ §Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ , tells us each family can enjoy happiness and pleasure in this supermarket. When seeing this name, they may go it and buy something there. This translation, making use of consumers purchasing psychology, has successfully appealed to consumers and has cleverly stimulated their purchasing desire. Therefore, the translation of a trademark should be able to stimulate consumers buying desire. 4.4 The purpose of adaption to the customers culture The famous British anthropologist E. B. Taylor (1871) defines culture as a complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.(Danesi Perron, 1999: 3) because trademark, obviously is part of the culture, so its translation, to a great extent, is influenced by culture. Foreign commodities trademarks inevitably contain different cultural characteristics. When they enter the Chinese market, they will mainly face Chinese consumers. Whether they can win the market share and the favor of Chinese customers depends greatly on their translation. Even they enjoy global fame, it will still be difficult for Chinese consumers to accept if they dont have impressive translations into Chinese. A good translation will have enormous impact, though invisible, on consumers mentality. (Bao Huinan, 2001: 281) For truly successful translating, biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism, since words o nly have meanings in terms of cultures in which they function. (Nida, 1993: 110) hence, to contribute to the function of trademark, the translation must fulfill the purpose to go with the culture of customers. Dragon means devil in western culture, while in Chinese culture, dragon(à ©Ã‚ ¾Ã¢â€ž ¢) is the symbol of power and heavenliness is something sacred and has been referred to as the ancestor of the Chinese nation, so Chinese people have a special preference for this animal which does not exist. Citroen, a French-made car brand, is translated into à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ªÃƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ãƒ ©Ã‚ ¾Ã¢â€ž ¢ to adapt the customers culture in target market. 5. Translation strategies based on Skopos theory Skopos theory considers translation as a complicated interactive behavior. The aim of translation is often determined after counsel between client and translator. It is the initiator or its agent who makes differences. They give explanation of time, place, situation, intermediary, aim as well as readers and function of translation. According to the specific translation requirement such as the writers interactive intention and expectation of the translated texts, as well as social knowledge background, interactive need of readers, etc. translator can determine any translating tactics, and does not have to care about the equality of translated text to the original text, for which would weaken the translated texts interactive function in the environment of target language. Therefore, with the guide of translation purpose, the translator can consider the relative factors comprehensively and then decide the most suitable method. Approaches can be adopted by translators if it can realize t he expected purpose well. The translator can change properly according to the connotation meaning of a trademark name. If it is transformed appropriately, it can be full of wit and humor. The consumers will certainly be attracted by such kind of a trademark names. So the realistic standard of trademark translation is whether it is recognized and accepted by consumers who would buy the products finally. Therefore, based on the Skopos theory, translation strategies are not restricted. According to the contents mentioned above, we can emphasize that the purpose changes with the consumer varies. (Wang Jianhui, Hu Dongping, 2007) Translators can take any appropriate tactics in order to achieve different goals. (Yin Xiaohong, 2006:171) As discussed above, the successful translation of brand names refers to lots of factors. Among them the most important is the flexible employment of translation methods in practice. In this part, the author will focus on two main methods, the most common and practical used strategies, in brand name translation. They are literal translation and free translation. 5.1 Literal translation The so-called literal translation in this paper is equivalent to Newmarks semantic translation, which attempts to render, as closely as the semantic and syntactic structure of the second language allow, the exact contextual meaning of the original.(Newmark, 1988: 39). Literal translation involves translating meanings literally, keeping both the original form and the original sense. It is the primary way of trademark translation. It can better convey the original information of the product, indicate the authors original wish, and can keep the conformity with the brand designs. There are many popular trademarks translated in this way around us. Although it is not feasible for every one to be translated literally, literal translation is still put to use by translators. The translation of an electronic appliance brand, Pioneer intoà ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‹â€ Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬ ¹can convey to the customers the message that it is the pioneer of the electronic appliance industry. Microsoft, the American software giant company, also adopts literal translation to register its Chinese brand. Translating Micro as à ¥Ã‚ ¾Ã‚ ® and soft as à ¨Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¯ successfully transmit the implied meaning: a basic, tiny and delicate software. Mr. Juicy was translated as à ¦Ã… ¾Ã…“à ¦Ã‚ ±Ã‚ Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‹â€ Ãƒ §Ã¢â‚¬ Ã… ¸, can give customers a very clear idea that it is a fruit juice brand while at the same time it forms a cartoon image in peoples mind. 5.2 Free translation The free translation is also one of the most important techniques in the course of translating Chinese trademark names. We knew that literal translation would not achieve a perfect trademark translation all the time. Free translation is more complex and flexible. Free translation mostly could avoid the rigid feeling, comparing with mechanical transliteration. In fact, it is the translators imagination that is making an important impa

City of Angels :: essays papers

City of Angels The film City of Angels depicts the existence of an angel watching over a doctor who is deeply shaken by the loss of one of her patients, thus making the reality of angels on earth a possibility for me. Not only does this film make me seriously consider the existence of celestial beings, but I now believe in the possibility that a guardian angel is looking after me. The belief in such beings can be comforting during times of need and in matters of life and death. City of Angels portrays the grace of Heaven meeting the beauty of Earth. Two souls, one mortal and one celestial, must struggle with their willingness and their need to sacrifice everything familiar for the sake of love. Seth is the guardian angel who watches over Dr. Maggie Rice. After learning that it is possible for an angel to become mortal if his love for a woman is deep enough, he realizes the strength of his love for Maggie and agrees to fall from heaven to be with her. Until I watched City of Angels, the thought of invisible beings guiding and protecting me was not a major interest of mine. At the age of eight my uncle, whom I was very close to, passed away, and his death was tragic. Being young and not understanding the concept of death, I had endless questions. â€Å"Where do people go when they die?† â€Å"Is there really a heaven or hell?† â€Å"Are their souls still on earth, just not visible to humans?† Providing some explanation to my uncertainties, the scene in the film involving a library book with a mysterious origin suggests one method in which angels could convey subliminal messages. Seth leaves the book with a section marked for Maggie to consider the existence of angels around her. This scene gives me the sense of spiritual beings roaming earth after death. So where is my late uncle now? In contrast with the belief that a person’s soul travels to Heaven or Hell after death, I feel that my uncle’s soul is still nearby. It is clear that my uncle is my guardian angel. Similarly to the scene in City of Angels where Seth leaves the book on the nightstand to send a message, I have felt as though my uncle was present in a time of concern. City of Angels :: essays papers City of Angels The film City of Angels depicts the existence of an angel watching over a doctor who is deeply shaken by the loss of one of her patients, thus making the reality of angels on earth a possibility for me. Not only does this film make me seriously consider the existence of celestial beings, but I now believe in the possibility that a guardian angel is looking after me. The belief in such beings can be comforting during times of need and in matters of life and death. City of Angels portrays the grace of Heaven meeting the beauty of Earth. Two souls, one mortal and one celestial, must struggle with their willingness and their need to sacrifice everything familiar for the sake of love. Seth is the guardian angel who watches over Dr. Maggie Rice. After learning that it is possible for an angel to become mortal if his love for a woman is deep enough, he realizes the strength of his love for Maggie and agrees to fall from heaven to be with her. Until I watched City of Angels, the thought of invisible beings guiding and protecting me was not a major interest of mine. At the age of eight my uncle, whom I was very close to, passed away, and his death was tragic. Being young and not understanding the concept of death, I had endless questions. â€Å"Where do people go when they die?† â€Å"Is there really a heaven or hell?† â€Å"Are their souls still on earth, just not visible to humans?† Providing some explanation to my uncertainties, the scene in the film involving a library book with a mysterious origin suggests one method in which angels could convey subliminal messages. Seth leaves the book with a section marked for Maggie to consider the existence of angels around her. This scene gives me the sense of spiritual beings roaming earth after death. So where is my late uncle now? In contrast with the belief that a person’s soul travels to Heaven or Hell after death, I feel that my uncle’s soul is still nearby. It is clear that my uncle is my guardian angel. Similarly to the scene in City of Angels where Seth leaves the book on the nightstand to send a message, I have felt as though my uncle was present in a time of concern.

Revenue Determination: Pricing and Contracting Essays -- Business Reve

Over the last twenty years health care prices for the general public, because of this continuous rise in prices hospitals and health care facilities have given much attention to improving their communication of prices to the public. Most people of the general public are unaware that hospital costs and hospital prices are two different things. Hospital cost is the dollar amount the hospital pays in order to provide patient care. Hospital price is the dollar amount designated to the specific procedures performed in order to provide said â€Å"patient care†. This dollar amount is what the hospital bills the insurance company and/or the patient for their care (Cleverly & Cameron 2007). It is important for health care facilities and hospitals alike to provide a sense of reasonableness within their bills so that their patrons do not get the feeling that they are being â€Å"ripped off†. Many people feel that the reason their health care bills are so high is because hospital s feel they can charge whatever they want for a product people have to have. In general, sick people will not turn down a life saving treatment because it is too expensive, because the health care industry is aware of this, they charge whatever price they can get away with, like charging the patient’s insurance three times the base price (Cleverly & Cameron 2007). What the general public always seems to overlook is the fact that even hospitals need to turn a profit in order to keep their doors open and keep providing genuinely good health care to their patients. There are three generic factors that influence the way any firm, including health care facilities influence their pricing. These three factors are, the desired net income of the firm, the firm’s competitive positio... ...They are held to â€Å"reasonableness of charges† and it is important that the public knows the facts before speaking out against their local hospital. Health care costs money, therefore like any business hospitals must charge for their services, plain and simple. Works Cited Devers, K, Casalino, L, Rudell, L, Stoddard, J, Brewster, L, & Lake, T. (2003). Hospitals negotiating leverage with health plans: how and why has it changed? Health Services Research, 38(1), 419-446. Cleverley, W. O., & Cameron, A. E. (2007) Essentials of health care finance. Mississauga, Canada: Jones & Bartlett Long, R. (2002). Long: financial turnaround focuses on revenue cycle, managed care contracts - executive insights - ronald r. long, outgoing chairman of healthcare financial management association national board of directors - interview. Healthcare Financial Management

Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - Same-sex Marriage :: Argumentative Persuasive Essay Examples

Same-sex Marriage The argument of same-sex marriage is important, not only for the religious and legal precedent, but because the welfare of families, especially the interest of children now and in the future, may be profoundly affected by the proposals before Hawaii's courts and the state legislature relating to same-sex marriage. Marriage is a unique practice, in that it is both a religious sacrament and legal registration controlled by the state. For the time being, marriage is defined by "84% of the population as the union of two people of the opposite sex" (Johnson p.49). Therefore, by definition, marriage has to be different sex. Whereas, the definition of homosexuality is "exhibiting sexual desire toward another of the same sex" (Webster's New World Dictionary p.673). Throughout human history, according to religious tradition and as a matter of natural law, marriage has been tied to potential procreative sexuality, which is a monopoly held by different-sex couples. Under this definitional objection, "the state cannot recognize something that is an impossibility" (Eskridge p.87). "In 1993, three same-sex couples (Ninia Baehr, Genora Dancel, Tammy Rodrigues, Antoinette Pregil, Pat Lagon and Joseph Melilio) applied for marriage licenses from the State of Hawaii. They were refused. They then challenged the state's decision in court. This set in motion a chain of events: the case was appealed to the Hawaii Supreme Court (Baehr v. Miike; action #15689) which ruled on May 27, 1993 that the state's refusal to grant marriage licenses was unconstitutional. It violated the Hawaiian Constitution's equal protection guarantees (Article I, Section 5) against gender discrimination. The court remanded the case to the Circuit Court, stating that licenses should be issued to same-sex couples, unless the state can show a compelling interest in banning such marriages" (Hawai'is Future Today). The Hawaiian Legislature passed a bill in 1994 stating that "the state's policy is that marriage must only be permitted between a man and a woman" (Hawai'is Future Today). On December 3, 1996, Judge Kevin Chang issued a 46 page ruling. He has determined that "the State of Hawaii failed to show a compelling state interest to justify the continuation of the ban against same-sex marriages" (Chang). Same sex marriages are now theoretically legal in Hawaii. However, the state refused to recognize the courts decision until it was formally filed. The attorney general obtained a stay of Judge Chang's court order, pending a decision by the state Supreme Court.

How Business Strategy and Hr Strategy Are or Should Be Linked Together

Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management Anna Morozova Essay How business strategy and HR strategy are or should be linked together? Moscow, 2011 Departments are the entities organizations form to organize people, reporting relationships, and work in a way that best supports the accomplishment of the organization's goals. Departments are usually organized by functions such as human resources, marketing, administration, and sales. The forward thinking human resource department is devoted to providing effective policies, procedures, and people-friendly  guidelines and support  within companies.Additionally, the human resource function serves to make sure that the company mission,  vision,  values  or  guiding principles, the company metrics, and the factors that keep the company guided toward success are optimized. Of executives surveyed, 20% currently use the HR department as active and innovative business solution partners. 20% believe that the HR department should remai n as administrative overhead and only perform transactional work. But, 60% of the  executives are starting to expect the HR department to partner with others departments to improve the company’s core competencies and competitive advantages.Competitive pressure in a fast changing business world – pressures for sales, talent, and profits. Most CEO’s are held accountable for three general but powerful results: Increasing revenue, generating cash, and reducing costs. In order to focus on these three accountabilities, executives are discarding paradigms that no longer work as companies seek to stay in and grow their business. Many CEOs and CFOs are more interested in the payoff and are asking appropriate questions: What’s in it for the company? Where is the improvement in the revenue stream? How does this get us new customers and retain our current customers.Where is the proof of corporate performance enhancement metrics? Once they get solid answers to these questions from competent HR leaders, the CEOs are quick to change their thinking. To answer the payoff questions, recognize that a continual company-wide value chain analysis is critical to the success of any organization. Over the past decade, CEOs began demanding that their Human Resources departments deliver flawless functional work and become a knowledgeable partner with all other disciplines to advance the business plan of the company. Individual professional silos are breaking down.Disciplines such as finance, sales, marketing, operations, and HR no longer exist as stand-alone entities. They are inter-dependent with one another. Weakness of any one of the links inhibits other links from maximizing their efficiency and productivity. These three emerging concepts in the practice of HR bear examination: * What value does the HR department brings to the organization. Many HR teams lack a vision that includes their value to the organization. Do the HR department’s activitie s directly help the company achieve its broad business objectives?Are the HR team’s arguments for or against a business strategy credible to the other department heads at the decision making table? How are the HR department strategies that benefit the employees, the shareholders, the customers, and all other stakeholders in the organization, selected and implemented? * What value does the HR department generate for the customer – the end user of the company’s product or service? Sales and quality are no longer restricted to the sales and quality assurance teams. The HR department doesn’t just hire a salesperson based upon a manager’s request.The end result of HR’s recruiting and hiring efforts is that the customer who interacts with the new sales person receives continuing world class service from the company. HR shares the quality of the new hire with the other departmental silos to insure that the company is, or becomes, the vendor of choi ce for that customer. * The final of the three emerging concepts for the Human Resources Department is: What core business competencies must HR leaders possess in order to be credible strategic partners with the rest of the executive team?Each company and each industry can generate its own list of core business skills their teams must have that go beyond their individual specialties. This issue has become so critical that in graduate and undergraduate level business programs, new editions of Organizational Development textbooks are including chapters on financial calculations and ratios, corporate social responsibility, globalization, and major workforce diversity challenges, among others.The biggest barrier to profitability is ignorance – ignorance by many people about how the company makes money and how it achieves its objectives, and how all of the departmental silos are interdependent on each other. The myth that only finance people need to know about finance or that mark eting people are the only people who need to know about marketing is fast disappearing. In today’s business environment, profitable organizations require highly skilled employees who can solve complex problems using multi-disciplinary teams.Here are three examples how can HR be linked to profitability metrics: * A well known global company formed a group of HR professionals who developed processes and training programs in sales, customer service, workouts, project management, process improvement and leadership development that focused on critical performance issues for their internal and external customers. By partnering with operations, sales, and customer service they served as a catalyst to forge alliances, partnerships and agreements.Many of their efforts resulted in improved relationships that translated into â€Å"Preferred Provider Status†, which increased sales and lowered costs. All of their costs were liquidated by charging a fee for the service while creatin g net revenue. After two years, this HR group generated sales of $4 million and a profit margin in excess of 30% which was returned to the division budget at the end of each fiscal year. * Secondly, an HR team, partnering with the Audit staff, discovered that the accounts receivable turnover had moved from a preferred 30 days to 45 days during the past two years.They decided to let the chief credit officer go. The HR staff established criteria to identify candidates with the ability to reduce the ratio from 45 days back to 30 days. The HR staff recommended one candidate for hire. Within six months, the company’s DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) ratio was reduced to 35 days. * In a third case, while designing and negotiating a new health care and 401(k) plan, the HR leadership partnered with the sales and marketing team to determine if the cost of the program would erode the company’s market share and competitive pricing strategy.The resulting benefit program design achieve d its cost/benefit objectives without jeopardizing the company’s market share and pricing metrics. How do HR leaders and CEOs make the Human Resources Department to a Profitability Factor? Here are suggestions based on that the more employees become knowledgeably involved in the business, the better they will be able to become a more productive asset. * Develop a leadership development program that includes hands on training in all of the functional disciplines.For example, in the production department, identify the barriers that prevent managers from achieving efficiencies and savings; * Insist that Human Resources staff receive financial training so they understand the impact of cash flow, receivables, billing cycles, and so forth. If it is a public company, teach them how to read and understand company’s annual report. Reading the proxy statement is always informative – even if the information contained in it is reluctantly revealed, and occasionally masked w ith arcane accounting jargon; * Have HR staff participate in sales strategies, customer visits, and technology reviews.Encourage them to learn quality methods, process improvements techniques, terms and conditions, and contract negotiations with suppliers and customers. Engage them as process consultants (have them trained if necessary) so they can assist with growth initiatives; * Most importantly, hold all employees accountable for achieving the â€Å"critical numbers† established for your company. A superb HR department becomes irrelevant if the company is sliding into bankruptcy. The HR department's powerful value focuses on its contributions toward reversing the slide.It is important to Include HR employees as full business partners. They will rise to the occasion and surprise you by building your bottom line and becoming a profit center contributor as well as maintaining their traditional responsibilities – and they will be better at both. The intense and brutall y competitive business environment of our global and digital world needs the help of everyone in the company. Russian small enterprises do not practice the establishment of HR Departments in view of unprofitability of such a business organization.As the result, the majority of small enterprises do not develop any HR strategy. Thus I would like to present the unique HR strategy of Apple Inc. and how it is linked to company’s business strategy. Most firms strive to have a productive workforce. One of the best ways to measure workforce productivity is revenue per employee. Apple produces what can only be considered extraordinary revenue per employee; $2 million. A second measure of workforce productivity is profit per employee: nearly $478,000 for Apple (unbelievable considering it has a retail workforce).During 25 years Apple has been following the philosophy called â€Å"lean – management† which explains the prime drivers for Apple’s extraordinary employee productivity. For years, the leadership of Apple has followed the philosophy that having less is more, meaning that by purposely understaffing and operating with reduced funding, you can make the team more productive and innovative. Innovation at most firms is expensive because you must pay for a lot of trial and error.The lean approach, however, can improve innovation because with everything being tried, there simply isn’t enough time or money for major misses and re-do’s. â€Å"Unrealistic deadlines† at Apple mean that you have to get project problems solved early on, because there isn’t time to redo things over and over. Being lean forces the team to be more cohesive. Even providing a lean schedule forces everyone to be productive because they know there is no room for slippage. At Apple, the lean approach means that even with its huge cash resources, every employee must adopt the mentality of leanness.If you understand the lean concept and its advant ages, you shouldn’t be surprised that numerous innovations have been developed in â€Å"garages,† the ultimate lean environment. I have chosen an article â€Å"Human resource practices to attract and retain talents† by Hiltrop, 1999, because, in my opinion, it is very actual theme as businesses look for global growth, chronic skills gaps combined with a mismatch between demand and supply of talent means that getting (and keeping) the right people in the right places at the right time has never been more challenging.HR leaders need to mobilize talent to help businesses grow. This article explores one of the biggest issues and challenges now faced by large organizations: how to attract and retain a critical group of talented people. Getting talent management right means you can worry less about your talent problems and more about your business opportunities. It is very important to use a fact based approach to help identify the specific elements of talent manageme nt which drive the most value in your business and industry.It is needed to create a Talent Management Framework and Diagnostic to develop and implement strategies that deliver the right improvements – those that give you the best return on investment. So I can conclude that to win the war for talent, companies should figure out who they are aiming for, and then make sure the recruitment process and practices are tailored to the specific needs and expectations of the target group. I have chosen an article â€Å"Science and practice of HRM in small firms† by Mayson and Barret, 2006 because human capital (i. e. the knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees) is one of the primary factors a business can rely on to differentiate their products or services and build a competitive advantage; however, few studies directly guide managers of small and growing firms through the people management issues that they will face through the lifecycle of their business. The recogniti on that human resource issues are important to small and growing firms is not new. For instance, in 1987 (Hess) was presented data that suggested that small business owners rank human resource related issues as the second most important management activity after general management.Further, was suggested that the majority of CEO's believe that human resource practices have a substantial impact on firm performance. Additionally, in 2008 were presented the results suggesting that sound hiring practices and training programs are considered important by small business owners who have 10 or more employees. A small firms' ability to attract, motivate and retain employees by offering competitive salaries and appropriate rewards is linked to firm performance and growth.Whilst the evidence does show that there is some form of HRM in small firms, it also confirms that the practice is characterized by informality. I personally think, that this is a problem, because informal HRM practices do not necessarily recognize the value of employees. Despite the recognition of the importance of HRM to small, growing and entrepreneurial firms, there is very little research in the area, there is even less research that explores the strategic nature of HRM in small firms.It is important to note, that properly developing strategic selection, training, and compensation programs takes time and financial resources. However, these short-term costs are almost always balanced by long term gain because the quality and caliber of employees (or human capital) within the firm improves. The improved caliber of employees and enhanced effort almost always has a positive financial impact for the organization.